* UMASS AMHERST * 312Dbb D2fl7 S33D ^ LIBRARY OF THE MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE Source i THE mtmh AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER. CONDUCTED BY CHARLES NASH ABBOTT, HANWlJEi!,. ,, J'%Y-MW4-^ ii ii VOLUME I. 1873-4. PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICE OF THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL, HANWELL, W., LONDON. _L1BRARV_ filASSACHUSETTS 'ob^.Ob Ct INDEX. Adapting boards, 32, 199 American experiences, 10 Anxious for knowledge, 27 Artificial swarming, 7, 4(1, 04, 77, 78, 87, 113 poUen, 9 waiming, 111, 117, 151 fertilization, 190 Aston's bee-trap, 32, 80 drone-trap, 125 Attempt the first, 86 Ayrshire, 12 Balance-sheet (fallacious), 154 Bar-frame hive, 13, 121 supers, 46 Eee-di-ess, 23 Bees, drone, 3 queen, 3 worker, 3 breeding, 4 checked, 4, 6 early, value of, 14 starved, 14 packing, 25 dying out, 26, 46 doctors, 27, 34, 42 eating putty, 32 controlling, 33 in a frost, 37 in roofs, 39 in supers, 44, 179 short-lived, 46 space, 63 failing, 64 predicted mortality of, 07, 154 transporting, 72, 88, 128 why people keep, 88 in a log, 95 robbing, 96, 121 in a land of summer, 102 condemned, 121 patron saint of, 121 consciousness in, 122 disc>ased, 135, 150 and bee-ra asters, 138 abnormal, 146 breed of, ICo increase of, 171, 192 Bee-houses, 44, 73, 96 condemned, 44, 74 Bee Journal, 10, 14 Bee trap, 33 Bee-keepers' guild, 2, 17, 33, 43,57,81, 126 Bee-keeping, 197 profitable, 10 neglected, 18 absurdities, 29 under difficulties, 39 Bee-stands, 48 Beginner, a, 126 Brood, casting out, 46, 108 Book on bees, best, 128 Bottle-feeder, 5 Canvas, or leno in feeding, 5 Carr-Stewarton hive, 40, 75, 85 Casts what may be done with, 128 Cautions in spring, 167, 183 Cells, 4, 19, 21 measurement of, 4, 19,21 queens', 20 Chesliire's compound frames, 109 Cleaning hives, 7 Cleanliness, 6 Clever trickery, 110 Clipping queens' wings, 77 Clubs, 19, 30,40, 41,48, 66, 198 rules of Danish, 130 Dawlish, 198 Comb guides, 94, 163, 169 Combined swarms, 12, 30 Combs, 3, 4 moveable, 6, 29, 39 value of space, 9, 94 wasp and hornet, 21 attraction, 24 use of old, 33 irregular, 79 utilizing brood, 34, 61 straight, 47, 163, 199 spaces between, 47, 98, 99 removing, 60 autumn building, 01 crooked, 79, 95 rectifying, 79, 95, 199 repairing, by bees, 112 among tmgs, 179 Comparisons, 154 Consciousness in bees, 122 Cottagers, bee-keeping, 126 Crown-board, 99, 101, 114 Mr. Cheshire's, 100 A Lanarkshire Bee- keeper's open and close, 180 Ciystal Palace Show, 98, 129, 165, 182 the first subscriber, 126 prize fund, 130, 149 proposed prize schedule, 147 Dampness, 36 Dead air-space, 179 Death of Mnjor Munn, 102 Depriving from hives, 51,78 from roofs, 39 Distance guides, 70 Double swarms, 12, 180 Driving or drumming, 7, 44, 46, 72, 126 cautions on, 7 from half-lull hives, 82 in autumn, 61, 112 Drones, 3, 171 abnoiTnal, 14 experiment with, 14 use and value of, 23, 43, 68, 69, 128, 137, 140, 171,192 trap, 34, 50, 108, 123, 143, 170 Dysentery, 14, 33, 110, 135, 150, 154 Dzierzon, 14 Editorial, 1, 17, 33, 49, 65, 81, 97, 113, 129. 147, 165, 17'2, 182 Eggs, 21 hatching, 23 removing, 87 Ekes, 4 Enemies of bees, 95, 152 Errors of \yriters, 28 Examination, spring, 6 Exhibitions of bees and honey, 17, 155 at Manchester, 81, 85, 97, 109, 152 laxity of rules of, 97 Experiences, 28, 72, 86, 102, 107, 140, 170, 173 and wishes, 27, 42, 172 Extractor, the, 8, 10, 15, 49, 60, 72, 95 Facts for naturalists, 75 Feeders, 5, 14, 181, 183 circular float dangerous, 5, 108, 181 syphon, 82 bottle, 5, 181 Feeding, 5, 14, 68, 101, 117, 154, 102, 195 importance of, 5, 64 stimulation, 6, 23, 46, 152, 168, 183 in spring, 6, 24 by the way, 44 without increasing, 48 for wintering, 66 late, 67, 110, 117 rapid, bad, 07 Fertile workers, 11, 172 whence they come, 11, 194 difficulties caused by, 1 1 Fertilization, controlling, 105 Fighting, 68 Floor-board, interchanging, 135 Food, 5, 145 storing, 40 common, 64 refusing, 117 Foul brood, 00, 148 Frame bars, 10 distances apart, 47 position of, 145 Cheshire's nucleus, 169 space above, wrong, 187 Frames of comb, 37, 69 Frame-hive, ray first, and its progression, 105 of comb, 37 Fumigation, 78 Gloves, 23 Glucose as food, 43, 56 Guild of bee-keepers, 2, 17, 43, 57, 77, 126 Hives, 4, 6, 16, 28, 35, 44, 51, 55, 65, 08, 82, 98, 104, 114, 118, 121, 132, 143, 144,146, 149 straw, 6, 36 moveable comb, 6, 29, 36, 39 Stewarton, 11, 30, 37 wooden, 13, 15 size of, 2(1, 32, 55 Hives, continued — management, 28 which is best, 28, 55, 57, 142 Woodbury, 32, 36 objections to, 37, 68 two kinds of, 35 comparison of, 39, 156 Nutt's collateral, 44 stands, 48, 119, 149 improvements, 53, 83, 99, 115, 127, 134, 144 requisites of, 71, 83 Can'-Stewarton, 75 second-hand, 80, 181 new frame-bar, 80, 115 133, 149, 181, 197 coverings, 100 material for, 118 ancient, 116 notes on, 142 Major Munn's, 144 glass, 146 unicomb, 152 Neilson, 150 new V, 158, 178, 195 nucleus, 109, 184 Nyborg, 170 and their history, 176 double- waUed, 179 Saddleworth, 194 Hiving in bar-frames, 32, 150 Honey, 197 bees, 2, 197 extractor, 8, 10, 15, 49, 60, 72 harvest, 9, 13, 65, 77 ditto, bad, 190 to obtain most, 16 market, 27, 42 knives, 34 removing, 46 scarcity, 61, 63 season, 1873, 86 too much in hive, 110, 152 crystallizing, 153, 163 scriptural, 180 production, 154 infected, 168 Humanity, 80, 86 Hybrid bees, 13, 61 Introducing queens, 45, 47, 62, 126, 159, 189 by fumigation, 103 Information wanted, 131 Impregnation of queens, 156, 105, 185 Ladies managing, 10 Lee's distance guides, 98 Ligurianizing, 16 by small swarms, 15, 16, 72 by queen cells, 16 by queens, 45, 47 in moveable comb hives, 10 Ligurian bees, 16, 79 fecundity of, 61 comparison with Eng. libh, 180 Loss of weight per stock in January, 177 C3 C3 INDEX TO VOLUME I. Management of bees, 24, 31, 32, 79, 128, 135 supers, &£!. 20 hives, 38 autumn, 66 Manchester Show, 34, 81, 84, 97, 109, 152 sbams, 113 Manipulation, 144 Major Munn's death, 109, 118, 1 24 hive, 144 Metal corners for frames, 53, 08 Moveable combs, 13 advantages of, 13 side dummies, 115 Nadirs, 4, 45, 47 Neilson hive, 150 Non-conductor for hives, 179 Nomenclature, 171, 192 Nom de plume, the, 120, 175 Notes, 143, 170 Novice, 28 Nucleus hives, 169, 184 frames, twin, 169 stocking, 184 Nutt's collateral hive, 44 Observatory hives, 152, 190 Our own Journal, 29 Our sale column, 197 Ovaries and oviduct, 185 Packing bees for journey, 90, 124 for wintering, 100, 111 Parthenogenesis in bees,106, 185 Patron saint of bees, 121 Pliacelia seed, 1 99 Pollen, 0 artificial, 9 overchai'ge of, 14, 44 Posthumous, W. A. Munn, Esq., 103, 121 Predicted mortality of bees, 67, 154 Prejudices, 77 Premiums to clubs, 19 Preventing swarming, 31 Prize giving, 43, 58 Profitable bee-keeping, 10 swarming or supering, 31 Professor Chevalley, 109 Pruning combs, 145 Putty, 33 Queen bee, 3 colour of, 3 English and Ligurian, 3 unfertile, 15 cells, 10, 20 taking wing, 33 introduction of, 45, 102 loss of, 40 purity of, 79 cages, 105, 130,161,188 Queries and replies, 13, 31, 43, 00, 77, 94, 110, 145, 102, 178, 199 Quilts, 118, 103 Queens and their progeny, 105, 184 Remedies for stings, 24 Reminiscences, 28, 41 , 55, 90 Removing bees, 88 Rules of bee clubs, 130, 132 Runaway swarms, 40 Sale column, 197 Schedule of prizes, 148 Slinger, 8, 15, 00 mode of using, 8 great aid to profit, 8 Smoke failing, 32 Spermatheca of queen, 185 Spiders, 8 Spring— _ examination, 6 feeding, 0 management, 6, 7 transfer, itc, 16 cold to be dreaded, 24 Stands for hives, 48 Starvation, 4 signs of, 5 Stewai-tou hive, 11, 00, 88 and system, 11, 30, 37, 54, 70, 75, 137, 154, 192 objections and improve- ments, 30, 38 manipulation, 31 manufacture, 32 origin of, 38 Stings of bees, 23, 150 remedies, 24 poison, 52 Stocks — after swarming, 7, 45 transporting, 12 breaking up, 25 equalising, 67 changing positions of, 128 Straw skeps, 6, 13, 36, 116 a word for the old, 125 Stress of weather, 4, 33 Subduing bees, 33 Sulphurcide, 20 Supering, 24, 32, 47, 54, 60, 02, 19!) Supers, 4, 12,24, 35, 02, 78, 135, 199 to fill, 24 sizes of, 25, 199 should have bottom boards, 24 bar, 25 should be kept warm, 25, 02 to make, 25 putting on, 32, 47, 199 removing, 32, 46, CO ill-success with, 33, 01, 02, 04, 179 breeding in, 44, 179 bar-frame, 46 transposing, 60 artificially filled, 109, 114 building up, 109 varnishing, 199 Superstitions, 127 Swarming — artificial, 7, 04 natural, 22 preparations for, 22 preventing, 22, 32, 03, 199 Swarms, 7 vagabond, 5 driving, 7 making, 8 first of 1873,8 doubling, 12, 180 on parent stands, 22, 48 after, 23, 03 late, 47 vagaries of, 63 catcher, 181 Thinks I to myself, 190 Thunder-storms, 63 Tobacco fumigation, 77 why not successful, 31 Transferring bees, 25, 34, 78 in sj)ring, 7, 14 to bar frame hives, 15 how to do it, 11, 25 in autumn, 25, 61, 94, 95, 112 appliances, 26 Uniting bees, 31, 50, 60, 02, 04,06,111,180,193 distant stocks. 111 in winter, 112 Vagabond swarms, 5 Vagaries of swarms, 63, 80 Ventilation, 44, 68, 91, 94, 101, 110, 112, 117, 135, 145, 150, 150, 187, 193, 199 when not required, 184 tubes, 94 quilts, 118, 103 Ventilators, 172, 193 Vermin remove, 6, 82, 102, 183 Visitors, 49 Weather unfavourable, 46, 03 Winter preparations, 32, 06, 111, 112, 145, 152 protection, 100, 107 AVasps, 68, 111 trap, 87 Wax.moth, 0, 03, 1 96 Weight in hives, fallacious, 0, 14, 07 What to do, etc., 4, 24, 34, 50, 00, 82, 100, 117, 135, 151, 107, 183 When doctors differ, 153 Wildman, 29, 50, 90 Wintering, 111 Woodbury hive, 32, 36 objection to, 37, 51, 09, 99, 132 section of, 53 improvements suggested in, 59 Wooden hives, 13, 15 Wonderful harvests, 9, 10, 13 Wonders of the cell, 91 Wretched weather, 33 Zinc floor boards, 33 in hives, 114 COIe can be raised to hatch out under three weeks from the present time, there will be no recuperation of numbers, and they must continue to dwindle up to that period at least when their then present state must determine their future chances of prosperity. If dysentery is the cause of death, you should exchange the floor board daily, and feed with barley sugar, plliacing it in heaps over the open ventilating or super holes at top, so that the bees can get up through it, and obtain ventilation, and food at once, without being able to fill the hive with liquid food which by its evaporation and condensation, may make matters worse. Ed. Query No. 3. — Dear Sir, — I am so pleased ivith your plucky idea of establishing a Bee Journal for old England, that I at once send you my subscription. It is an undoubted deside- ratum and your liberality in offering immediate replies to queries is such an extraordinary boon to amateuis and novices in bee keeping, th^t I prognosticate immense success will attend your undertaking, and I fear I shall become one of your most dreadful tormentors, I am now in thi^ fix, my hives are all heavy, but three out of the five are almost tenantless, only having just a little knot of bees, each clustered on about three combs up in their hives, which are perfectly dry, but the combs look very black. My other two hives are last years swarms, and yielded some nice supers in the Autumn, but they are comparatively full of bees. We had some good supers from the stocks in question, and there seemed plenty of bees in Autumn, but now they seem to be dwindling away. Can yon help me? They are all in straw skei5S. AMATEUR. Gloster. Reply to No, 3. — Yours is not an uncommon case, but one seldom so quickly observed by an ama- teur. We judge your hives are pollen bound, and that your bees are suflering from deficiency of honey, through your removing the supers in autumn, and giving the bees nothing in return. You evidently judged them by their weight, and that alone is not a good criterion. Probably there is time to redeem the mischief caused by the error, and to render your doubtful hives good and valuable stocks. The remedy is feeding, and only by gentle continuous feeding may you hope to restore them. They are evidently over- stocked with pollen, which, when stored, weighs heavily, but not having a good supply of honey, they have not been able to commence early breeding, and thus consume the superabundant pollen. Do not give them a large quantity of liquid food at once, or they will store it in the breeding cells in the centre of the hive, and leave no roorn for the deposition of the eggs by the queen, and in that case the remedy ^^■ill be as bad as the disease. Half a pound of liquid food every evening for a week, then gradually increase it. Feed by means of the bottle as per sketch ; * take care your zinc has fine perforations, and that it is perfectly level when fixed. * A sketch of feeding bottle, as shewn in our engraving, page No. 5 was forwarded, Ed. Query No. 4. — Can anyone infonii me whether the small drones hatched in worker cells form the eggs ])roduced by an unimpregnated queen are of any use in fertilizing queens ? I asked this query last year in another 'journal, but did not get any satisfactory information. I should very much like to have the question decided, as it might prove of much importance in raising artificial queens LATE or early. S. B. Knowle, near Birmingham. Reply to No. 4. — Your query is one which cannot be easily decided. The drones of a fertile worker, raised, as they usually are in worker cells, are supposed to be incapable of the act of fertilization, and some experienced apiarians think the degeneracy arises from their being stunted thereby, and if that is the cause, the drones you speak of might be in a similar predicament. We once forwarded to an experienced apiarian in our neighbourhood, a parcel of drones, the offspring of a pure unfertile Italian queen, and he united them to a stock which had accidentally lost its THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. IS queen in December, and which were then raising queen cells, and although the experiment was very interesting for the reasons you give, it was considered by him so certain to fail, that he did not open the stock again until February, when, to his astonishment, he found " heaps of brood," which, Avhen hatched, proved purity of ferilization, and goes very far to prove the capability of the drones in question, but we must carefully avoid any dogmatic assertion in the matter, for it is possible that other hives in the neigh- bourhood contained drones of full size and power, and a fine warm day might have tempted them to fly abroad, as jt must have tempted the queen in ques- tion. If you have an unfertile queen, or intend to raise one for early breeding, why not confine her with a sufficiency of workers, to a hive containing only drone comb, so that her brood may attain full development ? You can then transfer her combs of eggs and brood to any or all of your deprived stocks, and so increase your chances of success. Ed. Queries Nos. 5 and 6. — As an amateur bee master, I am much interested in all items of bee information, and sliall l)e much obliged by a description of the Honey Slinger, \\hich you have lately mentioned in the Journal of Horticulture. While not insensible to the wants accruing from bee keeping, I also take an interest in the matter, that I may do some little good among the people, with whom, as a minister of the gospel, I am brought into contact. I have six stocks of bees, and should like to ligurianise them. Which will be the best way? D. W. P. Fulford, Winchester. Tlie Honey Slinger Mel Extractor or MeHpult, as the Machine is indiscriminately called, is described in another column, and repetition here icould be tii esome. Ed. Reply to No. 6. — The best way to ligurianize bees in straw skeps is as follows : — Purchase a small swarm of bees with a Ligurian queen at their head, and upon getting them home drive out all the inhabi- tants of your strongest black stock by the usual process of drumming, supplemented by the use of a small quantity of chloroform, to clear the hive of the few remaining bees. Set the hive, which contains the driven bees on the stand, from which the full one was taken, that being their own stand, alid leave them there as an artificial swarm. Carry the hive containing the combs to the stand which the Ligurians are to occupy, set it over the latter, and allow them to ascend and take possession of the combs, which they will readily do. Seven days after, the queen will have deposited thousands of eggs in the hive, and all the eggs of the black queen will have become too far advanced to convert into queens so that it will be quite safe to drive out as before all the bees of your Ligurian stock and also all the bees of your next strongest black stock, not forgetting to chloroform the few bees remaining in the hives after drumming, then take the hive belonging to the latter, and give it to the Italians on their own stand, and in like manner give the hive taken from the Italians, to the black swarm last driven, placing it on their own stand, but first take the very necessary precaution of removing the black queen. The black bees will then raise queen cells from the Italian brood in their hives while the Italians will be stocking their new hive with Italian brood, and at the end of another week will be in a condition to be again operated upon, and to have their hive again e.xchanged. These operations may be undertaken as soon as it will be safe for the first driven swarm to ' get their own living, and the earlier they are performed, the more likely it will be that a proper supply of Italian drones will be furnished. The great ad.N'antages of this mode of operation, if carefully performed, are that there is no risk of losing the queen, as there is in every other mode of intro- duction. All your first swarms will be headed by young Italian queens, and your old stocks will be likewise so furnished, and thus the whole apiary may be ligurianised in one season at a very small cost, and with very little trouble. The risk of losing the young queens on their wedding trips is not greater than under any other mode of ligurianising by the introduction of queen cells, and their chances of pure fertilization are not in any way more affected, and under any circuinstances all their drones in the ensuing year will be pure, when a repetition of the performances will be attended with increased chances of success. It however, often happens that the cross in the breed caused by the introduction of Italian blood into apiary, gives such increased vigour to the bees, that further trouble and expense are not deemed necessary. Ed. Query No, 7. — Is tliere any strong objection to the use of yellow deal or spnice fir, or woods of that kind, for the interior of hives, say for the frames, iStc. ? Does the smell offend the bees ? Would it be likely to infect the honey ? E. X- GRAYS, Essex. Reply to Query No. 7. — The only objections we know of to yellow deal or spruce fir are, their liability to warp and split under the variations of temperature, to which, in hives, they are subjected. AVe cannot think the smell at all injurious to bees, as we have often seen bees carrying away the freshly made sawdust of those kinds. Dr. Bevan recommends cedar, and yet says also " that yellow deal answers the purpose very well," but stipulates that it must be well seasoned. A\'e do not think the odour from any kind of wood will at all efiect the honey deposited in the hives, as, before an) honey can be deposited at all, the combs will ha\-e to be built, and the heat in the hive, thus caused, will have driven oft" all the volatile essence therefrom. Ed. Query No. 8. — My bees have begun woi-king, and are car- rying pollen freely. When shall I be able to transfer them to a bar-frame hive ? I am feeding them on sugar cand)', and have placed salt and water on their hive. The bar-frame hive is a large one. ST. HELEN.S. Lancashire. Reply to No. S. — Vou had better wait until they have swarmed, and cast, i.e., sent forth a second swarm before transferring. You should hive your swarm in your bar-frame hive, and when the cast comes off, which will be in about nine days afterwards, j-ou may safely transfer the combs to some of the empty frames therehi, giving the cast all the bees that were left in the hive among the combs. You will thus strengthen i6 THEJBRITISH BEE JOURNAL, your first swarm with the combs, and your second with the bees, and as the second will have a young queen yon may rely upon her as a prolific one if she returns in safety from her wedding tour. Feed gently and continuously with syrup, now that the weather is mild and open, and keep on until fruit trees blos- som. Ed. Query No. g. — I shall be much olMiged liy your informing me, at your earliest convenience, of the best plan of -vvorking my bar-frame hives, which contain black bees, so as to give them Ligurian queens, and likewise get the greatest aanount of honey, either in supers or with another hive placed on the top of the old stock ? Our honey season here is generally over by the end of July. Would it be well to let them stand over until after that for ligijrianizing ? JOHN WALTON. Weston, near Leamington, Marcli 26, 1S73. Reply to No. 9. — Yotir black bees being in bar- frame hives the process of ligurianizing is easy. It is usual to recommend the purchase and introduction of a fertile Ligurian queen into the strongest stock of black bees as a commencement, but as that proceed- ing is attended with considerable danger to the queen, and, (unless in the hands of an expert, is nearly always a failure, entailing loss and disappointment) we recom- mend the following mode in preference to all others, vjas, if conducted with ordinary care, it is sure to be successful. Procure a small swarm with a pure Ligujuan queen at their head, and such a swarm of 2,000 or 3,000 bees ought not to cost more than the price of two queens ; and take from amongst your healthy black stocks three or four frames filled with sealed brood, but without bees, and as many others without l)rood as will fill one of your hives into which admit your Ligurian swarm. In a week or little more, they will be much strengthened by the addition of the black bees, which will have hatched out of the sealed combs given to therii, and the queen will have deposited hundreds of eggs in all of them; You must then make an arti- ficial swarm from one of your strongest stocks, but instead of allowing the bees remaining in the dri\en hive to raise (jueen cells from their own brood, the brood of the Ligurian queen must be substituted for it. For this purpose both hives must be open at one time, and all the combs, ([uite free froin bees, ex- changed seriatim, care being taken to place them in their proper places in their new hives. Ly this transfer of the full combs of the black bees to the hive inhabited by the Ligurians, the latter will become a first rate established stock, which, in its turn, will swarm naturally ; and the black bees having the Ligurian brood to raise queen cells from, and not having more than they can well take care of, will probably raise a large number of queen cells, which may be utilized in the following way : — As soon as you know the number of queen cells being raised, which will be about five days after the making of the artificial swarm, you must deprive as many of your black stocks of their queens, as there are removeable queen cells, allowing for one to remain in the hive. You must use your own discretion as to whether you will make artificial swarms or not when you remove your black (|ueens, hut as your object seems to be the obtaining honey, we suggest that they should be destroyed. Two days after depri\ing the j black stocks ol their queens, which will be seven days after the artificial swarm was made, the spare Ligurian sealed queen cells should be cut out, and one inserted in each of the respective black stocks deprived. It is of considerable importance that two days should be allowed to elapse in these cases, especially after making artificial swarms, as many young bees will be added to the stock, and the necessity for the queen will be all the more felt by the bees remaining in the hive after the driving, and they will not be likely to destroy the queen cell. To get the greatest amount of honey, it is necessary to have your stocks strong at the time honey is most abundant, and as you seem to know that time, by all means prepare for it; stimulate your bees to the utmost, by feeding gently and continuously, and when the time arrives, give your strong stocks increased strength by removing honey combs and giving combs of brood from your weaker stocks. One stock so built up will pay better than four middling ones, and the latter will build themselves up for the ensuing winter. Your object in ligurianizing being the improvement of your apiary, why delay it until the improvement will be of little service? Ligurian bees being so much better workers than the black bees, we think it would be far wiser to introduce them before the work begins. Ed. Query No. 10 and ii. — Our season is always. late here. We have very severe winters, and abundance of snow, and until last week the country has been more or less covered with it. Now howe\er, our bees are beginning to stir, but if the weather continues fine, we shall be late in swarming, as usual. We seldom get a swarm in May, but generally in June, and often past the middle of the month. Our crop of honey is seldom more than from 15 to 20 Jbs., and its harvest is usually over about the 12th of August. Taking these things iifto considera- tion, do you think it would be advisable to introduce the Ligurian bees here, and is there any ho])e for a return for the outlay? Also, do you prefer the Woodbury box hive or the straw skep ? I prefer the skep. J. PETYT. lilubberhouses, Otley, March 26, 1873. Reply to Queries No. 10 and ii. — Ligurian bees, being natives of the Italian and Swiss Alps, are much hardier than English bees, and breed much faster, consequently we should think their introduction to your neighbourhood greatly to be desired. They are not only more prolific than the common bee, but they are also better workers, and when the season is late and short as you describe, we think they would be invaluable. As regards hives, good results may be obtained from almost any kind, provided they are large enough, but as the bar-frame hive permits the full control of all the combs and bees, and every part of the hive itself, it is much preferred by skilful apiarians. Ed. SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS. £ s. d. Two linSs of twelve words each o i 6 Per line afterwards 006 ,, Inch ol Space 050 „ Quarter column o 10 6 ,, Half ditto, or qu.artcr patjc I " O ,, Column, or half page i 15 o ,, Full page j o o No Advcrtibcmaiils can be received after the 24ih of each month, THE CONDUCTED BY CHARLES NASH ABBOTT, BEE-MASTER, HANWELL, W. LONDON. ilD/ BEE, KEIPEB'S mM\MB 0uriiiu, C'riiarantees to its Subscribers sound practical replies to all ([ueries on Bee ^Lanagement, and in urgent cases of difficulty, immediate rejilies by post or telegrapli if desired. A.KJs'V AL >S U B S C BI F 1 1 0 ,\, UAL F-A-G UI.'VFA, FayahJc in Advmire. S/>trial Ten/is lo Clubs and Literary Institutions. Free l>y Post "on day of Publication. [entered at stationers HALL] [No. 2. Vol. i.] JUNE, 1873. [Published Monthly.] DlliEC'IIOXS TO COKRESPO^XDEXIS ^^ QlliRISTS. j position which will enable him to further the interests I of his poorer neighbours, by urging upon them the T.-Wntc-u,atcsil'l<-!nu,dono„cudcoftlu-papcronly. | cultivation of bees as a means of increasing their 2.—U.V no iMrci-iatioin whidi an- not to appear iu priiii. j i-ggoui-ces, has a duty to perform which he ought not S.--h'ecp every ijucrv liistinet and separate, and ^i-ve t,'ie jii/lest \ (q neglect, not only for their sake individually, but as a powerl'ul means of ilevelojiing and increasing the possilile partien/ars^ stating a/so t/ie l;ind of tiii'e nseii. 4. — Wlieu requiring an immediate reply, send a stamped AluiRKSSKI) envelope, or stamps for eo.<:t 0/ telegram. JUNE, 1S73. •\iealth of the country at large. " A land flowing with milk and honey " was the promised reward of the Israelites of old, after their long sojourn in the wilderness, and how eagerly they looked forward to, and longed for its possession, is I matter of Sacred Histor)' ; but while we actually pos- , , , ,, XT • •• 1 -1 1 ) sess such a land, we allow one half its richest treasure Our co-ahead correspondent '■ Novice, while acknow- j ■ .. to be wasted, with scarcely an attempt to utilize ledging the value of " Our own Journal," as he, on behalf of bee keepers, is pleased to term it, throws out suggestions which appear to lay upon us the duly of enforcing the attention of bee keepers to their own interests by further appealing to them with the offer of gifts or prizes to those who most promote its circula- tion. We think such a stimulus ought to be unnecessary, and hesitate betbre committing ourselves to any course which may be construed into weakness on our part, or want of faith in the spirit which is now awakened among bee culturists. It. Our forests, our plains, our fields, orchards, gardens, hedge-rows, and even our way-sides teem with flowers and blossoms in their several seasons, yielding abund- ance of delicious nectar, which is allowed to was,te its sweetness, and thousands of tons of honey are thus annually lost in this country through there being insuf- ficient bees to collect it. Unlike other stock, bees may ordinarily be culti- vated without any expense for food or hired labour, and except the cost of new domiciles as they increase, . . .1 . -^ ■ ,7 ^ V ., j,,f . thev really rciiuire no further outlay when once estab We endorse his opinion that it is tl/e positive ditty '■'"'.' ^ ^ ^ - of all who have bee culture at heart, to do all in their power to enlighten their neighbours, and advance the charming and profitable pursuit in every possible way, and that many have been, and are really willing to do so, the existence of this " Journal " as an Established Magazine, sufficiently proves ; as only by private exer- lished under a frofei system of inanagement, and they will yield an average of profit to the value of at least 100 per cent, per annum on the original cost of their estaljlishment. ^\'hy then are not bees more culiixated in this countr\-, and why has not every allotment, from tlie tion has its circulation been procured. But we go j limited gardens of cottagers, to the wide domains of farther than this and say that everyone holding a I the noblemen and agriiulturists of the great garden of THE BRITISH BEF, JOURNAL. pjigland. its proportionate apiary?— WI13' should we as a nation, anniiall)' expend thousands of pounds in the importation of hundreds of tons of honey and wax, wlien we have them at our very doors if we will only use the jiroper means for collecting them? The answer is that bee culture is not understood as it should be ; it has been systematically neglected, and as shewn by our esteemed correspondent, "Novice," is a subject on whicli in many parts of this otherwise enlightened nation, almost heathen ignorance prevails, and bee keepers actually destroy their own wealth producers. Other correspondents, (and they are all gentlemen of high education and position, whose testi- mony cannot be doubted,) record exjjeriences which to many seem too wonderful to be true, but which, from our own experience, and from their high character we undertake to say are strictly correct, and capable of repetition, and when we find " A Renfrewshire Bee Keeper," and there are many others willing to do the same, volunteering to set forth in this Journal the system of management, which has procured such plea- sing results as are recorded by him in the May num- ber of this Journal, thus forming centres of intelligence, from Avhich may be drawn instruction suited to the wants of the beekeepers around them. We are con- strained to believe that such teachings should ha\e the widest possible scope, and their influence pushed to the farthest consistent extreme.. The chief obstacles in the way of this dissemination of knowledge of bees are the general apathy of the bee keepers themselves, and the difficulty of olitaining access to them, and only by the continued direct personal efforts of a gen- tlemen of influence, can «-e hope that any useful im- jiression will be maile. Local bee clubs, under intelligent direction, uxiuld do much to advance scientific bee culture, and formed in conneciion with Literary Lrstitutions, Benefit Chilis. Mutual Lnprovement Societies, or \Vorking Mens' Institutes, would form aggregations of individuals, among whom a spirit of rivalry might be created, which if fostered, would lead to most beneficial results, and having this in view, we on our first page offered " Special terms to Clubs and Literary Institutions.'' AVe think we should best stimulate bee keeping in a general way by offering special inducements for the formation of such clubs or associations, and this we think might be done without offending the dignity of any gentlemen who are, or who may become subscri- bers to our Journal, if we offer a series of premiums whicii we hope will tend to induce their establishment. Our Somersetshire correspondent whose letter we insert as a specimen from among manj' others suggests an idea that there are some who would gladly become readers of the Journal if it was brought within their means, and we think the formation, of clubs as sug- gested, would do this at a trifling cost, but with very great advantage to each and e\'ery member. We therefore offer and promise That ex'ery such club sending us three subscriptions, shall receive six copies of our Journal, monthly, and shall receive a new and well made A\'oodbiiry bar frame moveable comb hive as a club pattern, or a pure imported Ligurian queen bee, as may be elected. • Every such club sending six subscriptions shall receive 12 copiei; of the Journal monthly, and a full set of the far-famed Stewarton Hive Boxes, or a Cot- tage Woodbury, complete, as advertised, as club pat- terns, or if preferred, two pure imported Ligurian Queens for the improvement of their apiaries. Every such club as shall send 12 subscriptions*shall receive 24 copies of the Journal monthly, and a A\'oodbury Bee House, or set of Stewarton Hive Boxes, charged with a full swarm of bees with a j)ure Italian mother as their Sovereign. While we thus oi)en up a wide field for exertion, which we hope will be extensiwely used, we trust our object will not be misunderstood or improperly taken advantage of. Our most earnest desire is so to extend a knowledge of bee culture in this country that it may become a branch of industry worthy of recognition by all classes. A\'e believe the formation of bee clubs to be most important, we offer all the aid we can afford, and we trust that gentlemen who have influence in their respective localities will go and do likewise. We cannot, however, undertake to correspond with all the members of such clubs, but the ]iresidents or secretaries we shall be happy to treat as subscribers. THE CELLS. Having given a description of the A\'orker, Drone, and intermediate cells, we next come to the ciueen cell, which is totally unlike the nursery of a subject whether drone or worker, and is generally found on the edge of a comb. It is much larger than the ordinary cell, and is built withalavish expenditure of wax, which affordsa curious contrast to the rigid economy observed in the construc- tion of the other cells. The little larva which is placed or hatched in the royal cell is not fed with the THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. same food as that supplied to tliqse which become drones or workers, but lives upon an entirely difterent diet, apparently of a more stimulating character, and it is now well known that although the egg may have been deposited and the larva hatched in a worker cell, yet if placed in a royal cell, and supplied with royal food, it will develope into a perfect queen, which in time will rule and populate the hive. QUEEN CELT.. Queen cells, when completed, appear like excres- cences on the sides or edges of the combs, they are somewhat like acorns, drooping and tapering, as shewn in engraving, and are sealed at the ends with a porous mixture of wax and pollen, which permits free respiration to the queens confined in tliem. A\'hen a queen is about to emerge naturally into life, she partly cuts away the porous end of her cell with her mandibles, and forces her way out, lea\ing a little flap at the end like the top of a thimble, but eventually the bees remove the greater portion of the whole, leaving the cell pretty much like an acorn cup only, as shewn in illustration. OT.n nliKEN CKl.I.. Queen cells are said by many writers to be always on the edges of the combs, and in all cases where swarming is being prepared for naturally, it is nearly correct, for thfe simple reason that all the other paits of the comb are filled with brood or stores, and as the bees require sufficient room between the nursery combs to pass each other back to back, it is evident that queen cells cannot be formed there without space being purposely made for them, the doing of which would involve the destruction of numerous ceils o brood, ,'rhe fact then that queen cells are usually placed on the outer and lower edges of the combs at a time when all the other available parts contain brood in various stages, should be well thouglit of by ama- teur bee keepers as a reason why many stocks which have swarmed fail in obtaining young queens, for it after the swarm has left the hive, the weather should become cold enough to make it necessary for the bees left in the hive to draw up into the combs for mutual warmth and protection, the queen cells would be abandoned, and the young queens perish. This is also a reason why supers should not be placed on , hives immediately after bees have swarmed, as the additional space thereby given by permitting the escape of the heat from the body of the hive might lead to the same evil result. Although the primary object of the bee cell is to serve; as a store house and nursery it is also made to answer other purposes. When the bee seek.s repose it almost invariably creeps into a cell and buries itself deep therein, the whole head, thorax, and part of the abdomen lieing hidden. ]rahi\e be examined in the wint^T lime, every cell in the centre of the hive which contains nothing else will be tenanted by a bee, and wb.en the poor insects are put to death by theabsr.ri! ami cruel plan of smoking them with the fumes of sul;)hur, tlicv will be found to ha\e vainly sought escape fron the suBb- cating vapoin- bv forcing themselves into the recesses of the otherwise empty cells, and alas! making their cradles also their graves. As a general fact the bees store their honey in the outermost or coolest parts of the hive, and reserve the central or warmest part for the jiroduction of th.eir brood, and this fict is taken advantage of by bee keepers, who jjlace glass, wooden or other receinacles, upon or around the hi\L-, so that while the central or warmest part is filled with brooil, the bees nia\- store their superabundant honey in them. \Vith this fact prominenll)' before lis, iloes it not seem imperative that in order to obtain the largest quantity of honey in its purest form, the central or breeding apartment (usually calle^l the stock hive), should be as nearly as [jossible of the sixe most suitable for their breeding capacity onl)', or capable of easy ad justment to that end ? The chief point which distinguishes the coml) of the hive bee from that of any other insect, is tl;e manner in which the cells are arranged in a double scries THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. The combs of the wasp and the hornet are an'anged horizontally, so that their cells are .vertical, but with the hive bee the cells are laid nearly horizontal^, and in a double series just as if two rows of thimbles were laid on a table with tlie points of the thimbles in one row touching between the points of those in the other. There is another point Avhich must now be examined. If the bases of the cells wefe to be rouiided like those of thimbles, it is clear that either they would have but little adhesion to each otjier, or that a large amount of material would be used in their construction to obviate .which, it would appear necessary to place at the liase of each cell a hexagonal flat plate as is actually done by the wasp. If, however, we look at a perfect piece of honey comb, we shall find that no such arrange- is employed, but that the bottom ofeachcellis formed into a kind of three-sided cup. Now, if we break away the walls of a pertect cell so as only to leave the base, we shall see that each cup consists of three lozenge shaped plates of wax, all the lozenges being exactly alike. If a cell be isolated, it will be seen that its six sides rise from the outer edges of the three lozenges form- ing the cup above mentioned, and that its transverse section gives a perfect hexagon. Many years ago Miraldi being struck with the fact that the lozenge shaped plates always had the same angles, took the trouble to measure them, and found that in each lozenge, the larger angles measured 109' 28', and tlte smaller 70- 32', the two together making iSo', the equivalent of two right angles. He also noted the fact that the apex of the three sided cup was formed l)y the union of three of the greater angles. Some time afterwards, Reaumur thinking that this remarkable uniformity of angle might have some con- nection with the wonderful economy of space which is observable in the bee comb, hit upon a very ingenious plan for its elucidation. Without mentioning his reasons for the question lie asked Kcenig tlie Mathematician, to make the follow- ing calculation : Given a hexagonal vessel, terminated by three lozenge shaped plates at what angles would they give the greatest amount of space with the use of the smallest possible amount of material? Kcenig made the calculation, and found- that the angles were 109' 26', and 70" 34', almost precisely corresponding with the measurements of Miraldi. Reaumur, on receiving this answer, concluded that the bee had very nearly solved the difficult mathema- ticial problem, the difference between the measure- ment and the calculation being so small as to be prac- tically negatived in the construction of so small an object as the bee cell. Mathematicians were naturally delighted at the result of the investigation, for it showed how beautifully practical science could be aided by theoretical knowledge, and the construction of the bee cell became a famous problem in the economy of nature. In comparison with the' honey, which the cell is intended to contain, the wax is a rare and costly substance, secreted in very small quantities, and requiring much time for its production. It is therefore essential that the quantity of wax em- ployed in making the comb should be as little, and that of the honey contained in it as great as possible. For a long time these statements remained uncon- troverted, as any one with the proper instruments could measure the angles for himself, and the calcula- tions of a mathematician like K.oenig could hardly be questioned. However, Maclaurin, the well-known Scotch Mathematician, was not satisfied. The two results very nearly agreed with each other, but did not quite do so, and he felt that in a mathematical ques- tion precision was a necessity, so he tried the whole question himself, and found Miraldi's measurements correct, viz., 109' 28 and 70' 32'. He then set to work at the problem, which was worked out by Koenig, and found tliat the true theo- retical angles were to9' 2S' and 70' 32-, precisely cor- responding wirii the actual measurements of the bee cell. Another question now arose. How did this discrepancy occur? How could so profound a mathe- matician ns Kcenig make a mistake?^ On invcstiga- tion It was found that no blame was attached to Kcenig, but that the error lay in the book of loga- rithms, which he had used. Thus in a mathematical work was accidentally discovered in measuring the angles of a bee cell, a mistake suffi- ciently great to have caused the loss of a ship, whose captam hajjpened to use a copy of the same loga- ritlnnic tables for calculating his whereabouts on the ocean. S WARMING. When the dangers of winter are safely passed, and spring is approaching, a stock well supplied with food, will begin to increase its numbers, and as the days lengthen, and the power of the sun's rays increases, so will also increase the activity and bustle in the hive. The first deposition of eggs is made in the warmest THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. part of the hive, which is not always in the exact centre, as many suppose, but is in the centre of the congregated bees, wherever they may happen to . be, and there the ([ueeu begins by placing a few eggs in the cells on each side of a comb, perhaps occupying not more space than a halfpenny would hide, but the circle is increased day by day, other combs are gra- dually occupied, and the mass widens and lengthens daily in increasing proportion, until in a short time every available cell in the hive is charged with eggs and brood in all stages of development. Twenty one days from the date of the first egg being deposited, the young bees will begin to hatch out, and if the stock be in a healthy condition, bees will continue to hatch at exact- ly the rate per diem at which the eggs were deposited, and as the ovipositing increased in proportion from its commencement, until from two to three thousand eggs were laid in every twenty four hours, it will be easy to understand how a hive, in which bees are so^'apidly pro- duced, can spare from 12,000 to 20,000 bees to form a swarm, and yet in a few days be as populous as before they issued. When a stock increases thus rapidly, unless the hive be large, it is evident that the bees will soon become overcrowded, and unless more space be given to them either by adding a nadir, super, or collateral receptacle, they will of necessity swarm ou( and form a new colony. Giving increased space does not always prevent swarming, although it lessens the probability of it, and those who depend on what is called the non-swarming system often suffer vexatious disappointment. Swarms will sometimes issue from the largest hives, and bees, which have made their abode in the roofs of houses, where the space has been comparatively unlimited, have been known occasionally, to send out swarms. ^ The swarming season is always a most e.xciting and anxious one with bee keepers, whether the apiary be conducted upon the swarming or non-swarming prin- ciple. As before stated, if swarms be desired, artificial swarming, as described on page 7, is by far the best and safest, as by adopting that method of increase there is little chance of losing the l)ees, and much valuable time is saved, wliicli would otherwise be wasted in watching them. There is, however, some- thing so charming in the exodus of bees from their hive U) foun/ f/icm ahue, there can be little hope of profit, as when the later honey season arrives there will be but few bees to take advantge of it. It therefore behoves every one who wishes to see his apiary prosperous, to take care that during the breeding season his bees are fully supplied with all that is necessary to secure large working populations in, his hives, that they may be ready for the good time coming. May and June are the principal breeding months of the year and swarming is then most com- mon, yet in those months stocks and swarms often perish or liecome so crippled by a few days of in- clement weather as to be comparatively useless. We therefore again advise all bee keeijcrs to feed boUi stocks and swarms on ever)* da}' when they cannot ob- tain food for themsehes. SUPERING. Next to swarming, supering is, perhaps, the most important proceeding in the apiary, and as the supers are usually made partly, if not wholly, of glass, through which the operations of the bees may be observed, the process of filling them aflbrds intense interest and gratification. We strongly reconimend that all supers be furnished with bottom boards of their own, so that they .nay be removed intact. The board need not be thicker than a stout card, and needs no care in fastening it to the super, but should be furnished with holes or slits, cor- responding with those in the honey board. When used, the bees will be unaljle to attach the honey combs in the super to the honey board as they usually do, and when filled it may be removed without daiiger by inserting two plates of tin or zinc between the lioney board and the bottom of the super, one of which will confine the bees in the hive, and the other will enable the operator to remove it with impunity. The use of the bottom board widi sui)ers offers other advantages ; in enabling the bee keei)erto fix pieces of attractive comb upon them instead of attaching them to the tops of the supers, which, if of glass, are often disfigured by the melted wax used in tlie ]irocess, and 1)\' rendering the fall of the combs, .so jjlaced. imiiossible,- pro.'ideil pro- per care, he taken in fixing ihem. l!y this means also the smallest pieces of coml) may lie piled upon each other so that when the super is placed over them it shall touch and slightly crush ihem together, and this THE BRITISH BEE lOURNAL. state of tilings will ensure the immediate attention of the bees. They permit no portions of comb to remain insecure and will be almost sure to go up and fix them at once. It does not matter how irregularly they are placed, provided they are set right way upwards, the bees will finish them oft", and make of a seem- ingly useless pile of scraps, a beautiful rock work of honey comb. Considerablejudgment isrequired in selecting supers of sizes suited to the capabilities of the various stocks. It is well understood that bees will take possession of a moderate sized super more readily than they will a large one, and it is better to have such a one quite filled with honey than to cause waste of it in the manu- facture of combs, which the bees will not be able to fill Supers, if of glass, require much protection as bees are most susceptible of cold, and a sudden chill will often cause them to leave their work in a body and descend to the hive ; they should, therefore, be covered with a cozey, such as is used to keep a teapot warm, which may be made of old flannel, carpet, felt, or baize. Glass supers are, undoubtedly, very beauti- ful objects to feast the eyes upon, but when the honey is required in the comb for table purposes it is not at all easy to get it out of them in a presentable condi- tion, and at the first breaking of the cells the running honey spoils all their beauty. Without wishing to dictate, we venture to suggest that supers should be constructed so that they may be taken to pieces when filled, and the honey easily cut out for use. They may be made either square, hexagonal, or octagonal, of wood and glass. Take two iiieces of thin board of the size and sha|ie determined on, and cut saw groo\es hallway through, about a i|uarter of an inch Yrom each of their sides respectively. Fit plates of glass in one of them, which we will call the bottom, so as to touch at the points of intersection of the saw grooves, and bind the whole of them together with a strip of gummed paper round the outside of the top edges. The glass should not be more than about four or four and a half inches deep, but some supers should be made of much narrower dimensions so as to be available as ekes when the larger sizes are filled. The edges of the plates of glass 'should be rendered air tight by strips of gummefl paper fixed over them, giv- ing the sujier,' as shown in the engraving, the appear- ance of being sujiported by columns at each of its angles. In this state, with the bottom board duly per- forated, the super is ready for the reception of the attractwn coinhs, which being sup])lie(l, the cover which is the counterpart of the bottom may be placed on the whole, and the super will be fit for use. This kind of super has many advantages among the most important of which simplicity and cheapness claim prominence. Bar supers offer no advantages which it does not possess, as its top and bottom being of such thin material, the combs may be cut out by cutting through the wood along the passages between them, so that it is really of no con- sequence how crooked the bees may happen to build them. For protection against cold a sheet of folded paper bound round the glass will be ample, or it may be put on as a bandage, and the end fastened with gum, shutters being cut in it on the sides to permit ob- servation. If one of the sides of such a super be made of thin wood, and an aperture cut in it so that a bee trap may be affixed, when the super is filled, it will only be necessary 'to slide the latter a little on one side, so that the aperture in the honey board and super bottom do not correspond, to ensure its deser- tion by the bees, for as they will be unable to go down into the hive, they will speedily make their exit through'the trai), Ijut will be quite unable to return. Transferring. Among the most important operations which are likely to demand the attentiun of the amateur in bee keeping, is the transferring the contents of a straw skep or common box hive, to a bar frame moveable comb hive. The best time to do this in summer, is when the combs contain the least quantity of brood, as then they will be light, and more easily supported, and there will be less liability to loss or injury than when filled with brood in all stages of development. The combs will be lightest about i6 days after swarming, as a great majority of the brood from the eggs of the old Queen will have hatched out of the cells and the young Queen will have only just begun to deposit eggs, and this offers a very good opportunity to effect the transfer. \\'e, however, recommend the autumn as the bv,st time for effecting this object for several reasons ; first because obtaining a super, small though it may be, after the swarm and cast have issued, is rendered almost impossible, as so much more s])ace would thereby be given that the bees would be fully occupied in filling it. Second — because in filling up the hive in the height of the honey season they would probably build too much drone comb. .Third — because by transferring in autumn the opportunity is offered of al>sorI)ing weak stocks by uniting them with others. Those who are in the habit of destroying bees in autumn, to oljtain their honey, should consider deeply whether the outlay of a few shillings then for a bar- frame hive would not be well repaid by its possession filled with a stock of bees in spring, which would be of greater value than any other two left in their apiaries which lla^■e been left in straw skeps. Every three or four stocks of bees contain in Autumn sufficient comb without honey to stock a bar frame hive, and when it' is considered that the greater part of it is filled with either brood or pollen, we appeal to the common sense of our readers whether it would not be wiser to utilize it in the manner suggested than to crush all together to contaminate what is called finen/n hoiiiy. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. The 7i'ilfm destruction of bees is so wantonly inknnian and cruel, that toe can scarcely Und words to express our . abhorrence of the disgraceful practice. In the present enlightened age it is positively indefen- sible, and we appeal to all who have any influence over those who arc guilty of such base ingratitude, to exercise their power to the utmost to preserve the lives of these most useful insects. The process of transferring is a simple one, and may be performed with httle trouble and no expense beyond the cost of the liar frame hive, and that may be made for a trifling outlay when the pattern has been obtained. The necessary requirements are a room to which the bees have not access, a table, a large dish to catch any running honey, a little wooden grating (as per sketch) to lay on the dish a few jjieces of lath rather longer than the frames are wide, a few stout pins or fine nails, about i]^2 inches long (zinc slate nails do exceedingly well), a fine brad awl, a sharp knife, a few yards of tape, (tailors stay tape being tine and strong is excellent for the purpose) a few old wine corks, and the bar frame hive. a. If the combs be not of sufficient depth to reach the bottom rail of the bar, one of the pieces of light bath should be sprung in under it, to support it, the two ends of the lath touching the sides of the frame, when they should be supported by corks, cut to the proper height, as shewn in illustration. When everything is ready, drive the bees as directed on i)age 7, into another skep, and place them on their old stand. Clear the hive of the few remaining, unwilling to leave their combs with a litde choloro- forni. To do this, make a hole in the ground close by the stand, put the towel or wrapper used in the driv- ing operation into it, pour on that about a third of an ounce of chlorotbrni, and set the hive over until they have tumbled out, when the hive may be carried to the closed room. Cutting out the combs is usually considered diffi" cult, but we recommend that the skep be first cut bodily in two between them, this of course will destroy it, but old skeps have no value, and the sooner they are burned, the better it will be for the apiary, as they cannot then form nurseries for the wax moth. Having cut out one of the combs, place it on the wooden grating, apply the frame, and if the comb be too large to be easily crowded in. cut it square along the upper side, so as to remove the heavy part con- taining the honey, and to give the greatest length of attachment to the top bar of the frame. The part cut off containing the honey will drop through the grating into the dish, but the main body of the comb must be fixed in the frame, and this may be done either with the nails or pins, or by tying tapes round l)Oth the frame and the comb. If by any accident the comb has been cut rather too small, the tapes will be better, as they will, if tightly tied, bend the bottom rail of the frame shghtly upward, thereby pressing the comb more closely to the top bar, which is of the greatest importance, as if not fixed there, it will be apt to fall in a heap when the tapes are removed. When the combs are fitted to the frames they should be raised to a perpendicular position by lifting the wooden grating, with the frame on it, so that the comb may not drop out by its own weight, as might be the case, if lifted by the frame ; and hung in its place in the hives. We do not advise an amateur to attempt too much at one operation. It will be quite sufficient for one day if he fi.xes all the brood combs properly, in their res- pective positions, so as to keep the brood centralized as much as possible; the odd pieces of comb may be fitted in at a future operation, when the brood combs have been securely fixed by the bees, thus preventing delay, and the chances of the brood being chilled. Before returning the bees to their combs it will be necessary to fill all vacancies in the hive with empty frames, when it may be set in its place, and the bees shaken on to the top of them, when they will quickly take possession, clear up all bleeding honey, repair and fix tlie combs, and clear out all debris from the hive. In twenty four hours the hive may be opened and all tapes, pins, corks, and laths removed, and the old pieces of comb spliced into the frames seriatim. Packing Bees. As this is a season in which bees are often sent long distances, it maybe useful to point out the safest mode of packing them for their journey. It must be borne in mind that it is always unsafe to send hives which contain tender combs any farther than they can be carried by hand, as the least jolting will create great commotion among the bees, and their excitement will so increase the heat in the hive, as to cause the combs to collapse and fall in a heap and to ruin the stock. Straws skeps, however full, may be safely sent a hundred miles, provided the combs be tough, and proper ventilation be given. Suppose a skep to be sixteen inches in diameter, and one foot high outside measure, it will require a box sixteen inches square and thirteen inches deep inside measure, and ar piece of perforated zinc, one inch larger than the top of it all round. Take also two pieces of deal, each an inch square, and eighteen inches long, and notch them into the back and front of the box. like two bars of a rabbit hutcli, lay the zinc on them and tack it down to them, so to hold them firmly to it, bend the surplus zinc closely all round the outer edges of the box, and it will be ready for use. 10 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. To get the skeji into it, blow a little smoke into the entrance, so as to clear the floor board of the bees, raise it and place the zinc on the floor board with the strips of wood uppermost, and set it (the hive) fairly on them, then when the bees are quiet within, invert the box over the whole, bringing the strips of wood into the notches to which they have been fitted, tack the zinc all round the then bottom edges of the box, gently turn the whole, zinc side up ■ wards, and nail strips of wood all round the top edges of tlie box, as a protection to it. This mode of pack- ing is the bat, as the hive is firmly held by the sides of the box, and the strips of wood yet permits the bees to wander into its angles, thus preventing over heating and all its attendant evils, and when it arrives at its destination it is only necessary to set it on its stand until the bees are quiet, when it may be unpacked almost without disturbing one of them. When it is purposed to send bees only short dis- tances, they should be smoked to drive them off the floor board, the hive, turned bottom upwards, two small half hoops or bent Avires fixed crosswise into its bottom edges, and a piece of cheesecloth or can\-ass strainer laid on and tied round with string about three inches from the rim of the hive. The object of the hoops or wires is to keep the cheesecloth well up oft" the combs, and thus give space to the bees. They must not, however, be trusted too long under the cheese-cloth, as they are quite capable of making holes through it, and setting themselves at liberty. Hives should always be carried bottom ujjwards, as then the combs cannot fall .out of them. (!t0n'esp0n:brnxi^. To the Editor of the BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. Sir, — With the honey harvest just approaching, and in anticipation of the establishment of a Bee Guild, will you allow me to ask my brother bee keepers to be good enough to shew through the journal, the best market for honey in glasses, boxes, or drawn, and the railway fare per hundred miles. Wishing every success to pur Journal, I remain, A LINCOLNSHIRE BEE KEEPER. ANXIOUS FOR KNOWLEDGE. Dear Sir, — I beg to heartily thank you for the copy of the British Bee Journal you so kindly sent me, and I most earnestly hope that it may be a success. Being only a hard working agriculturist, farming about 30 acres of pasture, and finding it a constant struggle to make both ends meet, it is out of my power to subscribe los. 6d. per year, but what I wish is that you would issue the paper at about 3d. per copy to those who really cannot afford more, of course only those subscribing the full amount cculd expect the benefit of immediate repl)'. I shall laid the copy } ou sent to all my friends who keep bees. I enclose stamps for it. SAMUEL HEATH. Fro me, Somersetshire. EXPERIENCE. Sir, — I am very much pleased with the Bee Jour- nal, and only wish I could have met with such a paper some fifteen years ago. It would have saved me many pounds in money, to say nothing about trouble. I have lived amongst (and still live with people) who will stick to the old straw liive. One man (a neigh- bour, of Trent) lost ten hives last spring. I must admit it was a very bad time for bees. I fed mine and saved them, but many hundreds of stocks were then lost. I passed through villages last fall in which I have on previous occasions seen from 100 to 150 stocks, but not one single hive could be seen. Ask who I will, I get the same answer, all died in the Spring. Now I believe what sold most of tJiem was /('//(■«. As soon as ])eople see their bees return- ing with pollen, they think they are laden with honey and so let them starve. I was about the first to work my bees in boxes (in these parts ), and the worst enemy I found was damp, by which I lost nearly all my bees. I have found tliat out, to my loss, but ventilation is the preventitive. You should know I had no books or other informa- tion to wor-k from. I shall look forward with interest for the first of each month. A MECHANICAL BEE KEEPER. Penmill, Somerset. BEE DOCTORS. Sir, — There is one thing which I much wish you would take into consideration, for if there are many like us (and from what I hear from those who have given up bees " because they did not answer " or " they did not thrive, we don't know why," I think there must be not a few) it would be a great boon, that is the establishment of a society of travellin(■<■//]' the swarm has left the hive? 13. How soon should a super lie put on a new swarm? 14. When should supers be ]iut on hi\'es which we do not want to swarm at all ? Supposing a genial season, would the end of April be too early? Leatherhead. Grkat Bookuam. RiiiM.v TO QUERIKS 12, 13, 14. — 12. The most probable way of jireventing after swarms is by cutting out all the ([ueen cells in the hi\'e except one, but as that cannot be done with any degree of certainty where the bees are in straw skeps, it is not applicable in your case. If a super be placed on a hive immediately after a first swarm has left it, it allows an increased radiation of heat at a time when its economy is of the most vital importance to the colony, for the exodus of the swarm lea\'es the hive very thinh' populated with bees, while the combs are nearly filled with brood and queen cells in all stages, to which a chill might be fatal. It would be far better to allow the cast to come forth, to hive it until the evening, and then return it to its original domicile. 13. — Supers may be put on to new swarms as soon as the bees ha\e filled their hives with comb. 14. The right time to super stocks which are not required to swarm is when the combs are filled with brood down to their bottoms. The end of April is not too early in a genial season ; but it woukl be wiser to give the l:)ees increased breeding space by first adding a nadir to their hive, unless it be a large one, as otherwdse the super may be spoileil by the Queen depositing eggs therein. Ed. QCKRY No. 15. — Could you tell me the way to hive a swarm into a bar and frame hive, and do you think I could swarm my bees artificially, and which do you consider the best way to do it ? Is the swarming or super plan the most profitable, and wliich do you consider the best hives to use? W.N.G., a Beekeeper of Alphington. Riirr.v TO No. 15. — Lay a sheet or large newspaper on the ground near where the swarm has alighted, place the hive on it with its front propped up an inch or so with a stone or piece of wood. Take a straw skei), a pail, or other vessel, shake the bees into it (as in ordinary hiving), and throw them down on the sheet in front of thc'bar frame hive, when, if the Queen is with tljem, they will all go quietly into it. Yon then treat them as you would bees in an ordinary straw skep, and either set them on the stand in place of the hive from which they emerged, or give them a separate location as may be most desirable. Artificial swarming is fully described in the British Bee Journal No. I. The swarming and supering systems are both profitable if you can satisfactorily dispose of your surplus bees and honey. If you can sell your swarms and put ready cash in your pocket now, swarm your bees by all means, as- that will be more certain than trusting to the chances of the honey season, but if you have no sale for them, and have no reason to multiply your stocks, the increase w-ill be of little service to you. Honey is the only real profit of bee keeinng. Multiplying swarms for sale is the business of a bee dealer, but it must rest entirely with your- self, which result you w^ill most endeavour to attain. The best hi\-e is that which gives most facilities in the management of the bees, and in this respect the moveable comb hives have an advantage. Langstroth names 61 requisites for a complete hive, but ^ve are satisfied if the combs are moveable, and the hives themsehes capable of enlargement or contraction w-ith little trouble. Storifying, nadiring, and supering are all good if the hives be large enough, but since the invention of the honey slinger they are considered unneccessary -ivhere it is used, and as it comes into use here other systems of management w-iU decline, We recommend you to adopt a bar frairie hive the breeding apartment of which is capable of expansion or contrac- tion as may be necessary to suit the wants of either a large or small swarm. A Woodbury hive with about sixteen frames and moxeable division boards would be xei-y good and capable of regidation to almost any extent, but we think a hive should have its greatest length from front to rear, as it is easier for bees to travel between the combs than across them. We expect however that the subject will be pretty freely dis- cussed in this Journal, as every maker thinks he has the best hive, and does not hesitate to say so. ' Ed. Ql-KRV No 16, — I w-as very pleased to receive the fiist num- ber of the British Bee Journal on the 2nd inst. and hope that you have a goodly number of subscribers, so thatwemay "et well ventilated the merits of the different s)-stems, w-hich are so strongly advocated by the makers and patrons of the many styles of hives now in use. 1 opened some of my frame hives last night, and used tobacco, and dosed them w-ell too ; but from some cause or othei-, I could not sid)due the bees so well as I should have wished. I was very quiet 'loo ; but they would rush oiu at me, and sting my gloves. Of course I w-as iirotected on the face with a veil. I shall be glad to get your opinion about it, as it appeai-s to me rather a formidable job to exchange combs with very stroiv stocks. ■ ° John Wai.'I'o.n. Weston, I^amingion, May 13th, 1873. Rl-;ri.Y ro No. 16. — Vour failure in your endeavour to subdue the Vices arose from their not being allowed sufficient time to gorge themselves with honey. Vour stock being a strong one, most of the cells w-ere undoubtedly occupied by eggs and brood, and the honey cells to which the bees have access,' being jiroba- bly insufficient to accommodate the hundreth part of thcin, many thousands woukl sim)-ily be rendered more irritable than other- wise, for they quickly recover from the effects of the smoke alone, when jiure air is admitted to them. The object in smok- i6 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL, ing them is to cause them to fill themselves « iih honey (or syiu|) if you give it to them) which they "ill invaiialily do, if they can get it, but as a cell will only accommodate one bee at a time, it is evident where the number of cells is so limited, and the number of bees so great that it must take some time for them all to get supplied. Next time you attempt the task blow some smoke into the top of the hive, and sprinkle the combs well with scented syrup, and replace the cover for a few minutes, taking care that the scent of their sting poison is eradicated from your gloves and veil as even its slightest odour is most irritating to them, and may render tliem as irascible as ever. Langstroth's controlling prinfciples are these : — A /lonty /vc, wlicn filled loitk liv/uy^ nci'cr volniihYi'S an attach^ but acts solely on the dcfciishv. Bees eaniiot under any e/renn/stnnees, resist the te/nptntion to fill themselves with liquid s^oeets. Bees, when frightened, iinniediateh' begin to fill tlieinsehes with honey firom the combs. By bearing these facts in mind and giving them due effect, the most irascible bees may be easily subcUied. Query No. 17. — i. I saw in the winter a good deal of moisture on the "-indows of my wooden bee boxes. In one stock, well supplied with honey, fully one half of the bees died, apparently from mildew. Are straw boxes better in this respect, and do you recommend them in preference to all others on all accounts ? 2. In removing Queen bees on comljs from bar and frame hives, does the Queen ever take flight ? Hereford. W'jaR. The bees evidently died of dysentery, caused by too much moisture in the. hive. It could have been pre\'ented by proper attention to ventilation which would have alloweil. the moist vapours to pass off instead of condensing in the \\\\q. It matters little which material is used for hives, whether wood or straw, as unless projierly ventilated, the vapours will con- dense in them, and dysentery will result. A Queen \vill sometimes take \\'ing from a comb, as it is being examinctl, and take an airing for a minute or so, but will gene- rally return to the hive. When such a case occurs, it is wise to leave the hive as she left it, until she returns, as otherwise she may not recognisp it, and may attempt to enter another hive and b- idUed. Query 18. — Will you reply to the following query? A new- hive last year now fillerl "'ich combs, but bees all dead in it. Is it necessary to remove any of the comb before hiving in a fresh .swarm ? Reply to No. 18. — If the combs are rjuite free of bees and wax moth, and the bees died simply of starvation, excision of combs is unnecessary. If the bees died of foul brood, you had better melt down the comb.s, and burn the hive as (|uiekly as possible. If they died of dysentery, there is probably a con- siderable deal of filth in the hive which you cannot remove without first removing the combs. When a stock of bees dies in winter, the centre of the comb is generally found filled with dead and decayed bees, hundreds of 'which are densely packed in the cells, and these it will be impossible to remove unless the combs are taken out We advise you to cut out every alternate comb iu the hive, by doing which you will ascertain their true condition, those remaining in the hive will be quite sufficient for the coming swarm, and the excised comb may be otherwise utilized. It is not always good policy to place a swarm in a hive filled with combs, particularly when they are fixed as iu straw skeps, as the bees having no comb to build, and no brood to feed for several days, may, in a good season so store the hive with honey and pollen, as to leave little room for the queen to breed in. Query Ni i. 19. — Three weeks .ago I decapitated four old straw hives, fastening on the top boards \\\i\\ putty, the. bees have been feeding well, and appear strong ; but I am now told that even- tually the putty will kill them. If such is the case, I know not A\hat to do with six hives I now want to get home, as before they swarmed I had intended to treat them in the same manner. Would it be more prudent to let them swarm, and then put on boards ? but how ? Westmeath. Delvin. Reply to No. 19.- Your bees after three weeks experience with the putty do not seem to have suffered any harm, and, as after the lapse of that time, it must have become (juite hard, we do not see how it can possibly hurt them. We never knew bees eat putty or store it iu their cells ; we grant it is an ofl'ensi\'e material «-hen new, so also is eowdun" which is much recommend for similar purposes, but in all eases of the kind we recommeiid plaster of I'aris as a whole- some, cleanly matei'ial, and one which will set hard as it is worked. This will solve your last ditheulty — how to do it? Tlie question of swarming must be governed by your own wishes, the application of the adapting boards need not efi'ect that question. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDEXT.S AND ENQUIRERS. C. \Y. S. Sh.vn'iclix, will find his query on the irascibility of bees, replied to iu answer to (juery No. IG. F. W. S. C'hestek, wishes someone to recommend a honey extractor, purchasable in England. R. D. F. Ayr — .Sheet zinc is too good a conductor of heat to be good as an inner lining to the floor board of a hive, as it is likely to conduce to the undue condensation of the vapours in the hive, and thus cause dampness instead of preventing it. If only intended to prevent damp^rom rising, it would be better to place it iiiilee the wooden floor boartl. Carol 'SI. — AV'e are greatly flattered by your poetical favor, but being pressed with business matters cannot find space for seittiment. We have tried Aston's bee trap, in fact, we use no otlier. A dozen supers uuiy be simultaneously cleared by the use of oue of them, as it is only necessary to fix it to an opening in the siile of a large box, set the supers inside, slightly raised, and shut down the lid. It is a mistake to suppose the trap ' will get bees out of a super ; its great value is in its per- mitting them to get out without ditticulty, and preventing their return. It can scarcely be expected to remove the queen, the brood, and the nursing bees which may be iu a super, liut that is not the fault of the trap, but of the bee keeper for permitting such a state of things. When first brought uiicler our notice we rceomraended its inventor to claim for it a sjjecial \"alue as a drone trap, but as he is silent on that subject we will just point out that if a hive be slightly raised in front, so as to permit workers oidy to come out, and the traj) fixed against the regular entrance of the hive, all the drones that come out must pass through its portals, and under any circumstances cannot return, but we suggest that as soon as they pass out through the trap they shouhl fintl themselves in a box placed to receive them, and from which only workers can escape, leaving the drones prisoners to be dealt with accordingly. 'I'hus may a> whole neighbourhood be cleared of undesirable drones ; no small lioou we think to breeders of Ligurian queens. [En.] Note — We have received several letters on the subject of the proposed Bee (luild, but thej' principally have reference to its management after its formation, and as that desirable event is in the future, we defer their publication for the present. In the meantime we shall be hapjiy to give all the aid in our power in furtherance of the proposal. [I'^D.] Ill conseijneiicc of iireat pressure on our space, »'e are reluctantly compelled to omit a mass of interenthi'j hiforiiniHoii, irhidi how- ever .'ihall appear in a' future number. SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS. rAY.\BLE IN .'\DVANCE. £ s. d. Two lines of twelve words each o i 6 Per line afterwards 006 ,, Inch of Space 050 ,, Quarter column o 10 6 ,, Half ditto, or quarter page i o o ,, Column, or half page i 15 o ,, Full page 330 No Advertisements can be received after the 20th of each ninnth. THE o> CONDUCTED BY CHARLES NASH ABBOTT, BEE-MASTER, HANWELL, W. LONDON. Guaiantees to its Suliscribers sound practical replies to all queries on Bee Manngement, and in urgent cases of difficulty, immAliate replies by post or telegraph if desu'ed. .I.r.A-U.lL A' UBSCBIl'TIO.Y, H.ILF-A-G UIA'E.l. rnyahic iwMlvcmcc. S/>cdai Terms to Clubs and Literary Instil ill ions. Free i>y Post on day of PiMication. [entered at stationers hall.] [No. 3. Vol. i.] JULY, 1873. [Published Monthly.] DIKEC-IIOXS TO CORRESPONDEX'IS Ci' QUERISTS. 1. — W'rilc in a li^il'/c liaiid on one sitte of llic paper only. 2. — Use no uhbrevialions U'liieti are not to appear in piinl. J. — Keep e-ecry query distinet and separate, and ^ive l/ie fullest possible partieutars, stating also tlie l^ind of hive used. 4. — IVlien reijuiring' an immediate reply, send a stamped .\DDRESSED envelope, or stamps for eost 0/ telegram. %\)t |}riti.sl) §cc iaurual JULY, 1873. The great question at the present time among bee keepers is not " how shall I get the bees out of my supers," but " how shall I get them to work in them." Complaints are general that " bees won't work," " they hang idle outside," " they have not stored an ounce of honey," " they do notliing but swarm," " they will not go into the supers, try what one will." These and many other forms of complaint are made against the " little busy bees, ' as if they had taken the initiative from the labouring communities of men, and had resolved on " a general strike." The cause, however, of the apparently general inactivity of the bees is to be found in the miserably wretched weather which has prevailed during the past three months, and which has not only hindered the secretion of honey, but has prevented the bees often for whole days together from leaving their hives in search of the little that might have been found, and the consc(|uence is that instead of storing sur]ihis food,' many hundred of stocks are in reat danger of starvation from the want of it. This is no whimsical idea, as many will find who withhold the aid neces- sary to enable their stocks to continue their breeding and keep up the strength of their working populations until the honey season arrives. The season is alto- gether late and however tiresome it may be to the anxious amateur, we can only recommend him to " watch and wait." The proposed Bee Guild is a subject of great interest with our numerous correspondents, but no "one" seems inclined to take the initiative, and promote the object in a really tangible way. Advice is freely offered, suggestions made, and information given, and asked for, all of which we are quite ready and willing to publish or gi\e, but we are al present too fully engaged with our Journal and our correspondents, to be able to give the time and careful attention necessary in the formation of such a desirable association. H. ^^^ T., who proposed the scheme, witholds his name, as he " cannot offer practical help in carrying it out," and this we think peculiarly unfortunate, as the mind that conceived the idea must certainly be best. qualified to elaborate, and bring it into palpable existence. One of its features, the establishment of a market for bee produce, is of vast importance to bee keepers generally, and if brought about would greatly enhance the pleasure and profit of bee culture, yet would lower the prices of honey and wa.x to consumers. We mojt sincerely hope that this subject will not be lost sight of, and that during the months when the bees are (juiet, and need le. s attention than at the present time, the question will be fully considered and acted upon, so that .Xpicullurc may jjossess a Society or (luild capable of acting in unison with its sister sciences, .\griculture and Horticulture. . 54 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. We are glad to observe that at the Great International Exhibition of Fruit to be held at the Botanical Gardens, Old Traffonl, Manchester, in the early part of September next, prizes to the value of ^25, and two Society's Medals, one of silver and the other of bronze, are to be given for the best hives, bees, honey, and imple- ments. The date of the show is not yet named, but we gi\x- an early intimation of the fact, in the hope that other societies may be stimulated to the adoption of similar exhibitions. The idea of travelling " bee doctors "gains ground, and we receive many -applications for such experts to '■overhaul" and rectify the errors and misfortunes of amateurs. There is, unfortunately, no royal road to the necessary knowledge of bee culture, and that gathered from books, no matter how explicitly conveyed, is never so well appreciated as when similar operations to those described have been witnessed. Driving or drumming, the examination of a set of combs in a bar frame hive, finding the queen among a driven swarm, or searching for her in a bar frame liive, are operations which ahord most intense gratification to amateur bee keepers, and give them such an insight into the " mystery of manage- ment '' that after operations are rendered comparatively easy to them. A travelling expert could shew all this, and much more, and every one who thus saw bees so manipu- lated, would become a hving witness of the truth of what is now generally considered a doubtful mailer. Ignorant bee keepers do not believe that the operations spoken of can be performed, and li'ill not be- lieve in their efficacy, hence their indiflerence to the improved mode of cultivating our fa\ouriles. The capture of undersirable drones, tliough nnicli neglected, is really most imporlanl whether as a means of preventing the cross breeding of bees, or to relieve the hives of what are in such a season as the present useless consumers only. Our remarks in last No., have caused the production of several drone traps and cages, all of which however, came too late for illus- tr.ition and neither of which shews any great improve- ment on ihe sini|ilc method then .suggested for the attainment of that end. the sulphur pit, that some of the pieces are too small to wedge up or tie in conveniently, as suggested on page 9 of our first number. In such a case we recom- mend that they be crowded in, so as to fill the frames, which should then be covered on both sides with fine galvanized wire netting, about two inches wide in the. mesh. This will ordinarily maintain its figure, into whatever form it is pressed, can be easily fastened on and removed, will take up very little space either upon or between the combs, wiU not irritate the bees as tape or string does, and the combs are sure to be flat and straight if ordinary care be taken. This is far better than the ordinary method of 'sup- porting the pieces of comb with laths laid across both sides of them, is much handier, and not, so likely to destroy the brood, and if, from any cause it is left longer in the hive than is necessary will cause little inconvenience to the bees. If from any cause it is thought desirable to save the skep from which the combs are to be trans- ferred, it is necessary that knives be provided of patterns similar to those shewn in the engraving, one of which is made for cutting the comb away from the sides of the hive, and the other for separating it from the crown, and to aid in lifting it out of the liive. They are also useful for e.xcising combs when they become overcharged with pol- len, or when stocks have died, and it is necessary to ascertain the condition of combs prior to hiving a new swarm in them, and for re- moving side combs in autumn, when it may be too late to give additional supers, and yet space may be required to enable the bees to continue their labours to the utmost. WHAT TO DO, AND WHEN AND HOW TO DO IT. In transferring combs from straw skeps or box liives, to bar frames, it sometimes happens, as is often the CISC, when frames of comb are built up in autumn of the pieces of firood comb and pollen saved from SUPERS. Those who prefer supers of glass may be glad to see specimens of the various kinds in use, and by favour of Mr. Yates, we are enabled to present some of those most used in and about Manchester. The bell glass is made to hold from six pounds to sixteen, and when filled with honey forms a handsome table ornament. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 35 at bottom affording means by which a piece of fine nlushn can be applied as a strainer. The Pettigrew super has a loose lid and is so con- structed that when filled, the lid may be removed by the application of a cloth dipped in hot water and applied to it, by which means the wazen attachments are softened and it becomes fiee. The comb may then be cut out as required and the cover replaced, the leaking honey finding its way into the dish on wliich the super stands. They are made to hold from twelve to sixteen pounds in weight. The Abingdon super is far more elegant than eitlier, althougli partak- ing very much of the character of the Petiigrew. It is in three parts, and when filled, forms as a whole, a very ornamental acquisition to the breakfast or tea table. AVe only see one impro\'emcnt required in such an article, we think the stem should be of glass to receive the leaking honey, and that the super should permit of a piece of strainer being applied, so that what runs through should be perfectly pure in tlie receptacle below. Eolci 3 to 4 inches. Some vcars ago we advocated the u-^c ofglass su]")ers of the form shewn below, they were jiretly much like the open moons used on gas chandeliers, the rim When put on the hive a piece of thin board formed the lop, which was eiiher waxed or had attraction combs fixed on it. A\ hen filled it was intended to be placed on a glass llngon for table use, thus forming an ornamen- tal \ase from which could be obtained either honey comb or purest run honey, which latter was always found strained in the fiagon. We give the idea for what it is worth, and ask no royalty on its adoption. ?nV£S. In treating of hives we wish it to be distinctly under- stood that we recognize two kinds of hives only, viz., those in which the combs are fixed as in the ordinary straw sleep, and common box hive, and those in which facilities are aftorded by which they are rendered moveable as in the Langstroth, J\lunn, and Woodbury Hives. We know of nothing that so militates against success'in bee keeping as dependence on /lives for pro- curing the wished-for result, whether it be the increase of stocks, or the accumulation of honey. Their shape, make or material, has very little to do with the matter, size and adaptability being the only essentials, for bees will work equally well in a common hollow log, a chimney, or in the, roof of a house, as in the most elaborate palatial domicile of cedar and gold that could possibly be constructed. Not only are we fre(juently asked, " ^Vhich is the best kind of hive?" •' Which is the best hive of its kind ?" and " What is the best material witii which to construct them?', but we are repeatedly recpicUcd to recommend tlicm, often widiout a hinf being gi\-en as to the nature of the localit)-, and its honey prospects, or the skill and knowledge of the enciuircr. In our opisiion good results may be obtnined from hives of every descrip- tion, pro\icled they be l:ir;;c enough, c.r cjpal.ile ot being enlarged or addcil tn, but such rcJuiU. will always be materially inlluenceil by the knowledge .md skill of the beekeeper. The straw skep in some form or other .36 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. has from time immemorial been used as a bee domi- cile with ^■aried success, and is so well known as scarcely to need description here. It has assumed nearly every variety of form of which a vessel with a circular base is capable from the half of a lemon with an almost pointed top, to that of a miniature wheat rick, with a semi-spherical top. Now, however, the dispute as to the relative merits of its various forms narrows itself to the consideration of flat tops, versus round tops. For hives with flat tops it is urged that the super can be more easily applied than with the round ones, but in favour of the latter it is shewn tliat the tops being dome shaped cannot collapse, and allow the combs to sink or be crushed either by their OAvn weight, or that of the supers upon them. By fivour of Mr. Yates, of Old iMillgate, Manches- ter, we are enabled to place before our readers illus- trations of the t\vo styles of hives above mentioned. I'ATTERX. The firjt is called the I'ettigrew hive, the second Yatts's hive, both are equally well-made of straw, bound with cane, their sides are upright, but they vary in the shape of their crowns as before stated. They are each furnislied with a central hole in top, four inches in diameter, for supering or feeding, but wliile in the former the hole is worked in the straw, and has a straw cover which is secured to the top l.iy three long nails, that in the latter is turned in wood, worked into the straw, which having a well-fitting wooden plug made slightly tapering, needs no further fixing, and may be easily removed. made in three sizes only, viz., i6, iS, and 20 inches in diameter, and 12 inches high, inside measure, whereas Yates's hi\e is of four sizes, viz., 14, 16, 18, and 20 inches in diameter, and 10, 12, 13, and 14 inches in height inside respectively. These two patterns are undoiibtedly " the best of their kind," and to those who prefer the straw skep we strongly recommend them. The size adopted must, of course, depend on the strength of the swarm to be hived, and as that will mainly depend on the size of the hive from which it emanates, we Qtm give no special directions for the guidance of the amateur. It is, liowever, always safer to place a swarm in a hive that is a little too small, than in one which is too large to be filled in one season, as in the former case an eke or a nadit may be applied, to give increased space, whereas, if the hive be too large, there remains during the winter a gaping vacancy, which encourages the mouse, moth, and spider. In discussing the merits of the bar frame moveable comb principle, we do not pin our faith to any special hive, and although we present an engraving of a Woodbury hive, we do not claim for it any superiority over any other, but inasmuch as it was one of the ear- liest adopted in this country, we take it as an example, to shew the advantages and merits of the system. In the engraving the crown board is slightly raised, to shew at once the interior order of the bar frames, and the window, (which by-the-bye, is for convenience at the back of the hive, and not in the front as shewn,) gives a view of their position as they hang in the hive. YATES S PATTERN. Tluie .ir.c some ^;lriations also in their sizes and consequent adaptability, the I'elligrew hive being THE WdOUBUr.V HIVE. The hive itself is i4j'j inches square, and nine inches deep, inside measurement, it is made of pine, one inch thick, and in that illustrated, is dove-tailed, together at its angles, but for all practical purposes it would be just as good nailed, or put together with angle irons or plates. The top or crown board is usually framed and keyed, to prevent warping, but in engraving is shewn in narrow strips, held down by two clamps, with a screw at each of their ends, a method which answers the full purpose of pre\enting warping, and is mitch more convenieijt in practice, by permit- THE BRITISH BEE JOURXAL, 37 ting a portion of the hive to lie examined without uselessly distinliing the whole, and also permits of free ventilation, as the strips may be separated at any or every part of the crown board, and closed again with perfect ease and safety. For feeding purposes the crown board is furnished with a central hole of from one and a half to two and a half inches in diameter, covered with perforated zinc, which when not in use may be co\x'red with a small block of wood, or piece of matting or carpet. The floor board is of inch pine, clamped by two pieces of stout quartering, it is about i8 inches square, and consequently projects about three Cjuarters of an inch beyond the hive all round. This projection is useful for an outer cover to rest upon, and is cham- fered down to throw off the rain. The entrance is cut in the floor board, forming a channel about four inches wide, and three eights of an inch deep at the part where the front of the hive crosses it, but gradually slopes upward inside the hive. The alighting board is fi.xed to the lower edge of floor board, level with the bottom of the entrance channel, or may be nailed underneath it so as to project a few inches, the front edge under the channel being pareil down to it. The frames are ten in number, and upon them hinges the distinction between the two classes of hives first mentioned inasmuch as by their means the combs which are built or fastened in them are moveable at the will of the apiarian, and without necessarily injur- ing any portion of them, or hurting a single bee. They are made of light lath about sexen eighths of an inch wide, the top bars lieing three eighths, and the sides and bottom rails five sixteenths of an inch in thickness respectively. The top bars are fifteen and a quarter inches in length, and project into notches cut into rabbets to receive them. The frames are kept in posi- tion at bottom by a light notched rack, the notches in which correspond exacti}- with those in the rabbets, so that when in their places the)' are comparatively rigid. The rabbets are three eighths of an inch deep, and the notches in them arc of the same depth, so that the projections in the bars rest flush in them, leaving a .space of three eighths of an inch clear above the bars, over which the bees can travel. The width of the notches and *he distances between them are governed by the width of the t(.)p bars of the frames. The width of the hive is fourteen and alialf inches, and the ten frames occupy equal portions of the space, so that to arrive at tiie e.xact measurement the fourteen and half inches must be divided into ten equal divisions, the centre of each of which will be exactly the point on which the centre of each bar should rest. 'I'hese points will lie one and nine twentieth inches apart, but as those distances are not easily measured and set out by the ordinary carpenters rule, it would be better to make a template of thin lirass, or zinc, in w-hich the notches and spaces are correctly cut, aiid then to make a special frame of the exact size given to be kept as a „ pattern, so that in future all tlie notches and l.)ottom racks and all the frames may Ije of correct dimensions The frames are thii'teen inches long and seven and a quarter inches high inside measure, and when in use present the appearance shewn in engraving. FEAJIE OF COJIE. It seems singular however, with a hive 14 and a half inches square, and nine inches deep that the avail- able spacefor comb buildingwithin the framesshould be so confined, and when it is remembered that the liees as a rule, will not build their combs downward any nearer to the bottorn rail of the frame than they woifld' to the floor board of the hive if the rail were removed, a further loss of space within the frames is indicated, which averages about five eights of an inch, all along the rail, thus leaving the combs little more than six and a half inches in ch-plh, and indicating a loss of space in the de[)th of the hi\-e of two and half inches nearly, or more than one fourth. THE Sl'EVrARTON HIVE AXD SYSTEM. o Before proceeding fartlier to discuss the above subject, I would seek to correct an error in your last issue, page 14, b_y which I was made to say that the observatory colony there alluded to, " Suc- cessfidly withstood 25' degrees internal /yw/," wh.ereas frost was the word intended. We Northerners awoke that particular morning, to find the thermometer placed in the comparative shel- ter of the i)arlour window, at the bracing point of one degree below zero, while that within the observatory registered seven degree; above it, or in other words 25 degrees frost. It was a most interesting sliidy liourly to visit the stud)- during the ni;;lit, and listen to the roaring hum of my little favourites as the)' energetically fought to keep up the ever-falling teniperatiu'e, and to compare it w itli the death-like silence which reigned in the morning, the beautiful vag.aries from the 38 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. easel of Jack Frost alone recording that lite and death struggle. Although this was the greatest cold .1 am aware of bees having successfully withstood in this country, still they must cope with much severer frosts during Russian and Canadian winters, but the extreme dryness of these climates is greatly in their fovour. It is not severe cold which proves so destructive in the wintering of bees with us, as the vicissitudes and hu- midity of the atmosphere of our Island home, causing the adoption of the ventilating plan for their healthful preservation, particularly in hives of wood or glass, imperative. As a further miprovement on the Stewarton hive I omitted to mention in my last contribution, that move- able bars speedily gave place to frames. My experience after several experiments, showing that such as were furnished with the latter, like the one alluded to in your last number, gave much superior results. This I can only account for on the supposi- tion that the space between the ends of tiie frames and the box, aflbrded superior means of venlilation, and access for the workers to pass from box to box in frame over bar hives. After once fairly experiencing tlie superior results attained from the Slewarton Hive and System, 'over others of which my authorities on the bee treated, it naturally occurred to me that as those writers seemed in total ignorance of such a .system, that it had merely a local celebrity, and my curiosity was prompted to discover who was the inventor. It was perfectly clear there must have been some master-mind who designed it, and by his successful as well as profitable manipu- lation, had so convinced his neighbours of ils supe- riority, as to induce plain working men (no easy task) to abandon their cheap old straw skeps, and invest their hard-earned savings in new and comparatively expensive wooden hives, and that they and theirs tenaciously clung to them ever ' after, was the best proof to my mind, of their superiority and profitable- ness, and as the discovery had not been made gene- rally known, the discoverer was most probably one of themselves. So far as I have been able to trace, the Stewarton Octagon Hive was invented in the year 1S19, by the late Robert Kerr, Cabinet Maker, Stewarton. He is described by olden Ayrshire bee keepers, who knew him well, as a most intelligent, upriglit man, besides being a particularly ingenious and neat handed tradesman, and the boxes he turned out were far superior to any to be had now-a-days. They were com- pleted with so much care, that the slides of one fitted every other box with the greatest exactness : he was in addition, a most enthusiastic apiarian himself, so much so, as to Cause him to earn among his contem- poraries, the sobriquet of " Bee Robin." Some of his sons, who had emigrated to America, returned to their native land, and persuaded the aged bee master to dispose of his property, and accompany them on their return to the land of their adoption about eighteen years ago, where he peacefully ended his days some two or three years since. At the threshold of such an enquiry I arn quite prepared to be told by Major Munn, or some of your well-read correspondents, that Octagon Hives and the Storifying System are by no means so modern an invention, and that for nearly two hundred years they have been in operation. I am well aware that John Geddie obtained a patent from King James II., for his Octagon Storified Hives. NelUier was the inven- ticn that of Geddies, as Moses Rusden, " an apothe- cary and bee. master to the King's most E.xcellent Majesty," who granted and sold licences on behalf of Geddie and his partners, "to make and use the same," admits in the " Epistle Dedicatory " to his quaint old* work on a " Full discovery of Bees, published in 1687, that the " Transparent Hives," first shewed to usdiy Dr. A\'ilkins, late Bishop of Chester, a most eminent member of your (Royal Society at presham College) Society, which have received several variations and improvements by one Geddie, and since by myself, &c." Although Rusden first saw the Transparent Octagon Hive (so called from the front and back win- dows to each) in the possession of Dr. \Vilkins, he does not say he was the inventor, that individual's name I fear has been lost in the mists of antiquity, but should be deeply gr.atified if any of your contributors are able to throw any light on this interesting point. But what more materially affects the present enquiry, was the Octa'gon Hive as introduced by Kerr into Ayrshire his own original idea ? or had he seen or read anything of Geddie's Patent ? I would rather incline to the supposition that he had, but as I cannot find the slightest vestige of proof, it is quite possible it may have been purely his own invention. That thesame ideaoccurs todifferent ririnds at the same time, is a well-established fact, and I need not adduce a more pertinent proof than ttat the moveable comb frame was invented in Germany by the well known pastor, Dzierzon, and on the American continent by Rev. L.' L. Langstrolh simultaneously without the TrtE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL 39 slightest hint or communication, the one with the other, in fact they were mutually ignorant of each other's existence ; and an additional claimant to that high honour is your excellent contributor, "A Lanark- shire bee keeper." In a letter before me he mentions he had frame hives in use twenty years ago, and a bee keeper near him possesses a hive 60 or 70 years old, with ribbed bars, forestalling the useful invention so well-known to bee kepers as the " Woodljury rib." Truly we may s.ay with Solomon, " There is nothing new under the sun." But supposing Kerr had seen Geddie's patent, it consisted simply of a series of octagon boxes ot uni- form depth, communicating by a five inch square cen- tral hole in each. Additional room was afforded by adding another box underneath, the upper being removed, as likely to contain most honey, which was necessarily a conglomeration of different mixed honey, pollen, and grubs, and with a pang of apparent regret, Rusden narrates, that these, upper breeding boxes were only presentable at the royal tab.le, and to be inspected at his house in the " bowling alley " for a limited period, owing to the corrupting nature of their brooded contents. As the crude steam engine of Neuxomen existed before James Watt's day, and as the repairing of a model of that engine committed to his care, drew ^\'att's attention to the subject, and bringmghis fertile brain to bear upon it, the happy thought of the sepa- rate condenser, and the numerous other improvements following in its wake, was called forth to make steam, the mighty power it has become, may not the Vale of Clyde claim for Robert Kerr, another son, although in a comparatively lowlier walk, the inven- tion of the separate honey condenser, if I may apply the term to his shallow supers, the bar and slide, the combined prime swarms, and other ingenious contri- vances, by which means bee keeping is revolutionised and results attained, during the short lived honey har- vest of our northern chilly clime, of which the straw hivists of the sub-dividing swafming plan little dream. No douljt from the shallowness of Kerr's breeding boxes, he would readily borrow a box of coml), to receive a second swarm, or beat out ; oranotherweightier one to save a weak colpny from starvation, and in our day with every individual comb moveable at command how pleasing a task it is at the autumnal or spring exami- nation of stocks to draw the slides of our octagon colonies, and exchange the over-loaded combs of the strong with the empty of the weak, either for brood or store, and thus readily equalize their strength, to keep the entire apiary in proper fettle without the smallest outlay for feeding. And yet despite these strides of progress, we have bee keepers such as Mr. Pettigrew, and those of his Manchester school, who from no other ostensible cause than possibly sympathy with that growing thirst after the goth.ic and antique, boldly argue that a roomy straw skep is the nc fliis ttllra for pure comb and successful bee keeping ! My allusion ina former letter to how I knew the advan- tages of moveable combs from the commencement of my career as a bee keeper, may be worth noting. Hear- ing of washing tubs full of honey comb, having been removed at the destruction of colonies of bees, estab- lished in the roof of an old mansion in our district, and a neighbour utilising a similar possession by get. ting a portion of the laths and plaster removed, and a board with buttons to keep it in its place substituted, it was with no little pride he would order his butler to cut out and set on his breakfast or dessert table, as the case might be, before admiring friends, honey comb, -loarm from the hive, the bees having been pre- viously stupefied with tobacco smoke, but he always failed to induce them to work out from the spaces they occupied. To solve this problem, I had a couple of those in our roof similarly opened, and by .shelving off the space immediately hchno the combs, compelled the bees to carry out their work horizontally into boxes open behind, with so much success, that the first season I harvested half a cwt. of most beautiful honey comb. Watching their proceedings through the front windows in boxes, I became deeply interested in my little tenants, and diligently read up the subject. But so situated, my apiarian operations; instead ' of being conducted during leafy June, in a balmy atmosphere, had of necessity to be carried out during mid-winter, either when " Boreas with his blasts did blow " most bitterly, or during the prevalence ot keen frost. Then was my opportunity, and when well into the night, I wrought carefully, removing my bracketed shelves, and in their stead substituted tier upon tier of moveable bar frames, but to fix in these properly was the diffi- culty. It made capital practice for the youthful apia- rian. Stretched on my back, with upturned coimtcii'ance, in uncomfortable proximity to the seething dark mass, which emitted an ominous angry buzz at every click of the screw driver, but beyond an odd dr6pper on the face to give an additional turn to the screw of courage, all went well, and the following season quite a haul of honey was reaped from my combined horizontal and perpendicular scheme. I5ut unfortunately, although I carried the key of my lofty apiary, necessary opera- 40 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. tions during siimnier, set free a few workers now and again, and these somehow found their way out below the door, and complaints of soiled blinds followed. Then an irate maid was foolhardy enough to assault one of my poor little innocents with her banister brush, while peacefully -winging its way, and rudely felled it to the ground, not killed but merely stunned, and was it to be Avondered at that it was up and at her, closing her right eye ? Then followed a report of a swollen knee, in short, by universal female suff- rage, my indoor apiary was rated an out and out nui- sance, and Avho could resist such odds ? I was conse- quently obliged to indulge my growing passion by purchasing a couple of stocks from a weaver at the village, and fight it out in the garden, transferring the contents of his musty old skej^s to my improved bar and frame hives. It is a noteworthy fact that these runaway swarms invariably esconsed themselves in ours as well as our neighbour's roofs, in the portion having a iwrihcni aspect, whether with the view of enjoying a more thorough winter dormancy with a corresponding saving of store, or being cooler in hot summer weather I never could define, although from some necessary repairs to the southern portion we found that in very olden times they had been eatablished there too, from the remains of stretches of combs, measuring from six to eight feet in length. A RENFREWSHIRE BEE KEEPER. (!iii3rr5jpoiiiifnc.c. WHICH IS THE BEST HIVE? 0 * To the Editor of the BRITISH BEE JOURNAL Sir, — I have read with mucji interest the letter of " A Renfrewshire Bee Keeper," in your Journal for this month, advocating the Stewarton hive, and can endorse his recommendation of the same. Still I feel confident that the newly-introduced " Carr Stewarton hive," which embraces all the advantages of the Stewar. ton, combined with the principal excellencies of Mr. Carr's admirable hive, is far better than any other. Trial of this hive isnowbeing made, side by side with the Stewarton and also Woodbury's, and the results will be supplied to you in due season. The " Carr Stewarton "' hive is fifteen inches square, and consists of two body boxes, each being six inches deep, and a honey box four inches deep, &:c., &c. Yours respectfully, Totteridge. C. W. SMITH. THE BEE CLUBS. 00 Dear Sir, — Hurrah ! for the Clubs : now I feel that, as Artemus Ward remarked, " We are movin' onwards." I had little thought when I made the sug- gestions in my last months letter that you would meet them in sucli a prompt and liljeral manner (not that I doubt either your promptitude or liberality) but I thought that I was asking so much that I deserved a snubbing and rather expected it. You have given more even .than I asked for, and have put the British Bee Journal ■iX once within the reach of all whom it is likely to interest, namely, every individual who keeps bees. There is now a class to whom I must appeal, ' and from whom I hope to receive as hearty a response as you have given. I refer to those amongst your readers who, like myself keep bees, not solely for the profit to be derived from their labours, but for the pleasure we take in studying their wondrous ways, A\'e with whom bee keeping is a hobby — but yet a paying one — must all found clubs. Let each of us call together the straw skep proprietors in our own vicinity, let us explain to them the advantages to be derived, the pleasure to be gained, and the knowledge to be acquired, by a more careful study of the habits and doings of our sharp tailed little friends, point out to them the error of their present wa)'s, and exjilain liow they may, in these da)'S of unions, form one amongst themselves for their own benefit by uniting to secure TIic Bee Journal as offered by you, and a valuable prize thrown in, and my word for it Apiculture will soon take the place of bee keeping, and our land will no longer overflow \\ith honey it will be gathered and stored for the use of Man, for which purpose it was sent. My five and twenty hives give me so much occupation just now sir, that only for liaving a finger in our monthly pie, I must liave been absent from your columns. AVhat with swarms and after swarms, nadiring here, supering there, transferring for myself and also for my friends, whose experience lias not yet given them the necessary confiden<;e, attending to the breeding of queens, and remedying disappointnients and mishaps that will occur in the best regulated apiaries, I have plenty to do. Our bees have commenced storing honey at last, but it is very dark in colour. ^Vhite , clover has not yet made its appearance, nor are the limes yet in flower. The season is so far advanced that I fear for the prospects of harvest-time, but will hope for the best until the worst arrives. The Jour- nal this month pleases me much, it is just what it promised to be — " An improving concern " — may it THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 41 continue so. I see Mr. Pettigrew " catches it " again ^Vill not someone defend him and his straw hives just for fair play. He has not made much noise in the columns of our Journal, and Lanarkshire Bee Keeper might have let him alone, as he is perfectly harmless if not interfered with. Mr. Munn's letters will be very interesting, when we once get into the subject, - as his experience is great and varied. I think I must now puH up, or you will be inclined to reply to my remarks in the language of " Fun." " Comb Mr. Novice beehive yourself." Yours, NOVICE. REMINISCENCES. 0 Sir, — To resume the search after facts I have before me, " The Natural History of Bees, by Thomas Wild- man, including the various methods of cultivating them, both Anticnt and Modern, and the improved treatment of them, to which are added the Natural History of Wasps and Hornets, and the means of destroying them," illustrated with copper plates, printed for the Author, and sold by T. Cadell, opposite Catha- rine Street in the Strand, 1768. The first edition, 4to volumes, dedicated to the Queen, and in which humble address he only claims " having discovered a method of |)reserving the lives of those innocent and useful insects, whose labour and industry has been hitherto the occasion of their death," and he hopes he has contributed to put an end to the eruelty and iiigra^ titiide which have attended the method of taking their wax and honey. Like a wise man, Wildnian had a strong list of subscribers, headed by the King, with seven pages of the nobility and gentry of Devonshire, &c. He truly was a " Bee Master," performing those wonders that poetry and prose bring down to us, only one hundred years ago. Of his own history, there is little to learn ; the book is full of learned quo- tations, but I am the more anxious to trace the secret of his art, this bee tamer, and the hive used for the purpose, and whether his hives gave the m^ans of se- curing this wonderful success from their construction. After writing about the wax required for churches imported from Africa, and also from Asia and Greece, he mentions that Mons. Feydaa de Brou, intendant of Rouen,"by an ordinance of the isthNovember, 1757, has for the relief of the poor and to encourage them in their labours (by which I suppose he means the most indigent, as well as the more substantial farmers) who keep hives of bees, a diminution of capitation .tax, proportioned to tire number of hives they have each year." ^A^ould not this, Mr. Editor, be an excel- lent precedent for " the new guild of bee masters," to draw up a petition, and obtain an interview and remission of income tax of the " Chancellor of the Exchequer," instead of the farthing in the pound off sugar ? Only I fear that Mr. Gladstone would extract the honey and leave us only the wax, and we should certainly still be as poor as church mice. Bee culture is a source of rural economy, the more* valuable, as it is within the reach of the poorest, cottager. Wildman then confesses he only gives the history of bees, as written by Messrs. Maraldi and Reaumur, as extracts for the guidance of gentlemen who have leisure and genius to found their enquiries upon, and adds " These searches will be greatly forwarded by the ease with which the bees may be come at, both on account of the better construction of my Ijoxes, and of the command which experience may now give to every person over bees." W.. AUGUSTUS MUNN. BEE CLUBS. 00 Dear Sir, — The very liberal terms offered by you in your June number, for the purpose of bringing the British Bee Journal within the means of even the most huml)le of our fellow labourers entitle you to the thanks of the whole bee keeping community, and I hope that e^•ery intelligent apiarian will assist you in the dis- tribution of knowledge, by forming a club of the cot- tagers who are keepers of bees in the locality in which he may reside. I send you herewith a list of nine, \\-ho are all willing and even anxious, now that your offer has furnished the opportunity, to read, mark, and im- prove. I shall hand over the prize to the one who first joined " The club," and a proud man he will be when in possession of his first bar frame hive. Having seen mine many times, he is thoroughly convinced that moveable combs are necessary for entire success in the cultivation of bees, and he will, I feel sure, use it, and not abuse it. Already there is great talk amongst the members of the club about the making of hives to the pattern you will send, and before the end of the season I expect " The Rubicon" will be crossed by all of them, and straw skeps with their many disad- vantages slowly but surely go to the wall. 1 tell them that they will meet with many difficulties and disap- pointments too, but through their president they have the British Bee Journal to inform them " What to do, and when and how to do it," and with a little practi- cal experience to back them, they will find that what 42 THE BRITISH DEE JOURNAL. has hitherto been dark and mysterious in its workings will be simple and straightforward, and as sure o£ a successful issue as any occupation that now is simple to them. There is one question to which all of them are anxious for an answer, and that is, " What are we to do with our honey when we get it ?" Now, Mr. Editor, this is a very practical question, and one to which, I am sorry to say, I could give them no very satisfactory answer, because although I had a most successful honey harvest last year, I had great difii- culty in disposing of my produce at anything like a fair price. The proposed Bee Guild, if once estab- lished would, I have no doubt remove this obstacle from our path, but as the idea is yet only in its infancy, we can hardly look for much assistance from that quarter this year. Is there no market in our great metropolis for honey, are there no dealers who Iniy largely, and to whom honey could lie sent with a cer- tainty of receiving from them the value of the article? which of course would vary with the quality. I have somewhere read of a honey fair held at some town in Wales. Can any of your readers furnish any informa- tion upon the subject. Of course the great end and aim in all bee keeping is profit, and without a market for our produce, there is little profit to be made. 1 have been expecting to see this subject s'entilated in the Journal, and hope that my few remarks may, by bringing the matter prominently forward, elicit infor- mation which cannot fail to be of service to many of us. R. SYMINGTON. The Cottage, Oxendon, Market Harborough. EXPERIENCE. 00 Sir, — I thank you very much for your kind sugges- tions about my bees. When I began, not only one, but many recommended the sort of hive I use as the best, and in such very costly things, fashion must not change rapidly ; besides the Stewarton hive, which is not any larger, is now considered by many as wonder- fully productive in good districts, and I am beginning to suspect strongly that the difference in success or non-success is not in one plan or the other, but whether the neighbourhood of the bees is productive of the sort of pasturage they prefer. This is the secret of the wonderful success in Scot- land, where large tracts are covered with the Thyme and other small flowers that bees love, and moreover the season of flowers is prolonged nearly two months by the heather. My great desire is to find whether, with simple appliances and letting alone (/.r., leaving to Nature, and following her guidance as near as we can discover it) bees can be kept successfully, and if in Autumn instead of being killed, each hive, besides providing for itself (or with the help of a little food) will yield 20 or 3olbs. of honey to its keeper. If this be so, I would spread bee keeping as much as possible among my friends and neighbours. If on the other hand it can only be made productive by large expen- diture, constant manipulation and large outlay in feed- ing, it will of course fall altogether into the hands of a few who have plenty of money to spend, and time to give to it, and we shall buy a great deal of sugar comb. I find some writers recommend liberil feeding while the supers are on. I found last year by watching my bees closely that if food were given them at that time, it was at once transferred to the combs in the super and very pretty good looking comb it became, only itwas not honey. I have not found it any use to plant special things for bees. We tried the first two years and the borage, &c., was never visited, but there will be plenty of thyme, mignionette, and other sweet things near them here when the time comes. I keep two of my hives in the house, and being an invalid, am not able to do the things you mention to the bees. You see we usually get stung as often as is desirable in remov- ing the supers, ■ and I confess to not being very fond of meddling with them, though I love to watch them and to study their very queer (and as far as I can see very little understood) ways. I want very much to have a hive ofLigurian Bees. I should like to have a hive of these under the same circumstances as the black ones, and see which would do best. I think there is another thing not fully recognised in the many books, i.e., the foct ot bad years, when from no cause at present understood, the bees do not thrive or work well. Several people told me last year was a xery bad one. I wish the Bee Doctors could be insti- tuted more and more as I think of it, provided they had no particular predilection for any special plan, which is apt makes one think no other will do, whereas it really appears to be with bees, as with many other things, that in favourable situations they will do in any make-shift, and in unfavourable ones the utmost care and cleverness, and the most perfect hive will not ensure a like success. M. C. L. Manchester. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 43 THE USE OE DRONES. StR, — In )'Our article on Swarming in No. 2, an interesting subject for discussion is started about the possible use of drones to aid by their heat the process of hatcliing. The following fact may tend to throw some light on the question. This last May I moved a strong hive away to another part of my garden, and put a weaki hive in its place. Of course most of the bees went to strengthen the weak hive, and the previously strong hive became weak. The point to be noticed was that they killed the drones which went with them, and I saw a great man)' dead e\'er)' morn- ing. As far as this single case goes, would it not seem tliat the worker bees did not much value the extra heat of the drones ? They had a good deal of brood to hatch, and they did hatch it very soon without the drones; for the hive was soon quite strong again. But they did not intend swarming soon again, so they con- sidered the drones useless. This case would seem to be in favour of the view that drones are propagators of the species, and help in hatching only incidentally. T. C. BARKER. Speltsbury Vicarage, June 17. Tlie above case does not in any way affect the question referred to. We alluded to natural swarming, in which it often happens that, except the drones, almost the whole population will leave its hive under an apparently vuicon- trollable impulse, and we suggested that in such instances it would be unwise to remove the stock hive from its posi- tion, and thus cause the drones to leave it also. It is evi- dent that a weak stock such as our correspondent describes, could not have been in anything like swarming condition, either in virtue of its brood, population, or stores, therefore when its working population was doubled or tripled by the exchange, in a season, be it remembered, when workers could liarely maintain a subsistence, it is not wonderful that they destroyed the drones, which were useless consumers only, and under the circumstances, not required as generators of heat, or for any other purpose whatever. The originally .strong stock which became weak by the exchange of posi- tions, having lost all its working population, and received only that of the weaker one mentioned, and being in a hi\'e well charged with stores, and under its altered circumstances over charged with brood, would probably permit any existing drones to remain, as (jeaeraturs of heat, but all drone brood would most prub.ably be destroyed and cast out as useless. "\\'e shall be glad to see this subject well ventilated. E'j. THE PROPOSED BEE GUILD. 00 Sir,— I think the notion of LI.AV.T., who I fancy should have given more than his initials, to ensure confidence, well worthy of consideration, but (a). I would call it company, society, or association' Guild is to me aftected, still what's in a name ? a rose, &c. (^). I would make the association to consist of share holders primarily, admitting subscribing mem- bers as a second, and corresponding ditto as a third class. (f). I would leave prize-giving to be an after addition if thought right, as they might open the door for favouritism, or the suspicion of it, which is nearly as bad. The good they do is very small, the trouble very great, and for one you please, ten are offended. If prizes be given at all I should throw open the competition to the w6rld in general, and therefore I object alto- gether to the suggested regulation B in the fourth .proposal. Instead of prizes I think the association might arrange facilities for trying and reporting on suggested improvements, and advertising their verdict in the British Bcc Journal. A favourable notice of a new hive or bee trap or any other invention, bearing the confirmation of the committee on improvements would assure a sufficient pecuniary reward, and honour enough to the amateur inventor. If the shares are not too large, the association strictly limited, and the whole thing proves to be a reality, and not a bubble, I should be prepared to invest enough to have " a finger in the pie." E. T. GR.WS. Suggestion. That until the proposed market is started, an agreement should be made by the Secre- tary of the Guild with a leading grocer or confectioner in each important town in the United Kingdom, to expose for sale and sell honey, either in or out of the comb to the best advantage for the members of the Guild at a fixed rate of commission. Also, that the best market prices of honey during the last week, with name of town and address of dealers, to whom the honey was sold, should be pub- lished in the Bee Journal. DERRYHANE. .Rathdrum, Ireland. Notice. — Wluvt queries on any su/ijccl arc nmr/v sviiphviiiohs, KV only fuhlisli titat ;i)/iic/i iias n-quircd llic fullest re fly. ■ QUF.RY No. 20.— -Have you ever used, or can you inform nie of any case where glucose has been used as bee fooil, and wilh wlial results ? I had a late swarm lasi year, to which 1 uuiled tlie liees of other two swarms at tlic end of (lie season, and fc'e, and use the other for storage purposes. The quantity of drone cells will depend in a great measure on the honey harvest. If there be a sudden glut of honey there will be a good deal of drone or store comb built. June is not too late for artificial swarming, but any time when the bees are not ready, is too soon. The honey slinger must be a matter for your own decision, depending on your means, ability, the number of your stocks, and the kind of hives they are in. Ed. No'iE.-^7/ic slraw skep will be Jillcd with Jioncy, pollen, Qi^c, and may be removed as a super, altJwiigh of course it uiill not'be-as valuable, on account of the honey being in dirty old comb. Ql'l',i;v No. JO. — 1 have two hives uf cumnion bees in straw skejis. 1 should like to ha\e an Italian I2n<.^c'n, but the way to THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 47 join lier to them I am al a loss to compieheiul. Will you l>lease give me instructions by post. W. S. Iladfickl, Manchester. Reply to No. 30. — AVe cannot tell you of a better, safer, or cheaper plan of ligurianising bees in straw skeps, than that recommended on page 15 of the Jour- nal for May. If, liowever, you have determined to run the risk of introducing a queen alone for that purpose, we recommend you to make a circular cage, two inches in diameter, and about three and a half inches deep, using wire gauze for the sides, and perforated zinc for the bottom. Pass two pieces of wire through it cross- wise, al.iout three eights of an inch from the zinc, for a piece of honey comlj to rest on, and provide a piece of perforated zinc as a top sufficiently large to cover the hole in the top of the hive, which sliould be three inches in diameter at least. When you receive your I.igurian Queen you must remove the black one, driv- ing the bees and queen out for the purpose as des- cribed on ])age 7 of the Journal for May, when she' may easily be discovered by her appearance (see page 3 of same Journal). Properly veiled and gloved, you need not fear the bees, as after you have shaken them about the hive a few times, they will be cowed, and as harmless as flies, and you may take them by spoonfuls to find her, as if looking for a bean amongst peas, and by this means will be sure to cap- ttire her. You may then return- the bees to their hive, after well sprinkling their combs with, syrup, flavoured with peppermint, to give a new odour to the whole. ' You then cut out a piece of honey comb from the top of the hive, making a hole sufliciently large to put the cage' into, press a piece of it right way ujiwards into the cage, and down to the cross wires, unravel the wire at the tojs, leaving the perpen- dicular ends standing, place the Ligurjan queen, with a few of her subjects in the cage with the comb, and put on the perforated zinc cover, fastening the sarne by the perpendicular wifes, which will come up through its perforations. You then drive the bees down into the hive with a whiff of smoke, insert the cage and its contents, place a bottle of scented syrup on the top of the zinc cover, so that the bees can par- take of it, close all in comfortably with a handkerchief or duster, and leave them for at least twenty-four hours. By this means, the bees, as they partake of the syrup will be brought into contact with the queen, arid coming as she does with an abudance of sweets, she is more likely to be accepted than under any other conditions, when the hive contains brood from which the bees could raise a queen for themselves. After the lapse of the time specified, the cage should be lifted out of the hive, when the bee keeper must judge whether the bees seem an.xious to caress, or slay their substituted monarch, and if there be any doubt of their amiability, it would be better to replace the cage for another day, and give the bees another bottle of syrup, after which the queen may be set at liberty. The reception of a queen in a skep is always a doubt- ful matter, as the conduct of the bees between the combs cannot be witnessed. It sometimes happens that from some cause the bees so closely embrace an introduced queen as to cause her suftbcation, and they will often retain the dead body for several days in the hive, so that the fact of its not being inunediatcly thrown out, is not a sure indication that she has been accepted. Ed. Query No. 31. — I have alwaj's used the Woodbury bar hive for my bees, and find in manipulating tliem that the combs are much fa,stened together. No\v, I should feel obliged to you if you would inform me \\-hethcr there would be any objection to having nine liars in a hive, instead of ten as at present. This would give a space of five eights of an inch between, instead of half of an inch, and as I am now having some hives made, I shall be glad to know this. The Woodbury hives I have are fourteen and a half inches square,' inside measure. C. H. G. Stafford. Reply ro No. 31 — If you increase the distance from centre to centre of )'Our Ijar frames in the Isreed- ing apartment of your hives you will increase instead of diminish )'our difficulty. Bees require exactly sufficient room between their combs to enable them to pass each other back to back as they creep about and attend to their brood, and even if aftci the combs arc l>uill, you give increased space, they will build a thin sheet of comb down between the others, so as to give only the necessary distance. Nature must be followed in this respect, or results will be discouraging. Bees often build small attachnrents from comb to comb, but in hives where the frames have proper guides and are the correct distances from each other, these are of little consequence. If your combs extend from one bar to another diagonally, the fault lies either in the want of guides or in the hive being improperly tilted when first set in its place. The frames should range from back to front Front and back should be per- fectly horizontal, but the back should be raised at least two inches. Bees will then build parallel with the sides of the hive. Ed. (^I'ERV No. 32. — I have four or five hives that have swarmed and cast. They are full of sealed comb, and weigh about 22 lbs. When am I to put on supers or nadirs, must I ^\■ait till they seem very busy again or how ? Faithfully yours, T. J. June II, 1S73. Reply to No. 32. — You had better put your supers on at once. Between the first and the second swarms there were nine days hatching out of bees, the majority of which left with the second swarms, and hatching out will go on, and none of the empty cells be re-occupied with brood until the young queen be- comes fertilized, when it will be important that full breeding space be allowed her. After casting, all the bees in the hive will be young and vigorous, and as there will be no brood to attend to, they will store honey very rapidly, A stock consisting of young bees with a young fertile queen in a good honey season ought to give first rate supers. AVhen the queens are fertilized, why not trap all your drones ? Ed. Qukry No. 33.- -Will it interest you to know, as most liee keepers tell one never to take single szikirnis after lOth of Jinic or so, that I took .1 swarm in one of Pagden's liives last )e:ir an the 2nd of July, and it was the first one to swarm this )xar on the 19th of May, and now ueighs 24 lbs. Will you answer the following c|uery in your pajier : — Will a swarm of bees, if they h.ave lost their queen remain in the hive in which they have swarmed for a week or more, and go on quietly mak- ing conil.i, and gathering pollen, iic, &c.? Yours respectfidh-, t: j. Reply to No. 2,i- — 'I'liero can be no greater mis- take than to adopt any fixed rule in matters relating to bees and their culture. The second of July, in such a season as the present, will not be at all late for swarms, and good ones then will beat those which 48 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. came earlier and have. not b^en well cared for, hollow. We have had neither hone)' nor summer weather yet, and it is now Midsummer, and bees can barely get a hand to mouth living. Complaints are general that good stocks will not work in supers, simply because they are not able to get honey to work with. There are plenty of bees, and swarming is, as' is usual, in such seasons, the ruling passion. The latter question as a nile, might be replied to by a decided negative, but as it often occurs that swarms are placed on the stands from which they came, and the original stocks removed to other positions, it is possible a queenless swarm may be so dealt with, and in such a case, knowing no other location, they would probably remain there for some time, and miglit make some comb, but would be sure to dwindle away, or eventually unite with some other stock. It is not good policy when it is deter- mined to place a swarm on the stand of its parent stock to do so hurriedly. There can be no loss of bees or time by allowing it to remain in the place where it is iirst hived, for a few hours, so that the presence or absence of the queen may be deter- mined. If present the bees will all remain in their new abode, if absent they will return to the parent stock if on its own stand. Swarms will sometimes cluster without the queen being with them, and if hived at once and removed immediately to the stand of the parent stock, much mischief will be likely to ensue as above mentioned. Ei>. QuERV Nij. o-t. — I liave two .stocks of bees which I thought were doing very well, carrying in pollen very fast. I have given one of them about twenty pound.s of syrup, the other not quite so much. I timl ou weighing tliem that one is now only seven pounds more in weight than the hive itself, and the other four pounds only. Do yon think tliey are likely to do all right. They are carrying in pollen still in great quan- tities. In reading the .Journal, ] find that a great quantity of honey is consumed -in making wax. I suppose that is the reason why they are not heavier, after having so much syrup, as I sec it is estimated they consume one pound of honey to make one ounce of wax. I have not examined my hives and I have no glass windows in them. AVould it injure them taking oft' the top and letting in the cold air ? \\'ould it affect the brood ! My hives have wooden bottom boards, but the sides and ends are of wooden framing, they are fourteen and a half inches square, and contain eight bar frames. Do you think hives made of wood will carry ott the vapour that rises in the hive as well as those made of straw. I should like to see some illustrations or diagrams of hives in 'J )ic Bee Journal. I have seen in Tlic Siij/ligh Mechanic some descriptions of hives that I think are very good ones I also saw that Terra L'otta L'himney pots were then recommended by yon for stands tor hives. I should like to know where to get them at the price '2s. 3d. each. I received the .Journal all right, and have read it with very great interest, but the wonderful results therein mentioned I never expect to realize. S. EICHARD.S, Par Station, Cornwall. Reply to No. 34. — We presume from your query that the cjuantity of syrup you gave to your bees was given during an extended period, otherwise we cannot understand how stocks, which have received near 20 lbs. weight of syrup each can now only be of the net weight (including their combs) of seven and four lbs. respectively. It is tolerably certain that such stocks would not retiuire new combs as you suggest indeed they would not he sufficiently strong to make an)'. Their first care would be the increase of their numbers, but that would ensure increased weight, even suppos- ing they thus consumed the syrup )'ou gave them. If they are carrying pollen freely, it is a good sign, and doubtless they will increase, but being so very light, you must not expect great things from them. If your hive had windows all round, you would not be able to examine their condition through them as you would see nothing but the outsides of the combs or frames. Simply removing the combs even in cold weather, will not hurt the brood, but is far more dangerous to the bees, as many fly off, stay where they happen to alight, get chilled and die, unless collected and re- turned to the hive. We advise you to thoroughly overhaul them and note the condition of the comlw and what they contain, which you may easily do by lifting out the frames. Your wish to see illustrations of hives will shortly be gratified. The terra cotta chimney pots are sold hereabout at the price named, and doubtless maybe obtained at any country pottery. They certainly form very excellent stands. Ed. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS AND ENQUIRERS. C. IC, Leeds. It is cpiite a matter of indifference to us how many members there are in a bee club, such as we offered, certain premiums and advantages, and we can- not dictate or govern the amount of subscription to be exacted from each member, as clubs so started among work- ing men, who are the so-called " cottage beekeepers," may be aided by donations from others anxious to forward the movement. The full subscription amounts to only 2-Jd . per week, and for three subscriptions, no matter by whom advanced or how collected, we offer to send six copies of the .Joimial every month for a year, and give a well-made bar frame moveable comb hive into the bargain. A 'Rexkkewsiiike Bee Keeper is requested to give a reason for placing second and third supers always on top, one ■above the other, instead of keeping the empty one near the stock hive. Jabes Wilks. You will find the Woodbury hive treated of in this .Journal, others will be desci'ibed and illustrated in due course. The subsei-iption for the Journal is payable in advance. SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS. r.W.Mil.E IN AUV.\NCE. C s. d. Two lines of twelve words each o i 6 Per line afterwards : 006 ,, Inch of Space 050 ,, (^)uaiter cohunn o 10 6 ,, Half diUo, or quarter page I o o ,, Column, or half page I 15 ° ,, I'ull page 3 3° Xo Advcniscmeuts can be leccixed aftei the 20lh of each month. THE llmmral & BEE Kiif EJl^S J^DYtSEJI'. CONDUCTKI) BY CHARLKS NASH ABBOTT, BEE-MASTER, HANWELL, W. LONDON. . Guarantees to its Subscribers sound practical replies to all queries on Bee Management, and in urgent cases of difficulty, immediate replies by post or telegraph if desired. A.YjyUAL SUBSCRIPTION, HALF-.l-G UIXE.l, Faijahle in Advance. Special Terms to Clubs and Literary Instil iit ions. Free by Post on day of Pnblicaiion. [entered at stationers hall.] [No. 4. Vol. i.] AUGUST, 1873. [Published Monthly.] DIRRC'IIOXS TO C01\'KJ-:.SJ'0.yDJiX7.'i&^ QCEK/S-J.S J. — Write in a legihlt' hand on one side of tJic papci' only. 2. — Use n-o a/'l>n~:'ia/ions loJiieJi are not to appear in print. J. — Keep ei\ry ijnerv dislinet and sej'arale, and i^ive tlie fullest possible partienlars., stating also tlie kind of iiiz'e used. 4. — IVlien. retjiiiring an immediate reply, send a slampul ai>iiri:ssi:d emrlope, or stamps for cost of telegram. AUGUST, 1S73. To enable us to keep pace with the times, we have imported from America one of the (supposed) best Honey Extractors manufactured there. It is a nicely made article of simple construction, and is sure to come into general use in England when its powers are sufficiently understood. We can have no interest whatever in puffing the machines, or their manufacturer, Mr. R. R. Murjjhy, of Fulton, Illinois, as we are tolerably certain that few bee keepers in this country will be likely to imiiort them, when they are informed that the charges forfreight- age rather more than doubles the cost of them. They are advertised at fifteen dollars each in America, and the bill of charges for the delivery of two of tliem in Liverpool amounted to ^5 17s. 6d., for we are not alone in our venture, an esteemed correspondent who will probably shortly give*is experience with his own machine, having simultaneously ordered another by the same maker. We have tried ours, and are charmed with the results, it is really a Honey Sli/iger in every sense of the word, and every comb we placed in it, after a few revolutions and proper reversal, came out almost perfectly dry. Unsealed combs are quite uninjured, anil those sealed are damaged only to the extent necessary in unsealing the cells, an operation depending entirely on the skill of tlie apiarian. We have no space for further descrip- tion of it nt present, but if those of our subscribers who wish to see the machine in operation will again communicate with us, we shall be glad to appoint and devote an afternoon or evening per week to the exhi- bition of it. We do not make this ofter from any desire to increase the raimber of our visitors, but because \\c feel sure tliat when seen in action the machine will be much better understood and appreciated. It is too late in the year to enter into a competition icit/i its aid against any hive or system liiitlumt it, but next year, if all be well, we shall be quite willing to throw down the gauntlet, and take the field against all comers on any honourably consistent terms. A\'ith regard to visitors, i.e., those who desire instruction in bee culture, and wish to see (as well as read of) how the operations described are per- formed, we shall only be too glad to appoint a second afternoon or evening weekly for their benefit ; and in doing so, we feel sure that while they will gain much information of the most practical kind, we shall save an immense deal of valual)le time, at present devoted to correspondence, so that mutual benefit will result. We have not " A Model Apiary " for exhibition, but we can and are willing to practically illustrate all the operations of which we have ever written, and every one who thus sees for hiuiselfwill become a living witness of their practicability. We are glad to be able to report the formation of several " Bee Clubs," in response to our suggestions 5° THE BRITISH B^EE JOURNAL. on second page of our June number, and to nole that in every case the. premium claimed has been a bar frame moveable comb hive, a fact sufficiently sugges- ti\-e of the growing tendency to the improved system of bee culture. WHAT TO DO, AND WHEN TO DO IT. AND HOW As before observed, the capture of undesirable drones, although a most important matter in the economy of an apiary, is one of the most neglected, but from the numerous letters we receive on the sub- ject, we feel that their non-destruction, arises, not so much from actual carelessness in that respect, as from the want of a ready means of eftecting their extermi- nation. Considering the nrany differences there are in the formation of hives, and the various sizes, shapes, and positions of their entrances, it would we feel, be impos- sible to provide a trap or cage which would be appli- cable to all of them without some slight modification. We have already mentioned the bee trap, as adver- tised, as a means by which the object maybe attained, and when fitted to the entrance of a hive, with a cage outside of it, from which only worker bees can escape, there is little doubt but that the drones would all speedily be captured. As a means whereby the bees may obtain re-admission, the hive should be raised upon wedges just sufficiently for that purpose. A Nantwich correspondent has forwarded us a drone trap tor appproval, the principle of which is almost identical with Aston's bee trap, with this ad- vantage that the workers may return by the Avay they came, while the drones are left out in the cage. The prime feature in the case will be understood through the engraving here exhibited, which as our correspon- dent observes " acts like a charm." An ingenious workman of Desborough has arranged a further modification of the principle which he says cleared his hives " in no time." The zinc " falls " are suspended on one wire, and fall on to another, which is so arranged as to keep the bottom edges exactly three sixteenths of an inch from the floor, so that workers only can return under them. They are both clever^iidaptations of an old princi- ple, and some care is requisite in making the traps or falls of the necessary exactness, so as to ensure correct working, and we hope we shall be pardoned if we suggest as a still farther improvement, and as an aid to the amateur zinc ■ worker, that by the adoption of perforated zinc, of exactly three sixteenths of an inch calibre, a ready means is offered by -which all the traps or falls may be made mathematically correct, and further facilities given for the return of the workers to their hives. The manufacture of a drone trap being then an easy task, we further suggest that it be made so as to be adaptable in a moment to every ordinary hive. If a board be cut of the shape shewn in annexed engraving, one side being plain, and the. three others having diffi;rent curves, it will fit the fronts of almost all the varied hives in use. . Pillars should be fixed at the corners as shewn, and the traps or falls fixed to each side, as suggested by the dotted lines. Another board laid on to]i would complete the drone trap, which could then be applied to any hive at any time of the day, and all drones would then be most certainly trapped either on leavi]ig or returning to the hive. Such a trap might be made of almost any size, but of course small ones would be more likely to choke than large ones. As the time will shortly arrive for depriving stocks, &c., of their honey, we wotild remind those who intend to transfer or unite their stocks, that it is useless to attempt to unite any but those standing next to each other, unless one of the two to be united has been brought from a considerable distance. It will be manifest that stocks which have been used to any one location, will not suddenly adopt themselves to any other near b)', unless after natiu'al s^\■arming, and it is from THE BRITISH 15EE JOURNAL. 51 a knowledge of this fact that artificial swarming has been adopted, and is so certain in its operation ; for as well-known in that operation, if the parent stock be moved only a few feet, the bees on their return cannot find it, but go to the hive on their ow.i stanil, and form the swarm. It must then be remembered that those stocks which are to^be united, must be brought gradually close to each other, or must be taken at least a mile from their present location, so that there may be only a remote chance of their return. Bee keepers in different villages could render each other great assistance inj this matter, and could afford each other personal aid in this breaking up and uniting, directions for which were given in the June number of Journal, page 8, and for Jul}-, page 34. Many bee keepers write to ask how to transfer their bees, when they simply want to know how to unite those of two or more stocks which have been robbed of their combs. Next to the diabolical sulphur pit, the use of which cannot be too severely condemned, the stupidity of destroying the combs, which contain brood and pollen is the least defensible. There can be' no possible objection to the removnl of the honey from a hive when it is done in a merciful wa)', but as in doing so it is quite unnecessary to des- troy either the bees or their brood, their wholesale wilful murder is positi\'el\' wicked and criminal. Government has taken the birds under its pro- tection, although their value is only proved indirectly, but bees, which are really wealth producers, are still left to the tender mercies of the cruel. HIVES. In our last number we shewed that although the Woodbury has an internal sectional area of 141'j inches by nine, giving a total of 1301^ square inches, the comb space actually occupied rarely exceeds 13 inches by 6|j, which gives an area of 84J-2 square inches only, and shows an unoccupied space in the hive of about one-third its whole contents. It must not, however, be concluded that this space is all lost, as much of it is required by the bees as the means of l)assing round and under the combs. In all hives witli f]xe pure generosity, and not mere courtesy. If then my suggestions are worthy of consideration, which some have kindly deemed them to be, I hope they will not be regarded less so, simply because 1 cannot help to carry them out. ist. I must take leave to defend my use of tile, term Guild. The meaniug of ihat word will be found in Bosworth's Anglo-Saxon I )ictionary, givOn thus : — 58 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. " A guild, society, or club, where payment was made for mutual support, like our benefit societies," but if any would include in that term lodges, badges, ranks. &c., I am not aware of any objection to establish it (the Guild) on such a scale. However, if a more befitting and truer English word can be found, let it be changed for such. 2nd. With regard to prizes, a careful reference to my first letter might lead many to think that a well- devised plan for providing them, and one on an ex- tensive scale, would be highly desirable, as giving life and stability to the whole scheme. For as the num- bers increased, the number of prizes would likewise, as also the number of towns throughout the kingdom where competition would take place. It was to ward off any underthoughts of partiality which led me to pro- pose leaving the awarding of the prizes entrusted, to the leading Agricultural and Horticultural Societies If any gentleman, independent of the Guild, could be induced to offer prizes, this would materially benefit the Guild, and these prizes could be open to all, which would certainly be objectionable in the other case. The suggested scale was not inserted in my first, for lack of room, it was but a rough cast ; still the editor will perhaps kindly now do so if space will permit. 3rd. I would here add that I think E. T. Gray's suggestions as to prizes for bee gear are an extension of mine in c. 4th Prop., well worthy of consideration. Feeling sure that many subscribers to this Journal are far more qualified to carry out my suggestions than myself, and as I decidedly decline doing so, I beg once for all to place the matter in their hands, with the hope of seeing the effort made, and that effort crowned with a happy success. H. Vi. T. ^ s. ^ s. -- I Prize of 5 — ■ 5 I Prize of 2 10 2 10 5 Prizes of i — 5 5 Prizesof - 10 2 10 The above yearly in , ^ 6 different towns •-^-'^ The above on the supposition that I OS. would 1)0 de- ducted f r 0 m a guinea subscription of 250 members for 6 prizes exclusively / s. £ I Prize of 10 — 10 1 Prize of 5 — 5 2 Prizesof 2 to 5 10 Prizesof i — 10 10 Prizesof - 10 5 /35; Z125 The above yearly at one of the lead- ing AgriciUtural or , Horticultural Sliu\\s, tlic .Show .Stead shifting yearly. THE USE OF DRONES. 00 Sir, — A beginner in bee keeping, like myself, (eels rather alarmed at seeing his name printed in such large capital letters, but still I venture to add another line or two, as you desire this subject to be ventilated. The conclusion of your remarks on my letter prove to me your experience ; for what you say would probably occur with the originally strong stock, did actually occur with another hive (strong also at first) which I displaced,in ordertoreinforcewiththereturningforagers ' a certain other weak family of bees. In the displaced hive, drone brood was killed to a very great amount, and white grubs were carried out for some time. But the other originally strong stock, mentioned in my former letter, after displacement did kill full-grown drones ; for you misunderstood me in supposing it was the weak hive strengthened that killed the drones. They were young drones, hairy, as of this )'ear. But there was a marked difference. Out of one hive were cast white grubs, out of the other fully formed young drones. The one -which sacrificed white grubs has since given issue to two very large swarms, though late, being itself a large box. The other, which killed the hairy young drones, has never swarmed at all, at least not naturally, since. Now, as you were only speaking of natural swarming in article in No. 2, you will not consider mine a case in point ; but is it not worth noting that the hive which was going to swarm did not kill its full grown bees, whilst that which was not going to swarm did so ? I note that with you, Mr. Editor, a natural swarm is equivalent to a large one, and an artificial swarm means a moderate sized one, that is, as compared with the whole number of original bees. Some bee-books speak of a natural swarm as being of moderate size, and tell us to imitate nature in our artificial swarming ; that is, leave bees enough to cover the combs thinly, and so hatch out brood. Is it a good rule to give strong swarms a new place, and put weak swarms on the stand of the original stock ? I observe that when Mr. Pettigrew swarms artificially, after taking care both to take and leave sufticient bees, he displaces both new and old hive ; setting one three feet to the right, and the other three feet to the left of the original stand. In conclu- sion, bee keepers about here believe that the drones are of use in hatching. • T. C. BARKER. Spcltsbury Vicarage, July 9th. We cainiol ,ce any reason for r|nalifying our opinion in llii> case, as it is very doubtful x\ hcther the hairy young drones had ever hatched out. It is tolerably certain that the hatched THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 59 drones which had flown would, on leaving their hive in its new position, return to the old stan4, to which they were well used, and consequently would unite with the weak stock therein, if permitted, as in this instance, seems to have been the fact ; and it is possible that the originally strong stock had no younger drone brood in it, or as white grtibs, they would have shared a similar fate to those so nearly matured. In both instances where the strong stocks were removed they appear to us to Iiave cast out all the drone element, which was unhatched, and as we suggested in our last month's Journal, per- mitted the existing drones which had not already flown, to remain alive in their respective hives as is usual with them. Excepting those hatched, which had not flown, all the full grown drones had already departed from both hives, and thai one swarmed afterwards, and the other did [not, was' due to causes not here explained. The sizes of natural swarms depend in a great measure on the sizes and strengths of the stocks, "and may be large or small, and cases often occur where so many bees go from their present Iiives with their swarms as to leave them comparatively deserted, and but for the presence of the drones, which generally stick to the old stand, there would pro- bably be insufiicient heat to hatch out the brood. We cannot understand if it be right, as your bee books say, to follow nature in the making of artificial swarms, how it can be right to inter- fere with her arrangement, w hen natural swarms issue. Ed. Dear Journal, — About those drones. If I may be permitted to give an opinion, I must say that it is quite at variance with the theory advanced by you in your June number, and my experience, though small, has so far supported me therein. That drones do assist in maintaining the heat of the hive no one can deny, but their assistance is only available when least needed, namely, during the time when the outside temperature is most genial. This leads me to believe that at any rate they are not necessary as heat gene- rators, and were not brought into existence for such a purpose. Were such the case they would be the first bees raised in the spring, so as to help in hatch- ing out and fostering the first great laying of the queen, and they would l)e more useful at that time for such a purpose than later on when bees abound and the sun shines. Design being so very apparent in all the workings and instinrts of bees, I contend that no such mistake as this could have been made, and if present in the hive to the extent you describe, after tire issue of the first swarm, some other cause must be assigned to explain their reason for returning to the parent stock. I have had little opportunity of examin- ing hives after swarming this season, having only had two that threw oft" natural swarms, and one of these being an old-fashioned straw domicile, my view of the interior was limited. The first swarm from this hive I sent to a distance the same night, and I cannot there- for2 say whetlier the drones would or would not liave returned, but three after swarms which issued each contained a fiiir proportion of drones, which remained with their fellow emigrants in the new situations selected for them in my own garden, and when I trans- ferred the contents of the straw hive to one with frames, which I did shortly after the issue of the fourth swarm, 1 found no more than a fair proportion of males left in it. The other hive that swarmed, being a frame one admitted of the necessary examination, which I made for the purpose of cutting out queen cells, about aa hour after the issue of the swarm, and I found but few drones or bees either remaining on the combs, certainly not half a pint in all. This swarm after hiving, was located in a garden not three hun- dred yards distant, and for weeks afterwards drones were observed taking their mid-daj' flight from the new habitation, andalthough some may have returned (a fact I regret to say I did not verify by examination) stilla great quantity remained withtheswarm. A prime swarm ifleft to its own devices might seek a location far distant from the present stock, it might be many miles if allowed to take wing after the first settling, and thus render the return of the drones very problematical, although, according to your theory, their presence was so necessary. As single instances cannot be positive proof, and as I cannot for a moment doubt the correct- ness of the observations you have made, I must seek for an explanation of tfce presence of the drones you found in the parent stock after the swarm had issued. The great end and aim of the male is without doubt the fertilization of the young princesses as they mature, and as the first swarm is headed by the old queen, what is so likely as their return to the location, where their services are sure to be required. But after swarms being headed by virgin queens, and their future home so uncertain, the presence of males is a necessity to the young colony, and therefore a portion of the drone population must accompany and remain with them, that the princess may not lack a consort when on matrimony bent, and some will remain with the parent stock to mate with its future ruler. I have no doubt but drones have other uses in the domestic economy of the hive than the one I have given, and I am making much use of an Unicomb hive for the; purpose of verifying some ideas I have upon the sub- ject, at present however, I feel certain of nothing, and shall bide my time, and see result of my observations before publishing any further opinion. And now about prospects for the coming harvest. At last we have had a taste of summer weather, and honey bear- ing flowers being fairly abundant, some portion of their mellifluous product is being rapidly conveyed within doors by my provident little friends, and should the favourable state of the atmosphere continue for a fortnight or three weeks, my Slinger may yet groan with the labour I shall impose upon it. Already it is at work, and no one but those who have seen it would believe the rapidity with which full combs are made empty and clean to be returned to the bees for refilling, ^\'hat a glorious sight after the very few revolutions necessary for the complete slinging out of the contents of a couple of combs to see the golden liquid extract of a tliousand flowers flowing into the vessel placed for its reception. Surely no one with half a dozen hives w:ould, if they could only experience its utility, be without such a laliour and time saving macliine. The only difficuhy 1 liave to contend with in its use is in abstracting the combs from the hives when required for emptying. My hives arc so full of bees, and the little rascals have such a strong objec- tion to my wholesale robbery that we sometimes come to blows, as I have a strong objection to wasting my time in listening to the little song they fain would sing to me when I am l)usy. However, I live in hopes that like the eels the old woman was skinning, they 6o THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. may become so use'd to my unceremonious way of handling them, as ahiiost to hke it. Did they only know how anxious I am for their welfare, (combined witii my own benefit) tliey would not, I feel sure, show such a strong inclination to damage the " eyes and limbs " of your correspondent. NOVICE. P.S. — I hope the clubs are prospering, I am still pushing along those who hang back, and have a few more subscriptions to send you. I tsell them they must either give up bee keeping or take the Journal, and very few are willing to do the former, so I have hopes of them yet. Notice. — JV/wu ijifiTuw on any subject are nearly syno nv/nou:; we only publish that which has reijuired the fullest reply. Query No. 35. — Last year, in working a .Stewarton Hive, I added a " Raise " (that is, a box without top or bottom) Ijelow tlic lowest of two boxes. I wish in Autumn to remove this Raise, but there is this dilTicully, the eoml) is M'orked to the sole board, and -H-ould require to lie cut entirely through, so as to separate the two boxes, llow can this comb be cut without breaking down the whole of it ? And ii'ill it be best to cut with a knife or fine wire ; or to remove the whole box, reverse it and cut at leisure, returning the box? In a SteNvarton Hive, when the Queen goes up to the. honey box, and there is brood, what should be done to get rid of it ? The box may be removed, and a new one put on, ur the brood combs may be removed, but both of these ways entail the loss of the brood. R. F. Ayr. Reply to No. 35. — We invariably prefer a knife to a wire for cutting combs, as, if they are at all tough, a wire is apt to be soon clogged, and then, instead of cutting, will tear them. Having cut below the raise, slide in a sheet of zinc or tin, then cut through above it, raise the boxes, and withdraw the raise and zinc, and replace the boxes in their correct position. In all cases when brood is in supers or honey boxes, we strongly advise that you allow it to hatch out naturally. You thus save many young bees, and their combs will almost certainly be filled with honey later on, which, even though slightly discoloured, will give a better result than could be obtained jjy wasting the brood. — Ed. Query No. 36. — A\'ill you kindly inform me wliat you think of the Honey Slinger Machine ? have you tried it ? what price are they ? and. also what sort of hive is best ? 1 use theJ^Vood- biuy hive ; do you think you can improve upon it ? I should like your opinion of the following : — In sujiers on Woodbury hives I have always had a dilliculty in getting the bees to take to the 2nd and 3rd su)iers. What I propose doing is taking aw ay the boards at Ijottom of all supers but the first, and leaving only one eighth of an inch of air.between the top of one set i.>f liars, and tlie bottom of those next above it. S.l!. Knowle. Reply to No. 36. — AVe have no hesitation in say- ing that the Honey Slinger is one of the greatest aids, in rendering bee culture profitable. We have not tried the " Machine," but have slung new honey from combs by laying them on a tin dish with wirework cover, and strings from each corner which we wliirled round by hand. The honey flew out of J:he comb in a great hurry, but as the aflair was heavy and not easily controlk-d, we could not keep up steady rota- tion, and much of the honey was jerked out of the dish. That which was left was the brightest, purest, most transparent, and delicious we have ever seen or tasted, although thrown out of combs which had been used for breeding. We are expecting the genuine article from America shortly, when we shall be happy to shew it to subscribers in full operation. Its cost there is about fifteen dollars. The Woodbury hive is a very excellent one, although we prefer hives with larger frames. As you have them, we think the first improvement you should in future make in them, should be to increase their size. Your plan ofsupering we do not follow, but always place the second under the first, and as they fill put No. 3 under both of them. Ed. Query No. 37. — I have a very strong stock of bees in a llat-top]ied straw hive. For the last week or two they have been working in a square glass super, holding between 12 and 13 ]3onnds, and also in a small bell glass on the top of that, but as I do not \vish them to swarm, and they have been hanging out this morning, I wish to know whether it would not answer to remove the super full of bees (any very nearly full of honey) on to another weaker stock, the bees of which have done nothing j'et but fill up their own Itive. If they would agree together I thought I should by this means be able to put a large empty super on the strong hive, and preA'ent their swarming, and also strengthen the weak hive. Would there be any danger of the bees of the weak hive emptying the super to fill their own hive ? J. W. Stourbridge. Reply to No. 37. — We think it would be very ♦ unwise to remove the super with the bees in it from the strong stock to the weaker one, as it might cause fighting among them, and would most probably result in the honey from the super being carried down into the body of the weaker hive, besides which all the added bees left alive would return to their original stand, so that they i.e. the weaker stock, Avould only be improved by the additional supply of honey afforded ; and a supply of syrup would answer the same purpose. You do not say the size of your so-called strong hive, and as strength in liives is a matter of degree, we are not quite able to judge if the sizes of the supers are nearly correct. Strength in stocks is relative, and what one would consider a strong stock, another might think a puny one. >\'e think the reason for your strong stock hanging out, instead of continuing its labours, is caused by ill ventilation of the hive, and sudden change of temperature, and recommend you to enlarge the entrance, and give additional super accommodation. Ed. QuJ'",ry No. 38. — Please let me know how I can best diminish the number of my hives by joining them together, if possible. There is no market here for bees. I have given a«'ay four swarms, and have now nineteen hives, whereas I only want to keep twelve. All but two of these are in straw hives, some "of them getting old and dirty. Is there any process by which T can remove the bees from two old hives into one new one, by fimiigation or otherwise, so that they will kill one (.[ueen and unite? I have the apparatus for fumigation, and have used it before, but have never succeeded in getting all the bees from a hive by its means, as some hide themselves in the cells. What is the best funiigator, excluding puff ball, which is not easy to gel? If I fumigate two and join them, what is the latest date (about) at which it may be done ? A. G. Hull. RF,PL^• TO No. 38- — AVe would suggest the adop- tion of larger hives, on the moveable comb principle, so that while, as far as possible, swarming may be prevented, by being rendered unnecessary, the depriving of stocks in autumn, and the utilisation of the parts of the rombs which contain pollen or brood, THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 6i as suggested on page 8 and 9 of the June number of the Journal, and on page 34 of the July number, may be easy of accomiilishraent. By the means there suggested you may take the honey from say four of )-our strongest liives, fix all the comb that has not honey in it into the frames, give all the bees to it, and thus establish an excellent stock out of the materials which are usually thrown away as useless. We never recommend tumigation, it is quite unnecessary, (and as you suggest, not always effective) and is injuiiousto thebees. Drivingis the plan usuallyresortedto with bees in straw skeps, when we have to get them out, and then even though there may be a few left in the hive, they are invariably gorged with honey, and consequently good tempered and comparatively harmless. Your latter query is slightly undefined. Do you mean to fumigate the bees of two stocks in autumn, add them together in an empty hive, and expect them to prepare for the ensuing winter and spring ? If so, we think it unreasonable, as many good swarms in May or June often fail to effect as much during a whole summer. They may sometimes succeed in establishing themselves by the aid of feeding con- stantl}', but such results are very exceptional. Tak- ing away all their combs, takes away all their food and furniture, and also all the means of recoup- ing their numbers, and before they can store a bit of provision, they have to make new comb to put it in ; a most exhaustive process at that time of year, ruinous to the strength and constitution of the bees, and likely to end only in disappointment. Ed. Query No. 39. — I wish your advice about what I liave done as perhaps I may have made a mistake. A swann hiveil June 5th, mullipHed so fast that I gave them a super on tlie 19th, and fur tlie last few days the bees have been chistering u]) tlie front of the hive, as if prejjaring for a swarm. I examined tlie super, and found it was full of comb. It only weighed nine pounds. 1 placed a super between it and the stock hive yesterday, Ijut they do not appear to be making use of it, as some (but not so mail) ) arc still iille. The super put on was taken off another hi\e quite clean and empty, but I now think it may have an odour the bees do not like. Ought I to remove this super and replace it as it was ? I have now got a box I could give as^ nai-lir, but it is rather large I think. A second large swarm, too large to be called a cast, came from my stock hive on the 20tli June, and it now weighs l8 pounds, skep board and all. ^\'ill it not be better to give it no super, but set the end of the season to drive the bees, take the honey they have made, adding the bees to one of the other hives ? My hives are all common straw ones. I have availed myself of the offer in the British Bcc yourital, made to subscribers, to give them advice in knotty points, so I hope you will excuse me troubling you for a speedy answer. E. J. L. Queensbury. Reply to No. 39. — You did quite right in giving your prolific swarm the additional super, but we are quite sure that the odour of the other hive, which it has, is not the cause of their neglecting to work in it. It appears to have been placed upon the hive only the ilay previous to your letter being forwarded, and probably before this the bees have taken full posses- sion. From your obser\ation " they do not appear to be making use of it," we think it has no glass for observation, or you might sec if they are working in it, and if so there is little doubt but that they will speedily fill it, the weather and the yield of honey permitting. , If they have prepared to swarm, which in straw skeps is not easy to ascertain, the second super will not pre- vent them doing so, but if they do so, it (the second super) should be removed, as they will then be too weak to fill both of them conjpletely. The other swarm we recommend you on no account to interfere with in the way you projiose. It has a }'Oung and evi- ' dently vigorous queen, and nearly all the comb will be worker comb, and it will form one of your best stocks for next year. If it be full of bees and comb, add a small super by all means, and allow them to exercise their powers to the utmost. By breaking them up in autumn, you will lose the young queen, and a vast quantity of valuable brood, and the honey which you obtain will only be run honey, i.e., honey mixed with poll;n,&c., which will be little superior to what you might obtain by breaking up the two old original stocks. If you were to do this latter, and fit all the combs containing brood and pollen into a frame hive, giving it both lots of bees, they would be sure to do well, and you would then only diminish your total by one. The journal advises the means of doing this, and when "the combs are free of bees, as they must be when you take the honey under any other circumstances, it will be quite easy to do. The reason for the bees appearing to make more wax than honey is caused by their first endeavouring to fill the super space with comb, and when the cessa- tion of the honey 3'ield stops the work, they carry down all unsealed honey to their stock hive. Ed. Ql'EHY No. 40. — I am disgusted ^^ilh my IJgurian Eces, tiiey v:\\\ not work in glass supers, straw supers, or collateral boxes, but persist in swarming. I have ventilated the stock hives, and kept the glass supers warm, placing guide comb on the adainiiig board of the su[iers. In fact I have done ever)-- thing that I know of, but without effect. They have not made an ounce of honey for me, and appjarently employ tliemselves prin- cipally in carrying pollen for feeding the very numerous, progeny produced by their prolific Queens. A neighbour who keeps English brown bees, tells me lie has a stock which has half fdled a glass super. What am I to do ? .\ SL'K.SCKIBER. Dorsetshire. Reply to No. 40. — ^^'e can only reply to our cor- respondent as we have replied to many similar querists that during such unseasonable weather as we have had, it is quite impossible for the bees of such a stock as he describes, to gather more honey than just suffi- cient to enable them to keep up their breeding pro- pensit)^, which, however much it may disgust him, is thought one of the most important traits in the charac- ter of Ligurian bees. We know of a case (at Acton, Middlesex,) where a Ligurian stock has sent out four swarms, all of which, with the parent stock, are doing well, but of course, during such inclement weather, as we are now enjoying (?) they are fed daily. I'his over- swarming was brought about by the accidental loss of their original queen on their first attempt to swarm, anil eight da}'s after, when the queen cells were ready to hatch, there was such a superabundance of bees as to enable them to send out the numbers of swarms men- tioned during about as many days, and perhaps the present case is a somewhat parallel one. Keeping supers warm will not enable bees to gather honey, or even seek it in such miserable weather. We have no hint as to the kintl of hives the bees are in, or we might be able to give more valuable acLvice. If they are in skeps, hive the swarms in skeps, and set them close to the parent stock. If in collaterals (say Nutts) hive in collateral boxes, keeping them dis- tinct until the honey season arrives; if in W'oodbiuy or similar hives, hive the swarms in what you inteiul THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. to be supers, and keep them upon their parent stock with independent floor boards. Feed both parent stocks and swarms on scented syrup, so as to ensure a sameness of odour, and when the honey season arrives, and it is simply delayed by the weather, and is sure to come, give your bees an extra dose of syrup, remove the extra floor boards, from the swarms, and unite them to the parent stocks, leaving the queens, as you do not seem to value them), to fight for " the right divine." By such proceeding the bees will have begun working in your supers, you will ha\'e the united brood and bees of their prolific queen and her daugh- ters, and will doubtless frighten your brown bee keep- ing neighbour with your honey surplus at the end of the season. Query No. 41. — (i). I put a ist ^Marm in .Stewartoii liive on Jii'ie 4th. On tlie lOtli I joined to it a 2nd sMariii fioni anotlier stock, (at niglit in the usual way.) Many were dead on the clolli the next morning, and many wevt stung to death during the course of next day. In bee Imoks I find it recom- mended to join weak stocks (wlien driven) to other stocks able to last the \\ inter, and wouki wisli to do this \\-]ren tlie time comes, instead of feeding ii]i or killing. But m ill not the same thing happen ? (2). I have introduced a Ligurian Qu^en. Is it safe to join a driven stock as above, of common bees and queen to a Ligurian Queen stock ? Is it certain that the Ligurian queen will not be killed and the common queen saved ? To catch the common queen is some trouble. A\'hen I got the Ligurian (Jueen from Neighliour's, no drones were sent, I fear 1 shall liave a mixed lireed of bees. How is this to be remedied ? YORKSHIRE MOOR.S. Reply to No. 41. — It is never quite safe to put bees together without taking care that they all have the same odour. Sprinkling almost to saturation with scented syrup is the best means of eftecting this, and is least likely to do injury to the bees. Three or four drops of essence of peppermint in about a pint of syrup will answer the puqjose well, and should be sprinkled on both sets of bees. A Renfrewsliire Bee Keeper in our last number shews the disadvantages of die cloth system of uniting, as it often happens that bees do not leave it and go up, and next day, when revived, their honey sacs are empty, and they are not welcomed. Our plan of uniting bees is a very simple one. Being in bar trame hives we give each set a little smoke, remove the cover of the stock to which the bees are to be united, sprinkle the combs and bees with syrup made as above, and remove the combs from the hive, shaking all the bees from them as they are removed. The bees to be added to them are then sprinkled until they alniost stick together, and poured into the hive with the others. By this method fight- ing is rendered almost impossible, the bees being too frightened and too full, After a few minutes have elapsed, the combs are returned, and the union is con;i- plete. In uniting a swarm of common bees to a stock containing a valuable Ligurian Queen, we always cage the Ligurian on the comb with a little square cage as described in Journal for July, page 45, and remove the black queen before the union is effected. It is always worth the trouble, which is really very little, when the bees are cowed, and filled with syrup or honey. You need not appreliend any mixture of race in the progeny of your Ligurian queen if you intro- duced her safely to your colony. The firm you dealt with is not likely to send out unfertile or hybridized queens, and a queen once fertilized has no further desire for the company of drones, so no remedy such as you imagine is needed. Ed. Quiu^y No. 42 — Sir,— The first paragraph in the Bee Journal for this month is very remarkable to us bee keepers here. It is so exactly the fact. Our liees will not go up to the supers, or Honey boxes, and we are at a loss for the reason why, the oldest among us never saw the same before. We cannot attribute it to the cause you do, as the weather here has been extremely fine for the last six weeks, and most favourable for bees, except that the nights have been cold. But our boxes are full of honey and brood, and everything looks well, except that they won't make honey for us. They hang about the door, they swarm, they make comb and honey in boxes given below, but they won't go up to the honey lioxes. Can you give us any explanation of this? or tell us what to do. I should add that the treatment has been the same exactly as usual, so it really is a " strike " with us. R. F. Ayr, July 5. Reply to No 42.. — Presuming your bees are in Stewarton Hives, we think the best plan you can adopt under the circumstances will be to place your supers or honey boxes under the stocks for a time, so that the bees may work down into them, and when they have fairly begun their combs, remove them to their proper positions as supers. The probability is that having so begun, the bees will continue their labours, and fill the supers at last. In all our experience we have never known bees so ill supplied with honey at this season of the year, as they are at present, and we are now, on the 7th of of July, making syrup for feeding them. We attribute their poverty to the weather, which has been unusually dull and cheerless for a considerable period, but has been sufficiently mild to enable bees to get a hand-to- mouth living, and to store abundance of pollen, but in our case not any superfluous honey at present. It is quite probable your cold nights may be the cause of their not ascending by rendering their pre- sence in the hives at those times necessary to prevent the large quantities of brood becoming chilled. Ed. yr'KKY No. 43. —I take adv.antage of your offer, and ask yaui' advice on the following points : — I made au artificial swarm from a Ligurian stock 011 May 15th. The swarm had filled up in a fortnight. 1 then put on super, which they nearly tilled in another fortnight. 1 then rose that up and put another super (Gin. ones, Woodbury size, all my bees are in Woodbury bar frame hives) wliicli is nearly full, and in the stock hive they are building queen cells. I saw the queen in the super a day or so before I rose it up ; if they swarm, it will I suppose, spoil my supers. ^Vhat shall I do to prevent it. I do not wish them to swarm. The stock hive and both supers are very full of bees. I have a hybrid stock a maiden swarm 20th July, last year, and I gave them five or si.x frames of empty comb, and this year, at the beginning of the month, 1 gave them a super, which they declined to take to, and last Wednesday they threw a swarm, a small one for a first swarm, and on the Friday, two days after, another. I joined this on to the first, and in the morning, found two dead queens thrown out. I watched them carefuUy, so that I have no doubt it was a first swarm. I bouglit the original stock in 1S71, and the queen was said to be a 187(1 one, a very prolific one. Did she die and so cause the swarms V Is it best to put on two supers or empty one, and return it as soon as pos- sible ? G. F. L. Stroud. RicpLY TO No. 43. — From general complaints we think your success quite exceptional in such an unto- ward season. AVe cannot tell you of a better means of preventing swarming than the cutting out of all the queen cells in the hive, and super also if there be any there. With such a mass of bees we know this to be no easy task for an amateur, still it may be done, and if done vt'ith care and patience, the probability of swarming will be lessened, and may be prevented THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. altogether, but the swarming impulse is so uncontrol- lable that without also caging the queen you cannot be certain even for a few days or hours whether they will issue or not. A\'e suspect they are checked in their super comb building by the weather, and are preparing to swarm because they have nothing else to do, or that they can do, and are overcrowded. There is little doubt but that the queen of the other stock was lost through some unfortuitous circumstance and that when the swarms issued they were headed by young queens. It is best to give a second super just before the first is completed. Renfrewshire beekeeper advises it on top of first one, we always put second supers under the first. The comb in supers is often required for exhibition, and cutting it out would spoil it for that purpose. Ed. Qi'ERY No. 44. — I have this day read with much satisfac- tion the July number of the Britixh, Bee Journal, but fail to find ' a satisfactory reason for the number of out-clustering bees, witli empty glasses and nadirs, while some straw supers are being filled. We have been getting favourable weatlier, and in general, work going on, apparently busilj', even by some hives, that have three handfuls clustering out, with lots of nadir and super room. It would seem as if some bees are more busily iucliued than others. We have had por- tions of days with the thermometer varying from 97 to over a liundred. Fine bee weather, with borage in iiower, and lots (until just now) of cabbage, preserved in tiower for them. If third, or even second swarms (of which I am certain I shoidd have had many ere this were it not for the large size of my hives) do come, shall 1 join them, and look upon those so joined as stocks ? Pagden recommended summer feeding, but although well inclined to do so, cannot except in jierhaps twi cases that have not swarmed, Init have supers on, see any necessity. If time admits I shall during the montli give you instances of good value from July early swarms, TYRO. Westmeath. Reply to No. 44. — The best way to prevent after swarms, is to cut out all queen cells save one about the time the swarm is expected, or at least seven days after the first has issued. You cannot consider swarms, however large or multiplied, as stocks, for stocks have combs, wdiereas swarms have to build them. It is a good plan to feed bees, and we have just put 44lbs. of sugar candy to dissolve to make syrup for our bees, which really cannot get sufficient to enable them to breed properly, and we strongly suspect the weather is at the bottom of yoi/r ill success. There must be something in it, as bees are never inclined to be lazy. It is well-known that glass is colder than wood, or straw for supers, and may have an ill ehect in your case, but if so, the weather is at the root of it all. See reply to R. D. F. in this Journal. Shall be glad to record your success with your July swarms. Ed. Query No. 4.5. — On {the 17th a stock of my Liguriaus threw a large swarm, (aiirst swarm.) I hived them in a com- mon straw hive, as I intended afterwards to transfer them to another sort of hive. I covered the straw hive witli an umln-ella to keep off the sun. In the course of two hours viz., about 12 o'clock, the swarm h.ad got out of tlie hive into the umbrella. I covered the umbrella with a white curtain to keep them cool. About six o'clock the swarm left the umbrella, and settled in an adjoining garden; They were hived again, and that same evening were shaken into the hive intended for them. They appeared quiet, but the next morning, the ISth, they left this hive also. Thej' were liived again, this time in a straw hive with a ventilating top, and when quiet were shut down, so that they could not escape. Suspecting that they had lost their queen, I iletermined to return them to the stock hive, which was a l)ar frame, with a circnl.ar hole at the top. I placed the straw hive, with the swarin in it, on the top of the stock hive, pl.acing a sheet of perforated zinc between the straw hive and the stock hive. I removed the zinc the next day. I have fed the swarm ever since, bnt the bees have not gcuie dfiwn into the stock hive again.- The stoclc hive li.ippened to lie screwed down to its bottom board, or I shoirld have shaken the swarm on the board, and placed the stock hive over it. Kindly tell me by return whether I can do anything else. ' ' S. T. Dorset. Reply to No. 45. — There being some doubt in your mind as to whether the swarm has a queen with it. do yoi't not think it would be advisable to leave them where- they are and by stopping up the entrance of the skep, force them to work through the bar frame hive. By this means you will get a large super of honey, although it may be a little discoloured, and there will be a chance of the Ligu- rian queen continuing to reign if she be still alive and with the swarm. The probability is that she is with them, or at their first escape from the hive and um- brella, they would have returned to their original domicile. If you were to pour say half a pint of scented syrup through the hole in the crown of the skep, so that some of it went down into the bar frame hive, it would probably cause the amalgamation of the bees without loss. Ed. QuEKY No. 40. — I hived the Ligurians successfully and they arc doing well so far as the weather will allow them ; 1 suppose thunder storms, like the very heavy ones we have had here to-day, coming immediately after sunshine, when a great many bees are out, must destroy a great number. If we have fine weather, about when ought I to increase the size of the centre partition ? and when done, how many additional bar frames Wfiuld you give them at a time (two, one on each side ?) and would you leave the new empty bar frames on the outside, or put them between the old frames with comb. Even with the most favourable weather, I sup- pose I am not likely to want a super this summer, but can leave the making of that to the winter. Under average con- ditions about how soon will my Ligurians begin to hatch out new brood. They were hived 2.Hh .lune ? ^\'hen will be the time to give them more room. I should like to open the top and examine, but it must be better not to disturb them unne- cessarily or will it not matter ? Wa have put an old skep , on the top of a bar frame liive ; if the former contains the wax moth, will the comb in the latter be likely to be afi'ected if the bees work down ? C. .T. Norfolk. Reply to No. 43. — Thunder showers, coming as they often do suddenly, .-is you observe, cause much loss of life with bees, especially when followed by cold, otherwise, i.e., if after the storm, sunshine hap- pens to prevail, the bees are in many instances enabled to return to their hives. The time to increase the '1 centre or breeding apartment of the hive will be when . the frames at present enclosed are nearly filled with combs, and it will then be better to place an empty 4 frame in the centre of the hive, than to add either one or two in any other part, and when that is filled, the operation should be repeated. Moist weather is more favourable to the production of bees than honey, but there is plenty of time if we get a favourable turn in the weather for bees to fill up hives and supers too. Opening the hives will not injure the bees if you take care not to injure or cause the cohapseol their joung and tender combs. Your Ligurians having been hived on the 25th of June, the first brood will hatch on about the 20th July. If wax moth exists in the skep, and the worms have taken possession of the combs, the bees will not be likely to work down into the bar frame hive at all. The existence, however, of the larvae of the moth about the edges and floor board of 64 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. a liive, docs not indicate that tlicy have taken posses- sion of the combs, as bees do not naturally build them down to the floor board, and the worms are not able to climb into them Much depends on the condition of the skep, and it is not reasonable to suppose you would place a weak stock on a bar frame hive with the expectation tliat the bees which have been unable to fill the former, would work down to fill the latter. You may depend upon it that if the bees are in a con- dition to build downwards at all, they will suffer little from the present existence of the moth and its larvae. QuEKY No. 47. — Will you kiudly iufomi what I liad better do '! In April I bought two stocks of bees in the old-fasliioned fstraw skejjs. JNIay 31st I artificially swarmed one of tlicni into a Woodl-iury bar and frame liive, ^vllich now seems very busy, and full of white cuuilj, but it only weighs 'J^lbs. Had I better feed them ? The skep contains old comb, and there do not seem to lie many bees in it. Shall I drive tljem out of it, and make them commence life afresh ? or can I leave them Bntil the end of the year and tlien join them to another stock and take the contents of the skep V .June 27th I swarmed the Dtliors into a Berkshire hi\e ; shall I feed tliese and can I deavo the skep for a stock, or had I better drive the bees into a wooden hive, "21 jilays after ha\-ing swarmed them into the Berkshire hive ? la Septemljcr the right mouth for driving .bees out of skeps, in order to take the contents and join the bees to other stocks, and which is the best way to do it ? ^Vhen is the right time to send stocks to the moors ? ^^'hat i* glucose, and would you recommend it for feeding, and can I maUc sj'rup with brown sugar ? W'liat kind of scales would you rceonnnend me to get for ^veiyhing my stocks ? I cannot get the bees to ^\ork in tlie siipci-. Tlie stock weighs over 301bs. I enclose a stamp. A BEE KEEPER OP ALPHINOTON. Exeter. Reply lo No. 47. — It cannot be too strongly iinpressed on the minds of all bee keepers that the best way to be certain of feeding bees properly, is to do so on all occasions when they cannot get food for themselves. '\\'e do not mean by this that they are to be fed every night or during every time of temporary cloudiness or rain, but on every occasion when they have not been able to gather food during some por- ■tion of the da)-, syrup should be given in reasonable .quantities during the night ensuing, the quantities varying with the size and strength of the stocks. Your <[()mb in the Woodbury hive ought now to be filled with brood and stores, which evidently is not the case or its weight would be at least four times what it is. Feeding even noAv is essential, and will stimulate the bees to increased exertion, and giving say half a i)int of syrup each evening for a week or two will be a great iaelp to them. The skep which contains the old combs and but few bees, has either lost its young cjueen, or jwu took too many l)ees from it to make your artiflcial swarm. Drive theni out and search among them and see if they have a queen or not. If they have, feed -them up to enable them to increase .in strength, and you may yet be able to take a good quantity of honey irom them in the autumn, when you may also remove one or two combs of honey fiom each side of your Woodbury, and give them back frames filled With the brood comb taken from the skeji, adding the bees 10 any stock you prefer under precautions which will be given m the August number of Journal. If the ■bees in the skep are queenless, you may either unite Ihem to the stock next adjoining, or remove them and any other stock to \vhicli you may \wsh to unite them, to some place about a mile and a half away, and unite them there. The best way to do it is to drive all the bees out of both stocks into empty skeps, sprinkle both them and the combs into whicli they are to be placed with scented syrup, put the bees altogether in one skep, mix them all up, so that they " cannot know themselves from each other," and after the lapse of a quarter of an hour shake them on to the combs of the hive in which they are to remain, and set it care- fully in its place. If you have neglected the bees in the Berkshire Hive, you should feed them also for a time to put fresh life into them. The time to send stocks to the moors is when honey is abundant there. You will find glucose described in August number of Journal, and if you read the reply to query respecting it you will find we endorsed the querists experience with it. You can of course make syrup from brown sugar, but as it will contain fermentive properties, it will not be good food for bees to winter on, and when made will be no cheaper than that made with loaf sugar, as it will not absorb so much water. We use a Salter's Spring Balance, and two loops of fine strong cord to pass under the hive. Complaints of the non- success with supers are pretty general this year. As a last resource, try the eftect of a piece of brood comb suspended exactly over the central hole, and keep the siqjer as warm as possible. Thanks for the stamp, many forget that as well as the addressed envelope, causing us actual pecuniary loss as well as uruch waste of valuable time. Ed. (OFFICIAL) DECLARATION. With a view to prevent the recurrence of wilful arbitrary acts, of arrogance and of treachery, as practised for instance against Messrs. Xeighljour, Pettitt, and Abl)Olt, of London, Allensteiiier, Giintner,or Germany tricks tending to dishonoar the Evangelic religion, and the high Clerman education, it is herel)y matle known that the bee institution, for years established in Roveredo in the Rezia, has been and is the sole and exclusive property of the undersigned. E. Uhle for his tlecided knowledge, lieing only manager, and as such, only partaker in the profits. To the unilcrsigned only all orders and payments are to be sent in connection with the Institution itself. Any deviation will be considered nil, and will not be attended to. Aw. FRANCESCO NICOLA, PitOl'RIIiTOR .\.ND GKRKI •T. NOTIUE.S TO CORRESPONDENTS AND ENQUIRERS. J. Po.sTLETnwAiTE. — With respect to the Uarr Stewarton Hive, the designer says "the contract price for a large sup- ply is not (|uite settled, but I expect will be 42s. to 4.5s. complete, two body boxes, and a honey bo.x with lid and lloor-board.'' When all is arranged it will be duly adver- tised. Mhi:}i mluahk con-c-'pundaice must stand over iLiilll next month. We must heij of those %vho wiih to see their lettera ami articles inserted, to be careful to write leijihln, and on one side of the paper on hi. SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS. I'.W.VBLE IN -ADV.IN'CE. £ S. d. Two lines of twelve words each o i 6 Per line afterwards '. 006 ,, Inch of Space 050 ,, Quarter column o 10 6 ,, Half ditto, or quarter page I u o ,, Column, or half page I 15 o ,, Full page 330 No Advertisements can be received after the 20th of each month. THE mtnra Alfi/ IFF IIFF'PPl'5'^ 11%¥I^F^ CONDUCTED BY CHARLES. NASH ABBOTT, BEE-MASTER, HANVv'ELL, W. LONDON. Guarantees to its Subscribers sound practical replies to all queries on Bee Management, and in urgent cases of difficulty, immediate replies by post or telegraph if desn-ed. AJVJV Ud L SUBS CEIPTIO A; H.i L F-A-G U I jY E A, Payable in Admucc. Special Terms to Clubs and Literary Institutions. Fro: I'y Post on day of Publication. [entered at stationers hall.] [No. 5. Vol. i.] SEPTEMBER, 1873. [Published Monthly.] DIRECT roXS 70 C0A'A'£ST0A'/)£X7S &' QUER/SIS I. — JVriti: in a legible handoii one side of tlie paper only. 2. — Use no abbreviations lohieh are not to appear in print. J. — A'eep ez'erj' i/nery disiinet and separate, and ^ire tfie fnllest possible partieidars, stating also the kind of hive used. 4. — When requiring an immediate reply, send a stamped ADDRiisSKD envelope, or stamps for cost of telegram. %\)t irittdr %tt l0ttnntL SEPTEMBER, 1873. Notwithstanding the " almost unprecedented " yield of honey recorded in the Times of Aug. 8 by a " Bee Master " of Tunbridge Wells, we have no hesi- tation in saying that the honey harvest generally is very far below tlie usual average of years, and that in many parts of the kingdom it is a total failure. In shel- tered locations, with favourable surroundings, it has been possible for bees to store surplus honey, but in the majority of instances,, the weather has been most unfavourable for its secretion, and as is usual in sucli seasons, the bees have devoted their energies to the increase of their numbers, and thus daily consumed tlie honey as fast as they gathered it- This, we fear, will have a most discouraging effect upon cottage bee keepers, and others who have hoped to add to their incomes and increase their comforts by the sale of their hoaey produce, as instead of the expected return, they will be compelled to increase their expenditure in i)roviding sustenance for their bees during the coming winter, or tliey will probably lose them altogether. Thousands of stocks will doubt- less perish by the brimstone pit because their owners are too poor to afford the necessary aid, and in these cases we think those who have the interest of such at heart, have a fine field open for the exercise of (pro- fitable) humanity and charity. \Ve feel that a hint on this matter cannot be out of place here, and venture to suggest that in cases v.'here bees are condemned for their poverty alone by those who cannot afford to feed and keep them, the loan of a few pounds of sugar might be advantageously granted, to be repaid in the ensuing spring by a first or second swarm from the hive, so supported and saved from destruction. The demand for a honey market h.\s elicited a reply in the form of an advertisement, which may be found in our pages, in which the advertiser is willing to pur- chase any (/iiantity; the terras, however, we are not able to give, but shall be glad to afford the means of communication between vendors and the adver- tiser. As the season for hive building is approaching, and it is very desirable that the future hive should contain whatever is found advantageous in all other hives, we shall be glad to receive the advice and experience of advanced apiarians on the subject ; not necessarily for publication, (although we shall be glad to acknowledge every source from which improvement may be derived) but to aitl us in endeavouring to produce a hive which shall provide all that is essential for the comfort and convenience of the bees under cultivation, "and yet be free from the objections to which hives in their present variety of form arc liable. We think that tliis, tlic first Bee Joun.cd ever pub- lished in the United Kingdom, should cjjntain draw- 66 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. ings and descriptions, of every hive now used, not as a means of putfing the articles so descvibed, but that our readers may be made aware of the pecuUar advantages they may be said to possess. "We shall, therefore be glad to publish engravings of all the parts of every known hive, and the inventors or adaptors own des- cription of the same, and his statement of the advantages it contains. This course will doubtless be the more interesting, as it will elicit inventors' reasons for their improvements on former hives, and will probably lead to a general comparison of ideas on this all- important topic. We have received from the Rev. AV. J. Stracey, of Buxton Vicarage, Norfolk, a copy of the rules of a Bee Club, established by him in 1867, on the principle of a Clothing Club ; we have also been favoured by W. Augustus Munn, Esq., of Dover, with a copy of the rules of the British Apiarian Society, bearing date iSn, both of which were established to promote the culture of bees among cottagers, and to which we propose to refer in our next impression. WHAT TO DO, AND WHEN AND HOW TO DO IT. We have received numerous enquiries as to when is the best time to feed bees up to the weight necessary to enable them to stand the winter, and in every case we have declined to give any but general directions to do so immediately on the decline of the Autumnal yield of honey. It would be absurd of us to name any particular date, as it is 'well-known that from the variations of climate and locality, there are a difference of several weeks in the duration of the honey harvest. Many bee keepers are also in doubt whether it is advisable to remove supers as they are filled, or to wait until all arc filled ]irior to removing those already sealed up and finished. We recommend th^it these latter be immediately removed, so that they be not used for the resort of idle bees, which will only help to discolour the comb and can do no possible good to them ; thus concentrating the strength of the hi\-e, on those unfinished. When the honey yield begins to fail it will be observed that the work in partially filled supers is brought to a standstill for a day or two, and presently it vvill be seen that the bees are gradually removing the honey from the unsealed cells, and are taking it down into the lower or stock hive. .\t this point the bee keeper nuist make uj) his mind what he will do witli his stocks, and according as he may decide, so will they require differences of treat- ment. Does he wish to retain his stocks, and yet take all the honey available without injuring them ? then let him immediately remove all his supers, and give the bees syrup in small quantities in exchange. Does he intend to break up his stocks and take all their honey ? then let him consider that if he preserves the bees and the brood combs, he will yet possess as much as many hives will contain in January, and that out of such valuable material he may build up one or more stocks such as in spring will repay him hand- somely for his trouble and the trifling cost of a little food to enable them to pass the winter safely, and in such 'cases it will be wiser to do the work immediately and give the bees a chance of fortifying themselves before cold weather sets in. When stocks are from any cause too weak to winter^ alone, it will be well to ascertain the cause of their weakness before attempting to deal with thQui. Such as owe their condition to their poverty-stricken state in the Spring, or from the hives being overcharged with pollen, through having too old a queen or from overswarming, may be safely united after having been gradually brought into close proximity to each other, but should the combs of any of them shew any signs of decayed brood, /.6'., brood which has died in the cells after being sealed over, such stocks should not be united under any circumstances as it may be pretty safely inferred that its poor condition is due to the terrible disease known by Apiarians as foul brood, than which there is no disease so detrimental and des- tructive in an apiar)-. It is zymotic and highly con- tagiou.s, the worst feature in it being that the honey in the hive is all charged with the germs of infection, and any robber bee which gets even one load of it, carries home to its hive the poison, which will speedily reduce the colony to the lowest condition of disease and rottenness. Its effectsare notusually observable inunsealed brood, either because the disease does riot affect it, or from such as the being carried out by the bees before rot- tenness ensues, but when sealed, the bees do not seem to arrive at a knowledge of its condition until the dead larva becomes too rotten and filthy for removal. 'I'he cells containing this foul brood may be known by tli dr outward ajipearance. They are flat, and often concave instead of being convex, they become very black, and are often jjierced with small holes, which as the disease ad\-ances, and the sealing becomes dry, beccjmc lar;;er and more ragged. These cells may be found either THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 67 isolated or in groups, but in either case the disease will progress, unless strenuous measures be adopted to arrest it. Of foul brood we shall have more to say on a future occasion, but in the meantime we advise those whose stocks show any symptoms of it, to break them up, placing the bees in empty hives and feeding them for a few days until the honey in their honey sacs is converted or consumed when they may be united to other stocks. The honey in their combs should be boiled, and the hive and brood and store combs burned or buried where they will never see the light again. Our remarks hitherto have been for the benefit of those who keep bees in straw skeps, but they have some practical ^'alue for those more advanced, who use only the bar frame hive, and to the latter we deem it advisable to offer a few words of advice on what is usually called '' equalizing stocks.'' It cannot be too strongly urged that in equalizing stocks it is much better to unite the weak ones, and feed them up the required standard, than to strengthen them at to the expense of the strong ones, by the inter- change of empty combs for those filled with brood and pollen. Stocks to winter well cannot be too strong, and it ^viIl be found far wiser and better to remove all the empty combs from several weak hives, and unite the bees and brood combs into one stock, than to jeopardize the whole by weakening the strong ones. Where feeding is necessary in preparation for the winter, it cannot be too quickly proceeded with when the honey harvest is over and the supers removed. It must be evident to bee keepers of ordinary capa- city, that bees will not naturally discontinue to store honey in the supers if they are able to obtain more than is necessary for their daily wants, and it may be fairly argued that their appropriation of the super honey indicates that the quantity daily gathered from the fields or moors is less than is required to supply the demands of the brood and bees in the body of the hive ; therefore the removal by the bee keeper of the supers from which they have been drawing the honey necessary, consequent on the failure of the out- door supply, must materially check and interfere with its whole internal economy. Often when half-filled supers are thus removed, the hive itself is crowded with brood, and contains little honey except such as may be found in the cells formerly occupied by drone brood. In many parts of England this state of things is brought about before the middle of August, and is it not unwise to withold the supply of food which would keep up the breeding propensity of the queen and bees, until the orthodox feeding month, October, when most of the brood will be hatched out, and the bees will have become comparatively aged before the winter actually arrives ? This is really an important matter, and should be well considered, as although such feeding and late breeding may cause the consump- tion of a litde' more bee food, the advantage to the colony in possessing a large supply of young bees cannot be over estimated. It is too frequently the case, when supers are re- moved, that hives are judged by their weight, and if then sufliciently heavy they are considered fit to stand the winter, and often no more thought or care is bestowed upon them, tlieir owner quite forgetting that the weight may principally consist of brood and pollen, and that the colony may be in danger of starvation. Where the bar frame hive is used, the condition of the bees may be accurately ascertained, and the right course of treatment adopted, but in all cases and in every kind of hive we cannot too forcibly recommend early feeding where feeding is at all necessary, Late feeding is often the cause of that most troublesome of all winter disorders, dysmtery. Stocks which have yielded good supers of honey, become light through the hatching out of the brood, and when weighed in October, if found to be unfit for wintering, the usual custom them is to give the largest quantity of food in the shortest possible time, and there being plenty of empty cells in the hive, the bees take down from ten to twenty pounds of food in a liquid state in two or three days, and store it in that condition wherever there may be room to put it, and at this point the trouble may be said to begin. Unfortunately almost all bee books recommend rapid feeding in Autumn, but we think feeding for the winter cannot be too deliberately proceeded with. When supers are removed early, as in the present season, to prevent the bees removing the honey lo support their existing brood, we think it a great mis- take to fill the hive to repletion with liquid food, as the bees will occupy all the open cells with it, and thus stop the deposition of eggs by the queen than which nothing can be more detrimental to a hive that is intended to stand the winter well. Wintering a hive of old bees does not pay as in the spring, they die so very rapidly, that there are often not enough bees left in it to keep up the heat necessary (o enable them to throw olf the watery portions of their food, and dysentery suddenly attacks them when they should 68 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. be flourishing, and breeding most rapidly, and, as is often said, " after passing the winter well, they come to grief ill the spring, with plenty of food in the hive." If the supers were left on sufficiently long to enable the bees to continue their breeding naturally, they would not be liable to this contingency, and we there- fore advise bee keepers not to check them at such a critical period, but to immediately supply the neces- sary food in reasonable quantities to enable them to act as nature has dictated. All feeding should be done at night, and cannot be begun too early in the autumn or spring. For imme- diate use S}'rup as recommended in the May number of Journal is an excellent food, or that described by our scientific correspondent on page 56 and 57, under the heading " Glucose." For late autumn feeding where, from any cause it becomes necessary, plain barley sugar will be found the best, as it may be put into the hive among the combs, and when stored by the bees will need little or no evai^oration, and may be sealed over in the cells at once. It must be remem- bered that unsealed food is likely to become sour and cause dysentery, therefore there can be no greater folly than to import large quantities of liijuid food into a hive, when the weather is too cold to permit the bees to evaporate and seal it over. Ventilation is .also of the greatest imi)ortance at this season, but requires care in its adaptation. We recom- mend that on the removal of the feeding bottle in the morning, an empty super or large flower pot be placed over the perforated zinc on the crown board, so as to give air space above the combs, into which the vitiated gases generated in them may condense without escaping into the outer air, and attracting robljing bees. Fighting among bees is very catching, and if not quickly stayed, may spread to the whole apiary. One of the quickest methods of stopping the war when confined to two stocks is by the exchange of their situations. This completely nonplusses both of them, and stops the fight at once. If a general war ariSes, the safest plan is to stop up all tlie entrances with perforated /.inc, and give as much upward ventilation as possible until the evening, when the hives should each be raised off its floor board to give plenty of air and allow the bees to recover themselves, when during the night the chief aggressors should be sent out of the radius of their foraging flight, until peace is restored, when they may be returned to their usual position in the apiary. Wasps, although reputed enemies of bees, are only sneaking cowardly thieves, they never volunteer an attack, but -dodge about unguarded entrances like pillering rascals, as they are. They may often be seen dissecting dead or dying bees and hence probably arises the notion that they attack them. Ants and earwigs might equally be charged with the same oftence. ^Vasps are really useful to the bee keeper in indicating weak and useless stocks. Those who are annoyed by them should employ the boys of their vil- Lages to discover their nests, and the bee keeper should take care to destroy them, to effect which Langstroth recommends that a phial pardy filled with turpentine should be placed at each of their entrances. HIVES. — o — Lefore going farther in our objection to the Wood- bury hive we think it would be interesting to notice a very interesting device invented by Mr. A. I. Root, of Medina Ohio, U.S., and patented by him in America on the iSth June, 1S72, for fixing all the parts of a bar frame together, witliout the use of nails or mor- tices, which, while permitting the lightest possible materials to be used, ensures firmness and rigidity to the frame as a whole. Mr. Root is one of the fore- most apiarians in that country, and his writings under the signature " Novice " in the American Bee Jour- nal, have contributed greatly to the advancement of Apicultural knowledge. " Novice's " metal corners are advertised and sold largely in America, at one dollar per hundred, they are of tin, stamped out and moulded by machinery .into shapes which at once conmiend themselves as valuable aids in the manu- facture of the bar frame hive, both for their simplicity and utility, as well as from the ease with which they may be used, and the perfect squareness and finish they give to the bar frame when completed. Fig. I. shews the shape of the piece of metal which fur- nishes the arms, n, a, which rest on the rabbets at back THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 69 and front of tlie liive. Tlie engraving is of the exact size required, and if shaped in cardboard, and cut half through at the dotted hnes and each part so cut bent downwards a correct idea may be formed of the upper corners. Fig. 2,- which are really unique specimens of clever ingenuity. Fig. 2. In uniting thfe top bar, and the upright end of the frame, they are mitred together, and fit each other at the angle, as shewn in figure 3, in which it will be seen that the fine points, b. b. b. b. are bent round and driven into the wood, thereby holding the parts as with an iron claw. the hive or comb, or otherwise uselessly disturbing the bees. Fig. 3. Figure 4 shows the exact size and shape of the bot- tom corner, which, wheu folded assumes the appear- ance of figure 5, and in use that of figure 6. One of the chief features of the arrangement, which the patentee claims as a great advantage, is the fact that as only the edges of the projecting ends rest upon the rabbets, the bees cannot fasten them with pro- polis, or otherwis!; glue them down as fixtures, and that in manipulation they may be removed from their positions laterally or vertically, without either jarring Fig. G. Continuing our dissection and criticism of the Woodbur)r hive, we beg to call attention to the loss of space therein, between the ends of the frames, and the inner front and back walls of the hive. A space of full three eights of an inch is left at either end of each of these frames to enable the bees to pass each other round them, but so averse are the bees to leav- ing the comb even to pass round the slight strips of wood forming the frames, that they almost invariably leave other spaces inside tliem, so that it may not be absolutely necessary for them to leave the combs at all. It will be seen by our engraving, which is an exact representation of a comb from a hive of the kind under discussion that the attachments by which the comb is suspended or supported in the frame are not continuous and the comb itself is often only wrought as near to the sides of the frame, as it would be to the side of the hive if the frame was not there, and from the fact that -when pressed for room for 'storage, &:c., the bees crowd the spaces outside the frames with honey comb wc arc bound to conclude that a great pnrlion of the 7° THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. space so left outside the frames, is not necessary for the purpose intended. AVc are confident that three sixteenths of an inch are sufficient for the purpose, but we know also that with the front and back of the hive perpendicular as they now are, the attempting to lift such a comb would cause great danger to the bees from the mangling they would be liable to in being rolled between the ends of the frames and the front and back of the hive. To obviate this danger in the hive of the future, the fronts and backs of hives may be made to incline slighly outwards so that immediately on the release of a comb, the space between its ends and the walls of the hive may be increased proportionately as the comb is raised. AVe find as a rule, that when three sixteenths' of an inch of space is left between or around the frames and other parts of a hive, the bees do not attempt to fill it either with propolis or comb, but any space which is too narrow to permit a worker bee to pass, they will endeavour to close on either side with the former, that when the space is greater than that indicated, they often extend their comb into it, or build inter- mediately against the walls of the hive, in the spaces between and at the ends of the frames, so as to leave only the room they require, to enable them to pass round the frames without actually leaving the dearly loved material on which they prefer to move about. A valued correspondent at Sevenoaks in Kent, 1^ \ deeply earnest in his endeavours to make the coming : hive as perfect and as easy of manipulation as pos- \ sible, has suggested that next to the outer walls at the / sides of the hive a thickness of board or other mate- rial should be inserted capable of easy removal, so that on its withdrawal the frames in the hive should be immediately capable of movement in a lateral direc- tion. As he very wisely observes it would only be equi- valent to removing one half of the thickness of the side of the hive, and the advantages derived from the combs being immediately set free on a vacancy being so created, would be incalculable. In the last paragraph on liives in the August num- ber of Journal allusion was made to the way in which our metal corners might be made to act as guides to keep the correct distances from each other, but from having received numerous enquiries on that particular point, we think we did not clearly express our mean- ing. By bending tlie projecting ends outwards as shewn in outline engraving below, the parts marked a. h. may be made to keep the correct distances between the frames, yet as being of thin metal, they will permit the bees to pass all round between those parts there will be no disposition to propolizc or stick them down, and the extra width thus given to them will when the cover or honey board is screwed down prevent canting either to the right or left and the sloping shoulder coming against the rabbet, will pre- vent longitudinal movement. Fig. 7. This outline exhibits also our idea of what the shape of ths top bar for the frames of 7//c coming hive, should be- We would do away Avith the bottom rack and rail altogether, we would fill up or remove tlie notched rabbet in the inner front and back of the hive, we would widen the ends of the top bars, so that while they would rest on the back and front of the hives, as at a. h. they should by touching each other, preserve their own distance and the steadiness of the combs, we would cover the spaces between with strips of lath, to be held in position by transverse clamps and we would compel the bees to build straight along the bars by greasing the underside of the strips between tliem, so as to prevent the bees making any attach- ments thereto. Corr^pnktict STEWARTON HIVE AND SYSTEM AND BAR FRAME HIVES. — — -0 To the Editor of the BRITISH BEE JOURNAL — — 0 — — A Renfrewshire Bee Keeper has in his most able papers in the British Bee four/ia/ opened out a famous field of enquiry of the merits of the two plans of Bee Management, viz.. Hives opening horizontally in tiers, like the " Stewarton Hive," or Thorrias Wild- man's suggestions in 176S, in Straw Hives, made and sold afterwards by Daniel Wildman at his shop in Holborn in 1801, or still earlier in \YOod, introduced THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 71 by Gaetano Hirasti, a hive of four open square boxes fastened to each other with nuts or . buttons, the depth of each box, 3^ inches in the clear, and about 6 inches in the clear within the square. ' Wood J4 of an inch thick. Inside each shouM be fixed in the upper prat two bars in the form of a cross, wth the extremities to the angles (a frame also was introduced of parallel bars for comb building) the entrance 1^2 inches for each box, but provided with a stop ; so as to close the upper box as it was raised on a division of another quarter box. The stand to have a 4 inch square opening, for a tin slide, perforated, to shut or open to clean, or smoke the hive. The usual direc- tions for driving the bees out of each division with a pan of fire placed beneath the open square perfo- rated tin in the stand are given, and a veil for the face, and worsted gloves for the hands are recom- mended. The advantages of the storifying or nadiring hi\e he states are : — 1st. Capable of enlargement or contraction, accord- ing to bee wants and swarms introduced. 2nd. It should open without disturbing the bees, for increasing, or dividing the swarms, or feeding the bees for winter, 3rd. It should be so constructed that the produce may be removed without injury to the bees. (Inter alia. Sec.) 4th. It should be internally clean, and smooth and free from flaws. This Hive, or pile of boxes had , no other protection from the weather beyond the projecting roof to keep o'T the wet. This 'Hive is conve- nient for forming artificial swarms. Well stocked hives claim first consideration, rather than the possession of many numbers of hives, and in fact it is observed that v/hen a stock vvhich contained 4,000 beies has given 6 lbs. of honey, one of 8,000 has given 2 4.1bs. It is therefore proper to unite two or more when they happen to be thinly stocked. Ba///i is used to unite bees (a few handfuls scattered within the hives to be united has the effect of making them friends.) To obtain truly for.med comljs, the foundations should be encouraged on the five bars or parellel sticks at the top, instead of the cross sticks mentioned at the angles. A slanting entrance should be made in the bottom board to assist the bees. The most modern attempt made to introduce this hive in the form of a telescope, or a box drawn out was through the Cottage Gardc7iLT, but it was not known whether it was the suggestion of the late Mr. Woodbury, of Exeter, or the then editor of that small periodical ; but doubtless when ?,Ir. Woodbury's invention or introduction is more fully discussed as the pattern hiveof the club and the " Guild of the Bee Masters " is formed, much light will be thrown upon the invention of a System which is totally distinct from [the horizontal boxes, as are the sections of the boxes commcmtcd by Wildman orMadame'Vicat ; and thus on until Huber's leaves formed the smallest sections joined with hinges, this then forms the other system of hives opening vertically. I think Mr. Editor, when }'Our readers have been informed of the construction of these hives, and the established facts " under a proper system of manage- ment " as you very justly remark ; a more distinct understanding will be arrived at, that these hives must he classed according to their capabilities of removal from one pasturage to anotlicr, as well as the jiowerof thorough inspection of the comb s andCJuecns within &c. not merely as bee experiments, but for practical and cer- tain results ; thus far under the " blind system " we know all goes well when in a fair pasturage locality and in a good season with a fixed bee shed, &c. You have gi\en excellent directions at page 9, June, 72 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. for " Packing.'' I think the honey sellers will require instructions how to pack and send the honey to any of the central depots of the Guild, should they estab- lish Bee Centres for the encouragement of cottagers and mechanics in Scotland and Wales, &c. " Novice " seems an enthusiast, but rather severe on my friend as a bee keeper full of success in a " large house or hive without any' management." Does " Novice " know that the successful addition of an American cheese box, as advertised by Mrs. J. W. Pagden produces ^70 a year ! Why should not the " Pettigrew Hive " produce more under good manage- ment ; as derived from Adam ? I shall be prepared to prove that quantities of honey may be collected from bees, when left to their own instincts and hives of their own selection, and can the " Renfrewshire Bee Keeper " inform us how the hives of the Stewarton System can be moved from place to place, and how it is done ? and how long it would take to pack a hive for the North ? I know from the experience of an old Bee Keeper, Mr. T. Addey, that he can sendiiaze/iso/Qnemlia'sandvv-orkersthTOugh the Post Office, but how can the " Stewarton Hive " he ari-anged to be swung up in a Railway Carriage to travel one or two hundred miles, or even to Vienna ? The late lamented Mr. 'Woodbury (or Devonshire Bee Keeper) invented some transportable " Bee House " or mode of sending Live Queen bees and Swarms abroad, the packing cost I believe ^5 5s. Can. this be done now at a cheaper rate, or is the art lost since his sad and lamented death. Has Mr. G. Neighbour learned the art, and what are his charges for the same purpose ? . An answer would oblige, Mr. Editor. W. AUGUSTUS MUNN. EXPERIENCE. Dear Editor, — You doubtless will have won- dered how I have succeeded with the Ligurian swarm I had from you at the end of last May, as I presume you feel some interest in the success of all your pupils. I'ut before I proceed allow me sir, to thank you for the kind permission to visit your apiary, the courtesy shewn me while there, together with the in- formarion derived from observation, and your kind counsel. But to return to the T>igiirian swarm. Immediately upon my rcturji home, I placed five good combs with plenty of maturing biood in a hive, then shaking the bees on the top of them, they speedily availed themselves with joyful hum of their newhome, much more pleased with a furnished house than with an empty one after their journey. After having made an artifi- ficial swarm by dividing a strong'stock, I e.xchanged, about the ninth day, the combs given to the Ligurians for those left without a queen in the divided stock, which soon began to raise queens. But not to be tedious, although I have lost several queens during, as I suppose, their wedding tour, I have secured four or five young queens, and shall persevere until I have succeeded in Ligurianising the whole of my stocks. I must defer my judgment for a while as to whether their progeny will turn out hybrids or pure, but two ha^-e plenty of Ligurian drones. The Queen I re- ceived from you is very prolific, and seems to be changing the colour of my apiary independent of the assistance of her daughters, by means of the brood I have transferred from her for the purpose of raising queens. Much has been written upon the subject of fumiga- tors. I succeed, by a very simple apparatus, consist- ing of a piece of thick cane, lit at one end, blowing through the other, the smoke may be directed where you please. At the request of a friend who was about to leave the neighbourhood, and who had arrived at the conviction of the utility of bar frames hives, I transferred a stock a few days since. Having blown in a little of the cane smoke, in a few minutes I turned up the stock, poured in a little syrup, placed another hive over, and drove them with the exception ofabout twenty bees in lessthan seven minutes, removed the hive indoors, cut out the comb, and placed it in frames, I use fine wire for fixing the comb in its place, it is easily twisted, and being stifter than string does not admit of the comb shifting outward so easily, and during all the operations necessary to the com- pletion of the work there did not appear any disposi- tion on the part of the bees to sting. One of your corresdondents in the June number enquired it there was any maker or vendor from whom he could procure a Honey Slinger. I was having one made at the time, but not having received it and proved it, I did not feel at liberty to speak. But since the commencement of this month, I have received it, and having used it twice, I may say that it works admirably. It was made for me by Mr. Alfred Star- ling, No. 5, Tottenham Street, Kensal Town, '\V. It is made large enough for any frames that it is at all probable that I shall use, being capable of containing four frames, sixteen inches long and twelve inches deep at one time, and slings them out clear in a ievf THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 73 minutes. I found as the Americans have done, that there needs care in using new comb if not com- pletely attached to the frame, and in tlie case of unsealed brood. The most of the unsealed brood was apparently unaffected by the revolution of the comb, but some drone brood not sealed flew out when rapidly revolving. A very little practice will enable the operator to judge at what speed it will be safe to use the brood comb, the sealed comb does not appear to be affected in the least detrimentally. You, Sir, had recommended one of your correspondents to use apiece of galvanised wire netting, for the purpose of securing broken comb in the frames for the bees to mend, and having had the misfortune to have a comb broken out of the frame by falling, before it was placed in the Honey Slinger, I availed myself of your hint, and having secured a piece of netting, by means of fine wire, to a strip of lath, which served the purpose of the top of the frame, for the purpose of slinging out the honey, it answered well, and by means of the additional frame of wire netting, any sized piece of comb, from any kind of hive, may be speedily cleared of the honey without the danger of mixing the farina, and the juices of the brood with the honey, to the detriment of both flavour, and colour, and from the expedition with which a large quantity of honey may be removed from the comb, it would pay for itself in a short time, even to those who do not use the bar frame hive, but have much honey to extract. Besides, other uses might be made of the outside vessel. Mine is made of zinc. I should have said that it is so constructed that although it will admit four frames, sixteen inches long, it will take any length of frame, short of sixteen inches as well. With the experience which once or twice using it will afford, the Honey Slinger is the thing for clear- ing the comb of the honey, in a pure state, and utilizing the comb again. I noticed that the bees speedily commenced re-filling the combs, when re- turned to them. ALPHA. Winchester. BEE HOUSES. 00 SiR^ — I see in the July numlier of the Ihv yoiinial in answer to No. 22, that you unhesitatingly condemn Bee Houses or Apiaries. 1st. " Because they harbour vermin." I have been a bee-keeper for some years, and I am pf opinion that the reverse is the case. It stands to reason that single hives, placed about a garden, must be more liable to be plagued with vermin, not only those placed singly and covered over during the win- ter, but even when there is a single hive, the only oc- cupant of a single house ; [such I have found to be the case. I have had them singly in a liouse containing two, four, and six, and I have now built one contain- ing 18 hives, the larger the house the less trouble have I had to keep away or remove the vermin. 2nd. You condemn them " because stocks become acquainted and unite, causing desertion of their hives." I have had two cases, in both the desertion took place within three days of hiving, in one I found on examination that my gardener had hived a swarm in a very dirty hive, in the other I could not find the cause, and could not either find that they had united with any other, the latter occurred last year, the former this year. As to becoming acquainted I find that in nearly all my hives (some three hundred yards apart) the I^igurian Bee has fraternised with the English Bee, though only having five out of twenty- eight Ligurians pure, yet in most of the other hives some of the Alpine are to be found, thus the distance has evidently made no difference to them. 3rd. " Whether the house is a close or open one, you cannot examine the interior (of a hive) without great inconvenience to the operator from the bees or without the risk of disturbing other stocks." Here, again, I beg to differ from you. I find I can manipulate them much easier in a large house than in the rase of a shigle hive, either in house or open, (of course the house for a single luve would naturally be small) the bees soon fly away through the open space above, and those returning home during the day do not interfere with the opera- tor. I am speaking more particularly of examining the hives during the working hours of the bee as being best, as the hive is then not crowded. As to disturbing the other stocks I do not see that that is the case. He must be very clumsy who cannot open one stock without disturbing the one next to it, I should like to see this matter further discussed. On the whole, I consider the apiary advisable even for those reasons for which you condemn it, and mucli more for the purpose of ventilation, and as giving the owner more command over the temperature of his hive. The following is a description of my larger hous? \-^ 74 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. Brick sides and back ; board front ; glass top (lights to let up and down; ; height in front, 7 feet ; back, 10 feet; width, 7 feet, and length, 18 feet; two tiers of shelves, 9 hives on each. I am open to conviction if I am wrong, but at pre- sent see no reason to alter my views, if you will kindly ventilate the matter a little further you will oblige. A KENTISH BEE KEEPER. In our reply to querist No. 22, we were not guided by any theory, or by the statements of any of the many authors who have denounced bee houses, as apiaries, as strongly as we then did, but our observa- tions were founded on actual experience, and we think it a great pity that any one should court simi- lar loss and disappointment to ours, by going over the same ground again. Our bee house like that of our correspondent was pierced for eighteen hives, but had three shelves, and when stocked, the hives were (like his) about two feet apart. The doors were at the back and the entrances, each with its own internal porch, were situated twelve in front and three at either end, all differently marked by painting or other device, so that the bees should not make a mistake as to appearances ; and eveiy ordinary precaution was taken to prevent the evils usually complainL'd of in such cases. Our precautions, however, were of little or no avail, young queens persisted in making mistakes with fatal results, bees that had lost their queens wan- dered in search of them into other hives, others return- ing laden from the fields were blown down or aside, and if unable to take wing again, almost invariably crept into the nearest hive. In opening hives for any purpose the disturbing of others is not always the result of carelessness or clumsiness, as our correspon- dent broadly hints, but from the almost impossibility of preventing a slight jarring of the shelf on which they are standing. Unscrewing a cover, prizing up a frame, or wrench- ing a straw skep from its floor board will often com- municate sufficient motion to all the^hives on a shelf to cause them to enquire the reason, when the smell of honey will attract them, and may cause a terrible war to rage as occurred with our " Apiary," and which we only stopped by closing all the hives but that attacked, and removing them to distant locali- ties. This may be a useful hint to a Kentish Bee Keeper in case of accident. Our Bee House is now a recep- tacle for empty hives and lumber, as which it is harm- less. Our allusion to the familiarity which arises amongst stocks in a bee house is of the kind men- tioned by Mr. Pettigrew (see below) and not as sug- gested by our correspondent, whose black queens have evidently mated with Ligurian drones, which will sufficiently account for the presence of marked bees in his black stocks (?) The value of bee houses (as used in England) for winter protection is very doubtful. Our e.xperience with stocks kept inside the rcoiii of a workman's cottage, as well as in tlie house alluded to is not such as would lead us to recommend either plan for general adoption, We had three hives 'against the inside wall of \he house facing southwards, and they came out but poorly in the spring. They got no sunshine at all, and when the wind blew against their side of the cottage, i.e., from the southward, the way it whistled through the hives made the room anything but com- fortable and was most injurious to the bees. The mischief arose from the accumulated pressure of the wind on the side of the house as against a sail, but which unlike it, was immoveable, consequently the rush of air through the hive openings was often most intense, causing the bees to forsake their brood, and seek safely by clustering in the warmest part of the hi\e. Our allusion to houses for single hives had reference to the Woodbury system, in which every hive is supposed to be sheltered by a cover completely enclosing it, but which of course is moveable, and when the hive is under examination is taken oft alto- gether. Appended are a few extracts from authorities on the subject. Ed. ■ Wildman says on page 96 (published 1770) " Each hive should stand single on a piece of deal, or other wood. I'his stand should be supported upon a single post. The stands should be four yards asunder, or as far asunder as may be, tl-at the bees of one hive may not interfere with those of another hive, as is some- times the case when the hives are seated near one another, or on the same stand, for the bees mistaking their own hives alight sometimes at the wrong door, and a fray ensues, in which one or more lose their lives." The Rev. J. G. Wood, says (page 84) " The hive should always be placed upon a stand of a single log, &c." Quinby says (page 107) " I have used bee houses, but they will not pay, and I have discarded them, they are objectionable on account of preventing a free circulation of air, &c. He also objects to them because they obstruct the sunshine, &c., and says, " We are often quite prodigal in building a splendid bee house, but we think of economy when we come to put our hives in (it) and are quite sure to pack them too closely. Notwithstanding the objections here urged against bee houses, there will be a few who if they keep bees at all, must have them in a house. * * # * J consider separate stands with spaces between as a better arrangement, than the plank run- ning lengthwise, as the bees cannot run from one hive to another to gossip." Mr. Pettigrew says (page 66.) : — " It appears a work of supererogation to say a word about bee houses in a work on the profitable manage- ment of bees. Such houses are very expensive and inconvenient. All beekeepers of experience consider them an hindrance to good management, and objec- tionable in many senses. We have nothing to say in their favour, save this, that they help to protect hives from the severity of winter storms. 01 course there are people who will have bee houses, and have them to please the eye of the most fastidious, real models of beauty and architecture." " One gentleman in this neighbourhood built one, some four years ago, at a cost of ^20. He placed some hives ot bees in it; but every year something went wrong with them. We called this season to see THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 75 them about swarming time. We found tliree hives on one bench, containing bees of the most social and neighbourly characters and dispositions we have ever seen, for they marched in and out of each others hives in the most friendly manner, apparently without let or hindrance. This gentleman met the writer about a month ago, when he said, " I have lost all my bees, I can't manage them." No wonder his bees did not prosper. In bee keeping there is no profitable return for foolish and unnecessary expenses. If this gentleman's bees had been kept apart on separate stands, he would have had success instead of loss and disappointment." Vii/e. THE CARR-STEWARTON HIVE. . -0 — Sir, — All the principal advantages of the Stewarton hive are here combined with many of die chief points of excellence to be found in the celebrated hive of Mr. Carr, of Clayton Bridge, Manchester. The two body boxes can be used separately or together according to the strength of the swarms hived in them. Each bo.x, i s inches square outside measure, has about i,ooo cubic inches of inside space, and the nine moveable bars when filled will accommodate about 27,000 worker cells, i.e., 54,000 for the two boxes. The honey box can be used either as a super or nadir. With this hive, stocks or swarms can be united, and artificial swarms made with the greatest ease. In summer or in winter every stock in the apiary can be properly aided by telescopic expansion or con- traction of space, and every degree of warmth neces- sary may be maintained. The writer has several of these Carr-Stewarton hives now in use, and finds them work admirably. C. W. SMITH. Totteridge, Herts. A FACT FOR NATURALISTS. 00 Dear Sir, — Shall I be thought excessively scepti- cal if I bring^before you a little matter which came under my own observation, and which seems to throw doubt upon the commonly received opinion that 2 1 days elapse between the laying of the egg, and the hatching out of the worker bee ? I had a cast on the 15th of last May, but the queen, accompanying it, although of unusual size, never laid an egg, but died on June 3rd. On the Wednesday, June 5th, a new queen was introduced in a cage. On the following morning at nine o'clock an exa- mination being made, and the bees appearing friendly she was liberated. On Friday a patch of eggs had been deposited. The following Friday, at 5 p.m. about 50 cells were completely sealed. This was eight days eight hours from the liberation of the queen. The hive being opened on Thursday, June 25th, a newly hatched bee was seen. After a little search five others were found, two were gnawing out, and one crawled from its cell while under obser- vation. Nineteen days eight hours had elapsed since the queen had been freed. The weather had been unusually cold, and the colony was very weak, having dwindled much under its moribund sovereign. All things seem against the supposition that the development of the bees had not been retarded to the fullest extent, and yet the time was less than that stated by any apiarkm. Does the time vary with different queens? Experiments with fowls' eggs have proved that the period of incubation varies, some hens producing eggs which uniformly hatch on the 20th day, while the progeny of others never chip their way out until the 22nd. Or, did the eggs which the queen would have laid earlier had she not been caged, continue to mature in her oviduct, so that the hatching followed more quickly upon extrusion in consequence of the queen's abnormal position ? Analogies exist which would favour this supposition. Some whose opportunities for observation are greater than mine, may like to give their experience. F. CHESHIRE. Acton, W. THE STEWARTON HIVE AND SYSTEM. Sir, — A Renfrewshire Bee Keeper, I think, makes a mistake in supposing that Robert Kerr, of Stewarton, invented the Stewarton hive in 1S19, and Major Munn on page 55, is also mistaken in ascribing to Thomas \\'ildman the invention of the Stewarton hive ; as Wildman's first edition was only published in 1768. I have nearly all the works of note that have been published on bees, and find that Moses Rusden, Bee Master to the Kings most excellent M.ajesty, in his work " A Further Discovery of Bees," published in 1679, (or eighty nine years before Wildman's book was printed) describes the Stewarton Hive, which he then used, and gives drawings of the same as now made, and uses the same argument two hundred 76 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. years since, as a Renfrewshire Bee Keeper now does for having the boxes made with eiglit sides. On page 8i Rusden says, " The form of my Hive is octagon, or eight square, which being near to round- ness, is much better tlian to have them four square because the bees lying in a globulous body in the centieofthe Hive, are thereby the nearer to the cir- cumference in this lorm as well as in round hives, but in four square hives they would be more remote from t-he corners, and the consequence would be that the Honey in the corners would candy, and thereby become useless for the Bees in the Spring, which in this form is avoided by their propinquity to it, whose natural heat keeps the Honey from being candied or curdled in the Hive. The height of the Hive is ten inches from the top to the bottom on the outside, and sixteen inches over from outside to outside with a sliding shutter to run easily in a grove in the middle of the top, liackwards over the back window ; this shutter is to cover an hole five inches square in the middle of the top of the Hive, also in the hive are two large glass windowes, one before, the other behind, with doors to cover the glasses. And two handles on each side, one for lift- ing them up ; also a frame in the inside, made fast with four pins for the Bees to {listen their combs upon." (This is an exact copy from Rusden's Book and the words as there spelt.) Is not this the f.rst notice we have of a frame placed inside the hive for the bees to fasten their combs upon? One hundred and sixty years before Major Munn, in 1S34, put a a bar frame within a case or hive. Rusden used three of these boxes when working for honey, one on the top of another, exactly the same as the modern Stewarton, and he found then as now, that the bees preferred as is their nature, to always carry their honey the farthest from the entrance into the top box, so Rusden put the empty box underneath the others and removed the top box as soon as it was filled with honey. This is just the reverse of the Renfrewshire Bee Keeper's management : as on page 54 he says he places the second and third supers on the top, which from my experience I condemn, as the empty bar frame super should always be placed, with one empty comb in the centre for the bees to climb up, imme- diately over the stock box, as I find if there is not an empty space between the super and the stock box the bees will often swarm. Th2 queen is also tempted to enter the super and spoil I all the beautiful white virgin combs by breeding in them, and also when the top super is filled with honey, and an empty super has been placed on it, I have found the bees follow their natural instinct and carry the honey out of the second super into the top one, as soon as the combs were built in which to deposit it. A "Renfrewshire's" enquiry, page 54, " What would the workers of the manufacturer or store keeper think of being compelled to the additional labour of carry- ing their respective loads through a projected addition to the premises? no more would our workers relish it." Now this is just Thomas Nutt's exploded idea, when he invented the Collateral system which has been a perfect failure, and I have seen hives that have cost some pounds, broken up for fire wood ; Nutt's says in his work, " Humanity to Honey Bees" page 145, "Is it not inhumanity to force the bees to deposit their treasures in a garret, two or three stories high, when a far more convenient store room may be provided for them on the first flbor?" and on page 148 he says " For a loaded bee the way through two or three boxes is neither short nor pleasant; it is a labyrinth beset with difficulties and obstructions, in surmounting which much of that time is occupied which would other- wise be more profitably, and we may suppose, far more agreeably employed in passing from flower to flower and in culling their various sweets. Any person, it may be presumed, would rather set down a heavy load on the ground floor than have to tug it up two or three long flights of stairs and through intricate wind- ing passages, and be jostled and impeded and pushed about, and perhaps backwards every now and then, by countless crowds of busy men, unceasingly hurrying up and down and passing and repassing the burdened man in every direction." Now this sort of reasoning sounds very true and nice, but the bees instinct gives the lie to it when applied to them. The bees, even the Ligurians, speak plain English, if people will only listen and look to see what they do. A clever bee master as a Renfrewshire Bee Keeper, knows very well that even in a common straw hive, the bees always carry the honey and deposit it in the cells at the top of the hive, the bottom part of the combs being either filled with brood or are empty. Do not the bees here speak plain enough, that they prefer to carry the honey the farthest from the entrance into the hive ? " the garret and through all the difficult ways to it." And it really is not much loss of time, as it is astonishing how quickly a bee can pass through a crowd of bees into the top super and empty itself, as THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 77 anyone can see them in a Unicomb Hive. There is nothing in a Stewarton Hive that we do not obtain, and a very great deal more in an Improved Bar-frame Hive, which I contend settles that endless disputed question " AVhich is the best Hive." WILLIAM CARR, Newton Heath, near Manchester, August nth, 1873. THE HONEY HARVEST. 00 Dear Sir, — In spite of" The unprecedented honey harvest " reported in the Times of Aug. 8th, by a Bee Master at Tunbridge A\'ells, which by-the-bye is not so unprecedented as he seems to imagine, being far behind my own harvest of last year, I fear that the \\-ant of a market for our produce will not be a serious matter to most of us this year, as judging from other reports that have reached me, there will be little or no sur- plus to be disposed of by the majority of British Bee Keepers. In my own case I have a deficiency to report, and have already commenced to administer the necessary artificial stores required for the coming winter. The hopes that the few fine days from about the 1 9th to the Z4th of July led me to indulge in have been doomed to disappointment, and my Honey Extractor has had an easy time of it. As, liowever, brighter days, perhaps, are yet in store, let us make use of this time of adversity in preparing for the goo 1 time that may be coming. The proposed Bee Guild makes but litde head way as yet, although its very great desirability is admitted by all. Now I want to know, Mr. Editor, if we cannot take still another leaf out of the Book of our Cousins, the Yan- kees, by estalilishing a British Bee Keepers Associa- tion, and holding a meeting in some central place, so that all wlio have a real desire for advancement, may attend andhave a big"Talkee" "Talkee," aconvention, in fiict where we may freely discuss the past season and its experiences, and try to arrange and provide for the wants and requirements of the coming year. I think more real good can be done in this way and with greater promptitude than in propositions and discussions, that only appear monthly. Bee Keepers should be banded together as one great brotherjiood, and I take it, this is the simplest and readiest means to that end. By the time your next number is in print, the bee season of 1S73 will be past, and I would lose no time in looking back, but at once start 'in preparation for the future. My proposition, therefore, may not be inopportune, and if the scheme meets with your approval, I would propose that you fix a time and place for the meeting, and commence tosoHcit attendance, so that if a convention there be, it may be a comprehensive and successful one. The formation of an association will be the first step towards the establishment of a Guild, as that is just the kind of scheme, if decided, to be advisable, that a properly organised association could best carry out. You can put me down as an attendant, hold it where you may, not that I can render any assistance in council, but rather that I may learn wisdom from those whose experience is greater than my own, for desirous as I am for the advancement of Apiculture and willing as I may be to render every assistance in my power, still I am compelled at present to subscribe myself only a NOVICE. Notice. — ]Vhcn qiu-rics on any siihjat nrc nearly syiionyiiioiis, 7ue only publish that -luhich has nyiiircd the /idlest reply. Query No. 48. — My bees are clustering about the liive (a straw one) and have lieen for four or five weeks ; the larger number are at the back of the hive, they have made an outlet there themselves, and I cannot get at them very easily. There does not appear to l>e mucli work going on. With an occasional exception, the days have been cloudy for some time past. I would have driven them into my bar frame hive, but could not get anyone to help me. That difficulty is gone now, and I am [prepared to try my hand at this, to me, new job, but before doing so wish to know if the tobaeeo smoke will drive the cluster- ing bees into the hive? My friends here say it will drive them a^^'ay. The prejudices of the peo]>le here are very strong against this driving ; that does not, liowever, affect me in the slightest degree. I shall certainly try to drive them, hit or miss. My bees \\ere hived in the middle of June, 1S72. The cluster of bees at the back of the hive is this moment eighteen inches deep, pear shaped, those at the front are adhering to the front of the hive, not hanging down. A fortnight since the bees brought out many drones, which they killed, also many in the larva: state. E. H. St. Helens. Reply to No. 48. — There is no doubt but that smoke will drive all the outlying bees into the hive if it will hold them, but we think it would be better on a fine day when they are clustering as you say, to remove the stock hive from its stand without disturbing them, and place an empty skejs in its stead, then after giving those in the former a little smoke, drive tliem out and find their queen, as directed in the Journal for July, page 47. Return the bees thus driven to the original hive, wlrich should then be sent a mile or so away, that it may not be further weakened by its bees returning to their old stand, clip the wings of the queen to prevent her flying away with the outlying bees and place her in the empty skep, which has been substituted for the full one, then smoke the outlying bees, and drive them into it. . In clipping the queens wings 1)6 careful not to clip her feet off, as queens are good contortionists, and often mix feet and wings together, when held by tlie ojierator. Of one thing be quite certain, she wiU not sting yon, so there is no danger in the operation beyond that to which she is liable. 78 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. Your original hive being safely disposed of and the outlying bees driven into the skep on their own stand, nothing remains to be done but to put them into the bar frame hive, directions for which have already been given. In about 21 days the brood in the old skep will be principally hatched out when the bees contained in it should be driven out, and the combs fixed into the empty frames of your bar frame hive and all the bees united under the usual precautions. From the fact of your bees killing oft their drones and ejecting their drone brood, it is evident they do not mean to swarm. Ed. Query No. 46. — Without entering into reasons for so doing, it is my intention to take some of my lioney this year by stupefying the bees witli chloroform. Will you be l^ind enough to tell me the exact time in August or September when it -Hill be best to do so. Will you, likewise, tell me if the hive should be prepared to receive the l3ees again just the same as if for a fresh swarm, and how long they should he fed. I am much afraid this -will not be in time to receive an answer in the August publication, but if not, I trust the re])ly by 1st Septem- ber will be all-sufficient, and in time for the honey by the begin- ning of that month. Yours obediently, J. S. T. Hartford, Kent. Reply No. 49. — We have of course no right to inquire your reasons for what you propose, but we fmd some difficulty in recommending as the best, any course which is so much against our principles. It is impossible to give an exact date either in August or September, when the hive will contain most honey, as so much will depend upon the weather and the nature of the locality. For the sake of the bees, and to give them a chance of recovering themselves, and establishing a new home, the sooner they are deprived the better it will be for them, but there will be a greater proportion of brood in the hive, which (as we understand you) will be wasted, than there wouUl be a month hence, On the other hand, a month hence it will be too late, the honey season being over, for the bees to establish themselves so as to be of any actual value in the spring ensuing, as they will be unable to collect the supply of pollen necessary for early breeding. Hives never require any preparation provided they be perfectly clean and dry, unless it be by the inser- tion of guide comb. If you cany out your intention, the bees must be fed until they /.<'., the combs and bees, are of a net weight of about 2olbs. We wish we could persuade you to utilize the combs containing the brood and the all-necessary pollen as so often advised in the Journal. A hive may lie purchased for a few shillings, quite new, and on depriving two or three stocks, brood comb will be found sufficient to enable the bees to form a first-rate colony. Ed. Query No. 50. — I have a strong hive of bees in a straw hive with a flat top, they have sent out a very good sv\-arm about three weeks ago. This parent hive is defective, I want to trans fer the bees to a Stewarton Hive. I'leasc tell me how to du it, •«ill they be able to do without any comb being renioveil ? C. H. K. Lyuiington, July 2. Reply to No. 50. — In speaking of " transferring" bees wc always understand it to mean the transfer entirely of both combs and bees, the transfer of bees alone is denominated " artificial swarming," and the removal of combs alone " depriving." Will you kindly inform us which you mean, and wherein is your difficulty ? Artificial swarming has already been des- cribed, so also has transferring. " Depriving " from straw skeps is not easy, on account of the crowns being fixed and having usually such small holes for feeding only. Undoubtedly the bees alone would work well in the Stewarton if they have a queen, without a particle of comb being given to them, providing the weather permits them, but it is very easy to give them, the combs out of the old skep, and save them all the trouble and expense of building new ones. If they were able to send out a good swarm three weeks ago, the comb must still be in serviceable condition, and ought not to be wasted. Drive out the bees as described in number for May, see page 7, and on page 8 of June number, into another straw skep, clear the hive with a litde chloroform, or puff ball if you prefer it, cut out the combs, and fill the frames of your Stewarton with the worker portions of them, reserving if you chose the honey comb for your- self, then when all is ready place the Stewarton with the slides out on the stand of the old hive, and shake the bees into it, when they will take possession and clear up all waste and rubbish. In two days remove all ligatures, pins or laths used in fastening the combs close up the hive, and the work will be done. Ed. I^UKRV No. 51. — I have two straw skeps, the bees of which I \\'as Avishful should swarm naturally, however, this it seems they won't do, for they have been hanging out in grape-like clusters since early in June, and at the same time have been killing their drones, for I find dozens lying dead constantly. Will it be too-late to swai-m them artificially ? I am very much |)Iagued with robber bees, which I fear might attack them as I fancy, however much I fed them, they would be weak for some time, the weather is and has been very much against them. I have t:)een fje^ling more or less all summer. .Should a glass super be entirelv sealed before taking it off? I shall feel much obliged for any information you will kindly give me on those points. H. M. Enstone. Reply to No. 53. — It is not too late to make an artificial swarm if you undertake to feed the bees on every occasion when honey cannot be readily obtained by them, i.e., when they could get no honey during the day, they should be fed at night. If so fed (at night) there will be little to attract robbers, and little danger from them during the day. Glass supers, indeed, all sujjers to be perfect should have every cell sealed, but should there beany indication that the unfilled and unsealed cells are being emptied of their contents, the super should be removed if the honey is required for present use. If, however, the intention be to keep the super for fiiture use it would be perhaps wiser to allow the bees to carry down all the unsealed honey, which they will speedily do when the out-door supjily slackens, but they will not touch the sealed cells until driven to do so'by the shortness of the supply within. Unsealed honey is liable to sour or crystallize. Ed. (JCERV No. 52. — In the beginning of summer I bought a stock hive of black Ijces in a straw skep, which I now find to be much infested \\'ith the A\'ax moth ; to get rid of which I have had it under consideraticm to drive all thejiees out of the straw skep into either a bhr frame or Stewarton hive, thus, as it were, aiaking an artificial swarm, only taking all the bees. On sug- gesting thia to some of my bee keepin;;; friends, they advise me H THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 79 strongly against it, stating as their reason for so doing that the season is now too far ativanced. I am, however, of a different opinion, as the Honey season with us extends into the beginning of September or even a little later, and shoidd the season prove fine they should collect as much from the heather (distant about a mile) as should keep them through the winter, but if not tliey cuidd be fed. Having now stated the case I \\ill be glad to have your advice, ^\'hether I should drive the bees or not, and if so whether it should be into a bar comb or Stewarton Hive ; if the former, would it be atlvisable to fix as much of the brood comb in the frames as possible, or ^\•oultl it be better to keep out all comb, in case it should contain any of the wax moth or its eggs? Shall feel obliged if you will kindly reply to the fore- going by letter, for which I enclose stamped addressed envelope. I would not have troubled you to do so, but if you advise the bees to be driven, the sooner it is now done the better. Wish- ing you all manner of success, &c. J. w. Gourock, July 26 Reply TO No. 5 2 . — If you place the beesalone in anew hive now they will act as a natural swarm, and will build comb as long as they can get honey and pollen. If you place such of their combs with them as are avail- able, they may build comb ; but the rnajor part of it will be store or drone comb in which to deposit the honey which is now so abundant. In the first case you will lose both the brood and cornb already exist- ing, and in the second the stock may have such a superabundance of drone comb as will make it com- paratively useless in future. If the stock be strong enough, we recommend you to make an artificial swarm, and place it in one com- ])artment of a Stewarton set, so that the bees may build naturally in it, leaving only sufficient bees to hatch out the brood already existing in the old straw skep. In twenty-one days the combs in the skep will be free of brood when the bees in tlie latter should be driven out and all the available parts of the combs cut out and fixed into the second compartment of tlie Stewarton hive, to which the driven bees should then be added. ^Vhen nicely fixed and all are com- fortable the latter should be placed under the foraier, with the usual precautions on uniting, so that together they may form a good stock. If any .further information be desired we shall be happy to render it, but we think you will see the value of the hint here given. Ed. QuF.itv No. 53. — By what distinctive marks in the progeny of my young queens am I to determine whether they have mated \iitli Ligurian drones of which I have plenty, or with black drones. Are not one banded worker bees, and very dark queen progeny an evidence either that tlie queen mother is not pme having some strain of the black blood, or tliat she has mated willi a black drone ? The answer to the above questions will give me confidence in speaking of the bees I may rear from my imported queen. I). \V. P. Fulford, Winchester. Reply to No. 53. — We always consider that the progeny of young queens are pure, when there are no all-black bees among them- You may get liees as you may queens, with difle- rcnces in their distinctive marks, but if a queen has mated with a black drone or with a drone, the progeny of a queen whose mother had so mated, there would surely be some black bees, and this would determine their impurity. There are as many degrees of l)eauty in Ligurians as there are of colour in English bees, and we are always satisfied if all the bees arc alike. 0 The queens own iiueciii progeny will sometimes vary much in colour, one being nearly all black and another nearly all yellow, yet both may be equally pure. Much depends on one's aim and object ; if it be the obtaining of beautiful bees, that is one thing, but if the improvement of the bees as workers be the desidera- tum there is little doubt but that one is as good as the other. Ed. Qui.;rv JVo. 54. — Will j-ou kindly give me answers to the fol- lowing queries ? (i). One of my bar and frame hives I per- ceive has from some fault in the stand or from twisting in the frames got some frames jammed close together. The bees (a swarm) have by this time, probalily fastened them together in a mass. How am I to correct this, and how to j^revent frames hanging at unequal distances apart ? My frames are in notches at the top. (2). What lireadth of bar is best, and what distance from centre of bar to centre of the next ; and interval lietween each bar is advisable ? (3). Cottagers here woultl give me comb containing brood from their earliest tak- ings (chiefly "casts") when they murder their liees : could I profit By their wilful ignorance, and transfer brood to a frame hive, or are these later brood cliiefly drone, as was in my own apiary last year. LE.VRNER. Leominster. Reply to No. 54. — A bar frame hive should have a lath sprung in across the top of the frames, to pre- vent their being shaken out of the notches at top, otherwise when hiving by turning the hive bottom upwards, (as many will insist on doing) to receive the swarm, the frames get out of place, and the whole arrangement is nullified. This we suspect is your case, as otherwise we do not see how the frames could get displaced. We do not recomrriend you to undertake to rectify the combs this year, as being new and tender and filled with brood and provision, they will not bear their own weight if detached from the bars above, unless carefully supported all round, and as in doing this much brood and comb would be injured, we think it will be wiser to wait for another year, when the combs will be tougher. Why not place the whole bodily on the top of another hive, after the manner of the Stewarton sys tern? you would then get your crooked comb filled with honey and only very slightly discoloured, and probably other supers on that, as described by a Ren- frewshire Bee Keeper. The notches if properly cut, ought to maintain the correct distances between the frames at top, and it is usual to have corresponding notches in a rack at bottom, so as to ensure their perpendicularity, but your hives seem to be without such racks. - Many plans are resorted to, to ensure the object you name, but none seem effectual or satisfactory. If you insist on rectifying the combs now, the first thing to do will be to get them out, and this you had better do bodily. Take two pieces of iron rod, each of slightly less length than the width of the hive, bore holes at right and left top corners of one side of hive, toiurmit theiron rods being passed under the ends of the frames between them and the front and back of hive, so that all the frames with their contents may be lifted out of the hive en masse and set down in front of it. 'I'hc comb must then be cut out of such frames as it is improiierly att.iched to, but in cases where it is fairly witiiin a frame, it would be well to leave it attached to the top bar and by bending it, THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL." bring it within the frame so as to enable the bees to further attach it to the top as in transferring, which is described in Journal No. 2. In cases where a small quantity only of new worker comb has accidentally fallen, we have spliced it into old frames of combs from other hives, removing the parts which contain only drone cells, to enable us to do so, and perhaps the hint might be useful now. The bars may be about J^ or ^ of an inch in width, and should be from 1/5 inches to i^ inches from centre to centre of each other, the space between each, being of course governed by the width of the bars. The combs available from cottagers may be built up into nice stocks of bees as suggested in Journal under the heading " Transferring.'' It is not at all usual for " casts " to build much drone comb, and its presence late in Autumn, filled with brood, indicates the presence of an unfertile queen or a fertile worker. Ed. \2fERV No. 55.- -If you have a swarm hived and a day or two afterwards take another swanii and want to join them to the former, do you after you have shal;en them on to a cloth pick out the C|ueen or allow them all to ascend and leave them to fight it out as to who shall be queen? I have had much trouble with a swarm, anil can disprove the statement that bees do not know their original hive when moved to a fresh stool. A swarm issued a week ago, and before settling, returned to the hive, making a great commotion. I picked up the queen from the ground, and kept her 15 or 20 minutes walking on my hands, and shou'ed lier to a lot of friends. 1 returned her, and the next day, when I %\as away, they swarmed again, but again returned. The day before yesterday they swarmed and .settled very kindly. I put them into a new Neighljour's Hive, moved the old hive six stools clown, and put an empty hive on the old stool in case they came back. They began to settle and go up into " Neighbour's " hive, when suddenly they changed their mind, and began to return many to the old hive, ^^•hich was removed as before mentioned, tlien a singular thing took l)lace, the next hive to the original one was covered with liees, and something li];e a good sized s\\arm began to hang under the board, increasing in size until it became a good swarm 1 im- mediately moved that hive and swept them into " Neighbours " again, placing it on the stool, and in about tliree hours they vexe all up in a bunch, but I do not kno\v whether tliey have a c|ueen. They are still in a big bunch, and seem to be secreting wax, .and they are working very hard in tlieir new situation. How long ought they to bunch ? many, I ought to have said are rushing about and clearing the hive. Will you give me your opinion as to whether you think the queen will be with them? Would they not have forsaken by this time, and not started carrying pollen, &c., if the queen was lost ? J. T. Hereford. Reply to No. 55. — In doubling swarms it is usual to allow the queens to fight for the supremacy on the ground that the strongest will conquer, but we prefer to remove the one we consider the least valuable. A queen may be so distended with eggs (as would probably be the case with that hived first) as to be in- capable of defending herself against one more hthe and active, and though the most valuable, might fall the victim. In your second case all your trouble has been brought on by removing the old stock from its stand. Bees that have swarmed naturally and are accom- panied by their queen, seem to forget their old quar- ters altogether, and have no desire to return to them even when set close to them, Removing the old stock and putting an empty skep in its place could serve no useful purpose, as all strag- gling bees would be sure to return to the old stand, and from the fact of the bulk of them returning and attempting to unite with the slock next to it we think they must have lost their queen. In the " Neighbour's," hive you now have the swarm itself, and all the working population of the stock they endeavoured to amalgamate with, but which you removed, leaving them in our opinion, queenless and isolated, ^^'hat were they to do ? Under such circum- stances it was not singular that some of them found out their own hive again, and went to it as the only place where they could gain admittance. The pollen gatherers are probably workers from the hive last rernoved, which having gone out without having marked the new locality, have returned to the old one. The rushing about also indicates the absence of the queen, ^\'hen you caught her if you had removed the old stock and placed an empty skep in its stead, and put the queen into it, the returning bees would have formed the swann, and all might have been well. The best thing you can now do is to form an artifi- cial swarm from one of your other stocks by driving out all the bees and then place the hive full of combs in place of the " Neighbour's " hive, now occupied by the erratic swarm. This will prevent loss and disap- pointment, as you will still possess the one swarm, aud run comparatively no risk of losing the other through its queenlessness. Ed. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS AND ENQUIRERS. .I."\V.B., Hereford. Second-hand hives are useful as patterns, but we should be very sorry to place bees in one unless we h.ad either boiled or baked it to ensure the destruction of vermin and the germs of all disease. G Keats. AVe know there is a description of a bee trap in Brr Keeping for the Manij, published at the office of the Journal of Horticulture, but we cannot think we acted unfairly in noticing that advertised by Mr. Astou. The foi- mer leaves bee keepers to manufacture for themselves, the latter is ready-made aud ready to hand. N.B. — Our remarks on the use of drones arc deferred until a future number. We are sorry to be compelled to defer the insertion of several interesting communications until next month's issue. SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS. I'.WAllLE IN AT)VANXE. £ s. ,/. Two lines of t\\'elve words each o i 6 Per line afterwards 006 ,, Inch of .'^pace 050 ,, Quarter column o 10 6 ,, Half ditto, or quarter page... i " o ,, Column, or half page i 15 ° ,, Full page J 3 ° No Advertisements can be received after the 20th of each month. THE mmm 1% CONDUCTED BY CHARLES NASH ABBOTT, BEE-MASTER, HANWELL, W. LONDON. Guarantees to its Subscribers sound practical replies to all queries on Bee Management, and in urgent cases of difficulty, immediate replies by post or telegraph if desired. .4JVJV UA L SUBS CBIFTIO JV', HA L F-d-G UIKE A, PayalAc in Advance. Special Terms to Clubs and Literary Instilutions. Free by Post on day of Publication. [entered at stationers hall.] [No. 6. Vol. i.] OCTOBER, 1873. [Published Monthly.] DIRECT lOh^S JO CORRESPONDENTS &- QC'ER/S'JS t, — Write in a IcgiUe Jiandon one side of tlie paper only. 2, — Use no abbreinations loJiicfi are not to appear in print. 3. — Keep ei'eiy query disiinet and separate^ and ^ive ttie Jnltest possible particul g s, stating also tlie kind 0/ /live used. if, — W/ien requiring an immediate reply, send a stamped ADDRESSED envelope, or stamps for cost of telegram. %\t §ritisJT i^^ I OCTOBER, 1873. ^0unr by the best London joiners ; and the 2nd, in straw, with wood frames, on the improved Woodbury principle. The prices will be shortly announced, 86 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. Corrcsjojiknxr, HUMANITY. o To The Editor of t/ic BRITISH BEE JOURNAL Dear Sir, — I hope in one of your papers you will insert a strong article on the subject of the suftocation of the poor bees in the autumn, as it will do much good among the poorer classes who believe more what they read in a newspaper than what one tells them. All here destroy their bees and pretend it is much more humane to do so at once than to take away their honey and let them die a lingering death. It seems impossible to convince them that the bees can be saved. " I knows better, I knows a man what tried it but it was'nt no good, the poor things died one after another," is the almost invariable answer, and they congratulate themselves on their humanity in using brimstone. STAINES. // in of littk use to preach humanity to !^:;uora7it bee keepers. The bettei- flan is to shim' them by eximple how easily a hi rge profit may be made, by uiiiiziug the materials, which they loould thro'io nrcay or destroy. Ed. EXPERIENCE. Dear Sir, — Some of my hives are very light, and I wish to help them, but if I feed in the daytime, how- ever dull, in about ten minutes the bees will be trying to get in at every window in the house, and they tight viciously. Last summerl fed theraonawet morning, and went out for the day. AVhen I returned every house in the village was full, and the place in an uproar. All the jugs and cups in an alehouse about two hun- dred yards off were full, and no one could get any beer. They showed no disposition to go home at night. I feed on top as you recommend, and cover over close. What is the reason ? Mr. Pagdeu in his book, says syrup honey is as good as any other. Is it so ? I like your tinplatc corner pieces for frames, but I don't see that they do away with the space over the frames. It would be next to impossible to get the crown board to press on all alike, but still it would ' ' prevent them canting. GEO. HAILES. A»/ nt night only, as so ofi^ii rccoiiniieiidcd. Syiiip is k'lhi til 111 lioiicy for I'cc Ji'cd, as if pivpa-ly made, it can lur, c notliiiig di'tc/crioiis ill it. THE PAST HONEY SEASON. -o — Sir, — I daresay there are many bemoaning like my- self our unfavourable honey season, and to uninitiated beginners, a sadly perplexing one it has been. Here- abouts bees have done little besides clustering out. It may be in my simplicity that I look upon it as a sad sight, but I much fear it is a certain sign of much autumn and spring feeding being required, besides a large joining and consequent dimmution of stocks. Lad tradesmen are said to find fiiult with their tools, so I suppose I must blame the extreme variations of the temperature for my bad prospects. I find doctors (not bee doctors) say that the past season has been more prolific of colds and rheumatism than any similar period for many years and it is not to be wondered at when the \agaries of the weather are considered. At my hall door the themiometer at three p.m. on five successive days registered iii", 62", TIG', 72', and 107', and at the hour I write it is raining in torrents. How different from last season, when on the first of July, I saw a swarm hived in one of Pag- den's small hives, and on the 29th of the same month witnessed the removal of a super from it of the net weight of 2olbs. In a season like this. I confess myself an advocate for rationally sized hives in preference to the very large ones, now in so much favour. To my sorrow I have all large hives, and although some of them have nadirs and supers, the bees are disgusting me by hanging out, and I daresay you will tell me to leave them alone. There can be very little doubt but that a little prac- tice is far more useful than a great deal of book read- ing, and were it not for your limited space I could describe some late and first attempts in practising amongst my bees, which have not only given myself courage, but far better still, have given a great amount of confidence to assistants. TYRO. ^^'estmeath. What i^; a rationally sized hive ? The large hives you bewail possession of, cannot l)e too large, or nadirs and supers would not be required. Would smaller hives have caused the secretion of more honey by the flowers ? Would they not have added to the difficulties of this honey season by causing increaseof swarms and subse- (juent "joining and consequent dimminution of stocks"? Ku. A FIRST ATTEMPT. -00- Dear Sir, — I have many times wished to take a bar out of my large hive, but have not summed up courage till yesterday, and then unsuccessfully. Having first Ijecome well veiled and gloved, I went at noon and took the two top laths oft', when I found the bars of the outer compaitments full and so glued together that I could not stir them. By this time the bees were out and about me in such numbers that I fairly believed they were swarming so I had to give it up. At the same time numbers of people in the road, and in several of the adjoining gardens were so badly stung, that both I and my bees are anything but welcome in the neighbourhood. I may add that in order to get clear I walked with my shield some distance from the scene, but they stuck to me for full an hour. Being somewhat determined to accomplish my object, I again tried about seven in the evening, but with about the same result. I should not like to kill the Italians but at the same time am anxious to have a little fruit (for the first time) having kept bees now six years. Now if you will answer the following questions I should be glad. isL — \\'hat is the proper time of day to pay them a visit ? 2nd.— Is there any way of loosing the bars pow fast without injury to the stock ? THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 87 3rd. — How do you hush the Ligurians to by-bye while you trespass in their domain ? Permit me to say I went about the matter very quietly without fighting at them. This stock has not swarmed this season. It appears crammed full up. J. S. Cape, Birmingham. /;/ reply ive hmtcd that our correspondent had forgot- ten to smoke them, which from a letter since received seems to have been the fact. He has the whip hand of them note. Ed. ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. Dear Sir, — A sample number of the British Bee yournal has been sent to me, and I shall be glad to become a subscriber. Will you kindly let me hear from you as soon as possible in reference to the fol- lowing : About May 15th, I took an artificial swarm from a 20 inch cottage (Pettigrew) hive, which was about ripe ; the mother hive appeared to do very well after- wards, and in twenty one days after the top swarm was taken. I artificially took another, leaving pretty well of bees in the old hive. Since then the mother hive does not appear to have rallied, and seems to be getting lighter in weight ; at present it wtighs about 25 pounds or 30 pounds. The bees sun themselves on the floor board, and hardly do any work, and very occasionally some pollen is taken in. There are a great many robber bees always flying about the entrance, and some of them succeed in obtaining admission. I feel pretry sure, from observing to day, that there is no queen. There are not so many bees in the hive as I left after the second artificial swarm. At night there is no pleasant hum going on, but all is quiet. The hive is a swarm of last year early in June. I have several other large cottage hive, and one bar frame hive. What had I better do ? Your reply by return will much oblige. W. R. D. Edgbaston. In reply we suggested that the second artificial swarm was made before the young queen had com- menced ovipositing, so that the old stock, although perhaps having plenty of bees were without the means of raising another for themselves. A new queen was accordingly introduced, and they are now apparently doing well. Ed. WASP TRAP. -00- SiR, — Having been tempted by bee books, and bee keepers to lay out many pounds upon my apiary, it is really disgusting, the prospect of not getting back one sixpence to the pound. Still I know it is not the bees fault, so they must be carefully looked after and pre- served from the ravages of the wasp. Thoroughly adopting the very sound principle, that " prevention is better than cure " I last season waged my first war against the yellow pests, and for the remainder of my life shall bear a lively recollection of the venom of their stings. Between seeking for nests and paying liberally for their discovery, I succeeded in destroying great numbers, and you may imagine my unfortunate locality ^^•hen I tell you that my diary shows a retimi of in queen wasps having been killed in the garden prior to the 25th June this year. Wasps are here in myriads, and arc daily taken in numbers against the fruit walls, and around the hives. I have, however, hit upon a wasp trap, which, up to this time has done wonders on the way of capturing them. I adopted it from finding wasps continually under covers that were placed overfeeding bottles, where never a bee could be seen, I then got small bottles with wide mouths, jaut syrup into them, and am cap- turing them by hundreds. The great secret is to have small passages for the wasps, through which none but yoimg bees can pass. I have tried these traj)s with boxes and skeps, and thousands of wasps have been taken without causing the death of a single bee. Three of my large hiveshad two driven swarms put into each, none of them have swarmed apparently, and when the weather permitted, they have worked vigo- rously, but have had no additional room given. For days past they have been fighting with robbers. I suppose there is nothing to be done but to reduce their entrance ? TYRO. Westnieath. BEES REMOVING THEIR EGGS. 00 Dear Sir, — I noticed on August iSth last, a curious and interesting instance of bees removing eggs. Nine days before, having determined to make two very strong stocks into three, I removed three combs from the first to be operated upon intending to add to them three from the second ; but here an unexpected difficulty met me. The combs appeared somewhat irregular above, it is true, but still not so much so as to forbid an attempt at detaching them. They were very tender, the hive only dating from the previous May 9th, and being much joined beneath the first comb which was completely stored with honey was not liberated till its centre had fallen out. The fragile yet heavy mass clearly could not be replaced as it was, so my rather excited pets were allowed to do duty for the honey slinger, and then with twine a fixing was made which needed some remodelling to suit it to bee notions. To continue to remove combs after this would have been rash, and having no other hives with frames of the same size my new lot was forced to be contented with four instead of six combs and a queen. The mutilated comb was put outside and its irregularities caused it to fit very poorly to the three sound ones, which were placed in the same relative positions they had previously occu- pied. The adherent bees were but few, but as l)rood was rapidly hatching out there was a prospect of their numbers being t[uickly recouped. A sveek later the queen had laid an egg in every available worker cell, filling the refixed centre of tlie outside comb, although quite an inch intervened lictween this part of it and its neighbour. I thought it would be economy to give another comb from die first hive to enlarge the breed ing space of the made stock, at the same time adding an empty frame and giving a bottle of syrup to prompt 88 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. to comb building. Two days later the added comb was found partially filled with eggs, but to my great surprise from the refixed comb every one had disap- peared, all the cells being stored with honey, or much more probably, the syrup fed to the bees. The eggs about three or four hundred in number, struck me when I saw them as being isolated and showed at once that the queen was cramped, but that they should have been removed to more suitable positions when such was provided seems to me truly astonishing, . and to point in the direction that bees not only can transport eggs, but that they really do so to a larger extent than is commonly credited. OMEGA. WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP BEES? Some for pleasure, some for profit, some to study their natural history, others for experiment, and many for the sake of the moral lessons they inculcate. Those who keep them for pleasure may, as a rule, be esteemed of a kindly disposition, diftering from their favourites in the afiability of their temper, and their unwillingness to shew resentment. Although profes- sedly keeping them for pleasure, their owners are often the most successful in obtaining from them an abund- ance of honey, because purely from love of them and their wonderful works, they carefully attend to their every want and protect them against every vicissitude of cHmate, the inroads of vermin, and the evils attend- ing untidiness and neglect. Tiicir bees do not die in winter, because they are not deprived of too much of their honey in the autumn, and there is little danger of that dreadfid invention, the brimstone match ever interfering with the joyful hum of the pets so carefully housed and attended to. The pleasure of keeping them and watching their wondrous ways intuitively begets in their owners a desire to know more of the internal mystery of the hive, and they are gradually led into one of the most charming of all pursuits, the study of their naturul history, and here is revealed to them a new world, in which they may mentall)- wander at pleasure, full of wonder and delight. These are those who strive to promote the culture of the bee and who are most strenuous in denouncing the hateful sulpher pit. Some keep bees for profit, and grudge them every attention. Sordid and grasping, they rob them of every ounce of honey they can get at, and grumble that they cannot get more. Their apiaries are always in disorder and confusion, hives badly protected, and liable to topple over through the weakness of 'their stands and the rottenness of their housings. These leel no pleasure in the delightful hum of " Those sing- ing masons building roofs of gold," beyond that whicli the anticipation of profit may produce, and in too many instances the cheerful labourers are rewarded for their industry by being put to a shameful and cruel death. These sort of bee keepers are not satisfied with bank interest for their capital invested, but for every pound laid out expect two in return the same year, without giving themselves any trouble or paying any attention to their bees. Such returns ought not to be e.vpected without some thought or care, yet when these are brought to bear. the profits are even greater, and fortunes might be made in some parts of the world, as the following letter from Australia will shew : " I have just been taking honey from my bees, it is so plentiful here, that if we could only get zd. per pound for it we should soon make our fortunes. We keep our bees in flour barrels, and I have just taken 200 lbs. from one. I have been digging it out with a spade." Illustrative of the plentifulness of honey he says, " If we take a handful of flax, cut off" the tops and invert it, the honey drips from it." I hope to resume this subject on a future occasion, and remain, A LANARKSHIRE BEE KEEPER. TRANSPORTING BEES. In reply to Major Munn's enquiry, I am sorry to make the confession ot never having sent so much as a single hive to the Heath. Any purchases of common straw hives from cottagers apiaries to my own, I require to be carried inverted, with a pretty open cheese cloth tied over, through which the heated air passes freely, the weight of the honey resting on the top, and they are generally so fetched without mishap. I have frequently seen large numbers of Octagon Hives on board Clyde Steamers, on their way to the heath, and they seemed most securely fixed. I under- stood they had been previously lightened of their flower honey, were each placed separately on light boards, which contained a large square of perforated zinc, with the same material in lieu of moveable entrances and also tacked over top of upper box, which had all its slides drawn, admitting, thereby, the freest ventila- tion all through, and to prevent shifting on board, light little iron rods were carried up through the boards to the height of the boxes, and secured with small nuts at either extremity, and each being securely corded for suspension if desired, were borne from rail to steamers in considerable numbers together, on light hand bar- rows. Possibly " A Lanarkshire Bee Keeper " or " Stew- arton Apiarian," both adepts at moving bees long dis- tances by sea and land, may favour your readers with full details, A RENFREWSHIRE BEE KEEPER. THE STEWARTON HIVE AND SYSTEM. 00 In the August number your courteous contributor, Major Munn, seemed disposed to award the palm to Thomas Wildman, as the inventor of the Octagon hive and non-swarmin;^ plan of keeping bees in colonies, quite overlooking the priority of Geddie's patent, pointed out by me the month before. The oversight was so very apparent to any reader interested in the subject, that I did not think it worth while drawing his attention to it last month. A correspondent, Mr. AVilliam Carr, of Manchester, has, however, assumed the duty of calling both the Major and myself to account in last number. He commences his criticism by saying he thinks I am mistaken in supposing Robert Kerr, of Stewarton, invented the Stewarton hiye in i8ip. If Kerr di4 OPt THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 89 invent the Stewarton hive, I shall be interested to be informed who did ? To prevent all such carping, I was careful to lay before your readers, at page 38, the antiquity of Octa- gon Colonies, and your correspondent, in his copious quotations from Moses Rusden's work, fails to adduce the smallest glimmering of information on the point at issue, while he totally ignores the fact that I had pre- viously given that author his due place in connection with the Octagon hive. John Geddie obtained his patent for behoof of self and partners, on 23rd April, 1675, and in his work pub- lished in the same year now before me, entitled, " A new discovery of an excellent method of Bee Houses and Colonies," states he hadexperience of octagon hives for seven years previously, and although styling him- self" Gentleman Inventor," he rather disengenuously leads his readers to infer the octagon hive was exclu- sively his own invention, dating from the year 1668, but Moses Rusden, the apothecary, who sold licences for Geddie's patent, and may have been one of his partners, in the edition I possess of his work, pub- lished in 1687, with straightforward honesty in the epistle dedicatory says, and it is so apro- pos, I quote the passage verbatim, " And we shall now find their qualities and their works, better discovered, and demonstrated by the transparent hive first shewed to us by Dr. Wilkins, late Bishop of Chester, a most eminent member of your society, (Royal Society at Gresham Colledge) which have since received several variations and improvements by one Geddie, and since by myself." This clearly establishes the fact that there were octagon Storified Colonies in existence years before Geddie obtained his patent, or Rusden sold a licence. Whether Dr. Wilkins was the original inventor or had procured his hives from some one else, remains a mystery. When next Mr. Carr takes up his pen to enlighten your readers, as to the origin of Storifying, his researches must ante date 1668. In your July number I have already endeavoured to show that Robert Kerr invented the hive known as the Stewarton, in 1819, whether the idea of keeping bees in Octagon Colonies, originated in Kerr's mind or that he had seen or read anything of Geddie's ear- lier patent, I have been unable to trace, but rather lean to the supposition, that Kerr, like \Vatt, with Newcomen's Engine, had brought his nice mechanical skill and thorough acquaintanceship with bee keeping to entirely remodel the rude original. Your readers must bear in mind that Geddie's patent boxes were simply of Octagon form, with a central five inch hole merely for communication, that the inmates were kept from swarming by nadiring with an empty box as required below, and the removal of the uppermost as likely to contain most honey ; the contents of which being necessarily similar to those of a common straw skep, as I have already pointed out, a conglomeration of mixed honey, pollen, young bees, and grubs in all stages, which Rusden did not fail to deplore, as if kept over any time for exhibition, it got into a state of cor- ruption. To induce the bee to store pure virgin honey in distinct and separate compartments of the hive was Kerr's happy conception, and by his most ingenious contrivance of the bar and slide, so facilitated commu- nication between the several boxes composing the colony, as to render them to all intents and purposes one, while he, by the like contrivance, shut off the queen nurses and pollen collectors of the central breed- ing position from the honey department. Your correspondent passes from the origin of stori- fying, to the manipulation of the Stewarton Hive in particular, and very possibly from lack of acquaintance- ship with his subject, confounds two distinct opera- tions together, nadiring and supering, setting faith on no better data than because Rusden, some two hun- dred years ago, tiadired his boxes after a particular fashion, consequently apiarians of our day should sijj>er theirs, and although his plan is contrary to all experience of good management, yet our practice he calmly " condemns." Unfortunately for the compari- son Rusden had no supers to employ but his upper breeding box, which had to do duty so far for one. Had he (Rusden) manipulated agreeably to your corres- pondent's theory " when working for honey" he would have set the empty box added, between it and the lower, as he (Mr. Carr) says, " I find if there is not an empty space between the super and the stock box, the bees will often swarm." Rusden, however, knew too well the evil effects arising from creating vacuums in bee colonies. Your correspondent states that by the mode of super- ing, I recommend " The Queen is also tempted to enter the super, and spoil all the beautiful white virgin combs by breeding in them." Certainly this is most likely to happen by his mode, not mine, he keeps the empty comb next the stock hive, and the moment the queen passes from the breeding boxes she meets the very thing she is in quest of, empty comb in abundance, and she rapidly deposits an egg in every vacant cell, and the honey results of the season are lost, whereas by the usual mode of manipulation witli the honey in lowest boxes in close proximity to and in fact but a continuation of what is stored in top of stock hive, the queen passes into the super and perambulates the lower box in vain for an empty ceil into which to deposit an egg, and discovering her mistake, she speedily retraces her steps. Confirmatory of this view in my strong Stewarton colonies I have never yet once found brood in a super, whereas, in the days of my noviciate, when working with eked supers, over cen- tral holed straw skeps, alas ! it was, unfortunately, too common an occurrence. Mr. Cair ridicules the idea of extra labour being incurred by bees being compelled to carry their loads and shove their way up through projected additions to their domiciles, still whatever loss of time and unnecessary physical exertion is thereby entailed by every honey gatherer, as a sequence, must inevitably deprive their owner of just so much honey at the sea- son's end, but will our little favourites be so put upon ? Supposing, for arguments sake, that we invert the pile of supers, placing them, as your correspondent would like them, the heaviest on top, and that their number be seven, similar to the one referred to in your open- ing number. At such an altitude from the entrance, I leave it to the practical apiarian to say if it would be at all likely they would put themselves to the trouble of dragging up tiieir load so far past so very many inviting empty and filling cells, and what prospect would there 90 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. be of that all but sealed out super ever being completed in such a position. Your contributor say.s truly, and the expression was my own, " That bees store their honey at the point furthest from the entrance," (of //;«> /live of course,) but then he must bear in mind that supers are not their hive, but merely artificial adjuncts thereto in the first instance, optional with the workers whether they accept them or not, according to cir- cumstances, but why shed so much ink on a point of every day occurrence during the working season? When my strong storified colonies become full and ripe for supering, 1 generally, to save subsequent trouble, give a couple of supers to each at the start, and do the bees agreeably to your correspondents preconceived notion, uiount up into the upper and commence work therein ? I never yet met in all my experience, with a single instance in which they did, their invariable prac- tice being to begin in the lower, and when it has been fairly taken possession of, with the advance of comb building therein, they gradually extend upwards into the upper, forming into a dark mass at either end, by and-bye rope festoons are suspended all through it, and comb building is begim, and so on progressively with every additional super. Another correspondent, Mr. C. W. Smith, draws attention to a hive called the "Carr-Stewarton." Should it be the hive in which my reviewer expects the bees instincts, to quote his enlightened expression, " to give the lie " to a system of management by which they have for the last fifty odd years, yielded up tons of the finest honey comb for the market, then I would most respectfully suggest the propriety of the in^-entor dis- tinguishing his discovery either as the " Carr-Manches- ter " or simply the " Carr " presuming it does not pos- sess the form, and is to be manipulated in a manner, the reverse of what is pursued with the well-known and justly celebrated Stewarton. A RENFREWSHIRE BEE KEEPER. REMINISENCES. Sir, — Thomas Wildman proved his wisdom by rejecting the premium of loo guineas from the Society of Arts, when he came up from Plymouth in 1766 to display his wonderful power over bees ; and in 1768 receiving the patronage of the king, and humbly dedi- cating his book to the queen ; and in this the 4to. edition, divulging the great secret of his art of bee management. He displayed the command he had acquired over the instinct of the bees, before a large number of the nobility and gentry, who had so well swelled the list of subscribers, but still, like a modern " horse tamer," demanding a fee for the exhibition ; so Thomas Wildman may have performed at the " Three Hats " at Islington ; but Daniel kept the shop at 326, Holbom, and Daniel continued to publish his pam- phlets for the sale of bee hives until 1812. The first mention of Mr. Wildman is made in the Gctitlemans Magazine, of May, 1766, page 389 (vide). "A native of Ixicestershire attended the Society of Arts, with three different swarms of bees, which he made to fly in and out of their hives at pleasure. His discovery was much admired, and he was ordered a premium." Mr. Wildman, who has a most surprising command over bees, has lately shown himself to divers of the nobility, surrounded with bees: Thus fortified, hull dogs have been set ai him by his own desire, whom he repulsed by detaching a single bee and sometimes two of them, to the astonishment of all that have seen him ! His art it is said is to be communicated to the public, for which the Society of Arts is to allow him a premium. His power over bees is incredible, and therefore shall forbear any more instances until the secret is disclosed. Mr. P. Le Neve Foster, the secretary, has kindly written to me thus : I find on reference to the minutes of this Society of Ar'sfor 1766 (nol 1866 as quoted by you) that Mr. Thomas Wildman, of Plymouth, sub- mitted a fact to the society in reference to " removing honey and wax from bee hives without destroying the bees." The committee proposed that an award of 100 guineas should be given him if he would make public his plan of effecting this, but on his declining to do so, the matter lapsed. Wildman had noother secret, but that ww/('^ produced fear amongst the bees, and by skill and practice first securing the queen bee ; anyone could manipulate amongst bees, to extract the honey combs, &c. I have already added another new fact that the queen bee does not siing,and whilst more experienced bee niasters prove the contrary, I turn to hives, as I wsh to leave the storifying plan Thomas Wildman advocated, and draw now upon the statements he has given regarding the mahogany box which must be looked upon in my opinion as the " experimental hive " in which he took about the bees he had to exhibit. By its means he had the bees constantly under his inspection in the apiary, but not for the purpose of collecting honey, as bees kept in this constant state of agitation, do not thrive, but, as he very properly observes " the des- truction of many hives of bees will be the conse- quence ; as every one will find on their first attempt to perform any feats of dexterity, &c.," and adds, " I have unwarily promised to reveal the secret, and am therefore under a necessity of performing that promise 7eiith regret," as Wildman adds ; THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 91 The box hive is thus made : — Plate ii. fig. i. and fig. ii., two boxes made to part in two, is eighteen and a half inches high, or nine and a quarter inches each high, and ten inches square. t It consists of a frame, a a doors on three of the sides, the forepost having a fixed cover. The two boxes are fixed together by means of hasps. The top box has a cover, moving on hinges, and secured in the forepart with a lock. Within this the upper box are sliding frames, in which the bees made their combs, fig. 2, c c. This frame is three and a quarter inches thick, eight inches wide, and eight and half inches in depth, and each frame has four slides, two in front and two at the back, a fig. i., each an inch wide, and half an inch asunder ; intended to prevent the bees extending their combs to the glass, which would render the taking them but inconvenient. There is an upright partition, e in the middle of which there is a division of half an inch, to aftbrd an easy passage to the bees ; and two similar passages in the bottom, to give a free passage to the bees to go from one box to another ; for this box stands on a lower box, which, instead of sliders to contain the combs, has six bars, to which the bees fix the combs in the lower box. The two boxes are fixed together by means of hasps as already stated. The lower box has three panes of glass fixed in the three doors, with brads, which are easily drawn out, when there is occa- sion to take out the panes of glass. Between the upper and lower boxes there is a slider /, which is put jn when the frames with the combs are taken out of the upper boxes, or when the upper box is changed. A like slider is put into the bottom. After such an elaborate and puzzling a description of Mr. Thomas Wildman's new invention, I sliould not be surprised to find your readers declaring, " Give me again a hol- low tree." W. AUGUSTUS MUNN. VENITLATION. Dear Sir, — Being an old disciple of your own in bee matters, I know you will endorse the opinion that but few bee keepers are fully aware of the advantage of upward ventilation and that many stocks every winter suffer or die simply because this has not been provided for. The idea, correct in itself, that bees must be protected from cold as far as possible during the inclement months, leads, not unnaturally, until experience points out the error, to all sorts of stifling. Well do I remember my first stock coming into my possession. Nor have I yet forgotten the anxiety witli which it was wrapped around according to the advice of the vendor at the advent of October, and the entrance of the hive reduced to a hole so small that only one bee could pass at a time. It will not sur- prise you to learn that before many winters the Fates had introduced both dysentery and foul brood to my notice. That successful wintering demands strong stocks and that strong stocks cannot well be wintered without ample ventilation is now the common opinion of apiarians, but since generally that is done most tho- roughly and intelligently, of which the reason is best understood, it may not be uninteresting to some of my fellow readers of the British Bee journal to enquire why ventilation is a necessity. Two reasons at once may be given : — ist. — That bees are continually charging the air about them with noxious gases which need removal, and 2nd — That ventilation is the only natural means of keeping the hive in a dry condition. Let us now consider tlie first of these propositions. In the_economy of the bee the food is devoted to two 92 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. distinct uses. The building up of the fabric of the body for which pollen principally is consumed, and the formation of animal heat for which honey is required, to this might be added the elaboration of wax produced by a chemical change from the honey in a manner similar to the formation of fat from sugar in man and animals. Honey has for its staple glucose or grape sugar, which consists of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen. The last two in the proportions which form water, and although it is by no means scientifi- cally correct to regard glucose as the union of water and carbon, yet for our present purpose such a propo- sition would be quite sufficiently exact, while it will greatly simplify the matter to the ordinary reader. The honey, having been absorbed into the fluids of the bee, is brought into contact with the atmosphere in the tubules, which permeate the body of the insect in every direction and terminate exteriorly in the spiracles or breathing holes ; of which there are five in each side of the abdomen, and two in the thorax. These tubules are lined with elastic muscular fibres placed spirally to prevent their closing by the move- ments of the insect, and Avhile the bee seems to pos- sess the power of voluntarily expanding and contract- ing the capacity of these little tubes so as to change the contained air, every alteration of the insects atti- tude certainly does bring about this change or as we should phrase it in relation to higher animals " quicken the breathing." The oxygen of the atmosphere, thus brought into contact with the food in the organism, enters into chemical combination with it. Thus carbon is con- verted into carbonic acid, a colourless invisible gas, while the hydrogen and oxygen of the honey are liberated in the form of water, so that the expired air is charged with vapour and loaded with the above- named pernicious carbonic acid. By tabulating roughly the constituents of one and a half pounds of honey omitting the essential oils, Szc, which exist, is very small amount we shall see best how it is changed. 9 oz. Water 9 oz. Water. ly, lbs. of Honey ^ °'- '^^'^^ ^ °^- ^'''^°''- 1 oz! Hydfogen ) 9 o^- Water. 16 oz. of oxygen from the air being united with the 6 oz. carbon, we obtain 22 oz. carbonic acid gas and 18 oz. of water, which are thrown into the air of the hive by the consumption of 24 oz. of honey. Omitting to notice the water until we reach our next view of the subject, let us trace the produced 22 oz. of carbonic acid, occupying about 12 cubic feet at ordinary temperatures. In a Woodbury hive by example, which holds about 1,900 cubic inches, the combs, stores, frames and bees would fill quite 1,400 inches, so that the air space would not be greater than about one fourth of a cubic foot. The carbonic acid therefore produced from the consumption of one and half pounds of honey would fill the available space in the hive 48 times. Nor is this all. The air is only one-fifth by measure oxygen, the other four-fifth (being nitrogen) and the carbonic acid occupies the same space pre- cisely as the oxygen which united with the carbon to produce it, so that we find if the whole of the oxygen of the air introduced had been converted into carbonic acid by union with carbon, the air in the hive must have been entirely renewed 240 times. And further, the presence of carbonic acid in a large amount is so deleterious even to insects, that probably not more than 10 per cent., at most, of the oxygen could be utilized in the production of carbonic acid, so that we are shut up to the conclusion that the consumption of one and half pounds of honey needs the passage through the hive of not less than 600 cubic feet of air. The escaping vitiated and damp atmosphere from the hive carries away nearly the whole of the consumed honey, so we see why, during long continued cold weather, stores are reduced, it may be many pounds, while the bees have had no opportunity of discharging themselves. Indeed it appears that faecal matter is scarcely produced by consumed honey, but by the wear and tear of tissue (/.c, the bees body) consequent upon activity, and this wear and tear is chiefly made good by the assimilation of pollen. . Hence no doubt the disturbance of bees during winter stimulating them to fitful exertion tends to cause them to consume pollen and so distend their bowels. The immediate necessity for honey as a food is the production of heat, and just as truly does the carbon of the honey burn in the body of the bee as coal burns in the furnace. The temperatuie at which combustion takes place in the latter instance is truly much higher, but the products and the chemical changes are identical while the evolution of heat is precisely the same in cause in each instance. A very simple experiment with a lighted candle or lamp will corroborate this. The material burning is like honey, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Oxygen united with the carbon gives carbonic acid, while oxygen and THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 93 hydrogen uniting produce water, which may be taken from the flame by passing through it a cold knife upon which the generated water will collect in dew. The candle in like manner while burning vanishes into the atmosphere eliminating heat as it disappears. It is interesting to observe that the larvje are not honey consumers but are fed upon bee chyle, that is, elaborated honey and pollen in the condition for im- mediate assimilation and conversion into the positive body of the creature. They are consequently not heat producers, and need the brooding of the nurses in order to have their temperature so maintained that the nutritive processes may be continued. A dense comb of brood is as quickly cooled as a comb of stores. Experiments have shewn that the larvse of insects generally are but little warmer than the atmosphere surrounding them, while the temperature of an indi- vidual bee during repose has been found to be about 4' above the surrounding air, but during activity lO" or IS' higher and when aggregated together in clusters and the thermometer thrust amongst them it will be found to rise often as much^ as 40'. That activity tends to increase the amount of heat developed by animals generally is too well known to require argu- ment and this will explain why bees in endeavouring to resist the effects of intense cold will flap their wings in cluster. This exertion is similar to that of the hod-man who flaps his arms on a frosty morning, In each case breathing is quickened, more food consumed, more carbonic acid formed, and more heat produced. Dr. Carpenter says that a " humble bee was found to pro- duce one third of a cubic inch of carbonic acid in the the course of a single hour, during which its whole body was in a state of agitation from the excitement consequent upon its capture, and yet during the whole twenty four hours of the succeeding day, which it passed in a state of comparative rest, the quantity of carbonic acid generated by it was absolutely less." From these considerations it is manifest that unne- cessary loss of heat is exactly equivalent to unneces- sary loss of honey, the walls of the hive, therefore, should be as non-conducting as possible, but we shall see when considering our second head that want of ventilation has the effect of increasing their conduc- tivity, and that though heat is carried away by admit- ting cold air which necessarily leaves the hive warmed by the bees, yet that even this loss, attendant upon thorough ventilation, is more apparent than real. During the mild part of the year, if sufficient space be permitted for entry and exit, bees will efficiently ventilate for themselves. Huber states that he found the air in a healthy hive nearly as pure as that outside. But in biting weather they are driven from their hive door to their cluster. An isolated bee could then no more continue his vitality, than could a single coal continue to burn in the fire grate. The cluster warm within throws up from itself the respired air, Avliich strikes against the hive roof, and there, if not allowed to escape, remains until cooled to descend upon the inmates. It can only escape at all by that law of gaseous diffusion which causes all aeriform bodies to commingle. It at best passes from the contracted door very slowly, and not until the air within is all more or less carbonised. Under the stifling plan before referred to, if the stock be strong, many breaths quickly make the air unlit for respira- tion, and the bees are in the condition of coke in an Arnott stove, with the draught hole closed : all or nearly all the oxygen being replaced by carbonic acid, the process of heat production cannot go on and the bees stupefied by impure air and the inevitably falling temperature (for the folly of stopping ventilation to keep bees warm really makes them the victims of cold) drop from their cluster to die and subsequently intro- duce disease by their decomposition. Let us now consider ventilation as the only natural means of keeping the hive in a dry condition. We have already seen that the consumption of 24 oz. honey produces no less than 18 oz. of water, which is given out by the bees in the form of vapour, in the air escaping the breathing tubes. Air is capable of holding more and more water in solution as its temperature rises and conversely warm air upon being cooled deposits the water it can no longer contain in the form of dew. The air leaving the cluster of bees, although carrying much dissolved water, is still dry because warm, and if allowed to escape from the hive, no accumulation of moisture takes place but if retained, the sides of the hive cooled down by the action of the external air, quickly lower its temperature and dew, often accumulating into little streams of water, is formed for the same reason that the windows of a warm room on a cold day are often perfectly wet within, because the warm air touching the glass, has its temperature reduced, and the water it carries expressed from it. Under die plan we are deprecating, the air except that in the eloster is continually in a condition of super 94.' THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. saturation and the combs free of bees quickly become coated with mildew, which in turn gives a better hold for dew, and renders the coddled inhabitants still more wretched. The hive walls being constantly damp, not only conduct heat with more facility than if dry, but the water upon them acts as a sort of middle- man in the transfer of heat to the exterior. Although air when dry is a very bad conductor when moist it is freely cooled by a wet surface, so that a hive bedewed within, increases immensely the difficulty of maintain- ing the required temperature. If upward ventilation be given, the hive must be dry, as all air enters at a lower temperature than it leaves, and consequently cannot introduce so much moisture as it is capable of carrying away. In conclusion, experience and theory seem to say, " Give ample ventilation, and allow as little heat as possible to escape through the walls of the hive.' F. CHESHIRE. Notice, — IV/ien (jua-ii'S on any subject arc nearly syiioitymoiis, luc only publish that which has required the fullest reply. QuiiR'i' No. 56. — The comb in ray box hive which last night w.is as white as milk, I found this morning had Irecome very yellow ; it is well ventilated at the top M-ith ]>erforated zinc, on a rovmd hole some three inclies in diameter, must I \cntilate still more ? or how jMevent the discoloration ? A straw hive I have with glasses on the top, was to-day 80' which I understand a weU-peo])led hive should be, yet the glasses are full of steam. I have inserted bits of sheet lead at the bottom to give ventila- tion, will this be right ? The ]5erforated tulies sold with the glasses are perfectly useless for ventilation, as the first thing the bees do is to fill up every hole. Please give in your next number some instructions on ventilation, as the beauty of the cond) depends I suppose, very much on this. What is the objection to " Nutt's Collateral Hive?" From a remark in the Journal I see it is not approved of. NOVICIATE. Reply to No. 56. — We think the mischief is caused by the very means you have taken to prevent it, too much ventilation. It is a great pity so much theoretical nonsense has been written about bees. Much that has been so written was doubtless intended to promote the sale of some article said to be neces- sary, as in the case of the ventilating tubes, which as you justly observe, are immediately closed up by the bees, proving to our minds that they do not require them, and we think they are good judges in such matters. \Ve never ventilate supers, and do not recom- mend others to do so. When bees are honey gathering and are over- crowded, we set the hive up nearly half an inch oft" its floor board, so that they can get out all round if they like, and they require nothing more. Ventilating through the supers .allows all tlie bad vitiated air in the hive to pass through them, and must lead to many changes of temperature, which the bees cannot prevent. If too hot they will hang out- side, but if too cold what are they to do in such cases ? Upward ventilation is bad during all the breeding season, and interferes very much with the production of brood and bees. The only real use of the tin tube, hanging from the top of a glass super is that it enables the bees to attach themselves to the upper part of it, which otherwise they could not do, and attracts them to it for the purpose of closing all the holes in it, otherwise it is a delusion and a snare, misleading as to its tnie purpose and intent. The steam on the glasses on your straw hive would disappear if the heat were economised instead of being dissipated, and if you clothe them with wadded cose}'s, like those used to keep a teapot warm, it will not appear again. The observation as to the Nutt's hive was called forth by the complaint by the querist that she "always found brood in the collateral boxes." Ed. Query No. 57. — A doubled June swarm in the middle of July would not take possession of a super, but showed strong signs of swarming, not wishing them to do that, I put a nadir under, (called here a riser) which put a stop to tlieir swarming fancies. Would you recommend me to take this nadir before the winter, or shall I leave it to form a strong stock ne.\t year, if to take it what will be the best system to adopt ? Some of my friends have listened to me sufficiently to allow me to drive their stocks when the smothering time comes and will give me their Ijees, would you recommend me to join them to my present stocks in straw skeps? In your letter to me about transferring you recommended me to wait until they swarm next year before I move them, why not do it in the autumn of this year, unless you fear my inexperience M'hich certainly is great, but trust in your teachingsto remove. " Renfrewshire Bee Keeper " mentions several times impressed \i'ax sheets as guides in the supers. Will you kindly ask him lo give us his experience with them, and whether they pay their cost. Would it not be a good plan to adopt the slide of the Stewarton Hive to the Honey toard of the bar frame hive, at all events to the end frames to give admit- tance to the honey gatherers only. The journal improves with every number ; may you and it go on and jjrosper. T. BURSTALL. Carrick-on-Suir, Ireland. Reply to No. 57. — If you remove the nadir you will only find in it combs containing little but pollen which will be of no service to you unless you preserve them until next season, and give them back again for the use of the bees ; or you might utilize them for the bees, which yoti will obtain by driving your neighbour's stocks later in the Autumn. The very best course to pursue is to drive their bees, cut out all the brood comb and fix it in the bar frame hive as shown in Journal. The brood comb is worthless to them, but invaluable to you under these conditions, and out of three or four of these stocks you could fill a ^Voodbury liive. You will astonish them in spring with the result if you act according to directions given, and will do more to advance bee culture in your neigh- bourhood than ten years talking or writing would do. " A Renfrewshire Bee Keeper " would not have recom- mended wax sheets if not quite certain of their value in securing straight combs. As to the Stewarton slides for bar frame hives generally, we are leading up to an idea which we think will simplify the matter very much, but cannot exhaust such a large subject in a hasty manner. ^Ve forget our reasons for advising you to wait until next year for transferring your stock, but if the comlis are not too tender, and you feel able to do it, you might fill a second Woodbury with the nadir and other spare combs now in it. Ed. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 9J Query No. 58. — I have had some Uttle experience in bee keeping which I hope to give you someday, and I heartily wel- come the Brifis/i Biv yoiirnal. I shall be much obliged by an answer to the following queries in any one of your numbers. Is tliere any means of preventing the destniction of bees by s\\'al- lows, which have done my 20 hives very much injury the last two years ? Last year there M'as a scarity of sw'alluw food, but this year flies have been plentiful. Is it inevitable from the congregation of many stocks of bees, which may account for mine not suffering before? The sparrows have taken possession of the swallows' nests, but they have come in twenties irearly every afternoon \\'hen fme, sweeping round the hives just as the bees were returning heavily laden. One was shot, and found with a bee in its mouth, but was thrown a\s'ay before I could examine him. The swallows have since been more timid, l)ut they have frequented the locality, and I believe gathered a num- ber of bees just outside the garden wall. A net may protect the bees in some degree, but you may know of a more effectual remedy. The vicarage is on a high site apart from the village, and is exposed to the south-west winds. My hives stand facing east, with (i wall about 4ft. high behind, and a path between the wall and the line of hives, each on a stump. There is also a wall about 7ft. high at right angles on the north. Our soil is clay, which may be one inducement to the swallows in our gar- den. Do you recommend shallow supers ? and of what depth ? with or without bar rests ? and also raising the stock hives to H'hat height to prevent swarming according to " Reiifrewshire Bee Keeper ?" Has Mr. Murphy an agent in England for his Honey Slinger? The best method of cleaning old comb, and making it into wax ? My next few queries perhaps you will kindly answer by post. Have you heard of the American bee house with upright wooden posts at intervals on which the bees build extending from post to post without s\\'arming away from the house ? The honey is removed in the winter from the top of the posts. Is there any reason against not trying the same system in England ? A book or an article on different plans adopted both ancient and modern among the nations would be interest- ing and useful. My experience of the nadir system is utterly bad. I should like to know of some one who has succeeded. O. B. T. Shepton Mallet. Reply to No. 58. — We think the bees may be protected from the swallows when near their hives, by fixing one or two pieces of fine netting, either of wire or string, so as to to prevent their sweeping past the hive, a few strings or fine vi'ires looped from the tops of some fine branches of trees to the tops of others aixanged to interlace in front of the hives so that the wind may keep them moving would be easy of adop- tion, and inexpensive and would greatly balk the swallows flight. Apiece of looking glass hung obliquely by a string from a branch, is an effective temporary scarecrow with most predatory birds, especially when they have any fear of a gun, as its flashing is rather astonishing to them, and they do not like the Jack o' lantern which it throws among the trees at all times and in many changing directions. .Shooting at them even with blank cartridge would open their under- standing to the fear of the flashing, and perhaps one or two of them hung raggedly by one leg, might signify to them that it is dangerous to come near such a curious combination, ^^^e cannot advise their whole- sale slaughter or the prevention of their breeding by the destruction of their nests, as we really ought to be grateful to them for their services in general. Our apiaries are not troubled with them, although they are very numerous here, so we cannot think the .accumulation ot stocks renders their predations inevi- table. Outside the walls of the apiary, it is almost impos- sible to defend the bees, but as they are then more scattered, the danger must be greatly lessened. Your queries as to supers have been anticipated in the June number of Journal. " A Renfrewshire Bee Keepers " letters will give you the other information thereon. Our article on swarming in same number answers your query in that respect. The present number contains an advertisement of Honey Slinger, but as the freightage of Murphy's costs as much as the Slinger itself we think it unlikely that he will establish an agency in England. To obtain the wax from old combs, they should be enclosed in a canvass bag, well boiled in a copper, ind while boiling they should be pressed so that the wax may be forced through the canvass, then when the fire has nearly gone down, the bag and its refuse should be pressed to the bottom and fixed there until all is cold when the wax will be found solid on the top, and may be removed for purification. Although acquainted with most of the leading sys- tems in use in America, we do not remember the par- ticular plan alluded to in the latter part of your letter, nor do we quite understand the arrangement of the posts. It is hoped that the Journal will include articles such as you describe, indeed the subject is already being dealt with, as you may see in the numbers already published. Perhaps some brother bee keeper will give his experience with the nadiring system. Qui;ry No. 59. — 1 have a very strong Ligurian stock, the combs are pretty straight, but not built in the frames. They are about half in and half out of the spaces, when and how would you rectify them. Is it too late or advisable to add a deeper hoop to one of Neighbours Cott.age hives to increase the size or height and feed them. I have been offered a hive (straw) of last year, very big. Net weight, 451b., very strong, i6s., for transferring I think I shall make a hive of about six combs. What can I do with it. J. F. N. Wandsworth Common. Reply to No. 59. — We would lift the frames of comb bodily out of the hive, and set them wrong way upward, then cut cleanly all round them, and fasten them in the frames as in transferring. The sooner you do it the better it will be for the bees; they will mend all the severed attachments and polish all up nicely. The reason for turning the frames upside down is to pre- vent the comb falling out when cut. It is late to nadir hives now, and scarcely advisable to make the attempt to force comb building. In such a case as you mention you may instead only procure that the bees store the syrup, and so make solid walls of comb, in which they will not be able to hive. Ed. Note. — It is not a good plan to transfer stocks from straw skeps at this late season. Better allow them to remain snug where have prepared for the winter, and place their spring swarms in bar frame hives, after which, when all the brood is hatched out of the cells, the comb, may be easily transferred without waste or danger. Ed. Ql'ERV No. 60. — I have a stock of bees in the crown of an old tree, which stands in the garden, I have now had them for five years and have never yet had a swarm from them, ami can- not get at them to take any honey. Do you think 1 could drive the bees out and split up the crown (which by this time is not far from decayed), and transfer the combs to a liar frame hive, and vi\\\\.\\ is the best way to do it ? and would Aston's bee trap be 9& THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. any good screwed over the entrance, so as to put a hive on the other side of it, that the bees could not return to the old tree ? Which is the best time of day to operate, and must the stump be well beaten ? The entrance to the stump is made of wood, and can easily be stuffed up. An answer by return of post will much oblige. T. G. City Road. Reply to No. 6o. — You do not clearly inform us whether your bees are in a hollow tree or hollow log ; if in the former you must bore holes with an augur until you find the lowest extent of their combs, and saw it off there to reduce their abiding place to the condition of the latter. Then by boring find the extent of the combs in an upward direction, reverse the log, smoke the then lowest end and drive the bees into a large skep by drumming at the sides of the log. Stand the skep containing the driven bees on the old stump or stand, and carry the log away to the place where you intend to operate, stand it on its end in its origi- nal position, and with a sharp saw cut it all round, beginning near the bottom, so as to make the pieces of comb of the depth of the frames you intend to use. Some care will be required in this operation, as combs are not very firmly attached at the sides, and if roughly used, they may fall to the bottom in a mass. Having cut all round, pass a very sharp knife through the combs so as to cut them clean off without making ragged work, set the section so cut off, on one side, and cut again and again if necessary, until you have removed all parts containing brood comb, which you may then easily remove and insert in the frames. The best time to do this will be the evening, and before commencing it would be well to confine all other stocks by closing their entrances with perforated zinc. The stump will require to be beaten sufficiently to make the combs jar a little, but not sufficient to crush or break them. Do not give too much smoke or the bees will be overcome with it, and fall down to the wrong end of the log. Having fixed the combs in the frames, and returned the bees to them, you must use your own judgment as to the use you make of those containing honey. You will doubtless find a great deal of pollen in some of the cells, and the honey will most probably be dark, and perhaps not worth break- ing up the combs for. Ed. Query No. 6i. — I enclose stamps for the Bee Journal, and wish to ask a question. My bees are tormented with robbers, I have tried two or three things. I have narrowed the entrance, and I have shut them u]) at night, and have used rags and najitha and singed them, but all of no use. If you can inform me what to do I shall be obliged. W. J. LARK, Redhill, Aug. lo. Reply to No. 6i. — The information you give is so meagre, that we must imagine the condition of your apiary for ourselves. During such splendid weather as the present, there is no occasion for bees to rob each other, and they would not do so if facilities were not offered. We suspect the stock now being robbed has swarmed some time since, and has failed to raise a young queen, and is consequently in a dwindling listless condition. If such be the case, you had better drive out all the bees, and appropriate the contents of the hive, as there will be no brood in it. If not queenless, send it a mile or two away from home for a few weeks. If your stock is being robbed by another of your own, exchange places with them. If stranger bees are robbing, shut up your own bees for a day or two, placing empty hives on their stands. It is no use to shut them up during the night as bees do not rob then, unless very close togetter on the same stand. The remedies you have tried would be more likely to injure the robbed stock than to keep away intru- ders. Ed. Query No. 26. — For years I kept bees in common straw hives, working boxes and caps on top, and simply protecting them from sun and rain by a roof only. I then used to get very large quantities of honey. Of late years I have introduced Woodbury and Pettitt's 10 frame hives in an enclosed house with doors at back, and ever since I have had nothing but loss and failure, every winter most of my stronger stock, although well fed up inautvmin, are attacked with diarrhcea, and either die off or are so weak in spring, that they never rally till autumn. I am now putting up an open shed, or roof 13ft. long and low and wide enough to entirely protect the hive from the sun and rain, it is entirely open front and back, as in fonner years, and trellis work ends. The hives are all provided with Woodbury square co\'ers and on separate pedestals, 4ft. from mouth to mouth. As I -vNant to prepare this autumn for a good year in 1874, kindly give me your advice, which I shall be glad to follow. J. F. N. Wandsworth. Reply to No. 62. — If you will really follow our advice, you will not build the proposed shed, or if you do, do not by any means shut out the sunshine during the winter months. You may shade the entrances of the hives as much as you please, to pre- vent the light shining into them and tempting the bees forth into sharp frost or snow to their almost certain destruction, but it will be very unwise to deprive them of the sun's rays as a means of warming and drying the hives. Your bees of late years seem to have suf- fered from dysentery, brought on probably by feeding them too late to enable them to evaporate the over moist food and seal it up in the cells, together with insufficient ventilation, and the absence of sunshine to aid them. Your plan of keeping them on separate stands is quite right, but each hive should have a separate cover also. The best authorities in America recommend where bees are wintered on their summer stands, that they should be allowed the full benefit of the heat of the sun to aid them as we suggest, and separate stands in this respect are essential. Ed. SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS. PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. Two lines of twelve words each o i 6 Per line aftenvards 006 ,, Inch of Space 050 ,, Quarter column o 10 6 ,, Half ditto, or quarter p.ige I o o ,, Column, or half page i 15 o ,, FiUl page 3 3° No Adverli:iements can be received after the 201I1 uf each monthi THE b^% CONDUCTED BY CHARLES NASH ABBOTT, BEE-MASTER, HANWELL, W. LONDON. Guarantees to its Subscribers sound practical replies to all queries on Bee Management, and in urgent cases of difficulty, immediate replies by post or telegraph if desired. AMMUAL SUBSCBIPTIOJT, H A L F-A-G U I jY E A, Paijahle in Advance. Special Terms to Clubs and Literary Institutions. Free l>y Post on day of Publication [entered at stationers hall.] [No. 7. Vol. i.] NOVEMBER, 1873. [Published Monthly.] DIRECIIONS 70 CORRESPONnENTS &- QUERIS1S. I, — WHte in a legible Iiand on one side of flie paper only. 2. — Use no abbreiiieitions whic/i are not to appear in print. _j. — ICeep ez'ery qnery distinct and separate, and ^ive the fullest possible pai-ticulars, stating also tlic liind of hive used. if. — Wlicn requiring an immediate reply, send a stamped ADDRESSED envelope, or stamps for eost of telegram. NOVEMBER, 1873. The large hive and super exhibited at the Manches- ter Show, to which reference was made in our last number, have provoked an immense amount of specu- lation as to the ways and means by which such results were obtained, and we quite agree with our correspon- dents that a full explanation should have been given at the time of exhibition or as soon after as a report could be made public. Our esteemed corres- pondent, Mr. Symington, has suggested means by which their achievement was possible, and from a report which we have received from an exhibitor at the show, there can be little doubt but that some modifi- cations of the means so suggested were employed. Mr. Pettigrew, however, in a letter to the Journal of Horticulture says, " The hive weighed 108 pounds, and the smallest glass super 26 pounds ; both were filled by my first swarm, obtained on the 21st of May," and this assertion we are bound to accept, although, at the same time, we cannot overcome a desire to know how the swarm was " obtained." We are thoroughly convinced that neither of the 7vonders in question was the natural outcome of the season, and regret that, on the face of the report con- cerning them, they are made to appear as if they were. The ambiguity in the rules gave opportunities for the exercise of skill in bee keeping, and we have no right to complain that exhibitors did their best within the letter of the rules to obtain the desired results. As instances, in class A the prizes were " for the heaviest and besthivesfilledby swarms of 1873," the rule did not say how many swarms might l)e put together, nor did it say whether they were to be obtained naturally or artificially, but as Mr. Pettigrew's hive and super were fille.-l by his first swarm, we imagine it must have been a large swarm artifically formed, by uniting the popu- lation of several hives in one. The large super was in class D, in which prizes were offered " for the best glass super of honey comb, theproduce of 1873, "there wereno stipulationsastohow they were to be filled, whether by one swarm or many, and it was, therefore, quite open to every intending exhibitor to use the best means in his power for its production. In class F the prizes were oflered " for the best miscellaneous collection " of hives, supers, and bee furniture, there was no stipulation as to the articles exhibited being the property of the exhibitor, and consequently intending exhibitors were at liberty to increase their "collection" by borrowing of their friends and neighbours. We sincerely hope that in all future exhibitions such errors will be carefully guarded against, for instead of promoting an honest spirit of friendly rivalry, and thereby increasing the aspirations and energies of bee keepers, and advancing the science of 98 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. bee culture, they lead to chicanery and mistrust, and effect no good or useful purpose whatever. The proposal, in our last, for a meeting of bee keepers at the Crystal Palace, appears to be favour- ably received, and it is hoped that an exhibition of hives and bee gear may be arranged to take place at the same time, in accordance with the spirit of the suggestion of our earnest correspondent, H. W. T., in his proposition for the formation of a Bee Guild. We think such a meeting might be arranged to take place in early spring, and have little doubt but that it would be largely patronized, as in addition to the usual attractions of the Palace, the opportunity for viewing such a collection of bee furniture as might be then got together, would, we are assured, be eagerly embraced by all bee keepers. At the same time arrangements might be made for the establishment of a honey fair to be held in autumn, when "London" would been abled to purchase genuine honey at a fair price. We say genuine honey, because we should like to see a system adopted by which the honey sent to the fair could be judged by ixpcrts in tasting, and its order of merit certified, and its value assigned. This mode is adopted in the butter markets of Ire- land, where all shades of quality are determined by the judges, who inscribe its order of merit on the casks, such inscription being a safe guarantee of its qualit)'. We see no reason why some such system should not be adopted with honey, which would then be brought into competition with butter at the breakfast or tea table, and we are quite sure the public would be largely the gainers both in health and pocket if they would use it in preference to what is often a mys- terious greasy compound with a very indifferent cha- racter. HIVES. — 0 — We have been favoured by Mr. Lee, of Windle- sham, by Bagshot, the Silver Medallist for hives at the Manchester exhibition of 1873, with a specimen top rail, such as he proposes to use for the backs and fronts of his Woodbury ard other bar frame hives, such hives being formed of skeleton wooden framing, filled in with straw work. This rail differs from those formerly used inasmuch as the blocks whicli separate and keep the frames in their places as they rest in the notched rabbets at the back and front of the hives, are moveable, whereas in those hitherto used the notches were cut out of the rabbet, and the blocks were solid portions of the rail itself The new contrivance is certainly a great improvement, and in use, with care, may be made to overcome much that is objectionable in the present arrangement of the bar frame hive, and provided it does not add to its cost, will doubtless be largely used. In Mr. Lees' improved rabbeted rail the distance blocks are made to slide in from the outside, as will be best understood by reference to our engraving, which is intended to shew the blocks in various posi- tions, by which it will be at once understood that hav- ing been placed in position until the hive has been closed, they may be withdrawn sufficiently to prevent propolizing, and the evils attendant thereon, yet will be always available as a means of securing the frames in their correct positions in the hive in case of its intended removal. A a D 3 B V This arrangement does not dispense with the bottom rack and rail, nor does it contemplate the abolition of tlie rabbets and the spaces above the frames. We give it, however, the prominence it deserves, and have little doubt but that its description will be interesting to our readers. Continuing then the description of the proposed hive, which we think will contain few disagreeable fea- tures, we here present an illustration showing the upper portions of its sides and frames, in transverse sections (and perspective) from which may be in some measure gathered the means of its manipulation. Want of space has compelled us to contract it to the exhi- bition four frames only, but we trust they will be suffi- cient for the purpose. As will be seen the side walls of the hive are in two parts as suggested by our " Sevenoaks " correspondent (see page 70) the inner portions of which, being wedge-shaped, are capable of easy removal, this at once affording facilities for late- THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 99 ral movement of the frames toward either side of the hive, and avoiding the necessity for crowding several of the frames together, to enable the operator to extract any one of them. This we feel will be of the greatest possible service to all (bar frame) bee keepers and to use the expression of a practical hive maker " it's bound to be adopted." Who as an amateur, has not felt the inconvenience of the present arrangement, when it has been necessary to make an examination of the Woodbury hive ? The removal of the crown board generally causes the displacement of several of the frames, due to the fact that the bees will persist in filling the space above them with honey comb, thereby attaching them lo the crown board so firmly, that the latter cannot be lifted without raising them out of their notches, nor can it be wrenched sideways in its own horizontal plane wiihout converting the waxen attachments into a series of har- rows which are liable to injure the inhabitants of the hive. And when the crown board has been removed, what a picture presents itself? The honey cells hav- ing been broken, the crown board and the upper side of the top bars of the frames, present corresponding series of broken and bleeding comb, to which the bees, not only of the hive operated on, but others also from neighbouring hives, attracted by the odour of it take immediate possession, while the amateur operator, fearing lest he may have done something dreadfully wrong, is in a disagreeable dilemma ; he is afraid to proceed because of the immense number of bees con- gregated on the tops of the frames, and any attempt to replace the crown board he knows will crush some hundreds of them, for while he has been hesitating, they" have been making free with its bleeding honey surfaces and have congregated thereon by thousands. But taking another view of the case we will su])pose (what is most improbable) that no comb lias been built between the frames and the crown board, and that the latter has been moved without disturbing the former, breaking a single cell, or causing any extraor- dinary excitement among the bees. How, even with everything so far in the most favourable condition is an amateur to extract a frame of comb ? and if he gets it out, what is he to do with it ? It is usual to prize some of the frames out of the notches in which they rest, and crowd them together until sufficient space is gained to allow of one of them being taken out. Now this, which seems so simple a matter to read of, is often attended with great danger to the queen and bees, beside creating undue disturbance in the hive, and as it is almost always necessary to place the first comb extracted on the ground or in some recep- tacle outside the hive, while the other frames are being examined there is often danger of chilling brood and bees, and attracting robber bees to the exposed honey in the combs, and as a rule, the comb first removed is kept out of the hive until all others have been examined, when it is as troublesome and dan- gerous to return it to its original position, as it was to extract it therefrom. The moveable portions of the sides of the proposed hive being thinner at the bottom than at the top, it will be immediately evident that as they ore withdrawn, they will retire from the frames and comb, and so prevent all danger of injury to either the comb or the bees, and their removal will aflbrd so much late- ral space that there will not only be no occasion for crowding ll:c combs together, as before described, but each comb, after examination may be immediately returned to the hive, and the possibility of chilled liees and brood v.ill thus be prevented. The next but net the least, imi)ortant part of a hive is its cover, crown, or honey board as it is variously called. In the Vv'oodbury hive it is formed of wood, or a combination of wood and straw, and is usually about an inch in thickness. If of wood it is clamped at the ends to prevent warping, and is generally made in one piece, so that in any operation be it ever so minute or simple, connected with any portion of the interior of the hive, it is necessary to remove the whole of it. This we have long considered such an objectionable feature, that in all our own hives we have abandoned it, and our covers or crown boards are simply strips of wood laid side by side, and held down by transverse pieces fastened across them. In the Stewarton hive no crown board is used, but the interstices are filled up with slips, which fit into grooves, formed in the sides of the frames, and thus make an even surface on which supers or honey boxes may be placed without the intervention of any board whatever. These slips (or slides) are liable to one very unfortunate inconvenience, they are sometimes so glued on with propolis, as to necessitate the application lOO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. of outside heat to render them moveable, and this is in our opinion so objectionable as to be inimical to their adoption. Oar American cousin " Novice " stoutly maintains the opinion, and practically proves that the use of the crown board is a mistake, and recommends (and uses) a coverlet of some woven fabric, such as carpet, hoi- land or forfar, as being more handy in use, and better as a means of affording ventilation than any other kind of cover. His quilts, for so they are called by him, are laid close to the tops of the frames ; they are not sufficiently heavy to crush the bees, even if laid directly on them, and they mould themselves to any possible condition. A piece of stick laid across the frames, under the quilt ensures a means by which the bees may travel over the frames, if such a passage be thought desirable, and thequilt maybe lifted for examina- tion at any lime, and replaced, before the bees have time to recover from their first surprise, and not a bee need be crushed or even injured. We are strongly in favour of their adoption, but not having tried them, we can- not speak from actual experience of their value, yet as we have every confidence in our American friend, we intend giving them a severe trial, both during the present winier, (as a means of ventilation) and in the ensuing spring and summer. t1 o p ^ f i 2 Pending our experiments we must call attention to an excellent arrangement (proposed by our scientific correspondent, Mr. F. Cheshire) by which the crown board may be made to do duty not only as a crown board and adapting board beneath the supers, but which will also afford ready means for almost perfect ventilation. Our engraving will show almost at a glance the simplicity and worth of the arrangement. The " board " is in pieces the central piece being of extra width to permit of a feeding hole, any number of pieces may be used, but to exhibit its chief features we have made it in five only. It will be seen that the two outside pieces have narrow slips chased out of their sides, which, when the hive is duse'd rest on its outer walls, but which when required either to furnish means of ingress to supers, or for ventilating purposes, may be so disposed as to come on to or over almost any part of the combs, and in any position either parallel with, or at right angles to them. WHAT TO DO, AND WHEN AND HOW TO DO IT. In deference to the wish of a valued correspondent we have elsewhere in the Journal given a sketch and description of an excellent mode of packing bees in straw skeps, so that they shall be effectually protected against the evils of our changeable climate. There are, however, many other means by which bees in skeps may be protected, although, arguing from the platform of the straw hivists, they ought to require no protection at all, save a roof to keep them dry. Dry- ness is one of the first essentials and a good roof is, therefore, of the first importance, yet how often do we find hives destitute of even that ? ^Ve have seen hun- dreds of hives, left for the winter with no other protec- tion than a handful of heather, or a tuft of peat on their crowns, kept in their places by an old pantile, a brick, or piece of stone, their sides fully exposed dur- ing the whole season to all the inclemencies of the weather, so that often they become soddened with rain or snow, and frozen with ensuing frost, without the slightest further attempt being made to protect them. Hives thus uncared for soon go to decay and col- lapse through their own weight, and that of the mate- rial piled upon them. In how many instances also do we see rows of bee hives standing on planks or stands, with nothing to prevent the rain or snow soaking the lower parts of them, and causing them to become the habitations of worms, slugs and other vermin ? Surely it cannot be wonderful that bees so managed do not yield a proper return, and in fact are accounted of so little value that many persons will not take the trouble to keep them at all. One of the best if not the best cover or roof for a straw skep is a milk pan if properly applied. Many persons who use them place them over the skeps without thought or care for the consequences, quite satisfied with having sufficiently protected their bees from rain and other outside moisture, but forgetting that moisture in the form of vapour is continually ris- ing through the hive, and condensing into water on the under side of the pan, which gradually soaking into the crown, soddens it until it becomes so cold that the THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. toi vapour cannot escape through the crown, but conden- ses inside the hive, to the great discomforture of the bees. Straw is undoubtedly a good non-conductor of heat, but to remain so it must be kept dry. A straw hive, when once soddened with moisture, no matter whence obtained, is not an easy thing to render dry again, when in possession of a stock of bees, for they will be continually generating moisture which will con- dense on the inside of it, robbing the internal atmos- phere of its heat, and necessitating continued effort on the part of the bees and increased consumption of stores, to maintain the degree of heat necessary in the hive. To keep a skep dry, the roof or cover should extend so far all round it as to protect the whole of its floor board from the driving rains, or some interposing mate- rial should be made use of. An American cheese box, as recommended by the late Mr. Pagden, is an excel- lent outside case for a skep, as it may be completely covered by a milk pan, and is a safe protection from the rains, &c., and when stuffed inside with hay, straw, or saw dust, will afford capital protection against the vicissitudes of the temperature. In all cases, how- ever, a large handful of hay or straw, or a pad of car- peting should intervene between the hive and the milk pan, to permit of the escape of the moist vapour from the hive without condensation immediately in connection with it. This vapour might be allowed to escape in a perfectly harmless way if the pan were kept from close contact with the material between it and the hive, by means of a bit of old basket work, a hand- ful of light brushwood, or some similar appliance which ■would permit the vapour to pass off in a lateral direc- tion. The old straw hackle must not be forgotten as a good temporary means of shelter. It is easy to make and apply, but if often removed soon becomes ragged and ineffective. It is only necessary to tie a bundle of straight straws firmly by one end, wet the whole until it becomes tough and pliant, open it like an umbrella, and slip it over the hive. Then, when evenly arranged, a hoop or string should be put round it near the bottom of the hive, and the ragged ends of the straw clipped oft". This is a favourite cover with many bee keepers, but our objection to it is that it so soon becomes useless. Next to outer protection, ventilation claijns most careful attention. It is with bees as with flame, neither can exist without air, yet too great a supply of it may destroy both. We- are continually being asked " How much ven- tilation ought my bees to have?" a question we are entirely unable to answer, because the necessities of each stock depend so much on its strength and con- dition and the kind and size of hive in. Mr. Cheshire's letter in last months journal, very plainly shows why ventilation is necessary, but no one can lay down a rule for each individual hive. The straw skep when dry requires as little ventilation as any hive, not as many people suppose, because it permits of ventilation through its walls or crown, for that is impossible, seeing that the bees render it impervious on the inside by varnishing it all over with propolis, but from the fact that the heat is retained between the combs, instead of being allowed to ascend and dissipate itself over the crown as in the present bar frame hive, where space is allowed above the frames all over the hive. The consequence is, that the heated saturated air finds its way to the cold parts of the hive, and condensing, renders the hive still colder than before, and it eventually becomes wet and mouldy. The bees would stop up the space above the frames, if allowed to do so, but the bee keeper will not per- mit this and removes all attachments above the frames, because they impede his manipulation. The Americans as we have elsewhere remarked, in our replies to querists, have in many instances, dispensed with the crown board of the hive, when wintering, and have adopted quilts of carpet, &c., over which they pile other porous material. Some such provision should certainly be made to permit the escape of the vapour, without creating a draught through the hive, and we must leave our readers to decide which is the best and most easily available in each particular case. A flower pot stuffed with hay, an empty super in which the saturated air might condense, a straw skep filled with straw or shavings, or anything of the kind placed over the central openings ; or where a slotted honey board is used, carpet, felt, or India matting surmounted by some porous substance, such as hay or shavings would answer well. We cannot help reminding our readers that in con- sequence of the late fine weather, the bees have con- sumed stores largely, and will probably require to be fed with barley sugar, to make which it is only necessary to put three pounds of best loaf sugar into half a pint of boiling water, wlien dissolved add half a wineglass of vinegar, and continue to boil and stir it for nearly half an hour, or until by removing the spoon and trying a few drops on a cold slab its crisp- ness is determined. Take care to have a clear even 102 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. fire, and do not let it boil over, or it will burn most fiercely. With a little care, however, there is not the slightest danger. VV'heu sufficiently cool to permit of its being safely placed in bottles or tumblers pour it in and fi.x a stick upright in the centre of each, to stand out about two inches, so that when inverted on the top of a hive, the stick may reach clown to the combs, and aftord a means by which the bees may reach the barley sugar, as otherwise they may starve with it in sight, through being unable to climb up the cold polished glass. Do not forget to destroy all vermin, wasps and spiders, and the chr3salides of the wax moth in particular. DEATH OF W. A. MUNN, ESQ. With the deepest regret we record the death of W. A. Munn, Esq., F.R.H.S., the original Inventor of the Bar and Frame Hive, who expired at his resi- dence, Churchill House, Dover, on the 13th ultimo, aged 63 years. BEES IN A LAND OF SUMMER AND SUNSHINE. o To the Editor of ihc BRITISH BEE JOURNAL o Mr J. Carroll was my nearest neighbour bee keeper, and he went out in the autumn of 1869 to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and took his bees with him to make a living. He Writes in " Novice's gleanings in Bee Culture :" " This is a splendid coun- try for bees. No wintering here, the bees are on the wing all the year round. The bee is most certainly a native of the tropics. My observatory hives are three feet square ; containing only a single card of comb. I simply put a bar across the large frame to support the comb. The hive opens on each side. I raise hun- dreds of queens in them. The bees are never taken out, as the winter, if it can be called winter, is not severe enough to kill bees, even in a single comb glass hive. We can raise queens, and have them fertilized at any time during the year." Do you want to know what I think of your new hive ? Well, I have had timber cjt for 200 of them, and intend to give it the following name : '■ Novice's Flive of Hives." He signs himself " Bee Master to His Excellency the Marquis of Normandy." WILLIAM CARR, ' Newton Heath, near Manchester. EXPERIENCE. Sir, — I had a swarm from a hive of very pretty Ligurian bees, but the naughty jade of a princess left in the stock, only unworthily followed her mother, for upon her flight she met an ugly black drone, and lis- tened to his cooing. I know she did, although the evidence was only circumstantial, for in due course the rather inky daughters of the sooty father showed themselves at the hive door. Now, being a true fan- cier, Mr. Editor, could I be expected to endure mon- grels ? Having possessed myself of a pure queen from Italy, that I felt convinced was a very pattern of pro- priety, (before I opened the box in which she had taken her long journey) I proceeded upon the serious business of introduction. The box lid was cautiously opened, when, alas, for the fate of misplaced confi- dence ! away flew the queen, and settled onawideboard about three feet from the box, but instantly she was on the wing again, rising and flying from me until lost to sight. I gave up the light and blithesome dame for lost, but still kept looking about in the direction of her flight, lioping her accompanying, daughters might yet get scent of her. In somewhat more than half an hour the search was given up ; and leaving the box close to the spot from which the queen had flown, I went to breakfast bemoaning my loss. The time of my usual train was drawing near, but, while preparing to start, I concluded it would be wise to again visit the scene of disaster ; when, on the board, and upon the very spot from which the lady had flown, there was a clus- ter of bees, and a closer inspection revealed her in their midst. A glass was popped over all, zinc placed beneath, and in the greenhouse, with every window closed, behold me with the cage in hand, lift- ing the glass with the other, but as it rises she is in an instant buzzing and flying around my head. Not for a few minutes did she settle, but now I had her, and settled her destiny, for in a short time she was fixed upon a comb in her new domicile. Now, Mr. Editor, why was the queen so light of heart, and did she do only what might have been anticipated in return- ing to the spot from which she rose ? She certainly made no examination of the place when she started^ as I traced her clearly some considerable distance fly- ing from me in almost a direct line. V.'e expect you to know as much about matters like this :<% though you had been a bee when time was young, which by metempsychosis, had very properly been converted into the editor of our niost excellent journal. A, H. A. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 163 It may be safely inferred that when a queen takes flight under any circumstances (except on swarming) she will always return to the spot from which she started, and will alight th-;re if per- mitted to do so. We lost one a very short time ago under simi- lar circumstances to those described by our correspondent, but her return was prevented by her becoming entangled in a large spiders web. Some bees found her in her singular posi- tion, and encased her, and when we discovered her she was dead. We mention this, as it may aid in explaining ^\'hy young queens are so often lost on their wedding flights. Ed. ON UNITING QUEENS. Dear Sir, — In a correspondence with the late Mr. Woodbury shortly before his decease, I liad occasion to ask his advice as to the best method of uniting Itahan queens to common stocks in the ordinary cot- tage or fixed comb hive. He recommended driving, but as I had never suc- ceeded in performing the operation to my own satis- faction, I hesitated to adopt this plan on so large a scale as the introduction of six imported queens required. To my enquiries as to his experience with regard to fumigation, he (Mr. Woodbury) replied that he had no knowledge of it, nor did he know any case in which it had been tried. Having a sufficient stock of well- dried puff-ball, collected from the meadows the pre- vious year, I determined to experiment on three com- mon straw skeps and three Stewarton Hives. The queens ariived on the ^th November, 1870, frost having set in. Removing each hive into a warm room, I placed an empty Stewarton box reversed, under the boxes containing the bees, and when the hum proclaimed the excitement of the colony, by means of one of Mr. Neighbour's fumigators, fixed on bellows, I injected sufficient smoke from the ignited puff-ball to stupify the bees, tapping the hives during the operation, until perfect silence reigned within. The manipulation of each hive occupied about three minutes, and on raising the upper boxes I dis- covered the bees in a comatose state in the lower box, and in every case the black queen, lying uppermost, was easily distinguishable, and was reserved with a few of her subjects, in case of accident. The Ligurian queen, with her attendants, was immediately placed in the midst of the stupefied bees in the lower box, these latter being piled over her, and the upper boxes replaced, slightly wedged up to admit air but not suf- ficiently so to allow the bees to escape, and the hive was again returned to its stand. The same method was adopted with each hive in succession, with this difference only, that under the cottage straw hives, a similar hive, excepting fittings, was placed. The ope- ration on the six hives occupied about a couple of hours, and in every case was perfectly successful, the bees on recovering from their sleep, ascending to their former domicile in half an hour at most after stupe- faction. On the 3rd of December, a bright and spring- like day, I had the extreme satisfaction of seeing beau- tifully marked ligurians sunning themselves at the entrances of all the hives, or hovering around in no small numbers. These stocks continued to do well during the following summer, throwing numerous swarms of the purest Ligurian type, and working supers. The stupefying process appeared to me to act most beneficially and to arouse the energy of the bees, for throughout the winter, on fine days, pollen was carried into the hives, and very early breeding commenced in spring. For introducing queens into bar frame hives, I would recommend the wire pipe cover, so called, of which I send you a rough sketch. They were supplied to me by Mr. Woodbury at 2s. per dozen, made of fine wire, and very simple in construction. The queen is imprisoned under one of these cages upon a brood comb, near the centre of the hive, the lower edge of the cage being pushed sufficiently far into the comb to secure it, the English qtieen having been removed 24 hours previously. After 30 hours confinement the prisoner may be released, with every prospect of success. This cage is far preferable to the one of perforated zinc, sliding on the upper bar of an empty frame, in which I have lost several queens, apparently from cold, the bees not caring to cla:, . around them, when in the upper part of the hive. ,1 . far away from the brood. GEORGE RAYNOR. Hazeleigh Rectory. POSTHUMOUS. 0 — — Sir, — In your leading article of October you very properly comment on tlie Manchester " bee furnii^.i.. ' show by quoting Mrs. Tupper's saying, " Bees do lo4 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. nothing invariably " (except store honey in straw hives adds Mr. Pettigrew.) And again, on page 82 you give a grand summary of Mr. Llangstroth's 61 essentials to perfect the idea of a good useful wooden hive. Experience, however, comes to the rescue in bee keeping, and will suggest that an old hat is as complete a hive as the skull or carcass of the lion was for the Honey harvest Samson gathered as he returned from Timnath. I think, however, the riddle should be no*v solved, how the wooden hive or box is better than the straw or any other hive, where perfect management and economy of time can be taken into considera- tion ? Straw then may be discarded as obsolete in hive building of any kind, for although cheap to buy, the expenses of bee houses or sheds, with floor boards and stands, with thedrawbacks of theirdecay and the shelter they afford for vermin, condemn it. The only thing to regret is that the late lamented Rev. Thomas, when re- viewing bee books in the Quarterly, observed," write me down a Hivite, if I forget the little wood cut at the head of Watts's hymn ' How doth the little busy bee,' and so we may miss the straw hive or straw cap in the cot- tagers garden." I, however, beg to propose a compro- mise, which is, to have the cottage hive to stand on the boxes containing the bar-and-frame plan of honey gathering. I fully believe this will be the only way to completely introduce the great advantages of the framed box hive. With this view I sent some hives and bees to the Manchester Show, (alluded to at page 85,) but the rules and regulations seem to have restricted the prizes to honey only, which the judges were to taste, and which must have been of superior quality, as one of them, the Rev. W. C. Cotton, gave ^10 for the honey on the spot, after tasting some of the 87 pounds produced in a super ! Seeing that the average of the honey produced in a cottagers hive weighs only 25 or 3opounds when taken with the stock, it certainly would have been of advantage to the bee keeping world if some little report had been permitted at the show, when, where, and how these bees of Arnwick, Manchester, collected this enormous weight, and built their combs to hold this very superior flavoured honey. I make these observations as you have done in the Brilish Bee Journal in no captious spirit, and join in your conclusion, " We do not really understand such phenomena." Turning then to the practical remarks of )'our " Renfiewshire Bee Keeper," who has so shortly and ably described the mode of transporting the octa- gon hives on board the Clyde Steamer, I think every unprejudiced bee keeper must see what extra trouble and care these hives required in packing for their jour- ney, whilst it must be confessed the manner in which he honestly states the mode of transferring common straw hives for his own apiaries, i.e., carried inverted, with a pretty open cheese cloth tied over, will at once prove that hives in sections, on flat floors and closed against the removal of honey, must labour under great difficulties. Two objections, certainly, I know of, from experience in transporting these common straw hives only short distances, viz., first, if the hive be inverted as stated, all the honey in open cells for daily use (unsealed as they are in the summer and early autumn) must run out and smear the inte- rior, and secondly, if the combs are the build of the early swarms, being new, they will drop into the cloth when carried on the floor board ; and I may add that if kept for more than a day or two the imprisoned bees will cut open the cloth. It is evident then that we require a hive or box that will enable bee keepers to transport their bees with facility and safety, and interfere as little as possible with the combs, honey, and bees, and yet give them thorough ventilation and food when required for long journeys. Can any one name such a hive. I trust " Lanarkshire Bee Keeper " or " Stewarton Apiarian " will shortly give us such a hive. I turn now to escape from the blame of not noticing the priority of Geddie's patent, named by your excellent correspondent in the British Bee Journal, and I shield myself behind Wildman's hive, as I have now come to the end of my promised infor- mation regarding the mystery of bee management by Wildman, which ends in smoke, the mahogany box, and manipulation. Still I trust I may be pardoned my silence, as in the third edition of Dr. Bevan's Honey Bee, page 308, John Geddie is fully honoured as obtaining his patent in 1675, from King Charles II. (not James II.) where- as Thomas Wildman only comes before us as a bee master in 1766, whose talent in holding the instincts of the bees under command, made me seek the kind of hive he used, to arrive at this knowledge ; as I stated in the October number. I must call the attention of yourreaders to that very able article on" Ventilation" by F. Cheshire, and let us all keep in mind his con- cluding sentence. " Give ample ventilation, and allow as little heat as possible to escape through the walls of the hive," the one great principle that has been so imperfectly understood in our wooden boxes or cases for the bar and framed hives, and has thus far THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. los induced many to adopt the old-fashioned straw instead of wood, but which I had pointed out when writing on the bar and frame hives, in 1843, more then as an experimental hive than as the common hive of a cheaper construction. But do not let us confuse the " Ventilation " of poor Mr. Nutt's plan with that summed up in this letter. I think Renfrewshire is rather hard on Mr. Carr to ante date the" Reformation" evenforan inventor of hives. Per- haps Mr. C. W. Smith will prove that there is only the difference in spelling between the " Kerr-Stewarton " and the " Carr-Stewarton " and unless the contracts made to supply the hive in two qualities, should des- troy the delusion we may be all labouring under, I must conclude with the fact that I claim the ribs of the lion as giving me the first idea of a bar and frame, whilst I know Mr. Pettigrew will not allow it is worth a " straw." Let us all then try and extract all the good we can from the various hives suggested, and guided by the impartial reviews of Our Bee Master Edi- tor, let us remember that bee stings are all cured by a little blue bag, if we should take to it, and that our lives are not forfeited by any stings we may give, as our pens are not barbed with poison. W. AUGUSTUS MUNN. MY FIRST FRAME HIVE AND ITS PROGRESSION. In order to give the reader an idea of what prompted me to adopt the frame hive, it will be necessary to go back to the commencement of my bee keeping. My desire and love for bees commenced when a mere child. I remember being taken to the bedside of my father, to receive from his lips the instructions and injunctions a father only can give, and from his hand a tea spoonful of honey. While the former were the less appreciated at the time, they have perhaps been the more lasting, yet the taste of the honey (in those days honey was scarcer than now, 15s. per pint being readily obtained) with the story of Samson and the lion, together with wonderful stories of the king and queen, workers and drones, created in me a strong desire to have bees for myself Previous to becoming the possessor of a hive I had had a little experience in the rustic style of manipulation with them, in straw hives, and my ear was not deaf to the perplexities of bee keepers. As to the superiority of the Stewarton supers to their own, the belief was that their production was a secret, without a knowledge of which there could be no success. Through this belief (railway accomo- dation was not so easy then) they never attempted the journey to Stewarton, but if they had they would have been gratified to know otherwise. Numerous plans were tried, and although many were failures, yet I think I profited by them. My first hive then was a large straw one with a six to eight inch hole in the centre, with cross sticks to support the combs, and a hole for the entrance about three inches wide and three quarters high. My first object was to try and get a swarm, as is the case with most young bee keepers, and in this I was success- ful, although late, and tlxonly honey I got that year was in turning out the old stock. In doing this I was so disgusted with the fixed deep combs and cross sticks, and the great difiiculty I had in getting them out of the hive, without breaking the combs, and smearing everything near me with honey, that I was prompted to try some other plan, but here was a barrier. I was told distinctly by Carluke people that bees would not live in wooden hives. Besides I had already purchased a number of the other hives, so this with a light purse caused me to content myself for a while. The next grievance I had was the large hole in the centre. When supers were put on and taken oft", in the former the largest combs lost their support when tlie lid was removed, and invariably the bees commenced build- ing their combs upwards, the queen often following and depositing her eggs. This and the vitiated air naturally rising to the top gave anything but satisfac- tory combs. In the latter case, ere the super could be removed, tlie whole of the combs had to be cut through, often setting the bees fighting. The honey dripping from the super was also a nuisance, and in cases where supers were not finished the whole of the comb detaching itself would fall out on to the hive. But how to remedy all this was the poser. Believing as some of our would-be great bee masters still do, that wood was obnoxious to bees, and having no expe- rienced bee keeper better enlightened, nor bee books of any kind to inform me, I had a good deal of plan- ning, and although some of my inventions were rustic enough, they gave me better satisfaction. My first improvement was with an old straw flat topped hive, the top of which had fallen in through the weight of combs it had from time to time to carry. This was simply a straw cylinder. Afterstraightening the topedgeand fiisteningtoitafewpiecesof wood to receive screw nails from a wooden cover, in ^\'hich a few three quarter holes had been bored for admissiuu to the io6 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. super, I screwed the cover to the top of the hive, and as a support to the combs in lieu of the cross sticks, I placed several laths about one and half inches broad right along within three eights of an inch of the bottom edge of the hive, supported by little blocks at equal distances, so that the bees might have a free passage through. Having now my hive finished and stocked, I had not long to wait for favourable results, getting both hive and super filled with honey in a very short time. On removing the super I was highly delighted to find not a single conib attached to the crown of the hive. This I considered a great improve- ment on the old fashion with the wide hole. My next manipulation was the turning out of the hive itself. After I had removed the cross laths and bees, I loosened the combs from the side of the hive, and unscrewing the crown board, I lifted the whole of the combs eti masse adhering thereto. This was considered a great achievement, getting the combs whole and clean, without as usual, smearing everything with dripping honey. Being so well pleased with the new form of hive, I ordered a quantity of straw cylinders, but in this I was disappointed, as the maker failed to supply me, and through this disappoint- ment I was compelled to make some wooden boxes. These boxes were eighteen inches square and nine deep, with the crowns all made to screw off and on. These, however, in consequence of their size, and being in a bad honey district, did not give me satisfac- tion, they were too large in bad seasons, and seeing the propriety of having hives that could be made large or small at pleasure, I cut my boxes in two and made a quantity more, to be used as nadirs, as I found the first mentioned size too small, when sent to the heather. (In another letter I will describe how I ven- tilated my bees in transit). This last improvement was the thing that suggested to me the possibility and advantage of having moveable single combs, as the crowns being made moveable I could transfer them to any box. Owing to this alteration I was compelled to have passages for the bees in the under boxes, and as I always had a desire to have straight combs, I gene- rally used a guide, so that crooked combs were never in my apiary. The crown boards in my under boxes were all lined off to the proper distances, having a half inch passage between all its combs to within one and a half inches at the ends. Owing to the shallowness of these boxes, the combs required no support, and when removing the combs, I had only to detach them with a knife back and front, lifting the whole out attached to the crown board, as in the case with the straw hive. While manipulating with these boxes (which were doubtless the Stewarton system, but with square boxes) I saw how I might be able to lift out combs singly, and do away with the cutting at the end of the combs. I then made a hive consisting of two boxes, seven in. deep and only fourteen square, all inside measure. The tops of the frames were made to fit close to each other on the top, and had a projection all round of half an inch. The end pieces were fitted to lie close to the front and back of hive, and had no under support, the combs being supported by broad laths, as in the straw hives, the two outside frames being broader owing to the projection. I had a mortice cut in these, the outside being in a line with the inside of the hive, for the purpose of admitting bees to the super, and from one box to the other. My hive finished and filled by the bees, I was in ecstasies in being able, as I thought, to draw up any comb I chose, and in shewing to an acquaintance how I could lift out the combs at will, I was rather chagrined when I completely failed, the combs being partly fastened one to the other. I had one consolation, however, my acquaintance was a sen- sible man, and had been thinking of something of the kind himself, so he did not laugh at me, but rather tried to help me out of my difficulties, and as two heads are better than one, we consulted as doctors do, and made an improvement in having one of the ends of my hive moveable, sliding in and out by a simple contrivance, and so gave me room to extract the first comb. After that the rest were easy, and many a per- son did I astonish with my frame hives. Since that a quarter of a century has rolled on, and although they had a rough appearance compared to the Woodbury hive with the compound frame, I still look upon my old frames as a great achievement. I cling to them with tenacity, preserving their original form as near as I can. It is true I have them larger, with a rack attached to back and front of the hive to guide the frames, and although there are alterations in the floor board, and a contrivance to keep the loose bar in its place, it is nevertheless the Woodbury hive. But perhaps the greater difference is in the crown board, which is exactly what your correspondent, " T. Burs- tall " enquires for, viz., to have the crown boards as in the Stewarton hive. I have many forms of crown boards, but perhaps the most simple is the one which I shall describe : — ist, procure two pieces of wood, the lengths from side to side of hive, i^ inches THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 107 broad, }i thick, bevel the inner edges of the two, forming as it were, a half dovetail to receive the ends of the bar, which will be cut to fit, and which should be i^ broad, by ^i thick with grooves for slides. There is a broad piece in the centre, which has a hole two inches in diameter, bored fully half way down. The underside has a hole i }4 inches, so that a rest for a piece of perforated zinc is gained ; this is for the feeding bottle- This with the bars, is screwed to the thin pieces mentioned with half inch screws at the proper distances to receive the slides. The only thing to be very careful about is this, if a dividingboard be used the cross pieces must extend over to clear the inside of the hive, to allow the dividing board freedom, and to shut oft all communication from the other part of the hive. A LANARKSHIRE BEE KEEPER. EXPERIENCE. 0— — On the principle of being better late then never, I will try to give you some of my experience in raising queens and driving bees in the hope that it may be useful to some of your readers. In my last letter I wished to know the best way of introducing queen cells containing young queens, in progress, which you replied to, but did not encourage me much as you thought the larvse then left in the hive were too old for the bees to raise any more queens, but perhaps you did not understand that at the time of my writing (July nth) the old queen was only taken away on the 8th and on the nth I examined them again and found to my surprise in the old stock, about 1 5 young queens, in progi'ess, on three combs. When I examined the black stock containing the Italian comb and queen cell introduced on the loth of July, I found they had raised three or four more royal cells all in an advanced state, and having one other black stock at the time queenless, I introduced some comb containing royal cells from them. On the 22nd of July I examined all three hives and found that each had hatched a beautiful Italian queen for itself, which commenced laying on or about August 6th, at about fourteen days old. September i6th I examined them all, and found plenty of beautifully marked young bees, and brood in all stages. I have driven about forty stocks of cordemned bees for myself and neighbours this season, the last two on September 30th. I have made eight strong stocks out of about twenty, six in frame hives, and two in com- mon straw skeps, and lm\e given them about twenty four pounds syrup each. I have put two, three, and five together respectively. I find in fastening in the empty combs into the frames, fine copper wire the most convenient, and after driving the bees out of old skeps, the best way to get the honey out is by knock- ing it suddenly on an old tray or milk tin, when all the combs come down easily, if the sticks (if any) are first withdrawn, and any bees left in the combs may be brushed off into an empty hive and placed on old stands. I have found this plan far preferable to cut- ting out the combs and much quicker done, in tact, it does not matter whether the bees ascend or not, as when they are frightened by tapping the hive, they may be knocked out and brushed off as stated above. I have made it a practice in every case to capture one queen out of every two driven stocks, and cage her up in top of hive in a wire cylinder cage until the evening. When the bees are taken home they may be knocked out into empty hives, sprinkled mth syrup and united, when the queen of course left in cage on top of hive may be taken away. I have also found the best way of uniting queenless bees to any other stock is by opening the hole at top of hive and placing the queen- less bees over them, when they will quietly descend. I have always found tnem united by the next morning without disturbing the stock hive. Aug. 20th I exhibited my old [stock of Ligurians, with young queen and brood in all stages, using for the pui-pose one of Pettitt's Observatory hives. They were exhibited at the Flower Show here (Melksham), and also at Trowbridge, and proved a source of great attraction, some of the remarks made upon them being very amusing, such as "Where's the king," ? then "What good are the drones, &c., &c.," showing the remark- able ignorance people have of the working of the bees they have in some cases been keeping all their lives. A. A. Melksham. WINTER PROTECTION FOR SKEPS. 00 Sir, — I am exceedingly grateful for your prompt and lengthy reply to my queries. Your idea as to the protection of straw skeps for the winter appears to me most valuable, and I should tliink would prove of great service to many, who like myself, still possess these old feshioned hives, if you were to insert it with drawing in the journal. I shall certainly adopt it with mine. I am very pleased to see that honey slingers are now to be had in England, especially as you report so well of them. C. E. F. io8 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. Our suggestion was to tlie following efiect : — Hav- ing stopped the entrance hole (temporarily) slip a sack or bag without a bottom, down over the hive and stand, until nearly the whole of the hive is shewn through it, tie a string or cord round the sack, and round the hive, close down above the entrance hole ; then turn the sack upwards inside out as suggested in engraving, and fill all round with sawdust as high up its crown as the feeding hole. The remaining portion of the sack should then be folded over on to the feed- ing hole, and a milk pan placed over the whole. No special care is required in doing this, and there is no danger from the bees, as they will all be within the hive. The sawdust padding will set close all round, and down to the floor board and the folds of the sack, will afford ample means of ventilation, yet will prevent the condensation of the vapour immediately on its leaving the hive, an evil generally too little regarded. A small arch of tin, zinc, or elder wood applied to the entrance hole will prevent its being closed by the pad- ding, and a slanting piece of tin placed across about an inch from its end will prevent the bees being tempted out by the dazzHng light of snow. — Ed. A DRONE TRAP. o Sir, — I was very much pleased with and I hope I have profited, by your suggestion in the journal res- pecting the capture of drones by raising the hive three sixteenths of an inch to allow the worker bees to go in and out and placing a trap before the main entrance to retain them. I have made a trap for capturing them, and emptying supers, with a box recei\er to retain the drones, and let the workers go free. The trap is made of a piece of wood about one inch thick, and four inches wide, and five or six inches long, with an aperture cut out of the wood about the size of the entrance to the hive, three eights high, and three inches wide. The end that goes into the box, is cut sloping, so that the little flaps or doors shall fall again with their own weight The doors are made of thin horn, about a quarter inch wide, twelve in number and hung across the slope with a piece of wire. The box receiver is about eight inches square, and about three inches deep. The trap is let up into the box fair with the bottom, having a piece of tin or zinc to cover it. The trap projects out from behind the box about an inch. I have a glass cover to the box, so that I can slide it in and out, and leave an aperture between the edge of the glass and the front of the box, for the workers to escape and keep the drones behind. I have put on an alighting board across the front of the hive by boring two dowel holes in the floor board, and inserting two wire dowels in them, so that I can fix it on with the trap or take it off" at pleasure. I put the trap on one of my hives on the 26th July about nine o'clock in the morning, and let it remain until about four o'clock. I then took it oft, and took it in doors, and emptied the drones out into a pan of water, and counted them. I had captured 686. I put it on again the next day, and caught 451. I then put the trap on to my second hive, and captured the first day 700, and the second day 416. I continued to put it on for several days, and captured in one hive 1,654 and in the other 1,489. After placing the trap on one of the hives, and capturing 693 and 450, I thought I had taken all the drones, but I stood at the mouth of the hive one day about twelve o'clock, and saw several drones going in and out. I put on the trap, and let it stop about an hour, and when I went to the hive again, I found I had detained a swarm of drones outside. I put on my bee dress, and killed with the knife 240 in a few minutes. I continued to put on the trap for several days after, and caught in No. I hive about 1,500, and in No. 2 hive about 2,200 so you see that my queens have a good drone breeding propensity. I cannot account for the abundance of drones, as the one I fed the most had the least drones, and the one I fed the least had the most. You said when I wrote to you last about the drones, it was on account of liberal feeding that they were so plentiful. I put a super on No. i hive, and have taken it off" again, with, I suppose as much honey as I ought to expect, about nine or ten pounds of splendid honey comb. I took it off", and placed it on a board and fixed the trap on the board and quickly cleared my super of the bees, but for several days after robber bees were flying about the hive a great deal, and they seemed to be in an agitated state, but now seem pretty quiet. The robbers had but very little chance, THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 109 as they were seized at the entrance, and what one could not do tliree or four or more would. When is the new hive likely to make its appearance ? I am anxiously lookingout for it. The metal corners I have no doubt would be an improvement. The ones you inserted in the August number I should think would answer every purpose, and are not so complicated as the others in the last number. S. RICHARDS, ■ Cornwall. PROFESSOR CHEVALLEY. o Dear Sir, — Having been informed that one or two American Bee Journals have spoken in disparaging terms of Professor Chevalley, of Bellingzona, Tessin, I wish to say that he has during the past twelve months sent me at different times, stocks of Ligurian bees, and also packages of fine Ligurian queens and has honourably responded to my claims for occasional losses. C. W. SMITH. Totteridge, Herts. THE MANCHESTER EXHIBITION. 00 Dear Sir, — I take it that the object of all exhibi- tions, wherever held, or under whatever management, is to stimulate by competition, the advancement of the particular branch of industry each represents, and so long as the competition is fair and legitimate, that the outside public may learn how near perfection it is pos- sible to bring the various products exhibited, by care- ful and attentive culture. Looking however, to the reports of the late show of flowers, fruit, and Apicul- tural produce held in Manchester in September last, I gather that compared with those who competed and exhibited them, as a bee keeper I am far behind, and judged by the same rule I fear that very many if not nearly all of your correspondents have still as much to learn as I, before we can hope to take a posi- tion as fairly competent Apiarians. On the surface it appears that there is no such neighbourhood for suc- cessful bee culture, as the vicinity of Manchester; there is no such system of management or hive to be managed as that of Mr. Pettigrew's, and that for skil- ful manngement there exists no one so competent as he, excepting in one particular, and that is in super filling, and here Mr. Breen bears off the palm. Now, Mr. Editor, I ask you is this so ? and I feel sure you will reply, No, sir, it cannot be, Why then have the general public been misled by the exhibition of (in at least two instances) results as genuine, which beekeepers believe are really not so ? I allude, as you will imagine, to Mr. Breen's glass super of 87 pounds weight, and Mr. PettigreVs hive and supers of 136 pounds nett. One report says 139 pounds. I speak of these as calculated to mislead, because the impression created at the exhibition was that they were the product in each case of one hive of bees dur- ing 1873. We all know perfectly well that even in a favourable season these results would be considered as very good indeed, but in a year like the present, the very worst for honey gathering that has been experienced for the past twelve years, they appear little short of marvellous, and require a great deal of explanation to be properly understood, but to simplify the matter and make it more intelligible to those who may be at present in the dark, I will explain how such a super as Mr. Breen's eighty seven pounder might be obtained even in a season like this. A bar frame hive should be selected to be operated upon (say a Woodbury) and the super so fixed upon it as to leave the side combs easily accessible. The hive should be filled with combs of ripe sealed brood from other hives, if necessary, and as fast as they become empty, replace them with others full of sealed ripe brood, again from other hives. By this means the hive would be constantly supplied with bees in countless numbers, and they having little or no brood to nurse would be able to turn their attention to the storing of honey and it is astounding how much would be collected by a hive so populated and with little brood to nurse to ripeness. On days- when the bees could not venture abroad, just a little feeding would keep them going, and help them along nicely, and thirty or forty pounds might be given in this way without making a very perceptible difference in the quality of the honey, the more especially if glucose were administered. But how about the hives that had been deprived of their brood to assist in this plan of super making ? Ah ! Why / should not exhibit than, or call attention to them in any way. This is one plan by which such a super could be built up for exhibition, and if Mr. Breen will kindly explain to us his modus operandi my word for it the principle will be the same, if the manner of working it out be different. As a skilful operator, I must give Mr. Breen his due share of praise, but why exhibit the result without appending an explanation ? Mr. Pettigrew would no doubt call this " clever no THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. trickery," but wait a minute ! How were his big hive and super filled ? Not by one swarm of bees during the present season, of that I am tolerably certain, and yet he has no bar frames to exchange, as in the fore- going plan. How then could it have been managed ? Although not a disciple of the straw skep, still I think I should know how to go to work did I wish to build up a heavy hive and super, even with bees in that old-fashioned kind of domicile. I would select my largest and most active swarm, and that it should always be well supplied with honey gatherers, I would aid them from three or four other hives, by depriving them of tlieir surplus population, which I would unite to my intended exhibition hive, and by aid of a little gentle feeding, as before-mentioned, I should not despair of having as heavy a hive for the show as the one which did not compete for Mr. Petti- grew. What if my three or four victims were at star- vation point by the time " the pet " was ready for exhibition ? Why it would be easy to build them up again in Autumn, especially in a locality where skeps are used, and condemned bees may be had almost for the asking. I hope that in future exhibitions of the kind the regulations will be more stringent and the conditions more clearly defined than those drawn up for the guidance of exhibitors and competitors at the late show in Manchester. Mr. Breen was clearly and honestly entitled to his prize, because he competed in class D, " for the best glass super of honey comb the produce of 1873," not the produce of one hive or one swarm of bees in 1873, but exhibiting it without an explanation of how it was obtained, left the general public, Avho are very ignorant of what can be done by a skilful bee master, to draw the conclusion that it was the produce of one hive only. Class E was under the same conditions as class I), but class A was worded, as in my opinion, the others should also have been. Ir Mr. Pettigrew's case, however, as he did not compete for a prize it appears to me that the hive was exhibited with the idea of impressing upon the public the superiority of the Pettigrew hive and system, and I cannot under the circumstances approve the motive of the exhibitor. Let us exhibit and compete by all means, but let us strenuously avoid sailing under false colours in so doing, and we may then hope that apicultural exhibitions will answer the purpose for which they are instituted. R. SYMINGTON, The Cottage, Oxenden. Notice. — IV/icn queries on any subject are nearlv synonynioiis, we only publish that which has required the fullest reply. Query No. 63. — On opening some of my hives I find the combs quite full of honey, not more than 20 cells in the whole hive empty. Do you advise me to empty them or leave them alone ? I feai' there Avill be no room for breeding, as the bees will not consume enougli to make room before Christmas ? Staines. Reply to No. 63. — Your hives being in the con- dition you state the bees in them will be sure to perish during the winter from the fact of their being divided into sections by solid walls of honey which they will be quite unable to keep warm. We recommend you to sling out the honey from at least five of the centre combs, so as to give the bees room to pack themselves in the cells as well as between the combs, thus forming a dense mass and giving them a chance during the cold weather expected. Ed. Query No. 64. — Will you be so kind as to advise me in this misfortune. I have one very fine stock in a glass bar frame hive very strong of bees. I fed it late (unfortunately). I have it in- side a room, the bees p.assing through a grooved piece of wood covered with glass, out of the window. A day or two ago I saw some bees come out and crawl along, as if suffering from dysen- tery. To-day many more have come out, and died in the same way. I covered this hive a month ago witli a piece of blanket. There is plenty of ventilation, a strong current of air indeed passing through from the window. Having lost many stocks from dysentery in spite of all I could do, I am very anxious to try and save this hive, and as the disease is only beginning, per- haps you can kindly let me know if there are any means I can take to try anl stop it ? As the hive is in a room it is not easy to change the floor board ; but 10 days since I did so, and there was not a dead bee on the board then. If you can help me to save my poor bees I shall be much obliged. S.L. Princes-road, Liverpool. Reply to No. 64. - It is probable that the bees have stored large quantities of liquid food, and are unable to evaporate it. This condition of things has been brought about by late feeding, aided by the draught through the hive, the necess.iry consequence of having them fixed against the wall, or window sill of a dwelling room (see page 74, top of second column). If the grooved piece of wood had been covered with perforated zinc or wire work instead of with glass, the air whisding through the outside entrace would in a great degree have escaped into the room, instead of passing through the hive, and the bees then would probably have been enabled to keep up the heat necessary to enable them to throw off the watery portions of their food. Mr. Cheshire's letter of last month throws a great deal of light on the subject of moisture in hives, and shows the necessity for its expul- sion. Draughts of cold air are more likely to add to than diminish the quantity of moisture, by cojidensing that thrown off by the bees, and the worst feature in the case is that the evil increases by what it feeds on. The hive being rendered so much colder than it should be, more food is consumed to enable the bees to gene- rate sufficient heat to live, and this causes the evolu- tion of more watery vapour, and consequently more condensation in the hive. The best thing you can do for the bees is to place them on a stand just outside the window or wall, with the front of the hive at right angles to, and very close to the entrance through the window sill, which should THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL, III half a pound of moist sugar) they may be traced as they go to and from their nests, with the greatest ease, and if treated to a gill of turpentine, they may in a few minutes be dug out with perfect safety. It is not easy to say whether your Berkshire hive will stand the winter, nor is it possible to say how full of bees a hive should be to winter safely, so much depends on the state and condition of the hive and combs, and the age and vigour of the bees, but sup- posing the combs to contain plenty of stores, little unsealed honey and a sufficiency of empty cells for the bees to pack themselves into, we think a sphere of five inches diameter might safely be depended on, but if the hive be badly equipped, most of the cells filled with unsealed honey or syrup, and no empty ones left for the bees to cluster in, five times that quantity of bees would not stand the winter well, taking the average of seasons. You can safely join the two stocks of bees if you gradually bring them together, but if you attempt to unite two stocks, thirty yards apart, (or thirty feet at this season) you will lose many bees. Tie a bottomless sack round your hives, close to the bottom rim, and fill up with sawdust all round the hive, then gather in the top of the sack and place on a milk pan or other cover. Simple Woodbury's may have a piece of carpet wrapped round them, or if tacked on at bottom, they may be stuffed all round with hay or sawdust. Ed. Query No. 66. — Please advise me what to do, and how best to do it. Yesterday morning I picked up a dead Ligu- riau queen from one of my hives, I feel sure there cannot be anotlier in, as they must have done breeding some time ago. I have another hive with apparently a weak stock in it, but possibly and probably with a queen. Should I do right at this late period of the year to attempt uniting, if so, how had I better do it ? They are in bar frame hives (your own pat- tern). I should not like to lose the bees, as I have been at a great deal of trouble Ligurianizing during the summer, and in consequence of my taking them to the Moors (2-t miles away) and the bad weather coming on, without a possibility of feed- ing them, I have lost one stock completely. It died, how- ever, since it came back, although fed at once ; it seems to have been too much reduced to recover. I may add that I saw over 300 hives on the Moors. Many were dead and all in a most wretched condition. If my experience as an amateur in Ligurianizing would be of any service to you I would give it. — Yours, respectfully, E. Ea-stwood. Reply to No. 6o. — We should recommend you to make a thorough examination of your hives and ascer- tain whether they are in the condition you suspect. If they are both capable of standing the winter, it might repay you to introduce another queen to the supposed queenless stock, but if you prefer it, it is quite safe to unite them. In doing it no extra precaution is neces- sary beyond the selection of a fine day when the bees will not get chilled. Give them a little warm scented syrup, take the combs away from both lots, after tak- ing the precaution to cage the queen in one of them, then mix all the bees together, and return one set of the combs to the bees, selecting such as you think best. If the stocks are any gieat distance apart, it would be better to get them gradually together, so that their union may not effect or be effected by, any alteration of the locality. Ed. Query No. 67.— 1 am now arranging my box hives, and shall be glad of your advice if you will just answer my questions in order. Alwiit what weiglit of honey would you leave in the six of course be closed. This will effectually stop the draught, and will enable you to operate upon the hive in any way desirable, and the bees will not miss their usual entrance. JVi, should place every comb in the hive in our honey slinger, and remove every drop of liquid honey and feed the bees when necessary on unflavoured bar- ley sugar. If you are unable to effect this, some measures should be taken to aid the bees in evaporating the superfluous moisture from the hive. We earned some ridicule a little time ago (in \\\t Jotirnal of Horticulture) through having reported the means by which we successfully arrested a terrible attack of dysentery in one of our finest stocks, but we were then so pleased with the result that we thought it worthy of publicity, and we think similar means would be of service to you now. It was neither more nor less than providing a hot plate (of iron) kept hot by a lamp which was continuously burning for 48 hours, keeping the hive at a tempera- ture of about a hundred degrees Faht. The zinc ven- tilator was left open, and so also was the entrance to the hive and although it was mid-winter and bitterly cold our bees recovered. Is it not possible to make a nadir to your hive with a bottom to it and some ven- tilating holes round it to ensure air, and stand the whole on a moderately warmed kitchen hot plate ? The nadir would be a receptacle for dead bees, and a preventative of a scalding or burning heat. It is pro- bable that if the bees are treated in this way for three or four nights consecutively, being allowed their liberty during the day, the cause of the disease would soon be dissipated. Ed. Query No. 65. — I am sorry to trouble you, but I am rather in difficulty about my bees. When I looked into my Wood- bury Hive through the window this morning I distinctly saw a wasp inside, it remained for a few seconds on the glass, when it disappeared among the combs, closely followed by three bees. Am I to take this as a sign that the wasps are begin- ning to gain possession, and will turn out and destroy the bees ? if so, what had I better do to arrest the evil ? I have lately been feeding the stock, as they have not gathered much honey. My Berkshire hive is about half full of comb, and not over many bees in it ; do you think I can winter them safely V How full of bees should a hive be to winter safely ? Could I safely join a stock of bees to another about 30 yards away ? I like your mamier of feeding bees, as described in the October number of the journal, and I shall use it for the hives without holes in their crowns. Had I better wrap the hives for the winter with brown paper or carpet in order to keep them warm ? W.N.G. Reply to No. 65.- — Replying to your query, we beg to say tliit from the fact of the bees chasing the wasp, there is little fear of the latter having obtained the mastery, in fact, wasps are simply thieves, they never attack bees but will get into a hive if they can, and will steal honey or brood if they can get it, and if they find wounded or dying bees on the ground, they will nip them in halves, and suck out tlie contents of their stomachs, or carry them off wholly to their nests. At this time of year the cold often drives the sen- tinel bees from their posts, and the wasps which are able to bear a colder temperature than the bees, are thus enabled to steal into the hives unperceived. The best remedy as we always argue, is to destroy the wasps nests, and now is the nght time to do so, as food being scarce, if a lure be placed for them (say 112 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. frames ? My difficulty is that most of them are more than half filled with honey, and I am afraid they ^\•iU not have room for breeding. H.B. Reply to No. 67.— If the combs are only about half full, there is little or no danger of want of breed- ing space, as there will be no eggs deposited for per- haps a month or two, and in the meantime more cells will be emptied, and when the breeding commences there will soon be a vast clearance of stores, and more room will be given. About twenty pounds of honey ought to be sufficient, and if sealed, will be. Ed. Query No. 68.— In one hive I have left four frames about half filled with sealed honey, and have inserted two frames of combs which have been emptied by the e,\tractor. In some cases the cutting has reduced the depth of cell. Will this be a hindrance to the breeding or will the bees adopt it? H.B. Reply to No. 68.— The bees will speedily repair all damage to the comb, and every cell will be restored to its original size, shape and appearance. Ed. Query No. 69. — I have now enough frames taken out to make up when patched with empty \\orker combs a complete residence for a colony. One of my box hives, after taking away the side frames has 7 left more than half filled with honey, and some of it in lumps of various shapes. I jjropose to prepare another hive with the aforesaid empty frames, and transfer all the bees, and having cut out the superfluous honey and drone comb from their old frames, to populate them \\ith the bees from a skep, which weighs about 30lbs. IJo you approve of this pro- ceeding ? H.B. Reply to No. 69. — Undoubtedly it is the very best thing you can do, provided you give them suffi- cient sealed honey to live upon. It is late to drive into empty combs and feed, there will be too much moisture in the hive. Ed. Query No. 70. — Supposing you do, would they drive ? I find the feather does not clear them well now they are so clus- tered, and see US to irritate them. I thought whether the frames could be put above them, rather far apart, in a bottom- less hive, and then drum. H.B. Reply to No. 70. — Bees will drive, if they are warmed up by giving syrup warmed and not too thick, feed for a few hours on thin warm syrup on a fine day, so as to cause excitement and make the bees leave their cells, then drive in the usual way. Afterwards cut the skep in twain between the combs, and take them out seriatim. You will not be able to drive the bees from one box hive to another, as you propose, without a good deal of trouble. It will be better to excite them first with warm food, and then remove the combs, and bnish them into the new hive. Ed. Query No. 71. — Only just returned home, and am shocked tofindseveral, if not all my 10 stocks, almost destitute of honey, although they have received half a pickle bottle of sj'rup nightly. I have ordered them a full bottle all round, but this cannot possibly save some of them from dysentery if they could otherwise live, as the straw oi the skeps seems partly saturated with raoistui-e. If it is too late to join them I must look for great loss. Please tell me ? How am I to get the bees out of a Nutt's single comb cross bar hive ? Tyro. Reply to No. 71. — It is never too late to unite stocks of bees if you get them near each other before- hand, and choose a fine day, i.e., a day on which they will not become chilled. To get the combs out of the observatory hive, you must remove the glass from one side of each wing, when, if in frames, the combs and bees may be easily removed, but if worked to fixed bars, they must be cut out and utilized, as in transfer- ring, Ed, Query No. 72. — I should much like to know how you would advise me to effect my purpose of getting all my bees by degrees into the " best " hives. My idea is to drive out the bees just be- fore they would swarm naturally into the new hive, and with a little food treat them as an ordinary swarm, and leaving the stock till the brood is hatched, which is, I believe, about 21 days, drive them out, and give them as much of their comb as is fit for use by cutting it out and fixing into the frames, thus making two out of each stock ; or would it be advisable to strengthen the lots (as by this means of doubling my number I shovUd .nimost have more than I want) to make every two into three, and in this case, which would be the best way to effi;ct it, by joining the first drive of two hives or the last ? After your letter I am anxious to introduce Ligurian blood into my apiary, and suppose that had best be done at that time. C.E.F. Dawlish. Reply to No. 72. — As you do not wish to increase your stocks to any great extent, we recom- mend you to devote the strength of your hives to pro- curing a good honey harvest next season, and to trust to the chances of their swarming for your increase. If you drive swarms out of each pair of hives nearest each other, and unite them in bar frame hives close to the spot where they were driven, they will form excellent stocks. In twenty one days the principal of the brood in the driven hives will have hatched out, when they should be again driven and united, the combs of each pair transterred to a bar frame hive, and the united bees added. Of course when transfer- ring, it will be at your own option whether you will introduce any drone comb into the hive, but as you intend to ligurianize you may find a portion in the centre of each bar frame hive essential. Ligurianizing was fully described in the May and July number of the journal. Ed. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS AND ENQUIRERS' G. E. H. Brewood. The bars being ig-20ths wide "when finished " the holes should be a little more than that distance from centre to centre, say one and a half inches to allow for the saw cut, and for cleaning off. Your other queries are answered in the article on Hives in this journal A. Adams, Melksham. We are almost afraid that your bees being inside a loft, will get too much ventilation when the Avind blows against the entrances, as we explained on page 74. A skep or skep super filled with hay or straw, placed over the hole in top board of hive would form an excellent means of venti- lation, but better still would be the removal of the crown board, and the substitution of two or three thicknesses of carpeting, and then a layer of hay or other material from the loft. C. E. F., Dawlish. We are much obliged for your good opinion of our "propositions" for amending the hive. We shall cer- tainly make our own hives, but do not wish to interfere M-ith the trade. There is little doubt but that some of the usual hive makers will adopt our suggestions and produce a hive on the principles we advocate, or probably they \\'iU endeavour to improve upon them. The mode of Ligurianising a whole apiary in one season is described in the May and July numbers of the British Btv Journal. It is very simple and easy, but during the first season the chances are very much against the young queens receiving pure impregnation. As, however, the purity of the drones is not influenced by the queen's mes-alliance, the chances in a second year would be much more in favour of the desired consummation. SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS. PAYABLE IN ADVANCE. £ s. d. Two lines of twelve words each o I 6 Per line afterwards o o 6 ,, Inch of Space o 5 o ,, Quarter column o 10 6 ,, Half ditto, or quarter page 100 , , Column, or half page i 15 o „ Full page 3 3° No Advertisements can be received after the 20th of each month, THE €*< mw lit tilf ii^S §mi CONDUCTED BY CHARLES NASH ABBOTT, BEE-MASTER, HANWELL, W. LONDON. Guarantees to its Subscribers sound practical replies to all queries on Bee Management, and in urgent cases of difficulty, immediate replies l)y post or telegraph if desired. A.KJ^UAL S UBS C RI F T 1 0 Jf, H A L F-A-G U FW E A, Fayahle in Advance. Special Terms to Clubs ami Literary Institutions. Free by Post on day of Publication. [entered at stationers hall.] [No. 8. Vol. i.] DECEMBER, 1873. [Published Monthly.] DIRELlIOXS 70 CORRESPOXDKXTS &- QVERISl.S. , « Cliven an International Exhibition, a bad season, very limited time, and a glass, which the manu- facturer turned out even larger than what was ordered, 1. — Write in a legible liand on one side of tJie paper only. 2. — Use no abbreinations which are not to appear in pn'nl. J. — Keep every query distinct and separate, and ^ive the fullest (possible particulars, Hating also the kind of hive used. 4. — When requiring an immediate reply, send a stamped ADDRKSSEU envelope, or stamps Jor cost of telegram. DECEMBER, 1873. In our last we rather confidently asserted our con- viction that the sensational hive and super, exhibited at the late Manchester Show were not the natural out- come of the season, and we are now favoured through the columns of the Journal of Horticulture with a des- cription of the ways and means by which those won- ders were accomplished, proving our surmise, which appears to have been generally shared, to be correct. On the face of it, the prizes offered in class D, " For the best glass super of honey, the produce of 1S73," were intended for the best supers filled by the bees of individual stocks with honey of their own gathering during the past season, and no one but Mr. Breen appears to have thought otherwise. He evidently con- sidered the prizes were intended for those bee keepers who were able to persuade their bees to store tlie lar- gest amount of honey in a supcrduring the season 1 S73. No matter how obtained, the object he had in view was the production of a large super, filled in the best manner with the produce of 1873, and here in his own words is his problemn, and which was " bound to be filled." How was it to be done?" Mr. Breen's own reply, " By feeding and by feeding only at all times unfiivourable for honey feathering," and his further remark, " I am not going to tell how many of my hives I rolibcd, in order to help the Ciystal Palace, but will simply assert from the day I placed it upon the hive, until I removed it from it, the bees were fed with nothing but honey, pure and simple," will satisfy our readers that the wonderful super was more the work of the bee master than of the bees, and that excepting the innocent beauty of their finished combs, there is really nothing connected with its production worthy of admiration. The hive and super, whicli weighed 136 pounds, and which was said by its owner, Mr. Pettigrew, to have been filled by his first swarm of this year, is a very tame affair after all. On page 387 of the above Journal Mr. Pettigrew writes : — " At the Manchester Exhibition it was my intention to appear with 20 large supers, but the season was unfavourable. Had it been favourable the supers would have been filled without artificial help. The International could not wait for a favourable honey year, hence I had to resort to arti- ficial means to get my palaces filled." We leave these facts to the consideration of our readers without comment, and sincerely hope that in all future exhibi- tions hivcT. and supers so filled, will be at once disijuali- ficd. The proposal to form a society of bee keepers con- tinues to meet with ap])rov.il. and the suggested meet- 114 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. ing at the Crystal Palace, promises to be well attended. The proposed show of bee furniture has created con- siderable interest, and several 'well-known exhibitors have promised their support, and we are now awaiting the reply of the Crystal Palace Company as to the terms and conditions under wliich they may be carried out, and when we receive these, we will lay them before our readers. We have also received promises of pecuniary aid in furtherance of these objects, and from the general tone of the communications which have reached us we are really sanguine ot success. We agree with those who suggest that it would be well to hold them on an occasion when other attrac- tions at the Palace induce a reduction in railway fares and shall be glad of any other suggestions in further- ance of the objects in view. We have been favoured by Mr. J. S. Wood, of Nyborg, Denmark, with a translation of the rules of a Danish bee club, which numbers many hundreds of members, which we are assured work remarkable well, and which, with a copy of those of the Buxton bee club, mentioned on page No. 66 shall appear in our next. HIVES. — o — A " Lanarkshire Bee Keeper " on page 107 gave a description of the crown board which he uses, but as he thinks it is not described with sufticicnt clearness to enable amateurs to make them, he has kindly favoured us with one of them as a specimen, an engraving of which we here produce. It is made for a hive with nine frames, and is fitted with the Stewarton slides, and will doubtless be appre- ciated as a boon by those who intend to adhere to the Woodbury principle. Writing of its advantages, the inventor says, " You can feed at any time, with little or no disadvantage to the bees. The slides are move- able, and offer great facilities for ventilation, and dur- ing the time the supers are being filled, the means of communication with them can be regulated to the greatest nicety. A weak stock may be fed with honey comb by laying it on tiie centre of the board, and withdrawing such of the slides as may be over the cluster placing a bell glass over the whole so that its condition may be perceived. Queen cells may be raised by queenless stocks, by giving brood comb under similar conditions, with the modus operandi, under observation. Queens may be introduced under the same circumstances, caging them on comb imme- diately over the cluster, and withdrawing a slide, and many other operations may be performed with the aid of this crown board, which I consider multiim in pan'o, and I have used it for a long time." It is exhibited with some of the slides partly withdrawn, so that its construction may be better understood, and because the value of the Stewarton slide is likely to be debated as may be gathered from Mr. Carr's letter in this num- ber of the Journal. There are several matters of detail connected with our proposed hive, which ought to be alluded to, but which may be safely left to the whim or fancy of the hive builder for execution. For instance, it Avill be necessary to adopt some means by which the frames (?) in the hive shall be kept firmly in their positions longitudinally, so as to prevent all injury to the bees by the ends of the combs or frames being forced against the inside of the back and front of the hive, and crushing those between. This is prevented in the present style of hive by the ends of the top bars being made to rest in or butt against the rabbets, or in the case of hives, (as in the Pettitt) where the said bars run through to give a hand- hold outside of them, they are notched on their under side to form shoulders, which coming between the front and back of the hive, prevent all longitudinal movement when the frames are placed in their correct positions. A second point is, that as the top bars will extend through the hive, they must necessarily rest upon the top of the front and back of it, and some contrivance must be adopted to prevent the crushing of bees as they are placed in position. In Mr. Pettitt's hive before alluded to, no provision is made against this possibility, and consequently the greatest care is necessary, or the lives of many bees may be endangered. In Mr. Neighbour's new hive this danger is reduced to a minimum by the adoption of a notched rack made of zinc, the thin edges only of which are presented for the bars of frames to rest upon, but inasmuch as zinc is an excel- lent conductor of heat, and its surfaces are exposed, and liable to be affected by the outside temperalure, we do not i)ropose to use it, as we fear its presence inmiediately at the top of the hive may cause the too rapid condensation of the vapours within, and thereby THE r.RITlSH BEE jOURNAT,. "5 create a dampness, which the bees will not be able to expel, and which, as shown by our scientific corres- pondent, Mr. Cheshire, page 91, is inimical to the well-being of a colony. We therefore propose that the front and back of the hive shall lie cut away at their outside angles, so as to leave the smallest pos- sible thickness of wood on their inner edges for the frame bars to rest upon. Due care must of course be exercised in determining the thickness necessary, but we think an eighth of an inch will be found sufficient to withstand ordinary wear and tear, and that in prac- tice it will not be found objectionable. The parts of the back and front which are cut away, may be simply chamfered oft" with a common plane, taken out with a filister, or grooved away as indicated in the accom- panying illustration. 1^£ (^ gx:;-^ "js-.:^^?^^! To prevent all longitudinal movement of the frame bars, we would insert small wire staples, similar to those used by bell hangers, or plain studs or strips of wood, metal, or leather, either of which could be fixed to the bars to fit immediately outside the top edges of the back and front of the hive, and would ensure per- fect steadiness, and ease in manipulation. Among the advantages belonging to this form of hive, one of the most important, will be the absence of all inducement for the bees to use propolis in an exces- sive degree. There will be nothing within the hive to tempt them to do so, no notches or cracks, no spaces or acute angles for them to fill up, and there will be no room outside the depending portions of the Inime bar for them to build comb in, as they so often do in other hives. On page 99 we gave an illustration shewing the parts of the sides of the liivc which are intended to be moveable. The idea is not a new one, as dunnny frames have often been recommended. There is, however, a speck of originality about their feather- edged form which is invaluable. They should be cut of the shape here indicated, their ends being clamped by pieces of wood nmning the other way of the grain, and either framed or nailed on, as may be most con venient, so as to strengthen them, and prevent warp ing or splitting, and their horns, the projections at either end, should be of exactly tlie thickness of the frame bars, to ensure their being level with them when in position, but may be of any length for convenience in iiandlin!?. It will be manifest that as the frames will not touch the front and back of the hive, except as they rest upon them at the top, so it will not be necessary for these dummies to do so either, nor for them to go nearer to the bottom of the hive, than the combs will be built, as their purpose is not that of a dividing board and as space will thus be left at both ends and the bottom of them, it will be almost impossible to injure a single bee, either in taking out or replacing them, if ordinary care be used, and the bees will be quite unable to glue them fast with propolis. Many of our readers will doubtless object to the use of these moveable dummies, on the ground that the space occupied by them might equally well be occu- pied by a comb of the same size and shape, and it is true, as we have experienced for several years, that bees will build wedge-shaped combs to fill such spaces, but inasmuch as they are ill-shapen and have their centres of gravity misplaced, which necessitates the formation of waxen supports against the sides of the hive, we do not approve of them. Besides with the hive we are now proposing, there will he no reason why ordinarilyany one of the combs should be set down out- side thehive for any purpose, during examination as the removal of the dummies will give ample space for manipulation, whereas in the absence of them one or more combs must be so treated. AVe are (juite sure it will pay to make room in the hive for the dummies if only for the purpose of creatin;j; space by their removal. We are now prepared to biiilil a/uiiiu' kir iiive, for such only can it be considered, as it will not contain any perfect bar J'ramcs, but the deter aiination to build j involves the question of size and shape, and opens up ii6 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL sucli a \viilc field for discussion that we pause to sur- vey and consider our position, before entering thereon, On an ticcasion when a question was asked " is not one man as good as another?" the reply is said to have been ' Yes, and better too," and we are inclined to think tliat one hive is as good as another, and better too when it is more thoroughly understood. Our object has not been to invent a new hive, or to pro- pound a new jjrinciple, nor do we seek to overthrow any of the hives now in existence, as we believe good results may be obtained by the use of any of them provided the bees in them be properly managed. As an actual dwelling place for the bees, there is little doubt but that a straw skep is as good as any other receptacle, but as a means of cultivating the bee it may be accounted one of the rudest and crudest of inventions. Still it has its measure of utility, and is so intimately associated with our first idea of bee keep- ing, Ib.it it is not singular that those who defend its continued use find large numbers of supporters. Many attempts have been made to improve it, simply from its being so very inconvenient, when the the removal of combs becomes necessary, and it has been much improved by the adoption of moveable bars, on which the bees were led to build their combs, and by means of which it became possible to remove the whole contents of the hive, with little or no injury to cither the combs or bees. This was manifestly a step in advance, and gradually led to a better under- standing of the manners and eustoms of the bees, and of the general economy of the apiary. Columella, writing more than 1,800 years ago, says, " bee hives must be fabricated according to the condi- tion and circumstances of the country. For if it be fert'le of the cork tree, without any doubt we may make very useful hives of its bark, because they are neither extremely cold in winter, nor exceedingly hot in summer, or, if it abounds in fennel giants, of these also vases are woven with equal conveniency, as they are like to the nature of bark. If neither of these is ready at hand, they join willows together, and weave them like weavers work, and if these cannot be had they must be made of the wood of a tree, made hoi. low, or sawn into boards." Other kinds of hives are described, those made of potter's earth being particu. larly objected to. It is also evident that in those days some means were used for dividing the space within hives, equiva- lent to our division boards, for when preparing hives for winter, tlie author says, '' After you have cleansed their domiciles in a very bright sunshining day, the covers (?) must be put in the inside, close to the honey combs, all the empty part of their seat being excluded, that so their cages being reduced to a nar- row compass, they may the more easily gather heat during the winter, and this must always be done even in those hives, which by the fewness of the common people, are but thinly inhabited." These extracts plainly shew that the use of wood in the manufacture of hives is not a modern innova- tion, as many who advocate the use of the straw skep would have us believe, the work also proves that many of the practices now in use, on which modem ^vriters pride themselves, were well-known when our Saviour trod the earth. For instance, the hunting of wild bees by painting their backs to identify them, and by enclosing them in a hollow tube, and letting out one at a time, and following it, &:c., excising combs, the depriving system, with knives such as are now in use, uniting swarms and weak stocks by sprinkling with syrup, fumigation by the smoke of burning galba- num and ox dung (fustian was probably unknown then), clipping the wings of queens, and many other matters easily recognizable, although quaintly des- cribed. There is, ho^cever, no mention of tlic use of the sulphur fit. Hives in these days were made as the majority arc now, round, square, and (ob ?) long, each of which may have been of wood, either as a hollow log, or made of wooden boards. There is, however, no mention of straw having been used at all, except to protect them in the winter ; so that if " antiquity " is any guide, wood may now be safely depended on for their construction, and square or oblong hives cannot be considered modern inventions. The hive we intend to propose, to be most easily made if of wood, should be either square or oblong in shape, but the size must be governed by the nature of the locality for which it is intended, and the system there in use. Hives for storifying are usually shallower than those used either for collateral purposes, or for depriving by the supering system, but as we wish to avoid all col- lision of systems, we shall endeavour so to construct our hive, that it shall be capable of modication to suit them all, and that each intending hive builder may adopt any or all the suggestions offered without seriously departing from that he may have already adopted. Almost all English bee keepers agree that wooden hives should be made ol liglit porous pine, on account THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 117 of its absorbent and non-conducting properties. This material is usually imported into this country in the form of planks, which may be cut into boards, and is commonly of about 1 1 inches in width, generally called depth. It is seldom of narrower dimensions, and is more expensive (proportionately) if wider, and therefore to save loss of material, and prevent waste of labour, we propose to build our hive of pine boards, of as nearly 1 1 inches in depth as they may happen to be. Exactness in this respect will not be essential, as our frame bar ends will not reach down to the bottom of the hive, nor need any support there, so that the difference of a quarter of an inch in depth one way or the other, will not interfere with their adaptability. At this point we wish to correct an error on page 98, where we stated that the rabbetted rail, invented by Mr. Lee, of Windlesham, " does not dispense with the bottom rack and rail," so odious in our eyes ; whereas Mr. Lee informs us that the bottom rack is dispensed with, as an arrangement exists at the bottom of his hive, similar to that at the top, and consequently the rack is not required to keep the frames in their places ; undoubtedly a step in advance. We feel it would be quite useless to attempt to decide on hives being necessarily of any particular size, and prefer not to create discussion on the subject, as it is impossible to give dimensions wliich will suit all times, circumstan- ces, and places, or coincide with the ideas of the gene- rality of bee keepers. WHAT TO DO, AND WHEN AND HOW TO DO IT. 0 Feeding and ventilation are the subjects which have occupied most of our attention during the past month, the number of letters we have answered witir regard thereto being almost incredible. It is somewhat singu- lar that so many of our readers have delaycil the pre- paration of their stocks for the winter, until it is now too late to do so without increased trouble and expense, which may possibly be futile, and it can be no consolation to such to be reminded that the direc- tions we gave in the early autumn months were plain and might have been easily followed, and that had they been carried out these late difficulties would have been avoided. The golden opportunity is passed, a:nd cannot be recalled, and there remains only the chance that by constant careful attention, weak stocks may be enabled to withstand tlie rigour of the season so close upon us. The chief difficulty appears to lie in the fact that " the bees will not take the food offered them ;" in some instances they are apparently " healthy," in others " dull " and " stupid," again, " they crawl listlessly out of the hive, awl, unable to Hy, fall to the ground, their wings trembling, and their aspect most melancholy," the varieil descriptions of them culminating in " ^Vhat am I to do ?'' A weak stock of bees such as we are now consider- ; ing will almost invariably cluster against the side of a circular hive, or in one of the corners of a square one, to enable them to economise their heat, and such clus- ter is sure to be, as far as possible, from the central hole in the crown of the hive, where food is usually administered. The food itself is always colder than the bees, or speedily becomes so, and is often placed in feeders considerably above the combs, where it helps to absorb the little heat the bees may be able to gene- rate, without in itself becoming any warmer, and where it is often impossible for the bees to partake of it, because they are physically unable to leave the warmer part of the hive, in which they have clustered. In all such cases, we have recommended that the entrances of the hives should be closed with perforated zinc, and that at sundown they should be carried into a well warmed room or greenhouse, so as to make it possible for the bees to traverse their combs in search of food, and tliat milkwarm syrup should then be administered in a bottle in the usual way. This will ensure a hand-to-mouth supply, and prevent actual starvation, and may be so managed as not to cause the loss of any bees, as if the bottle be removed, and the bees^ returned to their stand on the following even- ing, and the entrance kept closed until they have become quiet, the excitement caused by the feeding will have no ill efl'ect. This special mode of feeding may be repeated from time to time as required, but care must be taken not to overcharge the hive with liquid food, or dysentery will certainly ensue, which in a weak stock is nearly sure to prove fatal. W'iiea the bees have improved in tone and vigour by this kind of treatment, barley sugar may be given without fear of injury, as if properly made it can only be consmned by them in small quanties, proportionate to the heat they are able to generate, but when badly made, it is apt to liquify and run down into the hive, or to become sugary and granular ; in either of which latter cases it is not good for bees, as in the former it may cause dysentery, from superabundance of nioistiuc, an themselves warm tlirougli tlie winter, although they are in a wooden closed shed. Should I change the board, and fix some clean comb on a new board, and place that to fill up the vacuum now existing for cold air below the clustered Ijees, or will it be better to leave the box as it .is I am not feeding, as that excites too much, and seems to disturb the hive. If you could answer me shortly, I miglit be able to try something before the frost sets in. S. A. H- .S. Horsham. Reply to No. 73. — Pruning brood combs is gene- rally quite unnecessary, in fact is more often injurious than otherwise. If they ever require excision, it can only be when they are so overcharged with pollen as to render breeding impossible, in which case the ope- ration should be performed in the spring. Pruning them after the bees have swarmed and cast, is very unwise for several reasons. First there is a jjossi- bility that during a glut of honey, the bees would build an excess of drone comb, or supposing their queen to be lost, that they would build drone comb exclusively, if any. Secondly that having to replace the excised comb, they would be less likely to yield a surplus in their super, and thirdly there is the undoubted fact that bees winter much better in old combs than in new ones, because being coated with •o much silky fibre, they are the warmer of the two, and again there is the chance that in an unfavourable season they may be unable to build any comb at all. The empty space beneath the combs is of little conse- quence to the existing bees, provided they have suffi- cient comb to cluster in, but the absence of the breed- ing cells will tell most seriously against the prosperity of the colony in the spring, as until (probably) the middle of April, the bees will be unable to build new comb, and perhaps then may be too weak to do so. Instead of attempting to fix combs to a new floor board, and placing them in a disconnected condition below those now in the hive, would it not be better to fix new combs safely and correctly in a super and place it above them ? By doing this, which will be much easier than the measure you propose, the bees will be rendered more snug and comfortable, and will have ample accommodation for early breeding, which should be promoted by continuous gentle stimulative feeding. — Ed. QuiiRV No. 74.— Is it of any conseqnence in what position frames are placed in a hive ? I mean does it matter whether they are from front to back, or from side to side, according tc where the Iwes have access ? For instance, I propose to put frames into a side box of a collateral hive. Of course they liave access at the side from the stock Ihjx. Does it matter which way the frames are set. Also, is not barley sugar as good as anything for feeling b.;es ? The expanse is greater, but it is much the simplest way. K, D. T. Reply to No, 74. — It is not of the least conse- quence which way the bars or frames run in a collate- ral box. Many, however, prefer the shortest as the most likely line on which the bees will lay their foun- dations. A swarm will not always build its combs parallel to each other, nor in any particular direction, hence the advocates of the cross sticks in straw hives always use guide combs to induce the bees to build at right angles to them (the sticks). Barley sugar is undoubtedly very excellent food for bees, and at this season is better than anything else. In spring and summer, however, the bees cannot take it fast enough, hence it is better in the form of syrup. — Ed. Query No. 75. — I would feel obliged if you could tell me whether I can make use of black comli ; also if you would inform me of tlie best and simplest method of turning comb into wax ; and how far apart the slits should be in the crown board for a lo-framed Woodbury Hive and do you approve of them ? W.X.G. Rock House, Alphington, Exeter. Reply to No. 75. — Black comb, unless it be very old and choked with pollen and filth, is as useful for breeding purposes as any other. For guide combs it is better than any other, as it is tough and will not break away from its fastenings as new comb will. Care should be taken, notwithstanding, to discard all comb from which the bees of former seasons have not hatched out. Sometimes in old combs some cells may be observed from which the sealing has not been re- moved, some such cells may have small perforations in them, their crowns being sunken, and their contents dried up ; others may still retain the remains of dead brood, but wherever these are seen the comb should be consigned to the melting-pot, for there is danger that the combs are infected with foul brood. To obtain the wax from old comb, see page 95. The slits in a Woodbury honey board are usually two in number; they are each about 10 inches long, three- sixteenths of an inch wide, and 10 inches apart. They are not necessary in properly constructed hives. We never use them. — Ed. Query No. 76. — My straw hives have boards on top with 3-incii holes. These holes are now stopped, the hives are Ijound around with hay rope, they have empty hives on the top wliich are stuffetl with hay. Will any ventilation Ije necessary ? 1 have purchased two old common straw hives saturated with wet, and have liad them for a week in a room with a fire at night, the general atmosphere of which is 57. The hives l)eing now extremely dry, can I venture to winter tlrenr thus, or had I let- ter remove them at once to their stands where some 20 others are, upon benches three feet from the ground, protected for 18 inches deep in front from snow or driving rain, and goo a fine needle may be passed underneath the pair of muscles (fig. 9), and then if gentle upward traction is made on the broad muscles, 1/, the long slender muscles (fig. 7) will draw out from the point, when the three portions of the sting will appear as figs. 6 and 7. I am unable to discover any specific difference in the stings of the English and Ligurian bees ; indi\iduals vary slightly, but I doubt if any microscopist could separate a mixed series of the stings of both varieties. For the drawings 1 am indebted to the assistance of my fiiend, Mr. Charles Dawe. Witli regaiil to the jjower of the queen to sting, it has been so abundantly proved that she does not do so on the human subject, tliat 1 con- fess I had a doubt whether she could sting at all, or in 158 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. fact had any poison in her. So to settle this point, I extracted the bag from a Ligurian queen, who had been dead about two months, and having distended the dried bladder by twenty four hours soaking in water, I placed it on my arm, and pricked through it with a needle into my skin, just sufficient to draw blood, then squeezed the bag with the needle over the wound, and immediately wiped oft' the surplus, waiting the result. In the meantime with a clean needle I made a similar wound about two inches from the first, with the intention of comparing the two effects. Half an hour afterwards there was no mistake that the first wound was poisoned, for there was a swelling muck like a large flea bite, half an inch long by a quarter broad, as well as an inflamed surface of about two superficial inches of a vivid red. For another half an hour it smarted, but without the pain of an ordinary worker's sting, but of course this may be accounted for by the fact of the poison having been dried, and pro- bably lost much of its virulence, in addition to which there was no injection into the wound, as would have been the case had her majesty been alive, and on venomous intentions bent. I may mention that the second (clean) wound only very slightly inflamed, and showed a marked difterence from the other. My namesake, the great anatomist, John Hunter, succeeded in impregatmg the eggs of a bee by sper- matozoa, taken from the sperraatheca of another bee (Homes Lectures on Comparative Anatomy, vol. iii. page 370). What has been done before can be done again, and this opens out various problems. An egg freshly laid in a drone cell artificially im- pregnated from the spermatheca of a freshly killed queen, or better still direct from the vasa deferentia of a drone. What would be the result ? 1st. — If left in a drone cell ? and. — If removed to a worker cell? 3rd. — If removed to a queen cell ? Mem. Try the experiments and learn ! An egg of Apis Mellinca artificially impregnated from Apis Ligustica or an egg of Apis Ligustica artifically impregnated from Apis Mellifica. Query the result ? If hybrids be produced, what should stay the practical apiarian from obtaining any number of hybrid queens by properly manipulating with a Ligurian drone on otherwise infertile drone eggs laid by his English queens, removed into previously emptied queen cells, or into worker cells, supplied with royal jelly, as by Huber's experiment, confirmed by Kleine, such has been found to ensure any particular egg or eggs being reared to royalty. Some persons will perhaps doubt the possibility of fertilizing eggs after they have left the body of the mother bee. Independent of the successful experiment of my great namesake, I do not see any insuperable reason why it should not be possible, the ova of fishes are largely artificially fertilized, both as a commercial measure, and by way of experiment. Moreover those acquainted with the anatomy of the queen bee, (bear- ing in mind the rapidity with which eggs are deposited) will know that the fertilization is but the act of a moment, and precedes their expulsion but an infinite short space of time, and I am told the spermatozoa can be seen with the microscope on the ova after their ex- pulsion. This fact I have not had an opportunity of verifying, but intend to do so on the first opportunity. Here is work for experimentalists worthy of their at- tention. The successful solution of these problems might lead to physiological researches, valuable as be- wildering in their importance in all animated nature. Scientific bee keepers ofte'n require to ascertain the fact of the impregnation of their deceased queens, but know not how to get at it. Indeed to most people the dissection of so small an insect seems far beyond their powers ; it is, on the contrary, not so difficult as it appears, only requiring a steady hand, attention, and patience, to ascertain all that is usually required. The tools absolutely necessary are but a couple of needles and a moderately good microscope, not neces- sarily a dissecting one, although that is an advantage. On a future occasion I should be happy to give in our Journal a few plain instructions on this subject if thought serviceable, or for scientific purposes, to as- certain the fact of any queens impregnation by a. post mortem examination, which is as readily made on an old dried queen as on one recently deceased ; in fact all my observations have been made on queens dead some weeks or months, which were kindly supplied by our editor, and I may here say I should be glad of a few more if any of our readers could oblige me. JOHN HUNTER, S, Eaton Rise, Ealing. • A NEW HIVE. Dear Sir, — In the first place allow me most hear- tily to wish you a happy new year, and your Journal as wide a circulation as it deserves. May the bees of the ensuing season produce sufficient honey to cure every sting they inflict upon their friends, and sufficient profit to handsomely repay every bee master for his pains. May " live and let live " soon become the motto of every bee keeper in the world, nor may the time be far distant, when no man will be able to exist on any other principle. If I believed bees to possess the intelligence with which some of their historians have accredited them, to them would I say gather into supers all the honey and wax you can spare for your enlightened friends, and reserve your stings and your venom for your benighted enemies. One might almost imagine an unfortunate occupant of a wet straw skep exhorting his comrades in tlie well-known words of Paul, " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die," concluding his address on the superiority of the de- priving system, with some such peroration as, " If I were a Ligurian, as I am an English bee, while an old straw skep existed in my country, I never would gird up my sting, never ! never ! never !" But to business. I claim for the hive, which I call the " V " hive, of which I enclose you a rough des- cription, the following advantages : — I St. The advantages (whatever they may be) of being able to super and ventilate the hive, and to feed the bees it contains, at one and the same time, either with syrup or barley sugar. 2nd. The impossibility of the floor board becom- ing foul, from the fact that no floor board exists. 3rd. The ease with which the super cover, (weigh- ing about 26 pounds) can be instantly removed, and replaced with less exertion than would be required for lifting a pound weight. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 1S9 4th. The faciHty aflbrded, from the pecuharity of their shape, in the removal of the frames from the hive. 5th. The fact of being able to replace the frame in the hive, -without the possibility of injuring the bees. 6th. — The largeness of the windows, enabling the bee master more distinctly to observe the manoeuvres ef the bees, and the state and temperature of the hive. _ The simple and effectual method of cleansing the hive, by the letting out, from the bottom thereof, dead bees and all other debris, by the withdrawal of the two triangular slidei. .'ply's ■ T 8th. Its great strength and durability, owing to its peculiarity of shape and construction, rendering it almost impervious to atmospheric influences. 9th. The impossibility of new brittle combs falling down in the frames of this hive during removal, or the process of weighing, the combs matle in these frames being capable of sustaining a much higher de- gree of temperature, before falling, than the combs built in any other description of hive. loth. The economisation of space, and conse- quently of heat, effected by the peculiar shape ot this hive and frames. I ith. The great ease with which a full super may be exchanged for an empty one. i2th. The impossibility of the bees so firmly pro- polising the frames in the hive as to render their re- moval difficult. 13 th. The security and ease with which this hive can be packed and sent long distances, whether wholly or partly filled with new or old combs, without injury to either the hive or its contents, arising from the non-shifting of the frames, either vertically or late- rally. 14th. The readiness with which the moisture may be collected, and removed from this hive. S. WYATT. Westbrook, near Tenbury, Worcestershire. This Hive will be further described. — Ed. INTRODUCING QUEENS. 00 It may be as well to premise at the outset that there is no royal route to the hive throne, the bee keeper may exert all the diplomacy of which he is master, and yet see his nominee ruthlessly poniarded before his eyes, while a queen, by the merest accident, find- ing her way into a queenless stock, may be most gra- ciously received and accepted. Can it be otherwise ? when we so often find not an alien sovereign, but their own justly prized queen, ignominiously deposed and put to death by her own offspring, in those mysterious regicidal attacks, which are among the deeper depths of apiarian science. Take the case of an exceedingly handsome Italian monarch, which reigned at the head of my Unicomb Observatory stock, during the by-past season. One rather genial day in the beginning of October, I chanced to withdraw the warm woollen covering, and found the thermometer registering a very low tempe- rature, the outlying pickets already chilled, and the stores all but exhausted. Summoning my assistant, about five minutes sufficed to transfer the four frame divisions to their winter quarters, a deep wooden box and in so doing we noted the activity and well-being of her majesty, of whom I was not a little proud, she having been pronounced in summer, by several of the most experienced apiarians, as the largest and finest they had ever beheld. Some two hours after- wards 1 happened to cross from the garden walk to tlie sloping grassy bank on wliich ni}' observatory stock i6o THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. stands, to ascertain if a little cluster of outlying workers, grouped inside the porch of the large orna- mental octagon cover, in which the stock is placed, had gone in all right, and when turning away, ray eye was attracted by a bee, much too large for a worker, crawling into a tuft of grass beneath the low drooping branch of a large yew, which effectually screens the particular colony from the northern blast, and on a closer scrutiny, it proved to be no other than my much valued royal lady. Too hastily I blamed the clumsi- ness of my assistant in shaking her off the combs, while carrying the box from the table to the cover stand. The warmth of my hand speedily revived her to her wonted sprightliness, and while opening the back hinged portion of the cover, I pictured to myself the joyous welcome in store for her, but listening in vain for the hum of their disturbed commotion : I conclud- ed they had not missed her yet. After all, the sur- prise I anticipated for the bees, turned out a still greater one for their master, for on setting her down between the frames, the nearest workers sprang upon her like tigresses, and in a twinkling she disappeared from my view, a frame was at once lifted out and looking down there on the floor board was the fami- liar black ball. Taking it from the box I placed it on the palm of my left hand, while with the right as I walked away, I cautiously removed one by one her savage assailants, till she alone remained, but alas ! there lay my favourite queen, quivering in the pangs of her last agony. Why had I not suspected she was a wandering outcast from her throne and kingdom? how many a nuclei and stock did I possess which would have bid her welcome ? \Vhy had I interfered with her at all ? better far the chilly air of that autunmal evening had gradually benumbed her into forgetfulness, and the old yew tree would the coming spring, shed down its blossoms on her self-selected tomb, while her off- spring, guiltless of the horrid crime of matricide, would, dusted white as millers with the pollen showers, have sung her requiem, were all vain regrets. About this case there was something most mysterious. The queen had not diverged from the limits of the cen- tral brood bed (the German theory to account for such phenomena), there was not in the stock a single egg, from which they could raise a successor, and yet they appeared perfectly satisfied and quiescent, she too was amazingly prolific, in the hey-day of her prime, and not like some aged decrepids I have before now possessed, whose waning powers would seem to justify their deposition, producing an almost e> -i. '.ve male progeny, and yet they were tolerated and preserved. Neither was there any robber or stranger bees on the wing, entering the hive to account for the encasement, and to crown all, they shortly thereafter joyfully ac- cepted an imported successor, their whole procedure seeming to me most inexplicable. But to come to the introducing alien sovereigns. The reigning monarch has to be deposed, consequently in the words of Meg Dodd's famous receipt we must first catch not our hare, but our queen. With moveable bars or frames, it is a very simple proceeding, with fixed combs by driving, not much more difficult after a little practice, the mere novicecantrythe fungus charged fumigator, and the sight of his irritable little friends laid out helpless like so many black currants, may in- fuse fresh confidence in his future dealings, but gene- rally speaking, after a time, his tube, like mine will rust from disuse, the queen with a dozen or so workers can be placed on a piece of honey comb underneath a tumbler, raised a little on one side with a coin, for fresh air, should several be dethroned at the same time, it is requisite to mark on the paper on which the tumblers rest, the hive of each in case any require to be replaced. When the queen is missed, and the usual commotion ensues, I have met with no better cage to hold the new queen then the pipe cover one, introduced to the notice of your readers by Mr. Ray- nor, in his very interesting communication in the Nov. number, I must say I never had the same luck in find- ing the queen uppermost, so readily on top of pile of comatose bees, as he neither did I use to think the effects of the stupifying process innocuous much less beneficial. To the late T. W. Woodbury, Esq., Exeter, was I too indebted for a present of this queen cage, when first he began to employ it, and I cannot here allude to that eminent apiarian, without bearing my humble tribute to his memory, and publicly expressing the debt of gratitude 1 owed him, for the many valuable ideas scattered over a lengthened correspondence from the introduction of the ItaHan bee in the season of 1859, down to shortly before his death, my admiration of his indomitable perseverence alike displayed, in fighting out that bee plague, " foul brood," simultaneously with myself, and his acquiring the German language, expressly to study the German Bee 'jFounial. What an auxiliary would he have been to the British Bee Jour- nal, and how much is it to be deplored that he passed from the present scene, without being spared to pub- lish his projected work, which I feel confident would have included everything valuable in British, Ameri- can, and continental bee literature, and have proved the text book on bee keeping ; remaining an enduring monument of the beauty of his style, as well as the soundness of his apiarian knowledge. After repeated experiments with the plan referred to by Mr. Raynor, of pressing the cage containing the queen into the comb, I was at last forced to aban- don it altogether, for the following reasons, so placed in removing the adjoining comb or frame, did it rub against it, it tilted over to one side slightly, and the workers got in and sealed the fate of the queen,and there was nothing to prevent them gnawing an entrance through the bruised comb edges to get at lier, but the worst feature of the plan was, before the queen could beset free, the hive had to be opened and disturbed, and every bee keeper knows at such a moment, his favou- THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. i6i rites are in their most irritable mood, those on the side of the frame usually shift, conseqently the queen, on obtaining her liberty, may in the melee meet with a worker who had never seen her before, looks upon her as an interloper, pinions her, and at once gives the signal to encase the prize, and many a valuable queen have I found fall a victim in such circum- stances, causing me to employ the same cage after a different fashion. ^ On placing the queen in the cage, I confine her by setting over it a little square of perforated zinc, (see accompanying sketch) through which the cage eyes are passed, and it is kept shut by a bit of stock- ing wire run through an eye on either side, any little stopper does equally well, strong prickles from the nearest goosebery bush in a garden come readily to hand. The body of the cage is then set in the bung hole commonly found in straw hives, in wooden hives with- out one it is easily cut, a florin from the pocket and a pencil describes the circle on the middle of the central slide, and a pen knife cuts it out quicker than one can set off to the house for a brace and bit. Such apertures come in useful again for bottle feeding, the zinc cover prevents the cage slipping into the hive, and by covering it over with three or four plies woollen cloth keeps the queen warm and comfortable. On the third day I usually proceed to set her free. After removing the coverings, the wire is drawn, and the zinc top raised. Her majesty is too much occupied holding a communication with the workers at the bottom, to think of escaping, the cage is raised gently and inverted, the woollen cloth thrown over to keep in any odd bees, by this mode, on the liberation of the queen, she comes in contact with the bees that have been employed in feeding her, and are familiar with her presence, who form a body guard around her, and the royal progress over the combs is an uninter- rupted ovation, the inmates of the hive having been neither disturbed nor irritated, the reign com- mences most auspiciously, and I very rarely, if ever, meet with a failure. In nucleus boxes and weak hives with a sparse population, queens so caged might run the risk of being chilled, so I vary the procedure by cutting a small bit of comb out, sufficient to admit the lided cage, a tight fit in the centre, when the queen is to be liberated, the cage with the clustering bees is set in the bung hole, and as soon as all commotion ha? subsided, set her free as above described. In every apiary there is usually bonie particulai' favourite queen, whether for great size, high colour- ing, prolificness, or as a breeder of splendidly marked bees, which we are very desirous at all hazards to preserve to breed from, and yet circumstances may force upon us the necessity of installing her at the head of a large colony, and it is with great fear and trepidation we make the attempt, anxious to reduce the risk to the very lowest possible minimum. Such a case I laid before the late Mr. Woodbury, with refe- rence, if I remember, to the only survivor of a little lot of queens he had shared with me from the Como district, which was the breeder of the most beautifully marked bees I ever saw. His reply was to this effect :— First cage the queen to be dethroned in her own hive, for a sufficient time to let it be thoroughly known her majesty was in durance, and where, then raise the lid, insert the finger and crush her to death, the news spreads the queen is dead, and various depu- tations come to satisfy themselves of the melancholy fact, then, ere royal cells are built, revive their hopes by placing the new queen in the cage along with the remains of her predecessor, and by her continuous movements through it, receives the particular odour of the person of the defunct, and she is then released as already described. While giving the reaily-to hand itipe-cover-cage its due meed of praise, 1 am at a loss to understand why our furnishers of bee appurtenances, have not, ere this, supplied us with something complete in the way of a queen cage, and would suggest for their consideration the following, for a material. Nothing is cheaper or bet- ter than the pipe cover style of wire, but I condemn the circular form ; differ as we may about hives ; bees in- variably build their combs three-eighths of an inch apart, which gives us the thickness of the projected cage to suit all hives alike, the breadth same as pipe cover, one and a quarter inch, and as the shallowness of this cage is a great defect, to insure the warmth and consequent safety of the ([ueen by having it further introduced between the comb, say a couple inches deep. It would of course be square cornered, where for strength a stouter wire could be employed, and with the same object in view, the top could be fixed, and of stout zinc, having a little flange, or projec- tion of an eighth part all round to prevent slipping into hive, the bottom a wire door, hinged, and kept close with a little steel spring, from which could be carried up the side and through the top, a stout wire, with a knob on top, this knob on being pressed down would open the bottom door, the central slide cut throagh the middle, and drawn one and a quarter inch, would admit the cage exactly to rest on the bar on either side. The cage could be raised now and again to ascertain how her majesty got along without setting free a bee, and all that would be required when the time for liberating her was up, was to press down the wire to a certain point, where a check or hook could fix it to top, and keeping die door standing open so that the queen could pass out among her new subjects without as much as raising tlie cage or dis- turbing the hive in tlie smallest. In conclusion I trust some such little contrivance may nppear at the com- ing great Crystal Palace Honey Sliow, win the prize, become generally adopted, and save the life of many an aspirant to the hive throne. A RENl'RLWSirilRli BEL KLEPJiR. 1^2 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. Notice. — JF/uwi ijia^n't-s on any subject arc )icarly synoiiyinous, 7UC only publish that which has required the fullest reply. Query No, 79.— I have a stock of Ligurians in a leaf hive. They are short of food, and I am feeding them with barley sugar. The leaf hive is in a narrow bee house, which is unfor- tunately so narrow that when I cover tlie hive with a sack or carpet, the doors of the Ijee house will not shut close. As the narrowness of the liive prevents tlie bees from clustering together, and only allows them to build single combs, I was afraid to leave them out of doors, and have therefore placed the bee house in my hall. I have placed sheets of wadding between the shutters of the hive and the glass, and have ]ilaced perfo- rated /.inc round the aligliting board, so that the bees can come out upon the alighting l)oard, but cannot get beyond it. I have also placed perforated zinc over the hole at the top of tlie hi\'e for ventilation. Notwithstanding all these precautions the bees come out upon the alighting board, and die at the rate of twelve a day. What can you recommend ? Perhaps I had better place them out of doors again in a place as sheltered as possible from the frost, and take away the zinc in front ef tlie liive, thus allow- ing the bees free egress to the open air. Will you kindly write me a line by post. S. T. DORSET. Reply to No. 79. — If we understand correctly, the leaf hive is a simple Unicomb Observatory Hive. It is a great mistake to suppose bees will exist in them for any length of time. They may be kept in them during the summer, and in some instances they then increase in strength, but as a rule, they gradually dwindle away through inability to maintain the heat necessary for the recuperation of their numbers. Ob- servation hives are merely intended for temporary use, bees cannot cluster in them, consequently in their endeavour to generate tlie heat necessary to life, they consume enormous quantities of food, and literally wear themselves out. Bees appear to be unable to cleanse themselves, except while on the wing, conse- quently if unable, through the coldness of the weather to take the necessary flight, they die through dysen- teric distension. Hive makers charge high prices for unicomb observatory hives, but do not usually inform their customers that they are for observation only, nor that the bees in them should be transferred to some other form of hive at the end of summer. They are never profitable, as existence in them is almost impossible during an ordinary winter. They should contain bar frames of a pattern in use in other hives, in the apiary, so as to permit of a change of combs while in use for observation, and of wholesale union with other stocks on the approach of winter. We are sorry to be unalile to gi-\'e you any assistance in the matter, the utmost you can do will simply prolong their declining existence, as unless they are transfer- able, and are united to another hive, they have litde 01; no chance of surviving. Ed. Query No. 80. — From a question in the October number of the bee journal, I first became aware of the possibility of a hive having too ranch honey in it for wintering. This alarmed me about my Ligurians, as I have not taken any honey from them and have fed them, not to any great extent, as whenever I have put a bottle with syrup over them at night, they always seemed to take but a moderate quantity. Yesterday, therefore, I opened he hive, and found the bees in an apparently healthy condition, hough sluggish, which I suppose they .-ilways are at this time of year. The bees seemed to me to be much fewer in number than I had expected. I did not see any unsealed honey, but there was more or less sealed honey in seven of the combs. How, as far as. you can judge from this, to what extent should you think they might be fed? and if fed at all, I conjecture barley sugar' as described in the last journal, should be used and not syrup. All the centre combs are not straight along the bar frames, so I could not lift them up, but I have succeeded in getting the out- side ones all right, and I took one out with a small quantity of sealed honey, to serve as a guide comb for the next swarm I put into a bar frame hive. I thought afterwards that perhaps it would be better to leave it in the hive, and if so I can put it back again. Which do you recommend ? I sup])0se they are warmer for a large amount of comb, and of course it is important for breeding in the spring, but I want above all things to get the bees in my future hives to build straight. As the combs will not lift up in the centre, \\\\\ it be possible for me to get hold of my Ligurian queen, to Ligurianize my black stock after they swarm. Would it be advisable to fill up the space inside the hive, but outside the two partition boards with hay? I was thinking it might help to keep them warm. .Since reading the October number I have filled the flower pot over the feeding hole with hay, should this be removed occasionally to ensure the better escape of the foul gases? Also, do you not think that two holes at the top of those large bar frame hives would be better ? If not for feeding, at all events for ventilation. One hole in the centre, straight over the entrance, must cause a diaught of air along the two or three combs there placed, whereas with two holes, one on each side of the hive, theie would be better ventilation and no draught, as the air from the entrance would have to get round the combs. Do you know of any objection to this, as otherwise I^sliall try it ? I had no idea that the sides of your wooden hive require to have carpet round them ftir warmth, as I thought they were completely self-protecting against cold as well as wet. I thank you in advance for your answers, which are always all that can be desired. I have just made some barluy sugar, and put it in tumblers, but when over the hole it will stop all ventila- tion, and I shall have to remove it in the morning, when, if finished, the stick will have fallen into the hive, or there will be a quantity of bees still feeding, and a good number will probably attack and sting ones gloves, and so lose their lives. I think we must find some better method. C.J. Reply to No. 80. — As your hive has seven combs partly filled with honey, we imagine there must be quite sufiicient for the bees at least for present use, and if in early spring they are gently stimulated with a few ounces of food every night, they will doubtless do well, and early breeding will ensue. Bees are at this season in a condition of repose, and take but little food, and it is unwise to rouse them into acti- vity. They cannot be in a better condition than yours appear to be in having few open honey cells, yet with plenty of honey for the time being. Having also seven combs there will be plenty of breeding space in the hive, and there will be no occasion to retiu-n the comb removed until the spring, and probably not then, but much will depend upon the weather in the winter, THE BRITISH BEE JOtJRNAL. 163 and the breeding capacity of the queen. You will then be able to remove the crooked combs from their frames and straighten and replace them, as they will be tougher and more easily handled than now, and the queen may then be easily found. There is no objection to hay being used outside the partition boards, but it is not necessary. As your hive cover is in strips, the easiest mode of ventilation will be to set the strips about a sixteenth of an inch apart, and cover the whole with one or two thicknesses of carpet, or something of the kind, by which means the noxious vapours may escape without draught. There is no occasion for wrapping the onlsides of such hives with anything, they are self-protecting. The wrapping recommended in the Journal was for single sided hives, otherwise unprotected. The sticks in the barley sugar should be thrust quite into it, when they cannot tall out. Separating the strips will jjrevent the glasses interfering with ventilation There is no occasion to remove the barley sugar in the morning, as the bees will not be able to consume it with sufficient rapidity to cause them to become over excited. Ed. Query No. 81. — What may be the cause of honey crystalliz- ing, such honey having been taken from sealed comb by means of an extractor, while honey taken out at the same time and by the same machine from hives of the same class 50 yards distant, is beautiful and smooth. At what temperature will honey keep best from crystallizing, and if the place should be airy or venti- lated. ^Vhat is the cause that on the surface of some honey after stiffening, there is found about half an inch of liquid honey on the top, that never stilTcns, though taken out of sealed combs, neither does it shew signs of fermentation. J. .S. WOOD. Reply to No. 81. — Honey contains two distinct kinds of saccharine matter, one resembling in its pro- perties the sugar of the sugar cane, and the other the sugar of the grape, or glucose. The former is prepon- derant in the saccharine secretions of some flowers, and as .this form of sugar is readily crystallizable, the honey containing it m excess is prone to candy or cystalhze. The latter (grape sugar or glucose) merely collects in warty masses, as the water holding it in suspension evaporates. This may be seen in raisins (dried grapes) the water from which having evaporated, the glucose or grape sugar may be found gathered into irregular lumps, different kinds and qualities of honey may be taken from hives contiguous to each other, indeed dissimilar samples may be taken from any individual hive. We often tind honey of \'arious colours and quaHties, in the same comb, and of different degress of thinness {i.e., some are more watery than others), and we believe that these conditions must be relied on to account for the extract from one hive becoming solid, and the other remaining liquid and smooth. Honey is formed of water and sugars, in certain pro- portions, with a very small addition of essential oil. Warm water will dissolve more of these sugars than cold, hence if honey containing only sufficient water to hold the sugars in solution be lowered in tempera- ture, the excess of sugar will be slowly deposited, or in other words the honey will begin to crystallize, but heating the whole will re-dissolve the crystals, and the honey will be again limpid. The temperature should, therefore, be almost as high as that of a hive, but two other conditions are necessary ; first, exclusion of air, or fermentation will probably ensue, and secontUy tile prevention of evaporation, or the whole will solidify. AVhen honey commences to crystallize, the more I readily crystallizable sugar separate first, leaving the uncrystahizable, which give sweetness to the limpid honey. The least crystallizable sugar is also least liable to fermentation. This is a fact, the reason of which is not known. Ed. Query No. 82. — At page 373-4 of Langstroth's work on bees it is stated, " Mr. R. Colvin lias invented a device for secur- ing the combs not merely straight, but of unifonn thickness. It •\\-ill be tested on a large scale this season, (1S60) and the results given to the public. In these instances in Nvhich it has been tried it has succeeded admirably." Is anything known of Mr. Colvin's plan, or has anything since been devised to ensure straight combs, beyond the various comb guides and guide combs ? If a swarm ^\ere put into a new bar frame hive, every alternate frame being covered with paper, would too much heat be lost to allow of comb building going on steadily ? Perhaps the ex- periment has been tried, and the result is •i\ell-known. Another point on which I should be very glad of information is, when quilts are used for summer and winter coverings instead of crown lioards, how are they arranged so as to admit of feeding ? H. JENNER FUST, Ju.nr. . Reply to No. 82. — AVe are not aware of any plan for securing straight and even combs, which is claimed as Mr. Colvin's invention, nor do we know of any cer- tain method by which that object may be attained. Where straight combs are already on hand, it is a good plan to place them in hives for the reception of swarms, alternately with empty frames, when the bees will usually fill up the vacancies with other straight combs, after which they may be removed, and those newly- built, made to do duty for them, or they maybe placed in other positions in the hive. For instance, if two straight combs be placed second and fourth in a hive, the bees will build Nos. i, 3, and 6 straight also ; the originals Nos. 2 and 4 may then be removed, and the new ones placed in the positions 2, 4, and 6, when the bees will (probably) build again i, 3, 5, and 7 straight, after which by removing them all one step nearer the centre of the hive, and leaving No. i again empty, straight combs throughout the hive may almost be insured. Paper covered frames have been tried, but the bees amuse themselves by tearing the paper to pieces. In our own apiary we are generally success- ful in obtaining straight cohlbs by underlining the centre of the top bars of the frames with melted wax, which we apply roughly with a brush, and remove the surplus by means of a guage made out of an old table knife. Quilts are seldom used as summer coverings for bees, except when the honey extractor is used, and supers generally take their places. In winter they are not supposed to be brought into use until feeding is unnecessary, (or over) and in early spring for stimula- tive feeding they may be turned up and replaced, a sprinkling of syrup being given to the bees in the meantime, almost before the bees have recovered from their first surprise on its removal. Ed. SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS. PAY.\BLE IN .\nV.\NCE, £ S. ,i. Two lines of twelve words each o i 6 Per line afterwards 006 „ Inch of Space 050 ,, Quarter column o 10 6 ,, Half ditto, or quarter page.... i u o ,, Cohinm, or half page ;.■.■..;.-..■....•..... i 15 o ,, FiiUpage V.-.. :.-.-.-..V.:'..-..!-!" 3 3 O Nu Advertisements can be received after the 20th of each month. ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. THECARR-STEWARTON HIVE. DESIGNED BY MR. C. W. SMITH, OF TOTTERIDGE, HERTS. /^~'OMBINES all the principal advantages of the best bar frame hives known, %\-ith those of the far-famed Stewartons. A hive may consists of one, two, or three stock boxes, and a honey box. The stock boxes are fifteen inches stiuare, and six inches in depth. The honey box is but four inches deeji. Each stock box is furnished with nine moveable wedge-shaped bar frames, guides, windows front and l^ack, &c. The honey box contains seven wide bars for honey cells, the spaces between the bars being fitted with slides, like the octagonal Stewartons. A crown board having slots and slides of the same guage as those in the honey box is provided, but is reversible, so as to suit the advocates of a close fitting lid, or those who jirefer a quarter inch sjiace above the bar frajncs. The stock boxes can be used separately or together, according to the strength of swarms. Each box will be large enough for an ordinary s-.\arm the first year, the honey box being placed thereon when the stock box is nearly filled. Carr, or Neighbour, will find that the Carr .Stf.warton Boxes form splendid bar frame supers. A second stock box should be added the next year. Bee keepers who are using other forms of hive, such as the Woodbury, With this hive stocks and swarms can be united, or artificial swarms made with the greatest ease ; and in summer or winter every stock in the apiary may be properly aided by telescopic expansion or contraction of space, any degree of warmth needful being maintained. FULL INSTRUCTIONS FOR MANAGEMENT SENT WITH EACH HIVE. P, - Stock Boxes, (wood or straw) los. 6d. each, or six for £3 ; Hoiiey Boxes, Ss. ; Cro%i^OTK. — We have often pointed out tli- difficulties which attend the introduction of alien queens, and always recom' mend that instead of attempting to do so, inexperienced bee keepers should Ligurianize their apiaries by the use of small swarms, as directed on pages 15 and 16 of the May number of the Journal. The method is the cheapest in the long run, and is safer than any other, there being no risk beyond that of los- ing the young queens on their wedding trips, and that is a risk which must always be abided by, as at present the ferti- lization of queens is not subject to human control. Our cor- respondent seems to have been paiticulavly unfortunate with his l)atcli of young queens. Query. Would it not have been as well to have allowed his black drones to live ? Even sup- posing his young queens had mated with them, their drone progeny would be pure in the ensuing season, and would • greatly increase his chances of success on a subsequent attempt. Ed. NOTES. — o — Sir, — There is little doubt that of all the materials used in the construction of hives, wood is the most serviceable and cleanly in every respect, therefore, as a modern hive, and entirely constructed of wood, the annexed drawing is an example, and in a great measure combines all the requisite qualities of a good beehive, it contains available space in the brood room equal to the cubic contents of the stipulated bushel, and hives of the construction shewn have proved in every respect satisfactory. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 171 I. The accompanying engraving shews the side elevation of the hive in section. 2 and 3. Part of frames full size, shewing construc- tion, support and maintenance at the requisite dis- tances from each other by the distance pieces q. a. Frames 16 in the brood room and eight ior the honey room, size inside loSs by 85^, wood used, fif- teen-sixteenths by three-sixteenths distance pieces, q, ij4 hy fs by ^8, frames planed on edges and outsides. Frame % %- JErame t^^^^ U^^^ /'. Grooves for ends of frames to slide in. c. AMndows to slide in and out according to the number of frames in brood or honey rooms, covered with drugget in winter. d. Entrance with diminishing slides. f. Holes for ventilation, a perforated zinc plate covering the insides. g. Shews in dotted lines a feeder, as applied in the honey room. k. Shding partition board, ]{ inch thick, in three widths, a hole two inches in diameter in the middle one, these separate the brood and honey rooms, a piece of drugget carpet is laid over these in winter, if severe weather, two thicknesses, the edges as seen are bevilled. 1. Honey room space occupied by frames, % inch, under the frames, i/z of^an inch. 2 and 3. Brood. rooM space, occupied by frames, i?>]/2 by 12 by ii>2, space over the frames, l4, inch, between the top and bottom frames, yi inch, and under ^ inch. General remarks. Outer roof, }^ inch thick, covered with zinc or can- vass painted. Inner roof, one inch thick. Front, sides, and floor, two inches thick. Door, i}'i inches thick. The hive may be made of thinner material, and thatched with straw on all sides. This class of hive is also made with two rooms over each other, or three as shewn also, in some cases four, and by making twice the width shewn, and dividing by a partition it can answer for i\vo or more colonies. J. S. WOOD. NOMENCLATURE. Sir, — A small tenant farmer on Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, a fine heather district very inadequately stocked with bees, informed me last summer that he once knew a man who " got seven hives out of one, in a single season '' He had a hive, and they swarmed and they casted, and they spindled and they bunted, and the swarm swarmed, and casted, and the cast swarmed ; ."anyhow there was seven of 'em." I should like to know whether the " like o' that " ever occured in the experience of yourself or any of your readers ; indeed whether such a prolific stock is conceivable. I was rather sceptical of the fact, when it was narrated to me, but know so little of bees, that I could only express the admiration which was evidently expected of me. My principal, ©bject, however, in craving a corner in your Journal is to ask whether " spindle " and " bunt" are known in other localities besides Stafford- shire, as names for a third and fourth swarm respec- tively. SIC VOS NGN VOBIS. Note. — In our own neighbourhood the names given to aiicoes- sive swarms are, swavm, cast, second oast, third ditto, and 30 on. ]n the adjoining county of Berksliire a friend informs us that their order is swarm, cast, smart, chick and brood, slicwiug that sometimes five issues have been expected, or obtained. The " like o' that" recorded above, has never occurred in our experience, the nearest approach l)eing the nraltiplication of one stock into five, by natural swarming, whicli were afterwards made into six by artifi- cial means, all of which have fiUed large bar frame hives and are doing well. This occurred in the apiary of our esteemed corres]jondciit, F. Cheshire, Ksq., who will doubtless one day record the wonderful doings of hia first Ligurian swarm. Kn. DRONE BREEDING. Sir, — I here give }ou an account of a stock hive, whose queen turned out deficient in her drone laying capacity (?) and we kept Iner two years to satisfy our- 172 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. selves of the value of such a hive. ^Ve could find no fault with it till the swarming season when we became aware of a great deficiency of the population of the hive. On examining it to ascertain what was wrong, as we saw only two drones flying about, we found only empty drone cells, and not any weight as we generally find hives are when the drones are in full force at the swarming season. We were greatly dis- appointed, as we expected a good hive of her, as it was our best in the spring, and although it was an average honey year, it made no more than was suffi- cient to keep itself. In the year after it was worse still, as it was the month of August before it came to anything like swarming condition, and no surplus honey. This hive was nothing behind its neighbour hives at the beginning of the first season, till the drone and hiving period in May and June, and then it fell far behind them, as there was not any of the great rallies of young bees that we all so much admire, after the drones make their advent, giving us unmi=;takeable proof thai a hive without drones is of no use, and proving also that drones are both honey and heat pro- ducers, and that they are worthy of a better fate than they receive at the hands of their owners. Now if we take 1,500 drones as an average number in our hives, this gives us of bees 3,152 to be at liberty to gather honey and other work, which is necessary in a hive, and if we take these drones away as W. M. Bannock- burn proposes to do, then we at once take away or destroy the working power of our hives to the amount of 3,152 good working bees, for they must remain inside to keep up the temperature of the hive, and we lose the surplus honey which they gather over that required to supply these 1,500 drones, but if we work his way (W. M). we are in error, and not one whit in advance of our great grandfathers, three hundred years ago. Now, if it be true that it takes 2olbs. of honey to produce ilb. of wax, this will give us a rough idea of the produce of these 3,152 bees, and if a hive of the average of 22,000 bees will produce 2olbs. of honey in a week, as I find they occasionally do, the produce of these 3,152 must be close on 3lbs. of honey. And now W. M., or any other bee keeper who holds your views, would you sacrifice the produce of these 3,152 bees for all the amount of food it takes to sup- ply these 1,500 drones, which will amount to about loz. of honey per week to keep them in luxury ? JOHN ARMSTRONC;. P.S. — The best ventilator that 1 can get for my hives is to cram them full of bees, which protects the hive against all winter enemies. EXPERIENCE.— FERTILE WORKERS. On Whitsun Monday, 1873, a fine first swarm of hybrid bees were safely hived in a Cottage Woodbury, and did exceedingly well until September last, when having a superabundance of imported Ligurian queens, we endeavoured to depose her Hybrid majesty to make way for one of the purer breed. The hive was then filled with comb and crowded with bees, and was altogether in splendid condition for wintering, but although we searched diligently for her majesty, we could not discover her, and consequently were obliged to|postpone the operation. Six weeks after, on again attempting it, we discovered a multitude of drones in the hive, and large quantities of drone brood in all stages. Some few of the drone grubs were in worker cells, but the bulk of the eggs had been deposited in drone cells, some of which contained as many as fif- teen, and many others eight and ten each. There was not a trace of a queen cell from which a queen mi~ht have hntched. throvgnout the hive, but there were many queen (?) cells raised on the drone comb, in some of which were dead larvae. It needed no ghost to satisfy us that that abnormal nuisance, a " fertile worker " was present, nor were we unaware of the fact that the stock was in great danger, through her exertions as a drone egg producer, and the fruit- less labour and expenditure of stores by the bees consequent thereon, in their efforts to bring them to perfection. At so late a period in the autumn, it would have been folly to have attempted any of the usual means Ijy wliich Iiives are rid of these exalted commoners, although we might have tried the fumigat- nig process, described by J. T. Rose, page 144, American Bee yournal, Vol. 5, No. 7, but seeing that the bees were aware of the predicament into which their pretended queen had led them, as was testified by their repeated endeavours to raise queens from her drone brood, we determined to introduce a new queen to them, which we did, caging her for three days on a central comb, hoping that her presence would revive the loyalty of the community. That it did so was evident, for on lier release she was most joyfully received and caressed by tiie workers, and for two hours, during which we \vatrhed for any symptoms of antagonism, in the hope of being able to capture her antagonist, if one declared itself, and which we felt sure would be the fertile pretender; she was e\idently the theme of song, the admireil of all admirers, and feeling hopeful that all would be well, we closed the hive, and left her to lur falc. The weather would not '73 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. permit of our re-opening the hive for nearly a week, and when we did so, our beautiful queen was missing, the presence of eggs by the dozen in drone cells testi- fying only too surely the cause, and assuring us that she had been destroyed by the more nimble fertile worker. It is not our purpose to follow the fortunes of the stock thus afflicted, but to record and call attention to the facts which seem to overthrow the previously accepted notion that fertile workers are exalted by royal food accidentally dropt into their cells, or fed to them when too far advanced to be capable of perfect transformation, as suggested by our experienced " Lanarkshire " correspondent on page 1 1 of the Jour- nal lor May last. As at first stated the bees in this hive were a first swarm, they were headed by a queen of the previous year's raising, and up to September last they had never been in the least degree disturbed, and then when we could not discover her majesty, we looked for signs, to account for her absence, and could we have dis- covered even the suspicion of an old queen cell we should have concluded that her ladyship had stolen away with a swarm, and that her successor had failed to return after her wedding flight. Not a trace of evi- dence could we find, however, to justify this suspicion and were forced to the conclusion that the queen had accidentally been lost or destroyed during our search for her in September. But whence came the fertile worker ? She was not raised in the hive after the loss of the queen, for there was not then a particle of brood in the hive from which to raise her, beside which in six weeks from the loss of the queen, a whole liatch of drones had hatched out. It is evident to our mind that she had existence during the life of the queen and lived peacefully in the hive with her, but that, after the death of the latter, she became " exalted,' and hence was developed her sanguinary regicidal disposition as a usurper. We may say we have tried to introduce queens on five occasions to this hive, and on each, they have been kindly received by the workers, but have afterwards been slain. The foregoing was written for publication in the January number of our Journal, but has been withheld fruni time to time in consequence of the pressure on our space, but after the remarks of Mr. John Hunter page 1 58, on the artificial fertilization of eggs, we have determined to try our utmost to fertilize the eggs of a fertile worker, with the spermatozoa of her own drone offspring, and if by the experiment we succeed in raising perfect workers, why may it not be possible to raise perfect queens ? It may be wild to speculate largely on the subject, but if such effects be possible, the fertile worker, after all that has been said against her as " a perfect nuisance " may become an object worthy our most earnest study and attention, as furnishing a means by which in dire extremity, a race of bees, by artificial aid may be preserved. THE EDITOR. THE STEWARTON HIVE AND SYSTEM. In your last issue, your correspondent, Mr. Wm. Carr, while taking leave of the above subject, would fain administer a parting hit at two points, the " shal- lowness ' of the Stewarton hive, and the nom de plume of " your anonymous correspondent." With regard to the first, I have already had oc casion to remark, that Mr. Carr was " rash '' in entering into this controversy, and I employed the word advisedly. The Stewarton instead of being shallow, is the reverse, a very deep hive, 18 inches of breeding space, far exceeds the depth of most hives in common use, this, like many another controversy, recalls the old story of the two sides of the shield, or the same thing viewed from difterent stand points. Your correspon- dent, instead of looking at the hive as a whole, con- siders merely a sectional portion of it. 'Jhe same contracted grasp led him into preferring crown boards to slides for such a hive, when any one at all familiar with its manipulation, knows, that before the crown board could he introduced, the sections of the hive would have to be separated, and the bees let out about the bee masters ears, while ■with the ingenious contrivance which he styles the " Plague of a slide," additional space can be given, bees added, or commu- nication cut oft' without liberating a single worker ; and need I add the thinness of top he too condemned, manifestly facilitates communication between the two divisions, indeed, your able contributor, " A Lanatk- shire Bee Keeper " rightly accounted for the want, of success complained of in England with this hive, that our southern friends were possibly wise " above what was written." From your correspondent's sectional view, had he more carefully perused my remarks, he would have observed we are so far agreed that instead of having the separate body boxes but six inches deep, I at the start increased them to seven, (see page 13), and now I employ both seven and nine inch boxes, so as to ac- commodate the extra prolificness of the hybridized Italians, and with my amateur sympathies, to enable such sections to be employed at a pinch for separate swarms, or " beat-outs." Mr. Carr reiterates his fear that his criticism " hurt" me, possibly I may have thought the flat contradic- tion, that I was " mistaken ' in both the origin and manipulation of a hive, with which I had been long familiar, savoured a little of rudeness, but this could rot hurt me, \vhen I knew it could be so easily demonstrated, there was no mistake about either, THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 174 but what did hurt me was that this excellent periodi- cal should, even in one instance, have the semblance of degenerating into a vehicle of puffery, for simulta- neously with my reviewers criticism, the advent of a new hive was proclaimed, bearing his name, and to those of us with whom bee keeping is but a pastime and an amusement, and who never had the smallest pecuniary interest in any hive whatever, the taste of the inventor did seem questionable, trying to depre- ciate a hive so justly celebrated as the " Stewarton ' of Kerr's invention, with the seeming intention of elevating the " Carr-Stewarton " and liis logic seemed most inexplicable in condemning the 6-inch sections of the original Stewarton, while the hive he appeared to have selected to bear his name to posterity, should be of that identical depth. Now it did afford me much pleasure to find from a private note from our Editor, that I was mistaken in this, that the new hive, as your advertising columns now bear evidence, was designed by Mr. C. ^V. Smith, to whom alone is due the credit of its invention, and that it was named by him in honour of Mr. Carr, consequendy I do heartily apologise to the latter genUeman for any de- preciatoiy remarks of mine in consequence, and I feel certain that when this meets the eye of your corres- pondent, " A Lanarkshire Bee Keeper," he will reci- procate the like feeling. In the January number I endeavoured to put your correspondent right, as to the fact that although Ged- die in 1675 obtained a patent, and Rusden subse- quently sold licences, for the octagon storified hive, still we had it on the authority of Rusden himself, that the new discovery was none of theirs, that, to use his own words, " the transparent hive first showed to us by Dr. Wilkins, late Bishop of Chester," the bishop was consequently, as I said, " the first pos- sessor, whether its inventor or not, must ever, I am afraid, remain an open question.'" When writing this sentence, I quite overlooked having some years ago met in Milton's Practical Bee Keeper with a most interesting letter, dated Feb. i6th, 1654, by a Fellow of All Soul's College, Oxford, then in his 2ist year, who afterwards became the world- renowned architect, Sir Christopher A\'ren, accompany- ing which was a particular description of our three storied bee hive. " Last year, as I remember, we put in two swarms, &c." This was May, 1653, or twenty years before Geddie obtamed his patent. Milton in- forms us that the hive is the " original one attributed to Mr. Thorley, who lived at Oxford a century after Wren." Now the Octagon hive of Thorley, is the exact counterpart of what we find illustrated in both Geddie's and Rusden's works, therefore tiie identical hive, Rusden first saw in the possession of Dr. Wilkins ; and consequently the invention of no other than Sir Christopher Wren himself. The strong presumption that the hive the bishop possessed was Wrens inven- tion is materially strengthened by referring to the condensed biography of Wren, in Illustrious English- man, vol. iv., page 375, we find the genius of young Wren early displayed itself While yet a boy, he in- vented a sort of orrery and some other mechanical contrivances, which introduced him to the notice ol Bishop Wilkins, Dr. Willis, and other eminent mathe- maticians of the day, (italics mine). Tlie Bishop, we thereby see, was one of AVren's early jjalrons, and the letter alluded to above, from its deferential tone, may have been addressed to him, or at least to one of his patrons, this Milton carelessly omits, as well as to re- produce the description of the hive referred to in the letter by Wren, in this letter he expresses regret " the device not fully answering our own expectation.". . .Who have tried the like experiment for us, leads to the in- ference that he liad presented each of his patrons with one of the hives to experiment with, hence its coming into the possession of Dr. Wilkins. The dissatisfaction Wren refers to, arose from the bees " filling almost the passage hole quite up, leav- ing themselves only a little hole, as big as two fingers, might go in for this passage up and down." Rusden's subsequent difliculty with the same hive, arose from a different cause, as the unhatched brood in upper box corrupting after removal. It remained for the ingenious Ayrshire Mechanic, Robert Kerr, to obviate both, in his Stewarton Hive, making the spaces between the several combs move- able at pleasure, by sliding slips of wood, so that the communication between the sectional boxes, could be made as free as if they were but one, and by means of his shallow supers, provided distinct and separate chambers for the honied store, shutting ofil' the queen and breeding department, by keeping the central slidea oi the uppjr b'.^c'. Ijja closed, saving the side ones, for an upward passage to the supers from the outer honey combs, where most the honey gatherers do congregate. We can all sympathize in the agreeable surprise Milton experienced on purchasing at the sale at Strawberry Hill, a very old book on bees, (name un- fortunately not given,) to find that our great architect, Sir Christopher Wren, was a contributor to the subject of bee keeping, and the inventor of a hive long attri- buted to others. The distinguished architect of the octagon storified hive, did not design, as Mr. Carr supposed, anything " shallow " or low, his aims were too lofty for that, as my octagon colonies attaining a height of 46 inches, tower over all others in the apiar}', much in the same way as that artist's great work, St. Paul's, looks down upon all compeers, and the idea of combining the labor of two swarms to effect his purpose, was quite in keeping with his stupendous work of St. Paul's, being completed in 35 years under one arcliitect, while its great rival of St. Peter's at Rome, occupied 145 years to build, and employed a succession of twelve architects in its progress. We are told by his biogra- pher, that "one of the happiest parts of the invention (St. Paul's) attained by the octangular arrangement of the piers, which is as beautiful as it is novel," may have suggested itself from the original design of his octagon hive. We, who liave long benefited by employing octagon storified colonies, experience in our apiaries the aptness of the sentence, cut upon their first inven- tors tomb in St. Paul's: "Lector si monumetum requiris ? Circumspice ?'' (Reader, scekest thou his monument? Look ;irouiKl '.) Fnit what am 1 to say of the remaining point, my "Bee veil?" simply that here too lam quite agreed with your correspondent as to the propriety of nothing THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 175 being admitted into these pages of which any one need be ashamed, and may I be permitted to add, whether subscribing his name or nom de plume, those of us who employ the latter might be quite as chary of sullying it, as those that use the former, still at the same time, I am at a loss to conceive how employing either, can effect in the smallest degree, an argument pro. or con., without dragging in Shakespeare's hack- neyed line, " What's in a name ?'' I must confess Mr. Carr's reiterated reference to this, did tinkle in my ear, something like in legal parlance, " No case, abuse the opposite attorney." It is now 14 years since the present writer penned his first effusion on bee keeping, for the Cottage Gar- dener, now journal of Horticulture, and arrested his hand, in the act of adhibiting his usual signature by the thought, that having no wish to traffic in either bees or bee hives, his name or initials, would convey no useful information to the reader, and after a look through, concluded that he who was evidently the commodore of the little fleet, displayed the better taste, in adopting the nom de plume, " A Devonshire Bee Keeper," which carried with it an idea of the writers whereabouts, for comparison of seasons, &c., this Mr. Woodbury subscribed down to that last touching article he dictated in a recumbent position the week before his death. I resolved to follow in his wake, and hoisted the " distinguishing pennant," a " Renfrewshire Bee Keeper," and after so long sailing under an old flag, which has " braved the battle and the breeze," one gets attached to it, and it becomes as it were so " nailed to the mast," that I must own I would be loth to " strike " it at the bidding of Mr. Carr, even had his small shot really " hurt " me, al- though I thus cheerfully " dip " it in compliment to his passing allusion. There is less necessity for the contributor to these columns using anything but his real name, as " Our Editor," by his capital idea of the direct reply, saves as in the case of the departmental writers for other Journals, his being bored by querists writing him direct, he, having the private addresses of all his correspon- dents, can, in any emergency of doubt and difficulty, appertaining to their several beats, summon their as- sistance to his aid. Such of us as were wont to contribute to the bee corner of the yournal of Horticulture, have pleasant memories of one intercourse together there, to be sure we had the interminable clatter of the spades of our neighbours, those good fellows, the " blue aprons," then in the dormant season, when we had more leisure to fight our battles ever again, there was so much cock crowing over the correct penning of the competi- tion poultry, and caging the songsters aright, that their combined bass and treble about drowned the more melodious hum of our lesser favourites, doubt- less inducing "Our Editor" spiritedly to lead off' a swarm, and a prime one it was, from Fleet Street, which was safely hived at Hanwell, and if we mistake not, we heard " piping " the other morning for a "second." Some may think with me that the mantle of " A Devonshire Bee Keeper " may prove a misfit on the shoulders of Mr. Peltigrew, with the latter "mounted on the paddle l)Ox," the pilotage of the older craft may prove somewhat in danger, through the in- tricacies of the beautiful, but deceptive reefs of Man- chester fed productions. Mr. Carr may have his own notions of these things, but I do think it much more pleasant to find one self rubbing shoulders with such fellow workers as him- self on one side, and " A Lanarkshire Bee Keeper " on the other in the young swarm. I have all along read with much pleasure, and I trust with some profit, everything Mr. Carr has written upon bee keeping, down to his exhibiting experiences, detailed in your last number, which are most graphically told, and highly amusing, had I but dropped my bee veil in sending my obnoxious paper, he would have found himself grappling with an unknown foe. When next your correspondent makes a raid upon the Nom de plumists,'ht maybe able to elucidate some of those delightful little mysteries my pen has never dared to probe ; for instance, why does the talented author of T/ie English Bee Keeper invariably affix the linked letters " B and W" to all his communica- tions ? Did that able bee master " R.S." select at random two adjoining alphabetical letters ? Has the genial writer " Upwards and onwards," from some- thing I read compared in size to a child's head, aban- doned his bachelor's hobby, finding solace in " Boys" more obedient than the refractory little rascals he used to " holler" after at swarming time, in days gone by ? Was " Jonas Jackson," of foul-brood celebrity, a reality or a myth ? Does that excellent apiarian Mr. W, Bevan Fox, of Exeter, claim kindred to the late Dr. Bevan ? or have we here but a happy apiarian coinci- dence? although the present writer has never met any of these bee masters unveiled, yet he has pleasur. ably enjoyed their communications all the .same, and yet anticipates the satisfaction of meeting all of them, his dozen fellow county subscribing contributors, and many a fresh recruit, rallying round the unfurled banner, of the British Bee yournal, which we have all a common duty to lend a helping hand to, support, and have no fear of " quarrelling " with any of them, unless they should desire to emulate Mr. Carr in first raising the discordant note amid the pleasant hum, being quite an admirer of his text, " Peace on earth, good will to men," although "noblesse oblige," me still to subscribe. A RENFREWSHIRE BEE KEEPER. THE NOM DE PLUME. Dear Sir,— No one has read with greater pleasure than I have the controversy that has taken place in I the columns of our journal upon the Stewarton _ hive and system, the merits of which have been to ably ad- vocated by your valued, though anonymous, corres- pondent " A Renfrewshire Beekeeper." All honour to Mr. Carr, tliat he has not- hesitated to enter the lists with so doughty a champion, and plainly give us the opinions that he also entertains, for it is from such combats that we who are still learning, derive much knowledge. I am, however, very sorry to see the tone adopted by Mr. Carr in your issue of February, as plainly showing that having failed to make good his argument, he falls back upon the paltry sulHerfuge of attacking your correspondent for claiming to write 176 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. under a nom d( plume. What difference can it possibly make to the advancement we all desire in apiarian skill and knowledge, whether truths and facts are given us with or without a signature, and if with a signature, whether a fictitious one or not, so long as the truths and the facts are there. We shall no more fail to pro- fit by genuine knowledge freely imparted, even though the writer choose to veil his identity, than we should be to discard error and falsehood even though it were authenticated by the deservedly well known name of "Wm. Carr." Mr. Carr has not been particular in verify- ing his assertions before giving them to the public, for on page 120 he says " I do not believe in anonymous correspondents, as nothing ought to be admitted into our Journal that anyone need be ashamed of." (He may rest assured that '' A Renfrewshire Beekeeper " has nothing to be ashamed of in any communication he has contributed to these columns.) " It is a rule that has answered well with the American Bee Journal to publish their names and addresses, and it has made that journal what it is." Now, I do not hesitate to say that no one has assis- ted so much in making '■'■that journal what it is' as their anonymous correspondent " Novice." Mr. Carr being a subscriber and sometime a contributor to the Ameri- can Bee 'yournal cannot have been in doubt as to the admission into its columns of anonymous correspond- ence, or he has purposely shut his eyes to the letters in that journal signed X.Y., B., Scientific, Greenhorn, Argus, T.S., Indiana, Seseaye, Sim Plicity, Phono- graph, and a list of others. Let us have controversy by all means, but when we do lose our temper let us refrain from giving vent to our spleen in the columns of the British Bcc 'yom-nal or we shall make that jour- nal lahat it ought not to be. R. SYMINGTON. The Cottage, Oxendon, Market Harborough. HIVES AND THEIR HISTORY. Bees have been studied and their produce made available for the benefit of the human race from time immemorial, but the earliest record we have of the place they used for storing their honey is in Deuter- onomy, 32nd chapter, 13th verse, "And he made him to suck honey out of the rock." These holes or caves in rocks were the ordinary hives used by bees at that time, but the next account we have where bees stored honey, is the most remarkable hive ever used by bees, and it is recorded in Judges, 14th chapter, 8th verse, " And, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of a Lion," We must not represent to ourselves, such a clean insect as the bee taking possession of a corrupt and putrid carcase, in which to store its honey, for it is e.xpressly stated that "after a time ' (Sampson had slain the Lion) he returned and saw the bees and the honey in the carcase of the lion. It is well-known that in those countries, at certain seasons of the year, the heat will in the course ot twenty four hours, so completely dry up the moisture of the dead camels, that without undergoing decomposition, their bodies will long re- main like mummies, unaltered and entirely free from offensive odour. Thus the lion's body formed a good hive for a swarm of bees, and there were also the ribs of the lion for the bees to build their combs upon, and I have no doubt they built them straight (although they were not waxed), as Samson so easily " took tliereof in his hands, and went on eating." The ribs of the lion was the first account we have of a bar frame. It is said Mellissus, king of Crete, was the first who invented and taught the use of bee hives. But there was little progress made by any of the following writers, viz., Thomas Hyll, 1574, Dr. Charles Butler, 1609, the father of English apiarians, he was the first to describe the storifying principle, Samuel Purchas, 1657, John Geddie, 1675, who had a patent granted to him for his hive in that year by King Charles 2nd, (the only patent ever taken out in England for a bee hive.) What a contrast this is to America, where they have 1 01 patent bee hives. Moses Rusden in 1679 improved Geddie's hive, and put a frame in it for the bees to fasten their combs upon. This is the first account we have of a frame being put inside a bee hive. In 17 1 2 Miraldi, a mathematician of Nice, first invented a glass hive, in which the indoor proceed- ings of the bees could be seen, and his description of the manners, genius, and labours of the bees, which were published in the memoirs of the Royal Academy, of Sciences in 1 7 1 2, gave a wonderful stimulent to the study of bees, Miraldi was succeeded by Buffon and Reaumer in 1728, Swammerdam, 1738, Kcenig, 1739, Rev. JohnThorley, 1744, Bennett, 1745, Gelieu, 1746, and the Rev. Stephen White, 1756, who invented the collateral system. In 1765 the society for the encouragement of arts, manufactures and commerce, in England, offered four hundred pounds to encourage bee keeping. A pre- mium of five pounds was given to every person, who had in his possession on February ist, 1766, being his own property, any number of slocks of living bees, in hives or boxes, not less than thirty, and also a premium of five pounds to every person who shall take ten pounds of merchantable wax, from any number of stocks of living bees, in hives or boxes, who shall preserve their lives till the ist of March, 1767. This gave such a great impulse to bee keeping, that 177 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. I have a list with the names of the authors of no less than forty two works written on bees during the next six years, amongst whom was the celebrated Thomas Wildman, 1768; who performed numbers of wonder- ful feats with bees, that have never been equalled in any country up to the present time. For instance, when he appeared before George 3rd, standing upright on horseback, with a swarm of bees suspended in gar- lands from his chin, like a great beard, and after transferring them from his ciiin and breast, to his hand, stretched out to full length, and then on firing a pistol, the bees all swarmed in the air, and went back to their hive, with numbers of other equally wonder- ful performances, which were at that time considered feats of ledgerdemain or witchcraft, but the secret of Wildman's skilful manipulation is well understood now. It consisted in a careful holding and disposal of the queen, together with confidence in the general inoflensive disposition of bees. Dr. Evans thus speaks of \Vildman's feats : " Such was the spell w hich, rouml a Wildman's arm, Twined in dark wreatlis, the fascinating swarm ; Bright o'er his breast the glittering legions led, Or with a living garland bound his head. His dextrous hand, with firm, yet hurtless hold, Could seize the chief, known by her scales of gold ; Prune, 'mid the wondering train, her filmy wing, Or o'er her folds the silken fetter fling." We pass by all the numerous writers, each trying to improve the bee hive until we come to John Keys in 1780, when he greatly improved the bee hive, making the back end all of glass, and putting bars in, on which bees built their combs, three boxes all the same size, formed a set, and were used on the storify- ing principle. My father was a disciple of Keys, and improved his boxes, and I have now a stock of Ligurian bees in one of these boxes that he had made in 1806, and it is as sound and good as on the day it was made. Dr. Edward Bevan, in 1827, improved Key's hive, by making each bar separate, so that any one comb could be taken out without disturbing one of the others. In 1790 Abbe Delia Rocca gave an illustration of moveable bars with wings or pieces on the ends, for keeping the bars at proper distances from one another. Francois Huber of Geneva, Switzerland, was the first inventor of a bar frame hive, about 1796, but his frames were one inch thick, and formed the top, back, and front of the hive, and the frames opened like the leaves of a book. The late Major W. Augustus Munn was the first one to put bar frames inside a box or case, the same as the modern bar frame hi\'es. He invented the bar frame in 1834, and after testing it for nine years, he took out a patent for it in Paris in 1843. He could not take out a patent for it in England, because, before he applied for a patent, the hive had bean described and illustrated in the Gardener's Chronicle for 1843, page 317. Major Munn describes his hive in a pam- phlet in 1844, and in a second edition of it in 1851, and in that year exhibited his bar frame hives, &c., at the Great International Exhibition in London. Prokopovitsch, the Russian, described his bar frame hive in a pamphlet in 1841, but he then used bar frames in the supers only. M. De Beauvoys in 1847 and 187 1, in his work on bee culture, published in Paris, (three years Rafter Major Munn took out his patent,) describes moveable frames containing all the features of the frames, as invented by Major Munn. Baron Von Berlepsch and the Rev. John Dzierzon invented the German bar frame hive, a description of which appeared in the supplement to the Bienenzeihing of May ist, 1852. Itwas called "StehnderRahnenliifter" (upright frame ventilator), and the baron states he made and put bees in a hive with frames instead of bars, in June, 1843. I" 1850 he put projections on the ends of his bars, to keep them the right distance from one another. The first printed description of a moveable comb hive in America, was given in the Scientific American of March 6th, 1847, page 187. The inventor was Jacob Shaw, residing in Hinckly, Medina County, Oliio. Rev. L. L. Langstroth took out his first patent on October 5th, 1852, and he made such great improve- ments in the bar frame hive, that it quite revolutionised bee keeping, and brought it to such great perfection, that it has now become of national importance. The one hundred and one patent bar frame hives in America; Tegetmeir's, Woodbury's, and Carr's im- proved bar frame hives in England, are all combina- tions of the celebrated Langstroth's bar frame hive. WILLIAM CARR. Newton Heath, near Manchester. LOSS OF WEIGHT PER STOCK OF BEES IN JANUARY. — o — I have weighed all my stocks of bees the last day in every month in the year for a long time, so 1 always know, without any guess work what they are doing, and the exact aniount of food in the hives, and these tables are vejy interesting. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 178 lanuar)', 1874, was a very mild month, and my bees were flying out of the hives on ten days. Although they were so very active, I was astonished on weigh- ing them to find that they had lost less weight this January than in any January since 1866, the average daily consumption of food per stock was only 0-866 of an ounce. Underneath is a table of the average monthly and daily consumption per stock for about twenty of my hives during January for the last ten years. Average inoQthly Average daily Average daily loss in loss per Stock loss per stock auy hive. Ounces Ouiicee Highest Ounces Lowest Ounces January, 1874 26-83 0866 1-16 0-71 January, 1873 27-23 0-871 1-30 0-48 January, 1872 31-46 1-015 1-39 0-87 January, 1871 34-88 1-125 1-51 0-75 January, 1870 36-34 1 -169 1-64 0-95 January, 1869 28-90 0-932 1-29 0-66 January, 1868 33-75 1-089 1-51 0-79 January, 1867 32-18 1-038 1-55 0-65 January, 1866 23-30 0-751 1-06 0-65 January, 1865 29-55 0-953 9-816 1-26 13-67 0-61 Total 10 Years .304-33 712 Average per Jan. 30 433 09816 1367 0.782 WILLIAM CARR, Newton Heath, near Manchester. MR. WYATT'S NEW V HIVE. On page 159 appears an engraving of the V hive and a summary of the advantages claimed for it, to- gether with a promise that it should be further des- cribed. The engraving is however so explanatory of itself, that any hive-maker will see at a glance how the hive is constructed, and we therefore feel that it will be unnecessary to give all the minutse of detail with which we have been favoured by its inventor. It is formed in two parts, the lower part of the shape of a V, forming the stock hive, and the upper part the super cover and roof. The roof c is of inch board covered with No. 10 zinc which overhangs exactly an inch all round to keep everything dry. In the centre of the top of the cover an opening is made, covered with perforated zinc, and protected with an outer zinc cover to keep out the rain. Rings are let into the roof near the ends of the ridge to hold the rope or chain which runs over the pullies as shown, and to which weights are attached to counterbalance the super cover, and to permit it to be easily raised or lowered. The gable ends of the super cover measure 21^ inches from apex to base, and the sides are 2\y^ inches long and 8j4' inches high, the wood-roof overhanging one inch, each slope of which measures 17 inches long. The inventor says, " the whole super cover when complete looks as much like a dog-kennel as possible, with two rings on ridge of roof three inches from either end and a raised ventilator in the centre of roof." The back and front of tlie hive are alike, except that in the front which in the engraving is turned away, there is an alighting board, and an entrance 7 inches long by i,^\.\\ of an inch high. The front and back both measure 24J/2 inches from top to bottom and 2oj^ inches barely from end to end. They have each a window in the centre 12^ inches high and 9 inches broad, double glazed, and protected by a door hung at the bottom by cross garnet hinges, and which is closed upwards, and fastened by buttons at the top. From the centre of the top of the back window is suspended an ivory thermometer, between the inner and outer glasses, we presume to register the heat of the hive, but being in the dead air which is such an excellent non conductor, we fear it will not act correctly. The way in which this hive is fixed is as follows : — Two posts are let into the ground three feet deep, standing 18 inches above the ground level, the tops are cut perfectly flat, and upon the top of each post is screwed an iron plate 4 '2 inches square, with a six feet y^ inch rod of iron rivetted to the centre of the plate. On these two upright iron rods, the hive is let down, the two rods passing through the two bolt sockets and lifting handles at either end of line. The lid is then placed upon the hive, and screwed or not (for it cannot move) with four large brass screws, one about two inches from each corner. The super cover is then let down upon the rods, through bolt sockets and handles in the same manner as hive, on the lid on crown board of hive, its lower edges fitting into I by i^ inch rabbets on top of hive cover before described. Two small brass pulleys are then screwed into tops of the iron rods marked /' and some copper sash line passed over each pulley, one end of each sash line being secured to the rings on top of super cover and the other end to a 1 2 J^ sash weight. There is a hole tapped in top end of iron rod at b to fit the screw of pulley also marked b. There is a zinc cone soldered on to the zinc strap that passes over pulley to keep the sash line dry. The hive itself appears to be most substantially made, and except that zinc is used, where iron or brass would have been better, everything is made of the best and most enduring material, and evidently no expense has been spared in its construction as may be inferred when it is understood that the cost for materials alone was just over three guineas. There is little doubt but that the principle of the hive may he carried out at a much smaller expense, and that it may be made portable. For instance, instead of posts fixed to the earth, legs screwed to the back and front and crossing at the bottom of the V would form steady supports, and instead of the rods and counter weights the super cover might be hinged so as to make the supers accessible with but little trouble. Our cor- respondent does not say how he proposes to get a swarm of bees into the hive. Ed. (To be continued.) QuKRY No. 83. — Will you kindly assisl mc with advice under the following circumstances ; I have .1 stock in a straw skep in my sitting room, working through the window. Early last season I placed on it an octagon super (Neighbour's), into which they worked well. When it was full of comlj, I placed another under it, and this was almut half full of comb when I left home early in July. The bottom super was scjiaratcd from the hi\c by an adapting board w ith three-eights of an inch slits, the two supers by nothing but the bars at the top of the under one, the top having been removetl. I wished to show the top super at a Horticultural Show at the end of July, and the man who removed it and who I thought understood bees, (which very few- do in these parts,) showed it with the combs half full of brood, THE. BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 179 and what's more the super gained .1 prize. Imagine m\' disgust on returning to find a super half full of denil grub^ i There i\-as a great draught through the stock hi\e, which I suppose drove the queen upwards. Would this alone account for the catastrophe of her breeding in the super ? \Vhen I got back home in the middle of September, I removed the only remaining super, but finding that this too was partially filled «ith grulis 1 replaced it after cleaning out the drones which had been bred in it and died, not being able to get back through the narrow- slits into the hive below. At this date the stock hive was very light, so I determined to leave on the super for winter provision. Of course the bees are well provided, and seem strong ami healthy. On a warm day they come out in great numbers, but what am I do against next spring ? I should like, if possible, to get the bees down into the stock hive. How is this to be done ? .Shall I leave the super on as long as possible, then choose a fine day for removing it, and place it near the entrance of the hive, will the bees then leave it ? And how in this case am I to ensure against the c|ueen beginning breeding operations in the super instead of the hive ? I have a large under hive made, and successfully used by a country amateur. What would be the effect of placing this beneatli the stock hive ? Would the queen be leas likely to ascend to breed ? Or again, could I remove the super now, and feed from the top with the comb in it or with syrup ? In this case how am I to drive the bees down. There is a circular opening closed with a glass plate at the top of the super. Would a little tobacco smoke sent through this have the desired effect ? An incident happened to me last summer jiarallel to which I should be glad to know of. My servants told me one day that while I was out in the afternoon one of my hives had s\\armed, but having settled on a nettle, which broke with their weight, had gone back in the hive. I did not trouble about them, thinking they would probably come out again ne.xt day. Just a week after I was told that a swarm from one of the hives h.ad settled in the hedge near them. Pioceeding to take it I was surprised to find a mere handful of bees, and a closer inspection I found tliat they were clustered round a piece of comb about half the size of my hand, which was built among the twigs. I hived the swarm, which was evidently Jiart of that which had left the hive the previous week, and the next day iniited them to a cast, naturally a strong one from the same hive. Is such an occurrence a common one ? The week during which the bees were, as I conjecture, in the hedge was fine, but not very hot ; no rain fell. I enclose los. 6d. for your Journal for this year, and I hope the perusal of it will do something to enlighten my ignorance, and assist my inexperience. J. F. Reply to No. 83. — The fact of a super contain- ing a large proportion of dead larvae obtaining a prize at a honey show is somewhat significant. There are generally eyes enough at such places to detect imperfections, and tongues sufficient to make them known. Where bees are kept in dwelling houses there will always be a draught through a hive which is not hermetically sealed, unless it is permitted to escape into the room through perforated zinc (or other material), between the wall of the house and the front of the hive. In the first case the bees will be sure to suffer, and in the second it is bad for the occupants of the room. It is very probable that the draught was in some degree the cause of the breeding in the super, but the inain cause was the tertility of the queen, for whose powers the straw skep is apparently too small. It is evident that breeding first began in the stock hive, or there would have been no necessity for a super at all, indeed without the bees had largely increased there, no comb would have been built in the latter. The fact of the queen passing the slits in the adapt- ing board, and breeding drones, which were imprisoned by it, clearly shews the titility of the arrangement. If you leave the second super on much longer, breeding will commence in it, and on removal the first batch of brood (the most valuable too) will be lost. If you remove it with the queen in it, the bees will never quite j desert her, although many will return to the hive, and her absence at this time of the year would proba- bly ruin the stock ; the better plan will be to gradually fill the super with smoke, so as to drive the queen down with as many bees as possible, and then clear it of the few remaining bees by fumigation with puff-ball. It may be removed at any time by the insertion of two plates of zinc between it and the hive, one of which would be carried away with it, and the other left on temporarily, while the stupefied bees are collected in a glass and revived, after which they inay be placed over the feeding hole in a bottle, when they will gra- dually descend. There are cases on record of bees building comb in the branches of trees, but it is very unusual for them to do so, and except as an object of interest such a colony is of little value, as it could not exist during an ordinary winter. Ed. Query No. 84, — Do you think it would be a good plan to make the sides of hives double, leaving a space of half an inch between outer and inner box to be well packed with felt, such as is used by engineers for padding steam boilers. A narrow fillet along top and bottom would retain the felt and serve by means of a few screw nails, to connect outer and inner box. The felt is a good non-conductor, and would prevent the escape of the heat through the sides of the hive, and keep the rays of a hot sun from penetrating and loosening the combs, where there is no outside cover. I understan.,, was the "dibs" or gr.ipe honey mentioned above. Old Adam Clarke has a curious explanation : " Be- cause it was apt to produce acidity when wrought up with flour paste : or rather because it was apt to gripe and prove purgative. This effect, which it has in most constitutions, was a sufficient reason why it should be prohibited here, as a principal part of all these offer- ings was used by the priests as a part of their ordinary diet, and these ofierings being those of the poorer sort were in greater abundance than most others." It will be probably a sufiicient refutation of thia idea, to quote the fact that honey formed no incon- siderable item of diet in Palestine, and thougli to some persons, honey acts almost as a purgative poison, the constitutions of these persons must be singulaily ab- normal. It must be remembered that in all the Jewish sacri- fices there was an aiming at absolute perfection in the things ottered, and therefore it is most probable tluit the idea of corruption was the right one. J. J. M. Hanwell. t^UERY No. S6.— In No. i of the British Bee Joiintui a " Renfrewshire Bee Keeper" speaks of the Stewarton system of stocking hives ^\ith Rouble swarms, the second swarm being added about eight or ten days after the first. Like your corres- pondent "Novice" I have a great desire to try this experiment in my own hives, but I have misgivings on the the subject witli which he does not seem to be troubled. How am I to prevent the bees of the first swarm falling upon the intruders, .'',c'., tli» second swarm, and killing them off wholesale ? If a pitched battle be the result of the forced uni»n, I fear that the hive will be rather weakened than strengthened by tlie operation. If your space and time |)erniit, I shall be thankful for a suggestion as to the riglit wav to unite the swarms peaceably. JOHN R. CRIDL.-VND. Co])enliagcn. Reply to No. 86. — The measures we usually adopt and recommend in the union of two stocks, are first to remo\e all the combs from both, and having sprinkled all the bees with some .scented syrup, to [jotir botli lots together into a clean skep or other ve>- TilE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL, i8i sel, and with a gentle sifting motion, or with a hght wooden spatula, mix them together, and when tho- roughly incorporated return them to either one or bdth sets of comb as may be arranged. In uniting a new swarm to one ten days old, great care will be ne- cessary in the removal of the combs from the hive of the latter on account of their extreme tenderness, but with care it may be done. Swarms often unite volun- tarily when they issue about the same hour, and some- times they will unite wth other stocks, in which latter case, they usually cluster about the entrance some time before attempting to enter the hi\e of their adop- tion, and then as by the method advised by a Ren- frewshire bee keeper, they gradually unite with and become absorbed into the selecteil stock. If they attempted to enter at once, they would probably be treated as robbers, and a scene of slaughter such as you seem to dread, would be the result, but by pre- senting themselves more in the character of suppli- cants for shelter, they are usually admitted. A " Ren- frewshire bee keeper," than whom no greater authority on the subject exists, is not likely to have given direc- tions on a matter of almost every day occurrence in his neighbourhood during the summer months, that are impracticable. You may safely follow his plan or ours, and in either case if you perceive the least incli- nation to hostilities, give the bees a dose of tobacco smoke, which will quickly cause the combatants to think more of themselves and their own safety, than of fighting with each other, and during the turmoil that will ensue, the whole will have acquired the same odour, and excepting one of the queens, which will be killed, they will remain peaceably together. Ed. yuERY No. 84. — As soon as I ascerlained that one of my liiv*. only weighed about lylbs. I set to work to see how I could strengthen my hives by feeding. I consulted Ba Keeping for the Many, on the different modes of feeding, and as Mr. Petti'^raw, in an article on feeding of bees in the Joi it." Our experience during the past year has been most encouraging, and in expressing our heartfelt thanks for the many favours we have received, and the hope that the sanni kind iDnsidenition :)nd iiatronage hitherto shewn to us will be continued, we would remind our friends that by a little personal exertion in canvassing for new subscribers, each one inducing one other, our circulation may be easily doubled, and the British Bee jpounial, no longer tentative, will become the established organ of British Apiculture. \VHAT TO DO, AND WHEN TO DO IT. o AND HOW April is of all the months in the year the most criti- cal for the bee keeper, as upon its issues mainly de- pend the future well being of his colonies. The month of March has passed without its usual visita- tion of wind and storm, and excepting a few of its early days, has been bright and genial, and as a conse- quence vegetation is remarkably forward, and bees are busy, as bees will be whenever occasion offers. All hives should be carefully cleaned, and freed from vermin of all kinds, spiders destroyed wherever seen, (jueen wasps also should lie rigorously pursued and slaughtered, as every one now killed will prevent the establishment of a colony of wasps, to plague the bees in the autunm. This is the month in which bees should be stimulated to the utmost, so that they may fully gratify their breeding propensities, and ensure large forces of workers for early swarming, or honey gathering as may be most desired. It must not be forgotten that in April the rough weather due in March, but which has not yet appeared, may sud- denly come upon us, and seal our hives for many days together, rendering inspection out of the ques- tion, jeopardizing much valuable brood, and causing the starvation of many colonies, which, having by the fineness of the weather, been tempted to extraor- dinary breeding, are suddenly cut off from outdoor supplies. It may appear like " harping on one string," to continue our cautions on feeding, but at no time of the year are they more necessary than during the early breeding season. A superabundance of food suddenly given is positively injurious, as the bees then invariably store their newly acquired supplies close round their breeding nest, and thus hinder the deposition of eggs; therefore, as so often recom- mended, food should be given m small quantities only. Hives that are strong in stores need not be fed to create the necessary stimulus ; in such cases the cutting off the tops of some sealed honey cells, will have the desired effect, as the bees will at once remo\e the honey and store it near the brood cells. THE BRITISH BEE JOUkNAL. 184 which will cause sufficient excitement. Should cold rough weather ensue, while breeding is being rapidl)- carried on, it would be well to contract the entrances of hives to prevent the rush of cold air into tiicm. Upward ventilation is not required during the breed- ing season, heat and moisture being apparently neces- sary for the proper production of the brood. Care must, however, be taken to prevent the hi\e becom- ing chilled, or condensation will take place, brood combs will be deserted, and the brood in them perish, and dysentery will most assuredly supervene, which may develope (or degenerate) into foul brood. We have been hoping ere this to have been enabled to furnish our readers with an engraving of a specimen of foul brood, from nature, and for some months a comb kindly furnished by a valued corres_ pendent and subscriber, was left in the hands of a clever photographer in the hope that a true specimen of it might be obtained for engraving, but from its peculiarity of colour, &c., it appears to have been impossible, and hence a delay, which to those unac_ quainted with the appearance of the disease, may be of serious consequence, and one which we most seriously regret. We trust however, that in our new issue (vol. 2), this will Ije remedied, and that the foul brood question will be fully and freely discussed therein. Where bees ha\e been well cared-for, should the weather continue mild (which we hardly dare to hope for), drones will soon make their appearance, and swarming commence ; in view of which hi\'es should be prepared, and stands and roofs procured, so that when the time comes, everything may be in readiness. Bear- ing in mind that from fifteen to twenty days usually elapse after swarm.s ha\c departed, before the young queens become fertile, it would be well about the middle of this month, provided the weather will per- mit, to promote the production of young queens, which may be raised in nuclei, and when fertilized, may be immediately given to colonies from which swarms have departed, or from which they have been taken, so as to prevent loss of time, in c[ueen raising in individual hives, and what is of still greater import- ance, where the actiuisition of honey is the object in view, to prevent also the issue of second and after swarms. Some bee keepers of our acquaintance have already provided twin nucleus frames of the pattern invented by Mr. Cheshire, described on i)age 169, and having fdled them witli cm|ity combs, 1 .-ive inlroducrd Ihem to tlieir slionge.st hives, so as to unsure that the;,- be well ilored with eggs and brood, and lliub inadc available for queen raising. These frames are intended for boxes nine inches deep, seven and a half inches from front to rear, and about six inches wide, so that two of the twin frames when divided will form four nucleus frames, and will just fill them, thus one full \Voodbury hive may be made to form five nuclei, each of which having a sealed queen cell, would raise its own queen, and prevent the loss of much valuable time to other stocks. It is not absolutel)' necessary, in the formation of nuclei, to proceed as just described, as the combs may be cut out of the parent stock, and fitted into the nucleus frames after the queen cells have been raised, or the nucleus frames may be fitted with spare comb, and the ([ueen cells cut out and distributed, splicing one into each nucleus. Many bee keepers divide their stocks and allow all the sub-divisions to raise queens for themselves, but it has been so clearly proved that queen cells raised in weak nuclei, do not produce nearly such good queens as issue from those raised in strong stocks, that we always recommend the latter mode of raising them to a sealed condition, when they may be given to nuclei to be hatched out, and cared-for until fertilized. In stocking a nucleus with combs and bees from a full hive, choose combs from which }'oung bees are hatching out, and having placed them in the nucleus box, take other frames, on which young bees may be seen, and shake them into it also, repeating the operation until the nucleus is filled with young bees, the majority of which never before having been outside their hive will remain in the nucleus box, which may be placed in any part of the garden. Nuclei, which are made with empty combs, require more bees than those with full ones, as there will be no brood to hatch and keep up the populations, they may however, always be added to, by giving young bees as just directed, shaking them from the combs in front of the nu- cleus hive, into which they will run unmolested. QUEENS AND THEIR PROGENY. On the authority of llie Rev. L. L. Langstroth, the author of that charming work, " The Hive and Honey Ik-e,'" the first demonstration of true ]>arthenogenesis in the honey bee, was made by Professor Leidy, of Philadel|)hia. The reverend author says in his first edition. May 1S53, "In the autumn of 1852, my as- sistant found in one of my hives a young queen, the whole of whose progeny were drones. . . . This (|ucen hatl laid :i mnnbcr of eggs in one of the combs, and the youn;^ bcCs from so.nc of liieui were jubt cuieigin;^ from the cells Vi there w-ere iSS THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. none but worker cells in the hive, they were reared in them, and not having sjiace for their full development, they were dwarfed in size, although the bees, to give them more room had pieced out the cells so as to make them larger than usual ! Size excepted, they appeared as perfect as any other drones. . . . The queen was removed from the hive and carefully exa- mined. Her wings, although they appeared to be perfect, were so paralysed that she could not fly. It seemed probable, therefore, that she had never been able to leave the hive for impregnation. To settle the question beyond the possibility of doubt, I submitted the queen to Dr. Joseph Leidy for microscopic exami- nation. The following is an extract from his report : •' The ovaries were filled with eggs, the poison sac was full of fluid. . . . The spermatheca was distended with a perfectly colourless transparent vis- cid liquid, without a trace of spermatozoa.' This examination seems perfectly to sustain the theory of Dzierzon, and to demonstrate that ([ueens to not need to be impregnated in order to lay the eggs of males.'' This interesting subject will perhaps be better un- derstood by reference to the engraving, which repre- sents (highly magnified) the ovaries, oviduct, and sper- matheca of a queen bee. Queen bees, as is well known, are raised from eggs, which, but for the spe- cial treatment they receive from the worker nurses, would in the ordinary course of events, become workers themselves, and microscopical investigation has proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that all worker bees possess, in a greater or less degree of development, all the attributes of perfect females, or queens, and hence occasionally, in the absence of a perfect queen mother, under an influence which is not understood, but usually defined as exaltation, they are enabled to secrete and deposit eggs, which in due course become apparently perfect living drones. Dissection has ])roved that these fertile worker bees are positively incapable of fertilization by drones, and therefore the fact of their eggs developing into living organisms led to the Iiclief that bees had occasionally powers of reproduction, similar to those possessed by aphides, the females of which have the ability to repro- duce their species during several generations without intercourse with the males, but when it was discovered that the eggs of worker bees and those of unfertilized queens were precisely similar, and always developed into drones, whether they were de]}0sited in drone or worker cells, a field was opened for wider investigation; out of which arose the Pastor Dzierzon's startling theory of reproduction, which theory he in 1845 most ably propounded in the Biaiatzci/u?ig, of Eichstadt, and which we here give in his own words, extracted from Von Siebolds " True Parthenogensis in the Honey Bee." " Presupposing what will be referred to and proved in the following numbers, that the queen (female bee) to become good for anything must be fertilized by a drone (male bee), and that the fertilization takes place in the air, I express the conviction, from which all phenomena and mysteries may be perfectly explained, that the drone eggs do not require fecundation ; but that the co-operation of the drones is absolutely neces- sary when worker bees are to be produced, ^\■hilst in the higher animals the male is the jDerfect and ruling creature, the bull keeps together and, as it were, guards the herd of cattle, and the cock does the same by the hens ; the reverse of this takes place in insects. " In the Wasps, Hornets, Humble-Bees, Ants, and especially in the Bees, the perfect female forms the central point and holds the swarm together. As even the drones are subordinated to her, they are also in themselves altogether imperfect creatures, for the pro- duction of which so many forces and conditions are not necessary, even on the part of nature, as for the production of the queen, and what is the same thing, of the workers. " (The ancients even appear to have indicated this by the denomination Fucus). The truth of this asser- tion appears at once from the fact that as every thing that is capable of the more difficult and greater effect may also produce the easier and smaller one, so every stock which is in a condition to produce worker bees, may also produce drones when suitable cells are not wanting in the nest ; but not inversely. " In fertilization the oviaries are not fecundated, but the seminal receptacle, that little vescicle or knot, which in the young queen is filled \\ith a watery mois- ture, is saturated with semen, after which it is more clearly distinguishable, from its white colour. The activity of the ovary in the normal state only com- mences after fertilization, but is not necessarily caused thereby, hence many unfecundated queens lay no eggs at all, whilst others lay drone eggs ; and even workers do the latter, although from their want of a seminal receptacle I regard them as quite incapable of fertili- zation. " I am convinced that such eggs are sufficient for the production of drones, \\'hilst the egg from which a queen or a worker is to be developed must come in contact with a filled seminal receptacle. " This is certainly only a hypothesis, and will pro- bably only remain so, but one to which every close observer will be no more able to refuse his assent than the hypothesis of Copernicus, that the earth turns round upon its axis; for all the mysterious phenomena in the commonwealth of the bees are very simply e.x- plained by it. As will be seen in the engraving the ovaries are two in number, the ducts from which unite just above the spermatheca, and it was natural to infer that in one of these, drone eggs were produced, and in the other those which became workers, and that the THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL, i86 queen exercised a discretionary power in their deposi- tion. The office of the spermatheca, the httle globu- lar sac on the side of the oviduct, was supposed to be the furnishing of the viscid fluid, with which the eggs were (as supposed) anointed in passing, to cause them to adhere to the bottom of the cells wherein the)' were deposited, but Dzierzon in a separate book Thcori und Praxis de imten Bieiieiifrcundes, published in 1849, summed up his views upon the reproduction of bees as a regular theory in the following manner (see "Siebold"p. 41):— " Therefore, and this must be well borne in mind, in the fertilization of the queen, the ovary is not im- pregnated, but this vesicle or seminal receptacle is penetrated or filled by the male semen. By this, much, nay all of what was enigmatical is solved, especially how the queen can lay fertile eggs in the early spring when there are no males in the hive. The fertilization takes place once for all. The queen then never flies out again except when the whole colony removes. AVlreu she has begun to lay, we may with- out scruple, cut oft" her wings ; she will still remain fertile until her death. But in her youth, every queen must have flown out at least once, because the fertili- zation only takes place in the air ; therefore no queen which has been lame in her wings from birth, can ever be perfectly fertile. " I say, perfectly fertile, or capable of producing both sexes. For to lay drone eggs, according to my experience, requires no fecundation at all. This is exactly the new and peculiar part in my theory, which I at first only ventured to put forth as a hypothesis, but which has since been completely confirmed. "Three young queens with imperfect wings have occurred during the past summer, and these, although from the imperfection of their wings, they could evi- dently never have taken the fertilizing flight, and also on dissection proved to be unfecundated, never- theless laid drone eggs. By this, all the mysteries which we have hitherto vainly attempted to unriddle, are completely solved. In the first place the enigma : Why is it that many motliers, they may lie queens or workers in their form, are only capable of propagating the male sex or drones? Because the former are either unfecundated or their fertility is exhausted, the latter, on the other hand, are incapable of fertilization. " For I am firmly convinced that the egg laying worker-bees, which occur abnormally, are, from the want of a seminal receptacle, just as little capable of being fertilized, as the young queens from the want of sound wings. Moreover there is certainly no doubt, that by the peculiar tone of her wings the queen allures the drones to her and disposes them to fertiliza- tion, of which a worker is of course incapable. "In the second place, the before-mentioned power of the fertile queen to lay worker and drone eggs at pleasure, is rendered very easy of explanation by the fact, that the drone eggs require no impregnation, but bring the germ of life with them out of the ovary ; whilst otherwise it would be inexplicable and in- credible. Thus, as it has already been shown that the ovaries are not impregnated, but that the seminal receptacle is filled during fertilization, the queen has it in her power to deposit an egg just as it comes from the ovary and as unfecundated mothers lay it ; or by the action of the seminal receptacle, past which it mu.^t glide, to invest it with a higlier degree, a higher potency of fertility, and to awaken in it the germ of a more perfect being, namely a queen or a worker-bee. " This of course she does instinctively, induced by the width cf the cell to be furnished. F"or the pro- duction of females in a bee-hive, therefore more con- ditions and forces are necessary than for the produc- tion of males or drones. Every mother which is capable of producing worker brood, can also lay drone eggs, but not inversely." Thousands of beekeepers have read with astonish- ment and incredulity the oft-repeated statement that tJie drone proi^eny of a pure bred Ligiuiaii to the roof, and the means of slow upward ventilation embodying two principles, which must, I believe, from the considerations above, lie ultimately universally adopted. Y. CHESHIRK. OlT-:i5N CAOES AND UNITIXC OUEEX.S. o Sir, — Your corres|)ondent on page i6i is (juite right about the risk and inconvenience in using the pipe cover queen cage, for uniting queens, as used by Mr. Woodbury, and illustrated on page 103 of the British Bee ji^(mr?iai. When a I.igurian queen is united to a strange stock of bees, it should be done without disturbing any of the bees surrounding the queen cage, so that those bees that have been cluster- ing round, and feeding her whilst in the cage, should be her body guard, when she walks in royal dignity from her confinement on to the combs, to rule over her new subjects. From experience of the risk attending the uniting of Ligurian queens to common black stocks, which I described in the J^oiirnal of Horticulture, No\ember, 1864, I at once set to work and made a queen cage drawings of which I sent to some of my correspon- dents, and as your contributor wishes for a successful queen cage that can be opened when inside tlie- hive without disturliing the bees, I send you a (ira« ing and description of the one I made in 1864 for th.e benefit of bee keepers. The cage is made of [icrforated /inc. and measures i89 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAE. five inches long, one and a quarter inches wide, and three eights of an inch open in the inside. This is fastened at one side with wire hinges to the centre of a cover or lid two and a half inches square. In the inside at the bottom, there is another door or lid, fas- tened with wire hinges on one side. Two w'res are fastened to the outside of this door, one of which goes through one of the holes in the cage, level with the door when shut or horizontal ; and the other wire through a hole on the other side at the bottom of the cage, level with the outside of the door when wide open or perpendicular. These two wires are carried up through the top lid on opposite sides of the cage, and go over a piece of wood, about three quarters of an inch high, and a quarter of an inch thick, and the ends of the wires are fastened to the top lid or cover, (see fig. i and 2.) D E r c ^ A B (C d; ■i II A 1-7 : - -1 --^- - c L_*^ =^^'^ ^== Fig. I, Knd of Cage. A Top door or liil. Km; 2, S11U-; iir (' \i:|.. u Hinge of top dooi'. C Wood peg to hold both doors sluil. D Top loop of wire to shut the bottom door. K Top loop of wire to open the liottom door. J." Bottom door partly opened. G Hinges of bottom door. Scale half the original size. Having removed the common black queen, I close the hive again, shut the bottom door of the cage, and in a room, I catch one of the worker bees belong- ing to the Ligurian queen, by the wings or the side of her body, between my first finger and thumb, so that it cannot sting me, and having opened the top lid or door, I put it in the cage, I do the same with six others, making seven worker bees (the mystical num- ber so often mentioned in the Bible), to attend and feed their queen, which I then carefully put into the cage the same way. I put the piece of wood, or peg, through the wire loop on the top of the cage, that opens the door at the bottom, and then through the loop that clones the bottom door, and when the peg is in the two loops, both the top and bottom doors are locked. I then carry the cage to the stock from which I had removed the black queen, and having taken the plug out of the one-and-a-half-inch feeding hole in the cover, I pusli the cage down between two combs, un- til the top lid of the cage rests on the hive cover. I next put a piece of woollen cloth over the top of the cage, and leave the queen confined until dark the night but one after, when I gently draw the peg out of the first loop, and then pull the other wire, which opens the lid at the bottom of the cage, without disturbing a bee, and the valuable Ligurian queen walks out at her leisiu-e, at the bottom of the cage upon the comb in the centre of the brood nest, (with the quiet dig- nity that becomes her royal majesty) surrounded by her body guard, and receives the homage of her new subjects, and commences laying eggs at once. Dur- ing the confinement of the queen, she can pass from one end of the cage to the other, which touches the honey comb at each side near the top, from which the bees can get food when required, and the cage reaches down to the very centre of the brood nest, which is the warmest part of the hive. Nothing injures a queen more than being chilled, as it has a great effect upon her egg laying powers in after life. The cage can be quietly pulled up the next day, and the plug put into the hole again. Do not excite the bees for a few days, after which you may examine the hive, and you will find thousands of eggs laid by the Ligurian queui. Next month I will describe anoth-.-r very simple queen cage that I have in\Tnted. WILLIAM CARR, Newton Heath, near Manchester. "THINKS 1 TO MYSELF." Dear Sir,— The other day in passing through town, 1 purcliased at a bookstall a book on " Bees, their Habits, Manajement, and Treatment, by the Rev. J. G. Wood, author of the Illustrated Natural N/story," a new edition with illustrations, published only so lately as i860 Thinks I to m}self,— That's just what I want, so ha\ing paid sixpence for it I de- parted witli ray treasure. The book contains 114 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. 190 pages, and as is often the case with one eager to get at tlie pith of a thing, I opened it in the middle, and read, page 56. "If a new or strange queen be intro- duced into the hive within two or three hours after they (the bees) have lost their riglitful sovereign, she will experience an opposite kind of manifestion of bee loyalty. However true a queen by nature she may be, she is here a pretender. The bees therefore, surround her, and starve her to death, they have too much res- pect for queens to sting them.'' Thinks I to myself, That's a bumper 1 A little farther on, after saying a little which set me " thinking " a great deal, the author adds, "If twenty four hours have passed since the loss of the ordinary queen, the bees are so delighted at the thought of a successor to the vacant throne, that a stranger queen is gladly accepted, the instant she pre- sents herself." Thinks I to myself, that's another. Then comes an extract from " Schirach, a clerg}'man of Little Bantzen ;" on the metamorphosis of the worms of workers into queens. Thinks I to myself, its a pity all the book is not extracted from " Schirach '' The author then proceeds, " These facts seem won- derful enough, but Mr. P., a well-known practical apiarist, will not allow this strange (breeding) power to be explained by the assertion that the metamorpho- sis is accomplished by permitting the female grub to attain to its full development, but makes it even more extraordinary by denying that it is merely the eggs of workers that can be thus metamorphosed. He, Mr. P., says, " How startling so ever it may seem, how doubtful so ever my friends may be, I, were I worth a thousand pounds, and given to betting, would wager it all, that I would cause the bees to metamorphose all the eggs that a queen may lay into drones exclusively; nay, I would cause them to be metamorphosed into working bees in March, into drones in April, and so on alternately, and a few into queens at any time." Thinks I to myself, ' I wish you had the thousand pounds and would stake." This statement, as explain- ed in afoot note, appeared in the Gardeners Chronicle, for 1834, page 501, and respecting it the reverend author, on " Bees " says in i860, " This is a point to which it would be well if scientific men would give renewed attention," and adds, " All the known facts appear at present to favour Mr. P — s statements." Thinks I to myself, ' .Artemus,' " We are niovin' onnanls." THINKS I. « BAD HONEY HARVEST OF 1S73. Sir, — 'l"he question has been, I think, nsked in your Journal why last year was a bad honey harvest, not- withstanding the abundance of flowei's ? It has oc- curred to me that the failure arose from the coldness of the nights, which prevented the bees remaining up in the supers and making wax by night. I took notice of their diminished numbers in my own supers at night, and also found the stock boxes of an inch and a half board, were in the autumn much heavier in pro- portion than the thinner, and less protected hives. The in-gathering of honey was remarkably bad in this neighbourhood, which I attribute to our clay soil, being a bad conductor of heat, having caused the nights to be still colder. If my conjecture be right, means which I need not mention, might be used to remedy the evil another year. O. B. T. Near Shepton Mallet. ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZATION. o Sir, — In an article upon impregnation, a statement based on Homes Lectures occurs in which it is aflirmed that " the great anatomist, John Hunter, succeeded in impregnating the eggs of a bee by spermatozoa taken from the spermatheca of another bee. Can you inform me where in the writings of that great man, this is noted as a fact ? I have always understood he was miable to verify the allegation of fertile bees possessing the power of laying eggs capable of development without impregna- tion. He performed certain experiments upon moths, which he thought might be applied to bees, but I am not aware of his having succeeded in applying them. Are queens referred to in the above sentence ? The eggs of unmated queens, or those of fertile workers cannot be fertilized by spermatozoa taken from the spermatheca of a worker, for the simple reason that not a single spermatozoa can be found there. QUESTIONER. Replv. — In the article referred to by "Questioner," the assertion that John Hunter succeeded in impregnating the eggs of a bee from spermatozoa taken from another bee was made on the authority of Professor T. Rymer Jones, in his Animal Kingdom, who there distinctly so stated it with an ajjpended note, referring to " Homes Lectures." Not having at the time access to the latter \\ork, I did not attempt to verify the statement, but ha\e now taken some trouble to do so, and find (hat the Professor is wrong, so f.ir ;is the bee is concerned, and the lead of so eminent aii IQI THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. anatomist decoyed me into the same error, which 1 must plead as my excuse. Sir Everard Home, says, "Mr. Hunter in the year 1774, instituted a set of experiments in which I assisted him. He kept a fe- male from the male, and when she began to lay her eggs he imbued the point of a camel's hair pencil with semen from the receptacle of another female, in which it had been filled, and as the eggs of the unim- pregnated female left the oviduct, he gave them in succession a touch with the brush, and some of them were actually impregnated and' produced young. In many of the attempts the experiment failed, but suc- ceeded in sufficient number to establish the fact. The moth of the silkworm was the insect employed in these experiments." The subject being so far corrected, thanks to the query of your correspondent, " Questioner," I rather fancy a more hopeful case is opened as to the possi- bility of artificial~impregnation of bees eggs. 1 believe a century ago Parthenogenesis was non proven, if it was even suspected, and had John Hunter succeeded in rearing bees from ova, which he believed he had impregnated, his conclusion, with all humility I say it, might have been an error, as modern investigation has shewn that 1)ces (drones) may and are commonly reared from unimpregnated eggs. Parthenogenesis so far as I know does not occur with tlie silkworm moth, and if that is the case so much tlie more certain does it become, that John Hunter really did that which he and Home believed he did. If practicable with the silkworm, why not with the bee? I am glad to see our editor intends to do his utmost in experimenting on artificial impregnation this forthcoming season, and hope now an interest in the subject is awakened, others will do the same. It is a hundred years this very year, since the great teacher of anatomy perform- ed his experiments in the same direction ! Casting a retrospect over this space of time and on the wonder- ful strides in natural science, the world has made, the grand aid of the modern microscope, the scientific knowledge and facility of manipulation attained with the bee, with all the valuable physiological facts gather- ed from the labours of generations of naturalists, will our painstaking observant apiarians let this question now aroused from its sleep of a hundred years again rest without a vigorous attempt at elucidation. Shade of John Hunter forbid! For myself, I intend to tiy what little I can do by personal experiment, and would willingly aid odiers in the same path to the best of mv abilitv. JOHN HUNTER. WONDERFUL INCREASE of STOCKS of BEES. Sir, — On page 171 your correspondent mentions the most marvellous increase of a stock of (I suppose) common black English bees 1 ever heard of with natural swarming, on Cannock Chase, Staffordshire. He says he was informed by a tenant farmer there that he once knew a man who "got seven hives out of one, in a single season," all with natural swarming. Now we have no authenticated record of such an event in this country with black bees, and we should be obliged to your correspondent if he could supply fur- ther particulars with the date of swarming. \\'ith the Ligurian bees such things have been known, but then they are so very prolific in compari- son with the common black English bee. In the Gardeners Clironidc of November 2nd, 1867, page 1 122, I related an instance of two stocks of Ligurian bees, increasing to fourteen in 1866, all with natural swarming. The clever German bee master, the Baron von Berlepsch, states that "he had never known a queen of the current year to lead off a swarm." The follow- ing facts prove that a queen of the current year does sometimes lead off a virgin or maiden swarm, but it is a rare occurrence, and I never heard of a second swarm of English or common black bees sending out two virgin swarms before. In May, 1866, I sent a stock of pure Ligurian bees to a clergyman in Essex, and it threw off three swarms, the first swarm sent out only one virgin swarm, but the second swarm, with the queen of the current year, sent out two vir- gin swarms, so this one stock that year increased to seven. Another stock of pure Ligurian bees I despatched at the same time to the neighbourhood of Liverpool, also increased to seven ; but in this case the old stock sent out four swarms, and the first swarm sent out two virgin swarms. The old stock after throwing off four swarms, got so crowded .again with bees, that they hung out in a large cluster ; and it was thought they would swarm again, to prevent which a large super was put on tlie hi\-e, which they nearly filled with combs and honey. Before the introduction of the Ligurian bees into England, such an increase as two stocks of bees to multiply to fourteen in one year, all with natural swarming, was never heard of Your correspondent also wishes to know if " spindie " and " bunt " are known in other localities THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. iga besides Staftbrdshire, as names for third and fourth swarms respectively. Now I am a Staffordshire man, and we have now, and have had bees in North Staf- fordshire since the beginning of this century, and I have never heard "spindle" and "bunt" before, so fancy they must only be used by the farmer on Cannock Chase. In Staftbrdshire they are generally called : — Swarm, first, second and third cast, and virgin swann, that is a swarm from a swaim of the current year. WILLIAM CARR. Newton Heath, near Manchester. THE STEWARTON HIVE AND SYSTEM. Sir, — I am glad to hear your anonymous correspon- dent on page 173 now employs boxes nine inches deep instead of the shallow si.x inch stock boxes. We shall I expect hear in a while that he has discarded the octagon form of his hive, and uses bir frames made all one size, so that they will fit every place in every hive he has. My first expression about your correspondent did not " savour a little of rudeness " as he says, but was on the contrary very polite, (as I always had a great respect for him, and have read every article he has written since i860 when he says he penned his first article in the Cottage Gardener.) I began with " A Renfrewshire Bee Keeper 1 think, makes a mistake in supposing that Robert Kerr, of Stewarton invented the Stewarton hive in 1819." Surely your correspondents may express their thoughts and give what evidence they can for those thoughts in the Journal, without having it made a per- sonal matter? but in last months Journal your anony- mous correspondent explained why he erroneously made such a personal attack on me. I gave my evi- dence to prove my thoughts in a straightforward honest way, and the more I looked into the authorities, the more I was convinced that Kerr did not invent the " Octagon Stewarton Hive," so my first thoughts are more confirmed than ever, and I hope your corres- pondent will allow me and many readers of your Journaj to keep our thoughts, which have been confirmed by man)- years of practical experience. I may also tell your correspondent, Mr. Symington, that I cannot see a word in my February note, that complains about anybod}' using any iioiii cir p/i/me\}\e.y like. T never hesitate to say what 1 have to say to anybody, w hcther they are anonymous correspondents or the most honoured names in the realm, being my- self perfectly independent of all, in every respect, but I always do it in a straightforward lionest manner without any paltry subterfuge, and 0)ily for the benefit of bee keepers, and 1 think our editor should cut out any unguarded expression of any contributor, as the best of us are liable to make mistaken. WILLIAM CARR. Newton Heath, near Manchester. Note. — We know of nothing more inilating to correspondents than editorial interference Avith their contributions, and more particularly A\hen the writers are gentlemen of position and ability. Were they really anonymous ; any letter containing tlie faintest sign of personality would be entirely suppressed, but we consider ourselves responsible to our known contributors that their letters shall apjiear as \\-ritten, subject of course to the cor- rection of the accidental errors in words or sentences to which all are liable. From the first the columns of the Britis/i Bee Jonrncil have been " open to its subscribers, so that their queries and re- plies, correspondence, and experiences may be fully and faith- fully recorded," and we hold that we have no riglit to suppress any part or portion of wiiat is written, unless it be libellous or insulting. Letters which bear the marks of careful correction by their writers cannot contain either hasty or unguarded expres- sions, and although they may show an absence of politeness and a want of consideration for the feelings of others, such laches inflict injury only on the good name of those who pen them It is a pity that those who have the interests of bee keeping so much at heart, cannot agree to differ on some of the unimportant minutia; of the art. Except that we should all yield "honour to whom honour is due," it can be of little consequence to the present gena- ration whether the first octagon hive or the storifying.system wa^ invented by Rusden, Kerr, Geddie, or Wren, and only as re- gards the history of hives general!)- can it have any real interest. We tlierefore trust that our esteemed correspondents will forliear further discussion thereon until some new facts are discovcied which will incontestibly prove its origin. En. THE USE OF DRONES. DEAii Sir, — 1 had no idea when the discussion arose about the use of drones in the bee hive; that it would have been so prolonged. I thought I had traced out the habits of these industrious and pecuhar insects, clearly and minutely in my last letter so that no bee keeper could misunderstand it, and 1 thought no fur- ther comment was required on the subject. The points J. Armstrong hinges upon are shallow and de- lusive. He says he once had a hive, whose queen turned out deficient in drone laying capacity, that two drones was the most the hive contained, and that after keep- ing it for two seasons it turned out a failure. The case might have been an exceptional one, but various reasons may be assigned for a hi\e being weak, want of fertility and fecundity in the queen being one of the principal. A fertile queen will usually produce a great amount of drones as well as workers, and they gene- rally turn out well, not that they are indebted to the drones for their success, but to the strong run of work- ing bees. When we see the best hives have done without drones during all the cold early l.'reediiig season, they cannot be nuich indebted to ilrones as heat producers or nurses when the weather is warm, 193 THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. I think it does not stand to reason. This is where the mystery lies, but Mr. Armstrong appears too shy to break the seal and let in light on the subject. It may be said that in the spring bees have more time to devote to nursing than in the summer, as the weather will not permit them to go abroad so much, but on the other hand as the season advances, the tempera- ture rises, and their services are not so much required. Had the hive in question contained a vigorous queen, and he had kept her drones down to two in number, his test would have been in some degree admissible, but by his own shewing the queen was deficient in power, and consequently gives no support to his ar- gument. His calculation of the honey produce is er- roneous, as if stocks gathered twenty pounds surplus per week, we should have them of two hundred pounds weight at the end of the season, whereas in this nor- thern clime we seldom see hives of half that weight. He further says that the honey bag of the drone is very small, but I doubt if he is aware of their digestive powers, it is easy to weigh a number of drones, but his assertions as to what they will consume are value- less, from being incapable of proof." It is well known that in some seasons the workers are unable to fill their own honey cells, and in such cases the drone heating process is an expensive one for bee keepers, and I think that when they shew themselves in great numbers, they ought to be put down, to ease the labours of the little busy bee. W. ]\1. STIRLINCiSHIRE. VENTILATION. Dear Sir, — I send you a sketch of a simple con- denser, which by condensing the moist vapours of the hive as they rise through the feeding hole, affords an excellent means of ventilation without draught, so essential in the breeding season. It almost explains itself, a is an ale glass, b is a piece of lead or zinc, bat- tered into the dished form shewn, and having a piece of tubing lined with woollen cloth, fitted into its centre, so as to afford a means of exit through the crown board, c, at the feeding hole, d. The warm moist air ascending into the glass condenses on its sides, and runs down into the dish, /', whence it may be emptied away by the bee keeper. R. ASTON. ^M^^^^^ UNITING BEES. — o — Sir, — Your querist, Mr. John R. Cridland, Copen- hagen, at 1 80, starts enquiry as to the risk attendant on uniting a newly hived swarm to one established eight or ten days previously. The great secret of the safe and successful manipu- lation with bees in this, as in all operations, is, after first disturbing them to afford them time to fill their honey bags, when they become perfectly quiescent. The complete success of such unions is afforded, by the bees invariably so filling themselves before emerg- ing with a swarm, and added to any stock at dusk the same evening, are almost certain of being made joy- fully welcome. " Beat-outs," if afforded the time after " notice to quit " has been served upon them by a preliminary smart beat all round, act on the same rule, by first filling themselves before beginning the ascent, and they can be similarly joined that evening without risk ; in either case the morning light reveals but the surplus queen alone dead upon the floor board. I re- member of having met with but one exception, which only went to prove the rule. A cottager sent me quite a large lot of driven bees in a straw skep, saved for a pecuniary consideration from the brimstone pit, at the end of a poor honey season. I transferred them to a Stewarton octagon box, and in so doing secured her majesty //■e late, as there are two or three frames with only small combs 011, and all will bear considerable lengthening, so that if they should do this previous to swarming, that will not take place till rather late. — Many cottagers in this neighbourhood have lost their bees during the winter. My eight hi\es are all doing well, but then I fed liberally in the autumn. A stamped envelope enclosed for answer to query. Market Drayton. A.C. Reply to No. 89. — Bees seldom build their combs either straight or true enough to permit of their being raised perpendicularly without danger of injury to either the comb or the brood, and, when straightened as is proposed, the chances are against the bees allow- ing them thus to remain capable of inspection in the observation case, for it commonly happens that through the lengthening of some of the cells, the faces of the combs are rendered uneven. The combs should not be interfered with until the bees will be able to repair and fi.x them when rectified. This may be during the month of April, or not until May, depending on the state of the weather for general temperature, or on the ability of the bees to engender sufficient heat in the hive to enable them to manipulate the wax. If the combs be broken, and they cannot immediately repair them they are apt to break away the ragged portions, and leave holes or gaping seams in them, and noth- ing seems to irritate bees more than an insecure comb i.e., one on which from its tottering state, they cannot cluster securely. It is pitiful to hear of the effects of the last season, on stocks left to winter, and painful to witness the stupidity of a certain class of bee keepers who will not profit by experience. Ed. QiTERY No. 90 — When is the right time to put supers on ? How can I prevent my bees from swarming when the superi are 'n? Some bee books recommend raising the hives about an inch from the floor-board by placing a small block at each corner ? T>o you think that a good plan, or will it create fighting, as the robber bees will more easily be able to get into the hive ? Do you think it would be a good plan if I raised them to put perforated zinc all round ? Would it be injurious to the bees if I varnished the outside of the woodwork of my supers, and also the outside of the straw work of Neighbour's Cottage Hive ? Will the bees work as well in three small supers on a Neighbour's Cottage Hive, or had I better put one large one on ? Will wood half an inch thick be thin enough for adapters, or should it be thiner ? Alphington, Exeter. AV.N.ti. Reply to No. 90. — Supers should be put on when the bees show signs of overcrowding. You cannot positively prevent swarming, but by giving ample space and ventilation its probability will be greatly reduced. Raising the hive from the floor board, say half an inch will not induce robbery if the bees are sufficiently strong to render such extra entrance space necessary. We have many times had occasion to raise the A\'ootl- bury all round, so that l>ees could get out at any point, and never yet had cause to regret so doing, but it has only been in cases where the army of bees were enor- mous, and big Woodbury supers were being filled. If the bees are strong enough in numbers, perforated zinc is not required, if not and slight ventilation is neces- sary, raising the front of the hive hy the insertion of a couple of pennies will be ample, or if more be re- quired, XJlace one under each corner. Bees work best in large supers, where the hive is sufficiently large to permit of the breeding of large populations, and such actually exist, but in the Neighbour's hive the greatest profit will be made by the use of the glasses sent with it, as from the hive being comparati\ely small, a good queen, if properly stimulated, will furnish a surplus of population sufficiently early to enable you to remove a complete super, weather permitting, before the end of May, and during the summer the glasses may be remo\'ed and replaced seriatim. A\'ith small supers, you will get some completed, witli large ones it may be the end of the season before they are fit for removal, and even then they may not be completed. In either case where glass supers are used, be careful to keep them warm with cases of flannel and wadding, and see that means are provided by which the bees can ascend to the top of them, i.e., let the tube or stick inserted in the top be of sufficient lengtli to reach them in the top of the hive. A quar- ter of an inch is ample thickness for adapting boards. We prefer to use them double, or in other words to have thin bottom boards to the supers placed over them, with corresponding perforations, so that when a super is removed, it may be taken away without the probability of disturbing or injuring the combs, which are usually built down to the board on which they stand. Varnishing the outsides of supers can do no injury, but varnishing the straw is not recommended. It is said to prevent the escape of the vapours of the hive, and hinder ventilation, yet considering "that every straw it coated naturally with sillicate, and that the bees stop up all crevices, and varnish the inside of the hive with propolis, we cannot think it would do much harm. Ed. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS AND ENQUIRERS. E. T. (Jravs. — The Phacelia seed we sowed last y«ar came up as usual, produced a good crop of floweis, and afiforded excellent pasture for the b«es, which gathered from it every day as long as it lasted. This y«ar we intend to sow it in succession, so aa to keep up a supply. Our experience of it as a bee flow«r is that it is second to none wliilc it lasts, either for the i|Uautity or quality of its honey yield. It has also the merit of being vsry pretty both in flower and foliage. Fiuzel sugar we are entirely unacquainted with as bee food ; perhaps some of our correspondents will giv» their experience. * Although we have increased our space on many occasions, at considerable expense to ourselves, and we trust satisfac- tion to our readers, we have still a considerable amount of correspondence on hand, which we are unwillingly compel- led to defer to our next issue. Wi are truly thankful for all past favours and earnestly hope the coming season will be a prosperous one for all bee- keepers. We must, however, remind our readers that we haye not yet had any of the weather usually waiting upon the " Ides of March," and beg to caution them against its probable unseasonable visitation. SCALE OF CHARGES FOR ADVERTISEMENTS, P.\Y.\BLE IN ADVANCE. £ S. d. 'I wo lines of twelve words each o I 6 Per line afterwards 006 ,, Inch of .Space 050 ,, Quarter column o 10 6 ,, Half ditto, or quarter page 100 ,. Colunni, or half page i 15 o „ iuU page .^....^.........^ 3 3" Nq Advertisements can be received after the 20tfi ofcrtch mnntfl. Iloolcbinder, HORSHAM*