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LIBRARY

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS

AGRICULTURAL

COLLEGE

«ARY_
Ul STY OF

m isetts

AMHERST, SS.

THE

iritis

m Jmnrtwl

AND

BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER.

CONDUCTED BY

CHAKLES NASH ABBOTT,

SOUTHALL.

VOLUME IX.
1881—82.

*

Observatory Hive, 1S82.

PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICE OF THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL,
SOUTHALL, NEAR LONDON;

AND BY

KENT AND CO., 23 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.

(hi 7 -f-
INDEX.

?

►

Abbott, C. N., his paper on
' The hive for the advanc-
ing bee-keeper,' 5-8, 29, 30 ;
thanks voted to, by the
B.B.K.A., 223

Abbott and Can-, report of
visit to Ireland, 50, 51

Abbott Bros., amount of
bees'-wax used by, 47; bee-
keeper's forget - me - nots,
85; new gloves, 119 ; rob-
ber trap, 146, 165 ; frames,
169 ; prize division-board,
175 ; feeding-dummy, 176 ;
top cushion feeder, ib. ;
size of their Woodbury
frames, 211 ; Woodbury
standard v. the standard
frame, 250 ; foundation-
fixer, 257

Aberdeenshire, bees in, 125

Adaptors, zinc, 44, 167

African bees, 120

After-swarms, 1

America, bee-show in, 92

American bee-publications,
257

Apiary, management of an,
2, 25, 26 ; visit to Mr.
Cowan's, 86, 87 : visit to
a city, 209 ; managing an,
242

April, 241

Arabis alpinus, 83

Armagh B.K.A., 9, 48, 88,
18a ; lecture at, 72

Artificial swarms, 3, 41 ;
directions for making, 242

Artificial pollen, 191, 194,219

Armenian bees, 23

Associations, and honorary
secretaries, 100, 161 ; for-
mation of, 171 •

August, 63

Austrian Society of Bea
Friends, 248

Baldwin, S. Ja report by, on
sale of honey, 222

Daltie Provinces Central
Association, 06

Ban i't'shire M o r t i c u 1 1 u r a 1

^fchow, bees at, 113

Bar-frame hive, its advant-
ages over the sleep, 107 ;
the coming standard, 250

Barley-sugar, 193

Barnstaple, bees at, 88

Bartrum, Kev. K., The. Stew-
art on Hire, 21

Bflh and West of England
Agricultural Show, 5, 9,
33, 70, 223, 245

Bee, instinct, division of la-
bour, and longevity of the,
15, 16

Bees, lectures on, 10, 18,
33, 49, 212, 236, 237;
utilising comb-chips, 15,
55 ; Armenian, 23 ; water
for, 29 ; savage, 35, 188,
189 ; folk-lore on, 36, 117,
235 ; poisoned by digitalis
purpurea, 37 ; Cyprian,
40, 48, 130, 140, 163, 164,
187 ; removing, 41 ; trans-
ferring, to clean hives, i"6, ;

removing from roof, ib.;
Syrian, 48, 52, 145 ; swarm
of, in the Strand, 49 ;
dying in sections at rear
of hive, 53 ; in an oil-can,
ib.; in buildings, 55 ; and
honey, early history of,
57 ; motto of, 58 ; ' charm-
ing,' 59 ; highly trained,
65 ; paralysis in, 65, 95 ;
condemned, 74, 97, 101 ;
Carniolan, 76, 158 ; re-
moving from a cottage
roof, 77 ; not swarming,
79; building across hive,/!).;
duration of their lives, 81,
107 ; cleaning comb chips,
83 ; in a barrel, 87 ; freaks
of, 95, 97 ; intoxication of,
95 ; prevention of crowd-
ing of, 104 ; moving to
sheltered situations, 106 ;
Ligurian, 107, 158 ; their
sense of colour, 114 ;
mental pleasure arising
from the study of, 116 ;
novel use for, 119, 120;
Holy Land, 121 ; deserting
their queen, 122 ; egg-
stealing by, 123 ; thrash-
ing, to death, 146 ; as re-
trievers of honey, 147 ;
moving in Egypt and
Greece, 158 ; Egyptian,
ib. ; and snow, 168 ; sting-
less, ib, ; exposed to a
storm, 191 ; birds, and
flowers, 208 ; cell of the,
209 ; purity of race in,
214 ; as a public nuisance,
ib. ; with four hours' sun-
shine, 215 ; in a tree, 238 ;
discouraging, ib. ; dying,
239 ; removing from a
blind window, ib. ; visit-
ing various flowers, 255

Bee - appliances, large de-
mands for, 25 ; improve-
ments in, 43

Bee-books, 100, 212

Bee census, 152, 234

Bee-culture, ignorance of
value of, in our rulers, 43 ;
at South Kensington, 219

Bee-disease, a new, 33, 34

Bee-flight, range of, 23

Bee-flora, 23, 83

Bee-garden pencils, 23

Bee-gloves, 14, 35, 54, 55,
58, 76, 85, 124, 255

Bee-hives, &c., permanent
collection of, at S.Kensing-
ton Museum, 199

Bee-houses and hives, 1 13,
195, 229, 232, 255; Mr.
liaynor's paper on, 20(1- I,
226

Bee-instinct, 21

Bee-keepers, census of, de-
sirable, 152, 234

Bee-keeping successful, 13.
14, 94 ; beginners in, 212 ;
advanced, 250

Bee-lore, 117

Bee-ova, sex of the, 233

Bee-quieting, 124

Bee-stings, 57, 115, 116, 211,
232; euies for, 47,51. 58,
74, 123,144, 145; form of,
232

Bee-tent and lectures, list of
articles for use in. 5, 29

Bee-tent engagements, 30,
31, 47. 225, 247

Bee-tents, profits of, 247

Bees-wax, amount used in
making foundation, 47

' Be ready,' 120

Beginner, queries of, 78 ;
autumn difficulties of, 99

Beginnings, small, 217

Belvoir gardens, visit to, 154

Berks and Bucks B.K.A.,71,
199, 205

Bertoli, Signor Giacomo, api-
cultural enterprise of, 10

Bingham smoker, 169

Birmingham show, bees and
hives at the, 48

Bishop's advice, ' Keep bees,'
57

Bligh, rev. and hon. H., prize
offered by, for the most
economic method of cot-
tage bee-keepers, 128, 157,
171, 180, 199, 200, 219 ;
rules for the competition,
225

Bligh competition, 243, 257

Blow, T., his expedition to
procure Cyprian and Sy-
rian bees, 140, 158 ; his
lecturing tour through
Wiltshire, 157-9 ; through
Norfolk, 181 ; in Cam-
bridge, ib.

Borage, 124

Boxes, conversion of, into
hives, 28, 29

Box-hives, driving from, 78

Brecknockshire B.K.A., 182

Breeding space, contraction
of, during honey harvest,
27, 28, 44

Breeding too early, 217

Brighton Health Congress,
bees at, 130, 157, 180, 223

British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion, 4, 29, 47, 70, 113,
131, 132, 171, 200, 221,
226, 215 ; and the author-
ship of Modern Dee-keep-
ing, 29; Prize Pund, 92

British bee-farmer'shive, 122

British Dairy Show, 140

British Dairy Farmers' As-
sociation, hives at, 223

ileitis]/ Bee Journal, adver-
tising the, 180 ; recognised
organ of the B.B.K.A., 223

Broad-shouldered frames, 30

Broken combs, bees among,
214

Brood in super, (iO ; casting
out, 100

Brown, .1., his apiary, 153

< laledonian Apiarian Society,
42, 71, 87, 142

Cambridgeshire B.K.A. 79,
140, 167, 181

Caruiolian bees, 76, 158

Cell of the bees, 209

Cement-covered hives, 166

Cessation of income, 218

Ceylon for bees, 56

Chaff-cushions, 105

' Charming ' bees, 59

Cheshire frames, 61

Cheshire, F. It., 29, 48, 49,
67, 113, 219

Cheshire, bee-keepingin, 124

Chimney, enticing bees from
a, 22

Chloroform, 45

Christian, Princess, 47

Chronological calendar, 195

Claviceps apium, 34

Clonmel, bee-show at, 50

Close-ended frames, 95, 233,
236, 237

Cockburn, A., 180, 236

Colorado, bee-keeping in, 21

Colour, sense of, in bees, 16*

Comb -foundation, 25, 27,
58, 124, 167, 169 ; for
swarms, 74 ; for skeps, 23

Comb honey v. extracted, 27

Combs, 41 ; in skeps dam-
aged, 64 ; straightening,
100 ; irregular, 168 ; and
foundations, 257

Combination hives, utilising
back portion of, 83 ; use
of the super with, 166

Combination principle, 22,
46, 59

Comet year, 47, 81

Condemned bees, 74, 97, 101 ;
and Ligurian queens, 97

Cook's Manual, 100

Copyable hive, 208, 251 ;
stand for, 237

Cork hives, 202, 232

Cork, bee association wanted
at, 147

Cornwall B.K.A., 130, 161.
204, 226

Cottage apiaries, the promo-
tion of, 142

Cottage bee-keeping, 128

Cottager, success of a, 185

Cottagers, cheap hives for.
28/29; helping, 62; plea
for, 116; definition of, 234

County bee-keepers' Associ-
ations, 47, 48, 151 ; Bev.
H. E. Peel's paper on,
132-40, 151 ; formation
of, 163, 200 ; organiza-
tion of, 185 ; anticipated
by ' an antieut bee-master,'
186 ; increase of, 221 ;
shows held by, 221, 222

Cowan, T.W. , his extractors,
69, 100, 101 ; his Bee-
keepers' Guide-book, 72,
100, 148, 150; means taken
by him for ascertaining
the adulteration of honey,
86 ; visit to his apiary at
Horsham, 86; his Winter-
ing Bees, 186 ; on bee-
houses. 229

Crates at S. Kensington, 69

Crooked combs, driving from,
78

Crown-board, 79 ; disadvant-
ages of, 166

6

INDEX TO VOLUME IX.

Croydon, bees at. 75

Cyprian bees, ill, 4*, 141),
163, 104, 187 ; American
opinions respecting, 130

Cyprus and Mount Lebanon
apiaries, 248

Dairy, poultry, and minor
Food Products Exhibition
at S. Kensington, 219

Dead, cleaning, or robbing ?
9(5

December, 151

Derby Agricultural Society,
Show at, 4

Derbyshire B. K. A., 1(52,
220, 846

Devon and Exeter B. K. A.,
181, 205

Devonshire, season in, 212

Digitalis purpurea, 37

Distance-tacks, 0, 15. 79

Disease or robbery '.' 56

Dividers, 140 ; the invention
of, 208

Division of labour among
bees, 10

Division boards, 105

Doeken leaf, a cure for bee-
stings, 55

Donhoff, Dr. on the proper-
ties of royal jelly, 184

Dorsetshire B. K. A., 72, 109,
110

Dorset, jottings from, 200;
season in, 213

Doubling, a new swarm, 00 ;
to save transferring, 191

Doudney, Bev. I). A., lecture
by, 236

Draught preventer, 117, 104,
215

Dming competition. 70

1 hiving bees, 97, 98, 99,
101

Drones, presence of neces-
sary for the increase of
stocks, 2 ; rearing for
matingpurposes.//<.; early,
13,22,23; number of, 00 ;
their presence at autumn
indicates loss of queen , 82 ;
how killed by workers, 1 16 ;
killing, 150

Drone-cells built on worker-
foundation, 189

Drying quilts, 17.3

Dryness within the hive ne-
cessary for safe wintering,
103

Dummy board with spring
side pieces, 09

Dummies, carpet strips to,
120

Dysentery, 173 ; and winter
management, 18-20, 39 ;
prevention of, 82

Dysenteric symptoms, 239

Dzierzon, Dr. on the im-
pregnation of a queen with
crippled wings, 20 ; on
open-ended frames, 215

Earwigs in hives, 125, 126

Economic bee-keeping, 248
' Egg-stealing by bees, 123

Egyptian bees, 158

Enoch, J., his microscopic
slides, 70

Entrances, 109 ; narrowing,
<0 82; sheltering, 212
5^ Essex B.K.A., 48, 111, 220
t — Evil, signs of, in hives, 172
OS

Excluder, round-holed, 53 ;
to prevent swarms, 120

Experiences, encouraging,
118; in 1881, 207

Extracted honey, price of,
79

Extracting, 100, 235

February, 193

Feeder, new tubular, 187 ;
speciality, 121

Feeding-bottle, 2

Feeding-stage and quilt com-
bined, 250

Feeding, quick, 14 ; late,

150, 169 ; stimulative,
218 ; spasmodic, ib. ;
spring, 250

Fertile workers. 93, 108, 191
Fertilisation of blossoms, 25
Fifeshire B. K. A. , 49
Fighting, prevention of, 119
First-class hive, how to make

a, 128, 129, 174, 195, 190
First-class observatory hive,

how to make, 155, 177, 244
Flat -bottomed founelatkm,

59, 03
Fleece-wool as packing, 120
Flour-cake, 104, 109, 193,

194, 213
Flowers and bees, 49
Folk-lore on bees, :;(;, 235
Food, sufficiency of, for win-
ter, 104

Forfar B. E.A., 112

Foul brood, 59

Foundation-comb, 1, 2,41;
value of, 00, 02 ; for skeps,
78 ; fixing, 177, in sec-
tions, 26, 179, 211; twist-
ing, 238

Frame -ends, propolization
of, 29 ; wide-shouldered,
0, 7, 15, 30, 37

Frame-hives, for Irish cot-
tagers, 54 ; stocking from
skeps, 215

Frames, across the hives, 8 ;
in lieu of sections, 22 ;
placing foundation in, 20 ;
twisted, 58 ; wide and
open-ended, 104 ; space
between and crown-board,
167 ; arrangement of, 1(59 ;
size of, 170 ; standard,

195, 203, 224, 227, 235;
and sections, 243

Giotto hive, 7, 118, 119, 195,
203 ; the improved, 197,
220, 251, 250, 257

Giotto principle, 147, 196, ''
215

(ilass jars, water-tight cover-
ing to, 70 ; for containing
honey, 219

Gloves, 35, 58

Glucose, 125, 1(58

Gloucestershire, 208

Godfrey, B. K., 152, 155

Gorse, 23

Government aid required,

151, 152

Grantham, honey-fair at, 88,

141
Great Yarmouth, bee-keep- ,

fng at, 254
Green honey, 108, 187, 188 ; |

and common laurel, 210
Griffin hive, 8:;, 91, 125, 148
Grocers' honey, Kit
Grubs, white, 2, 218

Guides, 41

Guildford, lecture at, 237

Hampshire, appeal to, 186

Harlow Dee Association, 9

Heat, retention of, 104, 105

Heather, removing bees to
the, 70

Henderson, G., appoiuted
librarian of the B.B.K.A.,
131, 171 ; report on library
by, 222

Herefordshire B.K.A., 205

Hertfordshire B. K. A., 32,
33, 89, 240

• Hissing ' for bees, 115

Hive, cheap, 11 ; the best,
118,148; a complete, 125 ;
wonders of the, 231

Hives, requirements for, 5,
202 ; swarms deserting
their, 01; over-heated, 77;
coverings for, 82 ; heat-
retaining, 104, 105 ; thin,
124 ; turning round, 126 ;
snow shutters for, 165 ;
judging by weight, 21s ;
and appliances, collection
of, at S. Kensington, 222

Hive-stands, 144

Hohwald, bee-keeping at, 7(5

Holy Land bees, 121

Honey, medicinal properties
of, 13, 130 ; separating
ripe from crude, 20, 27 ;
abundance of, 44; judging,
53 ; to be put in pleasing
form, 79 ; its uses in Eng-
land, ib. ; adulteration of,
86 ; of cottagers, market
for. 98 ; price of, 100 ;
profit from, 127 ; ripening,
150; as food and medicine,
130 ; royal appreciation
of, 199 ; analysis of, 186 ;
sale of, 184

Honey ants, 114

Honey extractor, 70

Honey extracting, 79, 99

Honey flavouring, 117

Honey harvest, 03, 232 ; in
Norfolk, 124

Honey jars, 150, 219

Honey market, 103, 187, 209

Honey-presser, 163, 187, 209

Hooker, Mr., his plan of ex-
tracting honey, 97

Horsham, the season in, 208

Humble bees, introduction
of, into New Zealand, 10,
34 ; domestication of, 19 ;
nest of, 111

Hungerford, bees at, 48

Hybrids, 121

Idiot boy and bees, 183

India, bee-keeping in, 165

Ingram, Mr., 154

Instinct of bees, 15

International Congress at
Milan, 72

Ireland, honey resources of,
41, 43, 44, 50, 148; re-
port of the visit of Messrs.
Abbott and Carr to, 50,
51 ; season in, 95, 127

Irish B. K. A., 8, 9, 28, 141,
198, 231, 237, 247, 253

Irish cottagers, hive for, 37,54

Irish hive, 6

Dish hone}', amount of, col-
lected at Waterford, 124

Italian bees, 234

January, 171

Jonas, H. J., collects hives
and bee-appliances for S.
Kensington, 222

July, 43

July swarm, value of, 58

June, 25

Kent, East, B.K.A., its amal-
gamation with the West
Kent, 159 ; secretaries'
duties in, 183

Larva, the, 231

Laurel, 190, 210

Law on bees, 189

Lectures on bee-keeping, 33,
49, 212, 236

Leicester, bee-keeping in, 57

Leicestershire B. K. A., 151,
154, 182, 205, 217

Letter-box, bees in a, 2

Library of B.B. K.A., 131,
157, 171, 180, 204, 222,
225

Ligurian bees, 107, 150 ; for
the Cape, 180 ; or hvbrids V
79

Ligurian queens, 12 ; in
autumn, 82

Ligurianizing,G2, 168 ; small
swarms for, 45

Limnanthes Douglasii, 40,
75, 83, 100

Lincolnshire Agricultural
Society and the L.B.K.A.,
103, 226

Lincolnshire B. K.A., 8, 31,
32, 80, 88, 100-9, 163, 187 ;
library of, 254

Lincolnshire, bee-keeping in ,
152

Lismore, bee-tent at, 49, 90

' Little Wonder,' 1(57, 235

Loaf sugar for bees, 168

Longevity of bees, 16

Louth, Lincolnshire B.K.A.
held at, 32, 87, 106-8, 162

Lubbock. Sir John, on bees'
sense of colour, 114, 168

Madagascar bees, 210

Maidenhead, Berks & Bucks
county show at, 91

March, 217

Maryborough bee show, 50

May, 1 ; weather in, ib.

Meiissolatry, 114

Mellipona, 158

Melometer, 20

Metal strips, 15

Mice, 12(5, 172, 173

Milan, national exhibition
at. 9

Modern Bec-lieepin<i, author-
ship of, 54, 00, 113 ; and
the skep, 230 ; third edi-
tion of, 157

Moving bees, 121

Munn, .Major, on queen-slay-
ing, 116

Mustard, 23

Neighbour, A., 10

Nellis hives, 7

New-idea frame, 168

Newtownards, bee-show at,
51, 141

New Zealand, climate of, 40 ;
bee-keeping in, 75; honey
of, 101 ; red clover in, 120 ;
Ligurians in, 165 ; flax,
41, 75, 95, 144, 165, 187

Norfolk and Norwich B.K.A. ,
15,130,101, 179, 180, 204

IV

IXDKX TO VOLUME IX.

North Hants, suggestions

from, 17
November, 127, 128 ; swarm

in, 167
Novice's frame corners, 2'j
Nuclei, 12, 27
Observatory hive, 145, 238 ;

how to make a first-class.

155, 177, 244
Oil-can, bees in an, 53
Old bees utilised, 64
Open andclose-endcd frames,

148

Oswestry, bee-keeping at, 210

Ottery St. Mary's, bee show
at,' 92

Out-door apiary, an, 230

Overstocking, 56

Packing crate for honev jars,
85

Packing, new, for bees, 52

Paralysis in bees, 65

Parson, H., his smoker, 233 ;
lecture by, 236

Parsonstown, bee-show at, 51

Paterson's horizontal octa-
gon hive, 12

Patterns for cottagers, 116

Pea-meal, 12, 18

Peel, Eev. H. E. on County
Bee-keepers' Associations,
132-40; discussion on bis
paper, 184 ; change of
residence, 245

Perforated excluder zinc, 20'.)

Pipe-cover cage, 126

Planiain, broad -leaved, a
cure for stings, 47, 123

Plants producing an intoxi-
cating effect on bees, 96

Plymouth, bees at, 207

Poland, bee-keeping in, 213

Pollen, gathering, 16 ; its
qualities, 58

Poppies and bees, 210

Position, an uncomfortable,
20

Prize Fund, 8, 30, 225 ; sche-
dule, 18

Prolific bees, 213

Propolis, 213

Puff-ball, 45

Queen, test of tbe presence
of, 1 ; removal of, 2 ; born
with crippled wings, im-
pregnation of, 20 ; caging
the, ill ; laying several
eggs in cells, 100; finding
tlie. by iimntrsing bees,
101 ; tinging, Is::. 212

Queens, two. in one tme. 1:;,
30, 5.-,, 1 IK ; small, 2] :
preserving spare, 27, 215;
how lost, 44, 120; ceasing
to lav, 82 ; multiplicity of,
96; loss of, 99; Ira; s-
mission of, by post, 113 ;
erratic, 123; throwing mil.
169; drone- laying, ib.;
combats of, 183

Queen-bee jelly, 183, is I

Queen-cage, 2

Queen-ci lis. 16 ; raising, 2.
3; transferring, 3 ; insert-
ing, ib.

Queen insei tion under diffi-
culties, 7:;

Queen-raising in nuclei, 12

Queen wasps, 35, 173

Queenless stocks. 64, 77
Quieting bi es, 36

Quilt v. crown-board, 166
Quinby's Neto Bee-keeping, 23

Raynor, Piev. G., on bee-
houses and hives, 200-4.
226; on a standard frame,
203, 221. 221,
Reading B. B. K. A., the
Agricultural Show- at, 180
Remembrancer, touching, ."is
Removing bees, 215
Renfrewshire, prospects in. 97
Report, a pleasant, 150
Rescued bees, treatment of,

98
Returning swarms, 1, 2
Ripening extracted honey, 69
Robber preventer, 64, 65. 85
Root, Mr. on house-apiaries,

195, 202. 227, 229
Royal Agricultural Society,
increased grant from, 223
Ruspington, Bee-show at, 91
Safety hive wanted, 188
Salicylic acid, 83
Salisbury, bee-keeping at,

12.",
Salop B.K.A., 71
Sand-martins, 215
Sehmid, Herr, death of, 29
Scotland, weather in, 43, 97,
127; honev harvest in, 147
Season, the mild, 172, 208
Sections, getting bees into.
44 ; not covering frames,
44 ; in rear, or at side of
hive, 46 ; mounting, 60 ;
fixing foundation in, 179 :
in rear or top of hive ? 252
Section dividers, 149, 191
Septagonal house. 230
September, 81

Shows and bee-tent engage-
ments, 8, 46, 72, 92, 247
Silver medals, award of, 4
Sisson, Rev. .1. L,, 49, 107
Skeps, foundation for, 78 ;
retaining heat in, 105 ;
covering for, 166, 238 ;
coated with cement. 25 I
Sleaford, visit to, 152
Slindou Horticultural So-
ciety, bees at, 111
Smell, sense of, in bees. Ills
Snow shutters for hives, 165
Somerset, prospi ets in. 206 ;

a word for, 2 18
Somersetshire, a secretary

wanted for, 162
Somerton, bees at, 112
South Kensington, collect :on
of hives, &c, tit, 4 ; show,
judges for, 29 ; B.B.K.A.
show at, 66, 67 ; list of
awards at, 67 ; judges'
I, port at. Ii8, 69
Sparrows ami bees, 1 is, 167.

231
Sphagnum, a packing for

bees, "'-
Spiteful neighbours', 168
Spring dwindling. 22. Ill
Spring feeding, 17::
Stand, swarms In lie placed

at once on, 62
Standard frame, 195. 203,

221, 227, 2:;:,. 213, 246
Starvation, loi ses from, 17
Stewart, John, on the rela-
tion of tiers to Bowers, 19
Stewarton hive, tbe, 16, 37-
39, 2(13, 227. 228, 251 :

system. 45, 46 ; skeps on.
100

Stimulative feeding, 81, 194

Stinging, prevention of, 35

Stingless bees, 168

Sting poison, 1 15

Stirling, bee-keeping at, 33

Stock, history of a, 127

Stocks, multiplication of, 2

Storifying, 77

Sugar, consumption of, 126 ;
dry, for bees, 12

Sugar cake. 169, 170, 193

Suggestions, 83

Summer, preparing for, 194

Sundays, bees swarming on,
and bell-ringing. 190, 209

Supers, time for putting on,
2 ; removing. 61. 99 : in
Combination hives, 167 ;
forcing bees into, 191:
guides for, 238

Supering. 77, 242

Surrey B.K.A.,92, 110, 201

Sussex B. K. A., 161, 205.
246 ; season in, 212

Swallows and bees. 119

Swarm, taking a, 76 ; a late.
how dealt with, 151 ; of
bees, 212

Swarms, treatment of, 1 ;
returning, 1,2 ; production
of, for sale, 2 ; second, 4 ;
plan for delaying, 11, 12 ;
experience with, 25. 26 :
early, 40 ; packing for
transit, 44,242; small, for
Bigurianizing, 45; preven-
tion of, when hives are
Bupered, ib. ; killing off
bees, 60 ; hiving, 211 ;
comb foundation for, 74 ;
getting ready for. ib. ;
supering, ib.

Swarm box, wintering in
thin, 95

Swarming, freaks of. 61 ;
prevention of, 191. 238 :
signs of, 99 ; v. non-
swarming, 249 ; control-
ling, 256

Syrian lues. Is ; their pro-
lificness, 52. 152 : their
peculiarities. 52

Syrup, amount to be given,
97; crystallising, 125 ; do
bees change nature of, 150

Tapered frames, 229. 230 ;
the inventor of, Sip 1

Thorpe. R., bis apiary, 153

Tierce, tale of a, 190

Tin dividers, 164

Tislmrv, bees at, 124

Tomtits, 119, 173

Torquay, show at, 91

Transferring, 60

Trigona, 158

Tunbridge Wolfs show. 29.
33, 47, 70

Tussilago fragrans, 183

Two or more stocks as one,
170

Tyrone, B.K.A. for, 182

Ulverstone, season at, 145

Knifing bees, 60, 99, 119,
214

I niting swarms, a sad mis-
take, 96 ; method of, ib.

Unneighbourly conduct, 146

i Dsealed honey, bow util-
ised, 170

["solid hints, si. 242

Van Deusen hives, 7 ; wide-
ended frames of, :;n

Ventilation of hives, 77 ; up-
ward, 106

Vice-regal honey, 10

Vinega i a cure lor bee-stings,
74, 123. 144

Vosges, bee-hives in the, 36

Wales, Bee-tent wanted in,
93

Walker. (... lecture by, 10

Wantage, bees at. 92

Warm and cold wintering,
253

Warwickshire Association,
49, 65, 109, 216

Wasps, 59 : bow to destroy,
64 ; natural history of, 35;
nests. 82, 120, I'-'.",

Water for bees, 29. 191

Waterford, honey resources
of its neighbourhood, 43

Waterproof roof, 82

Wax-extracting, 97

Wax-foundations, 236

Wax-moth, 41, lot)

Wax - scales on alighting-
board, 101

Weather in 1881,64,81, 193

West Cumberland, season in,
93

West of England B.K.A., 71

West Kent B. K. A.. 71

West Linton, season in, 213

White bees. 218

White, Messrs.. their state-
ment as to the honey yield
of Waterford, 149

White sage from California,
144

Wide and open-ended
frames, 36, 37. 164

Wildman, 58, is:;

Willow palm healing. SH

Wilts B. I-:. A., Ill, 111.
157, 159 ; a word from,
21 Hi

Wiltshire cottager, encourag-
ing report from a. 166

Winter breeding, 22

Winter draught preventer,
Simmonds', 148, 141

Winter feeding, 169 ; pack-
ing. 7, 176 ; preparation,
si ; passages, 106 ; quilt-
ing, 121 ; searching, 172

\\ interingbees,21, 108, 106,
150; in a lialf-iia b wai m
box, 73 ; with an ante
chamber, 232

Woodbury, T.,spai e between
frames and crown-board
in bis hives. 16(1

Woodlmry-frame.sizcol'.2! 1

Wooden-basi dcombdum&rj ,
30; foundation, 25. 1 1.6:'.,

llll. 215

Worker-bees in queen-cells,

73. 96

Wrington and Burrington

I'.iv BhOW . 19

Yarmouth Flower-show, bees

at, 112
Yates, Mr., bis bee-stations

in Lincolnshire, 15 1
\ orkshire, v ml: i in_ m, 1 i

summering, 9 !
Young swarms, driving, 79
Zinc slides and distance pins,

256

THE

tt Jflttptl,

§j @> « :

[No. 97. Vol. IX.]

.MAY. 1881.

[Published Monthly.]

OEtntnriai, Hotucs, fa.

MAY.

To-day we commence our ninth year of public
service with this Journal; and in thanking- our
patrons and friends for their many kindnesses

in the past, we trust the straightforward course
which the Journal has hitherto pursued in the
interest of bee-culture generally will secure for
it their continued confidence and favour. Press
of matter prevents our wandering from the
business lines that have the strongest claims to
attention, but we cannot open a new- volume
without alluding to the vast improvements that
have taken place in bee-keeping since the
Journal came into existence, and expressing a
hope that our subscribers, in recognition of its
helpfulness, will give it their hearty support
and recommendation.

To our contributors we tender our most grate-
ful thanks, for by their help, cheerfully, and
(without exception) voluntarily, given, the bee-
keeping world has been kept informed on all
the topics which, through individual exertion,
have so greatly advanced the science of bee-
culture, and enable it to assume a position
amongst the industries of Great Britain and
Ireland that its most sanguine promoters scarcely
dreamed of ten vears aeo.

For ourselves, we promise to do our best to
deserve what it is not in mortal to command —
Sua ess !

The prolonged coldness of the weather, con-
's' quent on the prevalence of easterly winds
during the past month, has sadly retarded the
progress of our favourites, for, excepting occa-
sionally, they have scarcely visited the fruit-
bh :8obm with which Nature has so bountifully
■ and beautifully embellished the earth, and

a great argument in favour of bee-

many of the fruits which she has so lavishly
'brought to the birth' will not be 'brougb.1
forth ' through the impossibility of apistical in-
fluence,
keeping.

So much will be found in other columns in
respect of hives and bee-matters generally that
we have only spaa for a few cautionary

I'ks.

M a\ WeatUEU. — Though Mavis described
as the merry month in which bees from flower
to flower do hum, it will be well to remember
that, owing to some occult influence, there is
usually a eold spasm, lasting about a fortnight,
about the middle of it, when snow, hail, sleet,
and cold rains are probable; and should this
occur, it maybe necessary to feed stocks, and
will be unwise not to feed swarms should any
appear.

Swarms. — The weather will probably make
swarming late this year, but if they be sup-
plied with sheets of foundation when hived, and
have not too much room in their brood-nest,
they will be enabled (weather permitting I to
store honey in supers or sections in rear or at
the side of the nest in a week or ten days from
hiving.

After-SWARMS. — These consisting almost
wholly of young bees, i. c, those unable to take
wing when the first swarm left the hive, will
make capital stocks if treated as suggested with
swarms in respect of comb- foundation, and
where increase of stocks is a consideration the
practice is desirable.

There will, of course, be the natural risk at-
tending the wedding flight of the queen, and
her fertilisation should be carefully watched
for. Those who do not care to disturb swarms
in their early days may test the presence of the
queen by putting a sealed queen-cell into the
top of her hive, which cell will be destroyed in
a few hours if she be present.

Eetlhmng Sw \ums. — Swarms and casts are
sometimes not wanted, their presence being
more desirable in their home hive as honey-
gatherers. When it is intended to return them,
hive them in a skip or pail until evening, then

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

take them back to their home and throw them
on to the alighting-board. If the swarm be
large it may be necessary to increase the width
of the board temporarily, and raise the hive an
inch or so in front.

Putting on Supers. — These may be put on
when there is an abundance of bees, plenty of
honey in the fields and gardens, and fine weather
to enable the bees to collect it. Bees will often
store in sections on their own ground-floor, when
they will not enter supers ; hence it will be ad-
visable to give them the opportunity, though
the sixers be afterwards placed on the top, as
some recommend.

White Grubs on Alighting Board indicate
a serious check in the incoming of honey, and
liberal feeding should instantly be resorted to.

MANAGING AN APIARY.— SWARMING
AND INCREASE OF STOCKS.

Having shown the way to the honey-harvest,
and how to get it to the hives, we now turn
our attention to another profitable branch of
apiculture, viz:, the production of swarms for
sale, or for the purpose of increasing the apiary.
We do not forget that we left a number of
queens unemployed in our last number, or that
we have promised to tell how to ripen extracted
honey ; but all will appear in due time, all
being well.

Our problem now is the multiplication of
stocks, by swarming or division, and we are
supposed to have ten fairly good ones in elastic
frame-hives, and we are to do our best from
May to October. We have already shown in
the February Journal the way to stimulate
bees to cause them to increase the populations
in their hives, and we have now to show how
they may be divided and subdivided to form
separate colonies, and how to insure their estab-
lishment with laying queens at their head.

Leaving out all question of the superiority
of any particular breed of bees, and devoting
attention to the principles of increase only, we
would suggest, in the first instance, that without
the presence of drones in or around the apiary,
the chances of success will be very greatly
diminished. We therefore advise that no attempt
to form artificial swarms, or to cause queens to
be raised, be made until drones are on the
wing, or sealed drone-brood in such forward
condition as to warrant their presence in
the air when the young queens come to ma-
turity, and take their wedding flight. Exami-
nation at intervals of a few days will show
which arc the most forward stocks ; and
bearing in mind the object in view, it will be
well to insert an empty comb containing drone-
cells into the centre of a strong hive; and to

cause the queen and bees to believe in a good
honey-yield, and raise drones accordingly, we
would increase the supply of food to that par-
ticular stock, and if it be kept up regularly,
drone-brood will be raised as a matter of course.
These being in one of the strongest stocks, will
be ' desirable ' as being the sons of one of the
best queens in the apiary ; and being early in
the season, will be in the character of drones
'selected' for mating purposes.

When it is known that drones will be on the
Aving within a week or ten days, another of the
strongest stocks should be determined on with
a view to the production of queens, for it will
be better that they should not be, as is too
commonly the case, raised in the same hive as
the drones, as the wedding of relations does not
tend to Increase of strength in the offspring.

There are many ways in which increase of
stocks may be proceeded with, but, in the
present instance, a set plan should be deter-
mined on and adhered to. The first necessity
is the removal of the queen from the approved
stock, that queen-cells may be started; having
done which, about mid-day, she should be put
into a box* with a hundred attendants, and the
hive should be closed as if nothing had hap-
pened, this hive being considered No. 1. A
new hive should then be provided, and four or
five of the frames, fitted with sheets of founda-
tion, as described on page 230, should be en-
closed by a division
as a snug receptacle
for an early swarm,
which may not be
of Aery large pro-
portions. The hive
No. 1 should then
be carried to a new stand, and the new hive
(which will be No. 11) .should be put in its
place with a feeding-bottle, containing a supply
of syrup upon it that the incoming bees may
not 'want. The flying bees from No. 1 will
then begin to pour into it, and when a fair
number have alighted, the queen should be
placed at the entrance, and allowed to crawl
into the hive, when, recognising their
circumstances, the bees will speedily

iltered

* We prefer to advise a box, which
paper or card, because amateurs
are likely to take move time over
the proceedings than would an
expert; and with a hundred bees

the queen would lie safe for Bfl

tour or more. Otherwise :i queen-
cage to be let down through the
opening in the quill, and half-a-
dozen bees, would be sufficient,
and the feeding-bottle could lie
set above it. the queen being
presently released in the usual
way.

need only lie of

■•■• ■■•<
■■■■ ■■■■ i
■■■*■■■■> i
■■■■■■■■i *
•■•■■■•■.
■■■■■■■•<

■■i i

iiiiiiiiiii

■ ■■mm

■ mini

May 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

themselves as a swarm,* and set to work ac-
cordingly.

The bees of Xo. 1 will thus speedily be re-
duced in numbers, and it will be well to con-
tract the entrance of the hive for a day or two;
but all the young bees will be at home, and as
their numbers will rapidly increase, there will
be no danger ,-f except from sudden cold.

The stock (Xo. 1) will now soon begin to
raise queen-cells, more particularly if well sup-
plied with food,} from which young queens
may hatch in from nine to sixteen days after
the swarm was formed. At the end of seven
days, however, it will be well to examine the
stock (Xo. 1) to ascertain the progress made,
and the number of queen -cells raised and in
course of formation, which may be one or
only, or there may be from 30 to 50.
there be less than ten, the
least number required, sepa-
rable and available, § it will
be necessary to treat a
second stock in the way
that Xo. 1 has been dealt
with, that sufficient queen-
cells may be obtained for
the whole. "We will, how-
ever, suppose, as is quite rea-
sonable, that Xo. 1 will have
produced the desired num-
ber, and that on the seventh
day a certain proportion, say 3, 4, or 5 of them,
will be found sealed, or, as they are often termed,
'ripe,' though actual ripeness can only be reached
at hatchin g- point. Having then, say, four

* Some writers would advise that combs of brood and
pollen be given from other hives to swell the numbers
of the swarm, but we prefer not to do so. The flying
bees of a strong hive are sufficient for a natural swarm,
and we shall presently require all the strength of the
other colonies in their turn. Foundation-combs and food
are greatly helpful to the bees, and ensure clean, new,
straight combs in their hive, and the chance of im-
porting disease into it, as too often happens when combs
of brood are taken from various sources, is avoided.
This plan also dispenses with the necessity for opening a
number of colonies with the consequent risk of robbing.

t It should be quite understood that this kind of
operation can only be safely performed in warm weather
— to attempt it in cold or wet would be to court failure.
Should an unexpectedly cold night follow the swarm-
making operation, the hives should be carefully covered
up and protected.

X Stocks from which swarms are artificially made
having no queen-cells, and their own numbers being
reduced, do not always commence to raise queens im-
mediately, but having eggs in the hive which have been
newly deposited, a day or two's delay need give no
uneasiness, as queen-cells can be safely begun on larvae
five to six days after the mother-queen's removal, during
which time the hive's population will have increased
immensely.

§ Queen-cells are often built in clusters that cannot be
separated without destroying some of them, and some-
times immediately on opposite sides of the same comb,
■«hen, as a rule, they are equahy inseparable.

queen-cells sealed, and fit for removal, i.e., com-
plete, and not likely to be injured by the bees,
to whom they are to be given, we woidd, on the
eighth day, make artificial swarms from the four
next best stocks in the apiary, after the manner
described* in the foregoing, and on the ninth
day would give each of the four one of the
' ripe ' queen-cells.

Transferring Queen-Cells is very simply
performed, and it matters little how it is done,
so that the cells be not damaged in removal, f
The chief danger is in the bees not being pre-
pared to accept the cells when given to them,
which may arise from their not having had
time to recognise their queenless condition, or
through old age and long queenlessness having
rendered them callous and, in a sense, un-
civilised. Twenty-four hours, the time above
contemplated, is usually sufficient to bring the
bees to a reasonable if not a reasoning con-
dition ; and as a rule they will gladly accept a
queen-cell from any other hive. In cutting
them out we simply pass a sharp pen-knife
blade round them to separate them from the
comb, being careful not to injure the cells or
jar their contents. We then carry them to the
hive they are to be given to, and stick the cell
between two of the combs, point downwards.
There is no occasion for fussing over this
operation if the hive is full of bees. The cell
may be laid upon the bars and covered with a
glass, that the coming forth of the queen may
be observed; or if but sparsely supplied, the
cell may be ' stapled ' to a central comb with a
hairpin — all that is necessary being that the
cell shall be kept at the natural heat and
moisture, and that its end be free that the
queen may gnaw her way out without hind-
rance.

After inserting the queen-cells, it will be

i well in a day or two to examine them, and

if any be destroyed* to replace them from

* The stock containing the desirable drones may be
one of these, if the operation be performed during the
afternoon, after the drones have taken their Might for the
day, and are all at home. The later exodus of the bees
from the hive to form the swarm on the old stand, will
probably lower its temperature sufficiently to induce
them (the drones) to stay within doors for a day or two,
during which time many others will have hatched ; but
under ordinary circumstances the drones of such hive,
though they joined the swarm, would find themselves
' not wanted,' and would return, or enter another queen-
less hive.

+ Iu performing this operation the cutting-out process
was thought to be so seriously damaging to the combs
from which the queen-cells were taken, that minute
directions were usually given to cut out the cell on a tri-
angular piece of comb, and then to cut a piece of similar
size and shape from the comb to which it was to be
transferred ; when, by interchanging the pieces cut, both
holes would be filled up, and the comb's entirety preserved.

X Destroyed queen-cells will be found torn at the side ;
those from which queens have naturally hatched-out will
have the opening at the end of them, at a.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

the hire No. 1, in which they will be most
advanced.

During all the time between the second series
of swarm-making and the hatching- out of the
queen-cells, queen-raising will probably be
ffoing on in each of the stock hives from which
swarms have been taken ; but the queen-cells
from No. I being in advance of the others
will hatch first and the young queens take
precedence.*

Hives Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 having been
dealt with thus far, the remaining five should
be similarly treated, as queen-cells mature in
No. 1 ; and it may reasonably be supposed that
by the end of twelve days from its first deprival,
all the others that are ' fit ' will have been
'swarmed,' and furnished with queen-cells. t

Second Swarms. — It is perfectly natural for
hives that have swarmed to send forth 'casts,' or
' after-swarms ' in about nine days, and it will,
therefore, only be reasonable to expect the old
stock, No. 1, to be fit for division at the end
of twelve, and that each of the others will be
in similar condition in due order of time. We
would, therefore, divide No. 1 into two, by
putting three of the frames of brood without
bees, but with one queen-cell at least, and two
frames of foundation alternately with them in
a new hive and placing it upon the stand occu-
pied by No. 1, which should be removed to
another position in the garden, J when the new
hive will be at once taken possession of by the
returning bees, and being all young ones, their
welfare, with ordinary care, will be assured.
Shoidd there be an excess of queen-cells in
No. 1 after the twelfth day, and there remain
any of the original ten hives undivided that are
capable of division, the work should be pro-
ceeded with at once, or should either Nos. 2, 3,
4, or 5, be sufficiently strong they might be
divided as advised, and all the queen-cells
utilised.

In the meantime the swarms already made,
being located in a limited number of frames of
foundation, will require attention. In ordinary
weather and with a fair supply of food (from
the fields, or otherwise if necessary) they should

* Hive No. 1 is in the character of a selected hive, to
he dealt with as if it contained a special breed of Libra-
rian, Cyprian, or other highly-valued bees. The advan-
tage of utilising all its queen-cells preferentially will thus
be apparent, apart from the time saved by their being in
an advanced condition.

t It is possible that one or two of the stocks may not
he sufficiently strong for the purpose, but that contin-
gency must always be counted on, and does not affect the
mode of proceeding. They must lie dealt with later.

X Many would advise that No. 1 should he divided
into as many nuclei as there may he available queen-cells
in it, and to strengthen them with combs of brood from
other hives, but experience has taught us to avoid as
much as possible the mixing up of combs from different
hives and the consequent rUk of ipreading di ■

fill the frames with comb within a week, and
be ready for additions to their number, which
may be added one by one in the centre of the
brobd-nest, so long as the bees are able to cover,
i. c. fill all the spaces between them. After
the queens have hatched, their hives should be
examined at intervals of a few days, until the
presence of eggs gives evidence that they have
become fertile, and at each examination a frame
of comb foundation should be given to the
divided stocks so long as they are capable of
building it into combs. We sincerely advise
the free use of foundation when great profit is
desired — one pound of it costs 2s. 6f/., but if not
supplied it will take 20 lbs. of honey or syrup
to make it, and the cost will not include the
labour of the bees and the time occupied in
collecting or converting the food into wax.

In our next we hope to pursue this subject,
refraining from descriptions of elaborate pro-
cesses that might frighten the amateur, and
hoping to make the way so simple and plain
that an ordinary bee-keeper need not fail if he
will only give it intelligent care and attention.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Quarterly Meeting of the Committee held at 440
Strand on Wednesday, April (1. Present, Mr. T. W.
Cowan (in the chair), Rev. E. Bartrum, Rev. G. Raynor,
Dr. Lionel S. Bsale, F. Cheshire, J. M. Hooker, E. S.
Whealler, II. Jonas. There were also present Mr. Jesse
Garratt and Mr. G. Allen, representatives of the West
Kent Association.

The minutes of the last Committee Meeting were read,
confirmed, and signed. Letters were read (4) from the
Science and Art Department at South Kensington, stating
that goods had been received from Messrs. Neighbour
and Son towards the foundation of the collection of
hives, &c, at the South Kensington Museum; (2) from
the Rev. <i. Proctor and Br. Joseph, acknowledging the
receipt of the silver medals awarded to them by the
Committee in recognition of their valuable aid to the
deputation sent to Ireland last year.

Mr. Whealler tendered his resignation as a member of
the Committee, being about to leave England for China.
A vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Whealler for his
services as a member of the Committee. Upon reference
to the register of votes recorded for each candidate at
the late election of the Committee, it was found that the
Rev. F. T. Scott and Mr. D. Stewart were next in order,
Mr. Scott having polled the largest number of votes.
It was the unanimous opinion of the meeting that -Mr.
Stewart (having been a member of the Committee in
former years, and most assiduous in his duties as such)
should he elected. Mr. Stewart was therefore duly
elected to till the vacant seat.

A letter was lead from the Honorary Secretary of the
Caledonian Apiarian Society, soliciting the grant of the
Silver Medal of the Association to lie offered as a prize
for 'Cyprian Bees' at their forthcoming Show to be
held at Stirling. The Rev. E. Bart nnn moved, and .Mr.
Cheshire seconded, 'That a silver medal be granted for
the Stirling Show in accordance with the application.'
(( larried unanimously. )

It was resolved, 'That Mr. Baldwin, the expert, and
the Assistant Secretary, should represent the Association
at the Derby Show on .Inly IS and following days.'

The Re\ . G I';" dot nee,-, d a i I M r 1 1 ok r con led,

May 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

&

' That the Chairman and Mr. Cheshire arrange a list of
articles suitable for use in the Bee Tent and at lectures,
and submit an estimate of the cost of the same at the
next Committee meeting.'

A number of books were presented to the Library by
Mr. "Whealler ; and on the motion of the Chairman,
seconded by the Rev. E. Bartrum, a unanimous vote of
thanks was accorded to Mr. Whealler for his valuable

gift-
Mr. Garratt reported that he had reasons to believe

that favourable arrangements ■would be made for an

exhibition of Bees, Hives, and Honey, in connexion

with the Bath and "West of England Agricultural Show

at Tunbridge Wells. Resolved, 'That a silver and

bronze medal and certificate be placed at the disposal

of the Committee of the "West Kent Association, to be

offered as prizes at the Tunbridge "Wells Show.'

Quarterly Conversazione held at 440 Strand on Wed-
nesday, April iith. 1881. Present, Rev. G. Raynor,
Rev. E. Bartrum, II. Jonas, R. A. Boissier, J. M. Hooker,
T. W. Cowan, E. S. Whealler, G. Allen, F. Cheshire,
G. 1). Clapham, G. Henderson, F. Lyon, P. E. Martin,
&c., &C. The Rev. E. Bartrum was voted to the chair.
The Chairman, in introducing Mr. C. N. Abbott to the
meeting, stated that he had ' no doubt but that the
paper about to be read by their friend, Mr. Abbott,
would be one of the most instructive and entertaining
that had been brought before the members.'

Mr. Abbott then proceeded to read his paper on 'The
Hive for the Advancing Bee-keeper.'

The subject of inquiry this evening is one about which
so much has already appeared in the Bee Journal under
my hand, that were it not for its well-nigh inexhaustible
nature, I could scarcely find a reason for your presence
here to listen to me ; for I fear you must be already weary
of the repetition — the line upon line, and precept upon
precept — which it is my ill fortune to feel compelled to
impose upon the readers of that periodical. Fully aware
of the peculiarity of the position I occupy, as Editor of
the Journal on the one hand, and as the representative of
a firm of bee-hive manufacturers on the other, I beg of
you to permit me, by way of apology, to explain that I
have not voluntarily sought to thrust myself upon you,
nor did I select the topic on which I am about to inflict
upon you the opinions which long experience, and cor-
respondence, and personal communion with the best
authorities on the subject, have forced upon me. That
I am here is due. to our esteemed Honorary Secretary,
the Rev. Mr. Peel, whose absence through continued ill-
ness we all deplore ; he made the request , gave me the
subject, and named the day : and in gratitude to you all
for the kind encouragement your presence affords ma, I
will endeavour to say the little I have to say in as few
words as my limited ability will permit.

In investigating the subject on hand, the first question
to be determined is, ' What is a bee-hive ? ' and I think
the universal reply will be,, 'It is a vessel intended for
the habitation of bees,' to which I may add, that so far
as the bees themselves are concerned, its shape. and size
are matters of indifference, provided it be large enough
to contain them.*

The purpose for which bees were designed, so far as
human sagacity can penetrate, is the fructification of
flowers and blossoms, a subject which has already been
ably dealt with before you, the storage and accumula-
tion of food being incidental and a consequence of the
instinctive impulse, which is largely shared by many

* The experience of ages confirms this, bees having been
known to fulfil all the purposes of their existence and to ac-
cumulate vast stores of honey, in rocky crevices, trees,
castles, house-roofs, and church-towers ; that they sometimes
take possession of places untenable from outside influences
does not, I think, affect the argument.

animals, to provide for ' a rainy day.'* The bees'
instinctive wisdom in accumulating the means of con-
tinued existence caused them to become the prey of man
and led to their domestication, and we are all aware of
1 1 1 1 • cruel method of spoliation to which for centuries they
have been subjected, and which prevailed until of late
even in this Christian country, when their honey was
desired. The domestication "of bees necessitated the
manufacture of vessels to contain them, and for thou-
sands of years their cultivation in hives, as a source of
profit, has been the subject of earnest study and inves-
tigation. The shortness of the time at our disposal this
evening precludes even an attempt to trace the improve-
ments that have taken place from time to time in the
construction of bee domiciles. But of late years the hive,
as an aid to profitable bee culture, has engrossed much
attention, and, stimulated by the action of the numerous
associations that have been formed for the promotion of
bee-keeping, the public have become deeply interested in
the production of the best hive for use by advancing and
advanced bee-keepers ; t and this brings us to the subject
for immediate consideration. In my humble opinion the
best hive for the advancing and advanced bee-keeper is
that which affords the best facilities for performing the
various operations that are known to tend to increase the
profit arising from the cultivation of the bees, with the
minimum of interference with their natural condition
and habits.

1. The brood-combs should be moveable and inter-
changeable; 2. The brood-chamber should be capable of
expansion, contraction, and subdivision ; 3. The hive
should be capable of easy investigation in all its parts ;
4. Every part of it should be arranged with a view to
the prevention of useless labour by the bees ; Ft. It should
afford no harbour for vermin ; G. It should afford facili-
ties for the storage and removal of surplus honey, in the
comb, and by the extractor, at all times ; 7. It should
afford readv means for feeding the bees at all times,
without inciting to robbing from other hives; 8. In it the
bees should be capable of protection from violent heat
and cold, and from wind, rain, and snow ; 0. It should
be capable of easy ventilation, for the prevention of
dampness within ; and, 10. It should be inexpensive, and
easy to make.

I have laid it down as a law to myself, that the
groundwork of success in hive-building must be based
on a due regard to the natural habits and instincts of the
bees themselves. Let them have their way in every
thing as far as it is possible to do so consistently, remem-
bering that they are under cultivation. It is known that
in spring bees have an instinctive desire to increase their
population. The circumstances under which that increase
proceeds most rapidly are also known, and as on its de-
velopment depends the first source of profit to the bee-
keeper, the hive should enable him to assist the bees
to that desirable end. ' What ! ' says the ' let-alone '
bee-keeper, ' assist Nature ? Rather let Nature alone, and
learn of her, for Nature is perfect ! ' To which, in a
measure, I heartily assent. Nature is perfect, and the
study of her laws affords the highest delight; but she
teaches that we cannot gather grapes of thorns, nor figs
of thistles, and we have Divine authority for cutting
away branches that produce no fruit, and _ pruning the
fruitful that they may bring forth more fruit.

But to return. In aiding the bees is exhibited the
necessity for mobility of combs in a hive — for the economi-
sation of heat, an essential element in brood-raising, the

* As is well known, rats, mice, squirrels, dogs, and others
will secrete the superabundance of food given to them, and
with bees the propensity is a passion wisely ordained that
they may live through a season (like 1879) when adverse
weather renders the ingathering of supplies impossible.

f As a matter of fact, advanced bee-keepers can keep bees
profitably in any kind of hive — improved hives are chiefly
helpful through the facilities they afford for manipulation.

6

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

comb space or brood nest should be contracted. Presently it
may be necessary to give increased comb space to accommo-
date the larger population, and then facility for expansion
is demanded. It may presently be desirable to see if
swarming is likely to occur, hence the necessity for easy
investigation of every part of the hive. While the bees
are doing profitable work, all is well ; but if they have
to take precautions to prevent robbing, and the access
of enemies, by glueing all ill - fitting joints, by the
abundant use of propolis, such labour is wasteful, and
shows faultiness of construction in the hive.

As time goes on it may be immediately profitable to
make a swarm — mobility of combs, capability of con-
traction, and easiness of investigation, are then all essen-
tial. It may be deemed desirable to raise queens for
profit, the hive then should be capable of subdivision
into nuclei. It may be thought more profitable to devote
the bees to honey-gathering, hence facilities for storing it
should be afforded ; the vessels to contain it being easily
applied and easy of removal. When honey has been
removed, and at various other times, the hive should
afford facilities for feeding the bees in such a way that
stranger bees may not feel invited to the feast, and robbery
ensue.

As winter approaches it may be necessary to unite the
bees of several stocks, involving the necessity for mobility
of combs and expansion and contraction of the brood
nest. During winter, the necessity for compactness and
warmth cannot be too much insisted on. By warmth, I
do not mean the application of artificial heat, but that
the hive shoidd be capable of arrangement so that the
heat generated by the bees shall be retained or conserved
to the fullest possible extent ; while it should afford the
best facilities for ventilation. — (In the summer time the
bees can ventilate the hive if change of atmosphere be
needed — in winter they cannot do so.)

It will doubtless occur to some that a hive to contain
all these requisites must be a very elaborate affair, that
its construction would entail a serious outlay of time
and money, and that its management involving so many
considerations is beyond the ability of an ordinary bee-
keeper. I have no doubt but that if a written descrip-
tion of the hive and its requirements were placed in the
hands of a novice, he would be seriously puzzled, and
would make many mistakes in attempting to make or
use one. A novice in mathematics does not make the
difficult problems in Euclid his first task : he first learns
the properties of lines, angles, and curves, and paves the
way to the ' bridge' over which so many have stumbled
who have attempted to pass it without the preliminary
knowledge necessary.

By the same rule, before attempting, with hope of
success, advanced problems in bee-culture, the novice
must master its rudiments, and when acquainted with
the habits, instincts, requirements, and capabilities of
the bee, he will understand the meaniug of every word
I have written, and will recognise the principles involved
in my attempt to describe a hive for the advancing; bee-
keeper. In the manufacture of such a hive there is
nothing beyond the ken of an amateur carpenter ; no
more, or more expensive materials are required in it
than are needed in any other form of frame-hive ; and
its management subject to the premises given will be
found most easy.

I am aware of the delicacy of my position as Editor of
the Bee Journal that has had so large a share, in effecting
the revival of bee-keeping here, and am content to be
judged by my words and acts in respect of it. I am also
what is called a professional bee-keeper, in the sense that
1 keep bees for profit, and I do all I con to show others
how to do likewise; and as the head of a firm that, has,
I think, done more than any other to popularise the
moveable-comb system of bee-keeping by its inventions
and productions, I am proud to consider myself a pro-
fessional hive-maker, and readily acknowledge that I

derive income from the sale of hives and bee-appliances,
and that their manufacture is an industry affording
income to many others. Such being the case, I find
myself amongst those who are believed to be ' immensely
in the background.'

With these facts present to my mind I cannot suppose
that the hive I shall put before you will escape the
severest criticism ; but 1 wish to state, in advance, that
it has been brought here to illustrate my meaning rather
than as an example of perfection in itself ; the more so
as it is not a new hive made for the purpose ; but is one
that was exhibited at South Kensington last year ; and
its defects may have tended to the opinion above
alluded to. Conscious of my position, I hope to avoid,
as I have ever, with a full sense of man's fallibility,
tried to avoid every form of dogmatic assertion; for.
experience has shown that writers having laid fixed
lines, in some cases, spend the remainder of their life in
defending them, and trying to prove every movement in
advance of them erroneous.

Having stated the requirements of a hive from my
point of view, I will endeavour to show that a simple
hive may contain them. I have here a body-box
measuring about 23 inches in length, and of the width
and depth to receive Woodbury frames, of which I have
brought only sufficient for illustration. The hive is
double-sided, with dead-air space, between; the front and
back are single, the floor-board, for convenience of
carriage, is a fixture, but may be made moveable. It is,
in fact, a very near approach to the Irish hive, of which
a description has of late (December) appeared in the Bee
Journal, and which also receives Woodbury frames.
There are additional entrance-ways to this hive which
the Irish hive does not possess, but which may be easily
made in it. The frames may be of almost any pattern,
but I very much prefer that they should have widened
ends. The frames within it are of four patterns, either

Fig- 1.

of which may be used. Those with distance-tacks were
the first improvement on the notched rabbets, which,
though a clever invention, are. now almost universally
ignored because of the impossibility of moving a frame
laterally without first raising it, ami often crushing the
combs when attached to each other, or when crookedly
built. The frames with distance -tacks were, a move-
ment in advance of German origin, first, introduced into
England by myself, as I believe, about 1871, the tacks
being originally used at the top, and near the bottoms of
frames.

They were, however, found to be inconvenient, and
wide-ended frames were invented, and in one form or
other I have the greatest reliance on them, and neither
use nor recommend any others. Metal strips for frames
to rest upon in lieu of rabbets were first brought out in
England by .Messrs. Neighbour and Sons at the Inter-
national Exhibition, 1873, the frames then resting in
notches cut into the seine, involving the necessity For
raising the frame before it could be moved laterally, and
which was to my mind highly objectionable. The use
of distance-tacks enabled one to dispense with the
notches; ami plain metal runners then came into use,
and still have their advocates.

There are various opinions on the merits of tacks and

May 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

runnel's. I object to them particularly as commonly
used, and would point out what I conceive to be a weak
point in the arguments often used against me. An
immense deal of trouble has been taken to determine the
conductivity or non-conductivity of hive-walls, and
though dead air was only a few years since considered
the best non-conductor of heat, it is now ' in the back-
ground,' and walls of straw, chaff, cork-dust, &c, are in
the ascendant. At the present time an immense deal of
trouble is to be taken to make hive-walls retentive of
heat, yet on the top of them, at the very point where
the greatest heat should be, and the most pains taken
for its conservation, the metal runner, the open frame
ends, and the thinnest part of the hive-wall, are to be
found. Supposing this hive-wall to be filled with per-
fectly non-conducting material, I appeal to the common
sense of my hearers whether or not it can be of especial
service when the heat can waste itself over the top, and
through the thin wood outside of it, or into the roof
space above P Wide-shouldered frames prevent all thi.j.
Objection may, however, be taken to such frames on the
score, that they are liable to expansion and contraction.
Such objection, to my mind, will only arise from those
who are unable to allege any other. As arranged, and
with the fact before us that bees are not particular to
half a sixteenth of an inch iu distance, which is more
than the frames will expand or contract in a hive, the
objection, in my opinion, goes for nothing.

It may be said that propolising will be greater with
widened frames than with the others under notice. This
I deny, there being less liability to propolise in the
former than in the latter, and less actually takes place,

rg^, except theoretically. The principle

of widened ends is not a new one :
it prevails in Italy and Switzerland,
and has been in use many years, and
in America it has crept into use, the
frames in the latest hives — those of
Van Deusen and Nellis being formed
on a principle I have for years argued
in favour of, so as to be in accord
with the wants of the bees as ex-
pressed by themselves.
I may mention that hives sent by me to the Continent
having wide ends have been highly eulogised, the ends
being specially commended.

With such frames as those of Nellis, a hive more
nearly resembles the natural bee-nest — there is no escape
of heat over the wall or round the frame-ends to any
greater extent than takes place in the natural nest.
How different from the open bars, the metal runners,
and the thin outside hive wall ! With frame-ends
widened all the way down, it is difficult to imagine a
hive more easy of management for summer, for winter,
for supering,for combs in rear, for feeding, for extracting,
for queen-raising, or as a twin or triple hive. This is
not a new whim. I have steadily kept the principle in
view ever since the Giotto hive was introduced to this
country by Captain Danyell in the pages of the Field.
I did not like the construction of the Giotto, but felt
sure its principles were worthy of attention, and that a
well-made hive would be easy of management; and I
have kept the idea alive in the Bee Journal to the pre-
sent time. In 187C a prize was awarded to Mr. Cowan
for a hive of the Giotto kind at the Alexandra Palace
Show.

It may not be generall}' known that the outsides of
these frames are not propolised by the bees, nor are the
lugs or ears upon which they rest. Taking this as a
simple hive for ordinary purposes, we will introduce a
swarm. We fit up our frames with foundation, deter-
mine which way the combs shall rim, and put in the
swarm, closing it up with the foundation-dummy. We
shall now see as a defect in the narrow-ended" frames
that they permit the dummy to move out of an upright,

Fig. 2.

through its only touching the frames at the top,
and that any dummy, through not fitting the perhaps
uneven sides of the hive, tempts the bees to use propolis
in considerable degree.

Now let us try with the widened frame-ends ; they
touch each other closely ; the dummy also touches them
closely ; there is no room for the use of propolis ; and as
a matter of fact, it is not used in appreciable degree.
Enemies cannot get iu. Supering can, of course, take
place in the usual way. Elongation, or increase of the.
brood space, is easy, the frames all fit closely and touch
firmly, and may be readily added, whether for a swarm
or stock. Examination of swarm or stock is quite easy,
every part of the hive being easy of investigation.
Sections may be placed in the rear of the brood-nest
with the greatest facility, without any expensive appa-
ratus, and are capable of easy removal. Swarming may
readily be practised ; cutting out queen-cells also. The
hive may be made a twin hive most readily, as shown.
It can easily be made into a triple nucleus hive, or made
to hold three swarms. As a single hive, it has special
conveniences for the bee-keeper for feeding, swarming,
&c. ; and for wintering, it is particularly well adapted.
On the subject of wintering a very great deal might be
said in favour of either and all the improvements I have
named on the metal runners and the distance-tacks. In
an ordinary skep or box-hive the combs are attached to
the top and partly down the sides, and there is no
possibility of heat escaping freely from between the
upper parts of them, or of circulation of air that will
materially lower the temperature between the combs at
this important point in the hive, and in very cold
weather bees, in such skep or box-hive, can as it were
bathe in the genial atmosphere they have warmed for
themselves, and can keep up the temperature at little
cost, because there is little or no w~aste of heat from the
upper stratum to which it naturally rises, and which is
the right place for the bees in winter.

With the open-ended top bars and frames, it will be
readily understood that the heated air can circulate, and
the heat be lost against the cold surfaces with which it
can come into contact. The wide-ended top bars stop
all circulation above the hive-walls, but do not prevent it
along the face of the wall ; and now that hive-walls may
be made, it is said, almost non-conducting, little harm
can arise in that respect, but there is a possibility of dis-
advantage in the openness of the frame-ends which per-
mit circulation of the heated air from the bees around
them. The American frames (the Van Deusen or Nellis)
have widened ends as far down as the comb is usually
attached, fig. 1, and all circulation between the upper
stratum of air in the hive, and the hive-wall, is thereby
prevented. The hive may be amply ventilated at the
top, nevertheless.

For winter packing the frames can be put towards the
centre of the hive with a comb of wood-foundation on
both sides, and a straight tunnel leading from the
entrance to the bee-nest will give the advantage of inner
isolation from out-door influences during the time when
such isolation is desirable. The bee-nest can then be
packed round witli approved material. Whatever may
be said of the circulation that great heat * will cause to
enclosed air in what should be dead-air spaces, it will be
evident that the air in the cells of an empty comb cannot
well circulate at all ; and I am of opinion that there can
be no better wall protection to a bee-nest than such
empty comb offers, particularly when it is remembered
that should breeding take place unexpectedly, the very
wall itself is available for that purpose. Some objection

* Mr. Cheshire's experiments recorded p. 232, Vol. VIII. of
Journal, do not carry conviction to our mind that the law
of cooling in respect of water at 200° Fahr. applies equally
to a cluster of bees whose highest temperature is never more
than 100.— En.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

may be taken to the frames running; parallel with the
entrance-way, as against the common practice of putting
them at right angles thereto ; a subject that need
scarcely be discussed, seeing that in so many other
countries frames across the hives are commonly to be
found.

In Egypt, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada,
and America, the crosswise principle is largely used, and
in this country the practice is rapidly gaining ground, as
I very well know, and I have not had any reason to
quality my high opinion of its value. I had almost
omitted to point out that by increasing the space between
the closed frame ends and the hive's sides, which can be
done by simply having the hive a little wider, there will
be facility for additional protection of the frame ends at a,
by the introduction of a mat or cushion of chaff, sawdust,
cork, or cocoa-nut fibre, which can be inserted between,
and pressed closely to the frame ends without difficulty.

Fig. 3.

I fearlam exceeding the limits of your patience, though
I feel sure I have not done justice to my subject, but if
what I have said will be helpful in any respect towards
the perfection we are, I am sure, all striving to attain in
hive-building, as in everything pertaining to bee culture,
I shall be glad to think my effort has not been in
rain.

In conclusion, I would say I do not pretend to fix the
size or shape which frames should be made ; what will
suit one locality, will not suit another ; nor will I put
any limit to the number that should be used ; but I
venture, with present light, to record my deliberate
opinion that close ended frames are the best, because they
are most nearly in accord with the natural condition of
a bee nest, and I think they should be placed crosswise of
the hive, because of the great facilities that arrangement
affords to the bee-keeper. I think the hive should be
capable of longitudinal expansion, as is the Combination
and Irish hives of which I have written so much in the
Bee Journal.

I would have the hive arranged that entrances could
be opened at any part of it for convenience in twin or
triple hiving, and for converting it to queen-raising pur-
poses when required. I would use single boards only in
its construction, with simple rabbets for the frame ends
to rest on, all the means for distance keeping, dividing,
winter packing, and feeding being used within the hive
box, which need he a ciise only for holding it and its ap-
purtenances. And with these ideas combined a hive
would be produced in which everything that is known
of bees or necessary in bee-keeping would be easy of
verification or performance by the advancing bee-
keeper.

[The discussion which followed will bo reported in our
next.]

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Donors to Prize Fund.

II. G. Morris, Esq. .

G. Neighbour & Son

G. Allen, Esq.

E. S. Whealler, Esq.

Rev. J. L. Sisson

II. Bostock, Esq.

J. Bassano, Esq.

Rev. II. R. Peel

G. "Walker, Esq. (jun.)

£

s.

d.

1

1

0

1

1

0

0

5

0

0

10

0

0

10

0

2

2

0

1

1

0

1

1

0

1 1 0

SHOWS AND BEE TENT ENGAGEMENTS

IN 1881.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

May 25 & 20. — Oxfordshire Agricultural Show at
Thame.

June 0 and four following days. — West of England
Society at Tunbridge Wells.

July 7. — Horticultural Show at Aylesbury.

July 13. — Horticultural Show at Hawkhurst.

July 13-18. — Royal Agricultural Show at Derby.

July 26-August L— Annual Show B. B. K. A., South
Kensington.

August 18. — Berks and Bucks B. K.A. at Maidenhead.

August 25. — Horticultural Show at Wantage.

August 30. — Horticultural Show at Long Buekbv.

August 31. — Horticultural Show at Horsham.

HERTFORDSHIRE ASSOCIATION.

July 20. — Herts Agricultural Show at Hatfield.
July 22. — Waltham Cross Cottage Garden Show.
August 10 & 11. — Hertfordshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion's Annual Show at St. Albans.

August 24. — Much Iladham Garden Show.

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The Annual General Meeting of the members of the
above Association will be held at the Exchange Hall in
Grantham, on Thursday the 10th of May at 7.0 p.m.,
for the purpose of receiving the report, electing committee,
and transacting any other general business connected
with the Association. The drawings as set forth in rule
8 of the Association's rules will also take place, progress
in the arrangement for the Annual Exhibition to be held
at Louth in September will be reported. — R. R. Godfrey,
Ilim. Sec.

THE IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The first meeting of the Irish Bee-keepers' Association
was held on the 21st of April, in one of the committee-
rooms of the Roval Dublin Societv's New Buildings at
Balls Bridge, Co. 'Dublin.

The proceedings commenced at twelve o'clock with
Mr. Alderman Purdon being voted to the chair.

The chairman opened the meeting by making a few
observations about the present state of bee-keeping in
Ireland, and remarked that ' to-day a new era had com-
menced for this countryin the knowledge and practice of
bee-culture.'

The Rev. Canon Bagot said that he should like to state
at that stage of the proceedings, how pleased the Royal
Dublin Society Were to aid the Bee-keepers' Association,
and that they cheerfully voted the use of their committee-
room for that purpose.

There were about thirty members present, including
Revs. Canon Bagot, J. M. Aldridge, M. E. Holland,
O.D.C., C. Nevin, P. Callinan; Sir Jas. Mackey, Messrs.
Geo. Greer, R. Brown, Thos. Chambers, A. Turrettin,

May 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

'9

1). Brown, J. K. MiHner, E. D'Olier, tun., R. Saunderson,
Brother Joseph, J. Traynor, and R. Sproule, lion. Sec.

Mr. Sproule, naving briefly stated the objects of the
meeting:, read letters of regret for non-attendance from
Kev. Geo. Proctor, Thos. Lindsay, and II. Smyth, Colonel
Nunn, and Messrs. Shaw and Edwards.

Rev. Mr. Aldridge then proposed a vote of thanks to
'the Royal Dublin Society for the use of the committee-
room, and said that the thanks of the Association were
due to Canon Bagot, for it was he who suggested to the
. Royal Dublin Society the allocation of the room, and he
(the Canon) had also enlisted the sympathy of the
. Marchioness of Waterford to accept the post of Pre-
sident of the Irish Bee-keepers' Association.

The meeting then passed the following resolution : —
' That the Irish Bee-keepers' Association be now formed,
the objects being the advancement, by means of lectures,
leaflets, &C, and by manipulations with living bees at
bee-shows, of bee-culture in Ireland, particularly as a
means of bettering the condition of the agricultural
classes ; the establishment of an agency in Dublin for
the sale of honey the bona fide property of members ;
' to instruct the bee-keepers in the most improved methods
of increasing the quantity of honey harvested, and gettiug
it of a finer quality, and in the most saleable forms.' The
rides, founded generally upon the rules of the British Bee
Association, were then adopted.

A long discussion took place upon Rule V., which
regulates the rates of subscription to the Association.
Canon Bagot urged that a difference should be made in
the amount of subscription in the case of tenant-farmers
and cottagers. As the Association was formed almost
expressly with the object of benefiting those classes, and
the proposed rates of subscription, if adopted, would
exclude them from the benefits of the Association, as
they could not afford to pay .5s. subscription, he (the
Canon) would therefore move as an amendment, ' That
the subscription for tenant-farmers should be 2s. Of?, and
for cottagers Is.'

Mr. Greer (of Dungannon) and Mr. Sproule strongly
objected to any difference being made in the amount of
subscription for membership, because they thought that
admitting those classes as members of the central or
parent Association at such a low rate woidd tend to
prevent the formation of county associations. Eventually
the meeting passed Canon Bagot's resolution.

The following were elected as the Managing Com-
mittee for the present year: Lord Ardilaun, Revs. J. M.
Aldridge, Canon Bagot, Hon. Richard Bellew, Robt.
Brown, Rev. P. A. Callinan, Geo. Greer, Very Rev.
M. E. Holland, Brother Joseph, Rev. Thos. Lindsay,
J. K. Millner, Colonel Nunn, Hon. Mr. Pollok, Rev.
Geo. Proctor, and Alderman Purdon. Sir Jas. Mackey
was elected Hon. Treasurer, and Mr. R. Sproule Hon.
Secretary.

The meetiug resolved to hold an exhibition of hives,
hone}', &c, and to have manipulations with bees, during
the Royal Dublin Horticultural Show in August next.

The meeting, on the motion of the Rev. J. M. Aldridge,
resolved that the Irish Bee Association should only re-
cognise two sizes of bar-frames for frame hives, viz., the
Woodbury frame, measuring 14' x 8j', outside dimensions,
and the Abbott Standard frame, measuring from end to
end at top \G\' and at bottom 15f and the depth of
frame 10', outside dimensions.

The Rev. J. M. Aldridge suggested that the Associa-
tion should recommend that each member should become
a subscriber to the British Bee Journal, as it was the only
means of intercommunication that the members of the
Association had at present.

The Hon. Sec. was requested to write for specifications
and prices for a bee-tent, and also to the principal makers
of bee appliances for donations as prizes, &c.

The usual votes of thanks having been passed, a very
successful meeting was brought to a close.

COUNTY ARMAGH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The following prizes are offered at the Portadown
Dog, Poultry, and Pigeon Show, to be held on Wednes-
day and Thursday, the 4th and 5th of May next. Open
to "all, no entrance -fee. Entries received up to ten
o'clock on Wednesday.

1. For the best and cheapest complete hive, on the
moveable-comb principle, suitable for cottagers. Any
number to be supplied at the price named. First prize,
20s. ; second prize, 10s.

2. For the best exhibition of hives and bee-appliances
most applicable to modern bee-keeping ; no two articles
to be alike. First prize, 20s.; second prize, 10s.— G.
Greer, Hon. Sec, Dunyannon.

BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY
AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES' ASSOCIATION.

Tunbridoe Wells Show.

At the moment of going to press we learn that
arrangements have been made for the holding an Ex-
hibition of bees, honey, hives, and appliances, &c, at
the above Show, which will commence on Monday,
June 6th, and extend over the four following days. The
British Bee-keepers' Association assume the direction
and responsibility of the Exhibition assisted by the West
Kent Bee-keepers' Association.

Further information may be obtained of Mr. J.
Garratt, Hon. Sec, West Kent Bee-keepers' Association,
Hockenden, St. Mary Cray, who will supply schedules of
prizes and entry forms.

BEE ASSOCIATION FOR HARLOW.
On Tuesday the 5th inst., at a meeting of bee-keepers
and others, Mr. James Scruby, jun. in the chair,_ it
was resolved to form a Harlow Bee-keepers' Association
connected with the Essex or the British ; as our Harlow
friends did not see any advantage to be gained by union
with any other association. The minimum subscription
was fixed at l.s., and Mr. Baldwin, the expert, engaged
to deliver a free public lecture on bees and bee-keeping
at Harlow on the 20th inst, — Communicated, April 11,
1881.

NATIONAL EXHIBITION AT MILAN.

I shall esteem it a favour if you will kindly allow
me to make known the fact, through the columns of
your valuable Journal, that a great and comprehensive
National Exhibition is to bo held this summer at Milan,
in which Apiculture will be thoroughly represented.
Of course, much must necessarily depend upon the season,
but judging from the supreme efforts which each in-
dividual bee-keeper is called upon to make for the
occasion by the various Bee Associations now existing
in Italy, it may well be inferred that the forthcoming
Exhibition will be a faithful exponent of the recent de-
velopment of Italian apiculture and its resources.

At the same time, I am pleased to be able to report
that the rational cultivation of the honey bee is making
great strides in that country, so much so that of late the
number of apiarians keeping two, three, and even four
hundred stocks of bees has become very considerable.
Nor is this happy progress of apiculture limited to the
southern, central, and other provinces enjoying that sub-
lime climate for which Italy is so deservedly famed, but
the same may now be said of even the most northern
districts, the natural barriers of which are the impassable
Alps. As an instance of this kind of enterprise, I would
just mention the case of Signor Giacoma Bertoli, of

10

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

Varallo, an intimate friend of mine, who, besides at-
tending to his establishment in town, has of late years
established four apiaries in Valsesia, now containing;
about twenty-five stocks each, but all planned to take
four times as many as soon as his circumstances will
permit.

Mr. Bertoli is a great advocate of migratory apiaries,
and he carries out this plan under much greater difficulties
than can be imagined by those who, in this land of good
roads, send their bees to the moors.

At a certain season of the year Mr. Bertoli sends a
large number of his stocks to Alagna, one of the highest
inhabited points towards the glaciers of Father Monte
Rosa. To do this, each comb must be made perfectly
secure, and then the hive carried uphill for days on the
shoulder of a woman, through almost impassable paths;
but atthis altitude almost all the vegetation is aromatic
in a high degree, a circumstance which readily accounts
for the beautiful flavoured honey he obtains from his
bees. I may add that this honey is much appreciated
by French confectioners and connoisseurs to whom Mr.
Bertoli sends as much as he can possibly spare at almost
fancy prices.

In the lower districts, where, in consequence of the
heather and of the numerous chestnut and walnut trees
grown, the honey is far from being so delicious, Mr.
Bertoli's specialty is queen-raising; and such is the care
and attention which he bestows upon this branch of cul-
ture that the few he sends to this country always meet
with _ the greatest approval for their unquestionable
superiority.

There would be several other instances of apicultural
enterprise of this nature not less remarkable than Mr.
Bertoli's, but I must not trespass further upon your
valuable space. — John Camaschella, Hon. Represent-
ative of the Central Bee Association if Italy, 10 Derby
Villas, Forest Hill.

THE FIRST INTRODUCTION OF HUMBLE BEES
INTO NEW ZEALAND.

' The two queens, the survivors of a shipment of eighteen
consigned to Mrs. Beliield, were turned out on Mr. Bristol's
farm on Saturday morning. They were strong and
healthy, and flew away briskly against the wind. Being
liberated amidst clover fields, there is every chance of
their doing well. Some years ago the present Premier
of New Zealand attempted the introduction of these
useful insects, but unsuccessfully, the last of the creatures
dying when within ten days' sail of our coast.

' Not being aware of any successful attempt at their
acclimatisation being made before, we believe that the
pair of queens set free on Saturday have the honour to
be the first of their kind in this country. The thanks of
the farmers are specially due to the lady, who, when in
London about three years ago, saw Mr. Alfred Neighbour
(a somewhat celebrated apiarian at home), on the subject
of sending humble bees to New Zealand.

' Mr. Neighbour took up the matter con amore, and
promised, when opportunity offered, to send out a con-
signment, at the same time pointing out the risk attend-
ing such a shipment. That gentleman spared neither
trouble nor expense in endeavouring to make the venture
a success. In the first place he employed an agent in a
district in Scotland, where the bees were unusually plenti-
ful, to mark down the nests in the summer, and then, in
the early part of the winter, each nest with its queen was
carefully dug out, and placed separately in a nest of moss
in a box for export. Being in a state of torpor when
taken from their Scottish home, it was a sine qua non
that they should continue in this state the whole of the
voyage to the antipodes ; consequently they were placed
in the ice-house of the John Elder, one of the Orient line
of steamers.

' On arrival at Melbourne the box was handed over to
the captain of the Arairata to carry on to New Zealand.

' From the appearance of fully one half of the dead
insects, there is every reason to believe that they were
alive on arrival at the Bluff, but unfortunately a delay
in their transit here took place which was fatal
to all but two. The telegram to Mr. Belfield telling
of their arrival was dated the 31st of January, at the
same time intimating that the Arawata came in on the
26th. Yet further delay took place, and the interesting
strangers did not arrive in Timaru till the 3rd of February.
Mr. Hislop, late of the Timaru domain, kindly took charge
of the box and opened it out with the results above stated.
To our readers who are not farmers, and who may be
ignorant of the value of humble bees, we may state that
their great usefulness lies in impregnating red clover,
their long proboscides enabling them to reach the pollen
of the plant.' — From the Timaru Herald, Monday,
February 7, 1881.

VICEREGAL HONEY.— MODEST COMMISSION.

Yesterday in the Court of Conscience, before Mr.
Bolger, T.C., John Kearney, of Miller's Court, dealer in
honeycomb, was sued for 15s., alleged to be due to
Andrew Butler, Vicar Street, for ' commission.' Mr.
Keighron appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Harrisson
for the defendant. The evidence showed that the
defendant was enabled through the plaintiff to sell at
the Castle, for the use of the Viceregal household, 29 lbs.
of honeycomb, for which '2s. (id. per lb. was paid. The
litigant attended at the Castle to carry out the trans-
action, and after defendant received the price of the
honeycomb he handed plaintiff fourteen shillings. The
plaintiff insisted that his ' commission ' on the transaction
was one shilling per lb., and as the defendant refused to
pay, the case now came into court. The defendant
denied that he made the compact alleged. After hearing
both parties, Mr. Bolger held that the plaintiff had es-
tablished his case, and he gave a decree for fifteen shil-
lings.— Irish Freeman, Mar. 23.

BEES AND BEE KEEPING.

On Thursday, March 24, at the lecture-hall, Mr. G.
Walker, of Wimbledon, gave an interesting and instruc-
tive lecture on the above subject. Mr. Walker wa9
formerly on the committee of the British Bee-keepers'
Association, and was therefore in a position to give
valuable information on the matter. The object of this
Association was stated to be to teach cottagers and others
the humane treatment of the honey bee, this part of the
lecture being strongly dwelt upon.

It was mentioned that until 1873 bee-keeping in Eng-
land was at a low ebb ; Germany, France, America, and
Russia, were very much in advance of us, which ought
nut to have been especially when the advantages of
keeping bees were considered. If properly managed
they gave large profits and quick returns. This was
particularly the case when the frame-hive was used in
lieu of the straw skep. The difference between these
was fully explained by means of diagrams and models.
The important operation of transferring the contents of
a straw skep or common box hire to a bar-frame move-
able-comb hive was detailed, as also was the method of
putting in wax foundation. The putting on and removal
of supers, the feeding of bees, queen-cages, and excluders,
in fact, all the various branches of bee culture, were
exhaustively discussed, and useful hints were given to
persons who intended to commence the ' industry.' The
lecture was illustrated by diagrams, hives, bee fur-
niture, &c. (some being kindly sent by Messrs. Abbott, of
Southall), and these added in no small degree to the in-
terest of the lecture. The proceeds were to be given to
the Cottage Hospital. — SuiTey Comet, Mar. 20, 1881.

May 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

11

Correspondence.

*»* These columns are open to subscribers, so that their
queries, replies, correspondence, and experiences man be
fully anil faithfully recorded: and for the discussion of all
theories and systems in Bee-culture, and of the relative merits
of all bices ami appurtenances, that the truth regarding them
may be ascertained. The Editor, therefore, must not lie ex-
pected to coincide with all the views expressed by the various
writers. A II Correspondence is addressed to tlic Editor.

CHKAP HIVE FOR AMATEURS.

I send you a sketch and description of a very
cheap hive, which some of your readers who make
their own may try their hands upon. It is made
out of two and a half American cheese-boxes, which
cost me fourpence each; one 15 in. in diameter
serves for the inner skin, and one of 1 6 in. diameter
for the outer skin of the hive. (The usual depth
of these boxes is from 9 to 10 inches.) The inner

skin should be three-eighths of au inch higher than
the outer to form the feather edge on which the
frames arc to rest. The two skins are kept apart
by a double hoop J of an inch wide, placed at the
top and bottom. These may be made by cutting in
half the hoops of the box, and as they are usually
\ of an inch thick, they will keep) the two skins
-J an inch apart, and thus form a sufficient air
space between them. As strong a hoop as can be
got from the boxes and lids must be put round the
hive, standing 1 inch above the outer skin, and
another at five-eighths of an inch below the outer
skin. Room will thus be given for the thickness
of the frames and quilt above, and the floor-board
will be overlapped below, and wet or rain excluded.
The floor-board is made from the box-lid and
bottom. These are usually in three pieces, and
when nailed together should be crossed under side
pieces. Of these the middle one should project, to
form the alighting-board ; and the deficiency sup-
plied from any piece of wood at hand. The floor-
board will thus be double. The upper thickness

is cut away sloping upwards to form a sunk
entrance into the hive. The floor-board is repre-
sented in its place in fig. 1, which represents a
section from side to side with one of the middle
frames in position. The hive has a cover made of
half a box, 5 inches in height, and over this a conical
top made of paper-felt, painted and fastened with
thin copper wire to the wooden part ; the flight-
hole, porch, and slot for slides or doors, which are
made of strong tin or zinc bent to shape. Fig. 2

Fig. 2.

shows the arrangement of the frames, ten in number.
Half of them have distance-blocks towards the front
and half towards the back, both blocks being on the
same side of each frame. In the centre are two
moveable blocks attached to the side of hive by a
thin but strong piece of string. When manipulating
they are lifted out, and thus room is given to move
all the frames. The whole cost of the materials,
including paint, panel-nails (screws, if any), and
putty, is about 2s., and certainly does not exceed
2.s. 6d. ; lout I must add that there is a good deal
of work in the hive, and it requires much nicety in
fitting, though not more than most amateur car-
penters are equal to.

The result is a round hive, which in shape corre-
sponds with that of the cluster of bees, and I think
is dryer than the square hives, in the corners of
which moisture is apt to be condensed ; and,
secondly, is much more shapely and ornamental in
a garden, and equally adapted for carrying supers of
any kind desired. — J. H., Vn(e of York.

DELAYING SWARMS.

Having some hives standing in the country where
I can only visit them about once a-week or less
often, I have been considerably exercised as to how
to preserve my swarms from loss. The following
has occurred to me as possibly a way ; but what do
you think 1 I propose making a tunnel of excluder
zinc from a full hive to an empty one (furnished
with combs or foundation sheets) so that the bees can
get in and out through the perforations ; but in the
event of a swarm leaving, her majesty must follow
the tunnel into the other hive, where she will, I
suppose, stay; if not, she must return to the parent
hive. When I visit my apiary and find this has
happened, I should, of course, separate the hives and
remove the tunnel, so as to allow the young queen
to get out.

A3

12

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

With regard to peameal, I cannot get my bees to
accept what I buy at shops, and never have been
able, although I have offered it every spring for
some years. — F. Lyon.

[The idea is ingenious and worthy of trial, and we
have no doubt but that it would as often be successful
as not. An Abbott's drone-trap would not make a bad
swarm-catcher. It is certain capture to drones that
venture out of the hive, and by the same rule a queen
would be caught in attempting to leave with a swarm,
winch latter would cluster on the drone-trap, and could
be hived at eveniug. These suggestions, one arising out
of the other, may be helpful in certain cases. — Ed.]

QUEEN-RAISING IN NUCLEI.
On reading your April remarks on queen-raising
it struck me it would perhaps be of use to tyros to
give my experience — not as directory, but as a
warning. In June last I removed from a strong
stock-hive a Ligurian queen with small colony in a
box, with three Woodbury frames containing brood,
eggs, and honey. She was taken to a spot two
miles off. Three queen-cells were left on different
combs of the parent hive. Two were, as before,
formed into nuclei. The work was perfectly
successful. One of the young queens was given to
a black stock that would swarm. She remains and
multiplies rapidly. The other two were to remain
in their little domicile till after the honey harvest.
Then my hives were brought home and set in their
winter positions, the nuclei being amongst them.
For some days after, the two handfuls they con-
tained were subjected to the fiercest persecution
from wasps and bees, though the entrances were
reduced to the narrowest limits. Heedlessly the
strife was allowed to go on, as it was not con-
venient at the time to do any transference.'* The
consequence was, that though both the queens
had sealed brood and a bountiful store they took to
flight, and forced an entrance into other hives ac-
companied by their followers. They all perished.
The poor queens were hugged to death. — J. G. O,
Braco, April 20.

DRY SUGAR FOR BEES.
Herewith I send more particulars regarding the
bees I fed in autumn with i lb. of syrup and a block
of dry sugar cut off the end of a sugar-loaf. It has
proved to my entire satisfaction that bees can live
on dry sugar. To-day, March 17th, there were bees
in three seams of combs and quite lively, and the
queen all right ; 1 >ut I m ust say that they have not
bred, so I forward the remains of the sugar for your
inspection, though I have no doubt it would have
kept them more than a month longer. They have
consumed 1 ^ lb. only. There is no trace whatever
of any waste on the floor-board, the combs were
perfectly dry. I do not pretend to be able to show
scientifically my difference of opinion to yours that
bees cannot consume dry sugar. When I took the
cake off the bees were clustered in it quite full and
were gnawing at it, though it was perfectly dry
and hard. It may be that sugar is something like

* It was a great mistake not to remove them to ' the
spot ' two miles off when the full colonies were brought
home. All would then have been well. — Ed.

salt, when the atmosphere is moist it may take up
a measure of moisture. Without going so far as to
say it must be moistened by the exhalations from
the bees' own bodies, I think myself that it is quite
likely that is the cause. Like 'J. U.,' Query No.
374, I have repeatedly noticed that sugar-bags
'give,' as we term it, or go damp with certain
changes of weather.

Another stock I transferred into a 1 -inch Woodbury
rough hive holding six frames, four being filled with
empty comb and two with about 1 lb. of sealed
syrup in them, and on the top of the frames a block
of 2 lbs. of loaf sugar as before ; they have clone equally
well. I examined them several times during the
winterand always found the bees gnawing away at the
sugar. I have examined them to-day, and found
the whole of the 2 lb. lump of sugar consumed, and
not a particle of it on the floor-board. They have
a fair amount of sealed brood, they have not much
food left, so I have fed them with a little syrup to-
night, and shall continue to do so as they require
it. — A W. B. K., ]Veston, Leamington, March 17th.

P.S. — On Saturday, the 19th March, I opened
the stock that I took the dry sugar from, and I
found after the second or third day's syrupj feeding
that the queen had been laying. There was a patch
of eggs half as large as my hand. — A W. B. K.

PATERSON'S HORIZONTAL OCTAGON HIVE.

I have had an opportunity of observing Mr. Pater-
son's (Struan) horizontal octagon frame hive.
Its advantages, after such a severe test as we have
had during this winter, are as follows : — The octagon
frame can be adapted to any kind of hive used in
superiug, and can be supered from the side or top.
Mr. Paterson's ready ingenuity has enabled him to
plan a simple mode of converting strips of wood
into octagon frames in a remarkably short time.
The wood is inserted in a mould and sawn off to
the required length, and which at the same time
gives the necessary angle, then the eight pieces are
placed on a frame which keep them together until
they are nailed, when they are ready for use, after
squared pieces of zinc or tin are affixed for their
suspension. Thin slips of wood arc also inserted
into grooves on the sides of the frames as when seen
in the hive, thus keeping the proper space between
the frames, preventing a draught, and affording addi-
tional protection to the brood. Mr. W. W. Young
(Perth), wdio is a great enthusiast, and an expert
apiarian, has had these hives in use, and his testi-
mony endorses my own opinion. Mr. Pratt (Kirk-
caldy) also says that the bees have wintered better
in the octagon than in any other hive he lias. Mr.
Paterson modestly declined to make his name public
in respect of his invention, further than has been
already reported to the Horticultural and American
Journals in 1879, but has reluctantly consented to
my giving you an outline of it. — A Perthshire
Bee-Keeper.

[With the foregoing was a sketch of an octagon frame,
described as 15 in. x 15 outside and 14 x 14 inside
measurement. There was also considerable assertion,
that we have not space for, but no description of the
hive or its working, which we would most gladly have
welcomed.— Ed.]

May 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

13

MEDICINAL PROPERTIES OF HONEY.

At my age (sixty-five) I don't want my.blooddiluted;
and I find that a glass of whisky-toddy, sweetened
with honey, is one of the finest tonics imaginable.
According to Samuel Purchas (Politiccdl Flying
Insects, page 171), Vigerhis 'cured a Horse stone
blinde with Hony and Salt, and a little crock of a
pot mixed ; in less than three daies it hath eaten
off a tough filme, and the Horse never complained
after.' Why should he 1

We are greatly indebted to Mr. James Bruce.
A few months ago he showed us how to fill our
chests with gold, and now he tells us how to empty
our chests of Trichinae. From the bottom of my
heart — the lowest depth of my chest — I thank him.
There has been, since Christmas, a gnawing and
fluctuation in that part. I abhor those worms — my
honey-plaster is ready. I retire to my chamber
and — apply . — Wallace.

EARLY DRONES.— TWO QUEENS IN ONE
HIVE.
Early in August last I purchased a Ligurian
queen to replace a very poor English queen in one
of my hives. She proved to be very jwolific, and
speedily raised the condition of the hive, and I
looked forward with large hopes to the coming
spring. I overhauled my stocks early in March,
and found all in good condition, with the exception
of one which had been off ' on the drunk ' at a
neighbouring public-house late in the autumn, and
had consequently Buffered from dysentery. In none
of the hives, however, did I find brood, excepting in
the one with the introduced Ligurian queen ; and
here I was astonished to find several young drones,
a few sealed-up drones in worker-comb, and a large
patch of eggs, laid as regularly as could be desired.
Three weeks afterwards I again examined this hive,
and to my disgust found that at least five-sixths of
the brood were drones. The worker-bees were
mostly hatched out, and were crawling over the
combs ; some of the cells containing drone-brood
were torn open, showing the white half-formed bees,
but the greater number were perfect. I resolved
to leave them alone, as I considered the drones,
unless killed by the bees, would act beneficially in
helping to keep up the heat of the hive at a cost of
a little syrup only.

Another fortnight has elapsed, and to-day I again
opened the hive. The first thing (or things) I saw
were two queen-bees on the same comb within one
inch of each other. The old queen was easily dis-
tinguished by her damaged wings and her slightly
thicker body ; otherwise there was nothing to
choose between the two. The question now arises,
shall I leave them alone (V), and trust to the new
queen being fertilised by one of her own brothers,
or shall I destroy one or other of the queens 1 One
of the most interesting points in this case is, that
all the drones, although apparently of good size and
physique, have been bred in worker-cells, and these,
I understand, are considered useless for fertilization.
Unless I hear from you to the contrary, I shall
wait the course of events, and carefully watch night

and morning the entrance to the hive, to see, if
possible, if either of the queens or the drones are
killed and turned out. — A. R., Bouro Place, Welling-
ton Road, Handswortlt, Birmingham.

[This is one of the cases in which it must he averred
that bees do nothing invariably. Nevertheless, it seems
that the bees became aware of the failing power of the
queen, and caused the forthcoming of another, which,
from the state of the season, lias probably not been
fertilised; hence, as is sometimes the case, they tolerate
tin' presence of each other in the hive. It is difficult to
assign a reason for the prolific queen of August lust
becoming a drone-breeder so soon after, if she be such,
and it will be quite worth while to watch the outcome
of the phenomenon. — Ed.]

WINTEPJNG IN YORKSHIRE.

I think it may interest you or your readers to
give my experience of wintering bees in Yorkshire
in wooden hives. I may say, first, that a hive with
ten Woodbury frames is large enough for any part
of Yorkshire. We do not get such honey harvests
here as you do in the south, even if we are near the
moors. I have only had the wooden hives three
winters, and very severe trials they have been for

j the hives. The first winter in my ignorance I
filled the hive-covers with hay, and the result was
dampness, and of course dysentery : the hay pre-

! vented the circulation of air over the quilt. The
next winter I did simply nothing ; and although

: the hives had each two swarms put in them in the
summer (?), and were again doubled in the autumn
(making four swarms in each hive), there were very
few bees in any of them the following spring, and
they required the greatest care to make decent
stocks of them.

The scarcity of bees would, of course, be greatly
caused by the previous wet summer, which stopped
them breeding with me in July, and no amount of
gradual feeding would make them start again.
[Exactly our experience and teaching. — Ed.]

This last winter my bees have kept splendidly.
I never had them so strong even in skeps. There
was only one swarm put into each hive last summer.
All I did last autumn was to remove two combs and
put in a division-board to confine them to the
remaining eight combs. I did not put any end
slips ; and from this experience I should consider
them unnecessary. Eight Woodbury frames seem
to me to be the correct space for wintering. I left
the usual summer quilt on, with no further protec-
tion over it. — A. J. H. Wood, Galphay, Ripon.

SUCCESSFUL BEE-KEEPING.

I promised at the beginning of last year that I
would let you know how my bees prospered. I had
two hives sent down to me in the spring. They
were both fairly strong stocks in 10-bar hives. They
began honey-making at about the middle of May,
and continued to do so until the middle of Septem-
ber. At the close of the season I calculated that I
had taken over 200 lbs. weight of honey and coml >.
Most of it was perfect honey, in fact, none was what I
could term second quality. I gave away a great deal,

14

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

sold nine pounds' worth for charities, and have
used and am using the remainder still. I keep my
bees in a small nursery garden on the outskirts of
the town. All this honey, with the excejjtion of a
small quantity from the buttercups at the end of
May, and French beans in September, was collected
from the white clover.

I consider this a wonderful success ; and it was
most unlooked for, since there is no heather within
reach. You may like the story of my management
of them shortly. I could not spare much time for
watching and experiments, so I tried to prevent
«warming by giving abundance of room. On June
1 or 2 I drove a swarm out of the strongest of the
two hives, and shortly after cut out the royal ('ells,
with one exception. Then I put 10-bar empty
hives at the top of the two old ones. My plan was
from that time to visit them once or twice a-week
and take away the full combs, and put empty frames
in their place. The swarm soon filled their box,
and then took to sectional supers. They filled a
dozen of these before September. I had a little
trouble with them now and then. Once the swarm
of June 1, sent out a maiden swarm. I was luckily in
the way, and returned them. Again, one of the others
threatened to swarm; but I stopped them by killing
their queen, and destroying most of the royal cells.

I used an extractor upon most of the combs of
the stock-hives at the e d of August. This was
hard work, and not alti getter successful. The
honey was nearly as thick as glue. It required
almost superhuman efforts, with much damage to
my skin and the surrounding furniture from the
occasional stopping of the revolving engine to dis-
lodge the honey. The Weather was intensely hot,
and much-continued muscular exertion I found very
exhausting. The work was only half done after all.
I suppose that there is no dodge for making such
thick honey leave the cells. The thin stuff flics
out quickly enough. I finished my bee operations
for the year by joining the bees of one hive that
seemed to be ^ueenless with another ; and so I
ended the year, as I had begun, with two hives. I
congratulate myself that I got over the feeding
business, which is always a great worry, with the
least possible amount of trouble, and quite satis-
factorily. I recommend the plan to all who, like
me, dislike trouble. For the sum of 2.s. 6c?. I got a
tinker to knock up two square tin boxes, with a
large hole and funnel-passage in the centre of each
that came not quite flush with the tops of the out-
side walls. The boxes I placed at the top of each
hive, with an opening in the quilt corresponding
with the bottom of the tube. The open tops of
the tins wore covered with a sheet of glass. Then
I filled up the boxes with syrup, and the bees soon
came up the passage and scattered over the floating
planks that covered the surface of the syrup. The
tins hold about 8 lbs. of syrup each. In two days 1
repeated the dose, and then my feeding for the year
was over. This answers admirably for quick autumn
feeding, and the saving of trouble is enormous.

My time is rather precious ; 1 mt if you care for
more from me I could give you my experiences <>f
triangular frames last year, and also the account of

a hive that was queenless, I believe, during the
whole summer. — S. Edward V. Fillel'l, Caprera
Terrace, Plymouth.

[We shall be jrlad to publish every experience that
may he helpful to stumbling brethren iu the bee world,
particularly from authenticated sources. AVe know of
no extractor that will remove honey that is ' as thick as
glue,' hut think there must have been something to make
it of that consistency beside white clover, which is gene-
rally easy of removal. — Ed.]

BEE G LOVES. —A NEW SUGGESTION.

Stings affect me much, and in common with many
bee-keepers I am obliged to wear gloves. I think
you wotild confer a favour upon many if you would
give your advice as to the best kind to use. India-
rubber gloves are very hot and too thick. I have
generally used good leather driving gloves, but find
that the leather seems to lie very irritating to the
bees, especially when once it has received the poison
of the stings. Evidently, also, some kinds of leather
are much more irritating to the bees than others.
To one of the gloves I had last year I had a new
thumb inserted of a different kind of leather, and
it was very remarkable how this piece of leather
(leather from a common garden glove) incited the
wrath of the bees. I have seen them regularly
attack it, and I have had dozens of stings in it when
the rest of the gloves hardly had one. As such is the
case, it strikes me that it would be possible to dress
one's gloves with some preparation that would have
a soothing rather than an irritating tendency ; or,
at all events, it seems certain that some kinds of
gloves are preferable to others. I must wear gloves,
but I hate to irritate the bees. — F. G. Jbntns.

[India-rubber gloves afford good protection, and the
bees are averse to stinging them, but they are expensive
and most disagreeable to wear, and hence are objection-
able. Leather gloves from their odour, original or
acquired, are particularly offensive to bees. Saturation
with honey mitigates the evil in that particular, but
renders them uncomfortable to wear, hence leather is not
in favour. Thick woollen gloves are protective, because
the bee-stings cannot reach through them, but being
fibrous the bees' feet get entangled, and then become
furious, hence they are not commendable. But supposing
the fibrous woollen gloves were covered with a pair of
non-fibrous cotton or linen gloves, we question if there
would be a single objection to them. Though thick tliev
would be easy to work with, and, being ventilating, not
uncomfortable to wear. A still further means of protec-
tion from the sting-poison has occurred to us while
writing this. Bees hate to abgkt on wet surfaces — their
poison is intensely acid — (pace those who believe it to
be alkaline) and most irritating when injected into a
wound, and the acidity is most difficult to correct under
that phase. We would therefore suggest thai thick, non-
fibrous, ventilating, gauntleted gloves be worn — and that
they be kept wet while in use. It will he evident in
such case that at the worst the sting-poison will be much
diluted ere the sting can possibly enter the tlesh, but if
the gloves be wet with an alkaline solution, wo question
whether the poison would not hi' robbed of its virulence
ere it reached the flesh, should the bees sting through
them. Water, in which a lump of lime has been slaked,
would not be injurious to the hands ; but who will
prescribe a diluent that will soften and whiten them P
Happy thought ! ladies will then have additional reasons
for becoming manipulators. — Ed.]

May 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

15

WIDE-ENDED FRAMES AND DISTANCE-
PINS.

I was much interested in reading the discussion
in your last two numbers respecting Mr. Lyon's
cheap hives, and hope it may be useful for the
purpose intended, and encourage cottagers to use
frame-hives. For myself I prefer the round ones
I described to you, though no doubt they require
much more fitting and labour than a square box
ready-made. I was surprised to find that any one
should still advocate distance-pins instead of solid
wooden stops. The latterare, to my mind, far superior
to any kind of pin or tack, as they shut in the top of
the hive, and when the quilt is laid on prevent
draughts and escape of heat at the sides — a great
thing in winter. The objection that wooden stops
swell and fasten tight the frames is groundless. If
well-seasoned wood is used they will not swell ; but
supposing they do, this may be entirely prevented
by dipping the ends of the top bar of the frames
(before they are put together) in a composition of
shellac dissolved in pure naphtha. It dries hard
very quickly, and is quite impervious to wet.
With a larger quantity of shellac it makes an
excellent glue, and I use it for all purposes where
glue is wanted, as well as in making frames. The
weather here continues very cold. We have had
eight and ten degrees below freezing several nights
during the last ten days. My arabis is not yet in
flower. It has been much cut, and the leaves
blackened and killed by the ftost. The willow
palms are only just beginning to come out. Pea-
meal, therefore, has been in much request. — J.
H., Stvensall Vicarage, York, April 8th, 1881.

BEES UTILISING COMB CHIPS.—
NORFOLK ASSOCIATION.

I am much obliged to you for your hints on
feeding my bees and intend to practise them for the
future. It much surprised me to find you were
unaware that the bee utilised th° comb when broken
up into fragments. I have seen them take it up in
their mouths ; but more than that, when laying it
under the hive cover, with the feeding-hole open,
they have taken it and built the comb through the
feeding-hole, leaving just room for a bee to pass.
I had one or two of my outside frames not furnished
with cells, and I thought they might require it for
building up, to save the trouble of making it.

I do not find they take the pea-meal very readily,
having laid it much about. One hive I have laid
it under the top cover and allowed them to take at
their pleasure safe from rain and wind, some
wax and some pea-meal, but the wax goes the
fastest. May it not be they are building instead of
breeding 1 The hives seem full of bees, generally,
some laying outside even in this cold weather.

I am very sorry we have been unsuccessful in
forming an association for Norfolk. Mr. Booker-
Hill, who first proposed it in jour Journal, attempted
it, and I immediately responded to his invitation,
which was the only response he received. Surely
Norfolk men must be of a different stamp to what
they were in Nelson's time, for they sadly fail now

in doing their duty. But I hope yet to be able to
form one, as we shall be under great disadvantage
apart from other counties. The better way would
be to canvass for it whilst attending the various
exhibitions around us. I hope you will stir up our
county members that they may come forward. I
am glad to hear your matter is so increasing as to
more than fill your Journal. I cannot but wish
you success in thus presenting so much of interest
for your readers. — Geo. Ringer, Wcdcot Green, Diss,
April 8th, 1881.

[We are never so positive in regard to bees as to aver
that they never do a thing because we have not seen it
done, nor that they always do what we have seen.
As a rule when bees pick up bits of comb, they carry
them out of the hive and throw them away. When they
nibble away parts of comb in the body of the hive, the
material, whether pure wax or the mixed coverings of
brood-cells, being warm and in their mouths, they will
use it again and again, but we have never seen a bee pick up
a bit of cold wax and act with it as if about to use it again.
It is quite common for bees to build up through the feed-
holes in the tops of hives, they prefer to travel on comb
and to build their own roadway.

Associations require a little more than invitation to
bring them into existence — personal canvass to obtain a
guarantee against loss in the first instance and the an-
nouncement of a show are the best means we know of.
A provisional committee, under good patronage, a few
pounds spent in advertising, by circular and otherwise,
and a show in the immediate future, will generally suffice,
and the charges for admission to the manipulating tent
will usually relieve the guarantors. — Ed.]

INSTINCT, DIVISION OF LABOUR, AND
LONGEVITY OF THE HONEY-BEE.

Instinct. — On the 18th of Juno of last year, while
visiting the lower ward of Renfrewshire Agricultural
Society's Exhibition at Greenock, my attention was
attracted to a commotion amongst the spectators in
front of an old strong thorn hedge, along which the
Ayrshire bulls were penned, and on passing over
was tickled to find the hubbub caused — could it be
possible 1 — by a swarm of our little favourites, which
had spontaneously put in an appearance to exhibit
themselves; for there, sure enough, were the Italians
sporting their gay liveries over the very noses of the
lords of the herd, sending quite a thrill through the
onlookers as to what was to happen next and next
on a free use of the stiletto ; but the bees quietly
settled themselves on a branch without the slightest
injury to man or beast.

. During that sweltering heat, in his shirt-sleeves,
appeared a Greenock shipowner of my acquaintance,
with his gardener, in pursuit of the runaways. He
told me the case was most singular ; the bees, on
coming off, had been duly placed in a good new skep
of the previous season, nearly half filled with nice
white combs, and yet they had gone off and aban-
doned it. It appeared to him as most inexplicable.
He assured me there was no soured food or other
impurity about it, and to satisfy me that all was
right the skep was brought. A glance proved suffi-
cient to solve the enigma ; it contained nothing but
drone comb, owing, doubtless, to the queen of the
previous year's swarm being but a drone-breeder.
The new tenants preferred to abandon a domicile

1G

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

furnished with so much useless lumber, and start
ile novo among the branches of the old thorn hedge.
I advised the combs to be broken out, when the
bees gladly ascended and took possession.

Division of Labour. — In the early spring of last
year I received from a friend at a distance a frame
hive of black bees, which 1 had promised to Italianize.
I soon saw something was amiss ; and a thorough
scrutiny confirmed my suspicion of its queenless
condition. In the preceding autumn the bees of a
queenless stock had been added, and, as we generally
find in such cases, the queen had in all probability
fallen a victim before those demoralised bees. I
materially weakened my purest Italian hive in sup-
plying this stock over and over again with frames of
fresh eggs ; the workers they carefully hatched, but
stubbornly stuck to their republican principles, and
would not raise a single royal cell ; and it was not
till the season was well advanced, and clouds of
young bees disporting themselves on every side of
them, that they thought better of it, or, rather, the
counsels of the young Italians prevailed — a young
queen was hatched and duly fertilised. When the
population would run about half and half, blacks
and Italians, I chanced one forenoon to scrutinise
this stock's doings attentively while actively at
work, and was much struck on noticing, as I did on
some half-dozen subsequent days, that the black bees
alone carried in pollen, while not a single Italian
bore a load ; leading to the inference that pollen-
collecting is delegated to the older bees of the hive.

Longevity. — While last alluded to stock was here,
my observations extending to midsummer, I found
the black bees of the preceding autumn, although
far outnumbered, still present and active, their
wings entire, without any symptoms of decay. —
A Renfrewshire Bee-keeper.

POLLEN-GATHERING.

I had an opportunity of observing my bees collect
pollen, and the way in which they transferred it to
their tiny baskets, which probably few if any of
your readers have been afforded. Some few years
since I had several stocks of bees in a cottage
garden not far from a flour-mill. In the process of
grinding considerable heat is engendered, and this
is drawn off from the mill-stones by means of a fan,
and with it some considerable quantity of very fine
dust, which is intercepted by various contrivances,
but not perfectly, as some escapes, from the
mill in question, through a square hole in wall
covered over with wire lattice to keep out birds,
&C. ; the hole was about 5 ft. from the ground. It
was in a cold but sunny March my bees found out
the current of warm air issuing from the hole ; and
they found out also it was charged with very fine
dust, which they began to appropriate. It was
very curious to see them on the wing just even
with the meshes of the lattice ; and although the
dust was not visible, every now and then they
would seize on the wire lattice by their mouth, sus-
pend themselves in that way until they had brushed
down their little bodies, and transferred the wdiite
pellets to their legs ; so I think it's not right to say
bees have but one way of doing a thing. — P., Warwick.

THE STEWARTON HIVE.

I am sorry I cannot allow the ' Renfrewshire Bee-
keeper's' further remarks on my views of the Stewarton
hive to pass altogether unnoticed. I do not wish to
contrast my honey-harvests from the moveable comb-
hive with any other persons from the Stewarton, but am
content to compare the results of the two systems in my
own apiary, and under m}r own management, giving
both equal attention. Besides adopting several varia-
tions in the working of Stewartons, I have also carried
out strictly the instructions given by the ' Renfrewshire
Bee-keeper' in the British Bee Journal, and I must say
that my experience is most decidedly in favour of the
frame-hive.

Your correspondent has evidently had no experience
with the extractor, or he would nut call extracted honey
' that watery deposit, crude or extracted.' When honey
is extracted from sealed combs, it can hardly he called
crude honey or watery deposit, otherwise the same term
might be applied to the honey in supers. Before it is
sealed up, the superfluous moisture is evaporated quite
as much in the body-hive as in the supers, consequently,
such extracted honey is in every way equal to super,
honey minus the comb. When we bear in mind that it
takes 20 lbs. at least of honey to produce 1 lb. of wax-
we can realise the great advantage of the extractor, and
the enormous increase to the honey-harvest we are able
to secure by its properuse.

Admitting that it is possible to transfer the frames
and bars of one Stewarton to another, I still see the
objection to the side bars, as the}' are not interchangeable
with the central frames. Therefore, the advantages of
the ordinary frame-hive are not secured. It is quite
true it is possible, with a great deal of cutting and
trouble, to change the bars from one end of the box to
the other ; but they must be placed in the corresponding
positions, and no advantage is gained by the transposi-
tion.

Certainly any attempt at spreading the brood in a
Stewarton hive would be a very hazardous proceeding ;
but, judiciously managed in a moveable comb-hive, it
enables a bee-keeper to make a strong hive with a small
number of bees, which he could not do with a Stewarton.

Every advanced bee-keeper will know by this time
that a hive full of bees will increase much more rapidly
than one only partly tilled; and it is therefore his object
to contract the space so that every comb shall be covered
with bees. If nry bees are only able to cover four combs,
the space is contracted to this number, and when there
is capped brood on every comb, and bees are hatching
out, the frames are parted, and an empty comb inserted
in the middle. The hive is now being rapidly tilled by
the daily hatching-brood, and as the hive shows signs of
being crowded, oilier empty combs are introduced. The
hive being always full of bees, there is no danger of the
cluster receding, as there is in a Stewarton, where the
bees have not only to maintain the temperature of
the part of the hive occupied by the cluster, but also
that of all the surrounding vacant space. When the
space is contracted to the capacity of the cluster of bees,
they have only that space to (neat, consequently breeding
is extended laterally under such circumstances much
more rapidly than in the larger space of a Stewarton.
Of course, if the bees are allowed ten frames when they
can only cover live, the result would be different, and

Erohabiy, under such conditions, a Stewarton would
ave an advantage from its octagonal form.
I do not contend for perfect equality of combs in tho
body of the hive and supers, and these have been used in
the south two inches from centre In cntre long before the
first Scotch exhibits at the Crystal Palace Show. All
the supers I exhibited that year had 1-i-inch bars, and
were two inches from centre to centre.

What I contend for is perfect equality of all the
frames of the body-boxes, so that they will lit without

May 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

17

any difficulty in any part of any hive. This is
admitted by all advanced bee-keepers, both here and
in America, to be essential to a profitable management
of bees.

It is quite true it takes three weeks to mature the first
hatch of brood, but it makes a great difference if this
first hatch covers a space of :l or 4 inches of comb, as it
would if left to itself, or if it covered a whole frame
of comb. Suppose we take, for example, a cluster of
bees 8 inches in diameter at the commencement of the
season, and examine them in a Stewarton hive, we should
probably find two, or at most three combs containing
brood, varying from 2 to 5 inches in diameter. This
cluster would have to maintain the heat of the whole
hive, and could not increase rapidly until warm weather
set in. Now if this same number of bees were confined
bv division-boards, and made to occupy only two frames,
tne whole of the available space in the comb would be
filled with brood. There would be no danger of its
being chilled, because the space would be crowded with
bees, and they could not recede. They are also able to
maintain a more uniform temperature in such a small

Your (Editor's) remarks apply to the too rapid spread-
ing of brood beyond the strength of the colony, and not to
the gradual extension of the brood-chamber with the
increase of the population. Your correspondent has
evidently not observed the fact that when honey-comb in
supers is capped, if left on the hive, the bees will con-
tinue to add wax on the coverings until the super is
removed. If the combs are removed just when they are
completed, the bees have not the opportunity of thicken-
ing the cappings. ' A Renfrewshire Bee-keeper ' must
know that the coverings of the honey-cells in sections
would be as thick as it is in Stewartons, were they
allowed to remain on the hive long after they were
completed ; but no such bad practice would be tolerated
in a properly-managed apiary. The careful bee-keeper
knows that as soon as the sections are sealed over, they
are ready to remove, and every day they are left on the
hive after this is a serious loss to him. Every ounce of
wax added to the comb is equivalent to a loss of over
one pound of honey, which the bees would store to the
profit of the bee-keeper were the sealed combs imme-
diately removed.

I am not surprised at your correspondent dissenting
from the theory ' that bees are more inclined to extend
their brood-chamber laterally,' because in the Stewarton
they are prevented doing so, and, however much they
may be inclined to extend laterally, they cannot do so on
account of side combs blocking the way.

Your correspondent must allow that there are times
when it is necessary to find a queen, — in making nuclei
and artificial swarming, for instance. However great
the population of a frame-hive may be there is no such
difficulty in finding her as there is in a Stewarton.
True, 'the bee-keeper's great desideratum is not to find
the queen, but the honey,' but the practical bee-keeper
has no need to look for honey in a frame-hive, with
him the difficulty is not in finding it, but in taking
it away from the bees fast enough during a flow of
honey.

Why does your correspondent constantly allude to
the moveable comb hive as an ' inelastic ' hive ' fixed to
legs or cover?' I am afraid he has not had a very ex-
tended experience with it, or he would know that it
is not necessary for a moveable comb hive to be fixed to
legs or cover. Most of the hives I use are quit*?
independent of both. I suppose in America you would
not find one hive in a thousand fixed to legs or cover.
As regards elasticity of the brood-chamber, perhaps Mr.
Abbott's Combination hive with sixteen frames contains
the largest breeding space of any frame-hive, and this
can be reduced to one or two frames. If this cannot be
called an elastic hive, I have yet to learn what elasticity

in a hive consists of. The same remarks apply to every
frame-hive. My thirteen -frame hives can be easily
reduced or enlarged. I prefer having all the brood in one
story to having it in three as in the Stewarton. In such,
hives I have no difficulty in wintering or keeping-
colonies strong, and am never troubled with moisture
or mouldy combs.

For the' busy man' the Stewarton is useful, as it enables
him to get some honey at the end of the season ; but it
can never become the hive of the bee-keeper who works
for profit. Nor could it come into general use, because it
is not everywhere that a Stewarton can be placed. It
might' be placed in some out-of-the-way and sheltered
corner of a garden, but could not stand the fidl force
of the wind to which my hives are exposed.

The ' Renfrewshire Bee-keeper' sent a photograph of
one of his hives ten storeys high and perched up on a high
pedestal, 18 inches off the ground, the summit reaching
about 0 feet. It is illustrated in Mr. Bartrum's pamphlet,
and so naturally that one expects it every moment to
topple over. Such a hive in an exposed apiary would
very soon become a ruin. Contrast this with a moveable
comb hive, which need not, with its stand, supers, and
cover, exceed twenty-four inches in height. There need
be no anxiety about these when the wind at night
is blowing a hurricane from the south-west. I am quite
prepared to allow it, as I have always have done, a place
in the apiary, but not the first rank, which the modern
frame-hive under modern management holds. There is
a class of bee-keepers whose ideas carry them back to the
days of their great-grandfathers, instead of the improving
age of their more experienced posterity ; such are likely
to look with reverence upon the form of hives ' used with
success in Scotland ' 208 years ago, and shut their eyes
to the fact that in every respect a modern frame-hive
offers greater facilities for manipulation, and obtaining
larger quantities of more saleable honey, than from any
other description of hive. — Thos. Wm. C'owax, Comptons
Lea, Horsham, April 19, 1881.

SUGGESTIONS FROM NORTH HANTS.

We have had a severe and protracted winter, but all
my twenty-three stocks have safely weathered it, and
are now doing as well as can be expected in such an
unkindly spring. So far as my experience goes, these
very cold winters, if they are fairly dry, are favourable
to bee-keepers. A quilt of bed-ticking under a piece of
common drugget, in addition to ordinary wooden covers
is all that my bees ever have to keep them warm in the
sharpest of winters, and they never seem to suffer from
cold or damp. There have been considerable losses
among my neighbours' bees, but I feel sure that the
winter is not to be blamed for this. Such losses seem
to arise in most cases, even in the case of experienced
apiarians, from want of keeping a sufficiently sharp
look-out. Stocks are supposed, in the autumn and even
in early spring, to be in a good and safe condition.
Little or no attention is paid to them for two or three
weeks together : and when time and weather, at length,
admit of their being examined, it often happens that
their stores are found to have been consumed with
unexpected rapidity, and the poor insects have perished
by starvation. I very nearly lost one stock myself in
this way a few weeks ago. It was pretty far gone
when I discovered its condition, but I was, fortunately,
in time to restore it by the application of hot bricks and
warm food. At the present time it seems especially
necessary to keep a close watch upon the hives, as, with
the abundance of brood that many of them contain,
and the discouraging prospects as regards maintenance,
some of mine have shown a disposition to infanticide.
This, too, I hear, has been observed in other apiaries in

18

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

the neighbourhood. It must, of course, be stopped at
all costs in the usual way ; and it is necessary, as 1 find,
to be all the more watchful, as the sparrows and tomtits
are very quick in picking up the white bees. Almost
nil my hives were buried in the great snowstorm, but
did not suffer thereby. In the autumn I generally raise
by hand two or three stocks that have been made up of
driven and united bees. I have some of these now,
which are doing very well ; indeed, I find that such
stocks never fail to do well. All my bees have been
more like pigs than anything else in their con-
sumption of pea-meal this spring, aud, so scarce is
flower-pollen, that even now they are far from de-
spising it.

I think there was a question raised some time back in
your Journal as to the respective merits of inside and
super sections. From my own experience, I am strongly
inclined to prefer sections placed above the framtes. I
had no difficulty last season in securing a great deal of
super honey of the best quality ; but, unfortunately, it
was only made on plain bars, unsecured by side or
bottom rails. The consequencs was, that the packing
and sending it away by rail was attended with difficulty
and inconvenience. For, however carefully and artisti-
cally packed, you cannot prevent it from being shaken
off the bars in such case, and this greatly spoils the
appearance of it when opened by the purchaser. The
American sections, for which I am going in largely this
season, appear to me to settle the matter in favour of
supering. If they do not answer, I, at all events, shall
have made a large mistake. Besides, this system seems
to me to be a considerable step towards the attainment
of one particular object which should be aimed at in
all bee-keeping improvements ; namely, deprivation with-
out irritation.

By the way, can nothing be done to restrain the
violence of railway people, and induce them to deal a
little more gently with bees and honey intrusted to their
care for carriage ? I have heard frequent complaints,
and I have suffered considerably myself in this way.
I am sure that railway officials always administer an
extra kick to anything connected with bees, especially
honey. All who were present will remember the
shameful smashes they had made of some of the exhibits
at the South Kensington Show last year. Nothing that
is in the slightest degree brittle or tender has the least
chance against their violence. It is for this reason that
I wish that the glass honey jars which you are so good
as to procure for us from Birmingham were made a little
stouter round the middle without loss of capacity, they
would then be perfect.

We are attempting, as you may have heard, the some-
what hazardous task of getting up an Apicultural Show
in this neighbourhood, to be held in connexion with the
Pewsey Vale Agricultural Association Exhibition at
Huugerford early in June. The district, is a very back-
ward one as regards bee-culture. 1 think it would
greatly help us, and similar districts, if you would
kindly publish at the present time some hints about
classifying exhibitors, and offering prizes under such
circumstances.

It is our object to promote an improved and more
humane system of bee-culture, without ignoring and dis-
couraging too much the old straw-skeppists. I am
afraid it will be a long time, if ever, before cottagers as a
class will be converted to the new system. As a rule,
they will not take the necessary trouble nor give the re-
quired time, to say nothing of their other prejudices.
But one may hope that such an exhibition as we contem-
plate may not be without its effect upon other classes of
the community, who have more time to spare and are
less afraid of trouble. I am not without hope that a
lucid Bee Association may be the outcome of the Show.
Please help us in any way that you can. — J. II. D.,
North Bants,

DYSENTERY AND WINTER. MANAGEMENT.

The various articles which have appeared of late "on
the above subject induce me to break silence, and review
part of what has been said by some writers and mark the
confident way it has in more than one instance been put .
I confess that I am not perfect as to the management of
bees, but as my opinion, through long experience, differs
from much that has been written on the subject, with
your permission I now lay before your readers the
following quotations confronted with my own views and
observations.

Before entering fully upon the subject, for the sake of
convenience and reference, I will classify the disease, under
the different designations given by apiarians, viz.,
abdominal distension (which applies to the disease in
almost all its stages), dysentery, constipation, and dropsy.

In your article on ' Dysentery,' December No., you
say, ' Dysentery is the winter scourge of the procras-
tinating bee-keeper,' then you go on to say and seemingly
give much importance to the following : — ' If lie would
but feed early, so that the bees might evaporate the
superfluous water, and at the same time give them
due protection and ventilation, the disease could not
exist,' &c.

Now, according to the foregoing statement, there is
not any difficulty to know either the origin or the cure of
the disease ; and according to the following the accumu-
lated dead bees are the great cause of the total destruction of
the affected hive : ' But stress of circumstances i iften causes
them to burst and die within, and then the disease runs a
" muck '' amongst the population . The stench arising from
the discharge of matter is abominable, the unsealed honev
becomes worse affected, the whole atmosphere tainted
and poisoned by both air and food,' &c.

Now in regard to unsealed honey being the winter
scourge, how did it happen in the ease of a number of hives
that I did not intend to keep as stocks until the favourable
honey season set in on August — they being nuclei with
young queens, Cyprian and Ligurian, which were in-
tended to supplant some older queens ? These were not
fed until late in October, a considerable portion of t he
sugar being unsealed; yet these weak hives show not
the slightest trace of either dead bees, dampness, or
disease ; while, on the other hand, several hives which
are similarly treated in the external coverings, but
which had neither unsealed nor watery food internally,
almost every comb in the hive is sealed to the floor
with thick desiccated honey,* so much so that out of
100 lbs. of similar comb only '2 lbs. dripped from it, and
which nothing could induce to run until by accident some
boiling water got mixed with it so that a few more
pounds were got, and the rest forming an emulsion with
the water was consigned to the vat for mead.

These hives in question were so strong, that after TO lbs.
of sections and combs were taken from each, leaving the
hives with as much more — all made at the heather — the
hive of twelve frames was completely crowded. They
were protected from the weather on the sides with one
and a half space all round filled with hay: over the
combs lay a thin woollen fabric covered with two inches
of dry meadow hay, and the space above open and well
ventilated; and yet these hives in two weeks time from
the attack were reduced in October to a mere handful of
bees, which happily still live and are now free from dis-
ease, although 1 lie cold has been greater than was ever expe-
rienced in this quarter, the thermometer .standing several
mornings at 2° below zero within, 2000 and :>000 dead
bees lying on the floor beneath the small cluster which,

* With every comb in the hive, full of thick honey, and
sealed to the floor, the decimation of the bees is no mystery.
A very small share of common sense will show that bees
cannot be healthy between combs which, in cold weather,
become cold as marble. Bees require empty comb to cluster
in, and sealed honey to eat. — Ei>.

May 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

19

owing to the severity of the weather, could not at that
time be removed. These two rases are certainly at
variance with your instructions; the cause of the disease
and the cure as I effected it will he explained and found
farther on.

Francis Baillie, at p. 182, vol. viii., after recounting- his
success with frame-hives, comes forward in an erudite
manner attributing spring dwindling and dysentery to
winter cold; but unfortunately he does not supplement
his article with any instruction as to how bees .should lie
wintered, telling us only that there is more in wintering
bees than most bee-keepers are aware — the inference
being that he knows.

Well, then, in order to reason the thing, which means
advancement at all times, will Mr. Baillie explain, if cold
is the cause of so much injury, what was the reason
that in the memorable year lf>GO a row of twenty
Stewarton hives in an exposed situation with uo covering
whatever unless a super-roof that kept them dry, came
through the winter without being in any way attacked
by any disease, neither were they subjected to spring
dwindling ; while those bees more favourably situated
and had more protection were attacked by both dysen-
tery and spring dwindling 'i And if he will further explain
how those that adhere to the system of keeping dry and
cool in winter are never visited by the scourge, while
those who blindly follow Mr. Pettigrew's plan, who
covers (and advises others to do it") with heaps of
blankets, and over all some felt, tarpaulin, or, what is to
him the nonplus ultra, a sheep's skin with the skinny side
out and the woolly side in ! tied firm so that nothing can
escape, and that the doorway be narrowed to a very
small space. Those parties (bees and Pettigrews) never
were free from disease, spreading infection and pesti-
lence around. So much has Mr. Pettigrew suffered
from dwindling hives, that year after year for one
decade he has been promising a favourable balancer
sheet proving great results ; but instead we have to
listen or read of foul-brood in his apiary, or to his
smothering 30/. worth, of bees in transit from Manchester
to Carluke. Yet with all this he ignorantly contends
that foul-brood is not infectious.

In the discussion on the Stewarton hive, Mr. Cowan
says that ' now all honey or syrup unsealed ought to be
extracted, or the stocks would be liable to dysentery.'
I now put the same question to him as I have done to the
others : How is it that hives with unsealed stores are
healthy, while those with nothing but sealed ones are
diseased ? I pause for a reply.

It is somewhat singular, yet nevertheless true, that
success in bee-keeping is often more frequent with the
old 'fogy,' who pays little more attention to his bees
than simply to give them some slight covering to throw
off the wet, while the floor is simply the bottom of a
barrel, with a quarter to half an inch open at each joint.
Yet his bees are neither subjected to dysentery nor did
he ever see f oul-brood : while the modern bee-keeper is
continually plagued with one or both diseases, often
feeding his bees when the old fogy is getting heavy
turns.* The above is a fact, and not iii the slightest over-
drawn ; but it by no means depreciates modern bee-
culture or appliances, but is sufficient to prove that in
our eagerness to have all right and do all well, the
fundamental principle of health has been often over-
looked.

It is well known, after many years' experience, I have
deprecated the system of feeding, unless in weak hives
or in cases where it could not be avoided, disbelieving
the theory that to secure thriving hives young bees
must be hatched late in the season, to the lesion of the
hive in summer, as queens cannot be expected to lav con-
tinually. White treating upon this subject in the Farm
Journal, you attacked me in a somewhat ungenerous

* This is begging the question with a vengeance. — Ed.

spirit,* but I was pleased to see, from a recent number of
your Journal, that you had so far given way to my opinion
of experience, that you said where young bees were
absent, the desideratum could be attained by joining
two swarms together; so that we are both of the same
opinion now, and that success is more to be depended
upon with numbers than youth. t This is well illustrated
witli a straw hive, in my opinion the only one suffering
from disease, viz., constipation, or rather retarded dis-
charge, brought on by many young bees being bred in
October,t having never had a favourable opportunity to
By till the first of January, when an attempt was made;
but the loss through abdominal distension was equal to
what was tired, so that is a proof no gain has been
effected through that late breeding. But how different"
is the case of its neighbour that lias not bred a bee, or
rather not a bee has been hatched, since the middle of
August : this hive is strong, clean, and healthy, and I
am sanguine that it will prove one of my best hives by-
May, when it will still have lots of its July and August
hatched bees.§

Having now disposed of the disease as explained in the
above case, I will now state my experience with dysen-
tery in another form, wherein the bees are apt to soil
the combs; and, if not attended to, will in a short time
be all dead.

This form of the disease has its origin through some
defect which causes a draught so as to cool down the
perspiration of the bees, causing it to condense on the
cluster, and to be absorbed by the combs and the un-
sealed honey ere it passes off at top; so that when once
a hive is attacked, the disease gets aggravated and does
not relax unless remedial measures are adopted ; which
are, — first, dry combs, after the bees have had an airing,
should be substituted ; second, the bees should be located
in a space equal to one third of the whole space given,
the ventilation above should be free without any
draught, and below, so that there shall be both
ingress and egress for the reception of fresh air, and
ejection of vitiated.

Before describing abdominal distension under its most
aggravated form, viz. dropsy, which is simply the second
stage of dysentery, I will make one or two observations
which will tend to more fully ventilate and clear the
mist which hangs round so many of us. I will therefore
draw your attention to the remarks by 1 hirdanach of Pit-
lochry, at p. 1S4, vol. viii., where he'reproduces the advice,
or rather the printed instructions, given by Mr. Alfred
Neighbour of the old firm of Messrs. George Neighbour and
Sons, which were issued alongwith Ligurian queensshortly
aftertheir introduction, the gist of it being to introduce
the queen alone and destroy comb and bees ; and also sen-
sible advice as to the foolish practice of closing the doorways
of hives given at same page, which bears much upon my
subject on hand. Those who are in the habit of re-
ceiving queens from Italy at different periods of the
year could scarcely fail to observe that queens witli their
workers brought over in hot weather showed moresigns of
dysentery than were those brought over during cold. Last
year, bees that arrived here in August were in a more
pitiable state than were those that arrived in No-

,: This, with due respect, we deny. We make every
allowance tor individuality of opinion, and are not fond of
meddling with others' squabbles ; but whenever we see or
hear statements that are likely to be injurious to the welfare
of bee-keeping as a whole, we feel it our duty to offer a
few cautionary remarks. We do not remember the occasion
in question, but are quite willing to stand by our expressed
opinions.— Ed.

t Our friend should, in common fairness, quote us cor-
rectly. Where have we given preference to numbers over
youth in the way suggested? — En.

X Who advised stimulative feeding in October? — Ed.

§ In this case it will be safer to prophesy after May has
passed Ed.

20

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

vember when the thermometer stood at 2° below zero ;
and in cases where ventilation was given from above,
the bees suffered more. The reason of this I hope to be
able to explain. But before doing so, allow me to ask
your readers if they have never observed, both locally as
well as generally, some parts that almost wholly escape
not only the storms, but the gentle breezes as well, in
short, spots that the cyclone rages or plays around. Spots
of this sort are to be found in almost every garden. A
beautiful illustration of this sort presented itself on my
last trip from Millport : storms were raging in the
Atlantic, but the day there was dull and warm (which
was not the case more inland). On the steamer leaving
Millport; the sea appeared as if it were in life, the nume-
rous shoals of fish, from the huge bottle-nosed whale to
the tiny saith, disported themselves on the. surface of the
water in such numbers that we were filled with astonish-
ment, and naturally evoked the expression, ' Great and
manifold are Thy works.' Overhead was dull, while on the
sea, save the commotion caused by the fish, there was not
a single, ripple. Fresh fuel was added to the fires, and
volumes of smoke issued from the huge funnel ; but the
moment it left the funnel it remained in that position ;
and so far as the eye could reach long after the steamer
had left the quay, the smoke hung in the air in the same
strata as it had emerged from the funnel ; every curve the
vessel took the smoke retained, and this phenomenon
was witnessed and commented on by many. It afforded
me a lesson in a different way, perhaps, than any other
on board. Could there be a more excellent example of
how a bod}- of carbonic gas could be suspended in an
atmosphere free from the influence of town pollution ?
The intelligent, reader will now better understand my
meaning as to the cause of dropsy, the most fatal form
of abdominal distension.

(To be continued.)

THE IMPREGNATION OF A QUEEN BOKN WITH
CRIPPLED WINGS RENDERED POSSIBLE.

[Translated from the ' Bienen Zeitumg,' No. 2, January 15,
1881. Communicated to 'British Bee Journal' by Alfred
Neighbour.)

'Is it not a contradiction or a retractation of your
opinion, when you formerly made the assertion that a
young queen could only he impregnated in the air, and
consequently must be able to fly, and now to speak of
the possibility of the fertilisation of a queen which had
left the cell with crippled wings?'

This thought might naturally occur to people, and
sttch remark be made in reading the heading of this
article. In explanation of this apparent contradiction, I
will relate to you my experience with a young queen last
summer. In one of my queen-breeding boxes a beautiful
and strong Italian queen was hatched, which, on account
of one of its left wings being considerably shorter than
the corresponding right wing, was unable, in spite of all
exertions, to rise up into the air, and immediately fell to
the ground in an apparently perpendicular direction. I
should not have hesitated to destroy her at once if I had
hart another queen or a royal cell at my disposal ; but
this not being the case, I allowed her to remain in the
hive. Two days later I examined the colony again, and
tried the queen once more, thinking she might in the
meantime have gained strength, and perhaps be able to
fly; but the result was the same. The queen was, and
evidently would remain, incapable of keeping on the
wing. It then occurred to me that I might be able to
restore the power of flight to the queen by shortening
the longer wing a little, in order to establish symmetry
and the equilibrium.

This enabled the queen to keep on the wing for a
short time, after which she again fell to the ground.
But when I had clipped the wing still more, and made it

almost like the other, the queen was able, though evi-
dently with very great exertion, to fly some distance in
a horizontal direction until she had reached the hive, in
front of which the experiments were made. I allowed
her to enter, placing against the hive a shutter reaching
to the entrance, and I waited to see what the result
would be.

About noon on one of the following da}'S I noticed
some excitement among the bees of a neighbouring
colony, and when I looked for the cause I discovered
the queen I had operated upon imprisoned by the bees,
but fortunately she was unhurt. There can be no doubt
she had been for her wedding trip, and on her return
had missed the entrance of her own hive again, and a
few days after she began to lay eggs, and proved to be
normally fertile. "Whether she had been impregnated
on the occasion referred to, or during a subsequent
excursion, it is of course impossible for me to say.

"Would it not after this be possible to restore to a
queen hatched with crippled wings the power of flight
by lengthening the shorter wing ? especially where the
latter is very short indeed, instead of shortening the
longer wing 'i

A solution of this problem does not appear to me
impossible, and I would suggest that a wing of another
queen should be fixed by means of a well-adhering and
quickly-drying glue or cement to the stump of the
crippled wing, which of course should not be too short.

The experiment might be worth trying by bee-keepers
who are possessed of some very beautiful and strong
Italian or Cyprian queens which are unable to fly. I
should be glad if bee-masters who consider themselves
capable of performing such delicate operations would
attempt the experiment, and give us their experience.
The chances of a successful issue of such experiment,
although very problematical, are incomparatively greater
than the reported impregnation of a young queen in a
glass globe or a cask with a hole at the top. — Dn.
Dziekzox, KarUmarht, December 3.

AN FNCOMFORTABLE POSITION.

A singular incident in connexion with bee-swarming
occurred last year in the neighbourhood of Arbroath. A
swarm which had left their parent hive were followed by
their owner until they alighted on a paling about 300
yards away. While ho was in the act of examining the
bees the queen alighted on his hack, and was followed by
the whole swarm, and in a short time she crawled round
to his face, the others following. In a few minutes they
were hanging in a cluster in the shape of an inverted cone
about his face. In order to avoid irritating them, the
bee-keeper bent down on his hands and knees, and in this
uncomfortable position, scarce daring to breathe, he
remained for about an hour. At the end of that time a
neighbour, by the use of peppermint, induced the bees to
leave the man's head and face, but only to alight again
on his back. His coat and waistcoat were then taken
off and laid on the ground, the bees keeping their places
until a shower of rain, which fell shortly after, drove
them back to the hive they had flown from. The bee-
keeper was pretty severely stung about the face, but
much less than could have been expected under ths
circumstances. — Bristol Timas.

COMPLIMENTARY.

' We had intended to give directions for spring manage-
ment in this article, hut we found our ideas so well
expressed in the British Bee Journal, that we have
embodied them in our " Notes and Gleanings," found
in another page of this issue.' — American Bee-lieejier*
Magazine, April 1 88 1 .

May 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

21

Kibiefoi.

O'

The Stewahton Hive. The Hive for the Busy Man.
By the Rev. E. Bartrum. — This admirably written work
most ably treats of a great and interesting pursuit, and
commends itself to the reader by the truthfulness and
evident love of the subject which are exhibited by the
accomplished writer throughout its pages. Three years'
trial of the Stewarton side by side with hives of other
kinds has convinced the author that ' its merits are very
great,' an assertion we most cordially endorse, as we do
his opinion that ' it only requires to be better known to
be more highly appreciated.' The moderation witli which
the hive's advantages arc set forth, th? fairness (a rare
quality in enthusiasts) with which discussion of its
merits is permitted, the singleness of purpose with which
the work has been produced, and the elegance of its
composition, constitute it a gem in the coronet of bee
literature that cannot be too greatly admired. We are
convinced that this little book will enjoy a large circu-
lation, aud have a hearty welcome at the hands of all
bee-keepers. — Ed.

(Bcbats ixam % |)ibcs.

Middle/tarn, Yorkshire. — 'I think if some one took a
tour in this part of the county like that you took in
Ireland, it would do an immense deal of good. Indeed
something of the kind is needed quite as much here as
anywhere. Many of the cottagers are extremely fond of
their bees, but do not know how to manage them, nor
will they believe without seeing.' — A. W.

Mount St. Chapel fields. — Bee Instinct. Small Queens.
— 'I have been interested in the contribution to the
"Physiology of the Bee" by Dr. Donhoff, and wish to
contribute an instance of the marvellous instinct of the
bee, which came under my own observation. Finding
that all traces of the Ligurians with which my bees had
been crossed had nearly disappeared, and that they
seemed to get more vicious, I bought three queens at
the Leamington Show in September. It was with these
imported worker-bees that the remarkable circumstance
occurred. Thinking that by putting them to the hives
it might cause lighting, we allowed them to remain in
boxes imported, and the window being open some took
a flight, of which, after their long confinement, they no
doubt were much in need. Of course we thought they
would come to the window again; but not only did they
do this, but though the window was at one end of the
workshop, and the boxes at the other, they came in, and
made straight for the boxes on which they settled.
This, with bees that had probably never been out of
these boxes since they had come from their own sunny
clime, seemed to be such a proof of their knowledge of
identity, that although it may be the case with some
birds and mammals, it is truly wonderful in so small a
creature. And talking of smallnesa reminds me that
these queens were so small that it was hard to dis-
tinguish them from the workers, except by their lighter
colour. This has not prevented them, however, from
breeding well, and one of the smallest, when we liberated
her from the cage only a few days afterwards, seemed
to be nearly double the size; and" this, although united
to a fading stock, seems to have increased fastest. There-
fore, although it may be well to select large queens
when they are of the same age, yet small queens ma\ be
so through being young, and therefore in that sense to
be preferred.' — (_'. SurFKi.KnoniAM.

Great Yarmouth. — ' I have entered into an arrangement
with the Suffolk B. A., to send their manipulating tent
to the Horticultural show here on the 25th August
next.' — Sam. Barge.

Harlow, Essex. — ' Wo have I think, successfully
launched an Association for this neighbourhood.' — G.
Baser.

J 'ale of York. — Wintering. — ' I ought to tell you
that my hives, fourteen in number, five of them round,
and nine square and double-walled, have been purposely
left without any extra covering through the whole of
the severe season we have passed through, to test their
wintering capacities; and I cannot see that the square
have any advantage over the round. All have wintered
well except one, which was weak to begin with, and is so
still. A few fine days have brought out the, bees, and
pea-meal aud crocuses are in great request.' — J. II.

Colorado, Jan. Yith, 1681. — ' An old friend in a far-off
land wishes you and all your household a very happy
new year and continued prosperity in the great cause to
which you have devoted so much time aud energy.
Betf-kbeping, I may say, is but in its infancy here, this
vast state boasting only of about 2000 hives, owned by
a very few people. Br. King, of Boulder, has the largest
apiary in this state. It is mainly composed of Italians,
numbering about 200 hives. Mr. R, A. Southworth is
another of the bee-enthusiasts. This gentleman has his
abode on the Platte, some twelve miles below Denver.
Mr. J. S. Flory of St. Yrain, .lesse Frazier of Canon
City, Mr. McKay, and Mr. W. A. Helm, hailing from
the same district, have all got a B in their bonnet.
From March until October there are not over a dozen
wet daj's — even in what we call a wet year ; and these
wet days are merely rains or showers of very short dura-
tion. Now contrast this with the eastern and middle
states, or even with our own beloved land, where the
honey season only lasts, we may say, six weeks, and
sometimes a good part of that time the bees are confined
to their hives, whereas in Colorado it was never known
to rain a whole da}-. Don't you think that this smells
good, looking at least from this stand-point? Colorado,
practically speaking, has a year of uninterrupted sun-
shine. Wye seldom see a cloud in the sky. As regards
the quality of the honey, I have seen a good few samples,
and it beats all the American honey to " sticks." It has a
very heavy body, with a rich and golden hue. The
pasturage is the next thing to consider, and of this there
would seem to be an abundance. Wild roses, mountain
raspberry, hog potato, wild grasses, and prairie flowers,
^orn tassels, amber cane, alfalfa, and last, but not least,
oleoma, or the Rocky Mountain bee plant. I don't think
from all I can learn that wintering has ever been very
successful in this state, and it's my opinion that it never
can unless under the "Cellar System." Winter here is
almost uninterrupted sunshine, which, as every one
knows, is detrimental to successful wintering. Be the
frost ever so hard, still the sun shines bright. Damp is
unknown here. A mist was never known. Such are
conducive to the safety of bees in a cellar. From all
these circumstances I am certain that bees wintered in a
cellar would come out strong in spring — don't you think
so? The far west was never in such a prosperous con-
dition as at the present time. Money is here in greater
abundance than my highest expectations ever anticipated.
Money loans range from 12 to 24 per cent per annum.
On house property 12 per cent is what is generally
charged. Other loans 15, 18, and 24 per cent. Cold
and silver mines are all the run. Men make fortunes in
a single day, and sometimes not for years. But if a
man has a few thousand pounds, and a little caution,
he can easily double his money every year, even
with ordinary success; and if luck favour him, why,
five, or even ten times his capital is not considered an
extra thing. I trust to be home on a visit in five years,
and I shall be very pleased to Bnd bee-keeping flourishing
like trees planted by a river — in Colorado.' — R. M. Greig.
Stoke-on-Trent, March 5. — 'Will you please to dis-
continue seeding' me the See Journal? I think my year is
up this month. I belli ve 1 1 eg at to lake it in April four

22

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

years ago. I am giving it up very unwillingly, it has
been a great help to me many times, but I am obliged to
give up my darling bees. I am getting on towards
seventy, and having no one regularly about the place to |
help me, I am not able to attend to them properly. The j
labour of lifting the hives, &c, Sec, is more than I can
manage. They have been a great source of amusement,
and also fair profit, for many years. I tried to dispose of
them last spring, but coidd not meet with a purchaser,
therefore kept them ; but I must give them up at once,
as I am really not able to hive the swarms, &c. This
immediate neighbourhood is not a good one for bees —
but mine always did very well when my neighbours did
not ; this I attribute to the good advice of the Bee
Journal. In conclusion I must thank you for your prompt
attentions to any inquiry I have troubled you with.' —
A. C, March .">.'

Nancy, April \\th. — Sprint/ Dwindling. — ' All my hives
have passed the winter and have got queens ; all but two
are in famous good order, apparently ; but two are suf-
fering from spring dwindling, and feeding does not wake
them up. They both have a little scattered brood, but
very little. I expect this spring dwindling comes gene-
rally from worn-out queens. 1 cau see no other reason
for it in these two hives. I have noticed the same thing
before. One of the hives is a swarm of last year from
one of my oldest and best stocks. The other is* a tolerably
old stock. Let us see. It was a swarm of 1878, and
has been a very good one in its day, and given me lots
of honey. It was in a little cottage hive (large frames)
that I got from you; but last year 1 changed the frames
into a new box. It gave a large quantity of honey the
two first years, but little or none last year. It may be
the hive is too large and heat escapes from it, so the
queen will not lay (it is a double hive, made for two sets
c if frames, but one end is stopped by a board). It was
fairly populous when I opened it about loth March on
a fine day for inspection after winter ; but it has gone
down rapidly ever since. — Or. Pearson.

Hurstbourne, Bournemouth, April 14. — ' Bees have
wintered well here near the pine-woods, having laid in a
good stock of heather honey, and are none the worse for
the severe weather.'

Hailsham, April 15. — Combination Principle. — 'My
bees are doing well; some of the Combination hives aresj
full of bees that I have added some frames of sections at
back, as they are getting a good bit of honey this week.
They are working in them, would it do to put top supers
on yet ? there seems to be plenty of food about.' — E. S.

[We advise our correspondent to let well alone and
not cool the brood-nest by superiug during such ' catchy '
weather. — Ed.]

Holbronh, Horsham, April 1G, 1881. — Early Drones.
— ' Yesterday being Good Friday, while watching my
bees which were out in clouds, I thought I heard the
booming hum of the drone, and on examination I found
one hive with numbers of drones going in and out. To-
day the bees looked like swarming, and the drones in
great numbers ; is not this verv early for the appearance
of drones ?'— II. B. II.

[A happystate of things, but be caref id (by feeding
if necessary) that cessation of income does not cause, the
bees to turn out the drones and destroy the brood. — Ed.]
Leamington, March 17'//, 1881. — Winter Breeding. —
'I have a very strong stock of Carniolians that were out
just before the .January snow-storm. Though it was a
cold afternoon, they had turned out several dead bees, I
should say about two hundred, so I just turned up the
quilt, and found the combs well stored with honey, and
perfectly clean. After the frost had gone at the end of
January, I overhauled them, and found them in good
condition, with three frames of brood, and young bees
batching out, sealed brood, and lots of e\r^, which
showed that the queen must have been laying during

that severe weather. They were in a Woodbury hive
2 ft. 6 in. long, but shut up to an ordinary Woodbury
size by dummies, and I can only account for the dead
bees from the fact of their having so much brood. They
appeared to have sacrificed themselves to save the brood.
I examined them again to-day, and find them in splendid
condition. Another stock of united bees in a Pi-frame
hive is just in splendid condition. What a treat it has
been to see the bees during the last eight or ten days
fetching the artificial pollen (pea-meal) out of a straw

ikep ! And don't they fetch it ?

Hoping we mav all
A W. B. K.'

have a good season is the wish of-

Somerton, March 'loth. — 'The loss of bees in skeps
this winter has been heavy. The other day I saw a
magnificent hive of honey, say about 50 lbs., all the work
of an 1880 Jirst swarm, and which, to the dismay of its
owner, has not a single live bee left. Was this owing
to the age of the queen ? As yet I have only heard of
the loss of one stock in frame-hives. Others are all
working well, full of brood in many stages, those in
double-walled hives being especially so, but at the same
time longer in showing with a change of weather. The
numerous willows aud poplars are now affording an
endless source of emplov'ment to bees in this locality,
which, mingled with our early spring flowers, are very
plentiful, and should be the means of strengthening any
weak stocks. Mine still take syrup eagerly.' — T. C. II.

(Queries imb Replies.

Query No. 381. — Queens Providing Drone Cells. — 1.
Where brood-combs are all worker-comb is it necessary
to cut away in spring to give space for drone-comb ? 2.
Sugar Candy. — Is the sugar-candy used by German bee-
keepers for feeding the ordinary sugar-candy of our shops ?
•'!. Frames in lieu of sections. — Will it answer to use ordi-
nary frames two inches apart from centre to centre at back
of Combination Hive, instead of sectionals ? — Tetbury.

Reply to Query* No. 381. — 1. Not absolutely;
it would be far better to give a frame with half a
sheet of worker foundation only, and let them build
drone-cells below it. 2. To the best of our know-
ledge, Yes. The bees themselves moisten it. •'). Un-
doubtedly; the bees will build as freely in the narrow
frames, but the honey will not be, quite so saleable. We
are importing sections that will fit into our ordinary
frames, and add sreatly to convenience in honey-getting.
—Ed.

Query No. .'!^2. — Enticing bees from a chimney. — In
a chimney, the fireplace attached to which has been
built up, a large stock of bees have lived for about the
last ten years. The chimney is about 18 in. by 9 in.,
and the bees are about 12 ft. from the top. Last year
they swarmed twice, the first time that they have been
observed to swarm. Can I in any way induce them to
come up, so that I can get them and hive them ? If a
few frames filled with foundation were fixed at the top
of the chimney, would the bees leave their combs and
come up to the frames'? Would not covering the top,
leaving au entrance-hole, raise the temperature in the
chimney, and make the bees more likely to swarm ? — G. Q.

Beply to Query No. .'!S:>. — We have no knowledge
of a means of enticing bees from their beloved honey
and brood-combs. If the chimney-top were to be covered
and the bottom opened, the bulk of the bees could be
tumbled down by the use of burning puff-ball, or a
sliglrl dose of sulphur fames, but that proceeding might
cause the death by desertion of thousands of embryo
bees in the combs. Covering the top would probably
raise the temperature ; but would it not also make the
space above the bee-nest more tenable for honey-storing,
and thus tend to hinder swarming ?

May 1, 1881.J

THE BKITISH BEE JOUKNAL.

23

Query No. -'is."). — Bee flora, dorse and Mustard.
Kindly inform rue, ill the columns of the Journal, if gorse
is a g'ood honey-yielding- plant. There is a plot of three or
four acres situate on the top of a hill about a mile, as
the bee Hies, from where I live, would it be within
flight of my bees!J I have sometimes thought that it
you could give a list of honey-yielding plants it would
be of service to your readers in ascertaining the honey-
yielding qualities of their respective districts, and so help
tlirin to determine the ^izr of hive orframemosl suitable
for their district. Your more experienced readers may
not require this assistance, but I think it would be of
service to many who may be like myself only — A
Novice.

Reply to Query Xo. 38;J.— Undoubtedly it is within
range of bee flight, but whether the bees will visit it
depends on whether or not there are superior attractions
elsewhere. Lists of honey plants are of little value to
bee-keepers, as f; -w can grow more than would make the
bees feel hungry. The Journal terms with descriptions
of bee-flora, and scarcely a month passes without
allusion to such flowers as are in season, and recom-
mendations to provide such as will anticipate and help to
fill the intervals between the main crops that grow with-
out cultivation for the special purpose, i.e. between
fruit and white clover and limes, and between white
clover and heather and ivy. Judicious sowings of
mustard and rape will effect the object, and in the hands
of a bee fanner would be doubly paying crops.— Ed.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.

Correction. — In the last paragraph of the Report of
British Bee-keepers' Association, p. 234, Vol. VIII.,
the Rev. Robert Stanley should be the Rev. Astlej
Roberts, whose pardon we beg for our error.

North Britain. — Armenian Bees. — Can anyone afford
information on the domestication of Armenian bees,
and whether any attempts have been permanently
successful ?

Early Drones. — These are too often the progeny of un-
fertilised queens or fertile workers, and their pres in e
in hives not strong in workers should be the signal for
investigation. We have had some curious cases of

1 iv 1 iridised Cyprian queens laying both worker and drone
rggs in worker cells — or at any rate, they are side by
side on the same eonilis, the workers being dark, and
the drones beautifully golden.

Quinby's New Bee-keeping. — We are requested to
tender to Mr. Detwiler, of Toledo, Ohio, who
so kindly forwarded this admirable work to
the library of the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, the best thanks of that Association
for his kind liberality and thoughtfulness;
and we do so with much pleasure.

Comb - (tUides for Skeps. — Use Abbott's
wood-foundation in strips. Pierce and sew
it to the crown with wire or string — 1 and
7-10ths inches apart.

Southwell, Gbahamstown, Cape ofGood
Hope. — We are very glad to hear that the
desire for 'improved bee-culture ' has taken
root, and have duly forwarded the books and f
pap us required. The chief advantage of the
longitudinal hive is its elasticity. The size of
the frames suitable for any particular district
has yet to he determined. The Woodbury, l-'li
long by 8| deep outside, is commonly used in
England ; but in many places a frame similar
to the Woodbury set on end is preferred.
There is a balance of 20d. in your favour.

South Lincolnshire. — Your letter bearing
neither name nor address, its contents were
not admissible to our columns.

1 (rumeshan, Ireland.— It is improbable that
any sane dealer in bee-gear will send goods
out on the promise to pay ' when the honey
expected is sold.' AVe respectfully decline to
entertain any such \ roposal.

Bee-Garden Pencils. —On inquiry we find
Wolff and Son supply pencils with swivel
and string, that must be most useful to
b !e-keepers. We have been favoured with
a cut of them, ami willingly inseit it.

%* Desiring to reduce the Contribution; which I/ave been
in iiy,, for some time, we have given four extra pages this
month : ire are, However, ■■'till obliged to /" tyone some
articles, for which we trust to find room in our nut issue.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

INSTITUTED 1874.

PRESIDENT

THE BARONESS BURDETT-COUTTS.

THE ASSOCIATION will hold their SEVENTH GREAT EXHIBITION of Bees and their
Produce, Hives, and Bee Furxiture, and HONEY FAIR, at the Royal Horticultural
Society's Gardens, .South Kensington, in connexion with the Society's FLOWER SHOW,
on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, July 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and Monday,
August 1, 1881.

ENTRIES CLOSE SATURDAY, JULY 13.

Application for Prize Lists to be made to the Assistant Secretary, J. HUCKLE,

King's Langley, Watford,

Donations in aid of the Prize Fund for the South Kensington Show, and for the Prizes offered by
the Association for Bee-keeping Appliances, at the Royal Agriculture! Show, to be held at Derby, on
July 13 and following days, will be thankfully received by the Hon. Secrelaiy,

HERBERT R. PEEL, Hon. Sec.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[May 1, 1881.

Just Published, Fcap. 8vo., Illustrated, price 6<Z.

THE STEWARTON : The Hive of the Busy
Man. By the Rev. E. Baktbcji, M.A., Head- Master
King Edward VI. 's School, Berkhainsted, Herts; Member
of the Committee of the British Bee-keepers' Association.

London: Longman, Geeen, & Co., Paternoster Row; and
Mr. J. Hdckle, King's Langley, Herts.

THE HONEY BEE.

BEE CULTURE ; or, Successful Management
of the Apiary. By Thos. G. Newman, Editor of the
American ' Bee Journal.' Price One Shilling, of Abbott
Bbos., Southal), London. Free for 18 Stamps.

M

ODERN BEE-KEEPING.

Cottagers.

A Handbook for

Price Gd. Published by the Beitish
Bee-Keepees' Association, P.. B. Journal Office. Post
free, 7 stamps.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL

Is published monthly, at Chicago, 111. at 2 dollars a-year.
It is the oldest, largest, best, and most reliable Bee paper
iu the English language.

Price, including Postage, 6s. 6<f.

972 and 974 West Madison Street, Chicago, Illinois.

DIAGRAMS FOR LECTURES, by the British
Bee-Keepees' Association, with descriptive Pam-
phlet, 8,-., free on rail. Abbott Beos., Southall, Middlesex.

CIjc $ritislj "§tt Journal

AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER

The British Bee Journal is published monthly, and
contains the best practical information for the time being,
showing what to do, and when and how to do it.

Subscribers to the Journal are first, second, and third
class. First class are those who subscribe 10s. Gd. per
annum, from any date, who are entitled to immediate re-
plies, per post, to their queries, when a stamped directed
envelope is sent. Second class are those who subscribe G;.
per annum, and whose queries can only be replied to through
the columns of the Journal ; and Third are Clubs of Cot-
tagers, each consisting of not less than six, to whom the
charge will be 4s. Gd. each Member.

Subscriptions, Correspondence, and Inquiries to be addressed to

C. N. ABBOTT, Bee Master,
School op Apiculture, Fairlawn, Southall, London.

Bronze Medal awarded for Strati) Skeps at the Great

Crystal Palace Show, 1875.

Sixteenth Edition. Price One Shilling.

SEVENTY POUNDS A-YEAR:

HOW I MAKE IT BY MY BEES.

By the late J. W. Fagden.

Also, by the same Author, price Sixpence.

Early Artificial Bee- Sav arming.

No watching required.

Apply to Mrs. J. W. Paglen, The Chestnuts, Alfriston,
Sussex, by whom the same manufacturers of ' Economical
Bee Furniture ' are employed as formerly. fo. 23.

One Half-penny each.

CRYSTAL PALACE LEAFLETS;

IFOIE?, COTTAGEES.

EACH Leaflet giving full instruction on a par-
ticular branch of Bee-keepin,";. Price Gd. per doz. Post
free. Sample Leaflet, Id. Stamp ; 3s. per 100, 25s. per 1000,
assorted or otherwise. Address C. N. Abbott, Bee Master,
School of Apiculture, Southall, near London.

A new supply, Latest Edition, on the way.

rjlHE A B C OF BEE CULTURE. By A. I

X Root, Medina, Ohio, U. S., Editor of ' Gleanings.'

' Invaluable to beginners, and also as a book of reference.'

Price, in paper covers, 4s., Post free. Abbott Bbothbrs,
Southall, London, Middlesex.

CLUBBING.

p LEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. By A. [.
\_1 Root, of Medina, Ohio. 4s. Gd. per annum.

rriHE BEE-KEE.PEBS' MAGAZINE. By A. J.

X Kino, of New York. 4s. 6& per annum.

'jMIK BEE-KEEPERS' GUIDE. By A. G,
X Hill, Kcndallville. Indiana. 2^. Gd. per annum.

All the above may be obtained direct from the Office of.
the Jiritixh Bee Journal ; arrangements for a Monthly
Supply having been entered into,

The whole set, commencing May last, shall be sent for a
year, post free, for 10s.

Office : British Bee Journal, Southall, Middlesex.

PRICE SIXPENCE.

THE GARDEN E E.

A MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE AND FLORICULTURE.

EDITED BY DAVID THOMSON,

Author of ' Handy Book of the Flower-Garden,' ' Fruit Culture under Glass,' &c.

AIDED BY A STAFF OF PRACTICAL GARDENERS.

The Number for May contains: —
Notes — Greenhouse Plants: No. I\ ., Chorozemas — Fruit-Culture: The Appli — How to Make the tno st of Wall-
Borders in Kitchen-Gardens: No. V. — Oentropogon Lucianus- Notes on Broccoli —Hints for Amateurs
Notes on Decorative Greenhouse Plants — Notes from the L'apers— Notes - BotaDyfor Gardenei : No, VII.,
The Ovule, &c. — Jottings from New Zealand Reciprocal Action — Horizontally Trained L'each-trei
Orchids in Bloom — Aponogetrjn Distachyon — Dundee Horticultural Association- -Royal Caledonian
Horticultural Society — Notices of Books — Calendar : Forcing Department; Kit' Inn 'linden Notices lo
Correspondents.

Yearly Subscription, free by Post, 7s, Payable in advance.

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH AND LONDON.

THE

[No. 98. Vol. IX.]

JUNE, 1881.

[Published Monthly.]

(Hfoitorial, Itoitrxs, fa.

JUNE.

If the past month of May has not been all
that could be desired, it has, on the whole,
been a charming one and a vast improvement
on many in preceding years. The usual ' break '
occurred in the middle of it, but did not con-
tinue so long as former experiences led us to
expect, and, excepting that the nights have
been cold, the bees have been doing well.
Swarming is late, which perhaps may be ac-
counted for by the excessive labour of the bees
in honey-gathering, many of our hives being-
less populous in the third than in the first
week, a glut from the orchards being available
before they had made sufficient headway in the
brood-nest, and the loss of life by overwork
great in proportion. In gardens where no bees
are kept there is the usual complaint that the
early fruits are dropping off, and the frosty
nights and blight are blamed as the cause, but
the absence of bees is doubtless the true one,
while others are described as ' shy.' Our goose-
berries hang ' like ropes of onions,' the blossoms
having hud ample fertilisation — a fact well
worthy of careful attention by those who grow
fruit for profit.

Those who have taken part in the promotion
of improved bee-culture may, we feel assured,
congratulate themselves upon having achieved
a very large measure of success, for never in
our experience has there been such inquiry and
demand for improved means as in the present
season. The demand for hives, sectional supers,
and comb-foundation, is simply enormous, the
increase in respect of the last-named being
especially noticeable. When it was not well
made, and only narrow strips coidd be used, a
half-hundredweight was enough to supply most
of the advanced bee-keepers with whom we
came into contact. Last year our experiments
in regard to wooden-based foundation led to
the production of flat-bottomed cells, that,
though of pure wax, were strong enough to
permit full sheets to be used, and the remark-

able success attending them gave an impetus
to its use that has multiplied the demand a
hundredfold. "We have many times alluded
to the true economy attending the iise of
foundation in preference to the utilisation of
old combs ; and what we have been enabled to
show to visitors this year has convinced them,
sometimes against their will, that with careful
management, it is the great stepping-stone to
profit and the certainty of success.

MANAGING AN APIARY.— USE OF
COMB-FOUNDATION.

This being a subject of general interest, and
one on which, in our last, we promised to
enlarge, we took the earliest opportunity of
testing the advice we had given to others by
following it in our own apiary ; and perhaps a
report of the proceedings will be as agreeable
and useful as a continuation of dry and often
monotonous directions.

The first swarm with which we had to deal
was a small one of 2f lbs. only, sent from
Uminster on the 9th of May, it having swarmed
on the 8th. It was hived at 8 p.m. in an old
box-hive converted, as mentioned on another
page, into a Combination or Irish hive, the
bees being confined to four frames of comb-
foundation fitted as directed in page 2 of last
Journal. After three days an additional frame
of foundation was given, and on every second day
an additional one added; and on the 20th they had
eight frames of comb built out, and filled with
brood and honey, the honey that under ordinary
circumstances would have been used up in the
production of comb. Every frame of comb is
beautifully straight and perfect, whether formed
on flat-bottomed or conical-based foundation.
On the 21st a frame of sections was placed in
the rear of the brood-nest, a diaphragm of zinc
intervening ; and though the bees are busy, and
fussing over the foundation, we scarcely expect
much to be done in it imtil they increase in
numbers through the hatching out of the brood.

If a continuance of hot weather were certain,
we would continue to drop new frames of

26

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 1881.

foundation from time to time into the brood-
nest, and we have little doubt but that the bees
would fill them out; but with so small a swarm,
which gets daily smaller through the death of
bees from various causes, natural and otherwise,
we have not ventured to do so. Neither have
we used the extractor, though several of the
combs are very heavy with honey, and some
nearly fit for sealing. The second swarm that
fell to our share was one that had stolen away
from some neglected apiary, and had taken
refuge in a tree overhanging the public foot-
path at Ranelagh Road, Ealing, and which
had caused no little consternation in that select
neighbourhood. A telegram soon brought us
to the spot, and the bees were ' charmed,' and
made to enter a skep placed on a pillar of the
garden wall, and were on the way to Southall
within an hour, where they were soon snugly
ensconced among three combs of foundation
only, the}r being but a small swarm of about
two pounds weight. Nevertheless they worked
well, and a visitor from Grantham, who saw
the result the next day, twenty hours after
they had been Lived, came at once to the con-
clusion that he ' would never trouble about old
combs any more,' since new ones could be so
cheaply and readily produced. They have
now (21st) six brood-combs, which are as many
as they can safely be allowed to have, con-
sidering the coldness of the nights through the
prevailing easterly winds. An artificially-made
swarm from a Cyprian queen mated with
Ligurian drones (?), which are the strongest,
most prolific, and best workers we have, gentle-
ness not being one of their characteristics, has
done wonderfully well in a very short space of
time. The stock was removed May 14, and a
hive containing six frames of foundation was put
in its place ; and as soon as possible, the queen,
not a very handsome specimen, was caught,
deprived of half a wing, and placed upon the
alighting-board, and the work was done.

The six frames were presently reduced to
four ; but next clay the swarm received an
accession of bees from the stock, and most of
the combs having been worked upon, the other
two were added, and since then two more have
been given ; and now (the 22nd) the bees are
working well in a frame of sections at the rear
of the brood-nest.

Now if little swarms can do such wonderful
things with the aid of foundation, what will not
a big swarm be capable of? We have little
hesitation in saying that by its use, careful
management, and with i\\v help of an extractor
used with a gentle hand (for new combs arc
tender), every swarm of bees woidd repay its
cost many times over during a fair average sum-
mer, and stocks can be multiplied ad libitum.
Those who are in any difficulty about fixing

foundation in these frames should bore a hole
as indicated in the figure, on one side of the
centre of the top bar, and then with a key-hole
saw which may be bought for a few pence and
stuck into a cork for a handle, the bar should

a a A

be sawn as indicated from end to end of the
frame, and then from the hole first bored
through the side to A, which will allow the
part to the right of A to pull open sufficiently
for the admission of the foundation, when a
couple of screws, pins, or wires through or
round the bar at a, a, will hold the foundation
safely, and the bar will be as strong and useful
as ever for the purpose intended.

Separating Ripe from Crude Honey. —
The use of foundation, as indicated iu the fore-
going, enables the bees to build comb so rapidly
and cheaply, and to store honey so readily, that,
as a matter of necessity, the extractor must
come largely into use to relieve the combs of
their fatness, and as, in such a case, the nectar
thrown out will be of various degrees of ripo-
ness, any means by which the ripe may be
separated must be helpful to the bee-keeper.
Some two or three years ago we were inquired
of on this subject, and suggested that all the
honey extracted should be put into a tall vessel
having a tap at its base, and that gravitation
should be the separating agent, and we have
been informed that the j)lan answers 'admirably.'
At the top of the vessel, which may be of tin,
or tinned copper, a hair-sieve is placed, into
which the honey is poured to be strained, and
while this is proceeding, the lid (saucepan-lid)
of the vessel fits upon it, and
keeps out bees and dust. And
it will be found that when
the vessel is full, and has
stood for a day or two, the
•watery honey will have se-
parated and will be on the
top, and the thick ripened
honey can be drawn off at
the bottom. Much that is
watery can be from time to
time taken off the top, and
fed back to the bees at night
with valuable, effect. With-
out some test, the judgment
of the operator will be some-
what exercised as to the
sufficient ripeness of what is
drawn off at the bottom ;
but by the introduction of
a tunnel and a glass vessel
charged with shot or mer-
cury to act as a 'melomcter,'
the sufficient specific gravity of the honey could

Juno 1, 1881.1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

27

be determined, and the business rendered com-
paratively certain. We had intended to exhibit
this novelty at the forthcoming shows in the
classes for ' New Inventions ; ' but as extreme
pressure of business may, and probably will
prevent our exhibiting in competition this year,
we prefer to give the idea at once, in the hope
that it may be useful in the coming summer.

For a floating valve, a lemonade or soda-
water bottle, with smooth-ended bulb, would
answer every purpose, and the whole thing,
which we show in plane section, may be cheaply
and easily made by any tinsmith. As a
simple honey strainer, it commends itself to
the notice of every bee-keeper. A plain bag
of flannel or strainer-cloth may take the place
of the sieve, and being easily home-made, may
be preferred.

Preserving Spare Queens. — Forming
Nuclei.— When queens are removed from a
hive, the weather will, presumably, be suf-
ficiently fine for the work we now have on
hand, which is the formation of nuclei in which
to preserve those that may be considered worth
the trouble involved in the operation. Put the
queen alone in a box, a clean, wholesome
empty (?) queen-box will do, and cover it with
perforated zinc through which bees can feed
her. Place the box, zinc side, downwards on
broadish board, supporting it (the box) at the
corners, so that there shall be an inch of space
under it. Lay another board or a tile on top
to keep it from being blown over, and to keep
it dry, shoidd a passing shower come on. Put
on veil and gloves if needed, and having
opened a hive that is not fit for supering, lift
out three or four of the central brood-combs,
minus the queen, shake the bees that adhere
upon the board on which the queen-box has
been placed, and return the combs to the hive,
which may now be closed again. The effect of
this operation, which should be performed with-
out smoking or quieting in any way, will be
that all the bees that have ever flown will
return to the parent hive, while those that
have never seen daylight will rush tmder, and
crowd round the queen-box, where they may
be safely left for three or four hours to make
the acquaintance of, and feed the queen, and
give her a new and congenial odour; when they
may be allowed to unite. In the meantime a
comb of brood should be selected, and we
would advise that it be one from which the
bees have hatched from the centre, and are
scaled and hatching at the circumference of the
brood-circle as being least likely to suffer from
a possible deficiency of bees, and that it be
placed between two containing honey and
pollen in fair quantity, the three to be enclosed
in a hive, as suggested in former pages, and
into these the bees and queen should be allowed

to run, and the work is done. There are other
ways of forming nuclei, for hatching queen-
cells and the like, but we know of no other
tested method by which queens may be pro-
vided with courtiers at short notice, and estab-
lished at once on stands without liability to
desertion.

Comb Honey ;-. Extracted. — Seeing that
bees so rapidly build out fidl sheets of founda-
tion in stock hives, and that sheets for Woodbury
frames can be obtained for less than 6d. each, we
have begun to wonder whether it would not be
equally profitable to give full sheets in ordinary
frames for the bees to fill with honey, to be
removed, when ready to be crushed and strained,
and so save the labour and mess of extracting.
We have little doubt that this plan woidd be
infinitely preferable to very many bee-keepers,
and considering there would be no loss of wax,
no labour to the bee-keeper, and very little to
the bees, while the danger of robbing and loss
of bee life, consequent on extracting, would be
avoided, we think the idea worth recording.
Cut off from the body of a hive by excluder
zinc, the bees will build out and fill foundation
in frames in ' no time ' when the weather and
surroundings are good, and the wax, after
crushing and straining, would be of the purest.
We do not propose to dispense with sections
and the beautiful comb-honey so saleable in
them, nor with the extractor for lightening
over-charged brood-combs ; but our suggestion
will, we feel, commend itself to many who are
satisfied with run honey, and who want to get
it pure and 'ripe' with the minimum of trouble
and expense.

CONTRACTING THE BREEDING SPACE
DURING A HARVEST.

' Could you give us in next issue an article on Con-
tracting the space of queen during lioney-haroest, as
mentioned on page 29 of last volume ? I don't quite
see how this can be done, unless at the expense of
weakening; the stocks later on, when the old bees are
dying and the queen perhaps out of laying.' — Modesty.

Under the heading ' Prevention of Swarming
from Supered hives,' on pages 207, 208, of the
Journal for March last, we have advised a more
advanced step than the contraction of the
breeding space, to wit, — the removal of the
queen, and the prevention of breeding alto-
gether during a. honey- glut. The fear of
weakening the stock later on is groundless with
fair management, for, under the ordinary natural
conditions of natural swarming, the hive is
quecnless for nine or ten days, and breeding is
suspended during fifteen days at the lowest
computation, to say nothing of the fact that
the great majority of the hive's population
depart with the swarm ; yet it is under these
circumstances, the cottager gains his super,

28

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 1881.

small though it may be. It is well known that
the honey-harvest is of short duration in this
country, seldom lasting more than a fortnight;
and to be of best practical service the queen's
removal or confinement should have been
effected a week or so before the glut comes on,*
that there may be little or no unsealed brood to
require nursing or attention. Queens could
undoubtedly be confined to a portion of the
hive, by diaphragms of zinc, with the requisite
perforations, but it is questionable if that would
prevent the desire for or the attempts at
swarming which cause so much hindrance and
vexation. We have before remarked that it is
after a swami has departed, and when there is
little brood to attend to thao the cottager gets
his super, and there can be no harm in imi-
tating the conditions in respect of the brood,
but leaving ih.e swarm to work in the supers.
After the removal of the queen it will be
necessary (to prevent swarming) to cut out all
the queen-cells but one, within seven or eight
days, or the first young queen that hatches out
will lead off the majority of the population.

CHEAP HIVES FOR COTTAGERS.

The efforts made from time to time to
teach those how to make hives cheaply who
cannot afford to buy them are worthy of all
praise, and we should be failing in our duty
as journalists if we did not give every possible
facility for and encouragement to the movement.
At the same time we must not shut our eyes to
the evil that will arise through the production
of so great a variety of frames as turning every
box holding a bushel into a bee-hive will cause.
The great feature in frame-hive bee-culture is
the interchangeability of frames, which can
only be assured by preserving uniformity in
size and pattern ; but if we are to use every
box that comes in our way, and make frames
to fit it instead of making it to fit our frames,
we shall but increase our difficulties.

The Irish Bee-keepers' Association, wiser in
its youth than was the British, have determined
to adopt one or more sizes of frames, and to
recognise no others ; and we would urge them
while they are about it to determine on the
kind of frame they will encourage, whether
with wide ends, wide shoulders, or distance-pins,
that they may be interchangeable in fact as in
theory, and every bee-keeper may rely on it as
a standard. Our purjiose, however, is not a
discussion of the merits of frames, but to show
how common beef, starch, or soap boxes may
be converted to hives suitable for the reception
of any frames that may be in use in the apiary.

* This requires considerable judgment and attention,
more perhaps than the majority of bee-keepers would be
able to give. — Ed.

We would take a box of sufficient size and
depth, and instead of cutting it about, would
procure two jsieces of board of the width desired
for the hive side, and of the length of the in-
side of the box, and would fix them into the
box as far apart as the width of the hive should
be; cut an entrance-hole, and ' the luce' is
made. The frames can be made or purchased,
and, in the latter case, they will be cheaper
and more readily obtained if of a recognised
pattern. By these means a hive, equal in all
respects for the bees to our Irish or Combina-
tion hive, may be made for less than half the
price charged for a new one, the only drawback
being its possibly ungainly appearance. Sup-
posing we have boxes at command, 20 to 30
inches long, 18 to 20 inches wide, and 10 to 15
inches deep, any of which woidd be good for
our purpose, and wish to convert one into a
hive. We take, hap-hazard, one that measures,

say, 24 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 12
inches deep inside, and cut an entrance-hole in
the centre of one side to denote the front ; we
then take two pieces of board of the length be-
tween front and back of the box, and 85 inches
wide, and fix them 14i inches apart to the
baek and front and touching the bottom of the
box, as indicated in the figure. Ten Woodbury
Standard self-distance keeping frames (our pat-
tern), with top bars split to receive foundation,
may be bought for 2-3 pence, or may bo made at
home, or any other pattern may be used ; and
a dummy for the back, and a quilt for the top,
will complete the hive. The roof-cover may be
made according to taste. If the top edges of
the boxes be cut, so that thera shall be a slope
from front to back, a couple of boards nailed
together, with ledges likr a common door, will
be all that is necessary for a roof.

We have fitted up several old boxes (old
hive bodies, 20 by 21 by 11) in the way de-
scribed, and they answer admirably ; and there
is (he advantage that there is room on both
sides of the inner walls for any amount of

June 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

29

packing for winter, or sections in summer.
High outside walls are no disadvantage, as
they afford protection and give space for super-
ing, and a waterproof top can easily be ex-
temporised.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION:
HANDBOOK OF MODERN BEE-KEEP-
ING—ITS AUTHORSHIP ?
Considerable surprise, irritation, and regret,
have been caused by an assertion in a paragraph
contained in the Journal of Horticulture, to the
effect that ' the author of Modern Bee-keeping is
Mr. Cheshire, who wrote it gratuitously for the
British Bee-keepers' Association, especially to
assist Cottagers.' "We have no knowledge how
far Mr. Cheshire, as a sub-editor on bee matters
in that Journal, may be responsible for this
statement ; but as it ignores the services of the
late Mr. John Hunter as co-author, and that of
the several gentlemen on the Committee who
gave many hours of gratuitous labour to the
task of revising and reconstructing the work,
we trust Mr. Cheshire will feel it his duty to
disclaim more than a share of the honour that
may attach to its production. It is within our
knowledge that the late Mr. Hunter and Mr.
Cheshire, having already written a book each
on the subject, it was deemed courteous to give
them the opportunity of creating the body of
the proposed Manual, but it was understood
that it was to issue as the work of the Com-
mittee of the British Bee-keepers' Association ;
and, most certainly, Mr. Cheshire cannot ho-
nestly be accredited with its sole authorship, as
is implied in the paragraph referred to. Mr.
Hunter, unfortunately, died before the revising
was completed — ' proofs ' of the work had been
sent to every member of the Committee, and
there were sundry meetings in respect of it, the
co-authors being present, and the final task of
bringing the workings of these gentlemen into
harmony was deputed to a sub-committee con-
sisting of Messrs. Cowan (chairman), Hooker,
and Cheshire, and the result of their labour is
to be found in the book itself.

We scarcely need remark that the services
rendered by all were ' gratuitously ' and cheer-
fully given in the interest of the Association and
' especially to assist cottagers;' and in behalf of
the latter, to his honour be it said, no man ever
worked harder or more perseveringly in regard
to bee-keeping than did the late Mr. John
Hunter.— Ed. B. B. J.

WATER FOR BEES.

This is highly essential, and can best be
supplied by fixing a cask at, say, a foot from
the ground, and arranging that water shall
drip continually from it. Bees prefer water

that has become aerated, and dripping and
splashing amongst clean pebbles effects this in
an easy and efficacious way. During the pre-
sent dry weather our ' dripping wells ' are
thronged with bees all day.

DEATH OF HERR SCHMID.

We have heard, with extreme regret, of the
death of Herr Schmid, the well-known and
accomplished editor of the Bienenzeitimg, which
occurred at Eichstadt on the 2nd ultimo. He
was one of the principal representatives and
exponents of German bee-keeping at the last
Cologne Exhibition, and his death will be a
great loss to bee-keepers wherever the art is
practised.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Committee Meeting held at lOo Jermyn Street, on
Wednesday, May 11. Present,— Mr. Cowan'(in the chair),
Mr. Hooker, Mr. Jonas, Mr. Stewart, and the Assistant
Secretary. Mr. Garratt, representative of the West
Kent Association, also attended the meeting, in reference
to the arrangements for the Tunbridge Wells Show.
The Honorary Secretary (Rev. H. R. Peel) was unable
to lie present at this and the two previous Monthly
Committee Meetings owing to a long and protracted
illness. The minutes of the last Committee Meeting
were read, confirmed, and signed. The Chairman re-
ported that he had prepared a list of articles suitable for
use in the Bee Tent and at lectures, the cost of which
would amount to from four to five pounds: resolved, That
the Chairman be empowered to provide the case of
articles required in accordance with his Report. The
several arrangements for Tunbridge Wells Show were
discussed and resolved upon, and Mr. Garratt was re-
quested to communicate with the Council of the Bath
and West of England Agricultural Society in reference
thereto. Judges for the South Kensington Show were
selected, and the Secretary was requested to write to the
several gentlemen asking them to accept the office.

The balance-sheet for the month ending April 30 was
read showing a balance in hand of 3-°>/. Is. 9d.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

(Discussion on Mr. Abbott's paper on ' The Hive for the
Advancing Bee-keeper,' read on April Gth, 1881).

Mr. T. W. Cowan said they were all indebted to Mr.
Abbott for bringing before them in such a clear manner
the subject of hives for the advancing bee-keeper. There
were one or two remarks he should like to make, but
they would be on matters of detail, and would not affect the
general principles laid down by Mr. Abbott. First, then,
with regard to the propolisation of frame ends. "With
narrow-ended frames on runners, supposing we allow that
propolisation takes place on both sides of the metal the
extent of it would be 1| inch if the frames are 3 of an
inch wide. With broad-shouldered frames it is a little
more than this. But if we have thin metal for the runners,
the propolisation is reduced to J inch. He had for some
time adopted Novice's metal frame comers, which were
illustrated in the first volume of the British Bee Journal ;
with these propolisation was reduced to a minimum, as,
two knife edges as it were intersected each other, and
there was no possibility of the bees sticking the ends of
the frames to the runners. He had used racks of wood
as introduced by Mr. Woodbury, then the metal racks of
Mr. Pettitt,then those of Mr. Neighbour, broad shoulders
and distance pins, and found less trouble with plain frames

30

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 188i.

and metal runners. It was certainly a great convenience
to be able to push all the frames together without danger
of crushing bees, but there were times when the bee-
keeper might find it advantageous to have his frames
either close together or further apart than li inches.
For instance, by bringing the frames to lj inches from
centre to centredrone brood would be prevented, and by
placing them farther apart iu winter we find bees
cluster more compactly together. With the wide-ended
frames of Van Deusen he. thought there would be a
difficulty in extracting the honey unless a special extractor
were made for them, they are also inconvenient for un-
capping. He had used the Giotto hive, but had found
it troublesome and had some time since given it up.
With regard to the waste of heat at the top of the
hive where metal runners were used, he would point out
there was no necessity for this, as the top of the hive
might be just as thick where the rabbets were as in any
other part of the hives, and in all his hives the outer case
of dead air or chaff reached above the rabbets so that
there could be no escape of heat. He was very pleased
with Mr. Abbott's idea of utilising the wooden foundation
for a division between two stocks of bees. He thought
it an excellent idea, for which Mr. Abbott deserved their
thanks, inasmuch as it would be a great assistance in
wintering bees, and in keeping small lots like those of
nuclei. With regard to working sections in the hive he
preferred to have them started in the body hive, and then
to place them in racks on the top to have completed ; he
found bees took to them better if managed in this way.
He complimented Mr. Abbott on the neatness and
accuracy with which the frames shown were made, and
thought bee-keepers who tried to make their own frames
could not expect them to work as well as these would.

Mr. Cheshire took exception to many of Mr. Abbott's
observations, but was much pleased with the wooden-
based comb dummy or divider, and had no doubt but
that its introduction was brought about through his
(Mr. Cheshire's) observations some time since on the
non-conductivity of combs and their suitability for such
purpose. It was a really scientific arrangement. He
strongly objected to Mr. Abbott's broad-ended top bars
and wooden runner, preferring the zinc runner and
distance-pins to keep the frames at proper distance.
He also condemned the Nellis and Giotto frame ends
on account of the quantity of propolis that would be
used. It was all very well, he said, for Mr. Abbott to
state that in well-made frames that touched closely bees
would not propolise, but in his experience they always
did so to some extent. Propolis was of that peculiar
nature that in separating articles joined by it, it drew
out into strings and did not retain the form it had when
in the joint, and consequently when replacing the parts
of a hive that, had been joined, there would be a cushion
of propolis between the surfaces which would accumulate
from time to time and render separation impossible
except by violence. In the hands of a novice the frames
proposed by Mr. Abbott would be highly dangerous to
bee life, and the crushed bees would tend to keep the
frames apart and increase the liability to propolisation,
to say nothing of the possible destruction of queens.
Again, the frame ends proposed by Mr. Abbott woidd
practically form thin inner walls to the hive, round
which the air could freely circulate, aud he (Mr.
Cheshire) much preferred open frame ends that per-
mitted the bees in winter to cluster upon the warm
hive walls, and pass freely round the combs, as the need
of food might necessitate change of position. Mr. Abbott
had proposed closed frame ends to obtain non-circulating
spaces between the combs, but practically destroyed
them by proposing to make winter passages through
the combs that would permit the circulation he was
anxious to prevent. With thick hive walls of non-
conducting material he had always found the bees
clustering in winter upon them, and the open frames

were most convenient in such case and winter passages
unnecessary. He had successfully wintered iu a hive of
the kind named a little nucleus of bees, not more than
a teacupful, with a queen, notwithstanding the severity
of the season, and they were then bright and healthy.
His opinion was decidedly in favour of open frame ends
resting on metal runners, and kept apart by distance pins,
that hives should have thick non-conducting walls, and the
bees enclosed in winter by cushions of similar character.

Mr. Lyon and Captain Martin spoke in favour of
broad-shouldered frames as most helpful to the novice in
bee-keeping, and especially where a large amount of
work had to be done.

Mr. Abbott in reply said he was quite prepared for
differences of opinion on the merits of his suggestions,
and as regarded Mr. Cheshire's observations he would
remind his hearers that his hive was supposed to be in
the hands of advancing bee-keepers, and Mr. Cheshire's
objection to it, for use by a novice fell to the ground. The
remarks that the wide-ended frames formed thin and cold
inner walls were nullified by the fact that he (Mr.
Abbott) had proposed to leave sufficient space between
the frame ends and the hive walls, to permit the intro-
duction of warm packing for winter, which, as he had
stated, could be pressed against them ; the spaces in
summer being available for sections if desired.

Mr. Cowan, in proposing a vote of thanks, said although
this was the first time Mr. Abbott had read a paper be-
fore them it was not the first time his views had been
made public, as this hive question had been brought for-
ward by Mr. Abbott in the British Bee Journal, and the
hive as shown and explained to-day had been developed
step by step from the original hive, described in the first
volume of the Journal. He had listened with much interest
to the paper and the discussion, and said he felt the}- were
all much indebted to Mr. Abbott for Iris paper. The
Kev. G. Raynor seconded the resolution.

Mr. Cheshire moved a vote of thanks to the Chairman
for presiding. Captain Martin seconded the resolution.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Donors to Prize Fund.

H. G. Morris, Esq. .
G. Neighbour & Son
G. Allen, Esq.

E. S. Whealler, Esq.
Rev. J. L. Sisson

II. Bostock, Esq.
J. Bassano, Esq.
Rev. II. R. Peel
G. Walker, Esq. (jun.)

F. R. Jackson, Esq. .
Rev. E. Bartrum
Thos. W. Cowan, Esq.
C. II. Hodgson, Esq.
Thos. F. Ward, Esq.

£ s.

d.

1 1

0

1 1

0

0 5

0

0 10

0

0 10

0

2 2

0

1 1

0

1 1

0

1 5

0

1 1

0

1 1

0

1 1

0

0 10

6

0 10

0

SHOWS AND BEE TENT ENGAGEMENTS
IN 1881.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION'.

June 0 and four following days. — West of England
Society at Tunbridge Wells.

June 7 & 8. — Agricultural Show at Iluugerford.

July 7. — Horticultural Show at Aylesbury.

July 7. — Horticultural Show at Wimbledon.

July 1-'!. — Horticultural Show at Ilawkhurst.

July 13-18. — Royal Agricultural Show at Derby.

July 26- August 1.— Annual Show B. B. K. A., South
Kensington.

July 26-29. — Caledonian Apiarian Annual Show at
Stirling.

June 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

31

July 30 & August 1. — Horticultural Show at South-
ampton.

August 17 & 18. — Shropshire Bee-Keepers' Associa-
tion's Annual Show at Shrewsbury.

August 18. — Berks and Bucks B.K. A. at Maidenhead.

August 25. — Horticultural Show at Wantage.

August 30. — Horticultural Show at Long Buckby.

August 31. — Horticultural Show at Horsham.

HERTFORDSHIRE ASSOCIATION.

July 20.— Herts Agricultural Show at Hatfield.
July 22. — Waltham Cross Cottage Garden Show.
August 10 & 11. — Hertfordshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion's Annual Show at St. Albans.

August 24. — Much Hadham Garden Show.
Sept. 8. — Horticultural Show at Harpenden.

WEST KENT ASSOCIATION.

June 6 and four following da3's. — Bath and West of
England Society's Show at Tunbridge Wells.

June 29. — Farningham Rose and Horticultural Show.

July 10. — Annual Show of the Association at the
West Kent Horticultural Show, Camden Park, Chisle-
hurst.

August 3. — Yalding Cottage Gardeners' Society Show.

August 4. — St. Mary Cray, Cottagers' Horticultural
Show.

August 10. — Frant Cottagers' Association.

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The general meeting of the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers'
Association was held at the Exchange Hall, Grantham,
on Thursday, the 19th ult., when, in the unavoidable
absence of the president, the Bishop of Nottingham, the
Rev. E. F. Quarrington, Rector of Stroxton, presided.
There was a fair attendance of members, and much
interest shown in the proceedings.

The Chairman, after having remarked at some length
upon the report to be presented, and commending the
object of the Association as one deserving of greater
support generally, called upon the Hon. Sec. to read the
report, which was as follows : —

Your Committee, in presenting their annual report
and balance-sheet, are glad to be able to state that, not-
withstanding the very adverse seasons experienced of late
for profitable bee-keeping, a small increase in the number
of members has taken place, the total number at the
present time exceeding two hundred.

The annual exhibition held at Boston in September, —
although this was entirely new ground, for, out of a
population of over 18,000, there was not a single exhibit
— was well supported, and much interest was evinced,
resulting in several new members being enrolled. Your
Committee were specially aided on the occasion by the
Rev. Herbert R. Peel, of Abbot's Hill, Hemel Hempstead,
Hon. Secretary to the British Bee-keepers' Association,
who kindly attended to deliver an address the evening
preceding on 'Bee-keeping in 1880;' and this feature
undoubtedly proved a grand introduction to that which
was to follow. The address, through the further kindness
of Mr. Peel, was afterwards printed and circulated
amongst the members. Of the exhibition, and the
various exhibits, a full report was, through the kindness
of Mr. Abbott, published in the British Bee Journal,
which the Committee caused to be sent to the members.
And here they cannot help acknowledging a feeling of
regret that there is still a little slowness on the part of
members to advance — especially in the production of
those nice sectional supers of from one to two pounds
weight, which meet with such a ready sale at good prices.
The best prizes at the Show were all taken by friends
from a distance. Special mention, however, should be
made of the neat, marketable form in which the extracted

honey exhibited by members was shown, evincing, as it
did, a marked improvement on former years.

The Association's Silver Cup, value five guineas, and
offered for the largest exhibit of honey taken without
destroying the bees, to members resident in the county,
and who should win it three times, was finally awarded
to Mr. Sells, of Uffington, at the Long Sutton Show. A
second Cup has (by the kind liberality of a few of the
members) been provided, which, after very close com-
petition at the Boston Show, was awarded (for the first
time) to Mr. T. Sells, of Uffington.

Your Committee, from past experience, consider it
desirable to continue the practice of holding the annual
exhibition at different towns in the county, as one of
the best means of advancing the work, as also of in-
creasing the number of members to the Association ;
and, as opportunity offers, to give small displays at
Village Flower Shows. This was undertaken by a few
willing members at three or four Shows during the
season, and formed a great centre of attraction.

The county of Lincoln being so very extensive, your
Committee considered it desirable to appoint District
Secretaries ' to hold the fort' after each exhibition. Tiie
arrangement they are pleased to state, is working
satisfactorily.

Your .Committee would express satisfaction at the
progress generally of the more advanced method of bee-
keeping in the county. Wherever the exhibition has
been held, its fruits may now be found ; and as a rule
those who formerly dreaded the little Bee, having wit-
nessed the experiments in the Bee-Tent, no longer do
so, whilst many members have become real experts and
willingly assist in helping on the work whenever an
occasion presents itself. Still there is great want of a
regular teacher to visit members and direct them,
especially those starting with bar-frame hives ; and this
want, it is hoped, will ere long be provided for.

The arrangement by affiliation to the British Bee-
keepers' Association your Committee hope will . be
followed with results beneficial to both, and that by
such co-operation the one common object may be greatly
furthered. Your Committee would here state that there
are now twelve County Associations in affiliation with
the British, the President of each being Vice-President
of the British. County Associations in affiliation con-
tribute one guinea per annum, and are entitled to the
free use of the Bee Tent for manipulations, a silver medal,
bronze medal, and certificate to offer as prizes, and the
assistance of the expert at the Annual Show, also of
being represented at the quarterly meetings.

Your Committee would be glad to find the Association
receiving a larger measure of support from the clergy
and county gentry, this being, as they believe, a matter
of the highest importance to the residents in rural
districts, and feeling assured that the introduction and
wider knowledge of an improved and more profitable
system of bee-keeping, especially amongst the poorer
classes, would be attended with the best possible results.

In drawing attention to the financial statement annexed,
your Committee regret the amount of arrears of sub-
scriptions and would remind members that as all the
labours of the officers of the Association are voluntary,
it is very desirable to save them as far as possible un-
necessary trouble and anxiety, as well as to lessen the
expense of stationery and stamps; and this they suggest
might be done by members remitting their subscriptions
at the commencement of each year, or on receipt of notice.

Before closing this Report, your Committee desire
especially to thank the Rev. Herbert R. Peel for his
instructive and able address at Boston, which contributed
so greatly to the success of the annual gathering. To
Lieut.-Col. Moore, who presided over the meeting, in the
absence of the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Nottingham,
President of the Association, the grateful thanks of the
members are also due. Of the valuable assistance

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 1881.

rendered throughout the whole of the proceedings by the
Mayor of Boston (J. Thorns, Esq.), your Committee feel
they cannot speak too highly, to his kindly sympathy
and generous aid, as also to his own active participation
in the work of the exhibition, must be attributed a large
proportion of the interest aroused in the town and
district, which they hope and believe cannot fail to prove
of lasting benefit to the Association, and materially tend
to the advancement of its object. And, further, your
Committee desire on this occasion to acknowledge the very
valuable aid so generously given at the annual exhibitions
of the Association by the Rev.- J. Lawson Sisson, of
North Walsham, whose able lectures and clever
manipulations in the Bee Tent especially have been so
instructive and amusing.

After some discussion, the Chairman moved, and Mr.
John Hall seconded, ' That the report and balance-sheet
be adopted, and that the same be printed and sent to
each member; also that thirty copies be sent to the
Hon. Secretary of the British Bee-keepers' Association.
(Carried unanimously.)

Mr. Sells proposed, and Mr. II. Yates seconded, a vote
of thanks to the President, Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Sec,
and Committee for their valuable services during their
term of office. (Carried unanimously.)

Mr. Alsop proposed, and Mr. Upton seconded, the re-
election of the Bishop of Nottingham, President, H.
Levick, Esq., Hon. Treasurer, Mr. it. 11. Godfrey, Hon.
Sec. (Carried unanimously.)

Mr. Plowright proposed, and Mr. II. Yates seconded,
'That the following gentlemen be elected to serve on
the Committee for the year: — Mr. John Bolton, Grantham;
G. P. Barrell, Esq., Spalding; J. W. Measures, Esq.,
M.D., Long Sutton ; J. G. Desborough, Esq., Stamford ;
Mr. T. Sells, Uffington ; Jas. Eaton, Esq., Grantham;
Mr. Geo. Brett, Grantham; W. A. Carline, Esq., M.D.,
Lincoln ; Mr. Upton, Grantham ; John Small, Esq.,
M.D., Boston; Mr. Plowright, Grantham; Mr. Wm.
Barns, Londonthorpe ; Mi'. G. Bywater, Louth. (Carried
unanimously.)

The question of locality for holding the next exhibi-
tion was discussed. The Hon. Sec. read a letter received
from Mr. G. Bywater, of Louth, asking that the Associa-
tion's next exhibition be held at Louth in September ;
also a letter from G. F. Barrell, Esq., of Spalding, ex-
pressing an opinion favourable for Louth. After a
lengthy discussion, Mr. John Bolton proposed that the
next exhibition be held at Louth, provided that a sum
of not less than 30/. be subscribed to the prize fund of
the Association by the inhabitants of Louth and district.
Mr. H. Yates, in seconding, suggested that a guarantee
should be given for the sum named, which should be
paid to the fund of the Association prior to the Show,
and that the Hon. Sec. be requested to write to Mr.
Bywater, the District Sec. at Louth, the discussion of
the meeting. (Carried.)

The Hon. Sec. stated that the duties devolving upon
him had become so very great consequent upon the
extension of the society's work, that he would be glad
if the meeting coidd see their way to the appointing of
an assistant-secretary, who should do the general work
of the Association ; and if so he would be happy to
continue to give his services as hitherto in directing
matters. By the unanimous wish of the meeting, the
Hon. Sec. was requested to engage what assistance he
required, the cost of such assistance to be charged to the
general fund of the Association.

The drawing for hives and bees was kindly conducted
by John Hawkins, Esq., assisted by Masters H. Dickin-
son and G. Godfrey, when the Rev. B. Bailey, Mr. Geo.
Brett, Mr. Wm. Barns, and Mr. Jas. Barnacle, were the
lucky ones drawn. Amidst some merriment, Mr.
Hawkins remarked the rather remarkable fact that the
members drawn were all B's.

The balance-sheet showed the receipts from all sources
to be 867. Is. lid., and the expenditure in prizes, silver
cup and general expenses, 83/. 15s. Id., leaving a cash
balance of 1/. 9s. lOd. with stock, consisting of silver
cup, bee-tenting, two slingers, hive, and sundries, to the
value of 11/. 17s. Gd.

A hearty vote of thanks, proposed by Mr. H. Yates,
and seconded by Mr. Sells, was accorded the Chairman,
who thanked the meeting for their kind expressions, and
said it had given him great pleasure in being present to
take part in the proceedings.

HERTFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPEBS'
ASSOCIATION.

The Committee of the above Association made arrange-
ments in the early part of the spring for their appointed
expert, Mr. T. B. Blow, of Welwyn, to pay a visit to each
member of the Association during the spring months, for
the purpose of giving the members advice in the manage-
ment of their bees. Mr. Blow was allowed to devote one
hour to each member's apiary ; all time occupied beyond
one hour to be paid for at the rate of 2s. Gd. per hour.
The result of these visits has been to add a large number
of new members to the Association, and much interest in
the improved methods of bee culture has been created
in all parts of the county. At the last meeting of the
Committee Mr. Blow's Report was read as follows : —

Gentlemen, — I have to report that the Spring visit to
the members of the Association was commenced on March
3rd and was completed on April 30th. The actual num-
ber of days occupied was thirty-two, and during that time
250 members have been called upon, and 842 hives of bees
examined. The actual time taken up in examination of
hives and giving of advice has been 121| hours, showing
an average of slightly under half-an-hour to each person.
The number of miles travelled has been about 647. In
only two cases has the allotted time been exceeded.
Taking the apiaries on the whole throughout the county
they may be said to be in good condition, the proportion
of good to bad being 7 to 1. A considerable number of
stocks have perished during the past winter ; Tuesday,
Jan. 18, being a very fatal day, many having then been
blown over and destroyed. Under deaths from other
causes, death from starvation in bar-frame hives claims
by far the greatest number of victims. The starvation
has not, in my opinion, resulted from the bees having
been left with a short store at the commencement of
winter, but from insufficient covering on the top of the
hive, and from neglect, or want of knowledge of con-
tracting the space of the hive by dummies. In many
cases only one thickness of carpet was placed on the
top, and often this had been shifted out of place in the
act of putting on the roof, thus causing a continuous
draught through the hive. In one case where the bees
were still alive no quilt at all was on the hive — simply
the roof. I could not ascertain how long this had been
the case. The number of bar-frame hives in the members'
apiaries is 504, and of skeps 338 ; so that it will be seen
that the frame-hives have come into very general use.
but certainly a proportionate amount of knowledge re-
specting their management has not been acquired with
them, and I am forced to the conclusion that in the
hands of inexperienced persons they are far worse than
straw skeps. Information respecting them was, however,
eagerly sought, and I have no doubt that a great im-
provement in their management and wintering will be
made. With skeps fewer deaths have arisen from star-
vation, owing, 1 think, to the fact that less care is required
in wintering, and the management is better understood.
A large number had, however, died out through queen-
lessness. The cost of bar-frame hives is a great complaint
among cottagers, and the attempts at home-made hives
leave much to be desired. I think that the Association

Juno 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

38

should endeavour rather to show how the honey may be
collected in the best form from straw sleeps than to
advocate the use of bar-frame hives amongst cottagers.
The small, though very good, collection of Mr. Beard of
Northall deserves mention for the reason that the whole
of his skeps are adapted for the collection of honey in
sectional supers, and that too at small cost. The hives
are cased in with a rough box and roof. Chaff is put in
to the level of the top of the skep, and it is then quite
easy to put on the crate of supers with a board. Only
three cases of foul brood have been met with. The chief
centres of successful bee -culture seem to be Iladham,
Ashwell, Baldock, Hitchin, and Welwyn. The west of
the county is certainly far behind the east at present in
this respect ; the latter is, however, behind in point of
number of members and the amount of subscriptions
paid. About twenty-five members have been added to
the Society. — Thomas B. Blow.

The Annual Show of the Association will be held at
St. Albans, on August 10th and 11th, in connexion with
a large County Horticultural Show. ( 'lasses, open to
All England, nave been added to the Prize List, par-
ticulars of which will be found in our advertising
columns.

BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY
AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES' ASSOCIATION.

Tttnbridge Wells Show.

We are very pleased to state that there is every reason
to anticipate success for the efforts which are being made
by the British Bee-keepers' Association and the West
Kent Bee-keepers' Association to make use of this occa-
sion for bringing into prominence the improvements
which are being rapidly developed in bee management.
Although the period of the year (June 0th) is a very
early one, it is anticipated that there will be a very good
display of new honey, thus evidencing the immense
superiority of bee-keeping under an intelligent and
scientific system, as compared with the old and ignorant
method. It is highly gratifying to know that 1I.R.H.
the Prince of Wales has consented to visit the Show
Yard, and the hope is entertained that his steps may be
again guided to the Bee department, and his kindly
notice and approval obtained as on the occasion of the
Royal Agricultural Show at Kilburn.

Lecture at Ore, Hastings. — On Thursday evening
the Rector, the Rev. D. A. Doudney, gave a most
interesting and instructive lecture on bees to the members
of the Ore Working Men's Institute, and their friends.
The lecture was a practical one. Mr. Doudney, having
a thorough experience in bee-keeping, explained fully the
habits and working of bees, and spoke of the profit which
might be made from them. A modern hive, with its
various appliances (the work of Mr. Cecil Doudney), was
exhibited, each process in the working being thoroughly
pointed out. The processes of artificial swarming, feeding
(on barley-sugar or syrup), and taking the honey, were
also lucidly explained. Mr. Doudney thought, in con-
clusion, we might learn many lessons from bees.
Diligence, love of unity and co-operation, foresight, and
in misfortune not to despair, but set to work to repair
the loss, and many other practical lessons, were set forth.
The chair was taken by the Rev. J. Puttick, who passed
a most cordial vote of thanks to the lecturer for a very
interesting and enjoyable lecture, with a hope that it
might be repeated. — Hastings Observer.

Bee-keepixg at Stirling. — On the 21st April last,
the Rev. John Irving of Innellan delivered a most
interesting lecture on bees, their habits and profitable
culture. Referring to the pleasant hours he had spent
with them in his garden, and sitting-room, where
he had an observatory hive that he might watch their

movements, the reverend lecturer entered minutely into
a description of their labours, their building, sanitary
arrangements, and government, suggesting useful lessons
to the human race, and showing that their wonderful
instinct approaches more nearly than that of nearly every
other creature to the reason of man. Hives, foundations,
and the extractor, were next treated of, it being claimed
that their use will presently be universal, and the improve-
ments that had been made in this country and in America
fully dilated upon. The rev. lecturer was listened to
with marked attention by a large and appreciative
audience. R. J. Bennett, Esq., Hon. Sec. of the
Caledonian Bee Association, took occasion to call the
attention of the audience to the great Bee and Honey
show that is to take place at Stirling in July next, and
urged the formation of clubs and associations, asking
especially that the audience would use all possible means
to support the Caledonian, and by affiliation with it to
avail themselves of the many advantages it offers. The
Bee Journal came in for a share of marked approval,
Mr. Bennett advising the audience to take it as the best
means of information. A Bee-keepers' Society for Cowal
was then formed, and a hearty vote of thanks to the rev.
lecturer closed the proceedings.

CaiTcsponftcnte.

%* These columns are open to subscribers, so that their
queries, replies, correspondence, and experiences may be
fully and faithfully recorded ; and for the discussion of all
theories and systems in Bee-culture, and of the relative merits
of all hives and appurtenances, that the truth regarding them
may be ascertained. The Editor, therefore, must not be ex-
pected to coincide with all the views expressed by the various
writers. All Correspondence is addressed to the Editor.

NOTES ON A NEW BEE-DISEASE.

Up to the present time bees under artificial
treatment have been liable to but two diseases,
namely, dysentery and foul brood. Both these
diseases are now well known to most bee-keepers,
and are little to be feared if proper precautions are
taken to prevent them. There is, however, a
disease entirely different from either of the above,
which I have been lately investigating, and which
was first brought before my notice by Mr. Wood of
Denmark, who is well known as an authority on
foul brood. Mr. Wood forwarded to me a specimen
of comb which had been sent to him for examination,
and wrote stating his opinion had been asked about
the disease. He also stated it was entirely new to
him, and asked my opinion upon it. By examining
it under the microscope, I was not long in finding-
out that it was quite different from either dysentery
or foul brood. Mr. Wood stated that the person
who sent him the specimen of diseased comb in-
sisted that it was only the drones which were
attacked. This led to a correspondence between
Mr. Wood and myself, from which 1 gathered the
following facts about this disease.

The disease, which is one of both the brood
and bees, made its appearance in the summer
of 1880 in the apiary of a teacher of Harte
School, near Kolding, Jutland. The drones were
first attacked, and this probably led the bee-keeper
to suppose that it was a disease of the drones.
The pupre of the drones dried up in the cells ; and
here it will be observed is a striking difference from

34

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 1881.

foul brood, where the larvae rot and become a
putrid, liquid mass. The disease then spread to
the workers, most of which perished in a similar
manner. Some of the workers matured, but came
out of the hive quite lame, and were not able to
move their front legs. They crept about the hive,
and on the ground under the hive, as though they
had cramp, and large numbers of them died.
Every morning there were quantities of dead and
creeping bees on the ground. This state of things
went on for some time, and at last the hive became
queenless. A comb of healthy brood was given to
the colony, and the bees at once commenced con-
structing five queen-cells. Three of these matured
in due time, and the queens emerged ; but the
hive did not regain strength, and gradually dwindled
through loss of numbers. The frame of brood in-
troduced into the hive became affected in a similar
manner, and the disease spread to the next hive.

As soon as I received the specimen of comb from
Mr. Wood, I made an examination of the affected
brood, and at once came to the conclusion that this
was an entirely new disease, and quite different
to foul brood. Some of the diseased cells were
uncapped, and the contents presented to the
unassisted eye the appearance of dried pollen.
Some of the larvse had developed into pupse, and
were nearly ready to emerge as full-grown bees
from their cells. The microscope, however, revealed
the fact that the pupffi were permeated, and com-
pletely filled, with mycelium of fungi, which appears,
previous to the development of clavate bodies, on
the surface, which open and discharge their spores.
The figure I send you is a very much enlarged

representation of the
appearance of these
bodies, to which my-
cologists have given
the name of Cordy-
ceps, or Claviceps.
This fungus is so
closely allied to the
ergot of rye that I
have given it the
name of Claviceps
Apinm, and it is very
probably produced by the bees having collected the
ergot (Claviceps purpurea), and stored it with the
pollen. The necessary conditions as to temperature
and moisture being present, the spores germinated,
and the development of the mycelium produced the
effect described.

Here, then, we have a new disease which the
microscope shows us is of fungoid origin ; and,
further, we are able to trace it to a particular
species of fungus. That this disease is contagious
is proved from the fact of its having spread to the
healthy brood introduced into the stock and to the
next hive.

Rye is more subject to ergot than any other
cereal, although it not unfrequently attacks grasses
in this country. Fortunately this disease has not
made its appearance in this country ; but to be
forewarned is to be forearmed, and should any case
arise, it is to be hoped measures will be taken to at

once stamp it out. As it is a fungus, most likely
salicylic acid would arrest its progress. I have not
been able up to the present time to get the spores
to germinate artificially, so am not able to give more
than a hint as to the probable treatment of a hive
affected with this disease. — T. W. Cowan, Comptons
Lea, Horsham, May 18th, 1881.

THE INTRODUCTION OF THE HUMBLE BEE
INTO NEW ZEALAND.

In the April number of last year's British Bee
Journal, I contributed some remarks on ' The
Humble Bee,' and alluded to the attempts made to
climatise that useful insect at the antipodes, with
the view of their fertilising the red clover plant
which the shorter proboscis of the hive-bee failed to
effect, and the large sum expended annually in the
purchase of imported red clover seed which might
be saved by their presence in having it grown in
the colonies.

The attempt of January 1880, then alluded to,
having, like all previous efforts, failed, although the
entire arrangements were approved of by the late
lamented Mr. Frederick Smith, of the British
Museum, as did those conducted under the super-
vision of that distinguished and alas ! also now
deceased eminent naturalist, Mr. Frank Buckland.

The well-known firm of Messrs. George Neighbour
& Sous, who had been commissioned to make a fresh
attempt, consulted me last autumn as to the
probable cause of failure, and as to any suggestions
I could make with the view of carrying out the
experiment with anything like a fair prospect of
success. I suggested that very likely the queen-
bees perished through getting thoroughly aroused by
the tropical heat on the steamer reaching that
latitude, and, like the imprisoned birds, beating
themselves to death on the bars of their cage ; and
the better plan would be to pack them while dormant
in dry moss, and preserve their winter's dormancy
in the uniform low temperature of the ice-room of
the steamer. The next thing was to find the queens
for experiments ; and, again, I enlisted the valuable
services of Mr. Duncan Kerr, the clever and in-
telligent foreman of the Crossflat Nurseries, near
Paisley, whose bee-keeping antecedents caused him
to go into the matter con amore; and after much pains-
taking labour and prospecting, he succeeded in un-
earthing no fewer than eighteen beautiful specimens,
which were duly despatched from London on 9th
January, by the John Elder, one of the Orient line
of steamers ; and, as appeared from a report in the
Timaru Herald copied in last month's Journal,
through delay taking place in the delivery and open-
ing the package at its destination, only two of the
queens remained alive, which soared away strong on
the wing. It is to be hoped that the three which
followed from the same source, and similarly carried,
by the steam-ship Norfolk, direct to Canterbury,
New Zealand, from London on 20th January, may
safely reach, be at once liberated, and in the wake of
the pioneer pair rapidly multiply and replenish the
Southern Hemisphere.

In the Timaru Herald report there appears a

June 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

35

most inaccurate statement, which would scarcely do
to appear in these pages uncorrected, in connexion
with finding the queens in Scotland ; it is said, ' The
nests were marked down in the summer, and then,
in the early part of the winter, each nest with its
queen was carefully dug out, and placed separately
in a box of moss for export.' On the contrary, it is
a perfectly well-known fact that humble queens al-
together abandon the parent nests on the approach
of winter, and hybernate singly in the ground,
about tree-roots, turf dykes, and many out-of-the-
way hiding-places.

Public thanks are due to Messrs. J. Green and
Co., owners of the Orient line of steamers, for the
handsome manner in which they carried the humble
queens free of all charge, and the kindly interest
they took to further the adventure. — A Renfrew-
shire Bee-keeper.

WASPS.

No spring, in my recollection, has produced such
an abundant crop of queen-wasps. I have seen
many hundreds, and with the help of my children
have killed great numbers, but the cry is still 'They
come.' We find them on the gooseberry bushes and
kill them either with scissors or a rapid nip between
finger and thumb. I may add I have entirely failed
to catch them in bottles. In this county it is cer-
tain that bees will be most vigorously assailed
during the summer, and much care must be exercised
to prevent robbing. And while on this subject per-
haps you, sir, or some of your correspondents, would
give me some information as to the fructification of
the queen. When is it done ? Also is the common
wasp the male, or are there queens (or a queen),
drones, and neuters, as in bees 1 also what is the
average number of queens that leave the nest in
autumn to sleep through the winter, and perpetuate
the race in the summer % — Arthur fi. White,
Charlton House, Bellingham, Northumberland.

[There are many points of resemblance in the natural
history of wasps and bees. They both come under the
description of 'social insects' — 'creatures that in com-
munities exist.' The communities of the wasps consist
of females, males or drones, and workers. The females
are of two kinds: first, the females proper, which are con-
siderably larger than either the males or workers : they
are equal in weight to six of the workers, and produce
both males and females. Secondly, there is a smaller kind
of females, which, like our fertile workers, produce only
male or drone eggs. The females in a populous vespiary
amount to several hundreds; they emerge from their
pupa state towards the end of August, about the same
time as the males, and fly in September and October,
when they pair. Very few of these females survive the
rigours of the winter. Those only that are strongest and
fittest do so, remaining in a torpid state till the bright
vernal weather revivifies them and recalls their powers
into renewed activit}-. It is in spring that the greatest
vigilance should be exercised in the destruction of the
queen-wasps, for each survivor is the founder of a nu-
merous colony. These colonies ofttimes attain to for-
midable dimensions ; the number of cells in a vespiary
sometimes amounts to 16,000, which, making all allow-
ances for failures and casualties, would give a population
of at least 30,000 during the season.

The male wasps, while smaller than the females, weigh
as much as two workers. They, like drones, have no

stings. When the object of their existence, the fertilis-
ation of the females, is attained, they are not turned out
of the community, like the drones by the bees, but con-
tinue to run the even tenour of their lives, till, together
with the workers, they perish through the severity of the
winter.

The workers are the most numerous body of the com-
munity, and on them devolve the principal labours of the
nest. They are familiar to all of us. Their troublesome,
prying, and intrusive habits are too well known. Sugar,
wine, fruit, honey, aud all sweetnesses, are the great ob-
jects of their quest. From time immemorial they have
been called robbers and thieves, and other harsh names ;
but, doubtless, their extreme cupidity is subservient to
some great and overruling law. — Ed.]

GLOVES AND STINGING.

I strongly recommend your correspondent, Mr.
Jenyns, to adopt the plan which 'A Country Parson'
recommended in your columns, viz., rub his hands
over with a thin solution of sugar and water. This
entirely removes the necessity of wearing gloves.
I have found it to be thoroughly effectual. — An
Amateur.

GLOVES.

May I suggest to your readers to try string
gloves for manipulating bees 1 I have given them
a good trial, and find that they are not at all
irritating to the bees, and I have never been stung
through them. They should be knitted of the
finest smooth twine, and lined with fine wool,
which can easily be drawn through the threads of
the twine on the inside. It is advisable to have
the gloves well soaked in cold water, and wrung
out before using them. — J. Lingen SEAGEn,Steve?ui(/e,
May 23rd, 1881.

SAVAGE BEES.— OUR NEW IDEA GLOVES,

If you could find room for a reply to the enclosed
queries, I should be grateful. My bees, one strong
hive in particular, are most savage. This morning,
armed with the new smoker, which looks like a
' Rooter,' I thought I should have an easy conquest,
I gave them a dose in the door, then waited the
approved time, and, as I rolled back the quilt,
worked the smoker down from the top. So far
good. But the moment I touched a bar to take it
out, they came out like demons, and clung to my
gloves (which, luckily, were a pair made after the
pattern you suggested in your last — cotton over
woollen — which, with a gauntlet of oilcloth to tuck
my coat-sleeves into, are perfect), and appeared as
though there were no such thing as a smoker in
existence. The worst part about it is, that the
bees follow me into the house, even after walking
about the garden* for ten minutes or more, and
sting my friends that have not in any way offended
them. After a 'stir-up,' for hours there are prowlers
and ' whippers-in' that make us all keep our
distance in a most undignified way. My poor
children suffer most. I was assured they would
never be stung ere I started some two years ago.

* My garden is small, but the bees ought on that
account to be more friendlv.

3G

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 1881.

I would therefore ask, (1.) Would a dummy man
fixed up in the garden near the hives have a
soothing effect 1 (2.) Would smoking and waiting-
fifteen minutes he beneficial 1 (3.) Are my bees,
from this description, unnaturally savage 1 or is it
the nature of the beasts generally? (4.) Would
you, in this case, be deterred from breeding from
these? Unfortunately, the most savage are the
best workers. (5.) Any suggestion I should esteem
a favour, for I fear to be the plague of the neigh-
bourhood.— Ignoramus.

[The bees are undoubtedly hybrids of peculiar cross,
and happily their ferocity is not shared by bees generally.
As is usual with cross breed bees, they are good workers ;
but that will scarcely compensate for their savageness
and dangerous character. Judging from their persistence
in avenging insult, they would appear to have a tinge of
Egyptian or Syrian blood in them ; and where children
are liable to attack, it would be bad policy to breed
from them. A dummy man would have no more effect
upon them than would a post, except it moved with the
wind windmill-fashion, and then they might only be
rendered more irritable. We have often had to deal
with such. Once nearly half a swarm attacked our veil,
as if offended with our breathing, and their weight
pulled the gauze from its fastening, and we had to run
away with a lot of the wretches inside it. With a
doubled veil perfectly secured, we returned to the charge,
and let them spend' their fury ; and it almost seemed
that, finding themselves overmastered, they gave up.
Certainly they were never so cross again, perhaps because,
knowing their evil temper, we were more careful in
dealing with them. Smoking and waiting for fifteen
minutes would do little good, because they would drive
all the smoke out of the hive, and recover from its effects
in that time; but if the smoking were continued by
puffs at very short intervals, and the combs and bees
sprinkled with thin syrup after the first few puffs, they
would soon be in such a condition of fulness as to be
incapable of attack. It is, doubtless, the nature of the
bees to resent interference, and they have learned that
they are masters of the field; but the treatment proposed
may change their tone, if it will answer the purpose
under the circumstances to persevere with them for a
few clays, i.e., if the game is worth the candle. Our
leaflet ou Quieting Bees may be helpful. It is almost a
pity to breed queens from the mother of such truculent
wretches. We would pinch her to death, and introduce
one of milder breed rather than create ill-will to bees in
the neighbourhood. Describing our proposed gloves as
'perfect ' is high praise indeed. — Ed.]

TWO QUEENS IN ONE HIVE.
In continuance of my letter on page 1 3 I have
made another examination of the hive, and find
both queens there, and the drones still numerous.
I also observed both of the queens in the act of
ovipositing. The drone-brood is not so numerous
as last week. After examining this hive I turned
my attention to the next one (five feet distant), a
very strong stock and the finest in my apiary. The
queen of this hive is, or was, a yellow hybrid, and
her bees cannot without difficulty lie distinguished
from Italians ; I found here a little sealed brood, no
eggs or grubs, a recently tenanted queen-cell, and a
young queen, much darker than the old one. This
evidently solves the mystery ! The queen of this
last-mentioned hive has evidently been out for a
little exercise, and gone into the wrong hive, and in

consequence of the drone-breeding propensities of
the rightful queen, has been suffered to live.

It is still, however, a very strange occurrence,
and we still have the fact that all the drones in
my apiary have been bred in worker cells, so that
it is yet a matter of interest as to how the newly-
born queen will mate. I should perhaps have
mentioned before that I cannot find any remains of
queen-cells in the hive with the two queens. I
will still watch closely the two hives, and report
progress. — A. R.

FOLK-LORE ON BEES.
Some years ago contributions of ' Bee Lore ' were
made to ' Notes and Queries,' but they did not
assume any vast proportion. Now if your numerous
contributors would kindly lend a hand, and send
you ' Notes ' of the bee-lore of their neighbourhood,
I am sure the collection, collated as it might be
when it reached your hands, and published when
opportunity occurred from time to time, would be
not only interesting, but instructive, as some found-
ation may always be found to account for the trite
sayings and doings of our forefathers. If you agree
with me, put this in print, and I have no doubt
your responses will be Legion. — J. G. DESBORorriH,
12 St. Peter's Hill, Stamford, May 9, 1881.

BEE-HIVES IN THE VOSGES.

I came up here for a few days' tour in the Vosges
with the Forest pupils, and it may interest you to
know that I have seen a number of the common
Carniolian hives, such as they use in the south of
Hungary and Austria. These hives are nothing
more than long, low, flat boxes, made of four
planks about half an inch thick, simply nailed
together, the ends being moveable. They all seem
to be 28 inches long, and vary from 4 to 6 inches
deep, by from 9 to 10 inches broad. There are no
frames in them at all, but the comb's are built
longitudinally, and not across, and must be regu-
lated by some sort of guides fixed to the top board
before it is nailed on. Mr. Kuntz has got eighteen
of these hives, which are stocks, and not sivanns,
from Carniolia ; and they have all arrived in
excellent order, and have run him in less than one
pound a-piece, carriage included. The bees seem
to be capital workers, and are said to be more
gentle than either Italians or ordinary bees, and
are certainly very prolific. I shall be curious to
see how they do.

Since last winter in this little village there have
been built by different people, chiefly peasants,
woodmen, sawyers, and others, no less than fourteen
new apiaries, all for moveable frame-hives and honey-
boxes. This is all due to Mr. Kuntz's energy, and
your honey-boxes, which I gave him, and which he
got a prize for last year. This is truly a model
village for bee-keeping.- — G. Pearson, J/ay 3rd, 1881.

WIDE FRAME ENDS.
I am glad you are keeping this subject in the
front rank. Whatever some may think of closed
frame-ends, I am confident they are to be the frames

June 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

37

of the future, and I think the ends should be made
wide on both sides, which will give a distance-
guide on each side, which is very important when
we slide the frames to one end of the hive.

I may also inform you that I have invented a
method of closing the ends of all frames, Woodbury,
Standard, or any others. It can be done in a
minute. If I visit your show at London, I will
bring with me a body-box, with my invention, and
drop a few frames into it, so that you can examine
it for yourself. In the event of not getting up to
see you, I shall be very glad to send the box to
Southall. — A Cockburn, Honey Grove, Cairnie-hy-
Keith, N.B.

BEES POISONED BY THE DIGITALIS
PURPUREA, OR FOX-GLOVE.

Last summer 1 had a large quantity of fox-glove
plants, cultivated varieties, and very beautiful in
bloom, at the same time a quantity of Canterbury
bells growing near them, and in flower. I was
much struck to find that a great number of the
working bees were lying dead in the flowers of the
Canterbury bell. Day after day I watched with
much interest the movements of the bees, and
found that after they had fed for some time on the
flowers of the fox-glove they became stupid, and
after leaving the fox-glove they went into the
flowers of the Canterbury bell, and, as a rule, died
shortly after. Query — Did they die from the
poisou got in the fox-glove alone, or did it depend
upon their coming in contact with the flowers of
the Canterbury belU I could not find any dead
bees on any other plant or on the ground near by.
— Alex. Patekson, M.D., Fernjield House, Bridge
of Allan.

A FRAME HIVE FOR IRISH COTTAGERS.

Haviug got an incentive from reading Mr. Lyon's
description of his cheap English Cottagers' Hive,
I commenced to make one with the following result.
I set my mind to have a box as near to the common
body box as possible. This I got in one of Jas.
Kirk and Co.'s Satinet soap-boxes, sent here from
America. They are very common amongst grocers
now, and can be procured for 6d. each ; they are
made of pine, with sides over half inch, and ends
almost an inch thick. The ends being thick suit
well to put the ends of the bars on. The body box
holds nine bars and a dummy, which thickens one
of the otherwise thin sides : the boxes having lids
and bottoms which can be utilised in the hive's
construction. The first thing to be done is to
take a piece of the lid and raise the sides an inch
above the ends. Then a very thin piece covers up
the ends where the ends of the bars are intended to
rest, next two pieces of old or new zinc for the
bars to rest on, 1 ^ inch broad, tacked on with shoe-
maker's brass rivets. This done I commenced to
make my bars ; for which I bought 8 feet of h inch
by 9 inches broad, which made all the light work I
had to do. The 8 feet 9 inch broad by Jr thick of
clean spruce only cost 5d. retail, and I worked it
rightly, although I am no carpenter nor the son of

a carpenter, but had to borrow all my tools while I
was at it. I cut a 5-inch long slit for an entrance-
hole in the end ; took a piece of the lid to make an
alighting board, 4 inches in the centre and run out to
nothing at the ends, nailed this firmly to end of
bottom, and the body box was complete. I used
distance-pins of the brass shoemaker's rivets.

The cover was the same kind of box, so I made
it 3 inches lower at the back to give it a shed roof
slope. I took the idea from the drawing of Abbott's
'Irishhive' Ihad seen in Bee Journal. Two narrow
fillets down the roof cover the joint, and a sun
crack, keeping out the wet, and also giving it a neat,
elaborate appearance. Plinths, two inches broad
all round the cover, make it sit on well and firm,
and the hive is finished, all but paint, which can be
o-ot handy now-a-days in tin canisters at 6d. each.

I have given my hives 2 coats with oak varnish
for id. And now that it is finished, and with so
little trouble, I can encourage all cottagers and
farmers to go ahead. My hive only cost me lid.
as my grocer would not charge me for the boxes,
but had I paid for them it would only cost me
2*. 2d. Being Is. for boxes, 5d. for 4-inch spruce
board, 5d. for tacks and nails and zinc, and id. for
two coats of paint.

With a narrow key-hole saw I ripped the top bar
of each frame for comb foundation, and widened it
enough to allow the foundation to go up through
and rivet on the top.

A quilt can be made from any old thing about
the house, such as an old bed quilt, or old quilted
petticoat.

Those who want to try the bar-frame system need
not plead expense now, for I have demonstrated that
a good, durable bar-frame hive can bo made by
one's self for 2s. 2d. at most. I have done it, and
am intending to do it again, as I am one of those
who would have to stick to the straw skeps on
account of the expensiveness of bar-frames that are
sold. I have written this, Mr. Editor, for cottagers
and small farmers, and I hope you will find room
for as much of it as you think suitable and profitable
for your readers. — J. Kennedy, Comber, Co. Down,
Ireland.

THE STEWARTON HIVE.

I regret to find by last month's Journal your able
correspondent, Mr. Tlios. William Cowan, again cha%ing
full tilt at my Stewarton as it loftily looks down on its
compeers of the apiary, much too high for his simile of
the stepping-stone from the straw skep to the moveable-
comb hive. When I sent my explanatory remarks on
the discussion at the meeting of the British Bee-keepers'
Association, I did not then expect I was launching on the
troubled waters of controversy ; but as your correspondent
seems to wish it, I have no objection to take a look at
his fresh arguments.

Mr. Cowan sets out by saying, ' I do not wish to con-
trast my honey harvests from the moveable-comb hive
with any other person's from the Stewarton.' But un-
fortunately for the consistency of his reasoning, he did it,
and, to turn the scale against the Stew-arton, threw in
89 lbs. of the 'watery deposit.' Next comes, 'Besides
adopting several variations in the working of Stewartons,
I have also carried out strictly the instructions given by
the "Renfrewshire Bee-keeper'' in the British Bee
Journal.' This sounds somewhat contradictory, if Mr.

38

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Juno 1, 1881.

Cowan carried out strictly my instructions in working,
whence the variations ?

Then follows, ' Your correspondent has evidently had
no experience with the extractor, or he would not call
extracted honey "that watery deposit crude or extracted." '
Now, although I do not pretend to possess an equal
experience with the extractor as your correspondent,
it so happens I have an extractor, and used the above
expression advisedly. A large proportion of our Scotch
honey won't extract, including the entire produce of our
heath-clad hills, the sealed as well as unsealed refuses to
budge. Mr. Cowan maintains, ' Extracted honey from
the body of the hive is in every way equal to super honey
minus the comb,' this is a position I feel sorry to be obliged
to take exception to ; the frames from the body of the
hive contain, beside pollen and brood, sealed and unsealed
honey; when the former is uncapped both descriptions of
honey are thrown out together and commingle on
the principle of ' the little leaven leavening the whole
lump.' Whereas by the draining plan even- experienced
bee-keeper keeps the unsealed watery deposit scrupulously
apart ; with us the latter is usually given back as feeding
to bees. Last autumn all stocks were so exceptionally
independent of feeding, the unsealed was allowed time
to consolidate in lower strata in jars, when the watgry was
poured from off the top. Although I do not believe that
the crude honey of the flower undergoes any chemical
change in the body of the bee, nor jTet in the twice-
swallowing-and-disgorging Pettigrewian theory, still
' evaporation' is not sufficient to remove the water crude
honey contains. I am of opinion it is sucked off, or, in
other words, extracted by the bee before the cell is sealed.

Many springs ago a very populous stock located in a high
staircase window, and being found short of stores, it was
continuously and liberally fed, which the internal warmth
of the house enabled the bees to take down rapidly. While
in its situation, — north aspect with a very low external
temperature, — no bee durst venture abroad. One forenoon
the wind suddenly chopped round to the south, the sun
broke out brilliantly, and quite a cloud of my little
prisoners disported themselves with great glee, and while
crossing and recrossing each other's tracks emitted a
thin, thread-like jet of clear fluid, doubtless the water
extracted from the food : the sight of that sweetened
shower is difficult to forget. Then, again, every bee-
keeper who knows anything of the delicate aroma of the
finest pure honey should at all times encourage its
production, particularly by cottagers, in supers, to avoid
unpleasant association with the cast-off habiliments of
the nursery. There is a good story told by Boswell in
his Tour of our Western Hebrides with his illustrious
friend Johnson, that, having at no little trouble collected
the ingredients for a pudding, he left them with their
cottage hostess with instructions she should prepare and
boil them in a clean cloth, and was horrified to find, on his
return with the great lexicographer, she had used for
the purpose (he article which came most readily to hand,
— a child's dirty night-cap !

I have already endeavoured to show that perfect
equality in all the parts of a bee-hive is uncalled for, that
the form and arrangement most in accord with the
natural procedure of the insect makes the better hive.
Who but the merest novice would exchange the honey
end combs with the frames of the central brood-nest?
— which the form of the Stewarton happily prevents, that
they fit their proper position in every hive is all that is
requisite.

if, according to your correspondent, 'bees are more
inclined to extend their brood chamber laterally,' why
does he continuously propose to split the cluster by
wedging them apart with empty combed frames set. in
the centre and so spread the brood? Are the bees not
the better judges of what brood they safely cover? It
was this, doubtless, which induced our Editor to emit his
warning note so opportunely. There are bee-keepers
like commercial men prone to spread their wings too far

and come to grief. The wide-spread army when the
cold spell comes has to fall back towards the centre,
and abandon the outposts; even a small handful can
at times securely defend the narrow defile : so the
Stewarton with the brood compact in the centre of the
cluster, the fine glow of heat emerging passes upward
to keep that overhead warm.

Afford but bees the opportunity and they will soon de-
monstrate their predilection for concentrating their brood
in the centre of the cluster, and in a downward direction.
Why the very circumstance of the queen first egging the
area of brood almost simultaneously either side of the
central comb to economise the heat nullifies the spread-
ing theory. For the more convenient filling of three table
glasses, I last season placed three prime swarms in as
many deep straw skeps. Raising them frequently off the
board, I looked up to note the progress of the work ;
in eveiy case the central combs were wrought down
continuously, till close to the boards, before those of the
sides were elongated to any extent.

I readily admit that there were 2-inch wide super-
bars used in the south before the Crystal Palace Show,
for the very good reason there were Stewartons there
previously. These bars and the admission of the honey-
gatherers to the supers by end openings formerly alluded
to were both excellent features picked up from off the
Stewarton, the stepping-stone to the oblong hive.

In the following sentence your correspondent possibly
alludes to one of the ' variations ' he has introduced into
the working of the Stewarton, which may partly account
for his want of success with that hive. Ho says, ' For
the " busy man " the Stewarton is useful, as it enables
him to get some honey at the end of the season.' This,
coupled with his remarks on the thickening of the cell-
cappings, I never had an opportunity of observing, shows
how very little he knows of the anxiety with which the
workers of the Stewarton watch for the supreme moment
when super No. 1 is seen from the central windows to be
sealed out, when off it comes, and No. 2 in the pile
descends to take its place. They are thus sedulously
watched to preserve their purity, and stimulate to
further effect, and so on till the end of the season, and
there then remains nought else on but what Beau
Brummel styled ' our failures.'

Your correspondent asks why I describe the usual
oblong frame-hive as ' inelastic,' and I reply because it
has a fixed breeding-space,* when this becomes full, and
the bees build out to avoid swarming, and thus lose the
results of the season, there is no alternative but to
remove the supers or sections, as the case may be, empty
comb-frames substituted for full ones, queen sought for,
royal cells excised possibly both in body and sections ;
and if thieves are attracted a free fight sets in, the
whole operation in a hot, sunny, swarming day, is not
enviable, which in the Stewarton is altogether avoided
by simply adding as much space either below or above,
to any extent, and to meet any emergency.

As to the concluding paragraph of Mr. Cowan's com-
munication, I totally disapprove of setting down bee-
hives on the ground, even although previously Covered
with saw-dust. On our moist west coast it is absolutely

* We have no wish to interfere between two such doughty
champions of truth, as they each see it from his particular
stand-point, but would remark that in our longitudinal
principle of hive-construction elasticity of brood-chamber is
a special feature. We confess to a belief in interchange-
ability of frames being most helpful to bee-keepers, and
would point out that, except in the shape of the frame, our
longitudinal hive is in the character of a Stewarton placed
horizontally, and that anything mechanical that can be
done with the latter at top or bottom, can be done witli the
former at front or rear. A wholesome controversy between
gentlemen who are in earnest can have only a beneficial
result : they will doubtless discover all the weak places in
each other's armour, to the edification and advantage of all
bee-keepers.. — Ed.

June 1, 1881.]

THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

89

necessary to keep their contents dry by elevating at
least eighteen inches above, the ground, and on their
glazed tire-clay pedestals at that height they are in addition
secured from becoming a rendezvous of mice, snails,
earwigs, and suchlike vermin. In all my experience as a
bee-keeper, I have never had a colony blown over. They
are rather too solid for that, in full working order they
are a good lift for the arms of a strong man. True, my
apiary is well sheltered with old trees and a high garden-
wall immediately behind. The boards are buttoned to
the pedestals, and each added box to the pile is securely
lashed with stout cord from corner to corner of the
weighing hooks. A bee-keeper is unworthy of the
name who would keep his bees in an 'exposed' situation.
If there is no hedge or other natural protection, what is
to hinder him with an upright or two and a few boards
to shelter them from the blast, which woidd soon repay
the outlay ?

The Octagon hive and system of bee-keeping, which
has for a couple of centuries afforded ' good results,'
are not slightingly to be displaced from the front rank.
It was the first hive, so far as I am aware, by any
record which introduced the separate honey compart-
ments! arrangement or shallow super; decidedly the first
to carry sectional supers ; the first bar-hive, although
these were, in earlier attempts, of an improper width
and fixed : these I was privileged to correct and to
introduce the frame ; and it is now nearly a quarter of a
century since I first successfully employed the Stewarton
as a hive moveable and interchangeable in all its parts ;
and for the last eighteen years its every frame and bar
have been furnished with home-made embossed wax-
guides. It, therefore, did seem rather late in the day to
find it described before the British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion by so well-informed and leading an apiarian as
Mr. Thos. Wm. Cowan to be worthy of an ' intermediate
position between the straw skep and the moveable
comb-hive ; ' and now relegated to a position as anti-
quated in idea as the days of our great-grandfathers ! —
A Renfeewshihe Bee-keeper.

DYSENTERY AND WINTER MANAGEMENT.

(Concluded from p. 20.)

The two hives referred to last month were not the only
two that puzzled me, because, during the months of May,
June, July, and part of August, other two hives occupied
the same site, and the number of bees ejected from these
hives daily were so numerous that they made little or
no progress. On dissecting the bees, without exception
all contained water, and many of them had the pubescent
hairs removed; and at first I thought they were in-
fested by a parasitic fungus, and that they were suffering
from the same disease as were those black bees described
by Huber and by you to a correspondent in a recent
number ' that they were wild bees. On the return of
my bees from the heather, most of the hives occupied
different sites from those they did before. I observed that,
although the bees had been away for two months, man}'
of the bees returned to their old site. Here, again, I
thought the dead bees were strangers, but a close exami-
nation proved I was wrong. The case was becoming
desperate. Everything was tried ; specimens were sent
to professors for their opinions with instructions to ex-
amine thoroughly the spiracles or breathing apparatus.
But it was no use ; it seemed simply deaths they had no
interest in. As a last resource I tried the heal-all or
universal cure, viz. whisky, although believing and
knowing that it was simply alcohol, which reduced to
alcohol the honey it came into contact with, and that
sporules of disease are not killed by it. Still, I tried it.
What will one in desperation not do ? These two hives
were special favourites, both being Cyprians, one pure,
the other crossed with a Ligurian drone, extraordinarily
prolific, and good workers. One of these, although nearly

decimated, a few hundreds in the hive, would be dying at
the rate of 200 to .'500 daily ; 100 on an average were dead
every morning, and many more thrown out through the
day. As the saying is, when no hope is left, so I felt re-
signed, became more calm, thought of the smoke from the
funnel of the steamer that would not vanish, examined and
ci unpared every hive, tried the site as to amount of current,
examined minutely position of condensed vapour, on top of
covering, tried the entrance, and found all right. Where
the fault was it was difficult to say, after going from one
hive to another, I observed everything was the same, and
in their structure not different from the rest of my
hives. There was not the slightest trace of damp
or evacuations inside the hives : from the moment the
bees were attacked, they became languid, the antennas
drooped, and they breathed heavily ; not one of them
could get passage, and shortly after the first attack
could not fly ; the floor had to be cleared of dead
every two days. This is the only stage of the disease
that a bent wire is called into requisition. My only
hope now was to save the queens, but with such severe
frost it was easier said than done. Another look at the
top of the hive, and bringing what science I knew into
action, I put my hand into my pocket, took out my
knife and divided the ventilation, and set a current
agoing, proving it by threads of the spider ; and from
that moment the disease was stayed.

Now it will be obvious to the merest tyro that the
origin of abdominal distension results in foul brood. These
two hives were faultless so far as construction was con-
cerned, but the site had an influence which destroyed the
balance ; the carbonic gas, instead of being carried off by
ventilation at top of roof, was held in suspension ; and as
it cooled it passed down through the covering, poisoning
the bees. Had the hive been perfectly close above it
would have been safer for the bees, because it might
have found its way out at the door, but the damp left
behind would have been injurious ; and as it was, had
there been a very small opening at bottom of roof, the
heavy gas would have found its way out there ; or what
woidd be as good, if every hive had (as all mine have) a
ventilator in floor; although, unfortunately, I had them
all closed, the carbonic gas would have fallen through the
grating, and fresh air woidd enter by the doorway, and
the bees would not be affected. It is quite obvious to
me that the cause of abdominal distension, in all its
stages, is carbonic gas. That the fact of bees managed
in the most primitive style has often an entire immunity
from disease, is due to the imperfection of their domicile.

While pointing out these facts, I by no means advocate
the former state of things to be allowed to exist, but
rather to take the lesson and improve upon it, removing
the defects and providing a remedy in the proper way.
Draughts must be avoided, but fresh air must be ad-
mitted and the vitiated expelled. To accomplish this in
every case may be more readily said than done. The
hives above mentioned were affected simply by locality.
At this moment it has occurred to me that if some of
the Bee Societies woidd take this subject up, and offer
a handsome prize or prizes for an essay on the most
perfect plan of wintering and ventilating hives, with
diagrams showing how the air percolates the many
galleries in a hive, how the fresh air can be admitted and
its course, and how the oarbon is expelled and its course ;
if this could be done it would be a step in the right
direction, and would base bee-management on true,
scientific principles, without which there is no certainty
at the start how the bees will survive ; and the different
location of the bees in the hive must be well considered,
as it is proven that hives every way alike, the bees
may be ensconced in different places of the hive, which
alone of itself may be the means of one being healthy
and the other diseased.

I flatter myself that I understand how to ventilate an
enclosed space, but it is a very different thing — which I do
not — how a bee-hive with its many combs should be

40

THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[June 1, 1881.

ventilated. There is a sort of panic at present amongst
many as to placing the combs transverse to the entrance,
but I would advise caution as to this course until more
light is thrown on the subject.*

Some will, perhaps, say a quilt overhead makes all
right. To this I say not at all times, because when
the heated and expanded vitiated air is cooled before it
is carried off it immediately falls back to the interior of
the hive, poisoning the bees in its descent, and is
absorbed by the honey — all carbon having an affinity
for carbonic gas — causing the change in the honey which
is the cause and origin of foul-brood. An opening at the
bottom of the roof would allow the carbonic gas to
escape when it accumulates overhead, and an opening in
the floor, when it accumulates in the hive, would let it
escape ; but the latter-mentioned might cause a draught,
then it might become otherwise injurious. The practice
of closing bees in during snow is a bad one, and 1 was
pleased with Mr. Cheshire when I saw the announcement
of his contrivance to prevent robbing, and the bees from
coming out during snow ; but it occurred to me that the
one small tunnel was insufficient to insure safety to the
bees. There should, in my opinion, be always two
openings, one for the ingress of fresh, the other for the
egress of fold air. The bees themselves when propo-
lising their entrances invariably have two arcs. From
what I have said it will appear plain that I disbelieve
the theory that cold (if the bees are kept dry) is the
cause of dysentery or of spring dwindling ; nay, I have
proven it to be the reverse. When I observed this the
thermometer was standing at 3° below zero, and the two
hives mentioned with only a mere handful of bees are
humming like tops ;t so we must look for something else
as the cause of spring dwindling. I am disposed to argue
from facts, a thing some object to ; therefore, as the
foregoing are facts, so will the following be as to the
cause of spring dwindling.

The ill-conditioned state of a hive from carbonic gas
is one of the worst forms. Hives suffering from that
gas during all seasons are known by the many ejected
bees, and during winter by many bees leaving the hive
and not returning. If you watch your hives during cold
days for several hours, and count the number of bees
that leave and do not return, it will give a fair ap-
proximation of the decline of the hive, and what it will
be by early summer.

Feeding is another cause of spring dwindling, either in
late autumn or early spring. In the former case, as I
have already shown, the young bees become distended
through accumulated feces, having been deprived of a
purifying flight ; and in the latter case they are en-
couraged to come out when the weather is unfavourable,
and so the hive dwindles. My experience is, the best
hives are those that never require feeding.

Continually pottering amongst your bees is another
great inducement to spring dwindling, because when bees
are not getting honey robbers are always on the look-
out. The moment a hive is opened they are sure to get
access, unobserved by the disturbed bees, carrying away
a load, soon returning with large numbers apprised of
the booty. The queen in many cases is killed, and in
many others leaves the hive unobserved; and a fertile
worker or an unimpregnated queen takes her place in
about two weeks. But should the queen escape unscathed,
the workers' time is taken up defending the hive from the
pillagers introduced by the manipulation, and the hive
instead of becoming prosperous rapidly dwindles down.

There is another form of spring dwindling which is
aggravated through feeding when pollen is scarce. Five
years ago a number of my hives breeding extensively

* Does our experienced correspondent believe this to he a
new idea? — Ed.

+ Is not this humming made in the effort to generate
heat? If so, their healthfulness under the circumstances is
doubtful. — Ed.

dwindled away as ahnost to be worthless : the young
bees as they were hatched were ejected, few of them
were of full size, nearly all dwarfs or apiculas. A want
of pollen was the cause, the weather was such that the
bees could not get abroad to collect pollen from flowers
or pea-meal, but were apparently anxious to carry on
breeding, and had economised the pollen to be equally
divided amongst the larvae.

I can now look back for the last forty years on bee-
keeping— it was then as it is yet with many. The hives
intended for stock were set apart in August, and arranged
then to stand the winter, avoiding the slightest molesta-
tion after, thus preserving the bees and conserving the
powers of the queen until her proper time to deposit
eggs in the cells, which in due time would be hatched
and brought forth perfect bees, without that destruction
which often takes place where so much artificial work is
carried on. In the former case success is almost always
certain ; while in the latter, disappointment is often if
not the rule. — A Lanakkshibe Bee-keeper.

<$r(xoxs fnrm % |$tbts.

Smarsdale. — The Journal. — ' Occasionally I have seen
in the British' Bee Journal a grumble respecting its price,
all I can say is, it has been worth more than double the
price to me, and I should not grudge 1*. for it. I wish
that you coidd re-issue a few of the first volumes ; I am sure
you could get subscribers, as doubtless there will be many
bee-keepers like me who did not know of its existence
until it was for ever too late. Hoping we shall have a good
simmer : my bees have all wintered well through following
the instructions of the Journal.' — T. C.

New Zealand. — ' This is a glorious climate, and bees
might easily be kept breeding all the year round, but
people take up with a thing readily enough at first if
some one else will take all the trouble, but soon become
apathetic, and then things die of inanition. There is one
noble exception, a man named Broadlev at Kaiapoi, who
has gone into the business with a will ; but the firm who
bought twenty tons of honey last year to make blacking of,
did not make it pay and won't take any this year, so I don't
know what the producers will do with their honey.' — J. I.

Wingfield, Slim-one, Ireland, May'd. — Early Swarms. —
' I regret to say I lost a swarm yesterday out of a straw
hive. I had no idea the hive was ready for swarming,
or I would have swarmed it artificially; it showed no
previous symptoms at all. 1 sent two men after it, but
they were not able to keep up with it. It is the earliest
swarm I can remember in this part of the country. The
weather has been splendid for the last week, and I can
already see fresh honey being deposited in outside combs.
The hive which you transferred for me last September at
Parsonstown into a frame hive is now very strong, and
I am just going to move the bees into a Combination hive
which I have made.'— R. T. C.

High Wycombe, May 23. — ' I have not heard of any
swarms about here yet, and I am afraid they will be very
late and scarce. I shall be very glad to attend to anybody's
bees if help is wanted.' — W. 'Martin, Plummcr's Ililf.

Banbury, May 21, 1681. — 'I had my first swarm tills
season on Sunday, the 22nd. It came out of a bar and
frame-hive containing a stock, to which I put one of the
Cyprian queens you sent me last autumn. The other
Cvprianised stock (you sent me two queens) is in a
l(j x 12 straw-skep, and is very strong and promising. I
have not yet been able to discover any decided difference
in appearance between the Cyprians and the Ligurians;
but I have noticed the Cyprians abroad when the other
stocks have been quiet. They seem hardy and very
active, and I have no doubt their introduction into an
apiary will be of great value to the owner of il, as well
' as to bee-keepers in the neighbourhood. The first swarm

June 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

41

of the season here was on Saturday, the 21st hist, at a
water-mill.'— John Knock.

Waterford, May 25, 1861. — Honey Resources of Ireland.
— ' We got in thirty tons of honey last season from the
country round here, all in the old-i'ashioned straw sleeps,
the bees all smothered. The quantity surprised us, as
we had only about one ton from the country the previous
season (1870), and thought the stocks had nearly all
perished; this fact proves the extraordinary fecundity
of bees.' — U. "White & Sons.

[And it also proves the extraordinary prolificness of
Ireland's bee flora. — Ed. J

Coldham Vicarage, Wisbech, April 25th. — ' My bees are
doing- remarkably well, several of the hives are full of
bees, one I shall he compelled to super lest they should
show a disposition to swarm. In this locality bees have
wintered well. Some stocks are dead, starved, but you
cannot wonder at that, for the cottagers will take up the
heaviest stocks, leaving the lightest to stand their chance
of surviving the winter. Honey is now abundant.' — W.

(Queries unb |\cpUcs.

frames with guides only, we should prefer to put the
frames with guides between the full comb in one hive,
and, unless a spare comb could be afforded, to place the
frames of foundation by themselves in another, in such
numbers as the swarm can conveniently cover to the very
outside, and add others from time to time in the centre
of the nest. — Ed.]

Query No. 384. — Making Artificial Swarms. — (I.)
In making artificial swarms from frame-hives, should
there be any more than one brood-frame taken out of
the old stock? (2.) Should the brood-frame that is
taken from the stock-hive be placed in the middle, or at
one side of the new hive ? How many frames of foun-
dation should, as a rule, be given it at first? and how
should these be placed ? Would it lie better to divide
off half the hive by the dummy for a few days, in-
creasing the space gradually as required? (3.) Is it
necessary that any difference should lie followed in
making a second artificial swarm than a first one, as I
notice on page 4 of May Journal, you recommend talcing
out three frames in making second swarms!'' In this
case, would there not be great risk of impoverishing the
old stock too much r — J. I'.

Reply id QuisBY No. 384. — (1.) If flames of coiub-
fouudation be used as recommended on page 2 of this
volume, and the hive is fit to swarm, no brood-comb is
necessary. (2.) 'When a comb of brood is used, it
should be put between foundation and enclosed by
dummies. There should be as many frames as the bees
can cover, and they should be gradually increased, as
already explained. (3.) It is very necessary that a
difference should be made between the first and second
operations. No. 2 is a division of the stock when there
are no queens, and three frames, with the flying bees,
will ensure, as nearly as may be, an equal division of its
strength, and the bees, having no young brood to attend
to, will speedily work out the foundation given to them.
It must not be forgotten that nearly half the brood will
have hatched out of the three frames before removal, so
■ that if frames of foundation be given in lieu of them, the
' weakening' feared will scarcely be felt. Without found-
ation, the young queenless bees would build drone comb;
but with it worker-cells can almost be commanded. — Ed.

Query No, 385. — Combs, Inundations, and Guides. —
' Having some good frames of combs to distribute among
several swarms, should I put them all together and the
frames w itli foundation on each side, or put the latter be-
tween the frames witli comb, also in hives with some frames
tilled, some sheets of foundation, and other frames having
only narrow strips, should the frames tilled with comb
foundation be all placed together or alternately with the
frames having narrow strips? — D. S. 1'.

Reply to Query No. 385. — If its perfect healthiness
can be relied on, a frame or two of comb is an undoubted
advantage in a hive that the queen may at once
commence egg-laying, and if possible such combs would
be well placed intermediately witli frames of foundation.
Having, however, full combs, frames of foundation, and

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.

Bee Body. — Removing bees from roof. — The easiest way
will be. to get into the roof, smoke the bees to make
them gorge, cut away their combs, and bring them free
of bees to a room below, where, without molestation
from their bee owners, those containing brood should
be fitted into frames in the usual way, and put into
a hive. The hive should then be taken into the roof
and placed as near as possible to the position of the
original nest, and the bees allowed to rim into it. If
desired the combs can be utilised amongst stocks in
the garden, and the bees be caused to take possession of
an empty hive as a swarm. In either case when
collected'iu their hive, they may lie treated as in ordinary
cases and left to work there, "or sent away until they
have forgotten their old place of abode.
Boston. — Foundations. — Any foundation or even plain
strips of wax may be used for guides for bees to build
along, but when whole sheets are to be used they should
be of best make, strong enough to bear the weight of the
bees, and easily fashioned into comb, otherwise they will
not be so labour-saving as they are intended to be.
Dix Leslie, Fife. — Humble-bee's Nest. — One of the best
receptacles for these is a shallow bee -glass with
ventilating hole in the centre. It should stand upon a
floor-board hollowed to receive some dry moss for the
nest to lie upon, and to permit the entrance of the bees.
The latter appear to prefer a tube to pass through, a foot
or more in length. The glass must lie kept warm by
outside wrapping. Last year we had several nests of
humbles, and they were objects of very great interest,
not the least curious feature being the difference in
size and shape of the bees, which varied from that of a
small pea to that of a large acorn. As regards position,
ours were all placed near the ground, in sheltered
places, and well covered.
Identifying Nom de plume. — We are sorry we cannot
oblige our correspondent. "When a contributor with-
holds his name and address it is evident he does not
wish to be annoyed by private correspondence.
Castle IIedi.nuham, Essex. — Many thanks for your
letter ; you will find our idea of cheap hives on another
page. The brown worms are the larvae of wax-moth,
they live upon wax and destroy the combs. The clean
drone combs having no larva; in it would do well as
attraction combs for supers.
Removing Bees. — Bees may be removed on ahand-barrow
a quarter of a mile in winter, and set down in their
new locality without danger. Kindly consult index of
last volume for other query : we cannot spare space
for repetition.
Transferring to Clean Hives.— May be done on any-
fine day. It was quite right not to disturb them during
cold, chilly weather. When bees carry pollen it usually
indicates the presence of a fertile queen, and in that
case breeding is certain to ensue.
Wood-Foundation Warping.— Of course it warped:
there was nothing to prevent it doing so. If instead
of cutting the sheets of foundation small enough to
'hang' inside the frames, you had split the frames and
nailed them on both sides" and all round the sheets, the
foundation would have been 'fi.ced,' as recommended.
More than half the difficulties and condemnations that
are reported in respect of improvements in bee-keeping
arise from those who do not use them properly.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [June 1, 1881.

CALEDONIAN APIARIAN SOCIETY.

INSTITUTED 28th OCTOBEE, 1874.

Hon. President ... THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF ROSEBERY.

The Society will hold its EIGHTH ANNUAL SHOW of BEES, HIVES, and HONEY,
at Stirling, in connexion with the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland's
Show, on the 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th of July.

The following is the PRIZE SCHEDULE :-

:b:e:es-

Note. — No article, on any condition, will be allowed to be removed from the Class during the Show, but a separate space will be
allotted for the exhibition and sale of Bee-keepers' Appliances.

I For the best Hive for observation purposes, all Combs to be visible on both sides, stocked with Bees

and their Queen Highland and Agricultural Society's Silver Medal. Silver Medal. Bronze Medal.

*2 For the best Stock of Cyprian, Ligurian, or any 'other Foreign Bees Silver Medal.t Bronze Medal.

* The Bees to be exhibited living with their Queen in Observatory Hives. All combs to be visible on both sides.
t This Prize is given by the British Bee-keepers' Association.

IK IVIES.
All Hires to befitted with Guides ready for use.

3 For the best Bar-frame Hive on the Moveable Comb principle, with Cover and Stand complete,

stocked with Bees and their Queen, showing Super arrangements in full operation, or Duplicate

Hive Silver Medal. Bronze Medal. Certificate.

Note. — Exhibitors in Classes 4, G, and 8, must prefix a Note stating the points these Exhibits possess.

4 For the best Moveable Comb Hive. This Hive must be exhibited in duplicate, firstly for Summer

use, with facilities for harvesting Honey ; secondly, with arrangements for Wintering.

Silver Medal. Bronze Medal. Certificate.

5 For the best and most perfect Bar-frame Hive, with Super, or set of Sectional Supers, and Cover

complete Silver Medal. Bronze Medal. Small Bronze Medal.

*6 For the best Frame Hive for general use — the work of an Amateur or Cottager. Silver Medal. Bronze Medal. Certificate.

"*7 For the Four best New Inventions or Improvements in Hives Silver Medal. Bronze Medal. Certificate.

Carpenters and Hive-dealers are not allowed to compete in this Class.

* Duplicate Hives may be exhibited for the purposes of explanation, without any Entrance Fee being charged. In Class 7, the Judges
shall exercise their discretion as to whether a less number than Four are of sufficient merit to warrant a Prize.

8 For the best Straw Hive of any description 5/0 2/6

COIMIB FOXJITX)-A.TI03sr.

0 For the best sample of Comb Foundation made of pure bees' wax, to consist of 5 lbs. thick (Worker
Cells) for Stock Hive, and 5 lbs. thin, for Supers, manufactured in the United Kingdom, with
price per pound attached at which the Exhibitor is willing to supply any quantity ... Silver Medal. 5/0 2/0
10 For the best two Samples of Wax, in cakes of not less than 1 lb. each 7/0 5/0 2/0

HOISTEY.
Quality to be taken into consideration.

II For the best Two Supers, above 20 lbs. each 20/0 10,0 5/0

12 For the best Super above 20 lbs 15/0 10/0 5/0

13 For the best Super above 10 lbs. and under 20 lbs 10/0 5/0 2/6

14 For the best Exhibition of Super Honey from one Apiary ... ... ... ... ... ••■ 15/0 10/0 ;i/"

1.3 For the best Super of Honey, not being Sectional Supers. The Super to be of wood, straw, or of

wood in combination with glass or straw ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7/0 —

Hi For the best Glass Super of Honey 12/6 7/0 5/0

17 For the best Twenty-four 2-lb. Sections of Comb Honey 10/0 5/0

is For the best Twenty-four 1-lb. Sections of Comb Honey 10/0 5/0 --

HI For the best Twelve 2-lb. Sections of Comb Honey 10/0 5/0 —

20 For the best Twelve 1-lb. Sections of Comb Honey 10/0 5/0

21 For the best Exhibition of Run or Extracted Honey, in twenty-four 2-lb. glass jars ... ... ... 7/0 5 0

22 For the best Exhibition of Run or Extracted Honey, in twenty-four 1-lb. glass jars ... ... ... 7/0 5/0

COMESTIBLES.

23 For the best Liqueur or Wine made from Honey, with recipe attached (not less than two quarts) ;

age of Wine to be given Silver Medal. Bronze Medal. Certificate.

24 For the best Mead or Beer made from Honey, with recipe attached (not less than two quarts)

Small Silver Medal. Small Bronze Medal. Certificate.

25 For the best Cakes made with Honey, with recipe attached (not less than 2 lbs.) Silver Medal. Bronze Medal. Certificate.

The Samples to which 1st Prize is awarded, in Classes 23. 21, and 25, shall become the property of I he Society,

to be used at the Judges' Dinner.

THE

[No. 99. Vol. IX.]

JULY, 1881.

[Published Monthly.]

^bxtarial, Itoiias, ftt.

JULY.

The first half of the summer of 1SS1 will
long he remembered by bee-keepers in this
country for its generally excellent bee weather,
and for the early harvest of honey that, thanks
to modern improvements, bee-keepers of the
advanced school have been enabled to secure.
Improved hives and appliances, that render
manipulation easy, and secure the storage of
the coveted nectar in convenient receptacles,
apart from the brood ; comb-foundation, that
enables the bees to produce perfect combs in
one-fourth the usual time, and at one-tenth the
the natural cost, are great levers in the science
of bee-keeping ; and, aided by the extractor,
whose purpose is too well known to need de-
scription here, results have been obtained
which, to bee-keepers of the old school, appear
fabulous. In Scotland, where the season has
not been so favourable, the accounts arc not
quite so encouraging ; but being about three
weeks later generally, there is time ' in hand '
for the ' cannie ' of that mellifluent land to
catch up, and possibly surpass, the productions
of their southern friends.* In Ireland, thanks
to the incursion of the deputation from the
British Bee-keepers' Association last autumn,
great things have been accomplished, and asso-
ciations formed, and in full working swing,
while a spirit of enthusiasm has been evoked,
whose evolution, carefully tended and advan-
taged, will be of immense value to that glorious
land of floral beauty, "f*

* We were exceedingly sorry to learn from a visitor, a
gentleman of high position at Edinburgh, that in Argyll-
shire bees in sleeps have perished almost entirely, through
the cold of last winter following a wet autumn, and the
general neglect of feeding. — Ed.

t A gentleman visitor from Ireland inquired of us the
other day when we would recommend that supers should
be put on his hives? He listened patiently to our dictum
in reply, 'When there is an abundance of bees and tine
warm weather;' but when we added, 'and plenty of
flowers and blossoms,' he quickly rejoined, ' and that's just
always, everywhere,' — an observation literally true except
in winter. — Ed.

What a thousand pities it is that Her
Majesty's Ministers and the Members of Par-
liament, as a rule, know so little of the value
of bees !* If, happily, they understood one-
half as much as they ought to, they would
know enough to understand the importance of
educating the public in respect of their culture ;
and if children were taught in our national
schools, the superstition and absurd fogeyism,
which are the curse of bee-keeping, would
gradually die out of the land. While the ab-
sence of watermills and factories in Ireland is
being strikingly deplored, and their erection
advocated, as a means of improving the con-
dition of the Irish people, a great natural fac-
tory exists, and pours its rich product over the
whole country ; yet, through the lamentable
ignorance and blindness of both rulers and
people, 99 per cent of it runs to waste, and
many thousands of pounds are annually lost to
the nation. This is no idle assertion. At
Waterford, last year, Messrs. White and Sons
received thirty tons of honey from cottagers
and small farmers in that district, which was
probably not a ten-thousandth part of Nature's
distillation ; and a few figures will show the
value of this small saving. Taking the honey
at Gd. per pound only, thirty tons would realise
1680/. sterling, and, estimating the wax pro-
duced at one ton (a low estimate), value Is. 6d.
per pound, an additional sum of 160/. would
te produced, or a total of 1848/. sterling in
Waterford alone, by a most wasteful and brutal
system of bee neglect and smotheration. What
can be done in Waterford could be clone in
every other county in Ireland, crude though
the practice be, and a product obtained of
59,136/. ; and. as this could easily be increased
a hundredfold (and more), it may safely be
asserted that 5,000,000/. worth of honey is

* That our rulers understand very little indeed of bee-
culture, as practised in this country, may be inferred
from the fact, that their Commissioner at the Great
International Exhibition at Paris in 1878 sent home a
report that was ridiculously absurd, meagre, and untrue ;
yet, excepting in this paper, it remained unchallenged,
and allowed to remain a ' base ' on which governmental
inaction will be defended. — Ed.

a2

44

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 1, 1881.

wasted in Ireland every average year, or about
five times the poor-rate of the whole country.
This may be a startling assertion, but it is a
fact. There is a painful side to the question,
judging from the Waterford returns. The
thirty tons of honey were obtained by the
destruction of the bees that gathered it ! and,
assuming that every hive yielded thirty pounds
of honey, and each contained three, pounds
weight of bees (a very moderate assumption),
there were three tons of pees destroyed,
which, at five thousand to the pound, gives a
total of 11,200,000 in round numbers, and at
Is. per lb. shows a loss of 326/. sterling for
bees, through ignorance, in Waterford alone.
Ireland is not unique as an example of waste-
fulness in this respect. England, Scotland, and
"Wales, which is dreadfully in the background,
having no Association or Bee- organization,
have much to answer for ; and on whom does
the responsibility rest ? If our rulers will not
make bee-keejoing a branch of school education,
they might well afford two or three thousand
pounds a-year to the leading Associations, to
enable them to send half-a-dozen or more ex-
pierts through the kingdom, to teach the people
thrift in regard to bees and honey. In Ireland
such help would be invaluable; and, though
honey might eventually be cheapened by the
increased production, it would set free many
thousands of pounds-worth of corn, roots, and
sugar at present used in brewing and distilla-
tion. This subject is worthy of grave con-
sideration.

Honey Everywhere. — The glorious weather
gives promise of a grand harvest, and, by all
accounts, there is honej- everywhere now that
the clover and lime-trees have begun to bloom,
and supers are rapidly being filled and removed,
and the extractor brought daily into action.

Getting Bees into Sections. — Some bee-
keepers find a difficulty in persuading bees to
go up into the sections when placed above the
hive; but, thanks to a safe excluder, the remedy
is an easy one, and bees can be ' forced,' if the
term be a proper one, to take jjossession at a
few minutes' notice. The natural affection of
bees for their brood is well understood, and one
or two sections filled with it in a sealed state
and put into the crate, will ensure the presence
of bees, and they will commence building forth-
with. Worker-brood should be selected and
the queen excluded in the usual way with long-
holed zinc-excluders. If drone-brood be put
into the supers, the zinc will detain them there
when they have hatched out. This method
should not be practised with weak stocks for
obvious reasons.

Sections not Covering Frames. — Many
bee-keepers are puzzled through not knowing-
how to proceed when only a small number of

sections are used, as is often advisable. Six or
eight one or two pound sections, with a piece
of glass at each end, make a nice little sujjer ;
but when no adapting-board is used, they leave
a part of the frames uncovered. In such case
we cover the exposed parts with strips of car-
pet or other available material, and keep them
in place with anything that comes to hand —
pieces of board, brick, tile, or slate, being each
useful and effective. Bees do not need upward
ventilation when supers are being filled. Oiled
baize, used for table-covers, would be a good
material for summer use.

Zinc Adaptors. — These are highly useful
and easily made. The zinc can go by post,
whereas an adaptor ready made can not. Five
pieces of wood, a quarter of an inch thick,
should be laid together, as indicated, to form a

frame of the size of the hive. The zinc should
be of the same size, and, when laid on and
tacked on all sides, it will be complete as an
ordinary adaptor. When American sections
are to be used upon it, they should be raised a
quarter of an inch above the zinc, or they will
cover and close nearly all the perforations. To
effect this, some ^ inch strips should be tacked
round the other side, and across the zinc where
the rows of the sections rest and touch each
other. Any part of the adaptor not covered
with sections should be covered as above
directed.

Stopping the Breeding in Harvest' Time. —
We have had many inquiries on this subject,
and advise the removal of the queens when no
special value is attached to them, and honey is
the object desired. The removal of a queen
may not prevent swarming, but the swarm will
be in the nature of an after-swarm, having a
young queen, and if hived and returned at night,
further swarming will, as a rule, be prevented.
This is a safe way of dealing with bees where
honey is preferred to swarms. The removed
queens can be kept in boxes with some comb
and honey and a few dozen bees, and may be
re-introduced after the glut is- over, if young
queens are not fertilised and laying, or they
maybe introduced to hives f nun which artificial
swarms have been made. Coming from strong
stocks they cannot be considered useless.

How Queens are Lost. — Happening to look

July 1, 1881.]

THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

45

into a hive to ascertain the condition of a young'
and fertile Syrian queen, that had been intro-
duced a few days before, we were struck with
dismay at finding a ball of bees on the bottom of
a frame ; but on separating them, we found a
young black queen that had tied from another
hive, and, fortunately, the Syrian all right.
Had the young interloper come into contact
with the Syrian, the more lithe and active black
would most likely have slain the heavier laying
one, and reigned in her stead. Such accidents,
doubtless, often take place unobserved, and
cause much disappointment and loss.

Packing Swarms for Transit. — A cheese-
box with large hole at top and bottom covered
with perforated zinc, or the top covered with
strainer-cloth, is an excellent vehicle for the
transport of swarms. A wooden box with high
sides and large square of zinc in top and bottom
docs well, and a flat-topped straw skep, with
centre hole covered with perforated zinc on the
inside, and tied over the strainer will answer ;
but in each case there should be ledges of wood
across the outside, to keep them off the floor
and permit the passage of air through the
zinc at the bottom, and some means of similar
kind to prevent the ventilation at top being
closed. If there is no bottom ventilation and
the swarm be a strong one, they cluster
on the cloth or zinc and shut out the
air from those below ; but with a free, upward
current they cluster round the sides of the
vessel, which, by-the-by, must be of sufficient
roughness to permit good foothold. Swarm-
boxes made of planed wood arc bad : the bees
cannot hang on, and so are tumbled in a heap
on the bottom, and, suffocating each other, they
vomit their honey and become a sticky mass.
Large boxes, say 14 inches cube, covered
entirely' with perforated zinc, are generally
safe; but sugar-loaf skeps, with narrow tops,
form suffocating wells when inverted. If going
very long journeys, a frame of comb and honey,
well tied round, should be placed across the
skep or box and firmly secured, or a wet sponge
and lump of sugar should be substituted.

S.mali. Swarms for Ligurianising. — In the
first number of the British Bee Journal, pub-
lished in 1873, 3000 of which were sent out, in
about 13,000 leaflets, scattered broadcast over
the earth, and in many thousand Journals since
published, we have recommended, that instead
of purchasing expensive queens for introduc-
tion to alien bees, amateurs should purchase
small swarms to which queens have already
been united, and build them up into stocks by
giving them combs of brood, or placing them
in hives of combs containing brood, from which
the bee-population had just been driven. The
process was invented in the interest of amateur
bee-keepers, to prevent the loss that, through

inexpertness, often made (and, we are sorry to
say, still makes) queen-uniting an expensive
luxury. In early days we paid the penalty of
inexperience, with queens at 30s. ahead in Sep-
tember, home-bred in Devonshire, the pioneer
county of bee advancement; and, while anxious
for the improvement of bees by the introduction
of superior queens, we took the earliest oppor-
tunity of advising that the operation called
' uniting ' should be left with experts, and all
possibility of loss to the amateur avoided. The
principle has not, however, been very favour-
ably received in this country, and man}' hun-
dreds of valuable queens are annually sacrificed
by amateurs ; but in America, where little of
value is risked, one-pound swarms have become
' the rage,' and Ligurianising is therefore safe
and easy, and with frame-hives the process is
simple in the extreme. On receipt of the small
swarm, two or three frames of brood, in all
stages, and one or two of empty comb, but no
bees, are taken, and placed in a hive on a per-
manent stand, the brood-comb being kept side
by side, and the pound of bees and the queen
are put in possession, and when covered the
work is done. The hatching bees quickly
increase the population, and other combs or
frames of foundation may be given from time
to time as may be thought necessary. With
skeps, all the bees are to be driven out to form
a swarm, which may be sold or dealt with in
the usual way, and the hive, free of bees, put
on a new stand, and the bees put into it. To
free the skep of straggling bees, which might
be dangerous to the queen of the swarm, chloro-
form, or preferably puff-ball, fumes should be
used. If the former, make a small hole in the
ground, put in a handful of rag, or a small
handkerchief, and cover with a piece of per-
forated zinc, pour the chloroform on to the rag,
and set the hive over it immediately, closing
the entrance with earth, and in a few moments
every bee will be paralysed, and can be shaken
or brushed out of the hive. If puff-ball be
used, its fumes may be driven into the hive
with a smoker, and in five minutes the hive can
be cleared in a similar way. We know of no
really cheaper, better, or safer way of establish-
ing improved races of bees.

Preventing Swarms when Hives are
Sufereb. — It is often said that lookers-on see
most of the game, and, though not intending
to point a moral or adorn a tale, we cannot help
acknowledging a weakness, notwithstanding
our strength in other respects, in favour of the
Stewarton principle of eking when supering,
and giving the bees work at both ends of the
pile, dividing their attention, cooling their hive
and their ardour for adventure ; and while
giving space for the storage of wealth, inducing
them to keep to their hive and collect it, instead

46

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 1, 1881.

of swarming. Iu this sense the Stewarton hive
is ' the hive of the busy man,' for having
applied super and eke, he may ' go his ways,'
and leave the rest to Nature. If the season has
been good he will have a harvest; if otherwise,
he will, as a rule, find his bees ' at home '
unweakened by swarming, and probably strung'
enough to stand the winter with no more help
than a little wrapping. We confess also to a
weakness for hives in which all the frames are
interchangeable {pace ' Renfrewshire ') ; but
that need not prevent our taking a hint from
the Stewarton system and applying it to our
Combination principle of hive, to which it is emi-
nently adapted. Objection is sometimes made
to the Combination principle, that its ' great '
length (about 30 inches) gives the bees much
labour in carrying the honey to its back parts ;
but considering that the Stewarton hive as used
by the great master of the system, ' the Ren-
frewshire Bee-keeper,' often attains a height of
nearly six feet, and is considered the best hive
in the world, the objection can have no weight.
Its length, and the frames being across the
entrance, put the Combination on the same
parallels with the .Stewarton, distinguishing it
from any other whose frames are all inter-
changeable, for its brood-nest can be eked at
any time by pushing the whole of the contents
of the hive towards the rear, and putting
frames with guides or foundation in the space
made vacant in front of the brood-nest. By
this arrangement there can be no excuse for
bees lounging outside, and as a matter of fact,
they will not do so, they will cluster within
and build comb, and having plenty to do, will
scarcel}r dream of preparation for swarming.

Sectioxs in Rear or at Side oe Hive. —
We are often surprised that so many who use
sections for honey do not use them in the
simplest way, and save all the cost and trouble
of section-frames, crates, and so on. Packed
together at the back or sido of the brood-nest,
as indicated in the woodcut, they would form a

be 14 inches, and leave room on each side for
a piece of glass, which can be wedged close to
them, or less can be used, and dividers put in
between them. A dummy at back or side will
keep all close, and if they be a little too high
or low, a strip of wood laid against the opening-
left would be all that is needed to keep the bees
enclosed.

Queen-cells. — Many amateurs are inquiring
how they may distinguish between worker,
drone, and queen-cells ; and to give a better
idea than words alone will convey, we re-insert
a woodcut and explanation.

nice pile, and by a little contriving would fit
any hive. A Woodbury, for instance, is 141
inches wide; seven of the sections abreast will

The cells on the right are four to the lineal
inch, and are drone-cells. Those It) the left are
five to the inch, and are those in which workers
are bred, a is a queen-cell in course of forma-
tion ; it has thin edges slightly drawn together.
b is a completed, sealed, or (often called) ripe
queen-cell, c is the same when the queen has
newly hatched, having its end like a flap,
which sometimes closes up again, misleading
the amateur, d is the same with the flap gone,
which is the condition in which newly-vacated
queen-cells are usually found, e is a queen-
cell with the side torn open, showing that an
elder sister has hatched out ; and / is an old
queen-cell, the edges having been cut down,
thickened, and left like an acorn-cup.

Limxaxthks Douglasii. — This is a most
valuable bee-plant, coming into bloom in the
interval between the orchard blossoms and
white clover, and lasting nearly a month. We
have had a stretch of it about seventy yards long,
and three to four wide, and it has been literally
a heap of flowers, and bees have been upon it in
droves. It is an annual, and seed should be
sown in autumn. It is perfectly hardy, and if
allowed would grow on a turnpike road. Its
floral abundance lias astonished and delighted
our visitors. Its flowers are of silver and cold.

July 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

47

Another Comet. — The comet of 1881
appears to have taken astronomers by surprise,
so suddenly and unexpectedly did it burst into
view ; but if it be the harbinger of a honey-
glut such as occurred in July of 1874, when
we were similarly visited, we will say, ' Wel-
come, little stranger,' and advise everybody to
lay in a stock of sections, supers, glasses, jars,
pots, pans, and pipkins to contain it. Whether
this kind of wandering atmosphere in search of
a world, with its nebulous attendants, catches
the sun's heat and adds warmth to our nights,
or in any other occult way sweetens our fruits
and flowers, are matters beyond our 'ken'; but
comet years arc usually remarkable in that
respect, and we trust this of 1881 will not
prove the phenomena to be simply co-incident.

A SIGN OF THE TIMES IN BEE
CULTURE.

Messrs. Abbott Bros, have made 3152 lbs.
of pure bee.s-wax into comb-foundation during
the present season, nearly the whole of which
will have been used ere this appears in print.
More than a ton of this (to bee-cult urists) pre-
cious material was sent out during six weeks
prior to June 24, and they have not received a
single complaint of any one sheet ' sagging ' or
tearing. Its use, at a moderate calculation,
must have saved the bees the labour of collect-
ing and expending about 80,000 lbs. of honey,
besides savin"1 a fortnight of the most valuable
part of the season. Great Britain, and Ireland
too, are really awakening to the value of bee-
keeping, and, with other promoters, we may
rejoice in the belief that we have not laboured
in vain. — En. B. B. J.

NEW ZEALAND FLAX.

This has a high reputation as a honey-plant,
but no one in England appears to keep any
seed that will grow. May we, in the interest
of bee-keeping 'at home,' ask our New Zealand
friends to send us a small packet for trial P
We will cheerfully remit costs of packing and
postage, or will return a like quantity of the seed
of the new plant, Limnanthcs. — En. B. B. J.

CURE FOR STINGS.

The following, partly printed and partly
written, nearly worn out paper, was recently
unearthed in looking- through some old books.
It was sent to us for reproduction, and we pub-
lish it, hovjing it ma}* be useful. — Ed.

Cube for Stings. — The following antidote for the
sting of wasps, and other noxious insects, may be worthy
the attention of our readers : — ' 1 don't think it is gene-
rally known, though it ought to he, that a cure may he
immediately obtained by taking a leaf or two of the
broad-leafed Plantain {Plantago major) and bruising it,

by rubbing it on the part stung, and in ten minutes'
rubbing, or less, all the pain and inflammation will cease.
A daughter of mine was, one afternoon, stung in the
fleshy part of the arm, and before I could get the plan-
tain-leaf the part had swelled to the size and length of
my linger ; but 1 had not applied the above half a minute
before I perceived the swelling abate, and in two minutes
she was well, except a little itching on the part stung. I
have used and recommended it for twenty years, and
never knew it fail in a single instance, either for a wasp,
a bee, a gnat, or a bug. Of course the sooner it is
applied the better. The plant cannot well be mistaken ;
it grows in most foot-paths in the fields, its leaves for
the most part laying flat on the ground. The seed,
growing on one stem, is used generally for feeding birds.1

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The monthly meeting of the Committee was held at
10."i Jermyn Street on Wednesday, June 1. Present, — ■
Mr. T. W. Cowan (in the chair), Mr. J. M. Hooker, Mr.
D. Stewart, Mr. II. Jonas, Rev. E. Bartrum, Mr. F.
Cheshire, and the Assistant Secretary. The minutes of
the last meeting were read, confirmed, and signed. The
balance-sheet for the month ending May 31 was also
read, showing a balance in hand of 4SI. 16s. 5d. . Mr.
Jesse Garratt attended the meeting in reference to the
arrangement of the show at Tunbridge Wells on June 6
and following days. The Assistant Secretary reported the
arrangements made for the attendance of the Bee Tent at
the several country horticultural shows, stating that the
demand for the Tent from all parts of the country was
very great ; and several applications had been refused on
account of the dates of the. shows clashing together
The judges for the various divisions of classes at the
forthcoming Show at South Kensington were made as
follows : —

Classes 1-9. — Mr. W. X. Griffin, Mr. W. Freeman, and
T. F. Ward.

Classes 10-20.— Mr. B. Harding, Mr. J. G. Desborough,
and Mr. II. Bostock.

Classes 21-28.— Mr. K. 1!. Godfrey, Rev. F. S. Scott,
and Mr. F. R. Jackson.

Classes 29-39. - Mr. W. Carr, Mr. C. E. Fletcher, and
Rev. J. L. Sisson.

Driving Competition. — Rev. J. L. Sisson, Mr. Carr,
and Rev. F. T. Scott.

It was resolved to hold a quarterly meeting of county
representatives at •'! o'clock on the first day of the show,
and a general meeting of the members of the Associa-
tion on the second day (July 27); and the Secretary was
requested to write to the Baroness Burdett-Coutts (the
President), requesting her to preside at such meeting, and
to communicate with II.R.II . the Princess Christian in
respect to her distributing the prizes on Thursday, July 28.

Mr. Cheshire promised to deliver a lecture on Tuesday,
July 20, the first day of the show, at 5 o'clock.

We are requested to state that, since the date of the
meeting, the Hon. Sec. has communicated with the
President of the Association, and has received a reply to
the effect that, in the event of her Ladyship being in
town at the time of the show, she will be glad to preside
at the general meeting, and in the meantime would
communicate with H.R.II. the Princess Christian re-
specting the distribution of prizes. We are also re-
quested to state that the Committee of the Association
have prepared for the use of county Associations in
making arrangements for exhibitions of bee-driving, &c, at
local horticultural shows, the following which may be ob-
tained upon application to tho Assistant Secretary: —

(1) Form of advertisement for bills or local newspaper,
2s. per 100. (2) Instructions for removing bees to local
shows, and to Secretaries having to make the necessary
arrangements, 3s. per 100. (3) Labels for the trans-
mission of Bee Tents by railway, kc, :js. per 100, post free.

49

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 1, 1881.

BEE SHOW AT IIUNGERFORD.

This show took place in connexion with the Marl-
borough and Pewsey Vale Agricultural Show at Hunger-
ford, and was a marked success. The Tent of the British
Bee-keepers' Association was on the ground, and the
mairipidation gave every satisfaction.

Prize List. — Best observatory hive stocked with
bees, 1st, 10s., Rev. W. E. Burkitt, Butterrnere ; 2nd,
7s. 6(7., Rev. E. Davenport, Ilungerford. — Best moveable
comb-hive, complete, 1st, lOs., Mr. .Velvin, Marlborough ;
2nd, 7s. (id., Rev. J. II. Dixon; certificate, Rev. W. E.
Burkitt. — Best and most economical complete hive for
moveable combs for cottagers' use, 1st, Rev. E. Daven-
port; 2nd, Rev. W. E. Burkitt. — Best collection of bee-
furniture, 1st, 10s., Rev. J. II. Dixon; 2nd, 7s. Gel , Rev.
W. E. Burkitt.

Honey. — Best single super, 1st, 5s., Rev. W. E.
Burkitt; 2nd, 2s. Gd., Mr. Velvin. Mr. Burkitt also took
first prize for some very nice extracted honey, best sample
of bees-wax, and best bee-feeders.

Greatest number of queen-wasps, 1st, 2s. Gd., James
Davenport.

Best and strongest straw-skep of bees — equal 1st, a
prize hive, W. Rolfe and Mr. L. M. Crow, Marlborough ;
2nd, frame-hive given by Rev. W. E. Burkitt, Rev. E.
Davenport.

Cottagers only. — Best and cheapest moveable
comb-hive, 1st, 7s. Qd., Benjamin Lawrence. — Best made
flat-topped straw hive, 1st, 7s. 6d., George White.

Extra prizes were awarded to the Revs. W. E. Bur-
kitt and E. Davenport for articles not specified in the
prize list.

BEES AND BEE HIVES AT THE BIRMINGHAM
SHOW.

At this Show there was a competitive display of bee-
hives, honey, and appliances connected with apiculture,
which proved by no means the least interesting depart-
ment of the show. The prizes in this section were partly
subscribed by the Warwickshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion, a body which, with its indefatigable hon. sec, Mr.
J. N. Bower of Knowle, is carrying on a most com-
mendable work in promoting bee - keeping, and the
adoption of more intelligent, humane, and profitable
methods in the management of bees. In order to
make this department the more interesting to the gene-
rality of visitors, prizes were offered for observatory
hives, stocked with bees and their queen, which should
afford the most complete view of the bees at work upon
their combs. Three admirably contrived structures of this
class were shown — one by Mr. Walton of Leamington,
which received the first prize, and two by Messrs. George
Neighbour & Sons of 127 High Holborn, London ; and
throughout the Show a large number of persons found
much pleasure and instruction in watching the operations
of the bees and their behaviour towards their queen.
There were two classes for moveable comb-hives — one for
hives for general use, and the other for cheaper structures
suitable for cottagers. In the former there were four
entries, and in the latter six, all of them being well-con-
structed and useful hives. Among the hives of this de-
scription, which were adjudged to be a capital collection,
the first prizes were taken by Mr. J. Walton of Leaming-
ton, and Mr. R. McGregor of Banchory, Aberdeen ; while
the second awards were given to Messrs. Neighbour &
Sons, High I Iolborn, London, and Mr. C. Foxon of Croft,
near Leicester. There was a large collection of appliances,
including centrifugal honey-extractors, improved packing-
crates, impressed wax-sheets, feeders of various kinds, and
every description of bee-keepers' requisites, the most ex-
tensive, and at the same time the most successful, exhibi-
tors being Messrs. G. Neighbour & Sons. The exhibition
of hone}', considering the early period of the year, was
highly satisfactory both in quantity and quality. With the

exception of some French honey, shown by Mr. Alexander
of Bull Street, Birmingham, the competitors are all from
Warwickshire and Staff ordshire, and their exhibits showed
that the Midlands were by no means unfavourable for
bee-culture. Mr. J. Walton received three first prizes for
comb-honey in sections and supers, and extracted honey
in jars. Mr. .1. N. Bower was also an exhibitor of some
capital samples, but being one of the judges, his exhibits
were of course excluded from the competition.

Phizes. — Beehives. — Observatory hives, stocked
with bees and their queen, 1st, Mr. J. Walton, Weston,
Leamington ; 2nd, Messrs. G. Neighbour & Sons, Hol-
born, London. Moveable Comb -hives. — -1st, Mr. J.
Walton ; 2nd, Messrs. Neighbour & Sons ; 3rd, Mr. J.
Shaddock, Weston, Leamington. Moveable Comb-hives
for cottagers' use. — 1st, Mr. R. McGregor, Banchory,
Aberdeen ; 2nd, Mr. C. Foxon, Croft, Leicester ; 3rd,
Mr. J. Walton ; 4th, Mr. J. Shaddock.

Collection of Appliances used in bee-keeping
(exclusive of hives). — 1st, Messrs. G. Neighbour & Sons ;
2nd, Mr. J. Walton.

Honey. — Best display of honeycomb in sections. — 1st,
Mr. J. Walton. Best display of honeycomb in one or
more supers of any material. — 1st, Mr. J. Walton. Best
display of run or extracted honey in glass bottles or jars.
—1st,' Mr. J. Walton; 2nd, Mr. F. Lythall, Offchurch ;
3rd, Mr. .J. Alexander, Bull Street, Birmingham.

Beeswax. — For the best displav of pure beeswax, 1st,
Mr. J. Walton.

COUNTY ARMAGH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION IN IRELAND.
The annual county show of this prominent Associa-
tion will take place in Lord Lurgan's demesne at Lurgan
about the last week in August, when prizes will be
awarded for bees, hives, and honey. Full particulars
may be obtained of G. Greer, Esq., Dungannon, Ireland;
and it is to be hoped that some useful exhibits will be
sent from England.

ESSEX BEE ASSOCIATION.— CYPRIAN BEES.

On Tuesday evening, May 25, Mr. F. R. Cheshire de-
livered a lecture on the 'Wonders of the Bee-hive' at
the Shire Hall, Chelmsford, to a limited audience, and
was well received. After the lecture and a vote of
thanks, Mr. Henry Copland said he had a quantity of
( 'vprians which at times were very pugilistic, and he
wished to know if there was any way of properly
manipulating them. The lecturer replied that the class
of bees spoken of were, as a rule, remarkably gentle ; if
their temper was roused it was not easy to subdue
them, but he had never known them yet to lose their
temper. The Rev. G. Raynor said, ' I think occasionally
you do find it, but very rarely.' Mr. Cheshire said he
always carried a smoker with him whilst handling
bees, and always handled them carefully, which latter
point the Rev. G. Raynor laid down as the only neces-
sary thing in successful manipulation. Mr. Debnam
confirmed this statement, and the meeting separated
with a vote of thanks to the Chairman. — ( From the Essex
Weekly News, May 27, 1881.)

[We are sorry we cannot confirm the good character
fur gentleness given to tlie Cyprians. Such character
came with them when they were exhibited at the Crystal
Palace Show by Messrs. Neighbour & Sons in I875j and
those present, when they were handled on that occasion,
were so impressed with their ferocity that, their ' purity '
was doubted, and reference made to the authorities at
the British Museum. Since then we have had consider-
able experience with these bees, having received some
direct from Cyprus, and they have invariably proved
most fightable; and Syrians may be put in the same
category. As workers and breeders they are both good;
but the best workers we have ever known are the cross

July 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

49

from the Syrians. They, however, are not easily sub-
dued. It is a matter of memory that Mr. Cheshire has
twice been entrusted with a Cyprian queen with the
understanding that he would breed queens for distri-
bution amongst the Committee of the British Bee-keepers'
Association; is it ton much to ask that their fate, and
the character of their progeny, should be reported? — Ed.

WKINGTON AND BUERINGTON BEE-JI1VE
AND HONEY SHOAV.

The Horticultural Society for the above district will
hold their fifth annual show at Roper's Field, Wrington,
on the 10th prox., when prizes of value will be awarded
for hives, bee-appliances, and hone}'. This show will
come between the Taunton and "Weston - super - Mare
Shows — a fact that may be worthy of notice by intending
exhibitors at either. Mr. J. Newton Jenner, the local
Hon. Sec, will give any information needed.

FIFESHIRE BEE KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
This Association, established 10th April, 1879, at
Markinch, is now in a highly prosperous state, having
a goodly array of noble and distinguished patronesses
and patrons, a thoroughly efficient working Committee,
and upwards of ninety subscribing members. Mr. White
of Falkland gave a most interesting lecture on the
' Anatomy of the Bee,' and was greatly assisted in his
explanations by the British Association diagrams. His
dissection of the bee showed great ability and experience,
and the audience, which was a large one, was intensely
interested in the somewhat novel but highly instructive
proceeding. There will be a show of bees, hives, honey,
and appliances on Saturday, the 27th August next, at
Balbirnie Gardens, and the prizes, amounting to 12/., are
open to all comers. We are very pleased to observe that
exhibitors in the hive and appliances class must under-
take to supply any number of similar articles at the
prices quoted to their exhibits. The Hon. Sec. is Mr.
John Blair of Markinch, who will be happy to give all
possible information.

BEE TENT AT LISMORE, CO. WATERFORD.

We are glad to learn that Mr. Traynor, Tinahely, Co.
Wicklow, has accepted an engagement from the Lismore
Farming Society to manage a Bee Tent on the 1st and 2nd
of August next. Will any member in Ireland volunteer
to help him ?

WARWICKSHIRE ASSOCIATION COUNTY
SHOW.

The County Show of this advancing Association will
be held at Rugby on September 0 and 7 next. Full par-
ticulars maybe obtained of J. N. Bower, Esq., Hon. Sec,
Knowle, Birmingnam, who will forward schedule of
prizes offered on application.

NORTH WALSIIAM.
Lecture on Bees and Bee-Keeping. — A second
and concluding lecture upon this subject was delivered
in the National School-room, on Wednesday evening, at
North Walsham, the 11th May, by the Rev. J. L. Sisson,
B.A., rector of Edingthorpe. The lecture, which was
abundantly illustrated with diagrams, models, specimens
of bees and hives, and the most approved apiarian ap-
pliances of the present day, was of a very interesting
character. The chair was taken by the vicar of the
parish, who, at the close of the lecture, moved a hearty
vote of thanks to the rev. lecturer. The net proceeds of
the lecture, amounting to 1/. 10s., are to be devoted to-
wards the purchase of new chairs for use in the National
School-room at meetings, concerts, &c.

Flowers and Bees. — At the monthly meeting of
the Dundee Horticultural Association, Mr. John Stewart ,
Letham Mill, President of the East of Scotland Bee-
keepers' Society, read an instructive paper, illustrated by
drawings, on the ' Relations of Bees to Flowers.' In the
course of his remarks he said : — ' Orchard and garden
fruit-growers are almost entirely dependent on bees to
fertilize the blossoms so as to "set" the fruit. The
stigmas of strawberries, blackberries, apples, pears, &c,
come to maturity long before their anthers; hence
bees are necessary to convey the pollen from the old to
the }-oung bloom. In gooseberries the anthers are ripe
long before the stigmas, so that self-fertilization is im-
possible ; and, unless there are bees to transfer the pollen
from the young to the old bloom, the ovary always
withers and drops off along with the flower. The
showy colour and sweet scent of flowers attract bees.
The variegated lines and spots guide them to where the
honey is situated. At the time when the visits of insects
are to benefit the flower the honey flows more freely.
Thus bees get their supply of food, and for this treat
they fertilize the flower. Bees, therefore, depend on
flowers for their subsistence ; in return, the very existence
of many flowers depends on bees.'

A Swarm of Bees in the Strand. — On Tuesday
afternoon a swarm of bees appeared in Wellington Street,
Strand, and settled on the outside of the Army and
Navt/ Gazette office, causing for awhile some obstruction
to the traffic. The attention of Mr. Tegetmeier, the
well-known naturalist, was called to the fact; and,
having obtained a box, he succeeded very shortly in
hiving the swarm.

SHOWS AND BEE TENT ENGAGEMENTS
IN 1881.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

July 0. — Saffron Waldeu, Horticultural Show.

July 7. — Horticultural Show at Aylesbury.

July 7. — Horticultural Show at Wimbledon.

July 13. — Horticultural Show at Hawkhurst.

July 13-18. — Royal Agricultural Show at Derby.

July 26-August 1. — Annual Show B. B. K. A., South
Kensington.

July 20-29. — Caledonian Apiarian Annual Show at
Stirling.

July 30 & August 1. — Horticultural Show at South-
ampton.

August 17 & 18. — Shropshire Bee-Keepers' Associa-
tion's Annual Show at Shrewsbury.

August 18. — Berks and Bucks B. K.A. at Maidenhead.

August 25. — Horticultural Show at Wantage.

August 26. — Sandy Horticultural Show.

August 30. — Horticultural Show at Long Buckby.

August 31. — Horticultural Show at Horsham.

DEVON AND EXETER BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

July 2. — Lecture at Heanton Satchville, N. Devon
(Lord Clinton's), by Wm. N. Griffin, Esq., and Rev.
J. G. Dangar, M.A.

August ll & 12. — Exhibition at the Torquay Aquarium
and Winter Gardens. Hon. Sees. : Wm. N. Griffin, Esq.,
Alphington, Exeter ; and Rev. J. G. Dangar, M.A., The
Training College, Exeter.

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

July 13.— At Chelmsford.
July 19. — At Shoeburvness.
July 20.— At Maldon.
July 26.— At Springfield.
Sept. 23. — At Great Dunmow.

HERTFORDSHIRE ASSOCIATION.

July 20. — -Herts Agricultural Show at Hatfield.
July 22. — Waltham Cross Cottage Garden Show.
August 1. — Hitchin Temperance Fete.

50

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 1, 1881.

August 2. — Frogmore Cottage Garden Show.
August 10 & 11. — Hertfordshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion's Annual Show at St. Albans.

August 17. — Ricktuansworth Cottage Garden Show.
August 24. — Much Hadham Garden Show.
Sept. 8. — Horticultural Show at Harpenden.

July 16.-
AVest Kent
hurst.
July 16.-
July 20.-
July 20.—
August .'5,
August 4.
Show.
August 10

WEST KENT ASSOCIATION.

■Annual Show of the Association at the
Horticultural Show, Camden Park, Cliisle-

Farningharn Rose and Horticultural Show.
Tonbridge Show.
Bexley Heath Show.

Yalding Cottage Gardeners' Society Show.
—St. Mary Cray, Cottagers' Horticultural

-Frant Cottagers' Association.

REPORT

Of Messrs. Abbott and Cajrb, to the British Bee-keepers'

Association, on their late visit to Ireland.*

As your representatives accompanying the Bee Tent
on its mission to Ireland for the advancement of bee-
culture in that country, we have the honour to report
that, in accordance with arrangements previously made,
we started from England on the 7th August last, and
arrived at Waterford on the evening of the 8th, after a
rough passage from Bristol, and returned on the 5th
September ensuing, via Greenore and Holyhead.

Our peregrinations with the Tent having been described
in the British Bee Journal, it will not, we think, be ne-
cessary to recapitulate the minor events therein recorded.
We, however, beg to state, with a view to completeness
in our report, that we duly attended the Royal Agricul-
tural Society's (Ireland) Show at Clonmel, the Agricul-
tural and Horticultural Show at Maryborough, the
Agricultural Show at Newry, and the Horticultural and
Flower Show at Newtownards, as had been arranged by
your Committee, and one other at Parsonstown, arranged
by ourselves in conjunction with the Rev. J. M. Aldridge,
of Eyre Court "Vicarage, Co. Galway, at each of which
the very deepest interest was created, and a strong im-
pulse given to bee-culture on the improved principles
your Committee sent us to expound: and we have every
faith that the good impressions produced will lie effec-
tive and lasting.

We beg to report that through default on the part of
the Railway Company to whose charge the Tent had
been intrusted for delivery at Clonmel, no such delivery
took place, and it (the Tent) was not handed to us until
some days after the show was over, when we intercepted
it at the Waterford Boat Station.

At Clonmel the Agricultural Show,f which was a

_ * The formation of bee associations in Ireland, the impulse
given to bee-culture, and the awakening of the nation to the
possibility of a new industry in their midst, traceable in a
great measure to the tour of last autumn, have induced us to
consider it desirable that the report which was presented on
the occasion to the B.B.K.A. should be preserved in the pages
of the Journal.

t That the ' coming ' of the Bee Tent had produced an
impression in Ireland, may be inferred from the following,
inscribed on a huge banner, and paraded through Clonmel
by a Land League meeting which had taken place near the
Khow ground : —

' In this Green Isle,
'Neath Heaven's smile,
May the bees soon thrive
In Erin's Hive.

' We drive pell mell
To old Clonmel,
To give three groans
For the House of Drones.

' In Mullinahone
No lord we own
But the Holy One
That shines upon
Sweet Slieve-na-mon ;

' Who gave the soil
To the sons of Toil,
That they be fed
With daily bread.'

[And without intending to be funny,
We'd like to make it bread and honey.

-En.]

grand one, extended over three days, viz., August 11,
12, and lo; but, in consequence of the non-delivery of
the Tent, the first of those days was entirely lost to us
as exhibitors of bees, but, by great exertions, and at con-
siderable expense, we extemporised a tent in time for
use on the second and third days, and were able to make
an exhibition of manipulation, which, though held
under great disadvantages, caused intense excitement,
and created a keen interest in the objects of our visit.

In justice to ourselves and to your Committee, we
feel it right to remark on the almost total absence of the
considerate assistance we hoped to have received from
the authorities at the show. Excepting the allotting of
our ' site ' and receiving passes to the ' enclosure,' we
were left to our own devices, and but for the invaluable
help afforded by the Rev. G. A. Procter, of Tullamelan,
and by Brother Joseph, of the Abbey, Loughrea (who,
at their personal cost, furnished us with bees and an
observatory hive, and rendered great help in the Tent
by relating their personal experiences in support of our
efforts to instruct the visitors), we had no help. So little
care, indeed, had been bestowed in the pre-arrangement
of our visit, that the 10th August had been named in
the Bee Journal advertisements as the day on which the
show would commence, whereas it did not begin until
the 11th ; and a similar error had been committed with
respect to the Agricultural Show at Maryborough, to
which we next proceeded.

We have great pleasure in reporting here that, by
the kindness of the authorities of the Waterford and
Central Railway, we were furnished with free first-class
passes for ourselves, Mr. Timberlake, our assistant, the
Tent, and all our belongings, to and from Maryborough,
they looking upon our visit as of national importance
and value — an example that remained unique, except
in regard to the Waterford Shipping Company's agents,
who kindly remitted the charges made on the two stocks
of bees we had witli us, permitting them to be considered
as 'passengers' luggage.

Our experience at Clonmel having taught us the
necessity for pre-arrangement with respect to future
shows, we wrote to Canon Bagot, who had been credited
witli the promotion of our tour, hoping that the difficul-
ties of the show just past were but a consequence of
extreme pressure, but the reply was disappointing. Our
letter was dated ' Adelphi Hotel. Waterford, August
14th, 1880,' and said: — 'We should be much obliged if
you would kindly inform us what arrangements you
have made at the different places for the exhibition of
bees and lectures in the Bee Tent, the date and time of
the shows, the name and address of the local secretaries,
and if they have arranged to have some bees on the
ground for the manipulations, I suppose our next
exhibition will be for one day at Maryborough, on
Wednesday, August 18th ; Newry Show, cm August 28th ;
Newtownards Horticultural Show, on September 2nd;
and the Royal Horticultural Show, at Dublin, on Sep-
tember (I do not know the date). I think you will say
we created a great interest in thesf useful creatures at
Clonmel, as a good many said they should commence
Keeping them on the modern improved system. From
our observations in the neighbourhood of Clonmel, we
should say there are scores of tons of honey annually
lost in that one district for the want of bees as collectors.
— (Signed) Wm. Cabjb. Address I'ost-olHee, Mary-
borough '

The reply received from Canon Bagoi was as -follows:
— 'The only arrangement I have been able to make is
Maryborough, Newtownards, and Newry. The Horti-
cultural Show, Dublin, is on the same day as Newtown-
ards; besides they refused to allow the Tent in. I think
you might be able to get an exhibition in Dublin ; I will
make inquiry for you. We ought to try an exhibition
in Waterford Park.'

From this it will be seen that Canon Bagot was but
slightly helpful to our cause, for we were left in error as

July 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

51

to the date of the Maryborough Show, and the others
were not named in their proper order, and we heard
nothing further respecting the Dublin or proposed
Waterford Shows.

Arrived at Maryborough, we found that the show,
advertised (to us) for the 18th August, did not take
place until the 19th — a point which gave us more time
for preparation in providing bees and looking about us,
but was highly inconvenient to our visitors. We had
the most willing help in our arrangements from Dr.
Syines, the local Hon. Sec. of the Agricultural Show,
SO far as his multifarious and arduous duties permitted ;
bees were, through his kind interest, easily procured,
and the show, as a first in the neighbourhood, was
highly successful. Through the absence of police super-
vision, the ending of the exhibition was not so pleasing
as it might otherwise have been, for a crowd of trespass-
ing boys — a veritable ' swarm ' — crowded us most in-
conveniently, and pilfered from our exhibits in a way
we were helpless to prevent or redress. We are glad to
record the substantial services voluntarily afforded to us
in the Tent by Mr. J. Traynor, a cottager, from Tina-
hely, with advanced ideas of bee-keeping. Anxious to
learn what we were willing to teach, he so readily fell
in with the (to him) new method of manipulation as to
be, with his Irish tongue, a most efficient aid in convey-
ing instruction, and disarming suspicion of chicanery;
and, we have lately heard, that he has, in the Co. of
Wexford, conducted a bee show on the principles we had J
taught, and carried it through to a successful ending.

We next proceeded to 1'arsonstown, where, notwith-
standing a heavy down-pour of rain, great interest was
manifested in the operations, and the lectures were
received with marked attention. We had substantial
assistance from the Rev. J. M. Aldridge, of Eyre Court,
and from Brother Joseph, of Loughrea, who brought
many hives and much bee-gear to add to the display ;
other gentlemen also brought bees for manipulation, and j
but for tin' rain this would have been a specially excel- I
lent show. The Tent was visited by the Earl and
Countess < if Eosse, and by many of the influential gentry
of the district; and very many others, who had arranged
to be present, were unfortunately prevented by the un-
toward condition of the weather. Nevertheless, we are
assured that much good was done.

Leaving Parsonstown, we reached Newry in good
time for the show, which took place on the da}' an-
nounced, and here again our efforts created profound
sensation. By the kind help received from Mr. James
Shaw, of Priory House, Newry, we were furnished with
bees, and, as elsewhere, the fact of their being Irish bees
satisfied the public as to the genuineness of the manipu-
lations. The show was held in the Market Square,
which, after five o'clock, was thrown open to the public,
when our Tent became a centre of attraction to a multi-
tude, whose curiosity displayed itself more forcibly than
was consistent with comfort. The ordinary exhibits of
farm-produce had been already removed, but, it being
necessary to wait while the flying bees returned to their
hives, we found, as at Maryborough, considerable diffi-
culty in packing up and removing our belongings, and
would venture to suggest that on future tours the neces-
sity for police supervision should be insisted on.

From Newry we proceeded to Newtownards, where,
thanks to the energy and good-feeling of C. (.!. Russell,
Esq., the local Hon. Sec. of the Newtownards Horticul-
tural Society, and an earnest bee-keeper withal, we
found everything ready, and plenty of willing help in
our work. To ensure a supply of bees for manipulation,
prizes were offered, consisting of money equal to the
value, of the bees as exhibited ; aud, as inducements to
the lucky exhibitors to mend their ways in a bee-keep-
ing sense, new frame-hives were included, on the under-
standing that the bees were to be transferred to them,
which was done, though, we fear, the fewness of the

bees of the individual stocks will be against their well-
doing, unless they be well cared for before and during
the winter, which will so soon be upon us.

As showing a marked tendency to improvement in
the means of developing bee-culture in Ireland, we are
glad to be able to report that prizes had also been offered
for honey taken from hives without the destruction of
the bees, preference being given to comb-honey in. sec-
tions, and that a highly creditable display was made,
which greatly conduced to the interest awakened by our
efforts in the Tent, and caused anxious inquiry as to
the means by which such splendid results had been
achieved. The Newtownards- Show being the last on
the programme, its fulfilment brought our labours to a
close, though we are happy in being able to state that
the interesting nature of the proceedings during the tour
had caused several applications for its prolongation ; and
we came away with a full conviction that the seed of
progress had been sown broadcast in fertile soil, and
that it would spring up and yield fruit to the lasting
benefit of the people, in whose warm hearts there will
ever remain a grateful sense of the good service rendered
to Ireland in the cause of apiculture, by the British Bee-
Keepers' Association.

In concluding our Report, we hope to be permitted, as
your agents, to record our impressions of Ireland from
a bee-keeping point of view. In our peregrinations, we
passed over many hundreds of miles of country, — through
Minister, Leinster, and Ulster, on rail, car, and foot, — and
everywhere were filled with admiration of the wondrous
floral beauty of the land,* and the indisputable evidences
of its general permanence for bee pasturage. There were,
in addition to the usual fruit-trees, limes, horse-chestnuts,
maple, sycamore, elm, birch, willows, blackberries, black-
thorn, poppy, furze, broom, ivy, scabious, willow-herb,
ling, clover, colts-foot, fox-glove, golden-rod,holly, butter-
burr, thistle, meadow-sweet, charlock, comfrey, cotone-
aster, thyme, in wild profusion ; and the ground crops
of herbage were astonishingly abundant. Heather and
clover (both white and red) covered many miles of moun-
tain and plain, while field and hedgerow were filled with
bee floral luxuriance.

With the immense natural advantages tins condition
implies, it was most painful to us to find the country
almost beeless, and the people, with wide exceptions, in
miserable ignorance of their value. Excepting at
Clonmel and Newtownards, we saw no evidences of
attempts having been made to cultivate the bees. They
were professedly kept by a few of the better class pro-
prietors or agents, but were, entirely neglected, except
when the sulphur-match was lighted for their destruction.
Bee-keeping in Ireland consists in providing swarms with
ill-made skeps of sugar-loaf shape, made of soft straw,
that sinks with the accruing weight, sticks being thrust
across (at any angle) from below the centre to near the
crown. They are exceedingly rough both inside and out,
and when stocked are set upon a stone or stool, and very
little, if any, protection is given to them ; and, as a
consequence, they quickly become rotten, and the bees
and their enemies find an easy way through them. In
a few instances ekes are added to the hives to give more
room ; but even with this addition, we did not find a
hive, other than those containing late swarms or queen-
less stocks, that could contain its population ; and though
the countiy was overflowing with honey, and the hives
were full (?) of it, the bees were idly clustering about,
their homes, having nowdiere to store a surplus, if they
gathered it. Not anywhere, save in the two places
mentioned, did we see a hive surmounted by a super, or
any means in operation by which bees could be deprived

* In an early morning ramble at Maryborough, Mr. Can-
gathered fifty-five distinct varieties of wild flowers in bloom,
as a characteristic bouquet for our breakfast-table, a feat we
did not consider at all singular. — Ed.

a3

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 1, 1881.

of their honey without their destruction; and, as a rule,
the principle of driving bees, either as a means of
artificial swarming- or depriving, was unknown. From
inquiries, everywhere repeated, we learned that bees had
been kept, but that during the previous bad seasons they
had died out, showing a want of knowledge of the
necessity for, and means of feeding them, and enabling
them to tide over an unpropitious season. Finally, we
take leave to record our conviction, that with a fair
knowledge of the science that governs the art, bee-
farming would more than doubly increase the profits of
agriculture, and smooth the way to comfortable inde-
pendence to many who are now barely able to gain a
livelihood in that beautiful, but neglected island.

William Caur.

C. N. Abbott.

CoraspDitittnic.

%* These columns are open to subscribers, so that their
queries, replies, correspondence, and experiences may be
fully and faithfully recorded ; and for the discussion of all
theories and systems in Bee-culture, and of the relative merits
of all hives and appurtenances, that the truth regarding them
may be ascertained. The Editor, therefore, must not be ex-
pected to coincide with all the views expressed by the various
writers. All Correspondence is addressed to the Editor.

NEW PACKING FOR BEES.

I wish to make known, through your valuable
columns, the suitability of a new substance for
packing the interspace of double-walled hives, and
beg to enclose you a specimen. I have discarded
everything in favour of it, and I stuff my side
cushions, and have big quilts for winter also filled
with it; and I can testify to its admirable qualities.
Botanists would describe it as desiccated Sphagnum,
it being the species of moss of which the surface of
all our turf or peat bogs is composed. In cutting
turf this is first got at, and is called ' flow ' or
' fummy,' and is of little value for fuel. I took the
idea some years ago from observing that my
parishioners who keep large quantities of potatoes
stored in outhouses during the winter, line next the
wall with dry ' flow turf,' and not a single tuber is
ever injured by the frost ; whereas, when this pre-
caution is not adopted the frost penetrates even
two feet of masonry, and destroys the potatoes.
In fact, I know of no other natural substance, ex-
cept cork, which is such an absolute non-conductor
of cold and heat. And it has the advantage of
lightness over cork : I should say a cubic foot of the
sphagnum would weigh about one-third that of cork.
Add to this its abundance, and that it it is to be
had for little more than the asking. We have it
everywhere in our northern bogs, and the great bog
of Allen, which occupies a large district in the
centre of Ireland, and from which Dublin gets all
its turf by canal, is chiefly composed of it. Sphag-
num moss is the material for hive-makers' packing.
It pleases me so well, that I am putting it (at con-
siderable trouble) into all my old hives. — H. W.
Lett, M.A., One of the Hon. Sees. Co. Armagh Bee-
ikeepers' Association.

[The moss is very light and warm, and holds fire suf-
ficiently well to make it good for fuel and bee-smokers,
and in the hope that it may lead to another petty

industry, we begged our esteemed correspondent to send
over a few sacks of it, that we might test the question of
its economy for use here. Being ' waste ' in Ireland, its
collection and transport hither might put many a shilling
into the pocket of 'poor Fat,' if the charges by the way
are not too great. — Ed.]

PROLIFICNESS OF SYRIAN BEES.— SOME
OF THEIR PECULIARITIES.

I had two Syrian queens from you last autumn,
with one of which I was unsuccessful in uniting,
and the other one threw me a first swarm on the
5th June, second on the 15th, third on the 18th,
fourth on the 19th, fifth on the 21st. The first
swarm came as late as two o'clock in the afternoon ;
the third came as early as half-past seven in the
morning, when it was raining heavily, and had been
for an hour and a half. The sun had never shone
that morning or the day previous. As I had never
read in your Journal of a hive throwing so many
swarms before, I should like to know if it is
customary with this new race; if so, all other kinds
will be left in the shade. I might add that, after
the fifth swarm, I opened into the hive, but only
took two bars out, one having four queen-cells ;
and the other two, which I put into two other
hives, although past a fortnight from throwing the
first one, combs were full of unhatched bees, and
the hive still very strong. I wish you could have
seen it. They were rather savage being disturbed,
but all the swarms I hived without bee-dress or
gloves ; and have found them remarkably quiet,
more so than any bees 1 ever had before, having
kept bees for fifteen years.

I last year sold over 200 lbs. weight of super-
honey. I have twenty hives of bees, ami many other
necessaries, which I value at 55/., which the}7 have
cleared, and stand me as well 15/. to the good ; but I
take great interest in them, and would keep them
for pleasure, even if the balance was over ' the left,'
as we term it in the north. Weather here only
moderate. — William W. Butler, Ulverstone.

[Multiplying into six straight away is not bad, and
bears out the character they have received for un-
exampled prolificness. They are a wonderful race, the
principle of life being marvellously strong within them ;
and they have extraordinary qualities in other respects.
They are excellent workers, they breed very rapidly,
they raise immense numbers of queen-cells, they fre-
quently begin laying when only a few hours old, and in
some instances become fertilised before they destroy the
royal cells, though they appear to tear out their sisters that
are near hatching. To our mind they disprove the Pzier-
zon theory of breeding pure drones after cross-mating — a
theory which never was acceptable to us, and, in fact, is
against all other experiences in animal life. The drones
that hatch from the eggs laid by virgin queens are uni-
formly well marked with rich golden yellow, but those
produced after mating witli black hers are in some cases
quite black. The worker progeny of cross-mated Syrian
queens are all well marked, and suggest the idea that the
Ligurian bee is a cross of this kind, the unevenness of
colour in the Ligurian drones supporting it. As witli
Ligurians they vary in temper, some of the cross-breeds
are so terribly fiery that they can scarcely be dealt witli.
while others are as meek as flies — a fact which appears
unaccountable. Our pure Syrians (we have but one
stock at the present time) are fairly good-tempered

July 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

53

while young; but a nucleus made from them that have
done little work, and have grown old, are perfect little
' demons,' and care nothing for strong tobacco-smoke,
though a jet be directed continuously against them. We
have hesitated before giving an opinion on their finalities
until experience gave authority for so doing, and even
now we feel that there is much to learn of them. We
formed several nuclei from them for queen-hatching pur-
poses, and young Syrians found their way into all the
hives in their vicinity; and, having grown old, show
their temper on all occasions, while their foster-sisters
are as good-natured as usual. They are small bees, but
their cross-breed are larger and the best workers we
have, and, singularly, have shown no disposition to
swarming. — Ed.]

BEES DYING IN SECTIONS AT REAR OF
HIVE.

I have a strong stock of bees in bar-frame hives
placed in an apiary. The hive contains nine
frames, 13 by 11, and are all crowded with bees,
and full of brood and maggots, and as far as I can
see are all well. I supered them at the back of
hive with sectional supers about a week ago, and
to-day (June 9) examined the supers, and found
some thousands of dead bees in the sections, the
supers all turned to the colour of a bright yellow ;
and the bees have not commenced to work in them.
I may say the supers are 2-lb. ones of white poplar.
I have taken them (the supers) away to-day, and
confined the bees to the hive as before the supers
were put to them.

Kindly inform me, first, as to the large number
of dead bees ; second, as to the colour of the
supers, and what is to be done under such circum-
stances. Your reply per return of post will greatly
oblige. There is a large quantity of sealed honey
in the hive. — J. P. Frost, Parham, near Wickham
Market.

[At the first blush the foregoing experience seemed
against our Combination principle of hive-building; but
feeling assured that there was an unexplained cause
for the mortality complained of, we immediately wrote
begging further information, and hazarded suggestions
thereupon, one of which proved to be correct. The dis-
coloration of the wood we felt to be due to the vapours
from the suffocating bees ; and from the following letter
since received it will be seen that our conclusions were
well founded. We have often stated in this Journal
and elsewhere that the round-holed queen-excluder zinc
permits the bees to pass with difficulty; and there is
little doubt but that the hive being crowded, a great
number got through, and as each bee quite fills the
round hole in passing, the supply of air became too
limited, and a panic ensued, when those within perished,
being unable to get out. It may not be generally remem-
bered (if observed) that in punching the perforations a
slight burr or roughness is left on the underside of them,
and that it is therefore more easy for bees (and queen
too occasionally ) to pass one way than the other ; and if in
the present case the burred side of the zinc fronted the
section space, the difficulty of escape was greater than it
would have been had the zinc been the other way round.
We quite agree with our correspondent's suggestion that
his experience should be published as a warning to
others. — Ed.]

In reply to yours of the 9th inst. I beg to state
I used the round-holed excluder-zinc between the
sections and brood-nest ; and although the loss in

the bees was heavy, they are still very strong. On
the 13th inst. I put your long-holed excluder-zinc
between sections and brood-nest, and am glad to
be able to inform you I examined the sections this
day, and I find the bees work to and fro easily,
and not one single dead bee can be seen. I thank
you very much for your prompt reply, and beg to
suggest that such a case as this, that is, if you think
it a fit one, ought to be published in your valuable
Journal. If so done, it might be the means of
saving many thousands of lives of bees by only
using your long-holed excluder-zinc.— J. P. Frost.

JUDGING SPURIOUS HONEY.

As the season for Bee Shows is now approaching,
we wish to draw your attention to an important
point. We are convinced that for several past
years prizes have been awarded to some unprincipled
rascals, who must have supplied their bees with
sugar-syrup for supering purposes. We have excel-
lent evidence that this has been done ; and we put
it to you, sir, and through you to the readers of
your Journal, whether it is fair ] Surely the first
duty of all judges should be to taste the honey in
every super, and reject all doubtful supers most
rigorously. It would also be a good plan to post a
placard on all obviously dishonest supers, stating
the name of the exhibitor and the reason for his
exhibit being rejected. This would bring some of
these dishonest people to their bearings by publicly
proclaiming them to lie, what many of us know
privately that they are, viz. humbugs. — T. B. Blow,
Welwyn {for several Hertfordshire Bee-keepers).

BEES IN AN OIL-CAN.
I intended to write you sooner, giving you a
description of this locality, and especially a warren
covered with heather that has beautiful blossoms,
but have been unable. However, an interesting-
circumstance causes me to write you now. When
I returned home on Saturday last, my son — five
years old — asked me to ' come up the garden to
see a bees'-nest in the oil jar.' This attracted my
attention, and he led me to an old, strong, tin oil-
jar lying on its side. I saw a few dead bees about
the mouth of it ; and, on putting my ear to it, I
found it contained a stock of bees, and they
may have been in it several days, for I could see
comb-formation. I noticed them yesterday and to-
day, and I find they are working very briskly.
Almost every returning bee seems to have lumps of
white matter on its legs. The jar is 10 inches in
diameter and 14 inches in length, not including the
sloping top. The hole for the cork is about \\ inch
in diameter. I want to remove them into an
ordinary straw 'skep,' which is all I have available;
and several methods have been suggested, but I
have adopted my own (*'. e. caution), and will let
them remain as they are till I hear from you, and
you will greatly oblige by a prompt reply, giving
me directions ; or would it be advisable to let them
remain where they are 1 I want also to remove
them about 40 yards down the garden, nearer to

54

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 1, 1881.

my cottage. A neighbour of mine lost a swarm
about ten days ago. This may be the same. —
Daniel Teer, Dundrum, Co. Bonn, Ireland, June
13, 1881.

[We advised that the bottom of the tin should be cut,
off with a sardine-opener, and the butt end of the oil-
can inserted in the back of a hive. The bees will then
be forced to work forward towards the hive-entrance,
and will store the combs in the tin with honey, which
can be appropriated in autumn. The moving must be
done by slow degrees, a few feet only every tine day. —
Ed.]

FRAME-HIVES FOR IRISH COTTAGERS.

I am glad that Mr. J. Kennedy, of Comber, who
writes at p. 37, is working at constructing a good,
cheap bar frame hive for Irish cottagers. Your own
remarks on p. 28 are also most instructive. But par-
don me for remarking, cheapness is not the sole
qualification to consider in wooden hives for Ireland ;
they must also be so constructed as to be practi-
cally useful all the year round. A hive of f or
1 inch wood, such as Mr. Kennedy has made, may
do in summer ; but, in our climate, it is necessary
to be adapted for packing on all sides, as well as
under roof, with some non-conducting substance,
such as chaff, ferns, or moss. A low-priced hive is
almost certain to prove in the end a very dear pos-
session, involving the loss of the swarm of bees
placed in it. I know this to my cost, and would
venture to caution the inexperienced not to run the
risk. Of course if the hives are placed in a bee-
house, enclosed on all sides, like that figured in
Ribeaucourt's Manual of Rational Bee-keeping, of
which I know several examples in this country,
hives of single boards will succeed tolerably well.

The executive of the Co. Armagh B.K.A. are
most anxious to place within the reach of their
members frame-hives suitable for Irish cottagers,
and, to induce their construction by local trades-
men, arc offering prizes of 1/. or 10*. 'for the
cheapest, practically useful, bar-frame hive, made
by a carpenter resident in the Co. Armagh, from
packing-case or other wood. Price not to exceed
4s. Any number to be supplied at the price
named.' Being an amateur in carpentry, I have
been experimenting during the past six months
with various packing-cases, just to see what could
be done with them ; and three months back met
with the boxes Mr. Kennedy has been the first to
write about, and out of them I made up some Irish
cottagers' hives, with outer cover, the inter-space
packed with sphagnum moss, and gabled roof, which
I intend to give away as prizes at the coming show
of our County B.K.A. , the cost of the materials being
just the same as Mr. Kennedy's.

I was led to use these ' Satinet ' packing-cases
in preference to lobster, salmon, biscuit, coffee, or
canned beef, all of which I tried, because I found
that the internal dimensions were 141 x 15 x 8J,
which, by raising the sides either with zinc or slip
of wood, makes it hold exactly ten Woodbury bee-
frames. In fact, if designed for the purpose there
could not be a better fit. I would re-echo Mr.
Kennedy's recommendation of these boxes ; and
note the words ' Standard and Uniform ' which the

soap-powder manufacturer has stamped in large
letters, as if for our guidance, in following the ad-
vice so kindly given in your excellent Bee Journal,
to adopt one uniform measurement of bar-frames as
an Irish .standard. — Henry Wm. Lett, M.A.,
Ardmore Glebe, Lrnrgan.

P.S. — Bees in this neighbourhood — south shore
of Lough Neagh — are promising well. The stocks
are strong and active. There were no swarms till the
first week in June ; but they have been numerous
since then, and weigh from 3£ to 4 lbs. This dis-
trict is well adapted for bees, having abundance of
willow blossoms in early spring, and heather and
aquatic plants in autumn. As a consequence, my
neighbours did not lose so many bees during the
past severe season. — Vtth June, 1881.

THE AUTHORSHIP OF ' MODERN BEE-
KEEPING.'

In the June number of the British Bee Journal
exception is taken to a statement made in the
Journal of Hortiadture, in which I am referred to as
having written gratuitously Modern Bee-keeping.
The character of the Editorial is irritating enough,
but I would prefer to reply to it in ' the strength of
gentleness.' It is only needful now for me to say,
that not only did I gratuitously write the whole of
the second edition of Modem Bee-keeping, and the
whole of the first, except a very few lines of Mr.
Hunter's, retained by me in order that his name
might not disappear from the Preface ; but that,
in addition, I designed and drew upon the blocks
nearly all the cuts, and thus saved the Committee
several pounds, while I even paid fur the wood out
of my own pocket. The Preface is nearty all Mr.
Peel's, who kindly wrote it at my request, and not
at the request of the Committee. As a bee-book,
Modern Bee-keeping is wholly mine, and I am glad
that the profit derived from its sale has tended
much to improve the financial position of the Asso-
ciation. There is honour in service, and if the fact
that some of this honour is falling on me has
awakened jealousy in the mind of any, I can give
such my pity, and hope that if too much selfishness
has hindered their usefulness, the hindrance may be
taken away. — Frank R. Cheshire, Avenue House,
Acton, W.,June 27, 1881.

BEE GLOVES.— BEKS IN BUILDINGS.

May I be allowed to reply to letters from ' An
Amateur ' and Mr. J. Lingen Scager upon Gloves
and Stinging? When I began bee-keeping last year
I wore gloves, but found that the bees would sting
them, do what I could, and as careful as I could
be ; but on the advice of a friend was induced to
try and manipulate without, and I was gratified to
find 1 could get on much more comfortably and far
easier by having my hands perfectly free. I get a
sting now and then, but do not swell or feel the
pain and irritation as I did last year. So my
advice to bee-keepers is, Do not wear gloves at all ;
the sooner you get well stung the better, and the
sooner will you feel it less. — Robert Ranger.

P.S.- — I have observed lately that there is another

July 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

55

swarm in the mill exactly in the place where I
took a swarm last year. They cannot he from the
same queen I feel sure, as I completely cleared
them out, bees, comb, and all. I shall leave them
till the autumn this time, and add to my own stocks.
[If you want to keep bees out of the mill walls you
must stop all means of entrance to them. Bees having
once inhabited a place, leave an odour that for a long-
time is peculiarly attractive to other bees, and if it be
possible, bees will repopulate it from time to time.
There is an iron column at Southall Railway Station,
which has for several years past been occupied by
successive swarms ; they always come to grief through
heat or cold ; but the ' lure ' remains, and bees find it
nut and take possession. The entrance is through a
' bolt-hole.'— En.]

BEE-GLOVES.
Having seen in your Journal many suggestions
as to the best kind of bee-gloves, I thought that a
description of those I wear may not be out of place,
if you wish to insert it for the benefit of your
readers. I get an old thread glove, which fits, and
cover it over thickly with cotton-wool, keeping the
glove on my hand, stitching the cotton well into
the glove, and going round each finger separately.
The back of the glove should bo specially well
padded. I draw over this the largest-sized cotton
glove I can get. The article is then complete, and
is quite impenetrable to stings. One advantage of
this glove is, that the outer one can be taken off
and washed when it becomes sticky or soiled. — A
Constant Reader, Mountmellick, Ireland, June 11,
1881.

A CURE FOR BEE-STINGS.

There is an old Scottish adage that ' the docken
grows beside the nettle.' The juice of the docken
leaf applied at once removes the irritation caused
by nettle-stings ; hence the wise provision of the
bane and the antidote beinu' found together.

The pain, swelling, and inflammation caused by
the sting of a bee to a lady friend of the present
writer, has hitherto had so dreadful an effect, as in
one instance to require the physician's lancet, all
alleviators, such as at once excluding the air from
the puncture by moistened earth, soap or whiting
ready to hand, and best ; or applying hartshorn,
spirits, tobacco, onions, Pine's lotion, &c, have had
in her case very little effect.

Being the other day sharply stung on one cheek,
she patiently rubbed in the juice of the docken
leaf. The pain was speedily gone ; and instead of
having her cheek, as usual, terribly disfigured with
swelling, and the nearest eye partially closed, the
wounded cheek, by the time she ceased rubbing,
was undistinguishable from the other ; and she has
asked me to communicate her cure to the pages of
the British Bee Journal, in the hope that sufferers
such as she may obtain a like benefit. — A Renfrew-
shire Bee-keeper.

BEES UTILISING COMB CHIPS.
I see by the May Number of your Journal there
is some question as to whether bees will work out
comb chips. Like you, I am not positive one way

or the other ; but I will tell you what I have lately
noticed in my Observatory hive. The hive in
question is constructed to hold one sheet of comb,
and nut adapted to receive bar-frames. I therefore
gave it about an inch of your comb-foundation,
which is of a golden colour ; about two inches in
the centre of the hive is occupied by a ventilator,
so I was unable to fasten the comb under it. The
consequence was, the weight of bees broke down
the foundation from that particular part, and I
presume it fell. The day after I noticed the bees
forming a piece of comb about the size of a shilling
at the bottom of the hive, of the same colour as
your foundations. I am inclined to think this
fallen comb was utilised, for the reason that all the
comb we make here is pure white, and further, the
piece of comb has not increased in size, showing
that no more chips were available. — G. H. Aubrey,
Springfield, Chelmsford, June 21st, 1881.

A HONEY-MARKET.

I am willing to act as agent for sale of honey on
commission for bee-keepers in this district. Per-
sons having supers to dispose of can know my terms
on application. Perhaps you will give this pub-
licity in the Journal. — Charles Lewis, 15 Fore Hi.,
Taunton.

TWO QUEENS IN ONE HIVE.

A common argument employed by the unini-
tiated against the non-swarming system, or that
of keeping bees in colonies, is the degeneracy of
their queens ; but if their combs are constructed
on the moveable principle, a facility which every
colony ought to possess, the introduction only of
young and vigorous queens to their heads is an
operation so simple and advantageous that every
thoughtful bee-keeper should adopt it.

Even where the above is neglected, queens of
nou-swarmers are changed oftener than is generally
supposed. I generally place at the head of my
observatory the imported Italian queen, breeder of
the most beautifully-marked bees of my apiary,
irrespective altogether of her age, and on several
occasions have found the waning powers of their
queen did not jxiss unnoticed by the workers, for
in every instance of extreme age, notwithstanding
the swarming season being over, and with receding
numbers, generally but one royal cell was con-
structed, from a near approach to which the old
queen was roughly debarred, and after the young
queen emerged mother and daughter joined, and
amicably reigned, being usually found on different
combs, the old queen by-and-bye mysteriously dis-
appearing.

Early this last spring I was much chagrined to find
on the alighting-board the dead body (apparently
recently deceased) of a favourite imported queen,
last survivor of a batch purchased at the Caledonian
Apiarian Exhibition at Edinburgh in the summer of
1877. I had bred from her extensively last season
while at the head of a framed Stewarton, and
towards autumn swept her and her offspring to

56

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 1, 1881.

work up combs in a common skep, which they
nearly filled. Failing to hear of a surplus queen
amongst my bee-keeping correspondents to take the
dead queen's place, and being too early to rear, I
turned up the skep to estimate the possible survival
of the workers for a month or two, and was agree-
ably surprised to find the presence of sealed brood,
which subsequently matured into good worker
hybrids all right, confirmatory of another example
of a dual reign, and of that wonderful instinct and
foresight of our little favourites in providing a suc-
cessor to the throne. — A Renfrewshire Bee-keeper.

DISEASE OR ROBBERY 1

I am thoroughly disgusted with the result of
to-day's examination. My bees are hybrids, between
Ligurian and British, and are in your Combination-
hives. Up to last week they were all going on
admirably, and I was in daily expectation of a
swarm from two of them. This week, however,
they have not seemed to be as busy as usual. This
I put down to the rather cold weather and the rain
which we have recently had. To-day being a warm
and fine day, I asked an old and experienced bee-
keeper (who has used your hives and followed your
advice for a considerable time) to come down to my
place, and go through the stocks with me. The
first hive we opened was very savage, and on
examination we found all the grubs and brood in
all stages dead, but not at all discoloured, neither
did they 'stink' The living bees all seemed
healthy. There was a queen's cell, from which we
fancied a queen had recently gone out ; but as my
gardener declares there has been no swarm, we
fancied we might probably have been mistaken.
The tops of the combs were filled up with newly-
sealed honey. Some of the young bees — and these
were very scarce, not more than a dozen, although
there are ten frames in the hive (which was' full up
a week ago) — seemed to have a sort of scale on the
wings.

The next hive, which is my best, being a strong
swarm early last year (out of the first hive), was
worse than the first, all brood in every stage dead,
but perfectly 'sweet'"; also plenty of eggs. We
then examined a straw skep, which I anticipated
would swarm to-day, and found the same disaster.
I am thoroughly disappointed, as I have carefully
tended each stock through the winter, and up till
six days ago all was going on well, and I had hoped
to have a good year of honey. Now all my hopes
are destroyed, unless you can help me through the
difficulty. I have thought of putting the bees into
new hives as artificial swarms, and destroying the
old combs with the dead grubs in, and so getting a
chance of a small honey harvest.

1 have taken in your Journal for nearly two
years, and have generally found good practical
advice, which has invariably put me right ; but
having searched through many back numbers, I
cannot find any symptoms like those above described.
I take the liberty of trespassing on your kindness
to reply per return of post as best you arc able,
and thereby, if possible, give me a helping hand.

In anticipation of your so doing please accept my
thanks.— T. E., Tettenhrdl, June Wth, 1881.

[In reply, we could only suggest that the bees had
swarmed unobserved, or had been stupified and stolen.
Can any of our readers offer a likely suggestion, or
throw any light upon so strange a condition of affairs
in other respects ? We asked that a comb of brood might
be sent up for examination, hut have heard nothing more
of the matter. — Ed.]

OVERSTOCKING.

My bees have been a fearfully losing game ; but
now that I shall have more time for their manage-
ment I hope for a different result. I have united all
weak stocks, and have over forty that will stand the
winter with little feeding. I have them mostly in
frame hives, and now is the time for bee-keepers to
consult each other as to the future management.
It strikes me the thing most difficult in bee manage-
ment, on a large scale, is to prevent robbing and
fighting. I have several ideas on the subject, but
I want to hear the opinions of others. Surely a
correspondent must be wrong in saying a neigh-
bourhood could take a large quantity of hives. I
have made inquiry on this point, and I think fifty
hives the outside a radius of a mile will feed. I
am sure you may overstock a bee-farm as well as
a sheep-farm. I would have my way this year, and
move some hives to the food, and I am so well
satisfied that I hope next year to put the swarms
in large box frames, having fastened comb in a few
bars, and taken them to districts all round, especially
to the sainfoin fields, and my neighbours for many
miles will assist me. I fancy in large bar-frames
there will be no danger of any more swarming or
casting the same year. Am I right 1 The honey
is so superb in this neighbourhood. There is
no difficulty selling the honey ; the mixture of
food is so very great. I plant in the woods, shrub-
beries, and waste places, food for the busy little
things. I shall hope to trespass on your future pages,
and give the different harvests from them at different
periods. Our ivy was more forward than I ever
knew it, but was sadly injured by frost. The bees
are like swarms in the trees on fine days. I find
by far the most valuable food to be borage. It is
a very pretty plant, and lasts long ; and I find
after the seed is gathered the stalks are devoured
by all stock, being cut in a chaff machine with a
little straw. — T. Beale Browne, Salperton Park,
Cheltenham.

[Fifty hives is a very low estimate for an acre of over
three square miles of land, hut everything must depend
on its nature. Large hives lessen the probability of
swarming, and that is all : the impulse to swarm is
natural and dues not depend on sizes of their domicile.
They will swarm from the open roof of a mansion, or a
church belfry, many hundreds of times larger than »
hive. — En.]

CEYLON FOR BEES.

Can any of our readers give a lady bcc-kcepcr
any idea whether the climate of the island of
Ceylon be likely to suit our English bees? There
seems to be a native small black bee, but it is left
in its wild state, and made ef no use.

July 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

57

INTRODUCTION ; OR, EARLY HISTORY OF
BEES AND HONEY— No. X.

I said the bee was able to speak, and teach
proud man, with all his boasted intellect, man}- a
wise saying, if he was only willing to learn at her
school ; and the wisest man the world ever saw was
willing- to learn from the bee what all his wisdom
could not teach him. I allude of course to King
Solomon, as the following story shows : —

When Solomon was reigning- in his glory,
Unto his throne the Queen of Sheba came,

(So in the Talmud you may read the story)
Drawn by the magic of the monarch's fame,

To see the splendours of his court, and bring

Some fitting tribute to the mighty king.

Nov this alone : much had her highness heard,
What flowers of learning graced the royal speech,

What gems of wisdom dropped with every word ;
What wholesome lessons he was wont to teach

In pleasing proverbs ; and she wished, in sooth,

To know if rumour spoke the simple truth.

Besides, the queen had heard (which piqued her most),
How through the deepest riddles he could spy ;

How all the curious arts that woman boasts
Were quite transparent to his piercing eye.

And so the queen had come — a royal guest —

To put the sage's cunning to the test.

And straight she held before the monarch's view,
In either hand, a radiant wreath of flowers;

The one, bedecked with every charming hue,

Was newly culled from Nature's choicest bowers,

The other, no less fair in every part,

Was the product of divinest ait.

' Which is the true, and which the false ?' she said,

Great Solomon was silent, all amazed.
Each wondering courtier shook his puzzled head,

While at the garlands long the monarch gazed,
As one who sees a miracle, — and fain,
For very rapture ne'er would speak again.

' Which is the true ?' once more the woman asked,
Pleased at the fond amazement of the king;

'So wise a head should not be hardly tasked,
Most learned liege, with such a trivial thing.'

But still the sage was silent; it was plain

A deepening doubt perplexed the royal brain.

While thus he pondered, presently he sees,
Hard by the casement — so the story goes —

A little band of busy, bustling bees,
Hunting for honey in a Sharon rose.

The monarch smiled, and raised his royal head ;

•' Open the window !' that w-as all he said.

The window opened at the king's command ;

Within the room the eager insects flew,
And sought the flow-ers in Sheba's dexterous hand.

And so the king and all the courtiers knew
That wreath was Nature's; and the baffled queen
Returned to tell the wonders she had seen.

My story teaches (every tale should bear

A fitting moral) that the wise may find
In trifles light as atoms in the air,

Some useful lesson to enrich the mind —
Some truth designed to profit or to please,
As Israel's king learned wisdom from the bees !

If you wish for a pleasant and profitable recreation,
I say, with the good Bishop of old, ■ Keep bees-
keep bees — keep bees^- — William Carr, Newton
Heath Apiary, near Manchester.

BEES' STINGS.

{From ' Nature.')

Can any of your readers inform me why the working
honey-bee has such an imperfect weapon of defence, as
its sting manifestly is P For purposes of self-defence it is
apparently worse than useless, for in nearly every case,
almost without exception, the bee lays down its life with
the sting. The possession of a sting, therefore, only leads
to its own destruction instead of to its preservation so far
as the individual bee is concerned. No doubt the hive
generally gains an advantage from all its active members
having stings, and so indirectly do individual bees from
the fact that the welfare of the hive, speaking generally,
means the welfare of the individuals that compose it.
Directly, however, the possession of a sting can only be a
disadvantage to the individual bee unless there are
certain enemies from which bees after inflicting a wound
can withdraw their stings and escape with life. This so
far as my observations go, appears to be very unlikely, and
therefore, no bee can have any knowledge from experience
of wdiat a weapon of offence he possesses ; for he has
never_ used it, nor can he have knowledge from the
experience of the consequences of using it. All smaller
pests, bees attack with their jaws. Is it possible then
that they are so intelligent as to be well aware of the
power for mischief to themselves as well as to others,
which they carry about with them, and that it is only when
they altogether lose control over themselves, either
through severe pain or terror lest their queen should be
injured that they sign their own death-warrants on our
hands and faces P

In the death of a few worker bees a hive suffers very
little loss, perhaps none at all. Yet it may have gained
much in the shape of security from molestation. Are
bees so intelligent as to know this fact and communicate
it to one another, or can their conduct be explained on
the lower ground of instinct ? It seems that an interesting
point is here raised which perhaps lias been fully discussed
elsewhere without my knowledge of it. Is the fact that
the sting of the worker bee is an imperfect weapon of
defence, a result of its having nothing to do with the
propagation of its species, this being left to the stingless (?)
queen and drones 't

Consequently any tendency to develope a more effective
sting in one generation of worker bees, has no hereditary
offect on the succeeding generations, nor apparently have
the worker bees any influence whatever on the worker
bees that succeed them, except by the way in which they
feed and educate them, unless indeed they can impress
their tendencies on the drones or future queen before she
leaves the hive. If they have no such power it seems
likely that they will always have to lament the use of a
weapon which Nature might have made as effective as
the sting of a wasp. Finally, are there any other insects
in the same predicament as worker bees, i. e. unable to use
the weapon of defence without doing themselves more
injury than they inflict on their adversary, and unable
to help their successors by the transmission of a continually
accumulating instinct. — R. A. Manningtree.

A GENEROUS BEE-KEERER.

Christopher Brown, 11; Edward Brown, 13 ; Edwin
Wright, 14 ; John Baker, 13 ; and William Daveron, 12,
were charged witli stealing a quantity of honey-comb,
the property of Mr. Frederick Handel hem are, residing
in the S3-dney Road, Guildford. The charge against
William Daveron was withdrawn, ill order to enable
him to be called as a witness. The boy said he lived
witli his parents at Charlotteville. On Sunday, the
loth ult., he was in the company of the other boys.
This was between seven and eight o'clock in the evening.
They went into Mr. Lemate's garden in Sydney Road,

58

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 1, 1881.

and took a quantity of honey-comb, with the exception
of Edward Brown, who stood in the road to see if any-
one was coming. They had each a piece of the comb,
and a piece was given to Brown for watching. Mr.
Richard Blaekall Baker, a gentleman Hying in the Sj'dney
Road, .said on the evening in question he saw the hoys
coming out of Mr. Lemare's garden. When they saw
him they all ran away. They all appeared to have some-
thing in their handkerchiefs. Mr. Lemare said that by
their interference with the hive his apiarian arrange-
ments had been put back for a year. The Mayor said
that the Bench only regretted they could not order the
boys to be whipped. They were disinclined to send them
to prison, and they would, therefore, be fined 10s. each.
Mr. Lemare, the prosecutor, said that he could not allow
the parents to be punished for the offences of their
children, the more especially as he understood two of
them were widows. lie would, therefore, pay the tines
himself. This statement was received with cheers from
a crowded court. — West Sussex Gazette.

Bee-stings. — Bees will not sting if the face, hands,
&ci are anointed with mallows and oil. — James Bruce.

The Bee's Motto. — Home, sweet home ; there's no
place like comb. — Belvoir Hardens.

(Brtpts from % |$ite.

Wild man and Bees (Baldock). — 'In reply to yours, in
Bee Journal, respecting Wildman, my attention was
called to a cutting from, I believe, Lloyd's Weekly, about
two months ago. It gave a very brief account of some
of his wonders with bees. I remember one was, he rode
horseback with a hive of bees, and fired off a pistol, and
all flew away; also, there was something about him
having the bees all over him while he rode : it would be
very interesting could it be raked up if there is any
truth in it." — G. S.

Ireland. — 'You will be glad to hear I am most
successful this year with my bees. Up to this they have
done wonders. In the beginning of the season I had
only five good stocks, now I have sixteen, all doing well.
1 made the swarms as you directed, and i have to thank
you for all my success. Fancy, one of my swarms at
the end of nine days had the hive filled with honey, and
plenty of eggs and brood.' — A Lady Bee-keeper.

Croydon. — 'The experience of bee-keepers in this
neighbourhood does not at all tally with yours — queens
dying, bees decamping, and no swarming up to June 2nd;
blossoms abundant, but no nectar, dry weather being the
cause — meanwhile, blossoms falling from trees. Results —
stocks very weak in numbers, there being no grub in the
cupboard. Mother won't lay to increase grubs in cells.'
—J. I).

Sheffield: — ' I think 1 have now got on the royal road
to keep bees successfully and profitably. 1 1 bought so
long ago, and had indeed made some steps in thai
direction. Different localities, of course, require different
treatment; but here, I am satisfied that to succeed we
must have no weak swarms, must feed early for winter,
and contract the hive by means of a dummy, and chaff,
or other packing, so soon as the outer combs are free
from brood. It appears to me that your Standard hive
would be more complete if you sent out a dummy with
it. I made mine, using one of the frames for the purpose.'
—J. J. 11.

Cockermouth. — Comb Foundation. — Gloves,—' My bees
have not worked up the foundation as rapidly as you
give accounts of yours doing. They tilled out four
frames in six days ; at the end of another six days they

had got no further,* so I inserted a frame between first
and second, and third and fourth, thus keeping the two
centre combs containing brood together. I think there
could be no risk of chilling, as the weather is very sultry
and I narrrowed the entrance. 1 have tried the sug-
gestion of a ' Country Parson ' and an ' Amateur ' about
syrup on the hands instead of gloves, and find it quite
successful.' — J. P. C.

Twisted Frames. — ' I've received the hives. I like the
principle, but cannot congratulate you on the workman-
ship. The frames are twisted all ways, and as they hang
in the hives, some are close together at one end, and
more than an inch apart at the other.' — A Disappointed
One.

[We are obliged to our correspondent for this com-
plaint, for it gives us an opportunity for suggesting that
every one on receipt of hives, after they have been sub-
jected to the tender mercies of a Railway Company,
should re-arrange the frames by wracking them into true
shape. The top bars of our frames have a hanging
width of two inches, which is greater than can be found
in any others, and they are all made in a true mould ;
but a journey by rail with the hive on its side will be
very likely to distort them. \Ve take all possible pre-
caution ; but are not a match for railway porters. — Ed.]

Wrinyton, May 24th, 1881. — Valve of July Swarm. —
' I had proof yesterday (May 23rd) that the old saying,
" A swarm of bees in July is not worth a fly," is untrue.
I had a swarm the 22nd of July, 1880, and yesterday I
had a very good swarm from it. I commenced feeding
the parent swarm, and continued slow feeding until late
in September last year, and I commenced slow feeding
again in March last, and I suppose the result is this early
swarm. Why do swarms collect such a quantity of
pollen the day after swarming, when they can have no-
where to deposit it ? ' — Geo. Lovell.

[Is it not probable that the bees consume it (pollen
being nitrogenous), to repair the waste of fibre and tissue
consequent on the exhaustive process of wax-forming !J —
En.]

Bardney, Lincolnshire, May 24th, 1881. — 'I have to
begin with this year only four hives, but I gave away
box hives last year to two shoemakers and one railway
porter, who sold their honey last year at the Boston
Show (L.B.K. A.) One got a small prize for a glass
super. The honey they sent to the show crystallised, so
they got no prize, but sold at Is. per lb. by Mr. Godfrey's
kindness. The severe long winter has killed some of
their hives ; but it was in consequence of not attending
to their feeding in the autumn. It is so difficult to get
men in their station to lay out a few shillings in
sugar. The next show of the Lincolnshire Association
is to be held at Louth, at which I hope to attend and
assist Mr. Godfrey in his assiduous labours for the benefit
of our favourites. —Rev. W. V. Turner.

Whithorn, May 24th, 1881. — A Touching Remem-
brancer.— Bees at Whithorn. — 'I ought to have written
you, letting you know of the death of our friend Mr. L.
Martini It was his desire. I should let you know of his
decease. lie asked me to thank you for your uniform
kindness at all times to him. I hope we will have a
good season ; it has been very backward as yet, but it
looks as if it would improve now. Ours did well last
3'ear. I had one gave me ill' lbs. of honey besides a good
swarm. I got 250 lbs. of honey altogether, and had an

* It would appear from this remark that the bees had' an
unlimited number of frames of foundation to build on,
instead of being restricted to ' as many only us they could
cover.' Had four been ' enclosed ' in the first instance,
and others added one by one as fast as they were rilled,
there would have been a larger result. Enclosing the
frames and bees preserves the beat, which is an all-
important item in comb-building. — Ed.

July 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

50

average of 1*'. id. per lb. for it, which whs fair for three
stocks. I have this year ten stocks, and hope it will be a
l'i iod season ; they are at least ten days later than last
year. We shall have no swarms for at least two weeks.'
— James MTlwrrk.

Rottingdean, May 28£A, 1831. — 'My bees are doing
well here ; there are hundreds of acres of yellow trefoil
out in full blossom less than a mile distant. The ground
about here is also very partial to kilk, on the yellow
flowers of which the bees work with a merry hum. An
uld farmer near here had his first swarm on May 12th.
By the way they are not covered up; it is surprising they
swarm at all. Some of his straw skepa have nothing
over them, while some others have only an old artificial
manure bag laid on top. If bees will winter like that,
• one would think double walls and chaff-packing are only
expensive and unnecessary additions to the modern
frame-hive. Last year the owner of said liees started
with two old stalls, sold five pounds worth of honey,
and brought six safely through this winter; and yet I do
not think I ever saw bees •worse eared for. The hone)'
sold was from the stock hive, and the bees were destroyed
to get it.' — Saml. Simmixs.

High Wycombe, June 10///, 1881. — 'There are no
swarms <if bees about here; they do not swarm. 1 have
nnt had a swarm yet (June 10th), and there are others
that have not ; they look a* though they would swarm,
but do not.' — W. Martin.

Horsforth, Leeds, June lGth, 1881. — The Combination
Principle. — ' Can you send me one of your Irish hives at
onceP I had one a few weeks ago through Mr. Yates, of
Grantham. I drove into it a swarm out of a strong lot
that had wintered in a straw skep, and gave them live
frames fitted with comb-foundation. In less than a
fortnight they had tilled the five frames, and had found
their wav under the dummy which had been carelessly
put in to two other frames, and a frame of sections
which I bad placed in the hive to be ready when wanted,
and had filled them also.'— W. !->.

Mulbarton, June 11th, 1881. — 'The bees appear to
have done well as to honey up to the 4th of June. I
have taken a small quantity off, and had expected to
have had plenty this week, and I hardly think they will
do much more at present, as many have died from the
cold just when they appeared ready to swarm.' — J. T.

Leamington, June 13th, 1881. — 'The foundation is
everything I could expect — just splendid! Every pro-
spect of a good season. Took a few splendid sections a
week ago for the Birmingham Show; they were gathered
from a field of rape.' — John Walton.

Long Ashton, June 13th, J.881. — 'I am not used to
frame-hives ; but I get a lot of honey in supers, with just
a hole in top of boxes with glass. I took this morning a
super with 82 lbs. of honey from a hive which threw out
a swarm about a month ago. We have a large field of
sainfoin close at hand.' — J. A.

[This, though a common feature, is valuable evidence
in support of our theory that bees store best when they
have no brood to attend to. A week after the queen
had left there was scarcely an unsealed brood-cell in the
hive. We wonder what sized super would have been
filled had the queen only been removed, and the swarm
left to gather and store honey? — Ed.]

Jjnrie Gardens, Fife, June 15th, 1831. — Wasps

Abundant.— ' ' ' ve you ever seen so many wasps as

, th^re are ms season? I have killed myself in the

garden here o~9 queens.. My bees ate in a very thriving

s'ate. but are only just ready for supering. 1 intend fol-

subiects so'T' aa-v'ce an0- deprive one of mv strongest

with several beVs1"' .. l thillk [t a ver.v tr""d »a'a-'-A- M-

and put her in one of A- t>'-'«n, June \->th, li<H\.—Flat-

two combs with hoi/— ' ¥)' bees are doing well; they

she could help herself renc^ t("' t'le fiat-bottomed founda-

tion. Yesterday I gave a hive a frame half filled with
fiat and half with the old pyramidal foundation ; in
twelve hours they had worked out the flat-bottomed,
and the other piece had only a few cells begun to be
formed.' — Wm. Walker, Junr.

Hull House Farm, near Milton, Stolce-upon-Trent, June
23rd, 1881. — 'My bees have, had a splendid time this
spring, everything that could be desired. My first
swarm came on the last day of Ma}'. One of my stocks
are busy filling the American sectional supers you sent
me, which are admired by every one who have seen
them in this part. I use frame-hives, your pattern, and
I like them too. Hoping that I may he the last to wipe
off the red pink by handing over my subscription.' —
Edwaed Clowes.

Hereford, June 23rd, 1881. — 'There was a good fruit
blossom here, and 1 took a few sections before the clover
came out. Then came ten days cold weather ; and now
again it is warm and showery, and nearly all my stocks
are working in sections. 1 am not extracting this year, as
I do not think it works well, unless a 2-story hive is used.
I prefer sections ; the honey is much nicer. I do not
know whether it is the favourable season or better
management, but I have a larger proportion of hives
working in supers than I ever had before.'— A. \S .

Bolton, Lancashire, June 24th.— Foul Brood. — ' I find
all my queen-cells have failed, and although they have
been sealed up, and a cocoon made, I find they have
decayed and dried up. I also find, say about thirty
cells, containing dead brood, in a pasty state ; of course,
all the living brood is now hatched out. Do you think
this is chilled-brood or foul-brood p I shall be much
favoured if you can answer this.' — II. S.

[Queen-cells all having proved abortive, and brood
in a pasty state, alone remaining in the hive — though
theie is probably a great deal that dried up — we should
treat the case as one of foul-brood, and deal with it
accordinglv. — Ed.]

= :

(funics anb Replies.

Query No. 386. — I shall be glad to be informed
whether in fitting up a hive entirely with wood-founda-
tion— the frames having wide sides — it is necessary to
cut a hole at the centre or side of the foundation of one
or all the frames, to allow the building of drone-comb
and the passage of the bees ? — W. M. B.

Reply to Query No. 886. — Undoubtedly it will be
desirable for wintering purposes to make sundry holes
through the combs, but during summer our experience
has been that bees fill them up at once ; nevertheless,
being then through the wood they can be easily cleared at
the end of the honey season. — Ed.

Query No. 387. — Charming Bees. — You say in June
number you charmed a swarm of bees. Please explain
how it is done. — One that Wants to Know, Bo.vmoor,
Herts.

Reply to Query No. 387. — Our correspondent
evidently has not noticed that the word ' charmed ' was
between' inverted commas. We simply shook 'the bees into
a skep, as often recommended in the B. B. J., and because
we were not stung, the bystanders declared that we had
' charmed ' them. — Ed.

Query No. 388. — Have humble bees ever been domes-
ticated and put into hives ? — K.

Reply to Query No. 388. — Humble bees are in-
capable of domestication, inasmuch as the worker-bees
all die in the autumn, and the queens leave their nest and
seek winter quarters for themselves. The nearest ap-
proach to domestication of which we are aware was
effected by our J uuior last year. He ' took ' a ' Bumble's '
nest, and captured and brought home most of the bees.

60

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 1, 1881.

The cells were in a bunch like grapes, of all sizes, between
a walnut and a red currant. lie separated them and
arranged them over the bottom of a shallow box, cement-
ing them in their places with wax poured from one of
our smelters. A glass top was then put upon them, and
the bees introduced to their future progeny, great care
being taken of the queen. This bee-nest was set in our
garden, and the bees worked in and out, and hatched out
the brood ; and it was most amusing to see the big, booby-
looking bees crawl out of their shells, wet and callow, and
mingle with their tiny sisters, as if begging for warmth and
attention. The ease was exhibited at South Kensington
Show, when the public on Bank Holiday worried the
poor bees to death, and destroyed the brood that re-
mained.— Er.

Query No. ZSQ.—Bvood in Super. — Uniting Stocks in
Autumn. — May I ask you in your next Journal to answer
two questions for me !J 1st. What is the best plan of
proceeding when a glass super about 23 lbs. is full sealed,
except that one or two combs have 5 or 0 square
inches of worker brood ? Would you leave on the super
till hatched out or not? (I intend t-aking it off at
present.) 2nd. If you want to unite frame-hives at the
end of the season and take surplus honey, would you
cut it out of the frames above the brood, and then tie in
the brood of two frames in one ? — E. D. 0., Bray,
June Dt/i, 1881.

Reply to Query No. 389. — In this'case, had we seen
the intimation that it was intended to remove the
super we should have sent a line per post ; but the
replies being asked for in next Journal, the letter
was pigeon-holed by a clerk who did not know the
nature of the questions asked. We should have ad-
vised cutting out the brood and putting it (covered)
over the feed-hole of another hive to hatch out, and
should have replaced the super with long-holed ex-
cluder zinc between it and the hive. We do not
approve of removing and replacing supers after they
have had opportunity for getting cold; the bees some-
times attack them when replaced, and leave them in a
very 'unfinished' condition, tilling up the hive with their
contents. Of course, now that the super has been re-
moved, the brood will have died, except such as had
arrived at maturity, and it should be cut out to save
trouble to the bees.

2. At the end of the season there will not be sufficient
brood in a hive to render the process described necessary.
All the brood-frames of two hives may easily be put into
one, and the honey about the brood taken out by means
of the extractor. — Ed.

Qur.itv Xo. 390. — Too many Drones. — Doubling a New
Swarm. — If it is not trespassing too much upon your
time, I would thank you much for your advice in refer-
ence to a bar-frame hive of bees I have. It has an
enormous number of drones. Can I do any harm by
putting on a trap ? Had I better cut out the drone combV
I have increased the number of bars since it threw the
second swarm, which was on the second of this month.
My first swarm, on the 25th of May, has filled ten frames
(June 1-th); and I am about to give them another
frame-hive on the top, fitted with flat-bottomed comb-
foundation, which I much prefer, if you approve ? —
C. J. II. F., Sible Hedingham.

Reply to Queey No. 390.— If there are too many
drones, which such successful swarming does not tend to
prove, and the excess of drone-comb be cut out, its place
should be filled with worker foundation, or drone-comb
will again be built. The drones. may, of course, be
trapped, but not immediately after swarming, or their
absence may leave the hive without, sufficient heat pro-
ducers. We shall have something to say on behalf of
drones presently.

It can do no harm to apply a super-hive if the swarm
is strong enough to work it ; but probably the bees will

not do much in it until their brood begins hatching and
their numbers increase. We have every confidence in the
flat-bottomed foundation. — En.

Query No. 391. — Foundation. — Transferring. —
Thanks to your Journal I have begun bee-keeping again
in good heart, and hope to continue. I had been a bee-
keeper about ten years up to the spring of 1880, when
they all died, and I decided not to keep any more, until
a friend took me into his apiary and showed me his
mode of bee-keeping, and lent me your valuable Journal,
which I was very much delighted to read and study. I
bought a stock in November last, and had a splendid
swarm on the 31st May last, and put them into a hive
with eight frames of foundation, and they have filled all
the frames with the exception of a little in the front
frame. Would you give them more foundation, or wait
until the front comb is completed ? The old hive is
'crying' out to-day (June 13th); shall I transfer the
contents as soon as the after-swarm comes off? — W. W.,
Aislaby.

Reply to Query No. 391. — These queries, though
accompanied by strong commendation of this Journal,
show how little its teaching is sometimes accepted and
applied in individual cases. There appears to be a
nervous fear on the part of many readers that the con-
ditions we indicate cannot be theirs, and they must write
for their confirmation. We can really give no better
directions than we gave in the late numbers of the
Journal. We would give additional frames of foundation
so long as the swarm is able to cover them, one at a time,
and when a second swarm conies off would return it to
the parent hive at night, and twenty-one days after
would makj an artificial swarm of the whole of the bees,
and put them into the new hive with foundation as
suggested in the Journals referred to. The old hive will
contain lots of honey ; but the brood, except the drone
brood, will all be hatched out, and the combs can be ap-
propriated at will. "We urge that it is safer and cheaper
to furnish new foundation, and ensure new, straight,
healthy worker-combs than by the utilisation of old
ones to incur the trouble and risk of robbing and disease
their transfer will entail. — Ed.

Query No. 392. — Sioanns killing (iff Bees. — My three
old stock-hives are very strong and crowded, though
they have thrown off two swarms each. Last week I
obtained a swarm from a distance. The bees in this
new hive seem to have no time to work; they are occu-
pied all day in killing and dragging out other bees.
These unfortunates seem to be small and young bees.
Query : Are these small young bees expelled from the
crowded old stock-hives and killed in the attempt to
obtain a home with .the strange bees, or is the new
swarm simply destroying its useless weak members p
The same thing is being done in the other hives, but not
to the same extent, I send you four of the unfortunates
which have just been killed. — A CUMBERLAND PARSON.

Reply to Query No. 392.— It is apparent that the
bees are interlopers; probably belonging to a stray
swarm that, having attempted to join one of the hives,
has lost its queen and dispersed. The smallness is chiefly
owing to absence of food causing them to shrink tele-
scopically. Had they been full of honey they would
have probably met with a different reception, on the
principle enunciated by the 'Renfrewshire Bee-Keeper:'
' Welcome fren's when ye hae ocht.' — Ed.

Query No. 393. —Mounting Sections. — P)"use tell ma...
how the. 4-inch sections are to be *■ " the ' Irish
hive. There is not room for f< 'ie back of

brood nest, and three do not till mid SK-Vtu

sized crate ought to be put on ^ first instance,

ginning with the frame-hives' ■> they were tilled,

about the sections. I have goj It,, suit. Enclosing the
will be very grateful for advic*— !<»*- whicu is an a11*
Ireland. ' ' Ed-

!

July 1, 1881.J

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

fil

Reply to Query No. 393. — One of the simplest
ways of putting sections on top of a hive, is to place
them in rows between two pieces of thin board of suffi-
cient length and depth ; put a piece of glass at each end,
and tie tightly together with wire, preferably, and set
the rows side by side. Any part of the frames not
covered by them must be covered with something else.
This last little contingency seems to puzzle the 'wits of
many bee-keepers — they cannot conceive how a small
super can be put on a large frame surface without some
special and, perhaps, expensive means of adaptation. The
second part of the query has been anticipated elsewhere.
— Ed.

Query No. "94. — Cheshire Frames. Freaks of Swarm-
ing.— I started bee-keeping in the autumn of 1879, when
a friend gave me a small stock in a ten-frame Cheshire
hive. They were on five twin frames. The}' wintered
well, clustering on each half frame the farthest from the
entrance, leaving the other half entirely bare, so that, in
reality, they was only the area of two and half frames
covered with bees. I packed each side of the division-
board with chaff, and chaff cushion on top, and flour-
cake on tops of fiame, so that they were nice and snug,
and lost but a trifling few. They got very strong by
the summer, but did not swarm, perhaps owing to my
giving them plenty of room, as I put them in another
hive that I made myself, three feet long, holding twenty
frames, which I filled up by degrees with comb-founda-
tion. They wintered last on seven frames, and came
out strong in the spring. They sent out a splendid
swarm on May 21, which I did not expect, as I had
increased them to thirteen frames, but a few minutes
after they all came back and settled, some on the ground
n front of the hive, some on the stand, and some
clustered thickly under the porch above the entrance,
and eventually all went in the hive again. How can
you account for this'?

On the following Monday I made from them an
artificial swarm, taking three combs of brood, with two
queen-cells sealed attached to one, and one queen-cell
open with yellowish something inside, and put empty
frames, and changed the hives, which made a very strong
swarm. I left the queen with the old hive, as I could
not find her. On May 30 the new swarm sent out
another, alighted, and came back again in half-an-hour,
and went in the hive they came from. I thought the
reason these came out was that they were too warm, so
I gave more ventilation, and they did not go out again.
On the following Saturday I picked up from the front
of the said hive a dead, but beautiful queen. I had not
time to examine the swarm to see if another queen was
there, so left it till Whit-Monday ; but the weather
being wet, and the rest of the week cold, I did not
examine them till Saturday, when I could not find the
least trace of a queen, there being neither eggs nor
larvse ; but the two qneen-cells before mentioned were
empty, and the ends looked as if they had been literally
torn open, quite jagged, not as the}- are generally seen
after the queen has left them. As I bought two swarms
last year, and they are doing well, I took a comb with
eggs, and gave them to raise another queen, and am now
awaiting' results. Can you tell me how it is both queens
should be lost ? And now a word about the parent
stock. I happened to go out in the garden last Saturday,
and looking on the ground, espied a large bee crawling
about, which at first sight 1 thought was a drone, not
dreaming of seeing a queen there, when, to my surprise,
I found it was the queen of the parent hive ! I took her
up and put her on the alighting-board, and she walked
in ; but as soon as she got in, she was seized by her
subjects, so I got a piece of stick aud hooked her out
with several bees clinging all around her. I rescued her,
and put her in one of your cages, and inserted it between
two combs with honey at the top of the combs where
she could help herself, and left her there for two days,

but when I went to release her, found her dead. How
can you account for that ? And why did they turn her
out of the hive, or did she come out of her own accord ?
This is her third year, aud after examining the combs,
I found a lot of eggs recently laid.

If you will kindly give me your thoughts on the
above, I shall be much obliged. — J. Symo*s, 2 North?
wold Road, Upper Clapton, June 15, 1881.

Reply to Query No. 394. — It has been our ex-
perience that the Cheshire dividing frames, though a
clever mechanical arrangement, are adverse to the well-
being of bees because of the double bar of wood down
the centre of them, which, in summer, the queen does
not care to pass over, and in the winter the bees prefer
not to cluster upon. Last year a stock, composed of ten
dividing frames, contained brood along the front halves,
and honey only in most of the back parts, and only by
reversing and interspersing them could we get the queen
to breed in them indiscriminately. We are now using
them ' Combination ' fashion, the half-sized frames across
the hive, and they answer fairly well, making a hive
similar in size to the Egyptian mud pipe, but square
instead of tubular.

The freak (?) of swarming is easily accounted for.
The queen fell to the ground, and a part of the bees
discovered her, the remainder returning to the hive,
where she, with her attendants, joined them. It is
difficult to account for the swarm from the newly-made
swarm returning after having clustered. The bees
forming it would, as a rule, be ted off by the first hatched
young queen, and we can only suppose she was swallowed
by a bird when on the wing, and the bees being left
leaderless, returned to the hive. It sometimes occurs
that when young queens go out for fertilisation, the bees
swarm out with them, but this would not be so, as a
dead young queen was afterwards found outside the
hive, showing that the two other queen-cells had been
left intact by the first queen that hatched, which would
not have been the case had she not actually led off a
swarm. In due course the second queen hatched, and
killed her sister, whose body you found outside the hive ;
and now there is the question whether she (i.e., queen
No. 2) is alive in the hive or not. Young queens are
' skittish critturs,' and by no means easy to find. They
often take wing immediately a hive is opened, or hide
themselves 'anywhere,'* and not finding them by no
means proves their non-existence. But the question
will soon be solved, for if dead, new queen-cells will be
raised on the comb of brood last given to the bees. The
old queen having proved incapable of swarming, had
probably been worried and turned out of the hive, as is
usual when bees have determined to swarm. — El).

Query No. 395. — Swarms Deserting their Hives. —
Please tell me whether the following is common
among bees. A very heavy swarm was hived at mid-
day ; remained in straw skep one hour and a half ; came
out — flew direct to a hollow elm-tree, from which they
cannot be taken out. Another in a different locality did
the same, after remaining six hours in the hive. This
cannot be accounted for by the queen dropping on the
ground. Had the bees made up their mind to go to the
tree, and would nothing have stopped them ? — II. S.

Reply to Query No. 395. — There may be several
reasons assigned for the conduct of the bees, either of
which would be sufficient to account for it. They may
have been allowed to hang too long on the branch, or the
hive left too near it, or the hive may have been too
small, or an old one not smelling quite sweet, or it may
not have been shaded or sufficiently ventilated and be-
came too hot — under either of which conditions the
scouts sent out would bring back welcome intelligence,

* We have repeatedly found them, after much searching,
bid away in ordinary cells, no part being visible but the tip
of the ! tail.' — Ed.

62

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[July 1, 1881.

and the bees would depart for more comfortable quarters,
more comfortable at least for the time being. We have
had plenty of evidence that bees often select a new home be-
forehand, but they almost invariably cluster (apparently)
to be sure of the queen being with them before migrating,
and if while clustered they be suddenly hived, and their
new quarters are agreeable, they almost as invariably stay,
and lay themselves out for comb-building. — Ed.

Query No. 300. — Ligitrianising. — I am sorry to give
you so much trouble ; but as I would much rather act on
your advice than any other — as I 'bought' plenty of
experience, cay dear, too — I want you to tell me if 1 did
right in acting as follows: — The bees of one of my boxes
had been ' hanging out' for some days, so I took the two
frames of Ligurian eggs, and placed them with four
frames of foundation in an empty hive. I then placed
the hive containing the bees that were waiting to swarm
on a new stand, and put the hive containing the Ligurian
brood, &c, on their stand. Upon opening this hive
forty-eight hours after, I found that the bees had com-
menced four queen-cells on the bottom of one of the
Cumbs, but the other they were filling in with honey,
and so destroying the eggs. Is this usual ? I must here
state that I find Abbott's flat-bottomed foundation all
that can be desired. I merely fasten them to the top
bar, and stick two needles on each side near the bottom
to keep them steady, and the bees work them out
' grand.' Are the eggs or larvae the best for the bees to
raise queens from — which do they generally prefer? Up
to what age is it. possible for the bees to raise queens
from — I mean the eggs or larva? ? I have another box
which is ready to swarm ; would you serve them as I did
the other, and give them a queen-cell two days after ?
If you will kindly give a short answer to the above I
should feel greatly indebted to you. — W. E.

Reply to Query No. 39.6. — The object being to raise
Ligurian queens, and as we happen to know your Ligu-
rian swarm had only been very lately received, the plan
adopted was a good one, giving very little trouble ; but
it woidd have been better to have shaken a large number
of young bees in front of the hive containing the Ligu-
rian eggs, and left the old ones that had been ' hanging
nut' to work in a super in their own hive. Under these
circumstances there would have been more queen-cells
raised, and none of the eggs would have been sacrificed.
We have many times repeated that old bees are not good
nurses, honey-gathering being their forte, if it can be
had, and there is room to store it ; and we have known
them to sacrifice their brood to make room for it. — at
least we could find no other reason for their doing so.
For raising queens, both eggs and young larva? should be
given, that full opportunity for continuous queen-raising
may extend over several days, and yet permit of its
early accomplishment ; there is, apparently, no rule of
preference. They can raise queens from seven to eight
days from the eggs being laid. Some Syrian queen-cells of
late took eighteen days to hatch ; but these bees appear to
have the principle of life so strongly developed that pro-
bably they could raise queens from brood ready for sealing
up. The second hive may be artificially swarmed in the
usual way, and a Ligurian cell given to the queentes lot
twenty-four hours after the swarm has been made. — Ed.

Query No. 397. — By your kind advice I drove all the
bees from an old straw skep, and put them into a Com-
bination with seven frames of foundation, and am
surprised and delighted with the result. In seven days
they built out. all the combs, aud were storing honey. I
have given them more frames, and think they are
progressing favourably. After the operation I put the
beeless skep in the place of a wooden 'box-hive, moving
the latter (which I ought to mention is not a very
strong stock) to a new stand. All seems going on wellj
but I want you to indulge me again, and advise the next
step to be taken. I have another Combination and a

Woodbury-sized hive at liberty. I have one other stock
which is working sectional supers, and is doing well. I
don't care to multiply my stocks, aud would rather have
quality than quantity.

Helping Cottagers. — I make very little progress in
converting the believers in the sulphur match, as they
will not see the advisability of spending money on new
hives. The next best thing, I suppose, is to induce them
to use means to make their stocks as strong as possible,
and to use cheap supers. Now this idea has just
occurred to me, and I ask you kindly to write yes or no
at the foot, and return to me. Suppose a cottager has
two hives. He determines to take one. Would it be
beneficial if I drove it for him, and united the driven
bees with the other stock? It seems to me that this
would give him a very strong stock, which he might
super early with some chances of success, and thereby
give him a taste to advance. — J. H. V., Manea.

Reply to Query No. 397. — It would have been
better to have put the beeless skep on the top of the
' not very strong stock,' and thereby have helped it,
strength, and not numbers being the object, and then to
have proceeded as indicated in June Journal. As things
are, twenty-one days after swarming the skep will
contain no brood, and the presence of a queen being
ascertained, the bees may all be driven out and treated
as in the first instance, the honey and combs in the skep
being appropriated, and when the box-hive becomes
strong enough, it may be similarly dealt with.

'2. It is dangerous, in a sense, to meddle with cottagers'
bees that are intended to stand through the winter, for
should anything go wrong, blame will be attributed to
the interference. It would be far better to purchase the
spare bees of a cottager, and build them into a stock,
thus letting Mm see the value of what he intended to
destroy, that he may be wiser in future. The bees of
two condemned stocks, united and put into, say, six
frames of foundation, would soon be fit to winter, but
we woidd urge that this be done before the queen has
ceased breeding, that there may be a succession of young
bees. The proposed plan of adding condemned bees to
other stocks is a good one, and if the cottager would (or
could) take care of his bees, all would be well. Mam-
poor cottagers are ' rated' severely because they will not, in
autumn, spend a few shillings in sugar for their bees; but,
unfortunately, with winter staring them in the face, poor
cottagers are generally unable to afford to do so. — Ed.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.

"Hereford Times.' — Some one has kindly sent us this
immense paper of sixteen large, closely-printed pages,
but. omitted to mark the part to which attention was
(probably) intended to be directed, and we cannot dis-
cern aught of interest in bee-keeping. We should be
exceedingly glad if those forwarding papers would
alwavs mark the paragraphs they wisli to be noted, as
searching for such entails great, loss of time.

T. A. C, lJublin. — Putting the frame-hive with swarm
on a ladder with no floor-board intervening was almost
inviting the bees to build on the bottom rails of the
frames, and it is not surprising that, they also built to
the rounds of the ladder. The disturbance consequent
on removal, cutting the comb from the ladder and
tying it into the frames, was probably the cause of the
bees swarming out again. The hive should have been
put on its permanent stand immediately the bees had
settled in it; there was no necessity for its gradual
removal — the swarming hum would have been suffi-
ciently attractive to prevent the loss of stragglers.

Postmark — 'kfiki.d, li. May 30. — Some one has kindly
sent postage stamps witli a request, but forgot to give
either name, or address; and Hie partly obliterated post-
mark is the only clue we have. We hope we are not
being too severely scolded for not replying. — Ed,

THE

mtish Jet Jmtpal,

m r*J ir'j l^ 5* Jr* e' a5ti «s\ "-J )s?) \¥/ r

[No. 100. Vol. IX.]

AUGUST, 1881.

[Published Monthly.]

(ffibitaxml, Hofess, fe,

AUGUST.

The summer of the present year will long be
memorable in the annals of English apiculture.
For five months the weather has been almost
all that the most ardent bee-keeper could
desire, and the honey yield has been simply
enormous. Under ordinary circumstances the
harvest would have been a large one, but with
improved ends and appliances it lias thus far
been immense, and many tons have been gar-
nered. In our own apiary, with very moderate
surroundings, honey has accumulated in a most
extraordinary way. Robbed continually of
their bees to form swarms for the public, the
hives have attained great weight, and the ex-
tractor has done ample service, yet honey con-
tinually flowed in. Small nuclei with only a
handful of bees in them, to hatch out queens,
have filled and been extracted repeatedly ; and
swarms and casts too small to send out have
produced treble their value in honey and paid
over and over again the cost of the comb-found-
ation with which they have been invariably
supplied. With full sheets nearly touching
the sides and bottom of the frames, the bees
had nothing to do but fetch in honey by day
and work out the cells by night, and in many
instances so quickly have the cells been filled
with nectar that the poor queens have been
unable to find occupation.

Our flat-bottomed foundation, notwithstand-
ing the prejudice roused against it, has been
an unmitigated success, it having been worked
out and filled with honey in quite a phenomenal
wav, .sheet after sheet being filled with virgin
honey in the centre of the brood nest, and in
several instances, to oiu- great astonishment, in
the very front of the hive. Sealed combs of
pure virgin honey at (across) the entrance are
against the theory that ' bees always store at
the farthest point from it,' but the evidence of
a correspondent, whose bees filled an empty
comb he had accidentally left lying outside,

tends to show that during a honey glut the
bees will store it anywhere. During the early
part of the season the bees in hives with frames
across, worked with great precision. With
honey coming in moderately they worked out
their combs admirably, and with beautiful regu-
larity filled whole sheets with worker brood
delightful to look at. The first comb at the
entrance received the honey by day, and was re-
moved at night, favouring the Pettigrew theory
of 're-swallowing it,' which, as a matter of
course, they were obliged to do to remove it. In
some cases, the front side only of the entrance-
combs had honey in them, the back being filled
with brood, but when the glut came there was
no occasion to remove the queen for the pre-
vention of brood-raising, for the bees filled
the cells as fast as they were vacated by
hatching bees, and effectually curtailed the
queen's power of egg-laying, and new frames
of foundation received honey deposits ere the
cells were an eighth of an inch in depth. With
all deference to those who prefer that bees
should be supplied with foundation having
cell bases of natural shape, — and it is reasonable
to believe such to be most agreeable to the bees ;
and in view of the charge of ' self-interest,' to
which we are liable in writing so strongly in
favour of a material Ave produce, — we deem it
our duty to give our readers the benefit of
experience, full}- borne out by others' testi-
mony, and thus we leave the subject ; there
are no patents, and nothing to prevent others
making, using, or selling the material in
question. Wooden-based foundation, though
highly praised in its early days, has received a
blow. The machine has been worked at such
high-pressure rate, that the cog-wheels have
worn, and when set as far apart as the thick-
ness of the wood necessitates, (hey work un-

foundation is imperfectly
have ceased to make it for

have exchanged, and are

for all -wax foundation

not been or are not

evenly, and the
turned out. We
the present, and
willing to exchange,

any sheets that have
satisfactory.

Notwitlistandiii'

the glorious weather here,

04

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 1, 1881.

in Scotland and Ireland there is not the same
ground for satisfaction, reports of rain (in
Ireland almost daily) and coldness being rife ;
but it is hoped (bee-keepers always hope) that
the heat-wave may visit them in time to pro-
duce a harvest yet.

The show season has come round, and we
have little doubt but that there will be a suc-
cession of grand honey exhibits, rendering
famous the comet year 1881.

USEFUL HINTS. ■

Combs in Skeps damaged. — It often happens
that amateurs, in driving, subject the combs to
such hard usage, or they may be so damaged in
transit, that the hive cannot be replaced on its
floor-board without danger of the combs falling ;
and the unfortunate tyro, seeing no remedy but
'transferring,' with all its difficulties, the heavy,
heated combs of honey and brood to a frame-
hive, not unfrequently makes the matter worse
by attempting that operation. In such cases
we find it best (as a rule) to interfere as little
as possible with full, heavy, damaged combs,
but prefer to replace them as nearly as possible,
put the floor-board on the top, and leave them
upside down for a day or two, until the bees
have cleared up the bleeding honey and fixed
the comb anew.

In doing this we get a few old wine-corks,
and with both hands gently lift the leaning
combs to a perpendicular position, and slip a
cork lengthways in each interval between them,
and these are usually sufficient to keep them
from falling (leaning) again. The hive should
then be carefully shaded, and in two or three
days may be safely restored to its normal
position.

If there be overmuch loose honey, it is well
to set the inverted hive over a pail, that it may
drain out through the zinc over the feed-hole ;
and if the hive have not that requisite, a hole
should be cut, a piece of strainer- canvas tied
over the pail, and the hive-crown made to bed
comfortably upon it. The canvas will then
answer the double purpose of a strainer for the
loose honey, and as a means of keeping enemies
and vermin out of the pail.

Removing Supers. — This, one of the hoped-
for pleasures of bee - keeping, often causes
trouble, through the difficulty in getting bees
to leave the honey ; but where sectional supers
are used, they should be removed in a body to
a short distance from the hive, and a cloth
(quilt) thrown over the frames to prevent in-
citement to robbing. The' sections should then
be taken singly to the hive, and the bees
brushed off them with a bunch of grass, or
other non-fibrous material. The sections should
then be taken within doors, or placed in racks

that the bees cannot enter. A little smoke
blown between super and hive will simplify
matters greatly.

Large Supers should be taken off (after
smoking) and carried about for a time inverted,
during which a continual tapping on the sides
will cause the bees to ' boil ' over, and they
may be brushed off to find their way home at
leisure. Those who prefer not to carry the
bees about shoidd place the super on a board
with an entrance-way cut into it, and put a
tube of perforated zinc a foot long into the
entrance- way, when if the super be made dark
the bees will leave by means of the tube, and
will never think of returning by its projecting
end. Intending robbers will try to get in at
the entrance proper.

Wasps will now begin to be annoying, and
their nest should be found and destroyed.
Pour or syringe some turpentine into their
entrance- way, and in ten minutes they may be
dug out without harm. The fumes of the
turpentine will kill the guards, and there is
no danger from the wasps returning home.
Narrowing the entrances of hives will enable
the bees to guard them better, and wasps will
not venture into a guarded hive ; they are
simply sneaking thieves, and never openly
attack.

Queen Introduction. — We wish we could
instil caution into the minds of bee-keepers in
dealing with stocks they find queenless and
broodless, and impress them with a correct
idea of the difficulty of uniting queens to bees
in such condition. We have many times warned
our readers that old bees lose the instinct or
the power (which is much the same thing) that
conduces to increase of population, their duty
and purpose being the collection of stores and
the defence of their homes. They will not
willingly accept an imposed queen, raise queen-
cells, or feed larvae, yet when found to be queen-
less their owners too often purchase expensive
queens to unite with them — not ten per cent
of which are safety introduced or do well for
the reasons given.

What to do with Stocks found Queen-
less. — As natural heat only is necessary to the
evolution of queens from sealed cells, old bees
will answer the purpose as well as others, but
it must not be expected that they will breed
very fast when the young queens commence
laying.

Old bees being useful as heat producers,
honey gatherers, and warrior guards, they may
be utilised to hatch out combs of brood, the
young bees from which will raise queen-cells,
and eventually the hive will be repopulated.
We have found this to be the best way of util-
ising old bees — we give them the brood combs
from another hive in exchange for the empty

August 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

G5

ones of their own. "With sleeps this is done by
driving from both, and when tliey arc empty of
bees putting the full-combed hive in place of
the other, and vice versd ; and it almost invariably
succeeds if there are any drones about, to secure
fertilisation of the young queen that will be
raised.

PREVENTING ROBBING.

"When the fine weather breaks up, and the
honey income ceases, the bees that have been
gathering largely, having nothing else to do,
will get into mischief, and unless precaution be
taken robbing will soon be rife in the apiary.
Prevention is better than cure, and in this par-
ticular too much pains cannot be taken to guard
against its beginning, for once begun it is most
difficult to suppress. To be helpful in both
directions we have devised a trap that will be
found useful, and any tinker can make it ; it
may not always be effective, but being right in
principle it is worthy of trial.

It consists of a tube of perforated zinc, a,
fixed to a plate of similar zinc furnished with
one or two holes of the round hole excluder
size, b, the tube pointing outwards at an angle

of 45° or thereabouts. Now if a stock be com-
paratively weak, and this be placed at the
entrance there will be no difficulty in bees
getting out of the hive, but they will only be
likely to get in through the one or two holes in
the plate b, which will be ample in circumstances
when it is recommended to leave only room for
two bees to pass.

If robbing is going on, and the trap be applied
the thieves inside can escape, but others will only
be able to get in through the holes b, and as in
doing so they will be in a defenceless position,
the bees within the hive will be able to ' wring
their heads off ' before they can get their wings,
bodies, or hind-legs through the aperture. The
tube « permits the besieged to march out and
attack the besiegers in the rear, while the latter
intent on the hive entrance are trying to force

a way through the narrow pass b. The trap is
an adaptation from Mr. Tenny Braddy's zinc
tube, which has been uniformly successful as a
means of clearing supers. It has been awarded
a Bronze Medal at the South Kensington Show.

HIGHLY TRAINED BEES.

In early spring we received a sample of
' pure ' wax from a Liverpool firm, but when
made into foundation the bees amused them-
selves by nibbling it to dust and wasting it.
"We thereupon declined ' the article ' as impure,
basing our objection on the evidence afforded
by the bees themselves.

This elicited a reply from the New York ex-
porter, with a copy of which we were favoured.
He says, 'Your correspondent takes good ground
when he bases his decision on the " instinct of
bees." That the wax is absolutely pure I
guarantee, but perhaps the bees referred to
have been cultivated to such a high point that
nothing short of comb of their own making will
satisfy them."

[Rather an ingenious theory, that. — Ed.]

PARALYSIS IN BEES.

We have heard of several cases of what
appears to be paralysis of the wings of bees,
which threatens to decimate the hives to which
they belong, hundreds lying about the apiary,
rendering it impossible to walk about without
treading some to death. There is no dysentery
or abdominal distension, and the bees take food
when offered, but cannot fly. There is no
appearance such as one would expect from
poisoned food, nor is there any deficiency of
food in the hives. The bees come out to take
their flight, and fall to the ground, and are
unable to rise again. It appears to be worst
in the morning after a previous day's confine-
ment at home through wet or cold weather.
Can any one throw any light upon the cause of
the malady ?

THE WARWICKSHIRE COUNTY
ASSOCIATION TENT.

Warwickshire is setting a good example to
other counties in respect of Bee-tent accommo-
dation, having one for home use, which is doing
good service and doubly stimulating local bee-
keepers, and at the same time setting free the
tent of the 'British' for pioneer service in other
directions. It has been engaged at Hampton-
in-Arden July 23, and Hagley and Halesowen
July 26 ; is due at Dudley Castle on 1st and
2nd August, Eastnor Park August 11, and at
Rugby, the County Show, September 6 and 7.

The Association makes good progress, and

64

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 1, 1881.

the County Show is already an almost assured
success, thanks to the energy of the Hon. Sec.,
J. N. Bower, Esq., of Knowle.

AUTHORSHIP OF 'MODERN BEE-
KEEPING.'

As this question is public matter yet to be
discussed, we refrain from observation ; but
a letter having appeared in the Journal of
Horticulture of June 30 imputing motives to
us which never existed, we felt it would be but
right to ask the Editors of that journal to let
its readers know what had induced the remarks
in question ; and the following letter, with a
copy of the ' editorial ' which will be found in
the June number of this journal, was addressed
to them : —

' THE AUTHORSHIP OF " MODERN BEE-
KEEPING."

' To the Editors of Journal of Horticulture.
' Gentlemen,

' I have observed in your issue of June 30 some
remarks by Mr. Cheshire on an Editorial which appeared
in the British Bee Journal for June on the above subject,
and that your readers may have an opportunity of judging
for themselves of the nature of the Editorial I respect-
fully beg that you will in justice to me (the ■writer) give
it publicity. I will only remark that Mr. Hunter being
dead cannot defend himself against attack or misrepre-
sentation, but others who feel aggrieved and on whose
behalf I wrote will doubtless take measures to protect
themselves against the imputation of jealousy and sel-
fishness conveyed in Mr. Cheshire's letter. On my own
behalf I prefer the silence -which is golden.

' Your obliged Servant,

'C. N. Abbott.
' Fairluirn, Southall, Middlesex,
'JuhjAth, 1831.'

To this the following, in ' Notices to Corre-
spondents,' was the only reply accorded : —

' Modern Bee-keeping (C. N. A.). — As you state that
you " prefer the silence which is golden," and as you do
not state the names of any individuals who feel them-
selves aggrieved, we fail to see that the publication of
your letter would serve any useful purpose. We per-
ceive that you do not question the accuracy of the state-
ment in the article to which you refer.'

And there the matter rests so far as the
readers of the Journal of Horticulture only are
concerned — they have read Mr. Cheshire's
remarks written in what he considers ' the
strength of gentleness,' and they have seen
the way in which my letter and the ' Editorial,'
written in ' the strength of honesty,' have been
treated, but they arc unaware of the nature of
either. C. N. Abbott.

The Baltic Provinces Central Association for Rearing
Bees is to hold an exhibition of these insects in the
second week of September at Potsdam, under the special
patronage of the Crown Princess, who has expressed a
wisli fo be present. It is expected that the number of
exhibits will be unusually large, since the associations
include upward of 200 members. — Daily News.

THE BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION'S
GREAT ANNUAL SHOW AT SOUTH KEN-
SINGTON.

This annual event, looked forward to with great-
interest by bee-keepers of all classes, came oft' with
great eclat at the Royal Horticultural Society's
Gardens, South Kensington, lasting from July 26 to
August 1st inclusive.

It has been our good fortune to be present at
many shows, but never anywhere in the United
Kingdom has there hitherto been such a grand
exhibition of honey as has been delighting the eyes
of London at this fashionable place of resort during
the past week.

Mr. T. Thorne, of Baldock, staged no less than
540 lbs. of comb-honey, and was closely pressed by
Mr. J. Walton, of Weston, near Leamington, with
431 lbs., in addition to which Mr. Walton staged
over a hundredweight of extracted honey, and sent
a large quantity to the Honey Fair, showing what
an intelligent cottager can do.

There were 61 exhibitors and 274 exhibits, two
of which, Messrs. Neighbour and Sons and Mr.
Baldwin, who were awarded a silver and bronze
medal respectively, included scores of hives, supers,
extractors, and other requisites, and were a show
in themselves worthy much higher acknowledgment
than the awards they obtained. It was worth five
silvers and twenty bronzes to bring them there.

For Ligurian bees Messrs. Baldwin and Neighbour
obtained first and second prizes respectively. —
For foreign bees Messrs. Neighbour, the only ex-
hibitor (Carniolians), received a silver medal. — For
Observatory hives, Messrs. Baldwin, Hollands, and
Scott, took silver, and bronze, and certificate. — For
best hive, Messrs. Griffin, Abbott, and Hooker, were
awarded silver, bronze, and certificate. — For best
substantial hive, Messrs. Abbott, Green and Sons,
and Lee, took similar prizes in the order of their
names. — For economical hive for cottagers, Mr. A.
Cockburn, of Cairnie, took first with a marvel of
cheapness ; and if he were compelled to supply
them at the price named, 10s. painted, as exhibited,
we do not envy him his position. Mr. R. McGregor,
of Aberdeen, was second, and Messrs. Green and
Sons, of Raiuham, third, all three being equally
commendable. — For the best hive made by an
amateur or cottager, Mr. Howitt was first, Rev. A.
Roberts second, and Rev. W. E. Burkitt third,
taking silver and bronze medals, and certificate in
rotation. — For the best sleep, Mr. W. Martin took
bronze medal with a neat flat-topped skep and set
of ten sections on top and adapting-board complete,
price 5s.

For supers, cheapest, neatest, and best, complete,
Messrs. Abbott were first with their catalogued
crate of sections, Messrs. Neigbbour second, and
Mr. Lee third.

The honey classes were too numerous for imme-
diate report, and gave the judges an immense
amount of labour.

A ' bit of sleight of hand ' was performed on a sol
of sections exhibited by Mr. Hooker, of Seven Oaks,
in Class 16. He had staged twelve 'perfect' sections

August 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

07

of 1 lb. each, yet the judges found among them one
highly imperfect one, which lowered his standard,
yet immediately after the judging the whole were
perfect again. — Moral, every exhibit of sections
should bo marked, each section in such exhibit
having a corresponding figure, monogram, or motto
upon it. It may have been an accident, but if
it were not, the substitution of sections under
the circumstances was a shameful piece of ras-
cality.

For comb-foundation, Messrs. Abbott and Raitt
divided honours, receiving a bronze medal each.

For the best means of making (on the spot)
comb-foundation Messrs. Abbott were first ; and
the public, and many bee-keepers too, were as-
tonished at the celerity with which foundation can
be made with plaster-casts when one knows how to
do it. Plaster-casts will henceforth be much in de-
mand if the expressions of approval uttered bear
the usual significance.

For honey-extractors, Mr. Cowan was first and
second, and Mr. Abbott was third.

For bees-wax, Messrs. Abbott, Hooker, Hunt,
and Scott were in order.

Fur honey-jars, Messrs. Hooker, 72s. and 48s. per
gross, Abbott 20s. and 16s. dd. (inclusive of Is. 3d.
per gross fi ir covers by post), as usual at Birming-
ham, and Hollands, were in rotation, the latter's
price being 50s. and 33s. respectively for two and
one-pound jars.

Mr. Godfrey, of Grantham, was awarded a silver
medal for a grand collection of dried bee-flora
displayed on cards, well worthy of special classifi-
cation, and binding as a volume.

For best crates, Mr. Cowan was first in both
classes.

For new inventions, Messrs. Abbott received two
bronze medals, one for an expeditious method of
fixing comb-foundation in supers, the other for the
robber trap described on page 65. There were
several other inventions worthy of notice, if not of
a prize, but they appear to have been overlooked
for the time being.

The end of the month being so near, we had
little time for more than a brief notice of the
exhibits, but on the whole we can safely say that
no better exhibition has ever taken place ; the
arrangements were perfect.

We were extremely glad to see the esteemed
Hon. Sec. of the Association, the Rev. H. R. Peel,
again to the front after his long and severe illness.
His presence puts new life into the work, and we but
echo the general hope that he may long be as
able as he is generously willing to continue the
good work to which he has so heartily put his
hand.

Another long absent one, the Hon. and Rev. H.
Bligh, gave pleasure by his genial presence, and
was most heartily welcomed by every one who
knew him. He was the first to subscribe to the
formation of the Association, and took the chair at
its first formation, and the present condition of affairs
gave him immense satisfaction. Altogether, the
show was a wonderful success, and will be highly
stimulative in effort.

On Tuesday, at ■") p. m., Mr. Cheshire delivered an
entertaining and instructive lecture on ' Bees as Florists'
Hybridizers and Fruit Producers, illustrated by new
and original Diagrams,' to a large and appreciative
audience, and was loudly applauded. The subject is one
of very great interest, and deserves far more attention
than is generally accorded to it.

On Wednesday, at 5 p.m., the General Meeting of the
members of the Association was held. The Baroness
Burdett-Coutts, President, in the chair.

On Thursday afternoon the prizes were distributed
by the President of the Bee-keepers' Association, the
Baroness Burdett-Ooutts, the Princess Christian, who
was to have performed that ceremony, being precluded
from attending' by the death of a near relative of the
Queen. Her ladyship was supported on the occasion by
Mr. T. W. Cowan, Chairman of the Committee, the
Honorary Secretary, the Rev. II. R. Peel, and several
other leading members of the Association.'

The Honorary Secretary gave an interesting account
of the recent proceedings of the Association, which met
with a hearty reception from those assembled.

After presenting the prizes, the Baroness Burdett-
Coutts congratulated the Association on the increased
importance attained by the Association through the
practical extension of its teaching influence to almost
all parts of the kingdom, especially dwelling on the fact
that cottage bee-keepers are now entering into com-
petition with persons belonging to higher stations in
society, the useful instruction which they have received
in the most important elements of bee-keeping having
placed them on a level with persons of larger means.
The Baroness also expressed her gratification at the
result of the Society's having sent a deputation to
Ireland to instruct the people in the rural districts in
the improved methods of management.

One of the judges, the Rev. F. T. Scott, spoke of the
merits of the exhibits of cottagers as illustrating the
useful influence of the Association.

Mention was also made of the fact that the Com-
mittee are endeavouring to get the Post-office autho-
rities to imitate the practice of the American Post Office
of forwarding queen-bees in a manner which ensures
perfect security against injury, so that the Ligurian bee,
with all its well-known merits, may be widely propagated.

The following is the list of awards: —

Bees. — Class 1 — For the best stock of Ligurian Bees:
1st, G. Neighbour and Son, silver medal ; 2nd, S. J.
Baldwin, bronze medal. Class 2 — For the best stock of
Cyprian or any other Foreign Bees : 1st, G. Neighbour
and Son, silver medal.

Hives.— Class .'! — For the best Hive for observation
purposes, all combs to be visible on both sides, to he ex-
hibited stocked with Bees and their Queen : 1st, S. J.
Baldwin; 2nd, W. Hollands, bronze medal: 3rd, li.
Scott, certificate. Class 4 — For the best Moveable Comb
Hive: 1st, W. N. Griffin, silver medal; 2nd, C. N.
Abbott, bronze medal; 3rd, J. M. Hooker, certificate; A.
Blake, highly commended ; C. N. Abbott, commended.
Class 5— For the best Frame Hive of a substantial char-
acter for general use in an apiary. Price not to exceed
15s.: 1st, C. N.Abbott, silver medal; 2nd, Green and
Sons, bronze medal ; 3rd, J. Lee, certificate. Class (i —
For the most economical Hive, on the moveable comb
principle, for Cottagers' use. Price not to exceed
10s. (id. : 1st, A. Cockburn, silver medal ; 2nd, R.
McGregor, bronze medal ; 3rd, Green and Sons, certifi-
cate. Class 7 — For the best Frame Hive for general
use — the work of an amateur or cottager: 1st, N.
Howitt, silver medal : 2nd, Rev. A. Roberts, bronze
medal; 3rd, Rev. W. E. Burkitt, certificate. Class 8— For
the best Straw Hive for depriving purposes, cost to be
taken into consideration. Price not to exceed 6s. : 1st,
W. Martin, bronze medal.

G8

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 1, 1881.

Supers— Class 9— For the cheapest, neatest, and best
Supers for harvesting honey in the comb in a saleable
form : 1st, C. N. Abbott, silver medal ; 2nd, G. Neigh-
bour and Son, bronze medal ; 3rd, .1. Lee, certificate ; A.
Blake and Eev. G. Kaynor, highly commended.

Honey.— Class 10— For the best exhibition of Super
Honey from one apiarv : 1st, S. Thome, 40s. ; 2nd, J.
Walton, 20s. ; 3rd, J. M. Hooker, 10s. Class 11— For
the best Super of Honey, not being sectional supers.
The super to be of wood, straw, or of wood in combina-
tion with glass or straw : 1st, J. K. Filbee, 20s. ; 2nd,
W. Sells, 15s.; 3rd, Key. F. T. Scott, 12s. Gd.; 4th, Mrs.
P. R. Spencer, 7s. Gd.; ,5th, W. Martin, oS. Class 12—
For the best Glass Super of Honey: 1st, W. Martin, 20s.;
2nd, W. Sells, 15s. ; 3rd, Mrs. P. R. Spencer, 12s. Gd. ;
4th, J. H. Austin, 7s. Gd. ; 5th, R. Scott, 5s. Olass 13—
For the best twenty-four 2 lb. sections of Comb Honev :
1st, J. Walton, 30s. ; 2nd, Miss Gayton, 20s. ; 3rd, S.
Thorne, 15s. ; 4th, S. Thorne, 10s. ; 5th, J. K. Filbee, 5s.
Class 14 — For the best twenty-four 1 lb. sections of
Comb Honey : 1st, J. M. Hooker, 25s. ; 2nd, Rev. G. M.
Raynor, 20s.; 3rd, W. II. Dunman, 15s.; 4th, J. Walton,
10s. ; 5th, S. Thorne, 5s. Class 15— For the best twelve
21b. sections of Comb Honev : 1st, J. Walton, 20s. ; 2nd,
C. N. Abbott, 10s. ; 3rd, T.'W. Cowan, 5s. Class 16—
For the best twelve 1 lb. sections of Comb Honey : 1st,
T. W. Cowan, 20s. ; 2nd, J. Walton, 10s. ; 3rd, J. M.
Hooker, 5s. Class 17— For the best exhibition of Run
or Extracted Honey in twenty-four 21b. glass jars : 1st,
R. Scott, 20s.; 2nd, J. Walton, 12s. Gd. ; 3rd, C. N.
Abbott, 7s. Gd. ; 4th, Rev. W. E. Burkitt, 5s. Class 18—
For the best exhibition of Run or Extracted Honey in
twenty-four lib. glass jars: 1st, Rev. W. S. Walford,
20s. ; 2nd, Miss Gayton, 12s. 6d. ; 3rd, J. M. Hooker,
7s. Gd. ; 4th, C. N. Abbott, 5s.

Comb Foundation.— Class 19— For the best sample
of Comb Foundation made of pure Bees' Wax, to consist
of 2i lbs. thick (worker cells) for stock hive, and
2| lbs. thin for supers: C. N. Abbott, bronze medal
for thin foundation; W. Raitt, bronze medal for
thick foundation. Class 20— For the best, cheapest, and
simplest appliance for making Comb Foundation, to be
shown at work in the presence of the Judges : 1st, C. N.
Abbott, silver medal.

Cottagers' Classes (no entrance fee).— Class 21—
For the best Super of Honey not being a sectional super:
1st, W. Woodley, 20s. ; 2nd, L. Harris, 15s. ; 3rd, W.
Martin, 10s. ; 4th, T. Sells, r,s. Class 22— For the best
twelve 2 lb. sections of Comb Honey : 1st, J. Walton,
20s. ; 2nd, J. AValton, 15s. ; 3rd, L. Harris, 10s. ; 4th, W.
Woodley, 5s. Class 23 — For the best twelve 1 lb.
sections of Comb Honey: J. Walton, 20s.; 2nd, W
Martin, 15s.; 3rd, T. Sells, 10s.; 4th, M. Wood, 5s!
Class 24— For the best exhibition of Run or Extracted
Honey in twelve 21b. glass jars: 1st, M. Wood, 20s. ;
2nd, W. Hunt, 12s. Gd. ; 3rd, W. Martin, 7s. Gd. Class
25— For the best exhibition of Run or Extracted Honey
in twelve lib. glass jars: 1st, M.Wood, 15s.; 2nd, J.
Walton, 12s. Gd.; 3rd, G. Holley, 7s. 6c?.

Foreign and Colonial Classes.— Class 26— For
the largest and best exhibit of Honey in the Comb, either
in sectional or other supers, the total weight of each
entry to be not less than 24 lbs. : 2nd prize, Lucio Pallia,
20s. Class 27— No ent rv.

Comestibles. — Class 28 — For the best Mead or
Methegliu made from Honey, with recipe attached : 1st,
C. N. Abbott, bronze medal ; 2nd. 11. Scott, certificate.

Miscellaneous.— Class 29— For the best and largest
collection of Hives and Bee-furniture, raosf applicable to
'Modern Bee-keeping,' no two articles to he alike : I si,
G. Neighbour and Son, silver medal; 2nd, S. .1, Baldwin,
bronze medal. Class 30— For the best Honey Extractor:
1st, T. W. Cowan, silver medal; 2nd, T.'W. Cowan,
bronze medal; 3rd, C. N. Abbott, i ertificate. Class 31 -
For the finest sample of pure Bees' Wax, not less than

6 lbs. in weight, obtained from Combs made bv the ex-
hibitor's own Bees: 1st, C. N. Abbott, 10s.; "2nd, T.
Sells, 7s. Gd. ; 3rd, W. Hunt, ~>s. ; 4th, R. Scott, 2s. Gd.
Class .'12 — For the hest and cheapest pair of Honey jars,
with covers and fastenings complete, to contain 1 lb. and
2 lbs. each of Extracted Honey : 1st, J. M. Hooker, 10s. ;
2nd, C. N. Abbott, 7s. Gd. ; 3rd, W. Hollands, r,s. Class
33 — For the best Crate for the safe conveyance of ( lomb
Honey in sections, by rail or otherwise : T. W. Cowan,
bronze medal. Class 34 — For the best Crate for the safe
conveyance of Extracted Honey in glass jars, by rail or
otherwise: T. W. Cowan, Bronze medal. Class 35 — For
any Invention ealcidated in the opinion of the Judges to
advance the Culture of Bees : C. N. Abbott, two bronze
medals. Class 36 — For the best Microscopic Slides (not
previously exhibited) illustrating the Natural History of
the Honey Bee : F. Enock, silver medal. Class 37 — For
the best and largest display of British Bee Flora in a
dried state or otherwise, R. R. Godfrey, silver medal.

Driving Competition. — Class 41 — For the com-
petitor who shall in the neatest, quickest, and most
complete manner, drive out the Bees from a Straw Skep,
capture and exhibit the queen: 1st, J. Walton, 20s.; 2nd,
W. Martin, 10s. ; 3rd, J. K. Filbee, 5s.

JUDGES' REPORTS.
Classes 1-9.

The Judges of these Classes notice with much plea-
sure the great advancement made in the exhibits, the
closeness of the competition in most instances rendering
it no light task to award the prizes.

Clauses 1, 2, and 3. — The Judges would suggest that
money prizes should be added in these classes, the great
sacrifice and expense in sending stocks of bees to exhibi-
tions appear to demand them. No one who witnesses the
interest these classes create would wish to see them
diminished. They would note that in Observatory Hives
there was not anything particularly new.

Class 4. — In this class — in which were ten entries,
and those in duplicate — the large variety, the close-
ness of merit and the wide range of prices rendered
the duties of the Judges no easy task. They do not
attach any great importance to the necessity of exhi-
biting a duplicate hive, as the winter arrangements they
consider may be shown without this.

Class 5. — Here, too, was a splendid lot of exhibits,
and many of great merit, though in some too much com-
plication, at the cost of good practical arrangement, was
apparent.

Class G. — In this class there were eleven entries, many
well worthy of notice. In some they would still like to
see less of the fanciful and more of the usefid, and a good
hive for a cottager at 0s. each.

Class 7. — This class well deserves special mention,
including as it does exhibits that the Judges consider
will hold a place with those of any manufacturer. They
think it desirable that an additional class should be
added for amateurs who would produce hives suitable
for cottagers, say at 7s. Gd. each.

Class 8. — In this class there was only one exhibit.
The arrangement of the super was clever, but the hive
too loosely made.

Class 9. — In this class — in which wore thirteen entries,
all more or less of merit — the competition was exceed-
ingly close, and the Judges regretted they were not
allowed to award more prizes.

R. R. Godfrey.
Titos. F. Ward.
Wm. N. Griffin.
Classes 10-20.

The Judges are pleased to be able to report that in
consequence of a favourable season, and the diffusion of
more correi t knowledge of the best methods of bee-
culture, a larger and on the whole abetter collection of

August 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

69

honey has been exhibited than has been the ca.se since
the Association has been established.

The 1-lb. and 2-lb. sections deserve especial notice as
being the most convenient method of storing honey,
preference being given to the smaller size.

The run or extracted honey in the opinion of the

judges was generally of a very superior quality, and

testifies to the favourable character of the present season.

The Judges recommend that in future no names or

marks of ownership should appear on any of the exhibits.

N.Bostock.
Benj. Harding.
Classes 21-28.

The Cottagers' Classes of the present Exhibition furnish,
in the opinion of the Judges, most satisfactory proof of
the great benefit derived from the > ritish Bee-keepers'
Association, for not only are the; 1 1; ies more numerous
than on any former occasion, but the form in which they
are made seems to indicate that Cottagers are fast giving
up their old notions and cruel practices of bee-keeping,
and availing themselves, to a great extent, of many of
the modern improvements in apiarian science. Most
of the comb-honey was exhibited in sectional supers, and
in some classes the entries were so numerous and so good
that the Judges had the greatest difficulty in determining
their comparative excellences and awarding the. prizes.

The run-honey was also of superior quality, ami might
be said to present the same difficulty. It is matter of
regret that there was no competition in the Foreign and
Colonial Class No. 26, and the fact of their being only
two entries in the Class of Comestibles No. 28 may be
thought to indicate, on the part of the British bee-keepers,
an inclination to favour the Temperance movement by
giving up the manufacture of such alcoholic drinks as
mead or metheglin.

F. T. Scott.
F. 11. Jackson.
Classes 29-30.

Class 29. — There were two exhibitors in this class,
each showing great evidence of merit and of full ability
to supply all requirements of improved bee-culture.
The exhibit, No. 22iJ, of Mr. S. J. Baldwin contained
sixty-one different articles; and No. 230, exhibited by
Messrs. Neighbour, 1,34 different articles. There were,
in both collections, hives and accessories of all sorts
to suit all varying requirements and lengths of purse.
In collection 229 was shown the l'eet cage, lately so
favourite a one in America, both for sending queen-bees
and attendants by mail (being well supplied with candy)
and for introducing' purposes. In collection No. 230 was
shown the machine for making foundation by means of
two impressed rollers; and there was also shown an
improved wax-smelter, having a good lid and large
opening to the wax-chamber — a great improvement in a
small but most useful article. The smelter would bear
making in a larger size for apiaries containing many
stocks. The first prize of silver medal was awarded to
collection No. 230, and the second, bronze medal, to
collection No. 229.

Class 30. — There were six exhibits in this class, the
first prize of silver medal being awarded to Mr. Cowan's
'Improved Automatic' extractor, No. 234, which con-
tains all the improvements Mr. Cowan has made since
his ' Automatic took first prize last year. These im-
provements are specially three : — first, the safet}' of the
sleeve, and as a coupling-piece of the main spindle, from
loss, by the simple addition of a slot on the sleeve and a
pin on the upper and shorter portion of the spindle,
which permits of the sleeve sliding up and down, but
prevents its coming off altogether. The second im-
provement is a considerable one. As shown last year,
the near side to the operator of the cages containing the
frames of honeycomb opened at the top, working on a
hinge at the bottom for the insertion of the frames, but

it was a matter of some little nicety to get the frames
snugly in under the top bar of the cage. In the im-
proved machine both sides of the cage incline towards
the operator in turning up the bent wire pin that se-
cures them, and thus the frame can be slipped m as
easily as if there were no top bar at all, and yet by
means of simple curved slots and pins at the edges of the
cage, both sides are replaced correctly in position by one
motion as easily as the one side was before. Third, by
fixing the pinions in the box at the bottom in such a
manner that they do not leave their position, the cages
can be removed for cleaning, and can be replaced in a
few seconds with a certainty of coming in their right
places.

The second prize, bronze medal, was awarded to No.
233, Mr. Cowan's ' Rapid Extractor,' also a most useful
machine, reversing the combs without taking them from
their cages.

The third prize, 'Certificate,' was awarded to No. 231,
Messrs. Abbott's well-known ' Little Wonder.'

Class 31. — There were seven exhibits of bees-wax,
and much of it was excellent. The first prize, 10s., was
awarded to No. 238, the second, 7s. 6d., to No. 244, the
third, os., to No. 240, and the fourth, 2s. 6d., to No. 242.

Class 32. — For the best and cheapest pair of honey-
jars, with covers and fastenings complete, to contain 1
lb. and 21bs. each of extracted honey. There were four
entries: the first prize, 10s., was awarded to No. 248,
priced at 72s. and 48s. per gross for 2 lb. and 1 lb. jars
respectively ; and the second prize of 7s. 6d. to No. 246,
priced at 20s, and 16s. 6d.; and the third prize of 5s. to
No. 247, priced at 50s. and 33s.

Class 33. — There were here four exhibits: one of them
was a comparatively small crate hung by centre points
at each end midway in a large one, so as to maintain to
some extent a constantly level position. Besides this,
there were three others, all much alike to one another in
principle ; one being calculated for a double tier of sec-
tions had a piece of glass reaching from the bottom
board to the top, and had end-handles of wood attached.
The other two differed very little from one another,
except that one was for larger sections than the other ;
and both being for one tier only, the glass was much
narrower, and was let into a rebate in the side pieces,
and perhaps was less liable to break up. The handles
were formed by taking carved pieces out of the thickness
of the two end-pieces of the crate. The Judges felt that
all had merits of their own, and specially so with regard
to the two systems of handles, a most necessary adjunct
to any crate for the conveyance by rail of honey,
whether in comb or jars. There was only one prize, a
bronze medal, to be awarded in this class, and this they
gave to No. 250, the one for the double tier and attached
handles.

Class 34. — There was again one prize, a bronze, medal,
to be given in this class. There were five exhibits, and
the medal was awarded to No. 256. A crate, very
similar to 250 in the last class, but for one tier of bottles,
and no glass at sides and over the lids of the bottles, and
attached to the under side of the lid of the crate were
two lengths of india-rubber tubing, which, upon the lid
being screwed down into its place, made an excellent
cushion, and kept them perfectly steady in all directions.

Class 35. — For any invention caleidated in the opinion
of the Judges to advance the culture of bees. There were
here eleven exhibits, among others an excellent model of
the mode in which any tent can easily be arranged at
country shows for bee manipulations, and as, indeed, it
was arranged during its tour in Ireland. There were also
shown a cylinder for ripening extracted honey, feeders of
different pattern, &c; but the Judges awarded a bronze
medal to exhibit No. 262 containing a dummy board
with spring side pieces so as to fit closely in either a square
hive or one with slanting sides, a means of stopping-
robbing, and a 'Bee-keeper's Forget-me-not,' being a

70

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 1, 1881.

printed table showing in a ready manner the dates at
which all matters connected with the welfare of the
hive took place ; they also awarded a bronze medal to
exhibit No. 260, a very ingenious, yet simple method of
adapting a watertight covering to glass jars brought for-
ward by Messrs. Abbott Bros, by having the rim dipped
in bees-wax made slightly more adhesive by the addition
of a little resin, and merely pressing on the top of the
bottle when full a piece of paper previously dipped in
bees-wax ; this, first rubbed round with a knife-handle,
and then trimmed with a sharp knife, and protected
by having a piece of paper tied over it, made a most
excellent and water-and-honey-tight covering. Messrs.
Abbott Bros, also in this class showed a little roller for
quickly putting in guides to sections by simple pressure,
which appeared to answer most thoroughly.

Class 36. — For the best microscopic slides (not previously
exhibited) illustrating the natural history of the honey
bee. One prize, a silver medal, to be awarded. There
was only one exhibit, but the Judges had great pleasure
in awaii ling it to Mr. J. Enock for his very beautiful series
of slides, which were most carefully prepared. There
were a number mounted flat showing the different parts
of the bee, some showing the difference between the
same organs of the worker and drone bees, being for
this purpose arranged on one slide side by side for easy
comparison ; and there was one slide in particular con-
taining over sixty pieces, so arranged, which showed the
difference of all the principal organs common to the
queen, worker, and drone bee. Besides these slides mounted
flat there were a number mounted in deep cells showing
the organs of the bee in their natural positions, and
sections showing the internal organs all in place ; these
mounted in deep cells are particularly interesting to all
those who have not had the chance of studying minutely
with the microscope the wondrous structure of the bee.

( lass 37. — There was only one exhibit competing for
the prize for dried British bee flora; but it was a very
nice collection, and was awarded the silver medal.

Class 88. — The prize, a bronze medal, was withheld in
this class, in which there was only one exhibit.

William Cakb.
J. Lawson Sisson.
Charles E. Fletcheh.

Driving Competition.
The Judges, in making their Report on the Driving
Competition, have to report this display is in increasing
favour, judging by the great crowds of people that flock
to the manipulating tent at each exhibition, as they
learn in a few minutes, by seeing the operations, more
than they can do from books in a month.

The first prize of 20s. wa3 very cleverly earned by
Mr. J. Walton, who captured the queen in 2 minutes,
20 seconds, and completed the driving in 4 minutes,
25 seconds. The second prize was awarded to Mr. W.
Martin, and the third to Mr. J. K. Filbee.

William Care.

F. T. Scott.

J. Lawson Sisson.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Monthly Committee Meeting, held at 105 Jermyn
Street, on Monday, July 11. Present : Mr. T. W. Cowan
(in the chair), J. M. Hooker, D. Stewart, C. N. Abbott,
F. Cheshire, and the Assistant Secretary.

The Minutes of the last Meeting were read, confirmed,
and signed. The several arrangements for the forthci iming
show at South Kensington were discussed and resolved
upon. A letter was read from the Secretary of the
British Hairy Farmers' Association, stating that the
Council of the British Dairy Farmers' Association would
be glad to make arrangements fur an exhibition of bees,

hives, and honey in connexion with the annual Dairy
Show to be held at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, on
September 15 and following days. Resolved, thai an
exhibition of bees, hives, and honey be held in accord-
ance with the letter received from the Secretary of the
British Dairy Farmers' Association. The Assistant
Secretary reported that the first edition of the Associa-
tion's pamphlet, Wintering Bees, was now out of print.
The Chairman having kindly promised to revise and
enlarge the work, it was resolved that a second edition
of the work be prepared as early as possible.

BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND AND
SOUTHERN COUNTIES ASSOCIATION.

TrNBRIDGE WELLS SHOW.

In consequence of a misunderstanding, no report upon
the bee department at the Tunbridge Wells Show of the
Bath and West of England and Southern Counties
Association was sent to you. It is perhaps too late to
remedy the omission, as the facts and circumstances in
connexion therewith have lost much of their force, and
their recital would fall flat upon the cars of readers. I
will therefore content myself by very briefly reviewing
a few of the chief incidents in connexion with it. The
negotiations for the holding of an Apiarian Exhibition
with the Bath and West of England Society were
initiated by the West Kent Bee-keepers' Association ;
but eventually were carried on and concluded by the
British Bee-keepers' Association, the result being that
the two Associations worked together in perfect har-
mony, and reaped the satisfaction of witnessing a very
successful exhibition. The ultimate aim and object of
the improvements which have been made in bee-culture
being the production of honey, it is very gratifying to
state that although the date of the Show was a very
early one (commencing on the 6th of June), yet some
most excellent exhibits of this season's produce competed
for the prizes offered, Mr. G. Allen, of Orpington, taking-
first honours with sections of supers; Mr. F. Cheshire
and Mr. R. Scott, and others, also being prize-winners.
For Observatory hives Messrs. Freeman, Scott, and
Neighbour and Sons, respectively competed, and were
awarded prizes in the order named. For the best move-
able-comb hive the prizes were awarded — 1st, Mr. J. M.
Hooker, for his Alexandra hive; 2nd, to Mr. S. J. Bald-
win, for a twin hive ; 3rd, to Messrs. Neighbour and Sons,
for tlie Philadelphia hive.

In the classes for hives limited in price, Messrs. Blake.
Green and Sons, Baldwin, and Neighbour and Sons,
competed, the former three obtaining prizes.

Messrs. Baldwin and Messrs. Neighbour and Sons
exhibited in the Miscellaneous class. For the best and
largest collection of hives and appliances the former
gained the award of first prize.

The new rectangular bee-tent of the West Kent Asso-
ciation, constructed by Mr. Hucklo, of King's Langley,
was used for the bee manipulations, and was regarded as
a great improvement over the hexagon -shaped tents
generally in use. The weather, unfortunately, was \ ery
unsettled during the whole of the Show, but on the
more favourable days immense numbers visited the
Exhibition, and witnessed with evident interest the
manipulations of bees by Mr. Baldwin.

Messrs. T. W. Cowan, J. M. Hooker, and the Rev. Q.
Raynor performed the office of judging, and greatly
assisted in promoting success by their attendance and
explanations throughout the week.

It is due to the Hon. and Rev. .1. T. Boseawon, the
indefatigable steward of the Horticultural Department,
to slate that except for the continuous energy and
resolution shown by him in pressing the importance of
I lie science of apiculture upon the Council of the Bath
and West of England Society, no exhibition would have

August 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

71

been held; and he has now the satisfaction of knowing
that the efforts made by him will probably result in the
permanent establishment of a bee-keepers' department
in the show-yards of the Society.

I fear you will consider that 1 have not quite carried
out the intention expressed at the commencement, of my
Letter of being brief in my observations; in this I hope
vou will kindly excuse me. — Jessk Gahuatt, Son, Sec,
n'est Kent Bee-keepers' Association.

ANNUAL SHOW OF THE WEST KENT BEE-
KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The third Annual Exhibition of the West Kent Bee-
keepers" Association was held on Saturday, July 16th, at
Camden Park, Chislehurst, in conjunction with the
West Kent Horticultural Society's Show. The interest
shown last year iu the manipulations in the Bee-tent by
the large number of visitors induced the executive to
select the same locality for this year's annual Show.
The committee of the Horticultural Society cordially
and readily assented to the application made to them for
the holding of a joint exhibition, and liberally granted
tickets of admission to the Flower Show to all members
uf the Bee-keepers' Association. On this occasion the
committee felt it necessary to provide an independent
tent for the display of honey, hives and appliances, and
the result fully justified their anticipations, the whole
available staging- being occupied. Of the quality of the
comb honey in sections of supers as well as the extracted
bone}', it may be said as a whole that it was unsurpassable,
the weight considerably exceeding a quarter of a ion.

Mr. George Alleu of Sunside, Orpington, maintained
his reputation of a most successful bee-keeper, although
only an amateur practising the art in his leisure time ;
it may be incidentally stated that his production of
honey up to the date of the show averaged 70 lbs.
per hive. He was thus enabled to secure the chief prizes
iu the classes in which he. competed, including the silver
medal of the British Bee-keepers' Association. The
competition in the hive classes was limited, but the
specimens were very good. Mr. Hooker's adaptation of
the Stewarton .system of the nadir or eke to his Alex-
andra hive was deemed especially deserving of notice,
it being rendered thereby a most complete and com-
prehensive hive, of symmetrical and handsome appearance,
and thoroughly suitable for summer or winter service.
Mr. Baldwin exhibited a large aud varied collection of
hives and other apiarian objects; and as a curiosity be
exhibited a small sample of milk-white honey collected
by bees at Lydd in Komney Marsh, owned by Mr.
Masters.

The new Bee-tent of the Association, which is much
more commodious and of more pleasing proportions
than those generally in use, was used on this occasion ;
and nearly three hundred visitors paid for admission to
witness the manipulations conducted by Mr. Baldwin,
and to gather the information freely given with reference
to bee management. The general result of the show was
fully satisfactory, as conclusive evidence was shown that
the objects for which the Association labours are in
process of rapid attainment. On this, as on all similar
previous occasions, an accession of new members took
place ; the increase since the publication of the last
annual report being nearly forty.

Messrs. J. M. Hooker and D. Stewart kindly under-
took the onerous duty of making the awards, ex-
cepting of course those classes in which a personal
interest precluded them from so doing. The prize li.-i is
as follows, viz.: —

Class 1 — For the best stock of English Bees in Obser-
vatory Hive : 1st, R. Scott ; 2nd, S. J. Baldwin ; 3rd, no
exhibit. Class 2 — Best stock of Ligurian Bees : 1st, S.
J. Baldwin, ('lass 3 — Best stock of Honey Bees of any
description: 1st, S. J. Baldwin. ( 'lass 4 — Best Moveable

Comb Hive: 1st, J. M. Hooker; 2nd, S. J. Baldwin; 3rd,
A. Blake. Class 5 — Best Hive not exceeding cost of
10s. : 1st, A. Blake ; 2nd, S. J. Baldwin. Class (i— Best
[live, the work of an amateur: 1st, Mr. .1. Tough. Class
7 — Largest harvest of Honey in comb from one stock of
Bees : 1st prize, silver medal, G. Allen. ( 'lass 8— Largest
and best Super of Honey, not wholly glass: 1st, G.
Allen; 2nd, T. Heath, ('lass 9— Best Glass Super of
Honey: 1st, li. Scott; 2nd, T. Heath; 3rd, E. C. Youens,
Class 10 — Best exhibition of Honey in Sections, not ex-
ceeding 3 lbs. each : 1st, G. Allen ; 2nd, J. Garratt ; 3rd,
J. M. Hooker. Class 11 — Largest and best exhibition of
Super Honey in Comb: 1st, G. Allen; 2nd, It. Scott.
Class 12 — Extracted or Run Honey : 1st, G. Allen ; 2nd,
R. Scott; 3rd, J. Garratt; II. C. A. Kinder. Class 13
— Cottagers' Class — Run or Extracted Honey : 1st, E. C.
Youens. Class 14 — Cottagers' Class — Honey in Comb:
no exhibits. Class 15 — Hives and Bee Furniture, &c. :
1st, S. J. Baldwin.

The committee will doubtless feel encouraged to con-
tinue their efforts to firmly establish the Association as
a permanent institution, but the time must inevitably
ai-H' when the question of providing adequate and suit-
able means for carrying on and extending its work must
be decided upon, as the agency now is tentative and
voluntary. Liberal support is earnestlj asked for. The
Honorary Secretary is Mr. J. Garratt, Hockenden, St.
Mary Cray.

SALOP BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The Hon. Secretary of the above Association being
ordered abroad, all applications respecting the next.
Annual Show, on August 17 and 18, must be made to
the Rev. A. Corbet, Adderley Rectory, Market Drayton,
who has kindly undertaken his office pro tern.

WEST OF ENGLAND APIARIAN SOCIETY.

We are glad to know that this Association is still well
to the fore, and will hold a grand exhibition of bees,
hives, and honey at the Grove, Weston-super-Mare, in
conjunction with tin- annual flower show, on Tuesday,
the 0th inst. Prizes an' offered that equal in most
instances those scheduled by Associations with greater
pretensions; and in the interest of bee-keepers we arc
glad to see prizes for hives and apparatus will only he
awarded on the understanding that articles similar in
every respect shall be supplied by the exhibitor at the
prices named during the year ensuing. Awarding prizes
without such proviso is to our mind a farce, and con-
ducive to what is known as ' pot-hunting.' The Hon.
Sec. is Mr. Arthur Perrett, Queen's Villa, Neve Load.
Weston-super-Mare.

CALEDONIAN APIARIAN SOCIETY.

This Association commenced its great annual show at
Stirling, in conjunction with the Highland and Agricul-
tural Society of Scotland, on the 20th ult. The weather
was most unpropitious, ' awful auspices ' of rain, lightning,
and thunder prevailing, but nevertheless the proceedings
created great and satisfactory interest. This Association
has its head-quarters at Glasgow, under the able direc-
torship of R.J.Bennett, Esq. of Gordon Street, who has
kindly promised a full report for our next impression.

BERKS AND BUCKS BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The second Annual County Show and Exhibition of
bees, hives, honey, and bee-keeping appliances, with
manipulations with live bees, will be held in Kidwell's
Park, Maidenhead, on Thursday, August 18th, 1881, in
conjunction with the Maidenhead Horticultural Society.
17/., a silver medal, a bronze medal, and a certificate,

72

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 1, 1881.

will be. given in prizes for the best observatory hives,
sectional and other supers of honey, run honey, hives,
&c. Practical lectures will be given in the tent at each
manipulation, commencing at one o'clock. Schedules of
prizes may be obtained by application to the Secretaries,
\V. S. Darby, St. Stephen's Villas, Windsor, and G. P.
Cartland, Victoria Street, Windsor.

DORSETSHIRE ASSOCIATION.

The Association will hold its first Exhibition at
Sherborne on the 31st inst., and at Oorfe Castle on
the 8th of September. The Hon. Sec. is Mr. W. H.
Dunman, Troytown, Dorset, who will be glad to give
particulars.

THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL BEE-CONGRESS.

Would you kindly oblige me once more by making
known, through an early number of the British Bee
Journal, that the Central Bee Association of Italy have
decided to hold an International Bee-Congress at Milan
before the closing of the present great National Exhi-
bition. The Congress will be held on Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday, the loth, 16th, and 17th of September
next, and a Diploma, commemorative of this great event,
will be distributed to every bee-keeper attending it.
I will not ask you to spare me so much of your valuable
space as to print the programme, but I shall be happy to
supply a translation thereof to any one applying for the
same. — John Camaschella, 10 Derbi) Villas, Forest
Jlil/, S.E.

SHOWS AND BEE TENT ENGAGEMENTS
IN 1881.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

August 17 & 18. — Shropshire Bee-Keepers' Associa-
tion's Annual Show at Shrewsbury.

August 18. — Berks and Bucks B.K.A. at Maidenhead.
August 25. — Horticultural Show at Wantage.
August 26. — Sandy Horticultural Show.
August 30. — Horticultural Show at Long Buckby.
August 31. — Horticultural Show at Horsham.

DEVON AND EXETER BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

August 11 & 12. — Exhibition at the Torquay Aquarium
and Winter Gardens. Hon. Sees. : Wm. N. Griffin, Esq.,
Alphington, Exeter ; and Rev. J. G. Dangar, M. A., The
Training College, Exeter.

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Sept. 7. — At Colchester.

Sept. 15. — At Brentwood; also an Exhibition of
Hives, &c, and Honey Fair.
Sept. 23. — At Great Dunmow.

HERTFORDSHIRE ASSOCIATION.

August 1. — Hitchin Temperance Fete.
August 2. — Frogmore Cottage Garden Show.
August 10 & 11. — Hertfordshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion's Annual Show at St. Albans.

August 17. — Rickmansworth Cottage Garden Show.
August 24. — Much Hadham Garden Show.
Sept. 8. — Horticultural Show at Harpenden.

WEST KENT ASSOCIATION.

August 3. — Y aiding Cottage Gardeners' Society Show.
August 4. — St. Mary Cray, Cottagers' Horticultural
Show.

August 10.— Frant Cottagers' Association.

A LANCASHIRE COTTAGER IN A
DIFFICULTY.
A cottager engaged at a public institution is
compelled to give up his bees. He has long been
one of our subscribers and asks us to help him dis-
pose of his four frame hives, well stocked, heavy
and healthy, and for 51. will sacrifice them, and in-
clude gloves, bee-veil, drone-trap, leaflets, Journal,
Cook's Manual, smoker, and two copper smokers
without bellows. Will any one near Bury take the m t

Lecture at Armagh, Ireland. — The Rev. H. W.
Lett, of Ardmore, Hon. Sec. of the County Armagh
Bee-Keepers' Association, delivered an exceedingly- in-
teresting lecture on ' Bees and Hives,' in the Mechanics'
Institute, on Wednesday evening, June 28th. James
Malcolm, Esq., J. P., presided. The lecture was illus-
trated by enlarged and coloured microscopic views of
bee anatomy, and stress was laid on the advantages of
moveable comb hives as compared with skeps, and
several specimens were exhibited. The value of the
extractor as an aid to honey-getting was dwelt upon,
and Mr. Greer, the Hon. Sec. of the Association,
showed its working in a practical way. At the close
of the lecture, winch had been listened to with deep
interest, the visitors were treated to a microscopical
exhibition of the bee and its anatomy.

Bee - keeping at Heanton Satchville. — On
Saturday, July 9, through the kind instrumentality of
Lord Clinton, a lecture on Bee-keeping was delivered
to ths cottagers and others in Hmsh and the neigh-
bourhood, under the auspices of the Devon and Exeter
Bee-Keepers' Association, by the Rev. J. G. Dangar,
M.A., one of the lion. sees, of the Association. A large
party assembled in the afternoon on the lower lawn at
Heanton Satchville, in front of the mansion, and nume-
rous diagrams, illustrative of bee life, were displayed on
the terrace in view of the audience. The lecturer, in
concluding, showed a section of comb honey, beautifully
sealed, and in reply to Lord Clinton, he stated that a
depot for the sale of honey was opened in Exeter every
year, of which due notice was given, and that there was
never the least difficulty in disposing of any amount of
honey. His lordship stated that he proposed to have a
large number of bar-frame hives manufactured for his
cottagers, and they might repay the cost as they were
enabled to do, after the sale of their honey.

[Three cheers for Lord Clinton ! — Ed.]

(kbicto.

British Bee-keeper's Guide-book to the Man-
agement of Bees in Moveable Comb Hives, and
tiik I'sk of the Extractor. Illustrated. By Thos.
William Cowan, F.G.S., F.R.M.S. (Houlston and Sons.)
— This eminently practical and useful work, written
solely in the interest of amateur bee-keepers, will take
a place in the front rank of British bee literature, and
will retain it, too, deservedly. Mr. Cowan and his
readers may be congratulated on the appearance of a
volume which bears on every page the direct impress of
a master mind in bee culture, uncontaminated by the
egotism which too often prompts to the publication of
narrow views and 'one -eyed' catalogues of goods for
sale. Free from technicalities, and 'phine phlights of
pliancy,' which pall upon the taste and sicken the under-
standing, every line in the book may be read with pleasure
and profit, and re-read with increased interest. AYe have
onlj good words for a good book by a thoroughly prac-
tical and liberal author; it is easily written and well
illustrated, and will be for all bee-keepers a reliable guide
and agreeable companion. — Ed. B. B. J.

August 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

73

Corrcsponbcntc

%* These columns are open to subscribers, so that tlieir
queries, replies, correspondence, and experiences may be
fully and faithfully recorded; and for the discussion of all
theories and systems in llee-eultiire, and of tile relative merits
if all hives and appurtenances, that the truth regarding them
may be ascertained. Tlie Editor, therefore, must not be ex-
pected to coincide with all the views expressed by the various
writers. All Correspondence is addressed to the Editor.

QUEEN INSERTION UNDER DIFFICULTIES.

I send you the following particulars of my
working' with a hive, as, perhaps, they might
interest you, being the mode of operation adopted
by an amateur, and the only person, I may say, in
this district keeping bees on the improved prin-
ciple.

Having for some time thought of trying the
Ligurians ; on a very fine hive swarming I wrote to
a man asking his advice as to the best mode of
introduction, and the best time, (fee. He answered,
saying it would be best to introduce her at once,
and cage her on a cell containing royal larva3, if
possible, and that if I ordered by return — which I
did — he would send me a queen at once : this was
on May 30th. As the hive had swarmed some
three or four days before ordering, I thought it
would be best to remove the older of the royal
cells, of which there were four, so as to avoid a
second swarm, or trouble of catching the queen.
But what was my surprise on looking at the comb
which contained the older cells to find that a queen
had hatched out, and that all the other royal cells
had been ripped open ! I searched for the queen,
and after some little difficulty got her, as the hive
was very full of bees, and she was very lively. As
I thought I would have the Ligurian in a day or
so, I removed the young queen, and put her in a
hive with a small quantity of her subjects. In
two days' time having neither received the queen
nor an answer, I thought it would be best to
return the queen to the hive, keeping her caged, so
as to be still in readiness should I get the Ligurian.
I wrote to the man from whom I expected the
queen, and at last had to telegraph before 1 got an
answer, and was then told that the queen had been
disposed of, but that he expected some in about a
week.

I was now rather in a fix, as the queen was very
likely caught the day she left the cell, and I was
therefore afraid to set her at liberty, fearing she
had not been fertilised. As, of course, all the
brood left in the hive was sealed, I now considered
the best thing to do would be to give them a
frame of eggs and larvsc, so that they might raise
some queen-cells. And now what seems rather
strange, and the reason I am principally writing
you this account, is that they raised two queen-
cells, although their queen was in the hive. When
I gave them the frame of eggs, I was taking away
the cage and queen, but not caring very much
whether they raised queen-cells or no. I let the
cage and queen remain by way of experiment;
besides, I was daily expecting the Ligurian. They

evidently concluded that the queen would always
remain caged up, and was therefore useless to
them, and hence the raised two queen-cells.

I must say I think I was treated rather unfairly
by the man from whom I was getting the queen, as
he left my letter at first unanswered, and I knew
not what date 1 might expect the queen. She at
last turned up on the 23rd, and again it was
awkward. I calculated that the queen-cells would
have to go two or three more days, and that I had
therefore got the Ligurian in time to cage on one
of the cells. But from being raised from the larvae,
and not from the eggs I had given, when I pro-
ceeded to cage the queen, one had hatched, and
the other queen was destroyed. It was, therefore, a
case of again searching for a young queen, which I
fortunately found on the second frame I took up.

I had now to wait till Friday to put in the
queen, when I caged her on the vacated royal cell.
I released her on Sunday evening, and had great
doubts as to my success, as it was the first Ligurian
I had ever had, and the hive had been unfairly
managed on account of the doubt I was left in as
to receiving the queen. I managed to curb my
curiosity till to-day, when I looked over the hive.
The second frame I looked at I was over-joyed to
see eggs, and therefore knew she was all right ; and
the third one I took up I discovered her majesty.
She had become so large I could hardly believe it
to be the same I caged ; she was then hardly dis-
tinguishable from one of her subjects. The frames
were, for the most part, full of honey unsealed, so
I used the extractor, that there may be plenty
of room for laying. 1 am releasing the queen yon
sent me to-night, and trust I may have the same
success. — Francis Jones, MitUinabro, Waterford.

WORKER BEES IN QUEEN-CELLS.

On cutting out some queen-cells to-day, I found)
upon opening one of them, two small bees dead,
with their heads away from one another, tail to
tail. They are not formed like queens in outward
appearance. Thinking they would be interesting to
you, I enclose the cell with the bees as found. — ■
C. Feilding, Shrewsbury, July 11.

WINTERING BEES IN A HALF-INCH
SWARM-BOX.

I wish you would tell me if it would be possible
to drive a hive of Ligurian bees out of the box in
which you sent them last year into the Woodbury
hive. The box is only a packing - case for the
swarm. I have never been able to induce them to
leave it. They wintered well in it, and have this
year thrown off four early swarms, showing that the
box is too small I suppose. I don't know what to
do with them. — Pembroke, S. Wales, July 15, 1881.

[Here is another link in the chain of evidence in favour
of hives that do not permit waste of heat round the ends
of thi'. combs; or, as we would prefer to put it, in favour
of the principle of close v. open-ended frames. The
swarm-box is of board about half-an-inch thick, about
fourteen inches square, and nine inches deep, yet it stood
the past terrible winter, and threw off four early swarms.

74

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 1, 1881.

Would coddling in chaff cushions and cork-dust walls
have enabled them to do more ? Or supposing their
hive had been on the Giotto principle of closed frame-
ends, would they have done less ? We say nothing
against warm hives for winter ; hut warmth of wall is of
little use when draught is permitted to circulate all round
inside them. How often do we strain out the gnat and
swallow the camel !— En.]

CURE FOR BEE STINGS.

It seems strange to me that people are always
seeking for some new remedy, or buying ' lotion,'
to cure the sting of the bee, when years ago I wrote
recommending a remedy ' at once simple, cheap,
and effectual,' and one that is generally near at
hand too, and that is, good vinegar. (See p. 146,
vol. vi., B. B. J.; and p. 208, vol. xiii., Journal of
Horticulture, 1867.) Perhaps it is too sinvplc or too
cheap. Our friend, Mr. Woodbury, was rather dis-
posed to throw ' cold water ' upon it in 1867 ; but
I venture to say now, as I said then, that ' if your
readers will try it they will need no other remedy.'
It is also so easy to cany about with you, as a small
bottle with a spoonful of vinegar in it will last the
whole season — that is, unless you are going in for
stings by wholesale ; but my experience is, that if
you only go about the work quietly and without
jarring, you will not receive many of these painful
reminders. — J. R. J.

DISEASE OR ROBBERY?
In your last Journal you asked your readers to
offer a suggestion on this matter. In this part of
the country, in the first week in June, there was a
severe frost, causing bees in strongest hives to
cluster in centre of brood-nest, leaving' outside
frames of brood to perish of cold. No doubt this
frost extended to Tettenhall, and T. E.'s bees having
swarmed, or most likely been driven out unknown
to him, the frost had its own way with the weak
stocks and chilled all the brood. We have not had
two fine days consecutively since May. — A. T.,
Mostrevor, Ireland, July 1 1 .

COMB-FOUNDATION FOR SWARMS.

With reference to Editor's Notice as to Comb-
foundation in page 47, although really too much
cannot be said (on the whole, and when properly
used) in its favour, yet my experience tells me that
it is not safe to fit up a hive exclusively" with it
when a swarm is to be introduced thereto ; sagging
then is likely to happen. But if full frames are
placed alternately with others having strips, say of
'2\ inches wide, this will not happen. — J. F. H.,
Horsham.

[We beg to assure our esteemed correspondent that in
every case this year we have given our swarms full
frames of foundation with the greatest confidence, and in
no single instance has there been the slightest breakage
or any appreciable stretching. With our flat-bottomed
foundation the stretching is comparatively nil, while
combs are formed almost miraculously, the colour of the
cells showing that they are formed of the wax supplied.
— Ed.]

SAVING CONDEMNED BEES.

I have latterly become interested in bee-culture,
and have begun keeping some in your frame-hives.
In this neighbourhood I am, I believe, the only
one who does so. I purposed, if you would advise
me so to do, this autumn, when the bee-keepers in
this vicinity begin their annual slaughter, to go to
their places taking skeps, &c, and drive their bees
for them, showing them how to do it, and taking
from them the bees when they did not require
them, and putting them in frames with foundation
and feeding quickly, as your paper directs, with
suitable food, so as to provide for the winter,
putting the bees of two or three skeps into a
Woodbury Standard, and protecting it for winter.
Do you think this would be a feasible plan, and
one which would increase my stock at little ex-
pense t — W. H., Gastleblaney, Ireland.

[It m a feasible plan, and one that will answer well if
not too long delayed in the autumn. In addition to
saving the bees, it would be advisable to bargain for the
pieces of comb that contain brood and pollen, for after
the harvest, these are most valuable, and will, if
husbanded, add greatly to the strength of the made-up
stocks. In collecting the comb, a few edd flat-topped
skeps will be found convenient, and a bundle of smooth,
pointed sticks, and a packing-needle and a ball of twine
will be helpful. The pieces of comb should be cut as
squarely as may be, for convenience, in fitting to frames
afterwards, and those containing brood should be placed
upright in the skep, as indicated in the woodcut. The

first piece will require a sticlc on each side of it, which
should be thrust into the crown of the skep and lean
against its top edge, the other pieces being set beside it
and ' stuck ' in a similar way. When the whole of the
crown is covered with pieces of comb, the packing-needle
should be brought into use, and all the sticks sewn to
the rim of the hive to keep them steady. A little lot of
bees may then be put with the brood, and the lave
should be covered with canvas, tied round, and carried
to a shady place. Comb-brood and bees will travel
safely when thus treated, and if stowed away in the
dark may be kept for a considerable time without much
injury, should circumstances prevent their immediate
utilisation. In taking the bees it is advisable to drive
each lot into a separate skep, and place it, when sure
that the queen is there, in the place of the stock from
which it was driven, that each lot may be kept distinct.
Attempts to unite the bees when driving will be likely to
cause commotion, and perhaps cause them to seek
entrance to hives intended to remain, which will alarm
the cottager, and give him a chance of complaining,
should anything go wrong with the bees he retains,
whereas, by driving and hiving each lot separately, they

August 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

75

■will cluster in the steps, as in natural swarming:, and
may be removed at night without any difficulty. In
this sort of work it is best to avoid every possible
interference that may alarm the cottager's prejudices,
and give him grounds, from his point of view, for
attributing after losses to what to him may seem witch-
craft and jugglery. — Ed.]

BEE-KEEPING IN NEW ZEALAND.

Last summer I got an observatory hive, described
in Vol. VII., having the four sides and top of glass,
with space between the top and sides to allow the
frames to be moved, as it was for the purpose of
standing in the open. I got shutters made to hinge
at the bottom for the sides, and a wood top same
shape as that on your Combination hives, for the
purpose of preventing the sun heating the glass.
After hiving a strong swarm in it, I found the sun
did not strike the back and one of the sides ; so in
about a week after I took off the back shutter, but
found on doing so numbers of the bees rushed to
the exposed glass in great excitement, trying, I
suppose, to get out : in the evening I found a
number of them dead beside the glass. I took out
all the dead, but found the same thing taking place
during the next few days, so I reluctantly closed
the shutter and the mortality ceased. Do you think,
had I left the whole of the sides exposed to the light
and got a large enough cover for the top to shade
the glass from the sun, it would have remedied it 1
If so, I will have it done in spring. On hiving the
swarm I covered the top of the frames with a quilt,
but put the glass top in its place after a short time ;
but as I saw a good deal of moisture on the glass
top after a week or so, I replaced the quilt. As my
wood cover fitted closely all round it may have in-
terfered with the ventilation of the hive. I am very
desirous of making an upright observatory hive to
hold say two standard frames. If you could find
it convenient to give me any detailed instructions
how to proceed I should esteem it a great favour. —
George Mom, Rodyn, Duncdin, New Zealand.

[Bees are naturally attracted to the light, but there
would have been no harm arise had the hive been full of
comb and brood; but getting into the vacant space at
the back of the hive, they, in a degree, were lost, and
beat against the glass endeavouring to get into the open
light. We do not see that much can be gained by con-
stant exposure to light; a simple curtain is easy "f
removal when a view of the bees is desired, and they
will then be seen in a more natural state. In cool
weather the top glass should be covered, or there will
still be condensation on its underside. As now made,
the top of the hive is in strips with eighth of an inch
divisions between them, which permit the escape of
vapours. We would keep the glass cover on all summer,
and cover the hive with a curtain that will keep it dark
and protect it from sudden changes if any are likely to
occur. A close-fitting outer case will be mischievous; it
should have ample top ventilation. — En.]

NEW ZEALAND FLAX.

As I see in this month's Journal that you think
of having some seed of the New Zealand flax sent
from New Zealand, I write to inform you that a
more simple and certain way to propagate the plant
is to divide the roots of an established plant. Seed

has been sent here from New Zealand, and from
whatever cause it never succeeded. The plants
have been sent here from New Zealand and grow
with the greatest luxuriance, the blooms towering
up twelve and eighteen feet high, covered with
flowers each brimming full of honey : so that if the
Stewarton hive is the hive of the busy man, the
New Zealand flax is without doubt the plant of the
busy bee ; giving the maximum of honey with the
minimum of labour to our little favourites, as, in-
stead of having to roam from flower to flower, they
can take in a full cargo at once and transfer it to
the combs. The leaves of some plants here are six
and seven feet long. They are used by the gar-
deners, when torn into strips, for tying, and nothing
can be better for that purpose they being so ex-
tremely tough. This being a plant that loves
moisture, I find that a capital plan is to have them
placed so that the water from dripping bee-fountains
shall find its way to them. They are very hardy,
and will grow in sheltered situations in England. —
G. Cameron, Jersey.

[We have received some newly-imported seeds of this
wonderful plant from two sources, one of which we have
not been able to acknowledge, there being no address
enclosed, but are exceedingly obliged to the polite
donors. Should they ' come up,' we shall be glad to
prove their capabilities; in the meantime we are en-
deavouring to provide for the distribution of plants or
cuttings as suggested. One of the donors informs us
that Limnanthes Douglasii is not exactly a new plant, it
having been imported from California in 1832;' never-
theless having only of late been brought forward as a
bee-plant, we account it 'new' in that sense. — Ed.]

(BtlptB Irani % Jptbcs.

Windsor Cottage, Croydon. — Bees at Croydon. — 'I
notice with surprise and regret the letter of " J. I)." of
Croydon in your last issue. If he had written of his
own bees only doubtless he was right (from information
gained), but then he should have stated the fact, and not
used the word " neighbourhood " to mislead your numerous
readers. I most unhesitatingly deny the correctness of
his statement, and challenge him to the proof. The
experience of others beside myself (and I see a great
many) is that bees are doing remarkably well about here.
I can show " J. D." swarms of this year weighing betwei n
40 lbs. and 50 lbs. What more does he want ? ' — N.
IIowitt.

[Our correspondent will see that an attempt now to
prove the condition of things several weeks ago can be
of little use, for there have naturally been many changes
since ' J. D.' wrote (from his standpoint) in the beginning
of June, up to •which time (so far as he knew) there had
been no swarms. — Ed.]

Yorks. — ' I am creating quite a revolution here iu
Beverley. They were very far behind the times, but
seeing the operations going on enchants them all, and
my pupils are getting orders for frame-hives right and
left. They are agricultural implement-makers, &ci, and
very handy at making anything.' — V. E. II.

Cairnie-by-Kcith. — 'In taking a pleasure trip down
Cairnie I made a call on Mr. Oockburn, that I might sec
his hives and his method of managing bees ; and although
I have none of them at present, nor a place for them. I
bought a hive and some wax-sheets, that my neighbours
might see what improvements are coming about. But
| there were many things to be seen which I could only

7G

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 1, 1881.

give my idea of, and which were of as much profit as the
hives. For instance, the queen, which I had never seen
— whose existence appeared a fable — cau be seen any
day in the frame-hive, though not in a straw step. But
the most profitable invention I saw is the honey ex-
tractor, which really makes the honey-bee three times
more valuable. I was trying to sell some honey in the
capital of Strathspey last season for a friend, and could
only realise about 4h(l. per pound, while Mr. Cockburn
sold his extracted at Is. per pound ; and my impression
is, and one of my reasons for writing you is, that the
"likes of him" who has an extractor should take a run
through the country at smoking-time, as there could be
many a swarm preserved from a cruel death, and a great
deal more fine honey obtained for our South markets,
and I think it would be a profitable spec. Mr. Cock-
burn, in comparing our home-drained honey with that
done by the extractor, said the former resembled pease-
brose.'— J. G.

Weston, Leamington, Honey Cott. — ' Not a little busy
with the bees taking honey, both sectional and extracted,
— " Honey Cott " to the truth.'— John Walton, July 14.

Warminster. — ' I never saw — perhaps never noticed —
so much white clover : on the contrary, the limes here
are flowerless. What a loss !' — J. II.

Dumfries, N.B.— Up till the present (June 27) the
season has been indifferent in this locality for the bees.
Many bee-keepers with numerous stocks and in favourite
situations can only as yet boast of a swarm, or two at
most, while many again have had none. There is now
plenty for the bees to gather, if there was just a little
more' sunshine and a slightly higher temperature. The
most of the swarming will this year be in July.' — J- S.

East Kent, July 4th.—' On Tuesday, 28th June, it may
interest you to hear that a large skep threw off a heavy
swarm, and the super boxes, partly filled, were quite
emptied of bees. We hived swarm, then drove bees out
of the parent hive, cut out seven queen-cells, returned
bees and replaced supers. They are now finishing them,
and I am about to add another box below the other two.
I had six stock hives (one very weak). Four of them
have given me six swarms. The seventh swarm I
returned as above. One hive has not swarmed. Two of
the first swarms came away on the 28th May, and two
more on the 30th. My cottage neighbours won't believe
in me or in bar-frames (I have only one as yet) ; but I
shall drive all the bees they will let me this autumn, and
make them up into stock.' One of my first swarms is
beyond an ordinary man's strength to lift off the board.
It "is in a skep 20 in. across by 13 in. deep.'

Kilkeel. — Bee Gloves. — ' I find that bee gloves made of
Irish plaiding (home made) secure the hands from
stings.' — S. Ormsby.

Eton, Windsor. — ' We have had a large honey harvest
in this neighbourhood, but very few swarms. Has this
been the case elsewhere this summer ? ' — K. C. J.

Nancy, July 8th, 1881. — ' This is the worst season for
bees I have seen here yet in five years that I have kept
bees. With the great drought there is no honey. I had
eight strong hives in the spring, which have all kept
themselves going, and that is all. Three of them have
bees in the honey-boxes for the last month, but the comb
is still unfinished, and little or no honey in it. I have
only had one swarm out of eight hives, and that one went
back again. I, however, took a swarm of bees attached
to a tree in the street, about a quarter of a mile from my
house. The people came and told me of it about seven
o'clock in the morning, so it must have been a travelling
swarm, as it could not have come out at that hour, and had
already built a comb on the trunk of the tree, where it
had attached itself in the fork of a branch. I never could
find out its history, or where it came from ; but I got a
, ladder, swept it into a box, put a cloth over it, and
carried it off to the farm where I keep my bees. It is

now working away famously at your wooden comb-
foundation in the hive you made me last year ; and I may
mention that the queen has not looked at a frame of nice,
clean, last year's comb that I put in the hive, while she
has filled your wooden foundation-comb with eggs. She
is a beautiful creature, and a remarkably fine one, which
makes me think she is of this year. The swarm may be
a cast, but is rather large for one, though rather small
for a swarm.

' I have been at the Hohwald with Mr. Kunty for a
week lately. His Carniolians are doing famously. We
made two or three interesting experiments.

'1. Mr. Kunty had a hive which had been queenless
after swarming for about three weeks. Having abso-
lutely assured ourselves that, it was so, we took a frame
of Carniolians with brood, and, having smoked and
sprinkled the bees well, stuck them right into the middle
of the queenless hive, which we smoked and syruped
also. The straugers were accepted without a word of
objection, and next clay had built, and three days after
had covered in, two queen-cells on their own frame. It
is certain that these cells were built by the Carniolians,
as they are quite straight, and not curved up at the end
like our bees do. There is every reason to hope this hive
is saved.

' 2. Mr. Kunty had a very strong colony, which was in
an old hive, and which he desired to put in a new one,
at the same time giving it an Italian queen. To effect
this we took six frames (out of twenty-four) from the
old hive, with bees, brood, and food, and put them in
the new hive, placing it in the old place, while the old
box, which was left to catch as many bees as possible
first, was removed elsewhere. The Italian queen was
then put in the new box in the old place, the old queen
remaining with the brood and what bees she could keep
in the old box in the new place. Next day the new hive
had nearly all the working bees, and instantly began to
raise queen-cells (six), although the Italian queen was in
it. The day after she was accepted ; but still the new
queen-cells went on, and the third day were sealed in.
To-day I hear from Mr. Kunty that he had the singular
good fortune yesterday morning of watching the new
Italian queen while she for half-an-hour carried on war
on her young rivals in their cells, and afterwards while
the bees came and dragged out their dishonoured corpses.
It seems to me singular that the bees went on with the
queen-cells after they had accepted the Italian queen.

' I may mention that Mr. Kunty and I failed entirely to
drive, by smoke and tapping for above an hour, a colony
of Carniolians from one of the long boxes or hives in
which they are sent from Austria.1 — G. F. Pearson.

The Hohwald, July 2Qth. — ' I send you a card (though
I fear it is too late for this month) to say that the
queenless, or common black bee hive, into which we
introduced a frame of Carniolian brood with bees early
this month, and which I told you had commenced to"
build two queen-cells on the frame which was introduced,
has now a fertile queen (Carniolian, of course), and the
introduced frame, as also other frames, is now full of
young brood eight days old. The brood is nursed appar-
ently by the Carniolians, who seldom seem to leave the
hive, the work outside being done by the old black bees,
which, however, have much decreased in numbers during
the month. This all seems to me very interesting. All
the other operations have fully succeeded with the
Italians. A cross of Italians and Carniolians seem to
be doing very well.' — G. F. Pearson.

Wisbech, July 12/7*. — 'The season which is now nearly •
over has been a fair one in these parts for honey. I
have a considerable amount for sale — about 200 lbs. —
in the 1 and 2-11). jars I bought through you. It is
good honey ; white, and has set hard. I have sold a
great deal to my friends, &c, but have supplied them all,'
— Gordon Woodgate,

August 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

77

(Queries anb Replies.

Query No. 398. — Keeping a Wee Queenless. — I have
a hive in which I inserted a qneen-eell, as their own cell
did not hatch. The inserted eell was from a hybrid
stuck. A day or two afterwards I pave them egga from
a pure Ligurian stock, and I found they raised six queen-
cells on that frame. On looking- a week after, and in-
tending: to cut out the inserted cell, I found it gnawed
through. Next day I found the six queen -cells torn
open. I may add I searched for the queen before the
six cells were torn open, but could not find her. Now,
as I do not care about the hybrid queen, would it do to
take her out of the hive and leave it queenless for the
summer, and with nothing to do but store honey ; or
would they leave the hive when they found they had
no queen, and no eggs? Or should 1 leave the hybrid
queen to lay for this summer, and kill her in autumn,
and unite the hive with another ? And if this is done
should I unite the queenless bees to another hive, or
unite another hive to them ; and in which case where
should the united hive be placed, — on a new stand, or
where the queen came from ; or where the queenless
hive stored ? I shall be glad to have these questions
answered. My bees are doing very well, and all sur-
vived the winter, and were quite strong in spring. — A
Subscribes, July 5.

Reply to Qi/ery No. -308. — The hybrid queen is
probably now laying ; but if not wanted it would be
well to remove her, and in a fortnight cut out all queen-
cells raised on her brood, and insert a comb of pure
Ligurian eggs and brood, to enable the bees to raise a
queen as first desired. The previous absence of the
queen has given the stock opportunity for gathering
honey (having no brood to attend to), and another en-
forced cessation of breeding will give further opportunity
for similar labour, and at the end of the season there
will be a young Ligurian, who will do her best to re-
populate the hive. Keeping a hive queenless all the
summer would enable the bees to gather to their utmost
ability ; but after the brood had hatched the population
would gradually get weaker, and the bees becoming old
and worn would not be worth uniting to a stock having
a valuable queen, the risk to her being so great under
the circumstances. — Ed.

Query No. .199. — Removing Bees from a Cottage Hoof '.
— I have a difficult task, which I have undertaken ' for
a cottager,' — to get a colony of bees that have been under
some tiles on the roof of a cottage all the summer, as
they get into his chambers and sting the children ; and to
save the lives of the bees I shall attempt it. May I ask
what is the best way ? — Robt. Thorpe, Sleaford.

Keply to Query No. 399. — As there is not likely to
be a means of getting into the cottagers' roof from the
inside, we would remove some of the tiles and attack
them from without. One of the easiest ways would be
to provide a hive of comb and brood from which the
bees have newly been driven, wrap it up warmly, and
have it ' handy ' while on the roof.

Having laid the nest bare, we would ' quiet ' the bees
with smoke, cut awav' all their combs, shake the bees on
to the tiles, or anywhere, and set the hive of comb and
brood over them. The combs of the bee-nest can he
brought away and dealt with at home, which will be
much better than ' transferring' them on the house-top.
They can be given to the bees driven out of the skep in
the first instance. The bees on the house-top having
lost their own combs, will be unable to resist the tempt-
ation offered by the skep of brood, and will soon take
possession. It is possible, however, that the queen may
not have been observed, and may have crawled off
with a knot of attendants, in which case, the hive of
cor"bs should be placed over them, and they will go up,

and at night- the whole may be carried away in a
wrapper of cheese-cloth, and should be temporarily
placed a mile or so away from the cottage. It is little
use to remove bees from such places ' to get rid of the
nuisance,' unless means of future entrance be stopped, or
the odour of the nest completely destroyed, otherwise it
will almost certainly be made the home of a future
swarm. — Ed.

Query No. 400. — Transporting Sees to the Heather. —
Will you oblige me by telling me how to give proper
ventilation to your Combination hive to send it in the
evening some miles by cart to the neighbourhood of the
heather, where I intend leaving it for some weeks?
Supers are on it, which we hope not to be obliged to re-
move as some are half filled. We have rilled the hive
with bars (frames) to the number of some seventeen,
therefore the bees are very numerous, requiring no doubt
the more ventilation. We have found your deep-comb
hive invaluable for making immense stocks instead of
multiplying them, and have taken 36 lbs. of honey and
comb already. This summer rejoices the hearts of all
bee-keepers. — K. C. J., Eton College, July 14.

Reply to Query No. 400. — Taking a frame-hive
heavy with comb and brood, full of bees, and with
partly-filled sections upon it, ' some miles in a cart,' is a
ticklish proceeding, and one we can scarcely advise. The
most ventilation will be given by making a light frame
the size of the floor-board, covering it with perforated
zinc, and putting it in place of the floor-board, and
putting a second frame covered in a similar way on the
top of all the frames not occupied with sections; taking
care that the zinc is kept at least half-an-inch clear
above the frames. We should infinitely prefer to send
such a hive by hand, rather than by cart. A stout,
springy stake lashed to the legs on each side, and two
men to carry, would be almost certain to reach the
journey's end in safety. Six miles could be covered in
two hours, and if a horse and cart be used one man will
certainly be needed to take charge, so probably the two
men would be cheaper. — Ed.

Query No. 401. — Hires overheated. — Ventilation.—
I fixed one of the supers on the hive where the bees
clustered ; they are in it, and have made some comb ;
but every day almost — to-day was the fifth time — they
have swarmed out, and left it, and go back to the hive.
I have just been to look, and the super is ' chock ' full of
them. I fancy they have not room enough now, and I
wondered whether it would be possible to make a hole
in the top of the supers just fixed, and put the other on
it, and so let them work in the two. Perhaps you would
say if this would be expedient. — C. N. B.

Reply to Query No. 401. — The hive is evidently too
hot, and the bees cluster outside because their presence
within would cause increased heat, and melt the combs.
Giving additional space above woidd be helpful in a
degree, but what is needed is more door space below.
To effect this we sometimes set a hive up a quarter
of an inch off the floor-board, all round ; at others we
provide wedges of the length of the hive, from front to
back, half an inch wide at the thick end, tapering off to
' nothing.' We then quietly place a strong screwdriver
or chisel in the entrance, prise up the hive front, and
slide the wedges under both sides of it, thus giving an
entrance-way along the whole alighting-board. While
the honey income continues there is nothing to fear
from robbers, but with its cessation the usual care must
be exercised, and the entrance reduced to proportions
the bees can guard. — Ed.

Query No. 402. — Supering. — Storefging. — One of my
hives has now on a pair of Lee's supers, nearly sealed in
the outer combs, and the other has 32 sections on it,
which also have the outer combs nearly sealed, and both
hives are crammed with bees. Do you advise me to
remove these supers as soon as the outer combs are

78

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[August 1, 1881.

completely sealed, and then to put an empty super on
each (with foundation of course), or should I tear off
the paper covering of the top of the supers, and put a
super on the top of those now nearly filled, without
disturbing them ? or what other course would you
advise ? I see the limes about us are now in full bloom,
and they are gathering fast the last week. I enclose
stamped envelope. — J. H. R., Hampstead, Julg 13th.

Reply to Queey No. 402. — Our advice was to open
communication above, at once, and put on more supers
that the bees might be kept fully occupied, and when
the lower supers were filled, and sealed on the outside, to
remove them, and lower the pile.

This is the soundest practice in supering — putting-
additional supers under those nearly completed induces
rapid comb-building, but too often at the expense of the
honey above, the supers remaining incomplete. — Ed.

Queey No. 40.'). — Driving from Box Hives and Hives
with Crooked Combs. — A ' Neighbour ' and a ' Cottager '
(hives) are quite full of bees and brood from end to rod.
They have been banging out and skirmishing with their
drones for more than a month. Both have their frames
locked together by comb. Would it be safe to attempt
to drive as in a straw hive !J i.e. inverting and rapping
the sides ?

Reply to Query No. 403. — There is a difficulty in
driving from box-hives and from frame-hives in which
the combs are built cross-wise, because, being attached
to the hive itself, they (the combs) are not easily jarred
or shaken without risk of breaking them down. We
have found it best, in such cases, to invert the box' or
hive upon a soft, yielding base (a coil of hay-bands or
a horsehair cushion will do), and by striking it per-
pendicularly on the corners with a hammer, have had
the most successful results. The blows should be
moderately hard and rapid, and varied to different
corners occasionally. Twenty-one days after driving,
or after swarming lias taken place, the hive should be
inverted, the combs separated from the hive, and the
latter lifted clear away, leaving the set of frames and
combs standing. They will be wrong way upwards, but
can the more easily be dealt with. The combs and
frames should be separately released from the heap, and
such parts of the former as may be worth preserving
should be. tied into the latter, as in the ordinary mode
of transferring.— Ed.

Query No. 404. — Foundation for Skeps. — I have a
skep on the point of swarming, apparently, and wish to
put a super thereon, but do not know how to adapt the
guide-comb. Will you, please, tell me, and at the same
time send me a piece of guide-comb ready for fixing? I
have had three swarms from my solitary hive, and it is
the hive of one of these swarms that now appears full.
Mine are only old-fashioned straw skeps at present,
though, possibly, I may commence the ' scientific,' some
day. The super I am going to use is of same kind. I
have just ' gumption ' enough to know that I must place
a piece of comb internalhj at or near the crown for a
guide, but how to do it is the question? — S. C, Louth,
Line.

Reply to Query No. 404. — Comb foundation may
readily be used in skeps and their supers, by the exercise
of a little ingenuity and care. For stock-hives sheets of
the thick worker pattern should lie used; for supers
thin is preferred, but thick may be used when it is in-
truded to crush the comb and obtain run honey. For
stock-hives sheets should lie used that will nearly touch
the hive sides, and reach from the crown to within an
inch of the lloor-hoard. To fix them, lay them Hat upon
a table, put the top edge between two strips nf wood,
each a quarter-indh thick, and half-inch wide, ami care-
fully lack them together with three or four fine tacks;
bore two or three holes with a bradawl, as indicated,
and pass wires through them, which twist together as

shown in the wood-cut, and the foundation is ready for

hanging in the hive.

To effect this, long

packing-needles are re-
quired, which should

be thrust through the

crown at the points

through which the

wires are to pass, that

they maj' he drawn

through and fastened.

The needles may be

made of the top halves

of umbrella ribs, they

having eyes ready made,

and the wires when drawn through may be fastened by

twisting them round a wire nail, which should be thrust

into the crown of the skep on the outside.

Much trouble will be saved by first lining out the

hive crown, thus: — Draw lines across it in the direc-
tion the foundation is to hang, an
inch and a half apart (for supers

— | two inches), and then draw others

I parallel to each other, at right

| angles across the first set, exactly

where the wires are to pass through ,
I as indicated iu the figure, the holes

— and wires being made and fixed

[ at corresponding distances in the

strips to which the wax-sheets

are fixed. The needles will, of course, be thrust through

at the points where the lines cross; and if the strips and

sheets have been carefully arranged in sizes there will

be no difficulty in fixing them.
In hiving a swarm the skep would have to be set

upon the ground, slightly raised, to admit the bees

which would have to be thrown down near it, that they

may run in, and then, with great care, it should be

placed upon a level floor-hoard on its permanent stand.
The whole business could be done in less time than it

has taken to describe the operation, and we have every

confidence that skepites having once experienced the

advantages of comb foundation would never again put a

swarm in a hive without it. — Ed.

Query No. 40o. — A Beginner's Queries. — Having be-
gun with the Bee Journal, 1 feel convinced that the
moveable-frame hives must be far preferable to skeps, and
more profitable. Having decided to commence this sea-
son with frame-hives, I bought one 1 7 inches long by
18 inches wide by '.) inches deep, but the 10 bars are all
close together; and when you want to extract a frame of
honey, a knife has to be inserted between to cut the
propolis, also the floorboard is fast nailed to the hive.
These things are a great disadvantage, I want you to
give me advice through your Journal. ( 1 . ) Is it necessary
for the bars to be apart? (2.) What advantage is there
in having supers ? (•'!.) Could you not take a full frame
away from the stock hive, and replace with an empty one,
asacces9 to stock-hive for artificial swarming, &c, would
be. difficult if supers were on ? (4.) If by taking the end
frames only would it interfere with brood 'i (5.) Sup-
posing you have a super on, are the sections to lie taken
as filled and replaced with empty ones, or are all to lie
left till full ? (G.) If two or three thicknesses of India
matting (sample enclosed) were tacked on over frames in
hive in winter, would it not absorb moisture and do away
with fear of internal dampness? (7.) Would it require the
wooden cover on over the matting, supposing the hives
were kept in a well-sheltered lire-house:-' (8.) If a good
honey district would the size hive- I named he large
enough for taking frames of honey without having supers p
('.).) Could it be managed without a queen-excluder at each

end, to get honey free from brood? ( 10.) What quantity

of was ought ordinary skeps to produce after hoiie\ has
been taken from it, and wax melted down '? ( 11.) What

August 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

70

price ought I to obtain for pure honey from English bees
finest strained? (1--) "Where could I dispose of it?
( 1 3. ) Which is the best way pf putting it up in most salea-
ble quantities: (14.) Is there any particular market for it?
I iiml a difficulty in disposing of it. ( 1">.) And is it nsed
for any particular purpose beside for table? — Honey.

Reply to above Queries. — These are novice's
questions, but as replies to them may be useful to other
beginners we give them without hesitation.

(1.) It is necessary for the frames in the part yf the
hive to be devoted to brood, to be an inch and a half
from centre to centre of each other. Do not use distance-
tacks, as a means of keeping them apart, they (the tacks
or pins) are always getting in the way when manipulating.
Mark with a knife or a pencil the points where the
centre of each bar should rest, and in use, keep the bars
as true to those points as possible. Frames for honey
should he two inches from centre to centre, they may
tirst be put at the former distances, and gradually extended.
( 2. ) Supers are preferred because the combs are less likely
to be contaminated with brood or pollen, though the bees
prefer to store their honey in the body of the hive.
(•"..) Full frames may and often are taken away from the
body nf the hive, and if other frames be given, tilled
with foundation, new combs will quickly be built, i.e., in
the summer time. Yast quantities of honey may be
taken from the stock hive by means of the extractor,
and the combs replaced uninjured. (4.) We have many
times had hives as large as you name with every comb
charged with brood, but honey may be ' extracted' with-
out hurting it. (5.) Sections may be taken as soon as they
are completed, the unfinished ones set close, and empty
ones added outside. During- a honey glut empty ones
may be put where the full ones were taken from. (0.) The
rush matting will do very well, but as it will easily tear,
it is better to lay a thickness of linen or calico first upon
the frames. Do not use a crown-board at all, it prevents
due ventilation. The matting is not to absorb, but to
allow the moist vapours to pass through. (7.) The roof
may be dispensed with if the hives are in a shed, but we
would use them to protect the supers when on, and to
keep out mice and dust and to prevent displacement of
the winter covering. (8.) The size of the hive is not too
large fora good honey district. ('■>.) Without a queen-ex-
cluder the queen can get to all the combs, but for hives f> ir
extracting from, this is of little consequence. (10.) An
ordinary skep will yield about a pound of wax if i he
combs are not too old. Very old comb yields very little.
(11.) The price of run or extracted honey varies from C>d.
to lSd. per lb., according to locality and supply. In
London at the shows it commonly sells at about Is. At
the late Birmingham show hone}- in sections made 2s. (id.
per lb. readily, a very good reason why sectional supers
are so highly esteemed. (12.) Put yourself into communi-
cation with the Assist. Hon. Sec. of the British Bee-keepers'
Association, and he will put you in the way — his address
is Mr. J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts. (13.) Run
honey should be put up in one or two pound glass jars,
neatly labelled. Sections should be glassed on both sides,
and prettily gummed round the edges with paper to cover
the wood. It is necessary to please, the eye, to make the
mouth water. (14. ) There is no special market for it,
but if good and put up in an attractive form, it will sell
readily at any of the shows. Dealers will always buy
because they can always sell such packages. There is
no sale for gallipot stuff, such as is generally sold by
grocers looking like a mixture of brown sugar and paste.
(15.) Honey is not largely used in England, except as
food and medicine, and with the growing taste for it, it
is not likely to be cheap enough for common purposes for
some time to come. — Ed.

Query No. 400. — Can you account for the dwindling
of the numbers of a hive to but a few hundred bees
under the following circumstances? I had a strong-
colony in May, in one of your large Combination-hives.

I added to the nine frames already in it five more from
another hive. No swarm is believed to have gone from
it, and there was no disease in it, and when examined
the presence of brood showed a queen had been there
quite, recently. It has been a puzzle to me, as three
other hives, also strengthened with extra frames of comb
and brood, have done very well. — K. C. J.

Reply to Query No. 400. — It seems almost certain
that the hive swarmed unobserved, and has since lost its
queen. All else being healthy, there appears no other
way of accounting for the bees' disappearance. — En.

Query No. 407. — Bees building across. — About the
middle of June I hived a cast in one of your Makeshift
hives, which had been used before. I placed a comb
from a super containing a small amount of honey in one
of the frames as a gtdde, not having any wax-foundation.
On looking into the hive a few days after I did not per-
ceive anything unusual ; and when next I inspected the
hive I found that instead of building in the bars, the
bees have constructed the combs across the hive parallel
to front and back; consequently, all the advantage of the
frames is lost. Can you advise any remedy, or is the
mischief irremediable?" The only plan I can think of is
to take the whole of the combs out and refix them in
the frames, an operation I feel rather doubtful about
attempting. — Logan B. Edgar.

Reply to Query No. 407. — The combs being young
and tender it will not be wise to attempt to rearrange
them this year. The stock maybe broken up, the honey
taken, and the bees united to another stock in autumn, if
it be thought desirable ; but if to be preserved, it woidd
be better to deal with it next year, twenty-one days
after swarming. — Ed.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.

Pagham, Chichester. — Driving Young Swarms. — It
was not good policy to ' drive' a second swarm of five
weeks' standing, and it is no wonder that the c nubs
broke down, being so young, tender, and unfinished.
It is exceedingly difficult to make bees leave a hive of
this kind by driving, for, there being space in it un-
occupied with comb, the bees congregate there and
will not ascend. Having taken the bees out of the
skep, we should not think of putting another swarm
into it. A new skep is a handy vessel to capture a
swarm with, being light and rough to afford foothold
for the bees, and an old one is a convenient thing in
which to store bulbs and tubers for protection in
winter ; but now that comb-foundation can be used
in sheets of full size in frame hives, and combs made
in twenty-four hours, we cannot advise that bees be
again put into them.

Ligurians or Hybrids. — Cullinagh, Sldbbereen. — The
bees sent are not pure Ligurians, but are half-breeds,
commonly known as hybrids. Their mother, though
the daughter of a pure Ligurian queen, evidently
mated with a black drone, and hence her worker
progeny partake of the nature of both parents. It
is most unfortunate for those who wish to breed
pure Ligurians that there is no known method of
securing fertilisation from selected drones. — Ed,

An Amateur, and a Losing One. — High Street,
Castle Carey. — Mr. Cowan's British Bee - Keeper 's
Guide-Boole will suit you admirably. Price Is. Gd.
of all hive-makers.

Bees not Swarming. — Why wait for them to swarm,
when you may swarm them artificially? and why
let them hang idle outside the hive, if honey is
wanted, while the season is passing away? Give
super room at top, and more entrance way at bottom,
and set them to work ; it will conduce to their pleasure
and your profit, and tend to change the description at
the head of this paragraph,

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Aug. 1, 1881.
COUNTY ARMAGH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL COUNTY SHOW,

To be held in LORD LURGAN'S DEMESNE, at LURGAN, on Saturday, 20th day of August.

OPEN CIASSES:-
Cla=s Class.

1. For the best Stock or specimen of Ligurian Bees, to be I 9. For the best and cheapest Complete Hire, on the
exhibited with the Queen in an Observatory Hive. 20/0 10/0 Moveable-Comb Principle, suitable for cottagers. Price not

5. For the best Exhibition of Pure Honey in Sectional ' to exceed 7s. Any number to be supplied at the price

Supers, separable, in sections of not more than 2 lbs. weight.

10/0 5/0

7. For the best Exhibition of Pure Extracted Honey in
Glass Jars, not to exceed 2 lbs. each jar ; each entry to
consist of not less than four jars. 7'0 3/0

8. For the best and cheapest Hive, on the Moveable-comb
principle, in Wood or Straw, to include Cover, Stand, Floor-
board, and facilities for storing surplus honey. 20/0 10/0

named. 20/0 10/0

SPECIAL PRIZE, for the best Collection of Bee-flowers,
in dried state or otherwise, each to have a label attached,
stating time of flowering, duration of bloom, and any other
particulars calculated to be of interest to Bee-keepers —

A copy of Neighbours' Apiary.
ENTRIES CLOSE FRIDAY, AUGUST 12th.

For further Particulars apply to G. GREER, Dunoannon, Ireland.

TORQUAY WINTER GARDENS. .

General Manager T. DOVE KEIGHLEY.

A GREAT HONEY, HIVE, BEE SHOW, and HONEY FAIR, will be held on Thursday
and Friday, 11th and 12th of August, 1881, under the patronage of the Devon and
Exeter Bee-keepers' Association.

Lectures will be delivered within the Building on the Evening of Thursday, 11th August, at 8 p.m., by
W. N. Griffin, Esq., and the Rev. J. G. Dan-gar, M.A., the Hon. Sees, of the Devon and Exeter Bee-keepers' Association,
on BEES and BEE-KEEPING. There will be interesting Practical Ai-iarian Manipulations with LIVING BEES,
conducted by a London Expert on both days in a Tent, where Visitors may witness the various Manipulations in safety.

Prizes will be offered, including a Cup and the Medals of the British Bee-keepers' Association, and Special Prizes
to Cottagers.

Admission.— First Day, from 1 to 6, 2s. 6(1, after 6 p.m. Is. ; Second Day, from 10 till fl, Is., after G p.m. 6<l.

Subscribers to the Winter Gardens will .be admitted as usual on presentation of Season Tickets ; and Members
of the Devon and Exeter Bee-keepers' Association will be admitted Free on producing their Cards of Membership.

The Company's Orchestral Band will attend and perform at intervals during the Exhibition each Day.

Schedules and Entry Forms can be obtained from

T. DOVE KEIGHLEY, Esq., General Manager.

PRICE SIXPENCE.

THE GAEDENEE.

A MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE AND FLORICULTURE.

EDITED BY DAVID THOMSON,

Author of ' Handy Book of the Flower-Garden,' ' Fruit Culture under Glass,' &c.

AIDED BY A STAFF OF PRACTICAL GARDENERS.

The Number for August contains: —

Feeding- Vines, &c— Greenhouse Plants : No. VI., the Boronia — The Rose-House and Pot-Roses Winter Salads-
The Flower Garden— Fruit-Culture : The Apple— Hints for A_mateurs— Botanical Garden, Sydney, N.S.W.-
Vine-Growing in the Open Air— How to Make the Most of Wall-Borders in Kitchen-Gardens: No. VIII-
Notes from the Papers — Roses to be seen to best advantage —Notes on Decorative Greenhouse Plants
Pinching: When and How to do it— Plumbago Rosea- Ooccinea— A Plea for Hardy Florist's Flowera-
Orthard-Houses— Dundee Horticultural Association— Calendar : Forcing Department, Kitchen Garden-
Notices to Correspondents.

Yearly Subscription, free by Post, 7s. Payable in advance.
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH AND LONDON.

THE

[No. 101. Vol. IX.]

SEPTEMBER, 1881.

[Published Monthly.]

(lEbitarhil, lloticcs, #r.

SEPTEMBER.

The weather is a topic always uppermost in
the minds of ardent bee-keepers, and hence
it is generally the subject of remark at the
opening of our monthly budget. It is a de-
lightful task when we are able to describe it
as glorious ; to dwell on the wonderful things
the bees have been, and are doing, and all goes
merrily as a marriage - peal. With supers
filling, the extractor in constant use, and honey
so plentiful in the fields that the bees will not
stoop to robbing, the thermometer of one's
hopes rises to ebullition point, and the de-
lighted bee-keeper ' boils over ' with pleasure.
In the major part of England bee-keeping has
this year been a pleasant and extremely profit-
able pursuit. The weather has been, if not all
that could be desired, very far better than
during the average of seasons, and where a
successful result has not been obtained it could
scarcely be attributed to unjjreventable causes.
In Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, reports are
unhappily not so pleasing, cold winds and rain
having prevailed, and as a consequence little
honey has been gathered. In August of last
j'ear the bright weather which ruled throughout
the kingdom was a blessing indeed, filling the
hearts of agriculturalists with thankfulness and
their barns with Nature's choicest productions ;
but in the present year the month has been
remarkable for its adverse character, nearly
ever)' day wet and miserable, crops spoiling,
the hope of a harvest disappearing, and gloom,
generally, settling upon the public mind.
During July a comet, visible above the horizon,
was hailed as the harbinger of good, and during
its stay the weather was most delightful; in
August a second appeared, and ever since the
elements have been distracted. We don't want
any more August comets, if the present is a fair
specimen, and if it is right to judge them by
their supposed influences.

USEFUL HINTS.

Winter Preparation. — In many parts of
England the summer is ended, and all chance
of a further harvest past, in which case it be-
comes a duty to prepare for the winter that is
imminent. It is easy to put off the duty ; to
delay it to a more convenient season, under the
belief, or the assumption of belief, which is
much the same to the procrastinator, that ' there
is plenty of time ;' but under the circumstances
and conditions present, if our readers will bear
with us, we will endeavour to show that to be
well done it should be done now, and the now
here written is intended to apply in all cases
and places whenever the honej'-gathering season
ceases.

Stimulative Feeding.— Amongst beekeepers
of the modern school it is fairly well understood
that with the declension of the honey yield, the
production of brood declines also, and that when
once stayed and the queen disposed to take her
autumnal rest, it is most difficult, notwith-
standing the stimulative effect of food duly
administered, to cause a resumption of her
oviparous duty. When the cessation of breeding
follows on an early decline of the honey yield
(say by the end of July as in the present year) ,
it will be evident that by the time the bees, of
necessity, go into winter quarters (aaj about the
end of October) those alive will be three months
old at the least, and half worn out, while those
whose honey income has been continued, as at
the heather, for instance, until the frost compels
them to keep within doors, will go into winter
quarters with young bees, newly hatched, and
unworn. It is an understood and admitted fact,
that the life of a bee does not depend upon the
date of its birth, but on the amount of labour it
performs. During the summer busy time the
bees do not live more than about six weeks,
they wear themselves out with work, but during
the winter time of comparative idleness their
life is prolonged to six or more months, — facts
that have been proved ' to the hilt ' by the in-
troduction of Ligurian queens to black stocks,

82

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[September 1, 1881.

and determined by the dates wben all the blacks
of tbe population bave been found to bave died
out. Wben bees go into winter quarters and
remain quiet tbey are safe, but sbould exigencies
arise and cause activity its wearing effect soon
becomes apparent in tbe dimiiiisbing popidation.
With old and worn bees this diminution is rapid
and stocks dwindle until tbey are comparatively
useless ; witb young ones tbe winter vicissitudes
will be better resisted, and it is tberefore evident
tbat to be prepared for safe wintering tbe bive
sbould contain a larger proportion of young,
unworn bees ; and to bring about this desirable
condition tbe income of food sbould be pro-
longed artificially, or, in other words, as soon
as tbe barvest fails bees sboidd be fed tbat tbey
may be induced to keep up tbe breeding pro-
pensity in tbe queen* to as late a period as is
consistent with safety to tbe brood.

Wasps' Nests should be destroyed, tbat queen
wasps may not be produced for next year. We
bave almost cleared our own neigbbourbood of
tbe pest. A penn}' to tbe urcbin wbo discovers
tbe nest, a foui-penny water squirt, a gill of
turpentine, and a garden trowel, and tbe pests
are at our mercy in a twinkling, and tbe nest
destroyed in broad daylight in a quarter of an
bour. The squirt drives tbe turps into tbe
passage, tbe fumes kill tbe guards, and tbe
trowel, in the bands of a sturdy man, quickly
linear ths tbe nest, wbicb is at once crushed
under tbe heel, or thrown into tbe water for
the fish to prey upon. We have an extraor-
dinary crop of stone fruit, but scarcely a wasp
touches it, while a mile or two away they are
in the orchards in droves, and seeing that their
destruction is so easy, our verdict to the com-
plaining owners is that it ' sarves them right.'

Prevent Dysentery. — This is the winter
scourge of dilatory bee-keepers and of those
who will not adopt the advanced principles that
experience has proved to be sound and correct.
Dryness of the hive is of the first importance
during winter. When breeding is going on, a
moist atmosphere is essential, but in winter
moisture condenses on the combs and on the
parts of the bive farthest from the bees, it thins
the unsealed honey and causes it to ferment,
and such food being taken by the bees ferments
in their bodies, causing abdominal distension
and dysentery, which, from our experience,
generally developes into foul brood. To prevent
this calamity, all stocks that require feeding
should be fed sufficiently early to enable the
bees to evaporate the superfluous watery par-
ticles from tbe food they have put into their
cells, and to seal it over that it may not be in-
fluenced by the hive's atmosphere. The frames

* Our Leaflet on Feeding, free for a id. stamp, supplies
much useful information on this important subject. — Ed.

should be covered witb porous material, the quilt
or chaff- cushions being all that, is necessary.
They should lie close upon the tops of the
frames, should be of sufficient thickness to
retain heat, yet sufficiently porous to permit
the passage of the vapours generated by the
bees. Tbey should be covered by a waterproof
roof, yet the free passage of air should be per-
mitted between it and the quilt, that the vapours
from the bees majr be carried away. The chief
present duty, however, is to feed the bees that
arc needy in such a way that they can seal over
the food before the cold weather sets in.

In our next, directions will be given for
winter packing, after wbicb no feeding ought,
under any conditions, to be necessary.

Presence of Drones. — In localities where
the harvest is past, the presence of drones
suggests the probable absence of queens, and
stocks containing them should be examined
without loss of time, and one or two combs of
brood from strong stocks sbould be given to
enable the bees to raise queens for themselves
if they are sufficiently numerous to warrant the
experiment. It is of little use giving Ligurian
or other valuable queens to such, as the bees
will be likely to destroy them.

Ligurian Queens in Autumn. — A great
diversity of opinion exists as to the advisability
of giving Ligurian queens in autumn, and we
generally advise against the proceeding in late
autumn. Queens obtained from honourable
breeders are almost certain to be young queens
at this time of jrear, and they are nearly sure,
when safely united, to commence breeding
largely, often in too great a degree for the
season, when the cold weather may come upon
them suddenly and cause the bees to desert
their brood, leaving it to die and rot in the
cells. Ligurian queens are cheaper in autumn
than at any other time, and hence are largely
imported and united.

Queens ceasing to Lay. — AVhen queens
bave ceased to lay, through the early stoppage
of the honey income, it is very difficult to cause
them to begin again until after their natural
period of rest. Under such circumstances it is
well to depose a queen forthwith, and unite a
young Ligurian, which may be done, witb care,
provided there is hatching brood in the bive.
A new, and, of course, young population will
thus be secured, to go into winter-quarters,
an acquisition greatly to be desired. Gentle
feeding will be necessary to ensure this.

Narrowing Entrances. — As the season ad-
vances and honey becomes scarcer, entrances
should be reduced as a preventive of robbing ;
and as cold weather comes on they should be
so arranged that only two bees shall be able to
pass in I lie gangway.

Bees clearing Comb Debris. — After ex-

September 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

83

tractmg and draining the cell caps sliced
from sealed combs, there will be some honey,
or the suspicion of it, in the debris, and this is
often injudiciously exjjosed for the bees to
clear up ; but as it often leads to robbing we
this year adopted a different method for its
disposal. Having a strong stock with an
entrance at the side as well as at the front we
placed an empty hive at the side, about four
inches away, its alighting-board touching the
floor-board of the strong stock. Into the side
hive we put a heap of debris, and laid an old
floor-board on the top, as a temporary arrange-
ment, to keep out the wet. The bees speedily
discovered the treasure, and passed from their
own to the adjacent hive, and took possession in
real business fashion, propolising every cranny
in a marvellous way ; and they soon cleared up
every trace of honey, and fixed the debris to-
gether in lumps. The old floor-board put on
the side hive had a sunk entrance cut out of it.
This was soon glued up, as if the bees were
afraid of being molested while devouring the
loose honey. Since then we have utilised the
back of our Irish or Combination hives for the
purpose, raising the dummy in rear of the
frames, to give the bees access to the comb
chips, and right well has the arrangement an-
swered. Every day proves some additional
advantage in the arrangement with frames
across the hive, and plenty of space in the
rear.

Bee Flowers. — Our self-sown Limnanthes
has come up as thick as grass, and during the
next fortnight, while pricking out, we can
supply seedling plants to any who desire them
at 5s. per thousand. Seed may still be had, and
a thousand or more plants raised for a shilling.
Florists, who know little of the plant, procure
seed (to order) and advise that it be sown in the
spring, in which case the flowers come late and
are comparatively useless, their chief value
lying in their ' coming in ' between the orchard
blossoms, and the limes and. clover. In a mass
it forms a beautiful gold. and silver bed, the
abundance of flowers hiding almost every bit
of the parsley green foliage.

Arabia Alpinus. — Now that the earth -is moist,
and the sun less powerful than in July, this
plant will strike freely, 95 per cent rooting.
It follows the crocuses in March, and blooms
freely when established. Bees work upon it at
all times when the sun shines.

Willows. — The palm-bearing willow, sprigs
of which children wear on 'Palm Sundays,' is a
valuable plant for bees in spring, and where
facilities offer themselves it should be planted
at every pond side, ditch, or damp corner.
Near the drip of a water-butt it will thrive,
and make a desirable shade, and when covered
with catkins, called ' goslings ' in Suffolk, from

the pretty softness of their yellow coats of
pollen, they are handsome objects. Salicylic
acid is obtained from the willow, and is the
cure for foul-brood. 'Since our willows have
come into full bearing, about three years, we
have enjoyed almost perfect immunity from
the disease, which usually shows itself most
unmistakeably in spring, and we have often
wondered whether the willow pollen has bad
any influence in this respect. We have no
willows to sell, so in making this suggestion
shall, perhaps, escape being accused of ' having
an axe to grind.' Perhaps others having
willow pasturage will give their experience
thereupon.

Suggestions. — As we wish to give full di-
rections for winter arrangements and packing
in our next issue, it will prevent a great deal
of trouble and much repetition, if our readers
will give early intimation on any special points
on which they wish for information, that we
may make our article as comprehensive as our
limited ability will permit. AVe have every
desire to be universally helpful, but in the
multitude of the subjects may, through absence
of reminder, fail to touch upon points of inci-
dental interest.

THE GRIFFIN HIVE.

The chief features of this hive, to which the
first prize was awarded at the British Bee-
keepers' Association Show at South Kensington
in July last, deserve to be recorded, if only to
show the opinion of the judges at this advanced
period of English apiculture. Three prizes
were offered 'for the best Moveable Comb
Hive,' to be exhibited iu duplicate; 'firstly,
for summer use, with facilities for harvesting
honey;' secondly, 'with arrangements for
wintering.'

The hive is a large one, double-walled all
round, and standing upon four stout, spreading
legs ; it has ample entrance space, shaded by a
gable-fronted porch, and is surmounted by a
spacious roof hinged to one end, which, when
closed, gives the hive the usual appearance,
nothing being remarkable excepting perhaps
its ponderosity. The walls along the front and
ends are of wood, those at the back are of glass
with aji outside shutter, the spaces between
containing (apparently) dead air only ; they are
of about 2h inches in thickness.

For summer use the hive is furnished with
wide- shouldered frames of the 'Abbott' pattern,
right-angled, measuring 15^ x 9| inches out-
side, and resting upon heavy brass runners, e e,
about two inches wide, extending from end to
end of the hive.

There are thirteen of these frames in the hive
at right angles with the front, and at each end

84

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[September 1, 1881.

two section frames filled with sections, each
frame being two inches wide, diaphragms of
excluder-zinc being placed between the brood-
frames and the sections, at each end of the
brood-nest, which was surmounted by a crate
of sections. The woodcut gives an idea of the

frame-arrangement, it being a plane sketch of
the top surface of the hive proper. For
winter service, the whole of this arrangement
undergoes a radical change, which, when
effected, if it can be done with safety, will
doubtless thoroughly protect the bees from out-
side climatic influences.

The frames for winter are reduced to seven
in number, and they are located in the centre
of the hive, this time parallel with the front
and back, where they are surrounded by pro-
tective packing in, what may be pardonably
considered, an extravagant degree, their ends
rest upon dummies of thin wood, each double
with dead air (?) between, and each being 1^
inches thick. They are not shown in the wood-

d

cut, being hidden by the ends of the top bars
that rest upon them. These dummies are put
close up to the frame ends, touching them all
the way down and thoroughly preventing cir-
culation of air (and heat), a desideratum be-
yond a doubt, during the winter months, as we

have many times explained. The dummies
thus fixed ought to be amply protective ; but to
make assurance doubly sure, Mr. Griffin has
filled the vacancy at each end of the hive with
huge cushions of cork-dust, c c, four inches in
thickness, which closely fit, and thus there are
between the ends of the comb and the external
air, eight inches of non-conductive packing,
viz., 1| inches of hollow dummy, 4 inches of
cork-dust, c c, and 2| inches of hollow hive wall,
a a. At the front and back the combs are en-
closed by half-inch boards, between which and
the hive walls there are cushions of cork-dust,
d d, 2 j inches in thickness, making a total of 5 1
inches of packing on each side of the combs, as
follow, viz., a half -inch board, 2| inches of
cork-dust, d d, and 2i inches of hive wall, b b.

The frames are amply covered with quilting
and packing, but the floor-board has escaped
the careful attention of the designer of the
hive, and may be considered the only part vul-
nerable, otherwise bees in it will be completely
shut off from the outside influences usually
taken into account. The principles involved
in the changes from the summer to the winter
arrangement, and vice versa, will doubtless be
criticised ; but our difficulty is as to the means
by which the alterations are to be carried into
effect. The hive is a large one, and presumably
is suited for the locality in which it was con-
structed ; and we are, therefore, to assume that
in summer all its parts will be fairly occupied
by bees, and being so, we are puzzled exceed-
ingly to know how the winter arrangement of
the frames can be safely, not to say easily,
brought about ; and we venture to hope that the
inventor or the judges will favour our readers
with an explanation. It is evident, at least
apparently, that before the cork-filled cushions,
c c, d d, can be put into the hive, all the frames
of comb must be lifted out and put somewhere
else for the time being — but where? And where
will the bees be all the time ? If they would
obligingly get into the centre of the hive the
difficulties would be diminished — but will they
do so ? The cushions being in, the half-inch
boards next to d d have to be inserted, and then
the two hollow dummies on which the top bars
are to rest, have to be forced down between them,
and into the reduced space left seven of the
frames of comb and bees have to be pressed
home, each frame tightly fitting, end on, against
the hollow dummies above mentioned.

We cannot think cither of the parties appealed
to could have thought of the difficulties involved
herein, or if they did, we hope they will be able
to smooth them awaj'. The price of the hive is
3/. 10s., but we cannot say if it includes all the
' arrangements,' or whether amongst them is
included a chest to hold such as are not in use
during summer and winter respectively.

September 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

*5

BEE GLOVES.

The discussion on the relative merits of india-
rubber, as compared with other gloves, induced
us to recommend that knitted cotton or worsted
gloves, covered with gauntleted ' Berlins,' be
used, and having been tried and approved, we
have had a quantity of the latter made of extra
length, to come about half-way up the arm, and
effectually prevent bees getting- ' ivp the sleeve.'
In dealing with our Syrians the other day we
found them specially iisef ul ; the bees had
punished one of our juniors considerably, and
driven him away to pick out the stings about
his wrists, but covered with the gloves which
we had dipped in water when on, not a bee
touched them, except in two instances, to suck
up the moisture. The gloves are little more
than half the price (per double pair) of the
India-rubbers, and there is the advantage that
any needlewoman can repair them. In warm
weather, when wetted with water, they are a
real luxury as compared with those in which
the hands are bathed in their own perspiration.
They are the best protection we know of, the
bees do not try to sting them ; if they did they
could scarcely sting through them, and sup-
posing that to have happened, the poison would
be diluted considerably by the water in the
gloves. If they were wetted with an alkaline
solution, there would be perfect immunity, for
the attempt to sting would bring acid and
alkali into contact, and the bee would get a
serious ' blowing up ' from the explosion of
the generated gas. What fun it would be if
the attempt to sting shoidd thus recoil on the
stinging end of the bee !

THE ' ROBBER PREVENTER.'

We regret that through the misplacement of
the award card at the late South Kensington
Show we were led to suppose a bronze medal
had been awarded to this invention, mentioned
in our last issue. The prize was awarded for
our new Spring Self-fitting Division-board, and
our Bee-keeper's Forget-me-nots. The robber
preventer, however, is worthy of attention, and
will shortly he manufactured for sale.

ABBOTT'S BEE-KEEPER'S FORGET-
ME-NOTS.

These are of simple arrangement, as will be
seen from the woodcut, they are printed in
sheets of twelve, and will be sent out post free
for fourpence per dozen sheets. The figures
may be used to denote the months and the days
of the month, or i-ewts. and lb? , and pasted on
boards or in the roofs of hives will be found
highly useful. The account can be kept by

pressing an ordinary pin into the centre point
of each semicircle and bending them down that
the heads may reach the figures, when they
will be moveable like the hands of a clock ;
or the record may be kept in pencil, or by
pressing small tacks into the respective figures.

Originally we thought of printing the headings
— such as Hive swarmed; Queen inserted; Queen
laying; When last examined ; Weight of supers,
and various other memoranda ; but it afterwards
occurred to us that it would be better to leave
the headings open that they might be written for
any purpose. By pasting one of the sheets on
each side of a thin board and keeping it in the
roof or at the back of a hive, and by using pins
as indices, and pencil as well, forty-eight or
more memoranda of the hive and its belonging
could be kept with very little trouble and at a
very small expense.

PACKING CRATE FOR HONEY JARS.

Among the 'inventions' exhibited at the late
South Kensington Showwe gave our best idea for
packing honey- jars to ensure, as far as it is pos-
sible to ensure where railway porters have the
handling of things, their safe transit. It is well
understood that round figures, packed closely,
will touch each other at six points, excepting
on the outside, and as 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, and
so on, can always be made to take the form of
an equilateral triangle, we thought that would
be the best shape for a box to hold a number
of such figures, thus securing close fitting and
economy of space. For the protection of the
jars a number of small sheets of zinc are used,
each of which when folded forms a cylinder or
case. The jars are first wrapped in paper, the
zinc is wrapped round them and tied close with
a piece of string, and they are then placed in
the ' crate ' as indicated in the woodcut, which
is of double equilateral or lozenge shape, to
show how readily jars of different sizes may be
set closely together by commencing at either
end of it, the same-sized wraps of zinc serving
for both. As shown, ten large, or twenty-eight
small jars occupy nearly the same space, leaving

so

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[September 1, 1881.

room between for packing of ha}-, or straw, or
shavings to jamb all closely. This kind of
crate will be found highly useful for sending
honey about. It can be easily made, and is far

superior to the ordinary crate with square par-
titions, into which only one sized jars will tit.
"Wine and spirit merchants arc likely to take a
hint from this suggestion, economy of space
being a desideratum in their lumber rooms.
The zinc will, of course, be returnable with the
crate, or may be flattened out and used as slates
for roofing or repairs.

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

We desire to draw attention to the forthcoming
Show of the above Society, to be held at Louth on
the 8th inst. A most liberal Prize Schedule has
been offered, and we are pleased to learn that a
great amount of interest has been aroused through-
out the entire county, and that the exhibition at
Louth promises to be the largest the Association
has yet held. We hope fine weather will prevail,
to enable visitors to thoroughly enjoy a day amongst
the bees.

ADULTERATION OF HONEY.

At the general meeting of the Association at
South Kensington, the Chairman, T. W. Cowan, Esq.,
brought on the question of adulteration of honey.
He pointed out that at present no reliable test
existed for detecting the admixture of sugar syrup,
and that some honey that had been exhibited was
very suspicious, but, owing to the absence of a
proper test, the judges were not in a position to
disqualify it. He also stated that a friend of his,
a chemist at Burton, who had paid some attention
to this subject, was prepared to cany on experi-
ments ; but for the purpose of finding a test in
which there would be perfect confidence it would
be necessary to have samples of pure honey from
different localities to experiment with. Several of
the gentlemen present gave Mr. Cowan samples of
their honey ; all these had been packed together,

and forwarded. Mr. Cowan had also received several
samples since the show, and he would lie glad if
those who are interested in this subject and are
willing to assist the British Bee-keepers' Association,
would oblige by sending him samples of their honey.
1-lb. sections or 1-lb. jars would suffice, and they
should be labelled, stating the locality whence they
came. When sufficient progress has been made,
Mr. Cowan's friend has signified his willingness to
read a paper on the subject, putting forth the
results of his experiments. If the samples are
sent to Mr. Cowan, Comptous Lea, Horsham, when
there are sufficient to make up a parcel, he will
forward them to their destination.

MR. COWAN'S APIARY, HORSHAM.

Having occasion during the preceding month to pass
through the picturesque and peaceful town of Horsham,
and rinding that I had an hour or two to spare before
continuing the prosecution of my journey (o the watering-
place to which I was hound, I availed myself of the
opportunity thus offered to present myself at Comptous
Lea, the residence of Thomas W. Cowan, Esq., < 'hairman
of the British Bee-keepers' Association, with a view, if
convenient, to inspect his apiaiy, and to gain an insight
into the results of the teachings of that most reliable
authority to all who take an interest in apiculture, viz.,
The Bntish Bee-keejiers' Guide-Book. It is almost need-
less to ohserve, that I received a cordial and courteous
welcome at the hands of Mr. Cowan, and that he
evinced the utmost readiness to gratify me in carrying
out my desires. I was much pleased at finding the
Rev. J. Lawson Sisson, of Edingthorpe Rectory, North
Walsham, a guest for the time at Mr. Cowan's, a
gentleman whose genial presence at our annual exhi-
bitions at South Kensington is always a pleasure, ami
whose intelligent replies to bystanders in the manipu-
lating tent on apicultural matters tend to give us the
greatest confidence in his awards as one of the Judges
of the Show.

Comptons Lea is rather more than a mile from the
railway station. It stands about one hundred fee! above
Horsham, and adjoins St. Leonard's Forest, from which
the bees derive a large quantity of honey during the
autumn. The mansion is of recent erection, and the
grounds surrounding it comprise about fifty acres.

The apiary is at some distance from the house, and
is arranged in a continuous serpentine line, each hive
being a few feet distant from the other. There were
about fifteen hives, of various kinds and descriptions,
all having the same-sized frames ; Mr. Cowan's ' ain
bairn,' the Cowan or Chaff-hive, a detailed account of
which is given in his Guide-Book (pp. 25-80), being
evidently a special favourite. I noted a Stew/irton hive
in full work, which bore evidence that Mr. Cowan,
though not prepared to accord to it the high position
among hives claimed for it by the ' Renfrewshire Bee-
keeper,' was evidently perfectly acquainted with the
working of that hive and system. This hive had made
such good progress up to the time of my visit, that there
appeared good grounds to hope that before the end of the
season it would attain the altitude of the famed one por-
l raved in the frontispiece to the tractate of the Rev. E.
liartrum on the Stewarton, the Hive of the Bust/ Man.
There were also a number of nucleus-hives, in which
queens were being reared to take the place of those that
hail been in work for two seasons, Mr. Cowan considering
it one of the great desiderata in successful bee-keeping
that queens should be young and vigorous.

All the hives were in healthy condition, and the bees
were accumulating large amounts of hone}'. In reply to an

September 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

inquiry as to what quantity of honey he expected before
the end of the season, Mr. Cowan said that he thought
i arli of his hives would produce one hundred pounds.
I! ling aware of the uncommercial nature of Mr. Cowan,
I could not help expressing some astonishment as to how
he could manage to dispose of so much ; his answer was
that the requirements of his family (honey being in many
cases substituted for sugar for cooking purposes), and the
readiness of his neighbours to take some, and the sale
of his exhibits at some of the shows, would absorb a
large portion ; and besides this, he said he was endeavour-
ing to distil from honey some non-alcoholic drink, which,
if successful, he proposed to call ' Melidone.' With my
special proclivities, I was much rejoiced at this informa-
tion ; for doubtless, if the number of persons taking an
interest in bee-keeping continue to increase, and the in-
flow of honey be as great as in the present year, it is very
desirable that new outlets and utilities of honey should
be developed ; and I felt assured that a mind like Mr.
Cowan's, so versatile in resources and so fertile in inven-
tiveness, would be able to achieve the desired residt.
And in connexion with this remark of Mr. Cowan's, there
occurred to my mind an observation of Dr. Dzierzon, who
says in his Rational Bee-keeping (almost prophetically),
' Bee-keeping may assume still greater importance, should
the attempts that are being made to check the ravages
and further spread of the Phylloxera — the terror of the
vim-grower — prove ineffectual, in which case the defi-
ciency in the vintage will probably- have to be supple-
mented by the use of wine made from honey.' *

To return. Mr. Cowan was kind enough to open
several of his hives, and in doing so he evidently was,
as might have been expected, perfectly equal to the
occasion, and was plainly entitled to be styled, in the
full sense of the word, a bee-master. He quite ignored
the use of the bee-veil. His hives had no distance-tacks
or frames of the Abbott type ; but by a deftness of feel
and an educated eye, he seemed to arrive at the proper
distances to be maintained between the frames. In
fixing comb-foundation, Mr. Cheshire's ingenious founda-
tion-pins were adopted throughout bis apiaiy.

After examining the hives, I was taken to an outhouse
in which were preserved a variety of old hives and obso-
lete bee appliances. There was an Italian Smielatore, a
German Bogenstiilper, an ancient Hruschka honey-slinger,
and a miscellaneous assortment of home and foreign
productions. ' Fuerunt ' might have been inscribed on
all of them ; yet were not these the ' footprints ' by
the aid of which the modern apiculturist had reached
the respective hill-tops he had now gained ?

There was evidence on all sides that Mr. Cowan had
made ample provision for forage for his bees. The Nepeta
cataria (Catmint) is a great favourite with Mr. Cowan ;
he considers it one of the best flowers for bees : it is
grown in large masses here. I regretted that my visit

* Apropos to the above observation of Dr. Dzierzon,
published in 1878, I append an extract from the Daily
News of August 15th, 1881 :— ' The great falling off in the
vintages in France in recent years, and the consequent
high price of wines, appears to have led to an extensive
system of manufacturing wine from dried raisins, the
imports of which have in consequence considerably more
than doubled during the last three years. It is calculated
that 220 lbs. of raisins produce sixty-six gallons of wine,
called by courtesy claret or burgundy, at which rate the
total quantity now annually imported would suffice to
produce forty millions of gallons. The vintage in France
last year is estimated by our Vice-Consul at La Kochelle
at 053 millions of gallons, which, though more than one-
sixth in excess of that of the previous year, was not much
more that one-half the average of the last ten years. It is
reckoned that the vineyards in which the vines have been
totally destroyed by the Phylloxera amount to more than
1J millions of English acres, and that more than an equal
extent is infected, though resisting the attack.' — If dried
raisins, Dr. Dzierzon would ask, Why not honey ?

was not made at a more favourable season of the year,
when I might have seen the bee-plants in the height of
their beauty. The summer flo^aers were passing away —
the Simpson and the borage were on the wane — the New
Zealand flax had not been a success ; but about an acre
of ground had been sown with buckwheat, and luilf-an-
acre with mustard, the produce of which, together with
the heather from the neighbouring forest, would bring
the bee season at Horsham to a termination.

Mr. Cowan had recently been busy with his extractor,
his ' Amateur ' being his favourite machine. I essayed to
raise the can in which the honey had been drawn, but I
was unable to move it.

In passing through one of the rooms of the house,
I noted that there were many packages of honey
ready to be despatched to their various destinations. One
large crate, full of sectional honey, bore the direction,
' Princess Christian, from the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation;' perhaps I may not be justified in mentioning
this so publicly — Mr. Cowan may ' blush to find it
fame,' — yet the knowledge of this act will, I feel
assured, not tend to diminish the respect we all have
towards the Chairman of our Bee-keepers' Association.

Mr. Cowan has devoted an apartment in his house to a
geological museum — one of the largest private museums
of the kind in the county. He was desirous that I should
see this, as the collection had been brought together
almost entirely by his individual research and energy. I
would willingly have spent hours in mastering its con-
tents, especially under the guidance of its worthy ori-
ginator, but I was obliged to bestow on it only a hurried
glance. Tide and railway time wait for no man. Well
pleased with this episode in my journey, and with feelings
of gratitude towards myr courteous host for his kindness, I
wended my onward way. — G. Henderson, Ealing,

BEES IN A BARREL :— HOW TO GET THEM
OUT OF IT?

In the Dover Standard of July 16 is an account
of a swarm of hybrid bees having taken possession
of a beer-barrel, and in the issue of the following
week a correspondent said they were two swarms
together. ' Every inducement ' had been made to
induce the bees to leave the barrel, a fact on which
the said correspondent sagely dilates. He says,
' Perhaps it may be well to state that the only
effectual inducement would have been to have
removed the queen-bee, when the remainder of the
large swarm would have speedily followed.' The
writer deplores that so ' little is known of the
natural history and habits of the bee ;' but he fails
to point out how the queen is to be got at and
removed ; and seeing that they are only approach-
able by the bung-hole, the rustics may well be
excused if they leave them alone.

CALEDONIAN APIARIAN SOCIETY.

The annual show, now become an institution amongst
Scottish bee-keepers, was held this year at Stirling, in
conjunction with the Highland and Agricultural Society.
Not since the formation of the Society had the Hon.
Secretary been so much perplexed regarding the success
of the show, when it is remembered that both in June
and July there was hardly a day without rain. Bees had
to be fed in most districts instead of laying up stores;
and from Ayrshire, Dumfriesshire, and Perthshire, alone
came honey entries, the result being we had less honey
on the table than at any former show since our form-
ation ; but for the display of five magnificent Stewarton

88

T1IE BRITISH" BEE JOURNAL.

[September 1, 1881.

boxes the honey show would have been a failure. Mr.
Young, of Perth, contributed two dozen splendid 2-lb.
sections, and Mr. Thomson, of Dalbeattie, two dozen 1-lb.
sections, which showed the skill of their management in
such a wretched season ; but as yet Stewarton hives
have no rivals in Ayrshire, and it will be hard to make
the able managers of them in a year like the present
believe in anything else.

Notwithstanding the honey failure the Caledonian
Apiarian Society have still a backbone and many members
of indomitable pluck, and their and other entries soon made
up a goodly show, and caused as much interest amongst
spectators as ever. Woods, Sword, Johnstone, Young,
Peacock, and Muir, all showed observatory hives stocked
with bees. Mr. Wood, Benmore, was unanimously and
deservedly placed first, gaining the Highland and Agri-
cultural Society's medal. This hive showed a marked
advance on all previous endeavours by the same gentle-
man, which have been many and always showing marked
advancement: it shows clearly the whole of the operations
of bee-life, is exceedingly simple in construction, elegant in
appearance, folds into very small compass, is free from all
objectionable tunnels, and thoroughly comfortable for
the bees. They will live and thrive in it all the year
round. Mr. Young, of Perth, came second with a well-
stocked unieomb hive, and Mr. Peacock, of Stirling,
third, with a Bryee-Wilson's hive of imposing appearance,
which took second at Kilburn, but is now discarded by
all after seeing Wood's.

In the second Class, where the bees were the object,
and not the hives, Mr. Johnstone; Touch, wv)ii the medal
presented by the British Bee-keepersi Association, and
Mr. Sword, of Falkirk, was second. • In' bar-frame hives
Mr. Wood again comes to the front with diie of the
most complete at the money ever offered to the public :
he calls it ' Premier.' * In it every necessity of bee-
life seems to have been considered, and arrangements
made for the storing and harvesting about 140 lbs. of
honey in the gentlest, most efficient, and cheapest
manner. Mr. Johnstone was second with a useful and
cheap hive for cottagers. In the class for amateurs Mr.
Wood stands first with the ' Baillie,' a cheaper hive than
the 'Premier;' but very well arranged. Mr. Peacock,
Stirling, took the first and second for stocked hives. Mr.
Wood first, Mr. Edwards second, for new inventions,
in which we have another new feeder and smoker, the
latter is a real boon to bee-keepers in general, and to non-
smokers in particular. Mr. Johnstone was first for comb
foundation, and Mr. J. Kinnear, of Dundee, second.

In wax-cake samples Mr. Johnstone was first and second,
Mr. Kinnear, Dundee, third. In honey, two Stewarton
boxes over 20 lbs., Robert Anderson, Stevenston; for best
super above 20 lbs., William Anderson, Stevenston; for
the best twelve 2-lb. sections, Mr. Young, Perth;
for the best 1-lb. sections, John Thomson, 102 High
Street, Dalbeattie ; for the best cakes made with honey,
Mr. Sword first, Mr. Wood second ; for best liqueur, Mr. .
Wood first; for the best collection of hives and bee-
furniture, W. W. Young, Perth first ; for the cheapest,
neatest, and best supers, Mr. Kinnear first, Mr.
Young second ; for the best honey extractor, Mr. Young,
with Cowan's invention. The driving competition was
the great source of attraction, and there were no less than
twenty competitors, the largest number that have ever
come forward ; two ladies being included in the number.
The time varied for catching the queen from H minutes
to 14 minutes. The Highland Society's medal was won
by Mr. Young; Miss Stewart, Stirling, second; and Mr.
Raitt, Blairgowrie, third. The drawings for the four days
amounted to the large sum of 43/. 15s., thus financially
the show was a great success, and puts the society on

* It is thoroughly elastic, being perfect at any and every
size to its full capacity, and so arranged as never to allow
any unnecessary dispersion of heat. Several novel devices
are shown.

a firm basis. On Thursday evening fourteen of the
members sat down to dinner in M' Alpine's hotel.
After a sumptuous repast, and the usual loyal and pat-
riotic toasts, Mr. Anderson, of Dairy, recounted his ex-
perience of bee-keeping during the last fifty years, and
the strides it had made during the last ten years ; but
on no year did he look back with more pride to what
Scotland had done than in the opening 3'ear of the
Crystal Palace Show, when he and his friends, Sword
and Ferguson, took up over forty fine Stewarton boxes
not any globes on, and he never can forget, after it
was all staged, Mr. Hooker's exclamation, ' Scotland has
it all its own way.' A most enjoyable evening was
spent in songs and sentiment ; and as next year's show
takes place in Glasgow it is expected to be the finest we
have ever yet had. 'The Lanarkshire Bee-keeper' was
conspicuous by his absence ; but Mr. Bennett displayed
one of his hives.

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Annual Honey Fair will be held at Grantham on
Saturday, September 17. Exhibitors at the Louth Show-
may, on noting their wish to the Hon. Secretary, have
their honey exhibits forwarded to Grantham for the
Fair after the close of the exhibition at Louth. — R. R.
Godfrey, Hon. Sec, Grantham.

BEES AT BARNSTAPLE, NORTH DEVON.

Bee-keeping is forcing its way upon public attention
and enlarging its sphere in a most satisf actory way. At
the Dog and Poultry show at the above locality, honey
was a conspicuous object, the collection being exceedingly
good, and several prizes were awarded. In Class I. the
first honours went to Mr. R. R. Sanders, of Bishop's
Tawton, who showed an excellent lot of honey, but Mr.
Strong's (second prize) was heavier, but a little dis-
coloured at one end. It weighed 40 lbs. Comb hone}'
in sections was a good lot, and highly spoken of by the
judge. The collection of comb honey (by cottagers) was
also extremely good, as was also the run or extracted
honey, the first honours going to the winner for the
clearness and mild flavour of his exhibit. The show of
bees-wax was moderate, the first prize cake being far
ahead of the rest. Rev. J. A. Kempe showed a lot of
good extracted honey, not for competition, which was
much admired.

COUNTY ARMAGH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION SHOW.

(From the Belfast Ncios Letter.)

The first great Annual Exhibition of the County
Armagh Bee-keepers' Association, held on Saturday,
August 20th, in Lord Lurgan's demesne, by kind per-
mission of his Lordship, was attended with surprising
success. The career of the Association since its insti-
tution in March of the present year has been a brilliant
one, and now that the difficulties of the first show have
been overcome, it would be impossible to predict for the
Society anything but a prosperous future. The objects
which the Association have in view require no commenda-
tion. A very few years back saw bees regarded by a great
number as a most persistent and useless class of farm and
garden intruders, and the reason they escaped total
banishment long ago was perhaps the difficulty that
would have been experienced in effecting their extermin-
ation. They were merely tolerated, no care or attention
being given to them except that which was necessary to
terminate their existence when their honey-combs were
full. Within the past year, however, the condition of the
industrious little insect has greatly changed, and bee-
keeping is now looked on as an interesting, as well as a
profitable, pursuit. Farmers now understand that the

September, 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

89

presence of bees in the garden lias a good effect on
newer-; and plants, and the part that they play in the
fertilising of plants by the carrying of pollen from one
blossom t.i another is now well known to them. Im-
provements have also been lately made in the construction
of hives, by the use of which not only can superior honey
be obtained, but the honey can be had without the
necessity of destroying the insect. Such a degree of
nicety has been arrived at in the perforation of zinc that
the drones can be kept out of the ' supers,' and honey of
extreme purity and greater quantity is the result.
Traps, by which the drones can he captured at plea-
sure, have also come greatly into use, thus anticipating
their destruction by the workers. All the modern apiarian
appliances point to the ultimate disappearance of the
antiquated straw-skep, and by to-day's show the utility
of making use of wooden hives was clearly demonstrated.
It has been urged on behalf of the old cone-shaped hives
that they irn ist closely resemble the hollow trunk of a
tree, the natural home of the bee, but it must be remem-
bered that the difference between a. scientifically con-
structed wooden box and the trunk of a tree is very
slight, and exists only in shape. But the fact that by
the use of wooden hives the lives of the bees can be pre-
served must surely weigh considerably in their favour.
No doubt the bees may be successfully driven from one
old straw hive to another by fumigation, but it has been
found that before leaving the hive the bees gorge them-
selves and greatly diminish the stock of honey in the
combs. Some highly interesting experiments in bee-
driving and quieting took place during the day in the
driving-tent of the Association, by the arrangement of
which visitors were protected from the bees. Owing to
the inclemency of the weather, however, they were only
partly successful. In their manipulation of the bees,
Rev. Mr. Lett, Mr. Lonsdale, and Mr. Hill seemed to
bear a charmed existence, or, rather, an impe letrable
skin. In the large marquee devoted to the exhibits there.
was shown a large 'extractor' for emptying the combs of
honey without the old heating process having to be gone
through. The machine is lent to members of the Asso-
ciation as they require it. Lev. Mr. Lett exhibited two
wooden frame hives, the cost of construction of each
being Is. <Urf. During the day these were generally
admired, and their construction looked into. For the
purpose of lining boxes Mr. Lett also exhibited some
excellent packing peat moss. He also presented a special
prize to Miss Florence Palmer, of Roseboro', Newtown-
hamilton, for some highly interesting dried specimens of
flowers from which bees cull honey. The stock of apiarian
appliances of Messrs. A. Donnelly & Co., Lurgan, was very
large. Mr. Gr. Greer's hive, of Ligurian bees attracted
considerable attention; and the observatory hives, for
which Mr. Robert Brown and Mr. William Allan ob-
tained first and second prizes respectively in Class 2,
were much admired, and the working of the bees closely
watched. Mr. Lonsdale's 'Ardmore' hives — the name
being an acknowledgment to Rev. Mr. Lett, Ardmore
Glebe, from whom the pattern was obtained, were
scrutinised with interest. The judges were Messrs. C. C.
Russell, Newtownards, and R. Nevin, Crombe Hill,
Lambeg. This Report would be incomplete without a
reference to the courteous and energetic manner in which
the lion, secretaries (Mr. George Greer and the Bev.H.W.
Lett) performed their duties. In fact, to their industry
the County Armagh Dee-keepers' Association owes much
of its present position. The following was the prize
list : —

Class 1 (open). — For the best stock or specimen of
Ligurian bees, to be exhibited with the queen in an
observatory hive. No entries. Class 2 (open to ■sub-
scribers, residents in the County Armagh, and members
of the Irish Bee-keepers' Association). — For the best stock
or specimen of English bees, to be exhibited with the
queen in an observatory hive. — 1. Robert Brown, Donagh-

more ; 2.Wm. Allen, Drownlow Gardens, Lurgan. Class 3
(open to subscribers and residents in County Armagh). —
For the best straw skep of bees not being a swarm of
this year. — 1. Robert Hewitt, Augliaeommon, Lurgan:
2. Same; 3. Win. Abraham, Derryadd, Lurgan (Prize:
a bar-frame hive, presented by Rev. H. W. Lett, hon.
sec); 4. Wm.Ager, Lurgan; 5. .Joseph M'Geown, Lurgan.
Class 3 (additional prize, open to subscribers and residents
in County Armagh). — For the best swarm of bees, being
a swarm of this year. — Robert Hewitt, Augliaeommon.
(Prize : a bar-frame hive, complete with cover and roof,
presented by Rev. II. W. Lett.) Class 4 (open to sub-
scribers and residents in County Armagh). — For the
largest and best super of honey the produce of one hive. —
1 . G. Greer, Dungannon ; 2. Robert Brown, Donaghmore.
Class o (open). — For the best exhibition of pure honey
in sectional supers, separable, in sections of not more
than 2 lbs. weight. — 1. Wm. Allen, Bro wnlow Gardens,
Lurgan; 2. Rev. II. W. Lett, Ardmore Glebe, Lurgan.
Class 6 (open to subscribers and residents in County
Armagh). — For the best exhibition of honey in the comb
taken from one hive without destroying the bees. —
Mr. Joseph M'Geown, Lurgan. Class 7 (open). — For
the best exhibition of pure extracted honey in glass jars,
not to exceed 2 lbs. in each jar. — 1. John Glemiy, 87
Canal Street, Newry ; 2. Wm. Allan, Brownlow Gardens,
Lurgan. Class 8 (open). — For the best and cheapest
hives on the moveable comb principle. — 1. Wm. Lonsdale,
Lurgan; 2. Same. Class 0 (open). — For the best and
cheapest complete bar-frame hive, price not to exceed 7s.
— 1. Wm. Lonsdale, Lurgan; 2. Same. Class 10 (open).
For the cheapest practioally useful bar-frame hive made
by a carpenter resident in Armagh, price not to exceed
4s. — 1. Wm. Lonsdale", Lurgan; 2. Same. Class 11. —
For the best bar-frame hive made by any subscriber to
the County Armagh Bee-keepers' Association not a car-
penter.— 1. Rev. H. W. Lett, Ardmore Glebe; 2, Same.
On the 23rd August the Fourth Annual Meeting of
the Narrow Water (near Newry, Co. Down) Gardening
Society was held, at which there was an exhibition of
hives and bees. The County Armagh Tent was present,
and the Show was in a great measure a repetition of the
Armagh Show. The Lord Mayor of Loudon was pre-
sent at one of the manipulations, and expressed himself
most highly pleased.

HERTFORDSHIRE BEE ASSOCIATION.

On Wednesday and Thursday, 10th and 11th ult., the
Annual Herts County Horticultural Show', and the Annual
Show of the Herts Bee-keepers' Association, took place
at Gorhambury Lodge, St. Michael's (by kind permission
of the Earl of Verulam and Mr. R. Aldridge). The
weather, an all-important desideratum to ensure success
to gatherings of this description, was unfavourable,
being dull and cloudy, with occasional showers of rain on
both days. At the opening of the Show on Wednesday
especially the weather was against the venture, heavy
showers of rain preventing an early visit to the Show
ground. On Thursday the attendance wras not very large,
and at five o'clock on that day the total number passed
through the barriers was under l!)00. Last year, in the
two days, over 3000 people visited the Show. The show
of bees, honey, and bee-furniture, was good, aud consisted
of forty-nine exhibits, one being a portable extractor by
Mr. J. II. Godnian, St. Albans, in which several new-
features were observable. This was really the only new
thing in the Show, and gained a first prize in its depart-
ment. The tent of the Herts . Bee-keepers' Association
was present, where Mr. Blow, the Society's expert, gave
practical illustrations in modern bee-management, and
Mr. A. Lewis, of St. Albans, exhibited the process of
bee-driving.

On Thursday the Bee Prizes were distributed by the
Earl of Verulam (who was accompanied by Lady Jane

A 3

90

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[September 1, 1881.

Grimston). The Judges were : — Mr. J. M. Hooker'
Sevenoaks ; Mr. T. W. Cowan, Horsham ; the Key. E-
Bartrum, Great Berkhamsted ; the Rev. H. J. Wilcox>
Nettleden ; and Mr-. H. C. Finch, Red Heath, Watford.
The following is a list of the prizes: — (Classes open to
members of the Herefordshire Association only, residing
in the county.) Best and most complete hive, on the
moveable-comb principle, to include covering, stand, and
floor-board, and arrangements for supering — 20s., J.
Chapman, Knebworth. Best and most complete hive for
cottager's use, to include cover, floor-board, and arrange-
ments for supering ; selling price not to exceed half-a-
sovereign — 20s., H. Brinkman, St. Albans. Honey. —
Best twenty 2-lb. sections of comb honey — 1st, silver
medal and 15s., J. S. Brooks, Barnet ; 2nd, bronze medal
and 10s., Miss Gayton, Great Hadham. Best ten 2-lb.
sections of comb honey — 1st, 20s., Miss Gayton, Great
Hadham; 2nd, 10s., Rev. F. G. Jenyns, Knebworth;
4th, 2s. Gd., Miss Debenham, St. Albans. Best ten 1-lb.
sections of comb honey — 1st and 2nd, 30s., E. Matthews,
Royston ; 3rd, 5s., A Lewis, St. Albans; 4th, 2s. Gd.,
Rev. W. T. Drake, Great Gaddesden. Best super of
honey, not being sectional supers — 1st, 15s., F. Moules,
Stevenage ; 2nd, 10s., Rev. F. G. Jenyns, Knebworth ;
3rd, 5s., H. J. Humphrey, Harpenden. Best exhibition
of run or extracted honey, in eighteen 2-lb. jars — 1st,
15s., Miss Gayton, Great Hadham ; 2nd, 10s., A. Lewis,
St. Albans ; 3rd, 7s. Gd., H. G. Roberts, Gosmore,
Hitchin. (For cottagers only, being members of the
Hertfordshire Bee-keepers' Association.) — Best exhibition
of honey in the comb — 1st and 2nd, 17s. Gd., J. Chap-
man, Knebworth; .')rd, 5s., J. Matthews, Hudnall. Best
exhibition of run or extracted honey in twelve jars — 1st,
10s., J. Matthews, Hudnall. Miscellaneous. — Finest
sample of bees-wax, obtained from combs made by the
exhibitor's own bees — 1st, 7s. Gd., J. S. Brooks, Barnet ;
2nd, 5s., A. Sharp, Gorhambury. Driving, in the neatest,
quickest, and most complete manner, bees from one hive
to another — 1st, 20s., W. C'hilds,Leverstock Green; 2nd,
15s., A. Lewis ; 3rd, 10s., H. Humphrey. (Classes open
to All England.) — Best stock of bees, of any race — 1st,
40s., (t. N. Marten, St. Albans; 2nd, 20s., G. Neighbour
and Son, London ; 3rd, 10s., A. Lewis. Best honey-
extractor — 1st, 20s., J. H. Godman, Dalton Street, St.
Albans. Best bee-feeder — 1st, 10s., Abbott Brothers,
Southall. Best and most complete collection of hives
and bee-furniture — 1st, 40s., Neighbour and Son.

BEE TENT AT LISMORE.

Seeing in the British Bee Journal for July that Mr.
Traynor was to manage a Bee Tent at the Society's
Show on the 1st and 2nd of August, I volunteered my
services ; and I now send an account of our doings.

Mr. Traynor arrived in Waterford from Tinahely on
Friday evening, and we started for Lismore on Saturday
morning, so as to get everything ready for Monday. On
proceeding to the ground we found we had very little
to do, thanks to the Secretary, as the splendid tent
which was lent for the occasion had been erected in a
capital position, so that, except to arrange for two hives,
which had been engaged to be brought up for Monday's
operations, we did nothing till Monday morning, when,
with the ready help which we received, we had soon
everything complete.

Monday was the day of the Horse Show, and though
this was of absorbing interest, the Bee Tent did not lack
patronage.

The hives which were allotted to us by the man from
whom they were borrowed, were not exactly those
suited for exhibition driving and queen -catching, one
having attached to it as many as five risers.

An idea of the ignorance which prevails connected
with everything relating to bees may lie gained from
an argument which had taken place between the man

who lent the bees and another, one asserting that drone
bees were those which had lost their stings.

The visitors to the Tent were much more numerous
on Tuesday, the day of the Cattle Show. The manipu-
lations were those usually performed, viz.: driving from
straw-skeps, queen-catching, extracting, &c. ; and, judging
by the keen interest taken and the many questions asked,
those already keeping bees have had fresh impulse given
them, and many will abandon the straw -skep and
brimstone -pit. Mr. Traynor has arranged for an
Exhibition at Enniscorthy on September 13th, Grorey
22nd ; and I hope to arrange for him to have an
exhibition in connexion with the Waterford Farming
Societ}r's Show on September 15th. — Francis Jones,
Mullinabro, Waterford.

HONEY, HIVE, AND BEE SHOW AT
TORQUAY.

Under the management and patronage of the Devon
and Exeter Bee-keepers' Association, a highly interesting
two days' Honey, Hive, and Bee Show, and Hone}' Fair,
was opened on the 11th ult. in the Winter Garden,
Torquay, by the President, W. Horton Ellis, Esq., J. P.,
of Hartwell House, Exeter. The exhibition consisted of
twenty -one classes, which included hives, honey, bees-
wax, bees, comb foundations, and miscellaneous apparatus,
in addition to which there was a fair for the sale of
honey. There were upwards of 100 entries by twenty-seven
exhibitors. In the five classes devoted to honey there
was to be seen the usual mode of producing the honey in
sections with supers, showing that straw hives are no
longer used to any great extent in the scientific manipu-
lation of bees, having been superseded of late by bar-
frames, which in their turn have been much improved
upon. For the prizes offered — including cups, the
medals of the British Bee-keepers' Association, and
special prizes to cottagers — there was a very satisfactory
amount of competition, and the Devon and Exeter
Association are to be congratulated on the success
attending their Show at Torquay.

Concerning the awards, the first prize and silver
medal for the best exhibition of comb honey in sections,
each separable, and not more than three pounds in
weight, was awarded to Mr. W. N. Griffin, of Alphington,
Exeter, one of the Hon. Secretaries of the Association.
Mr. Griffin also carried off first honours with his im-
proved ' Griffin Hive,' for the most perfect bar-frame
hive with covering and stand, as well as two other first
prizes — one for his crate for the carriage of sections by
rail or otherwise, and the other, for his queen-cage, for
transmission of queen-bees by post. Mr. Griffin was,
too, one of the largest exhibitors of comb honey and
honey in glasses. The first prize and bronze medal for
the best dozen jars of run or extracted honey went to
the Rev. J. A. Kempe, of Lew Down; Mr. J. YV.
Walter, Radford Cottage, Dawlish, taking second
honours in this class. Mr. G. M. Walsh, of Rockbeare
Court, Exeter, and Miss Symons, of Halt, Cornwall,
were awarded the first and second prizes respectively for
the largest and best harvest of comb honey limn one
stock. Mr. Walsh is also first for the best super of
comb honey and for the best sample of bees-wax in
cakes of not less than one pound each, produced by the
exhibitor's own bees, the Rev. J. A. Kempe being second
in the latter class. Mr. S. .1. Baldwin, Bromley, Kent,
was awarded first prize for the best observatory hive
stocked with combs, tiers, and their queen in proper
working order, .Messrs. Neighbour and Sous (London)
and Abbott Brothers (Middlesex) being second ami third

in this, one of the most attractive features of tl xhi-

bition. Messrs. Abbott also came second, and .Messrs.
Neighbour third, in the competition for bar-framed
hives; and these firms stand first and second for the
best sample of comb foundation made of pure bees-wax

September 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

01

not less than three pounds in weight each kind. Messrs.
Abbott and Messrs. Neighbour occupy too the same
relative positions for the best and most complete "wood
or straw hive on the moveable comb principle, suitable
for cottagers. To Messrs. Neighbour were also awarded
first prizes for the best and largest collection of hives,
bee furniture, and apiculturists' necessaries, and for the
best honey extractor; Messrs. Abbott being second in
the last-named class, and third for the collection of hives
and furniture; Mr. Baldwin taking second prize. Mrs.
Dickinson, of Broomhill, Tiverton, took the second prize
for the best super of comb honey ; and Mr. W. 11. Fox,
Colyton, second for I lie best eight sections of comb
honey, in which class Mr. James Harnlyu, of Bossell
Park, Buckfastleigh, was commended. Mr. Hamlyn
was more successful in another class, taking the first
prize for the cheapest and best super, on the sectional
principle, for general use in an apiary ; Messrs. Abbott
coming' second. In the Cottagers' classes, the prize for
the largest and best exhibition of comb honey from one
stock, without destroying the bees, was awarded, with
high commendation, to W. riclrings, of Colebrook,
Copplestone ; and the same exhibitor carried off the
first prize in the next class for the best super of comb
honey ; "William Toms, of Aveton Gifford, coming-
second, and also being commended. The only prize
given for the best bee-feeder goes to Messrs. Abbott, out
of five exhibitors. The first prize for the best straw
hive for depriving purposes went very deservedly to J.
Wilcox, a blind exhibitor, of Tiverton ; L. Waldron, of
Kens, being second. The gentlemen who acted as
judges were the Rev. Dr. Dennett, Ashton Rectory; W.
H. Ellis, Esq., Exeter; Admiral Moorman, Exmouth ;
Mr. S. Baldwin, Kent ; Rev. J. Bartlett, Topsham: Rev.
J. Dickinson, Tiverton; and J. Thacker, Esq., Heath-
lands, Ottery St. Mary.

Among those who sent very fine exhibits of comb
honey, not for competition, were Messrs. Slade and Sons,
and Messrs. Shapley and Austin, two of the principal
grocery firms in Torquay. During the afternoon, ex-
hibitions of a most interesting character were made in a
tent on the grounds with living bees. The prizes
awarded to the successful exhibitors were distributed by
Lady Kathrine Buchanan at four o'clock, before and
after which selections of music were performed by the
Winter Garden Company's orchestral baud. At eight
o'clock short and entertaining lectures on ' Bees and
Bee-keeping ' were delivered by Mr. Griffin and his
energetic and courteous co- secretary, the Rev. J. G.
Dangar, M.A., Principal of the Exeter Training College.
The exhibition remained open up to late on the evening
of the 12th. — From the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette.

BEE SHOW AT RUSIIINGTON, SOUTH
LINCOLNSHIRE.

At the Rushington Flower Show in July, in addition
to a general Industrial Exhibition, there was a Bee Show
under the management of R. R. Godfrey, Esq., of Gran-
tham, the Hon. Sec. of the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers'
Association, who superintended and explained the whole
business, aided by diagrams and practical illustrations.
There were driving and transferring, which, as is usual,
created great excitement. Mr. Robert Thorpe added to
the interest by a most instructive exhibition of useful
appliances, ami afforded most welcome assistance.

BERKS AND BUCKS COUNTY SHOW AT
MAIDENHEAD.

The second annual County Show of this flourishing
Association, numbering over Il'O members, took place in
the beautiful grounds of Kidswell Park, in conjunction
with the Maidenhead Horticultural Society's Flower

Show, on Thursday the 18th ult. The flowers, fruit, and
vegetables, were all that could be desired, a delightful
show in themselves ; but the honey and the bees were
the chief attraction, retaining the visitors for hours, spell-
bound as it were by the wonder-working bees, and the
great beauty a ml w< irth of their productions. The weather
being exceedingly fine it was hoped that Her Royal
Highness Princess Christian, the Patroness of the Bee-
keepers' Association, would honour the exhibition by her
presence ; but the heavy rain of the previous day caused
other engagements that could not be broken, and the
hope was not fulfilled. The show of honey was all that
could be desired ; but during the day great havoc was
made among the unprotected exhibits by the invasion of
bees from neighbouring apiaries. The cream of the
show was exhibited by Sir Gilbert A. Clayton East,
Bart., the President of the Association, whose numerous
specimens were of great beauty, the gem of the collection
being an exhibit of thirty 2-lb. sections with glass
bottoms (Abbott's original) the honey in each case being
worked down to, and showing deliriously through the
glass. The comb, by the careful use of dividers, was
perfectly flat, and symmetrical, and being neatly glazed,
the exhibit was 'a picture.' Sir Gilbert carried off the
highest honours of the show, the silver and bronze
medals, and the certificate of the British Bee-keepers'
Association, and sundry money prizes. A very pleasant
feature connected with the show lay in the fact that Sir
( iilbert had generously offered the whole of his honey on
sale, the proceeds to be devoted to charitable purposes,
conditions under which it doubtlessly found ready
purchasers.

In the local classes, for the best observatory hive
Messrs. W. Martin and G. P. Cartland were considered
equal, the former showing a uuicomb hive, the latter a
moveable comb glass observatory. For the best moveable
comb cottager's hive Mr. E. Trotter, of Eton Wick, took
the prize with a well-made little hive price 10s. 6d. For
the best sectional super of comb honey, Sir G. A. C.East
took the silver medal, Mr. II. R. Burrows being second,
and Mrs. Roberts third ; Maidenhead thus taking the
whole. For the best display of comb honey in sections,
Sir Gilbert was again first, taking the bronze medal ;
Mr. J. K. Filbee, of High Wycombe, second, and Mr. H.
J. Mount, of Maidenhead, third. For the best exhibition
of comb honey Sir Gilbert A. East was again to the fore,
taking first prize and certificate, Mr. II. R. Burrows, of
Maidenhead, being second. For the largest and best dis-
play of run or extracted honey, Sir Gilbert was in his usual
place, Mr. L. Harris, of High Wycombe, being second.
For the best sample of wax Mr. W. Carter and Mr. W.
Martin, both of Wycombe, won first and second. In the
open classes Messrs. Neighbour and Abbott Bros, were
first and second. For the best moveable comb hive
Abbott Bros, were first and Messrs. Neighbour second,
Mr. S. J. Baldwin commended. For the best Cottager's
hive, Abbott Bros, were first, Mr. Baldwin second. For
the best collection of hives, &c, Abbott Bros, and Messrs.
Neighbour were first and second respectively. For the
best display of comb honey Mr. W. S. Darby of Windsor
first, Colonel Fitzroy Clayton being next. For the best
exhibition of super honey, Mr. W. Carter, of Clewer,
was first, and Mr. W. Martin second. For the largest
and best exhibition of run or extracted honey, Mr.
Cartland, of Windsor, and Mr. W. Carter, were first and
second. In the driving competition there were four
competitors, Mr. Baldwin first, capturing the queen in
4i minutes, and completing the driving in five, Messrs.
Harris and Filbee each captured the queen in o| minutes,
Mr. W. Martin completed his work in 4J minutes ; but
not having captured the queen as she went up was
awarded second prize. The immense success of the show
was due to the untiring energy of the Hon. Sees., Messrs.
Cartland and Darby, win. were assisted by the Committee,
of whom the Rev. J. R. Wilkinson, W. II. Harris, Esq.,

92

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[September 1, 1881.

and Mr. W. Cartel-, were conspicuously active. Their
labours were much increased by the neglect of the
exhibitors to protect their honey from inclusive bees.
Foragers from the neighbourhood found it out, and
having tasted it carried the news to their friends, and
ere it could be covered with matting or canvas they had
fairly taken possession of the tent ; not less than fourteen
to fifteen pounds of bees being engaged, marauding and
making a din with their humming that almost drowned
the music of the Grenadier Guards' Band.

The bees, however, did not deter the visitors, who,
finding they were harmless, rather enjoyed the novel
position and spectacle: but the exhibitors, who brought
full supers and carried home only vessels of empty comb,
and in some instances very little, of that, did not so well
appreciate the joke, many pounds of honey having been
carried away, and a very large number of sections spoiled.
In the Bee-Tent Mr. Baldwin was active as usual, making
converts to the improved system of bee -culture, the
interest being kept up by him till the shades of evening
put an end to his labours.

SURREY BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

This Association were, on July 21st, by invitation,
present with their Bee Tent at the Cottagers' Garden
Show, held in the ' Founder's Court,' at the Charter
House, Godalming. There were prizes offered for bee-
driving, hives of bees, and hone}', for cottagers only,
and as a first attempt to keep it exclusively to them,
was tolerably responded to, each class finding an ex-
hibitor. Mr. .las. Abbott, of Southall, was the expert
engaged by the Association, who fulfilled his allotted
task witli his usual unvarying ability. Mr. Hollands, of
Croydon, exhibited and supplied articles connected with
bee-culture. There was a goodly display of honey.

The Association are also invited by one of their Vice-
Presidents in the same neighbourhood to give a practical
exhibition of bee -management to some cottage bee-
keepers on his estate on the 30th inst. These oppor-
tunities to the Association to assist cottagers are very
much esteemed, and good results are anticipated.

The Association will hold its third Annual Ex-
hibition of honey, bees, hives, and appliances, practical
apiarian manipulations, and honey fair, by the kind
permission of Henry Parson, Esq., in the grounds at
' The Firs,' Guildford, on Wednesday, the 14th of
September, 1681. The committee offer prizes at this
show principally for the encouragement of cottage bee-
keepers, that beingtbe primary object of the Association.
At the same time they invite exhibits from all who will
kindly support their efforts to form a valuable and in-
teresting exhibition. There are no open prizes. Full
particulars may be obtained of F. II. Lemare, Esq.,
Hon. Sec, 4 Sydney Terrace, Guildford.

BEE SHOW AT OTTERY, ST. MARY'S. DEVON.

The Flower Show Committee of this place added bees
and honey to their list of attractions at their late Show,
and a goodly array of supers, sectional and otherwise,
was staged; bul the exhibition was marred by the care-
lessness of those who brought their honey unprotected
by glass or gauze, the neighbouring bees coming in force
and taking possession of the honey before the visitors
could see it. The invasion was attributed to some supers
having been taken that morning' from hives near by and
brought to the Show, thebees being credited with having
followed them. This impression is an injurious one, and
will fortify careless bee-keepers in their prejudice in
f avour of destroying bees when taking their honey, and

will tend to prevent the adoption of the siipering system,
the idea being, that when supers are removed, the bees
issue forth in search of it, and, not finding it, attack
other hives.

Had the honey been properly protected, a few bees

might have been attracted by its odour, but, finding it
impossible to get it, would soon have left the tent ; but
having tasted the treasure, they would soon communicate
the intelligence of its discovery to their friends, and, as
is perfectly natural, the scene would be immediately
visited by thousands. Bees soon find out when they cau
and when they cannot find access, and be the odour ever
so strong, in the latter case they quickly desist from the
search.

BEES AT WANTAGE, BERKS.

With a view to the encouragement and improvement
of bee-culture, bettering the condition of cottagers, and
adding to their home attractions, the Wantage Horti-
cultural Society arranged with the Berks and Bucks Bee
Association for an exhibition at the Wantage Show on
the 25th ult.

The arrangements wei'e perfect, but the weather was
most miserable, wind and a downpour of rain contimung'
during the whole of the day. The attendance was con-
sequently small. W. Harlow, Esq., of The Bank, Want-
age, exhibited a glass super of -52 lbs., which was the gem
of the Show. Messrs. Abbott Bros, attended (by request)
with a few exhibits, not in competition, and explained
the nature of the modern system to the limited audience.

BEE SHOW AND MANIPULATION IN
AMERICA.
In the Premium List (Prize Schedule) of the St.
Joseph inter-state Exposition, third Annual Exposition
and Fair, to be opened at St. Joseph, Mo., on Monday,
Sept. 5 inst., there will be an exhibition of manipulation,
the first, as we believe, of which public notice has been
given. Prizes are offered for the ' Exhibition of a Swarm
of Bees in Hive, including their Handling, and Best
Method of Subjugation,' to be practically illustrated on
Friday, Sep. 9. Were Artemus Ward living, he would
say, ' They're moving onnards ' over there.

SHOWS AND BEE TENT ENGAGEMENTS.

BRITISH BEE-EEEPEKS' ASSOCIATION.

Sept. 7. — Ringmer Horticultural Show.
Sept. 8. — Lincolnshire Show at Louth.
Sept. 14. — Surrey Show at Guildford.
Sept. 15, 10, 17, 19, 20. — Dairy Show at Agricultural
Hall, Islington.
Sept. 15. — Slindon Horticultural Show.

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Sept. 7. — At Colchester.

Sept. 15. — At Brentwood; also an Exhibition of Hives,
&c, and Honey Fair.

Sept. 23. — At Great Duumow.

HERTEOItDSHinE ASSOCIATION.

Sept. 8. — Horticultural Show at Harpende
Sept. 14.— Bishop Stortford Horticultural
Sept. 15. — Bengo Horticultural Show.

en.
Show.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

ADDITIONAL DONATIONS TO PBIZB FUND.

A'. .-. &.

R. J. Tomlin . . ,.0 5 0

J. Topping . . . . 0 2 (>

F. C. Barnett . . . . 0 .5 0

T. Sells . . ..05 0

W. Sells . . ..05 0

E. Wilson .. .. 0 10 0

R. R. Godfrev .. 0 10 0

P. E. Martin'.. .. 0 10 0

Rev. Thos. Milles . . 0 .5 0

D. Stewart . . . . O .5 0

Total amount subscribed to the Prize Fund, 1.5/. 19i.
The total value of Prizes awarded at the late South Ken-
sington Show, was .5(1/. 7s.

September 1, 1881*.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

93

fercsponbenxc.

%* These columns arc open to subscribers, so that their
queries, replies, correspondence, niitl experiences may be
folly and faithfully recorded; and for the discussion of all
theories and systems in Bee-culture, and of the relative merits
of all hires and appurtenances, that the truth regarding them
may be ascertained. The Editor, therefore, must not be ex-
pected to coincide until all the views expressed by the various
writers. All Correspondence is addressed to the Editor.

THE BEE TENT WANTED IN WALES.

When do you intend paying Wales a visit of
instruction1? I think it hardly fair that you should
wander as far as Ireland with the Tent, when we in
Wales are so much nearer to you, and have never
yet been honoured with a visit. The old straw
skep and brimstone pit are (with few exceptions) in
full swing, but if an opportunity was given us of
seeing the various interesting and instructive opera-
tions connected with intelligent bee-keeping, I have
no doubt they would be much appreciated, and in
course of time be generally adopted. — T. Joyce,
Fern Villa, Cathays, near Cardiff, S. Wales.

[We are very glad to hear that a visit of the Bee
Tent will he appreciated in Wales, and have little douht
but that it can he arranged for next year, if not with the
' British,' with some other ; and failing them, "we will do
our best to bring about an exhibition by other means.
Our correspondent should write to the Rev. H. R. Peel,
Abbot's Hill, Hemel Hempstead, the Hon. Sec. of the
British Bee-keepers' Association, who will give every
possible information and assistance gladly. — Ed.]

THE SEASON IN WEST CUMBERLAND.

The season here has been a most wretched one.
We had a cold backward spring, cold east winds
throughout April and part of May, and then we
had a fortnight of beautiful weather, and some
early swarms came off. The fruit-trees were laden
with blossom, and sycamores, and maples, one
mass of flowers, magnificent to look at. But
since the 2nd of June there have not been three fine
days together, with the exception of the second
week in July, when there were actually five days
on which it did not rain. Squally, cold, and wet,
has been the general character of our summer here.
The crop of clover was most abundant, but the
bees could not take advantage of it. The heather
is three weeks behind, and wants sunshine to bring
it out. There is a good deal of it blighted. I
have made two converts to the modern system,
both experienced bee-keepers, and they are delighted
with it. We are still hoping (you say bee-keepers
always hope) that we may have a week or two at
the heather, but there is no prospect of it yet, as it
is raining as I write. — J. P. Q., Aiigust 15.

BEE-KEEPING IN LINCOLNSHIRE.

Notwithstanding the efforts made by our prac-
tical and indefatigable secretary, R. R. Godfrey,
Esq., assisted by a practical and energetic com-
mittee, it is lamentable to see how tenaciously the
cottagers stick to their old method of killing their

bees with brimstone to obtain their honey, it being
the easiest way of accomplishing their object.
They do not understand the utility of bar-frame
hives and comb-foundation, so I determined, as it
was only a sacrifice of time, with a little exertion,
to teach them a practical lesson by begging their
bees and driving them, also assisting to cut out
(with my knife) their combs. I have been chiefly
assisted by my boy just home from school. With
very few exceptions, I have saved all the con-
demned bees in this neighbourhood for miles round,
having driven forty-nine, and bought ten stocks of
bees.

They are surprised that with my large occupa-
tion I should think them worth the trouble, and
wonder how they will get on for comb and food
during the winter. They are anxious to know
about bar-frames and comb-foundation, and will try
them, if I am successful, in the spring.

I have advised a friend, Mr. Brown, of Swines-
head, to adopt my plan, and he has taken more
than I have, and we have saved the lives of over
130 stocks of condemned bees. — R. Thorpe, Evedon,
Lincolnshire, Aug. 20.

THE SEASON IN IRELAND.— GETTING RID
OF FERTILE WORKERS.

The continual rain has rendered the season a
most disappointing one for bee-keepers, the more to
be regretted considering the great interest there
has been taken in bee-keeping and its improve-
ments for some time past ; also the great loss it
has occasioned in young queens on their first
flights.

Out of eleven, I had five queenless hives. This
was bad enough ; but what I feel more, having had
four imported Ligurian queens, I naturally ex-
pected to have raised a few pure, or at least good,
hybrids, and promised some to some friends ; but
now I find I have not enough for myself. To add
to my misfortune, three of the queenless hives had
fertile workers. It may be interesting to some of
your readers to know how I got rid of them.

I took the three old hives, and placed them
together about ten yards from their former position,
putting other hives in their stead with some empty
combs, and combs of brood in each. When most
of the bees had returned to their old place, I
united the remains of the three in one, and left
them some of their drone-brood with plenty of
comb-foundation, so as to give them something to
do as long as they lived. What appeared to me
very strange, being the first time I observed it, in
the hives where the fertile workers were, the bees
were raising queen-cells, some of which contained
from fifty to eighty eggs; a few were sealed, in which,
on opening, I found from three to four large grubs.
In some of the worker-cells, I counted as many as
thirteen or fourteen eggs.

I expect we shall have a show on the 31st of
this month, and am sure it will excite a great deal
of interest. My opinion is, that manipulating with
live bees is the only way of teaching the public. —
Brother Joseph, The Abbey, Loughrea, August 21.

94

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[September 1, 1881.

SUMMERING BEES IN YORKSHIRE.

I wrote you a short article this last spring on
wintering bees, and how I had found that bees did
perfectly well in the coldest winter with being
simply confined to eight Woodbury frames, without
any additions in the way of end-slips, chaff-cushions,
&c, and now write you my experience of the form
of hive most suitable for this district, which is quite
as good, or better, than most parts of the county,
Yorkshire being a bad bee county.

In the first place, I think you might safely re-
commend hives with ten Woodbury frames as being
amply large enough for our wants hereabouts, if it
is intended (in the case of swarms) to super them
at the top. We should never get bees to fill your
large Standard hives. Again, the Woodbury hives,
from having straight, internal walls, are much
more suitable for packing in with sections. I have
been much bothered with virgin swarms — viz.,
swarms from swarms — this season, nearly all my
earliest swarms giving me trouble in this way. I
have removed the queens, and returned the bees ;
but out they come again in a day or two, and no-
thing seems to stop them. I have had one very
curious case. One of my this year's swarms has
been swarming regularly every day for the last
eight clays, and although in returning the bees we
have searched most minutely for the queen every
time, we have not been able to find her. I have
even had a square box made of your queen-excluder
zinc fitted to the entrance, about the size of your
drone-traps, and still they have swarmed ; so I
have come to the conclusion that they have gone off
with a fertile worker. I have been so bothered with
them that I hived them to-day in a skep full of clean
coml i, and fed them ; but after apparently settling for
about an hour, they all went back to the parent hive.
Query. — Will bees swarm with a fertile woi'ker 1

I am strongly of the opinion that hives, to contain
swarms, ought to be on the Combination principle
to take sixteen or nineteen frames across the
entrance so that excluder zinc may be used to pre-
vent this useless swarming. I should then confine
the swarm to seven Woodbury frames (I am here
supposing it is only a moderate honey district), and
pack in 2-lb. sections at the back as required (the sec-
tions being, of course, divided from the frames by ex-
cluder zinc). If the hive were of capacity to contain
fourteen Woodbury frames, there would then be room
for eighteen 2-lb. sections ; if a nineteen-frame hive,
then room for twenty-four 2-lb. sections.

I would suggest that single-walled hives should
be used for swarms, with a window (with zinc or
wood slide over it) at the back, so as to see how
the last batch of sections were getting on, and that
a sheet of glass might be used to partition off the
first lot of sections. This would make it unnecessary
to keep lifting up the sections to see howT they were
getting ou.

If you think my remarks will be of any value,
please let them appear in your Journal, but with
comments or better suggestions from voursclf. —
A. W., Ripon, J uly 25th.

[The opinions and experiences of ' A. W.' do not agree,
to our satisfaction, for though he believes ten-framed

Woodbury hives to be large enough for those who intend
to adopt the supering principle, his bees are continually
showing that they are not large enough to accommodate
them satisfactorily. The)- swarm out, swarms from
swarms, in spite of every precaution and attempted
remedy : and, unless they really are too small, we can
only suggest one other cause, viz., they are not sufficiently
protected from the rays of the sun, and so become too
hot to hold the bees comfortably.

We have never heard of bees having swarmed out
with a fertile worker instead of a queen, nor have we
ever, until this year with our Syrian 'tigers,' found
fertile workers in stocks that have appeared iu swarming
condition.

The remarks on straight, internal walls for facilitating
the use of sections is doubtless intended to apply to the
' Combination ' principle advocated in the latter part of
the above, which, being in accord with our teaching for
the past two or three years, we cannot fail to agree with.
We cannot, however, approve of open frame-ends and
unprotected hive-walls ; they by no means dovetail with
our ideas of successful winter preparation. — Ed.]

SUCCESSFUL BEE-KEEPING.— CAGING
THE QUEEN.

Enclosed find extract from information I supplied
to our local paper relating to the management of
a hive of bees which yielded 210 lbs. of honey in
eight days. You see your suggestion of caging
queens is responsible for large yield. — Benj. Har-
ding, Colehurst Manor, August 27, 1881.

' We have much pleasure in communicating to our
readers the method adopted by Mr. B. Harding, of
Colehurst Manor, in the management of the hive of bees
wdiose extraordinary yield obtained him first prize at the
late Bee Show at Shrewsbury.

'A large bar-frame hive (14| by ltih by 9| inches)
showing signs of swarming was supplied with a Stewarton
super ; a zinc excluder to prevent the ingress of the queen
being used. On Saturday (exact date not given) it
swarmed, and the swarm was secured. The super partly
tilled was taken away, and yielded 15 lbs. of honey in
the comb. The stock hive was opened, the honey ex-
tracted— 55 lbs. The queen-cells excised from the comb,
which was returned. The queen, with the swarm caught,
and caged on the comb ; all the bees reunited ; and as
many hung out at the mouth of the hive, two ten-bar
frame super hives were placed on the top of the stock-
hive, with free passage for the bees. The following Tues-
day the honey in the two supers was taken. Thursday
}ke process was repeated, and on Saturday the honey
both in supers and stock hives was taken, 140 lbs. being
obtained in the three operations, which, with the 70 lbs.
on the Saturday first named, made the wonderful
amount of 210 lbs. of honey taken from one hive in
eight days. The causes of this great success may be
briefly summarised.

' The queen being caught and caged could not fill the
vacant cells with brood, as she otherwise would have
done ; thus there was so much more room for storage of
honey, and the thousands of bees that would have been
occupied with the young ones were free for other work.

'The full energies of a strong colony could find in the
three hives ample space for their employ.

' The three hives were ready filled with comb, so there
was no time wasted in building that (20 lbs. of honey
are required to make 1 lb. of comb). All that the bees
had to do was to gather and store honey. In like manner
the cells were emptied as soon as full, and the time which
would have been wasted in sealing them was utilised.

' The week selected for the experiment was one of the
very f*w when honey is plentiful ; the clover-fields and
the lime-trees in full bloom.

September 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

95

• The honey was taken with a centrifugal slinger, and
thus the comb was returned to the hive uninjured.

1 No doubt the caging of the queen-bee for the eight
days would cause the loss of some thousands of young
be ; but now that the breeding season can be SO readily
prolonged by means of artificial feeding-, that is not of
the consequence it otherwise would have been.

' The honey, which was of superb quality, was ripened
by evaporation and gravitation, as recommended by the
leading apiarians, and we may safely say could not be
surpassed by any of English collection.

'The extreme simplicity of the treatment which has
led to such marvellous results must more than ever cause
bee-keeping to be regarded as a source of profit, and no
doubt the thanks of many will be accorded to Mr.
Harding for this practical proof of what is possible to
be gained from them. Congratulations, in which we
heartily join, are alike due to him for his skill and his
success.'

WINTERING IN THIN SWARM BOX.— CLOSE
ENDED FRAMES.

Referring to what is said on p. 73 about 'Winter-
ing Bees in an Hall-inch Swarm-box,' I wish to ask,
am I right in supposing said box, which wintered
so well, and threw off so many swarms, not to have
been protected in any way, not even with a roof of
some sort all last winter 2 I can scarcely credit it.
If it stood unprotected, and the weather in South
Wales was at all as severe as we had in north-east
Ireland, we may abandon all sorts of water-proofed
and thick-walled hives in favour of packing-cases of
J;-in. stuff, 14 x 14 x 9. Surely there is some omis-
sion in the description. I am deeply interested in
construction of cheap hives suitable for cottagers,
and would abandon everything yet tried in favour
of this Welsh discovery, if genuine. The matter is
well worthy of more serious attention than a
passing notice, and I trust will be well ventilated.
— H. W. Lett, M.A., Hon. Sec. Co. Armagh B.K. A.,
An] more Glebe, Lurgan, Aug. 13.

[There cannot be a doubt but that some kind of roof
was provided to throw off the rain, but the ' no protec-
tion, we take it, means there was no outer case or
covering to the walls of the swarm-box. That bees will
winter well in wooden hives in which the combs touch .
the walls, as they do in skeps, is no new Welsh discovery;
hut the principle underlying which we have for years
been hammering at, and trying to drive into the under-
standings of our readers. It is well known that bees
build their combs against hive walls when there are no
frame-ends to prevent them doing so, and a grain cf
thought will show that when so built against wooden
walls, be they ever so thin, the said walls, so far down as
the comb is built against them, are thickened illimitably(p),
leaving only the ^-ineh perpendicular streaks between
the ends of the comb, to be acted on by outside in-
fluences. The walls parallel to the outermost combs are,
of course, fully exposed, but the outside combs them-
selves afford the best inner protection to the bees that it
is possible to conceive, and their ends being built against
the hive, they are, being cellular, the best natural non-
conductors imaginable. We are infinitely obliged to our
reverend and esteemed correspondent for his valuable
remarks : the subject is worthy of very serious attention.
The box has withstoQd the rigours of one most severe
winter, and being 'well found' within, would withstand
another and another. There is only one thing against
simple boxes for hives : the combs are not moveable, but
supposing such boxes were cut into sections, the cuts
following the spaces between the combs, they would

then be so; and the sections, when placed together again,
would restore the excellence of the bees' own arrange-
ments. Such box would then be a moveable comb-hive
with close frames, the very thing we have advocated for
years, almost to nauseaty, if the word be permissible.
Our paper read before the British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion in the spring of the present year is full of the
subject, but Mr. Cheshire condemned the principle
utterly, claiming that bees prefer to cluster on cork-
stuffed hive-walls in preference to their own natural
combs, but ignoring the fact, for fact it is, that open-
ended frames render the combs untenable. We are
glad, however, to know that the principle, of close-ended
frames has at last been recognised — at the late Exhibi-
tion at South Kensington one hive with such frames was
' commended ' in the class for ' best hive,' and another in
that for the best hive of a substantial character for
general use in an apiary took 'first prize.' At the Dairy-
Show last year a similar hive was exhibited, and was
unnoticed. We have that hive in use, and all who have
seen it are eminently satisfied with it. A swarm was
put into it on June 14th, and in three weeks it had
thirteen frames filled with comb, and had there been
space, more would have been added. All the space
occupied is charged with bees, the hive is of great
weight, and of ah the objections urged by Mr. Cheshire,
not one has yet been found to exist, in fact. — En.]

SINGULAR FREAK OF BEES.
On Thursday afternoon I went out about 2 p.m.,
the sun being bright, to see my bees, and found a
bar-frame hive, which bad been all right in the
morning, totally deserted. The bees had all gone
off, and I could find no trace of them. In about
an hour, however, they returned, and took posses-
sion, without loss of numbers. The hive had
plenty of food inside, as well as brood (apparently
quite healthy), and as there were no queen-cells, I
am at a loss to account for this behaviour. Can
you give any explanation? — A. S., Clydesdale,
Aug. 20.

[But for the presence of plenty of brood, it might
have been that a young queen had been raised and gone
out on a wedding expedition, and that the bees, mis-
taking her purpose, had 'swarmed' out, and returned
with her. We cannot, in the absence of such cause,
suggest another that is likely to be correct. — Ed.]

NEW ZEALAND FLAX.
Mr. Cameron, Jersey, says that he has never
succeeded in making the seeds of Phormium tenax
grow. They are hard to grow, even in New Zea-
land, and must be soaked for twenty-four hours in
hot water. Will Mr. C. say where plants in Jersey
can he procured 'I I have gathered in Canterbury,
New Zealand, one pint of honey in a flax swamp
before breakfast. — J. 0. Hoare, Bitterne, South-
ampton.

' PARALYSIS IN BEES.
Seeing your paragraph in this month's Journal
about the supposed paralysis of bees, I enclose you
a letter from last week's Pharmaceutical Journal,
which, perhaps, may throw some light upon the
matter. — W. B. J., Market Rasen.

' Tue Intoxication op Bees.
' Sin, — Having noticed the remarks in the Pharma-
ceutical Journal of July .'10, upon the apparently intoxi-

SG

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[September 1, 1881.

eating effect on bees of the Asclepias cornuta, I took an
opportunity a few evenings ago of slightly extending the
observation. I found the bees, on the asclepias, in
exactly the same lazy state as described, and moreover
that they could be pushed off the flowers without flying
away. When thus made to quit their hold they fell
heavily to the ground, quite unable to use their wings.
Passing on through the different natural orders, wherever
I found bees on plants I pushed them off, and in nearly
every case they were apparently intoxicated, or at any
rate in some abnormal condition.

' I took a note of the following plants producing this
effect, viz. : — Centaurea scabiusa, Echinops spha-rocephalus,
Iinpatiens glandulifera, Cephalaria tartarica, and some
others ( Composites).

' It maj', therefore, I venture to think, be taken for
granted that the asclepias and teazle cannot be considered
the only apian dram-shops. I would further add that
these intemperate bees were without exception drones.

' 16a Bridge Road, Hammersmith, W. T. F.'

UNITING SWARMS— A SAD MISTAKE.

A few days since two of rny stocks of bees rose
at the same time, and having but one empty bar-
fraine hive I put the first stock shaken into it at
once, and in the evening united the second swarm
to it, having well sprinkled it with syrup. They
went up well, and to all appearance amicably.
Being absent from home the next day I saw no-
thing of them that day ; but the day after, on
examining them, I found the bottom of the hive
covered with wet dead bees, and very few others
alive ; — the two swarms destroyed. Can you, in
your next issue of the Journal, suggest the cause of
the destruction of the beesl — J. S. I., Mevagissey.

[In uniting swarms that issue on the same day very
little precaution is needed ; and had the directions so oft
repeated in Journal and leaflets* been followed, the loss
would have been almost impossible. For the benefit of
new readers we repeat the directions given in our leaflet,
so far as the actual union of swarms is concerned, and
woidd advise a perusal of the whole pamphlet by those
intending to ' unite.'

' Uniting Swarms. — In uniting swarms to each other, if
they be normal swarms, i. e. such as come off naturally
through increase of population at a season when honey
abounds, little precaution is necessary, as, being already
gorged with honey, which instinct teaches the bees to take
with them as a first means of commencing the building of
comb, they will be too heavy and lazy to attempt great
resistance.

' If two such swarms issue on the same day, they should
each be hived separately until the evening, the second being
put into an old skep or box. Number one swarm should
then be placed on the ground, near the stand it is to
occupy, a stick of about an inch diameter being laid cross-
wise under it to keep it off the ground, and the other should
be shaken out of its hive in front of it, when the second
will crawl in and swell the numbers of the first, and, uniting
with it, a full swarm will as a rule be safely formed.'

The immediate cause of the disaster was suffocation ;
the heavy, saturated bees crawled as they best could
into the hive and joined the cluster already formed
there, but their weight most probably broke down the
festoons of bees, and wet and dry were tumbled together
on the floor-board, choking the entrance and bringing
about the suffocating- heat that produces sickness in the
bees and causes them to vomit their honey, hence they
became a heap of drowned bees. — Ed.]

* Uniting may be had post-free for Id. from our office. —
Ed. B. B. J.

MULTIPLICITY OF QUEENS.

Last Saturday I transferred for a neighbour the
bees from a straw skep into a frame hive. Two
days previously, and also the same morning, we
could hear three queens calling in the hive. My
impression was that the queens calling would be in
the cells just ready to come out; but when we
opened the skep we found seven live and mature
queens. I should not have been surprised at two,
but is not seven a very unusual occurrence 1 Again,
for curiosity, we opened all the queen-cells, some of
which were sealed up and contained nothing ; but
out of one came a live common worker-bee — a
young and very small one.

I began to keep bees this spring with four frame-
hives, in this very out-of-the-way place, which hives
were unanimously condemned by all the veteran bee-
keepers ; they have all tried wooden hives, and all
failed. In May my bees were far stronger than any
of theirs ; and on the 14th I took an artificial swarm
very successfully in the presence of several spectators.
The knowing ones came to the conclusion that the
parson had certainly taken leave of his senses, for
the stock must die without a queen ; but, to their
great surprise, both swarm and stock are doing
remarkably well. One of my neighbours has
transferred all his bees to frame-hives on Abbott's
principle. Another came to me the other day and
wanted to buy a swarm in a box-hive. I can't sell,
but am very glad to give instruction and advice.
— Icardus, Durham.

[It is not uncommon for bees when about to swarm
to raise twenty, thirty, or even more queen-cells, many
of which come to maturity about the same time,' and, as
a matter-of-fact, often issue together when ' casting.'
From the ' piping ' heard, it is evident the young
queens were being kept in their cells by the bees ; but
when the driving operations commenced the ' guards '
forgot their duty and sought their own safety, and the
young queens escaped. The strange part of the experience
was finding a worker bee in a queen-cell; but that was
eclipsed at Shrewsbury by an Hon. and Rev. correspondent
finding two workers lying end to end in a queen-cell. (See
August No., p. 73.) Bees have, doubtless, done queer
things throughout, but there have never been so many
keen eyes watching for them as at the present time, hence,
probably, they have not been noted. — Ed.]

CLEANING OR ROBBING THE DEAD ?

I frequently see one or two bees on the floor-board
apparently in the act of cleaning another. They
put out their tongues all over its body, and some-
times one of them takes it and carries it away some
yards in the air, and then lets it drop, and returns
again to the hive and commences operations on
another bee. I have watched them for hours, and
it is always the same bees which perform the
cleaning part. Will you kindly say in next Journal
if they really are cleaning the bee, or what they
are supposed to be about, as I should like very
much to know t — H. W. Durant, North Laivton.

[It is a common occurrence for the live tees to scrutinise
the dead before carrying them away, but seeing that they
pay so little respect to their injured sisters, the}' can
scarcely be thought to be simply cleaning the dead prior
to burial. It would almost appear that the dead bees
contained, or were smeared with honey, and that the
live ones were searching them, and removing it. — Ed.]

September 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

97

(Btlptz fxam the gibes.

' With so beautiful weather in England and several
parts of Ireland, you will be surprised perhaps to learn
that in this Ultima Thule of Counaught I can solemnly
assert that for the past seven weeks we have not had as
many days of genuine summer weather.' — H. J. M.

Lochyi/phead, N.B. — Bad Season in Scotland. — 'I
have no honey at all here this year so far ; there have
not been two consecutive fine days the whole summer.' —
J. B.

Horsham, August, 1881. — 'I am bound to tell you
anent your comb-foundation that I judged too hastily,
and without " foundation," about their " sagging " in case
of swarms. First, the two outer frames were only
covered by bees on one of their sides ; and second, the
foundations were not fastened the whole way along the
frame's top — hinc ilia: lachrymal. I have studied with
much interest what you had to say about " hives," and
Messrs. Cheshire and Cowan's respective remarks thereon.'
—J. F. H.

Kingswear, Devon, July 7th, 1881. — Freak of bees. —
'I do not know very much about bee-keeping, but a
thing has happened which I think is rather strange. I
left a slab of empty comb outside one of the hives on a
piece of board : the bees in the hive near to which it
was fastened it down, and filled it with honey. I should
think this something out of the ordinary; and this is
the reason why I tell you about it, thinking it might be
of interest.' — S. Appleton.

Duune, JV. B., Any. 10, 1881. — Season in Scotland. —
' This is still a had season for hone}'-gathering all round
our lo;ality. Heather is just coming into bloom, but
there is no heat. To-day we have had heav}' rain, and
at present the wind is blowing wildly.' — John Main.

Oban, Aug. 12, 1881.— Weather in Scotland.— ' The
weather is still wretched, and will prevent many heather
honey-supers this season. What a contrast from last
year ! "i ou then had the rain, and wo the sunshine.
Now it is reversed. Enough to make bee-keepers quake
for their poor pets.' — R. J. B.

Sleaford, Aug. 12, 1881. — Condemned Bees. — ' I have
begged the bees, and assisted to take this season thirty-
three stocks, and have about ten more to take, all from
cottagers, who would have killed them with brim-
stone. I give six full sheets of comb-foundation, and
put three of the weak, and two of the strong, stocks
together. A friend has helped me to take a few, but
the greater part have been taken by myself and my son,
a lad just home for his holidays, which astonishes the
cottagers, that, with my large occupation of 700 acres, I
should think it worth mjr doing : this is practical logic.
They are anxious now about bar-frames.' — R. Thorpe.

Gordon Street, Glasgow, Any. 16, 1881. — Prospects in
Renfrewshire. — ' What awful weather we are having !
Your bees appear to have done well, while here it is one
stone of sugar after another to keep them from starva-
tion. I do hope we will have a fortnight yet to let them
do something at the heather ; if not, it will be desola-
tion everywhere in the north. This is a bad year to stir
up people to bee-keeping. Good book that of Cowan's,
eh ? I am much pleased with it. Next year the
Caledonian Show takes place in Glasgow, when we hope
to see a lot of English faces again.' — R. J. Bennett.

Leicester, Aug. 18. — ' I am -glad to tell you that I
have had unusual good fortune with my bees this
summer, having taken over 200 lbs. of honey from five
of your framed hives, which appear to have answered
admirably. I hope to send a report of my experience
and good success with my own bees to the Bee Journal,
which I hope will be received for the encouragement of
other novices. I have done a great deal in the neigh-

bourhood to promote apiculture, and have been sent for,
and have sent (at least, my nephew and gardener) from
far and near to render assistance, and give advice on the
subject which seems to be commending itself to the
minds and attention of very many. Thanking you for
your prompt attention to all my requests from the first
of my introduction to you.' — L. T.

(Stoics anb Holies.

Query No. 408. — Wax Extracting. — I expected,
among the numerous exhibits at Torquay last week, to
have seen some kind of an apparatus for the more easy
way of extracting wax from the combs. Will you kindly
insert in the next month's Journal if there has been any
improved method, or what you deem the easiest way ? —
Jno. E. Adams, Kinysbridye, Auy. 15.

Reply to Query' No. 408. — Mr. Hooker's plan is the
best we know of, it being simple, easy, and inexpensive.
Break up the comb and boil it in a vessel of water, mash-
ing it with a spatula to cause the thorough separation of
its cells, and when sufficiently cooked, press all the
particles of comb under water, and the wax will float on
the top, when it may be allowed to cool and set, or it
may be skimmed off and thrown into cold water. To
depress the waste particles, take a hoop of the size of the
vessel and sew strainer canvas over it, making a kind of
shallow net ; put this on the boiling mass and press it
down under the water, — a little bagginess will enable
the operator, with the aid of the spatula, to disturb the
crust the exuvi» will form under the canvas, and con-
tinued boiling will cause all the wax to come to the sur-
face, to be dealt with at pleasure. — Ed.

Query' No. 409. — Condemned Bees, and Ligurian
Queens. — I intend to buy a lot of these about the end of
September, the time the general massacre takes place in
this neighbourhood, and shall be glad if you will answer
the following questions on the subject: — 1. Would the
time I transfer them be a good time to give them a
Ligurian queen, or had I better wait until spring when
there are more young bees about Y 2. How man}' pounds
of syrup should I give each lot if I put them into hives
fitted with foundation? — Tyro, Oswestry.

Reply to Query' No. 409. — 1. There are several con-
siderations which make it difficult to advise on the
matter. Queens are cheaper in autumn than in spring,
but there is the risk of introduction, and the impossibility
of repairing the loss of an alien at so late a period, ex-
cept by incurring a similar risk ; then the possibility of
the rescued stock going wrong and ' coming to grief ' in
the winter, after the queen has been successfully intro-
duced ; and again, the chance that in the spring a costly
queen may be found at the head of but a weakiy colony,
and unable from sparseness of attendants to develope her
powers to the full. Our practice and recommendation
are always to unite valuable queens to the best stocks in
the apiary, where they will be reasonably safe. 2. There
is no rule on tin* point, so much depending on the time,
the weather, and the surroundings ; but if the bees have
from 10 to 12 lbs. of sealed honey, or syrup, available in
the hive when they go into winter quarters, they will
not be likely to die of starvation. If they breed much
they will consume food in proportion. — Ed.

Query No. 410. — Driving. — Will you kindly say
where I am wrong? I am but a beginner. I drove
three hives this week, but could not get above half the-
bees to leave the combs, and consequently got stung badly
in clearing them out afterwards, besides having a good
number of them baluH '. in the honey. Before I com-
menced to operate upon them, 1 smoked them with
tobacco and let them remain quiet for about ten minutes,
when I then inverted the full hive and placed an empty
one on the top of it and bound both round with a strong

98

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[.September 1, 1881.

towel and tapped them with two sticks about ten or
fifteen minutes, the failure which I have before stated
resulting1. Your advice will be most thankfully re-
ceived by — Alfhed Nisbett, CormsaU, Kidderminster,
Aug. 17.

Reply to Query No. 410. — Tapping with sticks 1;
not all that is necessary, — the combs should be made to
tremble or they will not be considered untenable by the
bees. To drive 'clean' the top
hive should be fixed above the
full one at an angle of forty-five
degrees, or thereabouts, as sug-
gested in the figure. The back
edges of the skeps can be fixed
together by thrusting a wire nail
or a thin iron meat-skewer
through one and into the other,
and the top one can be kept up
by two sharpened wires bent at
right angles at each end and
thrust into both of them, as indi-
cated. With this arrangement
there will be only a small point
of junction between the two
hives, and the bees can be tickled
with a feather if they show symptoms of idlifg in the
lower hive, and blowing- sharply between the combs
will often expedite their movements. It is some-
times necessary to help them on the way with a
spoon, or similar implement, for occasionally they get
lazy through being gorged and form a pad or cluster, and
do not feel the jarring communicated t(} the hive and
combs, sufficiently to cause them to ascend. When the
top skep is placed close upon the other, the bees begin to
go up all round them, and thus a ring of bees is left on
the upper edge of the lower one. After smoking the
bees there is no danjer of their flying during the opera-
tion.— Ed.

Qxteby No. 411.— Treatment of Rescued Bees.—l. I
have driven two stocks of bees, belonging to a poor
woman, and united them in my Irish hive, with eight
frames of sheet-foundation, and am feeding them with
syrup. For how long must I feed them ? 2. Am I to
leave the space behind the dummy-board empty now,
and fill it with chaff or sawdust for the winter?" 3. In
driving bees I find that though they start very well, they
progress very slowly after a time, even when the queen
has gone up, in spite of drumming, and perhaps even
after an hour the combs are not free from them. Yet I
read of bees being driven in four or five minutes; but un-
luckily I have never seen the process. 4. Ought bees to be
driven in the neighbourhood of other hives, or should the
skep be carried further off ? This woman had fourteen
skeps in a row, all full of bees, and all became much excited,
and made operations difficult and rat her dangerous. 5. Mar-
Itet for Cottager •«' Honey. — The poor people d< m't know how
to find a market for their honey, and this discourages them
from bee-keeping. The neighbouring' grocers either won't
buy, or else wish them to take the value in goods, and
they prefer cash. Can you tell me how to help them?
1 Bee you mention Mr. Iluckle, but I am not a member of
the B. B. K. Association, and have no claim on him, 1
fear, unless being a subscriber to the B. 11. J. is sufficient ?
0. Should all sections be removed now, whether full or
not ? — A Hampshire Lady.

Reply to Query No. 411. — 1. We can only give
general directions that the bees be fed so that they lmve
about a dozen pounds of sealed food to winter upon.
With an open autumn and tolerable surroundings it may
scarcely be necessary to feed at all. The bees should
have access to as many combs only as they can cover,
others being added as occasion — shown by their ability
to work them out and occupy them -may determine.
2. The space in rear need not he filled; but it would be
well to lay a few folds i f carpet or drugget over the

quilt, and let them hang into the hive behind the dummy.
If the bees be kept close with no vacant space in their
nest proper, they will not need further protection than
the Irish hive affords. 3. The reply to Mr. Alfred
Nisbett on this subject is applicable here. They should
not be allowed to loiter at the junction of the hives, but
should be forced to 'move on' by disturbance with a
twig or feather. 4. They may be safely driven near
other bees, but the comb should not he transferred
there. Driving ought not. to occupy more than from
five to ten minutes, and in presence of such an array as
fourteen in a row ; each lot oi bees should be replaced on
its own stand as soon as the queen has gone up
amongst them, otherwise the flying bees, missing their
brood-combs and their queen, will be likely to enter
other hives and cause excitement and commotion. With
the queen and bees back in their old place the flying bees
will enter and be quiet, and driving may proceed; the
bees from the old stock being forced into another skep,
and united forthwith to those with the queen. 5. We
know of no better way to help cottagers than by inducing
them to get their honey stored in neat saleable packages,
when if neighbouring gentry will not buy it grocers will
do so gladly ; or it can be sent further afield. It is hard
on local tradesmen to expect them to buy the unsold
balance of bee-keepers' honey after the gentry and
others have been supplied by bee-keepers themselves,
and it. is no wonder they are not ' keen' for the business.
The difficulty as regards the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation can be overcome by the payment of five shillings
per annum, and is therefore a very small one. The Bee
Journal shows how to obtain honey, which was the
chief trouble before its advent, and in overcoming this
difficulty the subscribers get a full return for their sub-
scriptions. As Editor we do our very best, in a jour-
nalistic way, to promote the interests of our readers, and
of bee-keeping generally, but cannot undertake personal
responsibility as honey salesmen, or merge the indi-
viduality of our Journal with affairs of Associations.
The objects are identical, and each can help the other to
the end in view, but there is no reason why they should
be mutually involved. Cottagers' honey, obtained by
squeezing the combs, and stowed in crocks and gallipots,
can have no chance with the beautiful liquid honey
obtained by the aid of the extractor, and put up in neat
glass jars, many thousands of which we have been in-
strumental in providing this year. Nor can the comb-
honey in straw skeps 'stand' by the side of that in the
beautiful little sections, which are so cheap to purchase,
and are so acceptable to the bees and to the public gene-
rally when filled, (hie half at least of the difficulty expe-
rienced in selling honey lies in the fact that too high a
price is demanded for it. In the West End of London
unique specimens of comb-honey realise 3«, (></. per pound
or more amongst the aristocracy and merchant primes;
and that is unfortunately taken as tie' price which it
ought to realise generally : hence at the late Kensington
Show many 2-lb. sections were priced at is. and -Is. (id.
each, and remained on hand, while those quoted at .'Is.
found ready purchasers. — En.

QuBEY No. 412. — On May 31st, my bees began to
work in a super I had put. on a few days before; by the
8th of June they had nearly tilled it, and showed signs
of swarming, I therefore put another super on the top
of the first one; they began at once to work in this as
well as the lower one, and by the 23rd of June they
had quite filled the lower super with comb and honey,
and nearly completed the second one, though the honey
was not sealed in either super. As they again showed
signs of swarming I put on a third super, and they began
to work on it at once. On the 22nd of July, as I was
going from home 1 took off the two lower supers, re-
placing the third; but though all the comb was beau-
tifully sealed inside, the outside frames of each super,
although full of honey, were not sealed. It was the

September 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

99

same with two supers I took off another hive, the outside
sections next to the glass were not sealed, although they
had been kept covered and quite dark. I shall be much
obliged if you can tell me the reason for this, as it will
help me another year. — Gr. P. Cubham, August 14.

Reply to Query No. 412. — It would appear that
the 'signs of swarming' were deceptive, the fact being
that the heat in the hive was too great, arid under the
circumstances giving the third super was an error, inas-
much as it gave the bees more super work to do than
they could accomplish. Giving ventilation at the bottom
of the hive would have been the correct thing, the bees
then, instead of building additional comb in the third,
would have completed the comb on the other two supers.
Doubtless the heat was great when the third super was
put on, but honey is not always forthcoming with heat,
and a little nicety of judgment is demanded at such
times as to whether to give increased super space or
bottom ventilation. The condition of the surroundings
affords the best criterion, and the bee-keeper will best
know wdiether the honey prospects will warrant the
former. It is easy to prophesy after the event, but from
the fact that the bees did not effect in the last month
more than half as much as they did in the previous three
weeks, it is evident that the latter course should have
been applied. — Ed.

Query No. 413. — 1. A Beginner's Autumn difficulties.
— I must preface by saying that I am only a beginner
this year. I started with six hives — bar-frame hives —
after the pattern in Modern Bee-keeping, 15 x 15, double-
walled all round; swarms placed in May -'!0, June 1,
June 15, June 15, June 24, July 1st ; weight of swarms 3
to 4 lbs. ; gave six full frames of foundation, and added as
required up to ten. I find all the frames of most of the
hives full of honey and brood. I placed aflat of sections
on three earliest and strongest, July 18, but they have
not been touched — could I have expected more? 2. I
drove a stock twenty -one days after it had swarmed
with the greatest ease in ten minutes, not above a dozen
bees remaining in the stock. With this I was much
pleased, as I have never seen it done. But last week 1
got into the same difficulty as one of your correspondents
in B. B. Journal — trying to drive young and weak
stocks, and had at last to knock them out. Now as I have
about twenty condemned stocks offered me I should like
to know when is the best time of day F •"!. About the
best time of year? 4. Is there any difficulty if the stock
is full of comb, &C.P 5. I think of uniting each two con-
demned stocks, and placing them in six frames (three
full ones from other hives, and three of foundation), and.
feeding up. Shall I be right ? 6. Would they require
feeding at once if taken next week, or could 1 leave that
till the end of September ? 7. Is there any rule by which
I can tell how many frames the bees will require (that
is, the condemned stocks) : for instance, so much weight
of bees for each frame ? 8. Supposing I am only able
to give full sheets of foundation to condemned stocks
— we might now say rescued stocks — will they be able
to work it out and store, sufficient food ? "Would they
be able to do it without foundation — say, in a straw
skep ?

Reply to Query No. 413. — 1. Doubtless you would
have had much more if there had been more room in
the body of the hive, and had more frames been given.
It is most singular that in the face of the bees con-
tinually refusing to enter supers, they should be cramped
in their body - hive, to choke the breeding - space
with honey. A good swarm should have rilled double
the number of frames in the time, in such a season as
the past has been. 2. If for making artificial swarms,
about midday ? If for taking the honey and transfer-
ring, towards evening. .'!. At the close of the honey
harvest, whenever that may be. 4. We have never
ound any difficulty ; but we always take care to make
the combs tremble or jar. Many persons act on the

principle that it is the hive only that needs rapping,
whereas it is the trembling of the combs that the bees
so much dislike. 5. It would be better to give the
bees, say, four frames of foundation only, or they, having
already three combs may not care about making much
more. Let them dD their best, and help them with
combs of honey and pollen afterwards. 6. This must
depend upon the weather and surroundings : if they can
get but a scant supply they ought to be fed. 7. About
a pound for each frame to begin with will do fairly as a
criterion ; but the safe principle is to shut them up with
only as many frames as they can cover on both sides.
8. Yes, in the first instance, if fed gently and con-
tinuously, because there, will be so little labour in the
production of comb, and breeding and storing will pro-
ceed rapidly. — Yes, also, in the second case, if the bees
are sufficiently numerous, and have, say, six weeks of
tine weather before them, and plenty of food; otherwise
it is absurd to expect a swarm to do in six weeks what
many swarms cannot effect in as many months. It is
true that by feeding heavily late rescued bees may be in-
duced to fill their hive with combs, and attain great
weight ; but that is not all that is necessary to success.
The comb should be chiefly worker-comb, and there should
be a good batch of brood, neither of which conditions
is likely to be obtained by late copious feeding. In our
last issue we showed how comb foundation can be supplied
to skeps, we do not recommend their use as in them combs
are not moveable ; but those who insist on'using them should
at least give the bees a fair chance, and save themselves
considerable expense, by giving them foundation, as
suggested. Worker-cells can thus be insured on every
bit of foundation supplied ; and drone-cells, if any be
built, will be on the outer edges of the comb, in the position
experience teaches us to be most desirable. — Ed.

Query No. 414. — Removing Supers. — Extracting
Money. — Loss of Queens. — Kindly inform me, through
the journal, the correct way to take off a super, and
also how to take the honey from the frames to put
them in the extractor. I have lost three queens from
one hive, and I cannot account for it, as I find there is
plenty of brood and bees. Could you give me any idea
as to a cause ? The only cause that I put it down to was
the cold nights we have had. — J. S. Ford, Devonport.

Reply to Query No. 414. — Blow a little smoke
into the super to cause some of the bees to leave it,
which they will quickly do if it be fit for removal, for
under the influence of fear they will seek out some
open honey cells which a 'fit' super will not contain.
Then, if it was properly put on, i.e., with a thin honey
board between it and the brood nest, it may be prised
off and carried away, and the quilt should be put on
to the hive forthwith. If the bees are troublesome
smoke must be used during all the operation, but as a
rule very little will be needed. If there is no distinct
bottom to the super and the combs are built down
to the hive, a thin string or wire must be drawn with
a see-saw motion between the super and the hive to
sever the combs and release the super, and then a little
smoke should be driven in, and the super raised about
half-an-inch supported on three or more wedges that
the bees may lick up the loose honey set free by the wire.
In a quarter of an hour the super should be lifted off.
The bees brushed from its lowest parts, and it should
be treated as described on the second page of the August
Journal. In extracting honey from combs in frames, it
is not necessary to cut them from the latter : but with a
sharp honey-knife slice off the covers from the sealed
cells, and place the comb with the unsealed side against
the wire-frame of the extractor, when if the latter
be put in motion the honey will leave the cells and
will be found in the reservoir intended to receive it.
When one side of the comb has been relieved the other
should be similarly treated,

Without more particulars we cannot even guess a

100

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[September 1, 1881.

reason for the loss of the queens, but it was scarcely
likely to have been caused by the cold at this time of
year. — Ed.

Query No. 415. — Casting out Brood. — I shoidd be
obliged if you or some reader of the Journal could
explain the following : — I was lately examining- some
2-lb. sections nearly filled and removing some of them,
when I found a little drone brood in one (about six cells),
and in another, in a worker cell, I found about one-eighth
of an inch of the tail of the occupant and some honey
over it. The remains of the young bee appeared quite
healthy, and I do not think there is any foul brood in
my hives. Could the bees have cut them awa)' to make
room for honey which was then coming in freel)' for a
short time ? I had the sections immediately over the
frames as the swarm was late, and I thought I had
room enough in the hive, there was, however, a little
brood in these two sections. — E. D'Olier, Jun., Bray,
August 4, 1881.

Reply to Queby No. 415. — The drone-brood is a
natural effect, but the tail part of a worker in the honey
is an unusual circumstance, and may be considered
accidental. During a rapid incoming of honey the
breeding department of a hive often becomes so blocked
that the forthcoming bees are less in number than those
that die through overwork, hence the idea of swarming
is abandoned, and drone-brood cast out. — Ed.

Query No. 416. — 1. Skeps on Stewartons. — In May
last I placed two skeps, both well stocked with bees,
each upon a Stewarton body-box five inches deep, with
four frames, a board, with a good-sized hole through its
centre, being in each case interposed between the box
and the skep. I calculated upon taking the skeps in
about the middle of September, pretty well filled with
honey, and keeping the boxes as stock hives. Though
these hives, neither of which swarmed, have a good deal
of honey in them, as I judge from their weight, and the
honey harvest is not over — the heather, a mile or two
distant, being just coming into bloom — I do not look for
any great crop of honey this year, owing to the cold and
wet here ; and I now purpose to take only one of the
skeps, giving the bees of one hive both the body-boxes,
any brood found in the skeps taken being, of course,
utilised. In neither box have the bees built their combs
truly withiu the two central frames — the only ones I
can see ; and I purpose, when I deal with the two hives,
to put all the combs in the positions designed for them.

2. Straightening Combs. — I have one of your Wood-
bury hives, in which the combs are not only not truly
built in the frames, but also, I fear, in some places
fastened together, so that the frames are not now inter-
changeable. Would you recommend me to straighten
the combs this year at the end of the breeding season,
say early in October, or to wait till spring ?

3. Can you give me the price per pound of a well-
sealed cap of honey on or about the 13th instant ? —
Montanus, August 25.

Reply to Query No. 410. — 1. The hive that is to be
made up of the two body-boxes will have the greater
share of the strength of the two colonies, since it will
have nearly, if not quite, all the brood of both. Were it
our case, we should, prior to sending to the heather, add
another Stewarton box to each, the frames and bars being
filled with worker comb-foundation, which would help
the bees in filling them with comb, would afford occupa-
tion for the queens, and cause them to leave the skeps to
be filled up with honey, while the breeding space would
not be liable to be cramped to destruction should the
heather honey-yield be fairly good. If this advice be
taken, the present boxes, being above the proposed new
ones, will probably be filled with homy to a large extent,
and we would leave them to be dealt with in the spring.
Late interference is often hurtful, anil had better hi'
avoided if possible.

2. If to be straightened this year it would be better to
do it as soon as possible to give the bees a chance of
making all necessary amendments before the cold weather
sets in. If done in October, and frost ensues before the
bees have properly fixed the combs, the hive will be in
a muddle all winter. Our favourite time for such work
is about three weeks after swarming, when there is little
or no brood to hurt, but with comb-foundation at hand,
we never mean to have any more crooked or old combs.

3. The honey should be about Is. 6d. per pound. — Ed.

Query No. 417. — Queen laying several Eggs in Cells. —
1. I have a small observatory hive containing one Standard
frame, into which I put a full sheet of foundation, and a
handful or so of bees (Ligurians) with a young queen
which had mated with a black drone. The bees soon
worked it out; but when clustering could only cover
about half of frame, and in this I find the queen has laid
eggs ; but in some cells she has laid three or four. Is
this common when the queen is confined to space ? 2.
Wax-moth. — In two of my hives I have found signs
of the wax-moth ; there are places (only a few) where
they have eaten off the caps from the brood, I have
also found some maggots. What do you recommend me
to do? They are in new hives containing new combs;
but I'm sorry to say I stand but a very poor chance of
extirpating them, as I have to keep my bees in an old
loft. 3. How many Standard frames will contain food
and space enough for the bees to winter on, supposing
they are half full of honey? — W. Reed.

Reply No. 417. — 1. It is not uncommon for queens when
young and vigorous, and newly taken from hives in which
they were laying, to deposit several eggs in single cells,
until they get used to their cramped surroundings. In
the present case had she not deposited them she might
have died of congested ovaries. 2. Keep Ligurian bees
only — they are death to the wax-moth — failing that there
is no remedy but searching the worms out and destroy iug
them. We have seen patches of brood covered with the
web of the moth so that the young bees, though coming
to maturity, were unable to hatch out of the cells. 3. As
many frames as the bees can cover on both sides. — Ed.

Query No. 418. — Bee-books. — Extractors. — Is Mr.
Cook's book 5s. more elaborate than Cowan's Guide Book
Is. Qd. ? Please explain the special merits of Cowan's
Automatic Extractor in next number of Journal, and
state its price. — S. G., Morecombelake, Bridport.

Reply to Query' No. 418. — Cook's Manual of the
Apiary is an elaborate work. Special care has been
bestowed on the natural history of the bee, which
extends from page 24 to 113, and in the remaining 200
odd eveiy material subject has been exhaustively
treated, rendering it a standard work of reference. Mr.
Cowan's little book is less pretentious ; but in the hands
of an amateur is not so likely to be confusing. Written
for English bee-keepers by a most successful apiarian,
with no view to personal aggrandisement, it treats of
English bee-keeping as at present practised in an easy,
understandable way. Mr. Cook recommends that ' every
prospective bee-keeper should procure some good manual,
and thoroughly study, especially the practical part of the
business ; ' and this Mr. Cowan's work eminently supplies.

Extractors. — Mr. Cowan's extractors have borne off
the palm in England for several years, and are almost
the only apiarian implements in which advances on pre-
viously acknowledged principles have been duly recog-
nised by the judges. The wire cages to contain the
combs revolve on a central spindle withiu a can, the
gearing being of simple construction and arrangement.
The honey, during the revolution of the cages, flies out
of the cells against the inside of the can, and runs down
into the bottom of it, where it accumulates and may be
drawn off by means of a treacle-valve. These arc fea-
tures common to the generality of extractors, but Mr.
Cowan has devised a new arrangement that renders per-

September 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

101

fonuance of some portions of the work of extracting
automatic and labour-saving, hence the terms applied to
his machines. The chief of the improvements recognised
by the judges is an ingenious arrangement by which the
revolver-cages and the combs within them are reversed,
and brought inner side out, by simply turning the handle
of the machine in a different direction. For this ' special
merit ' is claimed, but, with all due respect to the opinions
of others, wo hesitate before giving it unqualified ap-
proval. In common with all extractors whose cages
revolve within the can, as at present constructed, there
are disadvantages, as compared witli others iu which
the can itself revolves carrying the cages with it. The
rapid revolution of the cages alone disturbs the air within
to so great a degree that the temperature falls to an ex-
tent dangerous to brood, if any be in the combs, which
is not the case if the can itself revolves with the cages,
the can being closed. The automatic movement of the
cages, by which the comb? in them are reversed, is not to
our mind perfect as a labour-saving appliance. Each
cage is of a size to receive a frame of comb which, when
placed in it, stands, or should stand, close against the
wirework farthest from the
spindle. Now it will be evi-
dent that, if the cage be not
a roomy one, there will be loss
of time in getting the comb
into it, and if it be large enough
to receive the comb easily the.
automatic arrangement will
not act perfectly. Our mean-
ing will be apparent through
the illustration : the comb is
represented as lying to the
left against the cage, with a
little space between it and the
right-hand side of the cage,
and it will be evident that a
sudden reversal of the cage
will throw the comb to t lie other side in rather a dan-
gerous fashion. Another feature we do not approve is
the necessity for unsealing both sides of the comb before
putting it into the cage, rendering those new and heavy
with honey exceedingly likely to crushing when the
cages are reversed. We cannot state the price of the
machines, but doubtless it will be furnished by the dealers,
who will note address of querist. — Ed.

Query No. 419.— Driving and Finding Queens.— The
other day, at the Westbury Bee Show in this neighbour-
hood, it appeared to me that the only difficulty in driving
was to spot the queen. The only two competitors failed
in this respect, and 'Sir. Abbott had to tind and exhibit
both the queens. I expect that when I attempt to drive
condemned bees into the new frame-hives that I shall
have great difficulty in finding the queens, and I shall be
much obliged, therefore, if you will kindly inform me as
to the feasibility of the following method, which I saw
described in an old book of 1848. The bees are driven
into another hive ; this latter is then held over a pail of
water standing near the hive intended to be occupied by
the bees, and the contents bodily shaken into the water.
A piece of board is placed leading from the pail to the
entrance of the hive to be occupied, and the bees in the
water helped out on to the board by a spoon or strainer,
when they crawl up of themselves. By this means the
book says the queen can lie easily secured iu transit.
Now if this is correct, and the bees do not drown in the
water, it seems to me an easy and effective method of
catching her majesty; but I should very much like to
nave your opinion on the matter. Perhaps if I shook a
portion of the bees at a time into the water, there would
be less fear of drowning ? — C. F. F., August 25.

Reply to Query No. 410.— Finding the queen is
rather a test of expertness than a difficulty in driving,
since -hundreds of- bee-keepers (?) effect tlie latter suc-

cessfully who have never seen a queen at all. Those
who cannot distinguish a queen in her normal condition
will not be much helped by half drowning her and the
bees that are with her, and neither queen nor bees are
likely to be benefited by the sousing, particularly if a
cold night follow the operation. An expert will, as a
rule, spot a queen as she goes up, in open driving, with
certainty, and, if she be with the swarm, will always
discover her. Novices, however, often fail in both cases.
To prevent the necessity for half-drowning the bees, it
would be advisable to sprinkle the inverted hive freely
with thin syrup before driving, that the bees may
thoroughly gorge themselves, and when driven they may
be lifted out iu spoonfuls as easily as if they were
saturated from the outside, and with a very much better
chance of success, besides which the queen would not
run the risk of injury from the chill the water would
cause. — Ed.

Query No. 420. — Treatment of Condemned Bees. —
A man two miles from here will let me have eight of his
stocks of bees if I drive them instead of letting them be
killed. 'Will it be the best plan to drive them into
separate straw hives and bring them home, rather than
unite them there and put them in the frame-hives ? If I
get any brood-comb how had I best protect it while
getting it home? — T. L., Maidstone.

Reply to Query No. 420.— These queries show how
much easier it is for bee-keepers to send to us for inform-
ation rather than to look for it in their Journal. In
last month's issue these very subjects were exhaustively
treated, and our poor right hand refuses to repeat what
was then explained. — Ed.

Query No. 421. — Wax Scales on Alighting-Board. —
I enclose you three grains of some substance that I find
our bees carrying out and depositing on the alighting-
boards, and would be glad if you would say what it
is. I examined some of the combs the other evening,
and they seemed all right, and doing well, and we have
been feeding them largely with syrup, as the weather is
showery. — H. J. C, Wexford.

Reply to Query No. 421. — They were scales of wax
that had dropped from the. clustering bees. The wax
as formed exudes from the sides of the abdomen, and
often drops to the floor-board and is lost. The fact of
bees carrying out the newly-formed pearly gems is
rather against the theory that they will freely use chips
of old comb.— Ed.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.

J. J. A. — The insect was a hornet: they arc very de-
structive to bees. Perching on a branch they will
suddenly swoop down upon a honey-laden bee, carry
it to their ' perch,' bite off its head, suck out all its
honey, drop its body, and repeat the process.

New Zealand Honey. — Your inquiry was noticed in the
February Journal of this year, which you do not
appear to have perused. The sample forwarded came
safely to hand, and was worth about 8d. per lb.
delivered here, though now after a wonderfully good
harvest it might not realise so good a price. The best
way to test the question will be to consign a few
eases, and let them be sold. We are willing to be
helpful, but cannot take any share in the risk. * In a
country where honey is so plentiful that it is used for
making blacking, and often (as we hear) cannot be
sold at all, even a low price ought to*be acceptable.

Ctlantox, Alxwick. — Wood Foundation. — We have
already explained in the Journal that our machine for
impressing foundation on wood is out of order, and
therefore we cannot now make it. During the winter
months a new machine will be procured, and iu the
spring we shall be able to supply it in quantity.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Sept, 1, 1881.

Lincolnshire Bee -keepers' Association,

IZLSTSTITTXTIEZD OCTOBEE, 1875.

President : The Right Rev. the Bishop of Nottingham.

The Association will hold their Sixth Great

annual €jfyibition <rf 2|oneg, 3tos>, IKbe*, #r.

AND PRACTICAL APIARIAN MANIPULATIONS,

In the CEDAR GROUNDS, LOUTH

(Kindly lent for the occasion by J. Bennett, Esq.),

On THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th, 1881.

Under the Patronage of the Mayor of Louth.

A CONVERSAZIONE wiU be arranged on the evening preceding the Show, at the Council Chamber
(by kind permission of the Mayor), when short Addresses will be given by practical Bee-keepers,
illustrated by Models and Diagrams, and Bees in Observatory Hives, seen working. The
VICAR of LOUTH will preside.

SCHEDULE OF PRIZES.

Class. BEES.

1. For the best Specimen of Ligurian Bees, to be exhibited with the Queen iu an Observatory Hive ...

2. For the best Specimen of English Bees, to be exhibited with the Queen in an Observatory Hive ...

3. For the best Specimen of any distinct variety of Honey Bees, other than Ligurians, or the British

Black Bees

HONEY.

4. For the largest and best Exhibition of Super Honey, the produce of one Apiary 20,0

5. For the best Glass Super, over 12 lbs. nett weight

6. For the best Glass Super, under 12 lbs. nett weight ... 10,0

7. For best Super of Honey, the Super to be of Wood, or Wood in combination with Glass or Straw 10/0

8. For the best twelve lib. Sections of Comb Honey

9. For the best twelve 21b. Sections of Comb Honey 20/0

SPECIAL PRIZE, presented by Messrs. W. and T. Sells, of Uffington, for the largest and best
Super of Honey of any description, by a Cottager or Artizau earning less than 1/. weekly,
who shall be a member of the Association, resident in the County —

Bar Frame Hive, Crate of 21 Sections, 1 dozen Glass Honey Jars.

SPECIAL PRIZE, given by the British Bee-keepers' Association, for the best exhibition of Honey
in Sections, each section not more than 2 lbs. in weight, the total weight of each entry to
be not less than 20 lbs., by a member resident in the county Silver Medal. Bronze Medal. Certificate.

10. For the best Straw Super '. 7/6 5/0 2/6

11. For the best Glass of Extracted or Run Honey, of not less than 5 lbs. nett weight, quality to be

the chief point of excellence. ATo Exhibitor shall take more than one Prize in this Class 10/0 7/6 5/0 2/6

12. For the best and largest Exhibition of Extracted or Run Honey, in glass jars of 1 lb. and 21b.

weight each 20/0 15/0 12/6 10/0 7/6 5/0

SPECIAL PRIZE, presented by Mr. G. Bywatek, Louth, a BAR-FRAME HIVE, for the best
Exhibit in Class 7, by a Cottager, who shall be a Member of the Association, resident in
the County.

SPECIAL PRIZE, presented by Mr. R. R. Godfrey, Grantham, Current Vol. of B. B. Journal,
for the best Exhibit in Class 6, by a Cottager, who shall be a Member of the Association,
resident in the County.

SILVER CUP.

The Silver Cup of the Association, open to Members only, resident in the County, for the best and
largest Exhibition, in all or any of the Honey Classes, of Honey taken without destroying
the Bees. The Cup to become the property of such Member who shall win it Three Times.

13. For the finest sample of pure Bees' Wax, not less than 4 lbs. weight 5/0 2/6

14. For the best Liqueur, Wine, or Mead made from Honey, with the recipe attached 10/0 5/0

SPECIAL PRIZE, presented by the Rev. R. B. Bayly, a Honey Slinger for the best Exhibit in
Class 12, by a Cottager, who shall be a Member of the Association, resident in the County.

All Honey must be the bond fide property of the Exhibitor, gathered by his or her Bees iu the natural way this year. (Sec Rules.)

Prizes.

20/0

10/0

20/0

10/0

20/0

10/0

15/0 10/0

7/6

15/0 10/0

5/0

7/6 5/0

2/6

7/6 5/0

2/6

15/0 10/0

7/6

15/0 10/0

7/6

THE

[No. 102. Vol. IX.]

<XTOP.HU, 1881.

[Published Monthly.]

(^tutorial, tlfltius, fe.

WINTERING BEES.

With winter approaching, it becomes the duty
of the bee-keeper to use every means^hat will
be helpful in preventing the troubles that may
arise through the vicissitudes of our precarious
climate. No one can foretell how soon the
Winter King may put his seal upon the earth ;
and, should he come and find us unprepared,
no amount of care and afterthought will repair
the mischief that will be caused, and we there-
fore urge our readers to carry out the neces-
sary work of preparation at once.

Many bee-keepers have an erroneous impres-
sion that bees pass the winter in a state of dor-
mancy, and the error has led to grievous losses,
but, with observant apiarists, it is well known
that even in the coldest weather the operations
of the hive continue ; or, if they cease, the
bees die. Throughout the winter, bees con-
sume food to generate and maintain heat pro-
portionately to the changeability of the climate,
and for the rearing of brood when their in-
ternal economy or exigency induces its pro-
duction. Normally, bees do not breed during
about sixteen to eighteen weeks after the honey
season has closed ; and long experience teaches
that during such period every precaution should
be taken to secure the maximum of rest for the
bees hi every respect. To be at ' rest ' they
should be subject to no disturbing influences ;
there should be no feeding or interference, and
the hive should be so constructed that external
changes of temperature should have no sudden
effect upon the bees. There should be no jarring
by proximity to railways or roads over which
heavy traffic passes, nor by hive-stands being
- attached to rickety fences or buildings liable to
be shaken by the wind. Every disturbance of
the hive creates activity amongst the bees, in-
duces them to take food inordinately, generates
excessive heat, tends to produce a desire for
breeding, and frequently leads to loss of brood

by chilling, loss of bees by the wear and tear
of labour, and to dysenteric distention through
over-charge of faocal matter, which may, and
probably will, eventually develope into the most
destructive of all bee diseases, ' foul brood.'
The chief requirements for safe wintering are
dryness within the hive, a goodly number of
bees, and a healthy, fertile queen ; a sufficiency
of sealed stores, and perfect quietude as above
described. The hive should contain in itself
the faculty for resisting outdoor influences ;
there should be no means by which rain or snow
could find entrance or lodgment, but there
should be facility for upward ventilation without
draught, and a means of excluding bright sun-
light, particularly when snow is lying upon the
ground. The combs should be perforated a
little above the centre, with one or two half-
inch holes, that the bees may pass from comb
to comb without it being necessary to leave the
cluster and pass round them to obtain food.

Dryness of the Hive's Interior can only be
ensured by keeping out the rain and snow, and
by allowing the vapours generated within the
hive to escape freely from it. A good water-
tight roof will effect the former purpose, and a
porous quilt or cushion upon the frames will per-
mit the latter, provided there be free passage of
air between the roof and the quilt or cushion,
that the vapours of the hive may be driven out
and their condensation in the roof space pre-
vented. The escape of the vapours will be
materially aided by reducing the vacancies
within the bee-nest to a minimum, by enclosing
the bees to only as many combs and comb spaces
as they can occupy, even to crowdedness, that
every part of the nest may be kept as warm as
possible by the presence of the bees.

Crowding the Bees. — Very many bee-keep-
ers are puzzled to know to how great an extent
the principle of crowding for winter is to be
carried. ' If,' say they, 'we crowd our bees into
four, five, or six combs, where will be their
food supply P and if we give them solid combs
of honey, will not they perish of cold, as if
they were between walls of marble P' The*;

104

THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

questions bring us back to a point we have all
along considered a most important one, viz.,
that all feeding should be done early ; and im-
mediately on the close of the honey harvest,
that an income might be kept up and breeding
continued. Were this consistently done, the
bees would store and seal the honey in arches
over and on both sides of the brood, and being
crowded, the)' would be well able to protect the
brood, and as it hatched out would find cell
convenience for forming the dense cluster in
which they winter safely, other arrangements
being complete. On the other hand, if not
crowded and fed until late, and when breeding
has ceased, the bees store their food ' all over
the shop,' and when cold weather sets in they
have nowhere to pack themselves, the food re-
mains unsealed, and is liable to fermentation
and to sweating, through its ready absorption
of the vapours of the hive, and such sweating
makes ccfrnbs and bees damp, and the hive a
miserable dwelling-place, which will shorthr
become a dysenteric pest-house. Some of the
evils arising from over-full combs may be molli-
fied in a considerable degree by placing them
at more than their normal distance apart — say
three quarters intead of half an inch, and thus
permitting the bees to pack themselves more
thickly between them than they otherwise could,
and this arrangement will help to dispel the
superabundant moisture the liquid honey may
contain.

Sufficiency of Bees. — We remember, at a
conversazione in the summer, Mr. Cheshire de-
scribing how he had wintered a teacup-full of
bees ; and though his assertion was undisputed,
it was found difficult to assess their value in
spring, except, as may have been, they were
the preservers of a valuable queen whose ser-
vices might then be required. Our object here,
however, is not to show how a few bees may be
preserved, but how to put a stock into winter
quarters that shall do good service hereafter,
and the golden motto, ' Keep all your stocks
strong,' in this respect, applies most forcibly.
To winter well, there should be sufficient bees
to crowd at least four combs on all sides, that
when condensed by cold shall form at least four
seams of bees ; and if a stock has not so manv,
the object should be effected by uniting. Young
fertile queens arc more desirable than old ones,
as they will be more likely to live on ; but
queens that have done well in the current year
should not be lightly superseded, particularly
in late autumn when, through possible failure,
a hive may be left queenless.

Sufficiency of Food. — This should have
been brought about already, but where neg-
lected, and stocks are weak, it will be well to
unite the bees and stores till sufficiently strong
rather than to attempt by feeding to strengthen

them, for where there is no breeding, as at this
late season, ' feeding up ' will but weaken by
the labour it will cause. Many are much exer-
cised as to the quantity of sealed food bees
should have, and as a rule we would say about
two square feet will carry them through until
the crocuses and other early flowering plants
give warning for spring feeding, always sup-
posing they have been comfortably packed and
put securely at rest as indicated herein. There
is a disposition with many bee-keepers to atone
for the neglect of feeding in early autumn by
laying flour-cake, a hard mixture of pea-flour
and sugar, upon the frames, under the quilt, for
winter consumption, but we would warn them
that that is not the legitimate use of that sub-
stance. Sugar cake, i.e., boiled sugar (not bar-
ley-sugar), without admixture of flour, will
enable the bees to exist, but flour-cake is al-
most sure to create an abnormal desire for
breedings which in winter may be highly
dangerous, though in early autumn and spring
its use may be advantageous. Simple syrup or
honey afford all that is necessary in the produc-
tion of heat, but where bees are compelled to
take nitrogenous food as- well, its flesh-forming
properties will almost surely dispose to the
raising of brood, as it does when taken into the
hive as artificial pollen. In strong stocks con-
taining large populations, there is not so great
danger arising from late feeding as in those
that are weaker in numbers, because the greater
heat generated will drive off the moisture in-
troduced with the syrup, and render it more
quickly fit for sealing, or for consunifition, and
it will therefore be permissive to exchange
sealed combs from strong stocks with empty ones
from weaker, and feeding the strong ones to en-
able them to fill them. For actual winter feed-
ing, barley-sugar is the best food ; it never
ought to be necessary, but there always will be
some who cannot find time or inclination to
attend to their bees at the right time, and they
necessarily have to fall back upon a substitute
for food that should be already in the cells.
The worst feature in barley-sugar is that, if
given in quantity, it liquefies on exposure to the
air, often faster than the bees can take it, and
makes a mess, and if given sparingly, it may
happen that the bees will starve through in-
ability to take it at all. Perhaps the best way
to administer it is to let it partly liquefy into a
condition of toughness, and feed by the bottle
through close canvas.

HEAT-itETAiNiNr, Hives. — We do not pro-
pose to inflict anew upon our readers our views
regarding hives ; they have been, perhaps, too
thoroughly ventilated of late, but will restrict
our remarks to their arrangement for winter.
With skeps that invariably have their combs
built up to the roof, and far down the sides, the

October 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

105

arrangements are as perfect as they well can be ;
and provided the bees have sufficient food, are
fairly numerous with a good queen, and are
kept dry, little harm can happen to them. The
bees will be snug- in a nest of their own making,
they will have stored their food in a proper
way, or if under pressure of circumstances they
have stored it unwisely, the fact that they will
be living between certain of the combs which
will be up to the crown and partly down the
walls, will exercise little influence beyond them.
The combs they condense between will lose none
of their heat over or around them, they will re-
' quire no dividers or dummies, because each
comb is in itself a divider of the best kind, and
they will be sure to take up their winter quarters
in the snuggest part of the hive. It is a naturally-
built nest, not by any means convenient for the
advanced method of bee-keeping, but admirably
adapted to the requirements of the bees them-
selves, whose instinct is right beyond question,
and whose method of winter preparation is
worthy of the strictest observation by man, who,
for his greater benefit, robs them of their food,
and forces upon them conditions which are ab-
normal, and ofttimes highly artificial. For
protection all that is needed is a cover that
will keep off the rain and snow, and with a
means by which the vapours from the bees can
escape without condensation, the skep is safe.
To permit the escape of the vapours, a wad of
of straw over the feed-hole is advisable, and this
surmounted by a straw hackle, milk-pan, or a
boarded roof, is sufficient. On no account should
the hive be closely covered with anything im-
pervious, or it will surely become wet and
rotten.

In very cold weather some kind of wrapping
may be added, but dryness is the chief essential
under general circumstances ; and it must not
be forgotten that what will keep out the cold
will keep out the heat. For very close packing,
the entrance of the skep should be temporarily
closed.

The bag should then be filled up
and surmounted by a

bo poured, so as to fill it out up to the crown

of the hive.

with shavings or straw.

milk pan, under which has first been laid a

handful of loose material, through which the

air can circulate, otherwise the hive vapours

will condense under the pan and do mischief.

With frame-hives the conditions are of a
different character : instead of the combs being
built to the hive sides, they are built only to
the frames, and these hanging clear permit the
heat and vapours from the bees to disperse
around them. Many have still a space above
the frames, over which circulation of the hive's
atmosphere can take place, and the bees, in-
stead of being in an inverted heat-containing
chamber, arc, as it were, in a suspended basket
with heat escaping all round. In the heat of
summer this is not greatly harmful, but in
winter it is deleterious, and is the cause of
many of the disasters that occur. In all cases
the space above the frames should be dispensed
with, and those around them closed. Above
the frames this is effected by the quilt being
laid closely on the top bars, and at their ends
pieces of wood h to f of an inch square thrust
between, and touching the hive sides, will
answer the purpose. There are many ways of
doing the same thing, thin strips of wood or
vulcanite between the combs, or short pieces of
rojie, or india-rubber tubing, between the frame
ends, will do : or thin boards slid in between the
frames and the hive walls, and wedged close
Up to the former, will answer ; as indeed will
any means by which the bee -nest may be
made more like that which the bees build
naturally, viz., that there shall be no per-
ceptible circulation of the atmosphere above
or around the combs. The upper half of each
pair should form a chamber from which the
heated air and vapours can only gradually
ascend through the quilt or cushion upon them,
to be blown out of the ventilators in the roof.

The combs having been adjusted as before

should be drawn over it to the floor-board, and
between the folds of the bagr saw- dust should

suggested, it will only be necessary to place
division boards on each side of them, or, pre-
ferably, chaff cushions, as being more retentive
of heat. We give a woodcut showing the ar-

a2

106

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

rangement, whether for hives with frames
across, as in the Woodbury hive, or from back
to front, as in the Combination or Irish Hive.
The arrangement in the latter case demands a
means of passing from the entrance through,
under the chaff cushion, which is a frame of
four pieces of wood with canvas on both sides
and chaff, or, as later ideas, cork-dust or sphag-
num moss, stuffed between. We would advise
that the cushions be made with an entrance-
way at bottom, and that a perforated zinc
tunnel be laid from the hive entrance to it,
which will afford a means by which the wind
blowing against the hive front
will be dispersed in the ante-
chamber instead of drivin;

through the brood-nest.

The

entrance-way in the cushion
at back may be used as a means of feeding in
the rear chamber in perfect security from
outside enemies, or may be stopped up at will.
With needy stocks the back cushion may at
any time give place to a frame filled with
sugar-cake, or in the spring with flour-cake,
when breeding will be both legitimate and
desirable.

Wintering in Cellars. — With the bees
and combs arranged as suggested, bees may be
safely wintered in dark cellars, but on no
account must the entrances be closed with per-
forated zinc, or anything that will confine the
bees. In a perfectly dark room, with the tem-
perature down to 40° Fahrenheit, they will pass

long

night

of several weeks' duration with

safety, but if the temperature rises a few de-
grees they will become uneasy, and should be
set out on fine days for a flight, always being
placed on their own stand. Wintering in
cellars precludes the necessity for packing with
cushions, but the temperature must be kept
down, and no gleam of light allowed to enter ;
and again we say, they must not on any ac-
count be confined to their hives.

Winter Passages in Combs. — These may
be made by pushing a narrow knife straight
through and twisting it round, withdrawing
with it the removed portions of honey and
comb, which may be given to the bees. With
the wooden-based foundation, which is exten-
sively in use, notwithstanding late explained
failures, holes may bo cut eye-shaped with a
sharp pen-knife with very little trouble, and if
it be believed that the bees will immediately
rectify any unevenncss that may occur, the
knife is a sufficient instrument. In cutting
through sealed honey some will be sure to run,
and appear 'messy,' but as the bees will clear
it up in a few minutes it should not be a diffi-
culty in the way. Where a clean round hole
is desired, a centre-bit offers the readiest means
of making it. Perhaps in future it would be

well to make holes in the wooden foundation
ere sending it out.

To prevent the necessity for cutting combs
some prefer to lay two pieces of sticks, half an
inch apart, above the frames, under the quilt,
to give the bees the means of getting over the
combs, instead of through them, but we do not
like the principle, as it destroys the retentiveness
of each individual space above the winter cluster.

Moving Bees to Sheltered Situations. —
We feel bound to caution our readers against
the removal of hives ' to more sheltered situa-
tions,' except they be dark rooms or cellars, as
before alluded to. Many kind-hearted bee-
keepers, seeing their hives exposed to a strong
blast, perhaps accompanied with driving snow
or rain, inconsiderately removed them ' round
the corner,' or ' into a covered shed,' for pro-
tection, where they leave them, forgetting that
the bees on reawakening to activity will, after
flying, return to the spot where they originally
stood, an^^ery many will be lost.

Upward Ventilation. — The quilt properly
arranged affords excellent steady ventilation,
and is all-sufficient. We have, however, re-
ceived sundry suggestions of ' now ideas ' (?)
for condensing, but it will save the trouble of
patenting the articles if we refer them to that
published in Vol. I. of Bee Journal, p. 193, of
which we reproduce the woodcut : —

' It almost explains itself — a is an ale glass, b is
a piece of lead or zinc battered into the dish form
shown, and having a piece of tubiug lined with
woollen cloth, fitted into its centre to afford means
of exit through the crown-board c, at the feeding
hole d. The warm
moist air ascending
into the glass con-
denses on its sides

and runs down into 1 \ \™'\

the dish b, whence
it may be emptied

away by the bee- t! % — iT/th^^-Jlll T>

keeper.' -: ,,, >^fr '- | -^

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The sixth annual exhibition of the Lincolnshire Bee-
keepers' Association was held in the Cedar Grounds,
Louth (kindly lent for the occasion by J. Bennett, Esq.),
on Thursday September 8th.

It is gratifying to learn that during the present year
there has been a great awakening in Louth on the
subject of bee-keeping. This, no doubt, is owing to the
indefatigable efforts of Mr. George Bvwater, the Local
Honorary Secretary; and to Messrs. W. Forman and
II. O. Smith, who have also, conjointly with Mr,
Bywater, constituted a local committee to represent the
Lincolnshire Association. Since the announcement of
the fact that this year's exhibition was to be held in
Louth, from fully to fifty persons in the vicinity have
joined tho Association, and the inhabitants generally
have, responded liberally to the prize fund.

The laborious and responsible duties of the Lincoln-
shire Bee-keepers' Association are conducted by R. R.

October 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

107

Godfrey, Esq., of Grantham, who inspires all the secre-
taries of the local districts with a portion of his own
enthusiasm'; and it must be with no small degree of
complacency that he is enabled to look back upon the
complete success that has attended the exhibition at
Louth this year.

The entry in the exhibition was a very large one : the
number of exhibitors exceeding by four those in the ex-
hibition of the British Bee-keepers' Association recently
held at the Horticultural Society's Gardens, South Ken-
sington.

A conversazioni' was held in the Town Hall on
"Wednesday evening, when there were various interest-
ing exhibits connected with bee-culture : such as bees in
observatory-hives, supers of honey in the comb, diagrams
illustrating bee life, microscopical examination of the
anatomy of the bee and the economy of its life, &c.
After some time had been spent in the examination of
these curiosities, the more formal proceedings of the
evening commenced by the Hector of Louth (Rev. Canon
Wilde) taking the chair.

Canon Wilde said he was there to introduce to a
Louth audience the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion, which was one of twelve provincial societies
affiliated with the British Bee-keepers' Association,
whose headquarters were in London. He was not
practically acquainted with bee-keeping, but as a clergy-
man he took an interest in anything which had for its
object the more humane treatment of any of God's
creatures. Besides teaching the inhumanity and waste-
fulness of destroying the bees while securing the honey,
the Association wished to present to cottagers and
working people the fact of the lucrative result following
the keeping of bees. The stock-in-trade required was
exceedingly small, but the income was disproportionately
large considering the outlay.

J. G. Desborough, Esq., of Stamford, alluded to the
length of the life of the bee. The life of the working-
bee in the height of summer did not reach one month,
while at other seasons it reached seven or eight months.
He had personally tested the duration of the life of the
drone and the worker, but not of the queen-bee. In
endeavouring to aseertain the length of life of the last-
named, he was able to keep a queen-bee for five years
and four months, and then he lost her ; but whether she
died or met with an accident he did not know. In this
case he had the hive in his bed-room. A populous
hive would contain from 00,000 to 100,000 bees, and it
was a marvel what became of so many. There would
only be from 20,000 to 30,000 during the winter, and at
the arrival of spring only 0000 or 7000. It would be
seen, therefore, that the bee-keeper would require to
make his calculations on this knowledge, as if the hive
were reduced to too low a number in the spring, the
queen could not carry on breeding operations sufficiently
rapidly, and as a consequence the hive would either die
out, or have to remain until it was warm enough to
carry on the ordinary operations. If, however, the hive
was sufficiently populous, the honey getting went on
prosperously. If the breeding extended until the month
of September, sufficient bees would be bred to carry the
work of the hive over until the next March or April ;
but if it ceased earlier, the hive would be in a very
precarious condition. This knowledge was of the
greatest importance to bee-keepers. The old-fashioned
plan was for the cottager to test the weight of his hives
in the autumn, and thereby judge whether they were
populous enough to endure the trials of the winter.
Any deemed not sufficiently populous were put over a
hole in the ground in which was some ignited sulphur,
. and the whole hive of bees destroyed. The scientific
bee-keeper knew better than to act like this; and hence
had arisen a traffic in these condemned bees, which many
cottagers disposed of at so much per pound. Although
the queen laid thousands of eggs in the course of a day,

it was highly important to have a late breeding each
year, in order to have the hive in good condition the
next spring. The introduction of the Ligurian bee into
this country a few years ago had been of great use in
testing the duration of the life of bees. The Ligurian
bee was of different colour to the English variety ; and it
had been satisfactorily proved that within four or five
months of the substitution of a Ligurian for an English
queen in a hive, not one of the old brown bees would be
left, but all would be of the Ligurian variety. In 185,'i
the speaker read a paper before the Entomological
Society of London, gaining a prize for his essay. Although
this was many years before the introduction of the
Ligurian bee, when that variety came to be introduced
it was highly satisfactory for him to find that such
experiments as instanced above had fully established the
truth of the conclusions arrived at by his personal
observations, and contained in his paper written in 1853.
In urging everybody present to commence bee-keeping,
Mr. Desborough intimated that it was by no means
necessary that the hives should be in a garden, or in
proximity to the fields, as he knew of one bee-keeper
who kept his hives on the roof of a house in Ilolborn, in
the centre of London, and they prospered well.

T. W. Cowan, Esq., Chairman of the British Bee-
keepers' Association, was next called on to speak. His
remarks were particularly in advocacy of the bar-framed
hive, and in recommendation of the discarding of the
straw skep." The cottagers who used the latter usually
retained the old stock, destroying the swarms and taking
their honey. This practice was both inhuman and
wasteful. Every comb in the bar-framed hive was
moveable, and the advantage of this was fully ex-
plained. Under the old system the hive had to be
turned up and examined. In each frame a wax-founda-
tion was laid for the comb to be built upon, and as each
frame was filled it could be removed, and the honey
extracted. Thus the comb was retained, a most material
advantage, as every pound of comb retained saved nearly
20 lbs. of honey, as the bees while building the comb
consumed instead of storing honey. Another advantage
of the bar-framed hive was that any number of frames
could be put in for use according to the size of the
swarms. The frames could also be divided into sections
for the storing of honeys which were removeable at will.
The number of frames could also of course be increased
or diminished as circumstances required. The Lincoln-
shire Association was doing a good work in endeavour-
ing to secure the adoption of the bar-framed hive.
Many cottagers raised objections, such as the greater
expense, but as a matter of fact they could be procured
for a very small sum.

W. Carr, Esq., of Newton Heath, Manchester, was the
next speaker. He urged all to attend the morrow's
exhibition, and recited some verses illustrating the
instinct possessed by the bee. The regularity in the
construction of the cells of the comb had puzzled mathe-
maticians, and been the means of exposing some of their
errors. As an instance of the importance of preserving
the comb while extracting the honey, Mr. Carr stated
that a bee consumed 1 lb. of honey in the time that it
made 1 oz. of comb.

The liev. J. L. Sisson, of Edingthorpe, Norfolk,
followed, and spoke of the traffic in Ligurian bees. He
gave an instance of the facility with which bees were
bandied. A Ligurian queen, which he purchased at the
exhibition at South Kensington in July, was placed in two
or three different hives before he reached home and put
in one of his own. lie had met with a very curious
example of bee-driving while he was travelling the
other day. A man, having the appearance of a cottager,
told him that a relative of bis, near Wisbeaeh, having
become impressed with the inhumanity of destroying the
bees by means of sulphur, had inverted his straw hives
in a vessel of water, allowing the water to come half

108

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

way up the sides of the hive. lie then placed a now
hive over the bottom of the old one, and the bees all
sought refuge in the upper hive. lie was then able to
take the honey from the old hive. The man appeared to
relate to him the incident in good faith, and he had no
reason for disbelieving him, notwithstanding the nov-
elty of the idea. The relation of this new mode of
driving excited great amusement amongst the apiarians
present.

T. F. Allison, Esq., was then invited by the Chairman
to offer a welcome to the members of the Society visiting
Louth. lie was unaware of any qualification being
possessed by him for performing such a duty, but he
certainly bad been in years gone by a bee-keeper, lie
wished to congratulate the Association on visiting Louth,
Ho felt deeply indebted to these gentlemen who advo-
cated its claims on our sympathy, for their instruction,
anil their invitation to become bee-keepers and thus till
their pockets. Their eloquence really led him to the con-
clusion that anybody who did not take their advice
would be very foolish.

The Rev. 1). W. Pennell, of Swansea, acknowledged
Mr. Allison's congratulations. The Secretary, Mr. God-
frey, had said ho (the speaker) was the father of the Asso-
ciation, lie must, however, repudiate the paternity. If
anyone was theparenl of the Society it was Mr. Godfrey.
lie would advise all present to become members. He
once visited a cottage near Grantham, ami found a
person killing Ins bees to obtain the honey. He made
suggestions to him which induced him to use some old
boxes as 'supers,' and from these, in one season, ho got
58j lbs. of honey, which he disposed of at Is. •'!'/. per
lb., still retaining his hives untouched.

Mr. Cowan proposed a vote of thanks to the Chair-
man, whii n Mr. Desboi'OUgh seconded.

In acknowledging, the Chairman said he should be
happy to subscribe to the funds of the Association.

The Artillery Band was in attendance, and played
selections at intervals through the evening. During an
interval refreshments were introduced in the form of tea,

coffee, sandwiches, buns, ,V'C.

The attendance on Thursday was very large, and the
weather was brilliantly line. The scene was altogether
a novel one for Louth, and the various tents were
minutely inspected with curiosity and interest 1 « >t h by
young and old. There ware immense exhibits of honey,

both in jars and in the i lb. Mr. Win. Format], of

Loutli, winner of the champion cup, showed 8641b. Mr.
(i. Bywater, Mr. II. 0. Smith, and other residents had
also large exhibits. There were, in addition, line speci-
mens of wax ; also of liqueur s, calos, &c., mode from
honey. Mr. Bywater showed a very pretty and useful
hive of his own design, and Mr. Smith a useful bar-
framed hive, showing how a substantial one could be
easily manufactured out of packing-boxes for the small
cost of la. lOd. each. Considerable interest attached to

the ' driving ' tent, and to ordinary observers this was,

perhaps, the most agreeable part of the day's pleasure.
Mr. S. .1. Baldwin, of Bromley, the expert of the Brit ish

Bee-keepers' Association, was engaged in driving bees
during the day, and so easily and harmlessly did ho
handle his subjects that those might he excused who
thought he had acharin about him. To prevent any such
erroneous impression, Mr. H.O.Smith and others volun-
tarily, and equally harmlessly, ventured to drive the bees.
In all respects the Show, it may safely be asserted, was
most successful, the number of exhibitors and visitors
being Something like double those of any previous year.
It is calculated I hat there were nearly L'000 persons,
assembled at one time on the Cedar ( i rounds. The
Artillery Hand was in attendance. The following is a
list of prizes awarded, the judges being for classes 1,2,8,

16, Hi, 17, IS, 10, and 20, Mr. 'I'. Cowan, Mr. II. T.

Yates (Grantham), lie vs. \V. V. Turner and .1. L Sissnn ;
for classes 4 to 14, the Key. D. W. Pennell, Mr. C. N.

Abbott (Southall), and Mr. W. Carr ; and for classes
18 to 21), Dr. Russell (Lincoln), Mr. Desborough (Stam-
ford), Mr. Win, Bolton (Grantham), and Mr. G. Brett
(Grantham) : — ■

Bees. — Ligurian : 1/. to Miss Carline, Lincoln; and
10s. to Mr. .1. Baldwin, Bromley, Kent ; four entries.
English : I/, to S. Maples, Spalding; and 10s. to T. Sells,
Ullington ; seven entries, Any distinct variety other than
Ligurian or British black : I/, to T. Sells (Canadians) ;
and 10s. to Messrs. Abbott Bros., Southall (Syrians) ;
two entries.

Hone;/.- Largest and best exhibition of super honey
the produce of one apiary: 11. to W. Forman, Louth ;
15s. to J. Walton, Weston, Leamington; 10s. to W.
Sells, LHHngton ; and 7s. fid. to A. P. Russell, Lincoln ;
eight entries. Glass super, over 121b.: 15s. and 10s. to
.1. W. Bickley, Melton Mowbray; and 5s. to W. Martin,
Wycombe; nine entries. Glass super, under ll'lbs.: 10s.
to J. W. Bickley ; 7s. Grf. to T. Soils; 5s. to II. Tuck,
Upwell; 2s. Gd. to G. W. T. Melbourn, Nocton Heath;
and current volume of B. B. Journal foT best exhibit by
a cottager (given by Mr. K. B. Godfrey, Grantham) to
J. Willey, Southrey ; fifteen entries. Super of honey:
10s. to J. Walton ; 7s. Gd. to T. Sells; 5s. to .1. Jackson,
Boston ; 2s. 6d. to T. Sells; and bar-frame hive for best
exhibit by a cottager (given by Mr. G. Bywater, Louth)
to VV. Edwards, Barduey ; thirteen entries. Twelve lib.
sections of comb honey: 15s. to Mr. Melbourn ; H)s. to
C. L. Massingberd-Mundy, East Keal; and 7s. 6rf. to .1.

Walton : thirteen entries. Twelve 21b. sections of comb

honey: I/, to J. Walton; 15.s. to W. Forman; 10s. to
II. Tuck; and 7s. Qd. to T. W. Cowan, Horsham; ten
entries. Largest and best super of honey by a cottager
or artisan: liar-frame hive, crate of 21 sections, and a
do/en glass honey jars (given by Messrs. W. and T. Sells,
Ellington) to J.Jackson; 2nd, J. Willey; two entries.
Honey in sections, each section not more than 21b., and
total weight not less than 201b. (prizes given by the
British Hoc-keepers' Association) : Silver medal to A. 1'.
Bussed; and bronze medal to Key. W, V. Turner,
Bardney; two entries. Straw super: J. W. Bickley and
T. Sells equal : two entries. Class of extracted or run

honev , not le s than 61b. : 10s. to H. Smith, Louth ; 7 8. (id.
to 'I'. F. Rippon, Crowland barm; 5s. to S. Lee,
Coningsbi ; and 2s. Gd. to T. E. Rippon; thirty-five

entries. Host and largest exhibition of extracted or run
honey: I/, to S. Lee; 15s. to J. W. Measures, I g

Sutton; 12s. 6d. to T. Roberts, Belvoir; 10s. toW, For-
man; 7s. fW. to. I. Walton; 5s. to Miss Isabella I >oodos,
Haydour; and a. honey sliiiger for best e.-.hibit by a

cottager (given by L'ev. R. H. Bayly) to .1. Willey;

fourteen entries. Beeswax: 5s. to Messrs. Abbott BrOS.J
and 2s. Qd. to W. Sells; nine entries. Liqueur, wine,
or mead made from honey, with the recipe at-
tached: His. to W. Sells; and 5s. to II. Tuck; four
entries.

Hives. -Hive for observation purposes : •"().». to Abbot t
Bros. ; U, to S. T. Baldw in, Bromley ; and 15s. to .1. W.

Measures, Long Sutton ; three entries. Practical hive,
on moveable comb principle, for surplus honey and for

wintering: I/, to Abbott BroB.j 15s. to Mr. Baldwin;
and 10s. to .Mr. Young, Perth; six entries. Practical
hive, on the moveable comb principle : 15s. to Mr. Blake,
llalton llologate; 10s. to Mr. Baldwin; and 7s. Or/, to
AMioti Bros.; Bye entries, Complete hive, on moveable
comb principle; 15s. to .1. Best, Boston ; and Ids. to Mr.
Blake; nine entries. Best and cheapest straw hive ; ^s.

to W. Martin, Wveomhe; and 2»'. 6rf. to .1. Woodcock,
Walcsbv ; three entries. Cheapest, neatest, and best
supers lor harvesting honey in the comb in a saleable

form: 10s. to Abbott Bros.; 7s. 6d. to Mr. Melbourn,

Nocton Heath; and 5s. to T. Sells, Ullington; four

entries. For practical feeder, with a recipe for making

syrup: 7s. Of/, to Abbott Bros.; ^is. to Mr. Melbourn i
and 2s, (W. to T. W. Cowan; five entries. Honey

October 1, 1881.]

TIIE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

109

extractor : 1/. to J. Walton. "West on ; 10,«. to Mr. Cowan;
and "•-'. Qd. to Abbott Bros. ; five entries. Pair of glass
jars: 7s. 6d. to Abbott Bros.; and 5s. to the York Glass
Company: .'ird, Mr. Melbourn: three entries. Three
entries. Crates for safe conveyance of comb honey :
7s. (W. to Mr. Cowan ; and 5s. to Mr. Melbourn ; two
entries. Complete collection of hives and bee furniture :
2/. to Abbott Bros. ; and 30». toM r. Yi mug ; tw. i entries.
New invention calculated to advance the culture of bees :
108. to Abbott Bros.; 7s. 6d. to Mr. Melbourn ; and 5s.
to Mr. Cowan; nine entries. Microscopic slides; U. to
Mr. Godfrey, Grantham; two entries. Collection of
natural objects, models, ami diagrams connected with

apiculture: 1/. to Abbott Bros.; tin- utries. Best and

largest display of honey and pollen-producing plants:
It prize, 'Abbott's Little Wonder, R. 1!. Godfrey,
Grantham.

The Association's Silvee Cup. — For this award
there was a very close contest. Mr. Sells has won the
cup four successive years, retaining the first one, and
bidding fab to finally obtain this also. But this year
there were some very large entries, and the judges had
considerable difficulty in deciding the award. This prize
is open to members only, who must be resident in the
c unity, and is offered ' for the best and largest exhibi-
tion, in all or any of the honey classes, of honey taken
without destroying the bees.' The Judge- tinally
awarded this ' blue ribbon ' of the day to Mr. W. For-
man, of Louth.

There were 68 exhibitors, and over 200 exhibits, and
nearly one and a half tons of honey were .-how n. Altogether
it was a very successful meeting.

The excellent character and entire success of the
Exhibition are in a great measure owing to the assiduous
labours of the local managers, Messrs. <J. Bywater,
W. Forman, and H. O. Smith; while the courteous and
experienced county Secretary, Mr. Godfrey, has throw n
an immense amount of energy into the concern, and
brought the management of every department to a
successful issue. The following experienced apiarians
have also rendered valuable help: — Dr. Measures, Long
Sutton; Br. Kussell and Br. Carline, Lincoln: Rev.
J. L. Sisson, Edingthorpe ; Kev. B. W. Pennell, Swan-
sea ; Mr. Cowan, Horsham; Mr. Bolton and Mi. Brett,
Grantham : Mr. Yates and Mr. Besborough, Stamford ;
Mr. Sells. Effingham; Mr. Barnes, Londontkorpe ; Mr.
Abbott, Southall.

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION :
A SUGGESTION.

Kindly allow me, through your Journal, to remark
that from the frequent application for the loan of my
die of the queen-bee to use as a heading to note-paper
and envelopes, I am led to think it might be well if
members of the L. B. K. A. would adopt its use generally,
and have full postal addre-- printed. In this case 1
should be happy to arrange for a supply on the promise
that half a dozen or more member.- would each order not
less than five quires of paper and one hundred envelopes,
the larger the quantity ordered the less wotdd be the
cost, — K. K. Godfrey, Bon. Sec.

WARWICKBB3RE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATE IN.

The success which has attended this recently-formi d
Association is of a very gratifying character, and has
fully realised the expectations of its promoters. The
members of the Association now number upwards of
100, as against 00 a year ago ; and the influence which
the Association is exercising throughout the county was
shown by the excellent exhibition of hives, bees, honey,

bees-wax, bee-gear, &c, which was held under its
l -. and in connexion with the annual meeting
of the Warwickshire Agricultural Society at Rugby.
Amongst those who visited the exhibition were: Lord
Leigh (the President of the Association), Lady Leigh,
the Marquis of Hertford, the Earl of Denbigh, Viscount
Newport, M.P., Sir Eardley Wilmot, M.l'.. Mr. New-
degate, M.l'., and Mr. Bromley-Davenport, MP. At
tie- dinner of the Agricultural Society Sir Eardley
Wilmot, in the course of a speech dealing with the present
depn ssed state of agriculture, dwelt upon the great loss
tlii- country was sustaining every year by importing
honey, and which might be avoided by an improved and
increasing cultivation of bees at home. The prizes were
distributed by the Marquis of Hertford, who was
attended by many influential gentlemen interested in
the Society's work. Appended is a list of the principal
award-: — Best exhibition of super honey from one
apiary: 1st, J. "Walton, of Weston; -nil. A. Sale, of
Atherstone; 3rd, S. Timms, of Eillsby. Best sectional
super ov,-r 20 lbs., combs separable and not over 2j lbs.:
1st, J. Walton, Weston ; 2nd, .1. Walton, Weston; 3rd,
C. Shuliiebotham, Coventry. Best sectional super under
20 lbs., combs not under" 1 lb. each: 1st, S. Timms,
Kilsby; 2nd, Rev. J. C. Sale, Bymock ; 3rd, J. Walton,
Weston. Lest single super in wood, glass, or wood and
glass combined: 1st. J. Walton, Weston ; 2nd, A. Sale,
Atherstone; 3rd, W. Daniels, Newbold. Best 3 lbs.
bees-wax : 1st, Lev. J. C. Sale ; 2nd. J. Walton, Weston.
Best and largest exhibition of extracted honey in glasses,
not to exceed 2 lbs. each : 1st, Kev. J. C. Sale, Bymock ;
2nd, J. Walton, Weston ; 3rd, S. Timms, Kilsby. Best
and strongest straw skep of bees: 1st, J. Walton, Wes-
ton. Best and cheapest hive for cottagers' use, on the
moveable comb principle, complete with cover, floor-
board, and facilities for spring honey : 1, Green & Sons,
Bainham, Kent ; 2nd, Daniels, Newbold ; 3rd, C.Foxon,
Leicester. Best and largest collection of hives, bee-
furniture, bee-gear: 1st, T. B. Thomson, Birmingham;
2nd, J. Walton, Weston. Extra prizes were given to
B. F. Leake, Long Buckly : and to James Walton,
Weston ; and a certificate of merit for progress in
apiculture to Mr. James, Sutton Coldfield.

DORSETSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The annual exhibition of the Sherborne Horticultural
Societv was held on Wednesday, August 31st, in the
grounds of Sherborne Castle, by the kind permission of
II. D. W. Digby, Esq. One of the principal features of
the day was the tent which was set apart for the annual
exhibition of the Dorset Bee-keepers' Association. The
progress made in apicultural matters in the county of
1 )i irset since the first bee show was held at Sherborne
six years ago has been remarkable. The schedule con-
tained nineteen classes, with over forty prizes, including
two medals offered by the British J >ee-keepers' Association.
The entries were more numerous than on any former
occasion, and the quality of some of the exhibits has
seldom, if ever, been excelled. The principal display of
hives and bee furniture came from Messrs. Abbott
Bros., of Southall, who have a world-wide reputation,
and from Mr. James Lee, of Bag-hot. Surrey, who has
exhibited at the local shows on former occasions. It
will be seen by the list given below that the honours
were pretty equally divided between them. Several
local manufacturers were also well represented, amongst
the number being Mr. ' '. W. Bownes, of Blandford,
whose neat, cheap, and well-made goods attracted atten-
tion, and Mr. Cox, of Whitchurch, who boldly sent his
handiwork to compete with the well-known Southall and
1 tagabot firms. The observatories contributed by Messrs.
Abbott, Antell, Bunman, and Brown (that belonging
to the last not being for competition), attracted much

110

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

attention. Two were stocked with beautiful Italian bees,
of which Virgil says: —

' The better brood, unlike the common crew,
Are marked with royal streaks of shining hue.'

The movements of the queen were watched with great
interest. The principal feature of the show was the
honey, nearly half-a-ton of which was placed upon the
tables. Mr. Antell, of Puddletown, who won the silver
medal, sent 350 lbs., mostly in 1-lb. and 2-lb. sections,
the whole being splendidly rilled with beautiful straight
white combs, almost every cell of whicli was capped.
The Rev. G. H. Wynne, of Whitechurch, took the
bronze medal with a grand pile of larger sections,
making up a gross weight of 290 lbs. There was also a
large show of run honey. The cottagers did not come
out strongly, and the committee will have to devise
some plan for drawing them out more freely. Still, it
was a marked improvement to see two lots of good
sections in this class, as well as two of Lee's excellent
bar supers very fairly filled.

It should be mentioned that Mr. Dunman, who had
won the silver medal on several occasions, did not com-
pete for it this year.

The judges were the Rev. II. Everett, Dorchester;
Rev. L. W. Stanton, Combe Keynes; Mr. W. N. Griffin,
Alphington, Devon ; Mr. J. Brown, Maiden Newton ;
and Mr. C. Tite, Yeovil, who made their awards as
follows : —

Open Classes. — Collection of hives, bee furniture,
and bee-keeping apparatus — First, 1/., and second, 10s.,
Messrs. Abbott Brothers, Fairlawn, Southall, Middlesex,
and Mr. J. Lee, Bagshot, Surrey (equal). Bar-frame hive,
for general use — First, 1/., Mr. J. Lee; second, 10s., Messrs.
Abbott Brothers. Bar- frame hive, for cottagers' use — First,
10s., Messrs. Abbott Brothers; second, 7s. 6d., Mr. J.
Lee; extra, Mr. J. Cox, Whitechurch, Blandford. Straw
skep for depriving purposes — 2s. (id., Mr. C. W. Dowues,
Blandford. Super for harvesting honey in the comb in
a saleable form — First, 10s., Mr. J. Cox ; second and
third, Mr. J. Lee. Honey extractor — First, 10s., Mr.
C. W. Downes. Observatory hive, stocked with bees
and their queen — First, 11., Mr. T. Stickland, Fuddle-
town, Dorchester ; second, 10s., Messrs. Abbott Brothers.

Local Classes. — Exhibition of super honey from
one apiary — First, 1/., Mr. J. Antell, Puddletown,
315 lbs.; second, 10s., Mr. W. H. Dunman, jun., Troy-
town, Dorchester, 290 lbs. Exhibition of super honey
in comb from one stock of bees, under any system or
combination of systems — First, 1/., Mr. W. H. Dunman,
jun., 80^ lbs. ; second, 10s., Lev. G. II. Wynne, White-
church, 73J- lbs., and Mr. J. Antell (equal). Super of
honey, the super to be of wood, straw, or of wood in
combination witli glass or straw, not sectional — First,
10s., Mr. W. II. Dunman, jun., and Mr. S. Pond, Bland-
ford (equal); second, 5s., Mr. Wallis, Charlton Cottage,
Blandford. Exhibition of comb honey in sections —
First, \l., Mr. W. H. Dunman, jun., and Mr. J. Antell
(equal) ; second, 10s., Mr. T. Stickland. Fight sections
of comb honey, not to be gathered from heather — First,
15s., Mr. T. Harvey, Shroton, Blandford ; second, 10s.,
Rev. G. H. Wynne ; third, 5s., Mr. T. Harvey. Largest
and best collection of comb honey in sections — First,
silver medal, Mr. J. Antell, 350 lbs.; second, bronze
medal, Rev. G. II. Wynne, 274J lbs.; third, certificate,
Dr. Slade, Puddletown, 50 lbs. Largest and best exhibi-
tion of run or extracted honey in glasses — First, 10«.,
Mr. T. Stickland ; second, 5s., Mr. W. II. Dunman, jun. ;
third, 2s. Grf., Mr. J. Antell. Sample of bees' wax -
First, 5s., Mr. T. Stickland.

Cottagers' Classes. — Exhibition of honey-combs
in supers — First, 7s. On?., Mr. J. Sherring, Puddletown;
second, 5s., Mr. .1. Woodland, Troy town, Dorchester.
Super of honey, the super to be of wood in straw, or
wood in combination with glass or straw — First, •".■.•.,

and second, 2s. 6d., Mr. J. Sherring. Largest and lust
exhibition of run or extracted honey in glasses — First,
5s., Mr. J. Sherring; second, 2s. (id., Mr. J. Woodland.

The honey fair was tolerably well patronised. The
principal exhibitors who were present had disposed of
every pound of honey they had to spare before the
show closed, and several orders were booked for future
supply. This fact alone speaks volumes for the prospects
of bee-keeping.

The manipulations conducted by Mr. Antell, the ex-
pert of the Dorset Association, were, very interesting,
and many persons thus learnt how to transfer their bees
from old skeps to the new and improved bar-frame hives.
Seeing how freely Mr. Antoll handled thousands of
living bees, many of the spectators (including several
ladies and children) went into the enclosure where the
operations were performed, and, after seeing all they
wished, went out again unstung. Explanations of the
manipulations were given by the Rev. L. W. Stanton,
Mr. J. Brown, and Mr. C. Tite, who answered the scores
of questions asked as to bees and their management.

Considerably over 1000 persons entered the tent, and
Mr. Dunman and his co-workers are to be heartily
congratulated upon the successful result of their labours
-Pulmaris Weekly News, Sept. 0th.

SURREY BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The third annual exhibition of this Association was
held on Wednesday, the 14th of September, at the Firs,
London Road, the residence of Mr. II. Parson, surgeon,
by kind permission of that gentleman. The exhibition
was not an extensive one by any means, as was to be
expected, seeing that the Association is yet in its infancy,
but still an improvement was observed upon that of 1870,
held at Guildford, though it did not excel the Croydon
Show of last year. There were 19 exhibits. The prize
exhibits were shown in a large tent supplied by Mr. A.
Bull, of High-street. Besides these a number of apiarian
implements were shown, not for competition, amongst
them being a pair of octagon supers and sealed honey in
comb, by Mr. Craig, of Camberley ; a set of sectional
supers of last year's sealed honey, by Mr. W. H. Clarke,
of Mcrton. Mr. II. Parson showed a large collection of
Deeside, Abbott's, and Philadelphian hives, also an
ingeniously-constructed bar-framed hive, made by him-
self at the. small cost of a shilling, and highly commended
at Kensington and Croydon. Mr. Parson has himself a
large number of hives, kept in the grounds, and was
kindly ready to explain, to cottagers more particularly,
the mode of constructing his cheap bar-framed hive, in
making which lie has displayed much skill and judgment.
Mr. Joy exhibited two straw hives with supers, and
other exhibits comprised hives of various descriptions,
whilst last, but not least, the Earl of Onslow, the patron
of the Association, and Captain Campbell had on \ lew a
number of live bees. A great attraction was the tent of
the British Beekeepers' Association, in whicli an expert
of the Association gave practical demonstrations of bee
manipulation, and explained to the interested spectators
the best method of treatment of bees.

The judges were Mr. T. W. Cowan, of Horsham, and
Mr. S. A. Sholl, of Godalming, and their awards were as
follows : —

Best stock nf bees in a bar-frame hive (for cottage
members) : 1, a hive of bees, James Elson, Faracombe ;
2, 12s. Qd., [I. Edgington, Pound Hill, Godalming. Besl
stock of bees in straw hive (for Surrey cottagers) : 1,
Surrey cottagers' bar-frame hive', J. Elson. Bes1 exhibi-
tion of honey from one apiary (forall members) : 1, 10s.,
Captain Campbell; 2, certificate, Mr. F. II. Leraare-.
Collection of honey in supers: 1 , silver medal, given by
the British Bee-keepers' Association, Captain Campbell :
■J. Ids., Mr. V. II. Letnare; 3. certificate, Rev. J. C.
Darkness, West Clandon. Best twelve lib., or six 21b.

October 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

Ill

sectional supers (for members other than cottagers) : 1,
10*., Mr. II. Parson; 2, 5s., and certificate of the British
Bee-keepers' Association, Mr. W. Marriott, Woodside
Green, London; h c, Mr. F. II. Lemare. Best six lib.
sectional supers (for cottage members) : 1, bronze medal,
given by the British Bee-keepers' Association, J. Elson ;
h c, Matthew Freeman, Sliuford. Run hone)', twelve
lib., or six 21b. glass jars (for members only): 1, 10s.,
Mr. F. II. Lemare ; 2, 7s. Gd., Matthew Freeman ; 3,
certificate, J. Elson. Exhibition of pure bees' wax, of
not less than 21bs. weight : 1, 5s., M. Freeman.

The cottagers' prizes were handed to the winners by
Mrs. Parson at the close of the exhibition, that lady
accompanying the presentation with some kind and
encouraging remarks to the fortunate recipients.

WILTS BEE-KEEPERS' COUNTY ASSOCIATION.

I am glad to announce the formation of another Coimty
Bee-keepers' Association, of which I beg to hand you the
prospectus. We have already fifty members. I also
enclose a progi'amme of the first show we have had as an
Association (two others, viz. at Hungerford on June 6
and 7, and Marlborough, Aug. 30, having been got up
and carried out by three or four members of our present
committee), which was well attended ; but, owing to the
unavoidably short notice given, the exhibitors were few,
however these few made a good display both of honey
and hives. Wiltshire is a first-rate county for honey ;
but of late years not many bees have been kept, and those
who have kept them (with a very few exceptions) have
till this summer always burnt their bees ; but many are
now taking to more humane and profitable methods, and
joining our Association.

The Wilts Bee-keepers' Association originated among
three gentlemen in this neighbourhood, who, finding that
the Marlborough and Pewsey Vale. Agricultural Show
was to be held at Hungerford on June 0 and 7, obtained
leave to carry out a bee show. The British Bee-keepers'
Association's Tent and expert were engaged, and the show
was a success in every way, and awakened much interest in
the neighbourhood, and a local bee committee was formed.
YVe next had an invitation to attend the flower show of
the Marlborough District Horticultural Society hell in
Savenake Forest, the seat of a noble resident. Each
show led many fresh members to join, and it soon became
evident that we must develope into a County, and not
remain a mere local society ; and so now the Wilts
Bee-keepers' Association is an established fact, and will
shortly he affiliated to the British Bee-keepers' Association,
I need hardly say that we have received every encourage-
ment from the Rev. H. Peel, and other members of the
Bee-keepers' Association Committee, whom I had the
pleasure of meeting at South Kensington in Jul}-.

After our show at Hungerford we got up a screen,
and make-shift Bee Tent on the plan of your model at
South Kensington, which answered our purpose well,
and cost us only about 21., and some members of our
committee undertook the work of ' experts ' and lecturers
in the Bee Tent, so that another season we shall be able
to undertake bee shows at a trifling expense. — E. Bun-
KITT, Hon. Sec, Wilts Bee-keepers' Association.

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The first Exhibition of this Society of Hives, Bee-
furniture, and Honey, was held at Brentwood in con-
nexion with the Horticultural Show on Thursday,
September loth, 1881. The number of exhibitors was
not large. It is hoped that next year the schedule of
prizes will be sufficiently attractive to produce larger
entries. The following prizes were awarded : — For the
best frame-hive for general use in an apiary — 1st prize,
Mr. A. Blake, Wickham Market, Suffolk; 2nd prize,
Messrs. Green and Sons, Rainham, Kent. For the most

economical (best and cheapest) hive on the moveable
comb principle for cottagers' use — 1st prize, Mr. A.
Blake; 2nd prize, Messrs. Green and Sons; extra prize,
Mr. G. Wright, Warley, Brentwood. For the cheapest,
neatest, and best supers for harvesting honey in the
comb — 1st prize, Messrs. Green and Sons; 2nd prize,
Mr. A. Blake. For the best exhibition of super honey
from one apiary — 1st prize, Mr. G. L. Wright; 2nd
prize, Miss Crosse, Upminster, Romford. For the best
super of honey, not being sectional supers — 1st prize,
Mr. W. Debnam, Chelmsford ; 2nd prize, Mr. G. L.
Wright. For the best exhibition of run honey — 1st
prize, Mr. W. Debnam ; 2nd prize, Mr. G. L. Wright.
Lectures were given in the Bee Tent of the Association
by the Hon. Secretary upon artificial swarming, driving,
and wax-making. The operations were performed by
Mr. W. Debnam, Mr. E. Durrant taking charge of the
exhibition tent.

SLINDON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The first Show of the SUndon Horticultural Society took
place on the loth September, under the patronage of Mrs.
Leslie, Sir Peniston and Lady Millbank, Lady Huskisson,
Mr. and Mrs. Chas. J. Fletcher, Dale Park, Mrs. Fletcher,
Madehurst Lodge, and Madame Belloe, Newlands.

The competition was confined to Sliudon and two
neighbouring parishes, the prizes ranging from one to
ten shillings, to be given for the best cropped and kept
garden or allotment, the best vegetables, fruit and flowers.
Prizes were added for the best window garden, the neatest
cottage, the best-made bread, honey, and needlework.
The competition was very keen, there being nearly one
hundred competitors. The judges were Messrs. Scott
and Moore, the well-known florists of Chichester. The
weather being most favourable, the attendance was good.
The presence of the expert from the British Bee-keepers'
Association, with one of their commodious tents, in
which the driving of bees, the transfer of combs and stocks
from the straw skep to the bar-frame hive, &c, formed
one of the most attractive features of the show : the
perfect control exhibited by the expert, Mr. Baldwin, in
manipidating the bees, and the valuable information
given by him as to their habits, and for the successful
management of them under the modern humane system
in bar-frame hives, was fully acknowledged ami appreciated
as evidenced by the constant thronging of the tent all
the afternoon. The driving, catching, and exhibiting the
queen in so short a time as it occupied, and the transfer
of combs from the straw skep to the bar-frame hive,
excited much wonder, and not a few of the visitors to
the tent were impressed with the idea that there must
be some special means adopted to prevent slinging. How-
ever, two ladies had the courage to enter the inner part
of the tent where the manipulations were proceeding,
and one of them actually received a handful of bees,
greatly to the astonishment and admiration of the be-
holders.

Mr. Baldwin's lecture on bees, and practical illustrations
of his remarks, were highly interesting to all, and it was
generally admitted, with how much ease, ur.der proper
management bees could be controlled, as were also the
advantages of the modern humane system over the
murderous sulphur-pit; and it is to be hoped that the
cottagers, whose attendance and interest evinced by
them were most encouraging, will, after what they
witnessed, look more than they have hitherto done to
bee-keeping under the humane system as a pecuniarily
remunerative branch of industry. The display of honey,
hives, and bee appliances, was not the least interesting-
part of the show : the honey supers, especially the well-
filled 1 and 2 lb. American sections, were much admired,
and the cheap and durable twelve bar-frame hive invented
by Mr. F. Lyon for the use of cottagers (described in
the able paper read by him at the General Annual

112

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

Meeting of the British Bee-keepers' Association on the
16th of February last, and referred to in the British Bee
Journal for March and April), a pattern of which with
mode of construction and cost appended was exhibited,
and elicited well-deserved encomiums.

The Committee of the British Bee-keepers' Association,
with their usual liberality, sent down an excellent bar-
frame hive to be given as a prize for the best stock of
bees in a straw skep sent in for driving purposes.

In the course of his lecture, Mr. Baldwin remarked
that no county in England visited by him appeared more
favourable for apiculture than Sussex. I believe this to
be the case, and it is to be hoped that following the
laudable example of so many other counties in which
Bee-keeping Associations have been established, and are
doing good work, a Sussex County Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation will at no distant date be formed specially with
the object of increasing the happiness and comfort of the
industrious cottagers b}r encouraging them to cultivate
a pursuit at once interesting and pecuniarily profitable. It
only needs a few philanthropic and spirited gentlemen to
come forward and take the initiative to start such an
Association. — F. R. Jackson, Slindon.

BEE-KEEPING AT SOMERTON.

At the Somerton Flower Show on Friday, August 26
last, honey was made a conspicuous object, prizes having
been offered for the best supers, and it is worthy of note
that considerable improvement has taken place in these
exhibits. In previous years the cottagers brought their
honey in straw skeps ; but on the present there were
several sectional and other supers exhibited, and naturally
the prizes were awarded to them, Mr. William Snow
securing first 10s. Qd., and Mr. J. Parfit second 7s. Qd.
These may appear trifling efforts as compared with
greater shows; but if every rural flower show committee
would make similar efforts a vast deal of good would
result.

BEES AT THE YARMOUTH FLOWER SHOW.

The Annual fete in connexion with Yarmouth, East
Norfolk and Suffolk Horticultural Society, was held in
St. George's Park on Thursday, 25th August. One of
the principal attractions of the show was the tent of the
Suffolk Bee-keepers' Association, which was extensively
resorted to by visitors. Mr. S. J. Baldwin, expert to the
British Bee-keepers' Association, explained various mat-
ters connected with apiaries, and he was assisted in his
experiments by the Rev. J. Lawson Sisson, of Eding-
thorpe, and Mr. Barge. Much delight was expressed
by the spectators in the experiments. Mr. Baldwin was
quite ' at home ' with his busy little proteges, and the
various antics which they performed under his skilful
manipulation created much amusement. In this tent
were also to be seen bees and other exhibits. It was
amusing and interesting to observe the bees at work and
hear them buzzing in the cases. There were samples of
honey, two jars being contributed by Mr. S. Barge; the
bees hived on June 20th, and the honey was extracted
in the first week in August. A wasp's nest was shown
by Mr. A. Daniels, of Market Row, and this was well
worth inspecting.

The following prizes were awarded : — Comb-honey :
1st, R. A.White; 2nd, Mrs. E. Soones ; 3rd, A. Hill.
Comb of honey : 1st, S. J. Baldwin ; 2nd, R. A. AVhite.
Extracted honey: 1st, R. A. White; 2nd, S. Barge.
Best hive: 1st and 2nd, S. J. Baldwin; 3rd, Rev.
B. Hill.

Great praise is due to Mr. S. Barge, the honorary
secretary, not only for the energy he displayed in the
performance of his arduous duties in connexion with the
Flower Show, but also for the impulse he has given to
the cause of apiculture in the district.

FORFAR BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The Show of this Association, which has only been
recently started, was a very good one indeed.

Miss E. Dick, Bankhead, Cairn, took a first prize for
honey in section, with an excellent lot of very fine
quality, weighing above 40 lbs. For the best sectional
super under 20 lbs., Sir. Thomas Boyd was first with a
good lot, and Mr. John Robbie was second with a fine
lot, all out of one hive. For the best single super in
wood or glass: Miss E. Dick, with a fine, regularly
built lot ; and the 2nd, of Mr. James Saddler, was also
very fine, but not so large. For the best super in straw :
the 1st was awarded to Mr. James Nairn, Clecksbriggs,
whose exhibit was very fine, clear, and white. There
was a good competition in run honey, most of which
was taken out by the extractor, and both, in appearance
and flavour, presented a strong contrast to the old run
honey : the first was awarded to Mr. James Nairn , and
Mr. A. Soutar, West Lownie, took 2nd, and Mr. James
Cramond 3rd. There were two exhibits of wax, and
the first prize was taken by Mr. Alex. Low, Kingsmuir,
with the figure of a rabbit. For comb-foundation :
Mr. W. Raitt, Blairgowrie, was first, with a very bright
lot, having the cell walls well started; and Mr. John J.
Kinnaird, Dundee, was second. Mr. James Saddler was
awarded the first prize for observatory hives, for a very
fine perpendicular hive with three combs hung above
each other, with glass on either side, through which the
bees can be seen at. work. This class formed a great
attraction for visitors, and received much attention.
For the most complete bar-frame hive, with covering
stand, floor-board, and facilities for storing surplus
honey: Mr. James Herald, Dundee Loan, was first with
a superior hive, and remarkably cheap, at 10s. Gd. For
apiarian appliances: Mr. James Saddler had a well-
deserved first prize with a very good collection, which
includes an extractor. On Friday afternoon, Mr. James
Binny competed in the bee-driving, but, owing to the
cold weather, they did not run well. There was a large
number of visitors at the show, the amount drawn at
the door being 20/., or an increase of 5/. on last year.
Amongst those who visited the show were : Sheriff
Robertson ; Ex-Provost John Lowson, Miss Lowson,
and Mr. G. Lowson, Beechill; Ex-Provost James Low-
son, junr., Ilillbank ; Mrs. John F. Craik; Rev. Mr.
Turner, Kinnettles ; Rev. Mr. Guie ; Mr. and Airs. D.
Steele, Mr. and Mrs. Warden, Cowiehill; Mr. Ritchie,
Sparrowcroft ; Air. John Nicoll, Air. Frank Cargill, Aliss
Best, Suttieside House; Airs. Boath, Chapel Park ; Aliss
Gemmell, Edinburgh ; Air. and Airs. James Lowson ;
Rev. Mr. and Airs. Wright; Rev. Air. and Mrs. Puss;
Aliss Gibson, Bankhead; Air. J. Brodie, Mansfield
House; Air. John AVilkie; Mr. and Mrs. 1!. McNab.

Bek Department. — Best display of honey-comb from
one apiary: 1st, Aliss Dick, Bankhead, Cairn. I lest
sectional super, under 20 lbs : 1st, Thomas Boyd, Eassie
Station; 2nd, John Bobbie, Caldham ; 3rd, Air. G.
Skeen, Zoar. Best single super, the first prize of which
was presented by Air. Raitt, Blairgowrie, and won by
Aliss E.Dick; and the second, which was presented by
Air. J. J. Kinnear, Dundee, and won by Air. James
Saddler, East High Street, Forfar. Best straw super :
1st, James Nairn, Clecksbriggs; 2nd, David Petrie,
Greenordie. 6 lbs. run honey: 1st, James Nairn; 2nd,
Alex. Soutar, Lownie ; 3rd, James Cramond. Best
2 lbs. wax : 1st, Alex. Low, Kingsmuir ; 2ud, James
Saddler. Six sheets comb foundation: 1st, AY. Raitt;
2nd, John P. Kinnear. Best observatory hive : 1st,
James Saddler; 2nd, J. Cramond. Alost complete liar-
frame hive: James Herald, Dundee Road. Best collec-
tion of apiarian appliances: James Saddler.

On Saturday afternoon the bee-driving competition
was continued by Mr. John Henderson, Dundee Load ;
Mr. A. Patullo, South Street; Mr. and J. Cramond,

October 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

113

Dundee Loan, Mr. Patullo being the winner, having
driven and captured the queen in liSh minutes. Mr.
Cramond was second in 30| minutes.

Tlie arrangements for the show were of the most
complete description, and reflect much credit on the
energetic secretary, Mr. J. P. Anderson, and his com-
mittee of management.

BEES AT THE BANFFSHIRE HORTICULTURAL

SHOW.

A special attractive feature of the exhibition this year
was the honey department. Prizes were offered for the
first time, and last year, it may be remembered, samples
of honey and bee-hives were exhibited only. Yesterday
Mr. A. C'ockburn, Cairnie, was in attendance, and ex-
hibited his 10s. hive, which gained the first prize — a
silver medal — at South Kensington, London, in July
last. The first and second prizes for best specimens of
drained honey were gained by Mr. William l'irie, station
agent, Banff Bridge. A prize for the best specimen of
observatory hive was awarded to Mr. l'irie, the only-
competitor. It was divided into two compartments, and
the busy inmates were seen performing their functions
to advantage. Mr. Pirie was also awarded the honours
for best prepared sample of bees-wax. In each of these
departments it is hoped the entries will he more numerous
by another season.

BRITISH DEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The usual monthly meeting of the Committee was
held at the ' Angel ' Hotel, Islington, on Wednesday,
September 15th. There were present— Mr. T. W.
( 'owan, in the chair, Rev. E. Bartrum, Rev. G. Raynor,
Mr. C. X. Abbott, Mr. E. Cheshire, J. M. Hooker, and
the If. -v. II. R. Peel (Hon. Sec). The minutes of the
last meeting- were read, confirmed, and signed.

The Balance Sheet for two months, ending August 30,
was also read, showing a total income of '28-51. 0s. Id.,
and a total expenditure of 262/. 15s. llrf. It was re-
solved that a notice should be sent to all members in
arrear with their subscriptions.

The Secretary reported that Mr. Cowan and himself
had an interview with the postal authorities in respect
to the transmission of queens by post, and that the
following reply had been received : —

' General Post Office, London,

1th September.

' Sir, — Referring to your interview with Mr. Blackwood
on the 11th ultimo, upon the subject of transmission of
queen-bees through the post, I have to inform you that
the matter was referred to the practical officers for their
opinion, in accordance with the promise made to you by
Mr. Blackwood ; and that the Postmaster-General, having
had before him the report of those officers, cannot but con-
clude with them in thinking that the Department would
not be justified in acceding to the application of the British
Bee-Keepers' Association. Mr. Fawcett desires me at the
same time to express to you his regret that he is unable to
comply with the wishes of the Association in this respect.
' I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

'Algernon Tuknor.'

The Secretary also reported that the second edition of
Modern Bee-keeping was nearly exhausted. Resolved,
' That a copy be sent to each Member of the Committee
for revision and for suggestions for the improvement of
the third edition, and that arrangements be made at
the next meeting of the Committee for its publi-
cation.' Votes of thanks were passed to the West Kent
Association for the use of their tent, and to the
Judges for their services at the South Kensington
Show.

The question of the arrangement and making of a
Catalogue of books in the library having been discussed, j

Mr. Cheshire stated that, as his time was fully occupied,
he should be glad to be relieved of the duties of librarian.
Resolved, That Mr. Cheshire's resignation be accepted,
and that a new librarian be appointed at the next
meeting.

Mr. Cheshire reported that he had not been able to
breed any pure Cyprian queens from the queen placed
in his hands by Mr. Jackson. Several Members of the
Committee expressed their desire to have queens, and
Mr. Cheshire, being desirous of not retaining her, it was
resolved that the queen be placed in the hands of Mr.
Abbott for the furtherance of Mr. Jackson's wishes.

Al'THOItSHir OF MoWERN BfF.-KEF.I'ING.

At the Committee Meeting of the British Bee-keepers'
Association at the 'Angel' Hotel, Islington, the ques-
tion of publishing a third edition of Modern Bee-keeping
came on.

Mr. Cheshire wished to call attention to the fact that
certain blocks illustrating the Manual were of his
drawing, and that an undertaking had been given by
Mr. Hooker that they were to remain his copyright ;
he had no wish to prevent the Association having
the use of them, hut he did not wish them to be
hawked about the country until they had lost their
value.

Mr. Peel thought that the Association having paid for
engraving them bad the right to use them, or do what
they pleased with them.

Mr. Cheshire said the engraving entailed only about
half the cost of their production; certain of them were
his in design and drawing, and he wished the Committee
to acknowledge his right to them.

Mr. Peel could admit no such right. If Mr. Cheshire
required payment for his share in their production, that
could be arranged.

Mr. Hooker denied that he bad made any such arrange-
ment as Mr. Cheshire had suggested. The blocks were
voluntarily drawn by Mr. Cheshire, who said at . the
time that as he was about to bring out a book of his
own, he should like to have the use of them, and he
(Mr. Hooker) thereupon said that, doubtless, he could
have them; and that was all the ' arrangement ' of which
he had any remembrance.

Mr. Raynor thought Mr. Abbott had offered his
engraved blocks from the Bee Journal.

Mr. Abbott said that was true, but Mr. Cheshire had
chosen to procure others.

Mr. Hooker said the sub-Committee had been limited
to 51. for procuring blocks for illustrations, and on
reference to the accounts, it was shown that through
new blocks having been cut, the sum of SI. had been
expended.

Mr. Abbott said that Mr. Cheshire had taken credit
in the Journal of Horticulture for having drawn and
furnished the blocks gratuitously, and thought his claim
now was inconsistent, to say the least of it.

Mr. Peel said that he thought no such complication as
that suggested by Mr. Cheshire could be permitted. The
blocks had not been ' hawked ' about, and would not be.
Mr. Cowan had borrowed one, which was a reduced
copy of one of his own, and Mr. Cheshire could, doubt-
less, obtain others if he made application as Mr. ( 'owan
had done.

Mr. Cheshire then said that as a new edition of
Modern. Bee-keeping was about to be brought out, it
would be only fair to him, as he had written the whole
of the present edition, and had a right to the copyright
of the same, that his claim to the authorship should be
acknowledged in the future editions.

Mr. Peel disputed Mr. Cheshire's claim to the author-
ship of Modern Bee-keeping. It was the work of the
Committee, and was produced as such, ne'arly every
member, including the late Mr. Hunter, having con-

a 3 "'

114

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

tributed to it, and there was a direct understanding that it
was to he considered the work of the Committee as a body.

Mr. Cowan, Mr. Bartrum, Mr. Raynor, and Mr.
Hooker, spoke decisively against Mr. Cheshire's claim, all
agreeing that he had no greater share in the work than
he had heen duly credited with.

Mr. Cheshire considered he was badly treated by the
Committee. He was about to bring out a new work,
and if his claim was not allowed, he would lose the
advertisement its acknowledgment would give him. He
had done a very great deal for the Association, and was
entitled to consideration.

Mr. Bartrum wished to know the nature of Mr.
Cheshire's grievance. Every member of the Committee
had done a great deal for the Association, giving service
at their own cost, while he knew that Mr. Cheshire had
received money consideration to a considerable extent.

Mr. Cowan said the original manuscript had been
voluntarily written by Messrs. Hunter and Cheshire, that
every member of the "Committee had received a copy of
it, and had been invited to make suggestions for its
improvement, which they had done, and those sugges-
tions had heen incorporated with it. If they did not
write the work they gave their brains to it, and a similar
course had been pursued with regard to the second edition.

Bees and their Sense of Colouh. — At the recent
meeting of the British Association, at York, the Presi-
dent, Sir John Lubbock, delivered an address, entitled,
' Experiments on some of the lower animals with refer-
ence to their Sense of Colour.' The experiments of Sir
John Lubbock had beeu tried chiefly with his bees. He
explained that in order to test whether and how bees
were affected by different colours he took slips of glass
and pasted upon them pieces of coloured paper. Each
glass was thus distinguished by a different colour. He
arranged them in a row, and then laid upon each a
second slip of glass upon which a drop of honey had been
placed. He had trained a bee to come to this spot for
honey. He watched the slip on which the bee alighted,
and after she had sipped a little, he removed the boner
and watched which honeyed slip of glass the bee would
next prefer. This manoeuvre was repeated until the bee
had been at all the coloured glasses. Of course he noted
the order of her selection. lie waited till the bee went
back to her nest, and then he set about altering the
position of the glasses, so as to make sure that the bee
was not influenced in her selection by their arrangement,
and in this way he repeated his experiments one hundred
times, and took care to work with different bees from
more than one hive. His glasses were numbered 1 to 7,
according to the order in which they were visited by
each bee. Adding together 1, 2, .°>, 4, 5, 0, 7, Sir John
got 28 as the total record for each journey. A hundred
journeys increased the total to 2600, and if the bees
showed no preference each of the seven colours would
have a total of 400 against it. If the bees showed a
decided preference for one colour, of course it would not
reach that figure, inasmuch as it would be recorded
among the small numbers every time it was visited early.
Judged by this standard, the bees showed themselves
fondest of blue. The blue record was 27o, the white 349,
the yellow 406", the red 413, the green 427, the orange
440 j and plain glass was 491 . Testing the matter another
wav, Sir John took the percentage of cases in which the
bees went respectively to each colour, first, second, and
third. The result was that out of the hundred rounds
the bees took blue as one of the first three colours visited
in seventy-four cases, and as one of the last four in only
twentv-six cases. On the other hand, the plain glass was
selected as one of the first three to be visited in only
twenty-five cases, and it was left to be one of the last
four visited in seventy-five cases. Sir John concluded
that the bees were affected by colour, and that their
favourite colour was blue. There are comparatively few

blue flowers, and these few he was inclined to think were
the descendants of white and yellow ancestors.

The Abode op the Honey Ants. — Very little of
the abode and still less of the habits of these very strange
ants is known. To remove this reproach from entomo-
logy, the Rev. Dr. McCook started in the early part of
July, 1879, for New Mexico, where these ants had been
found. S topping on his way at Manitou, Colorado, which
is situated in the mouth of the Garden of the Gods, an
ants' nest was discovered, the external architecture of
which was new to him. An examination revealed that
the objects of his search were before him. The Xew
Mexico journey was abandoned, and a series of observa-
tions were made at Manitou, which are recorded in the
proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia for January last. These ants ( Myrmecocis-
tus melliyer) have one of their castes with the abdomens
distended to the size and shape of a small grape, which
acts as a reservoir in which the sugar or honey is stored.
That section of the country known as the Garden of the
Gods is 0180 feet over sea level. It embraces a space of
about two miles in length by one in width, the surface
of which is broken into ridges, often crossing each other.
These are crowned by red sandstone and conglomerate
rocks, whose strange, peculiar shapes, often presenting
the likenesses of various heathen deities, no doubt sug-
gested the name given to this bit of landscape. Along
the tops of these ridges, and on their eastern and south-
eastern slopes, the nests of the honey ant are located, but
about 90 per cent of those found were on the tops of the
ridges, where there was both warmth and dryness. The
exterior architecture resembles a small mound of gravel.
The largest nest seen measured around the base 32 inches,
and was about three and a half inches in height. The
gate is a single funnel-shaped aperture in the centre of
the mound. At first perpendicular, it then proceeds with
a slight slope, until, becoming deflected, at a more or less
abrupt angle, this arm leads into a series of galleries and
rooms. "While the floors and walls are made quite smooth,
the roofs are left just as the earth and pebbles had been
picked out of them by the workers. The galleries and
rooms are in stories. The queen room was a nearly
circular apartment, four inches in diameter. The honey
rooms varied in size, were generally oval, and from four
to Ave or six inches in length, while three to four in
width. They had vaulted roofs, the sides from one-half
to three-fourths of an inch in height, increasing to one
and a half inches in the centre. ( 'areful observations
seem to prove that the honey ants are nocturnal insects,
that the honey is obtained from the sugary sap of the
oak galls, made by a species of Cynips, on the twigs of
Querent undulata. The honey has an agreeable taste, is
slightly acid in summer, from a trace of formic acid, not
quite neutral in cool weather. It is a nearly pure solu-
tion of fruit sugar, but showing no traces of crystallisa-
tion. The Mexicans and Indians eat this ant honey
freely, and regard it as a delicacy. The Mexicans press
the insects and thus extract the honey. The}- are also
said to prepare from it an alcoholic liquor. It has been
calculated that it takes 900 honey-bearers to yield one
pound (troy weight) of honey. — Times, 20th Sept.

Melissolatuv. — ' We understand that Mr. Boscawen
has discovered in a private collection of objects coming
from Carchemish a gem representing a priest who standi
upon a bee when sacrificing. The cultus of the bee
amongst Semitic tribes could !»■ deduced from the name
of Deborah, " Bee." Mr. Boseawen's discovery may help
the understanding of the passage in Isaiah, v». 18," And
it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss
for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of
Egypt [the Philistines worshipped the fly], and for the
bee that is in the land of Assyria."' — Atlieiuium.

We regret to announce the death of Signor Lucio
Paglia, the celebrated Italian queen raiser, on the loth ult.

October 1, 1881.]

THE. BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

115

Corrcsponbcncc.

%* These columns are open to subscribers, so that their
queries, replies, correspondence, and experiences may be
fully and faithfully recorded; and for the discussion of all
theories and systems in Bee-culture, and of the relative merits
of all hires and appurtenances, that the truth regarding them
may be ascertained. The Editor, therefore, must not be. ex-
pected to coincide with all the views expressed by the various
writers. All Correspondence is addressed to the Editor,

HISSING FOR BEES.
I saw so much that interested me in my flying
visit to your home in June, that I now write, hoping
you will experiment with your bees regarding the
following, and record in your Journal something of
your experience.

In three passages of Scripture there is some-
thing about ' hissing,' which may, or may not, afford
very valuable instruction to those who keep bees.
Isa. v. 26: 'hiss.' Isa. vii. 18: 'The Lord shall
hiss . . . for the bee.' Zech. x. 8 : ' hiss.'

Hiss for the bee. — One of my commentaries says,
' The metaphor is taken from the practice of those
who keep bees; who draw them together from their
hives into the field, and lead them back again, by a
hiss or whistle.' — Cyril in Bishop Lowth on Isa. v. 26.
Another of my commentaries says on same passage,
' Bees were drawn out of their hives by the sound
of a flute, or by hissing or whistling,' in Isa. vii. 18;
oi-, ' Whistle to bring bees to settle.' And in Zech.
x. 8 : ' Keepers of bees by a whistle call them toge-
ther.' Now, will you not try this hissing or whistling,
whatever it be ; whether you can make the bees
follow you or not by it ? I wonder could one coax
a swarm out of its home in a hollow tree by thus
making noise, for I am puzzling how to dislodge
one ; or out of an old chimney in a ruin, as I saw a
swarm yesterday. Now, do please try to discover
the secret which underlies these words of the grand
old book, the Bible, and give your discovery to your
readers.

Our weather here is, I fear, very unfavourable
for honey gathering. So much rain that we almost
fear for the corn ; plenty of hay unsaved as yet. I
moved (carrying on poles) one of my three hives to
the heather, but I think they had only two or three
fine days since I did so ; and to-day a man who has
six skeps refused to sell me honey (though I offered
to unite his bees for him) because the weather is so
uupropitious. I hope I was right in pricking out
like lettuce the melilotus you so kindly gave me
some seed of. — J. Digby Russell, Parsonslown.

[From our point of view the commentator quoted
from was in error in supposing it to have been the prac-
tice to draw bees from their hives into the fields, and
lead them back again, by sound of hiss or whistle. Hissing-,
whistling, or flute-playing, we take it were simply noises
made equivalent to the tinkling, tanging, or ringing, with
key and frying-pan, or by sound of bell, which are common
t in our own time for the (supposed) purpose of drawing
together the scattered bees of a swarm on the wing. The
custom continues, and was acknowledged by law in the
time of Alfred the Great, when, if ringing a bell, any one
following a swarm of bees had a presumptive right on
another's demesne.
The expression in Zech'ariah, x. 1 8, 'I will hiss for them

and gather them,' seems to confirm this view, and neither
of the other passages mentioned is inconsistent with it.
Isaiah, v. 26, says, ' And he will life up an ensign to the
nations from afar, and will hiss unto them from the end
of the earth, and behold, they shall come with speed
swiftly; ' and Isaiah, vii. 10, :?0, saj's, 'And it shall come to
pass iu that day that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that
is in the uttermost parts of the rivers of Egypt, and for
the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they shall
come, ami shall rest, all of them, in the desolate valleys,
and in the holes of the rocks, and upon all thorns and
upon all bushes.' In the last passage quoted, hissing is
evidently the signal for gathering together ' from the
uttermost parts,' but not for labour, as would be under-
stood if it were the sound by which bees could be led from
their hives into the fields, as the commentator hath it.
' They shall come, and they shall rest, all of them;' and
where can we find a more pleasing picture of rest than in
a happily-clustered swarm?

We cannot imagine where any account of the asserted
practice of ' drawing them from their hives into the
fields,' as described, can be found. Columella describes
the process used in ancient times when ' swarms' showed
a disposition to 'betake themselves by flight to a more
distant habitation." lie says, 'Let the youth (swarms
were supposed to consist of young bees — Ed.) that are
making their escape be terrified with brazen timbrels, or
rattles, or with the sound of earthen vessels, or tiles,
which for the most part lie everywhere,' that they might
be induced to cluster. This was written nineteen hundred
years ago, not from actual observation, but as a kind of
summary of the writings of authors then considered
ancient, and if sounds were used in their days to induce
bees to leave their hives as suggested, it is highly pro-
bable that some inkling of the practice would be found
there. It is, however, a most interesting subject, and we
shall be very glad to record the opinion of others upon it.

Could 'hissing' be a term used to denote a terrify in;/
sound ? ' The anger of the Lord was kindled against his
people ' (see Isa. v. 2o) ; they were like a swarm of bees
about to depart for a distant habitation, and 'hissing'
may in that case have a terrible significance, and they
may have been only too glad to ' rest,' even in desolate
valleys, and iu holes in the rocks, and upon thorns, and
bushes; or, in fact, to crowd together anywhere when
taught to fear the judgments of the Most High. — Ed.]

BEE STINGS.

In connexion with the article on ' Bee Stings,
extracted from Nature, in the July number of the
British Bee Journal, may I be allowed to make a
few remarks ?

And, first, I would ask whether it is satisfactorily
proved that the sting of the worker-bee is only used
at the cost of the life of the bee in nearly every
case, almost without exception 1

Why do bees when fighting in defence of their
stores appear to use the sting end of the body by
constantly touching their adversaries therewith?
Does not the sting then come into use ? I think I
have observed that when the fatal stroke is given,
great care is used, and that efforts are made to
strike the most vulnerable parts.

When two bees are in mortal combat, they may
be seen twirling round like a ' catherijie-wheel ; '
are they then only 'attacking with their jaws?' or
do they make any use of their stings? Is it
necessary for them to use the sting in such cases in
the same way as they do with larger enemies, that
is, to leave their stings in the wounds ?

Some time ago I observed that at the end of a

110

THE BKITISH BEE JOUENAL.

[October 1, 1881.

fight one bee stung the other so effectually that it
did leave its sting behind in the usual Avar, but
this rarely takes jjlace.

A week or two since I found a mouse hidden up
in a space in a ' Combination ' hive, and when 1
had killed it I put it on the top of the frames, and
the bees seemed to sting it over the nose, lips, and
ears, but left no sting behind.

How is it that a bee can mortally wound a wasp?
Does not the shorter body of the bee give it the
advantage, so that it can employ its sting in the
most vulnerable parts of the wasp ?

Do not we often get stung when the sting is not
left in the wound 1

This spring I opened a hive of ' hybrids,' when
the cloud of flying bees struck the back of my
gloveless hand, and stung it in many places, but
left no sting behind.

Do not the drones feel any of the effects of the
stings of the workers ? or are they killed outright
with the jaws only? I observe that the worker
frequently curves its body as if using the sting.

I have not examined wounded bees with a glass,
I >ut hope to do so.

We should not be quick to admit imperfections
in the ' wonderful works of God.' — Jxo. Ureix, Gt.
Maplestea&r, Halstead, July 15th, 1881.

[It by no means follows that a bee using- the 'sting-
end of its body' necessarily uses its sting. The late
Major Munn devoted much time and attention to the
subject of queen-slaying, and was of opinion that instead
of stinging, the bees forced their poison into the spiracles
of the queen, and caused her suffocation. That they do
sometimes sting, and leave the sting in the body of their
bee-victim, is well known, and hence the inquiry by the
writer in Nature. "We cannot answer all the questions
proposed, but the general impression is that the sting is
always used as a means of defence, and except when
driven into soft substances is left behind, 'almost with-
out exception,' in which case the insect dies. We have
never had a bee withdraw its sting, perhaps through
being thick-skinned. Drones are generally worried at
the base of the wing- and thrown out to die. It by no
means follows because a bee curves its body, that it uses
its sting — a man when about to leap clenches his hands,
yet does not strike with them. We shall be glad to
publish the result of the examination of slain bees under
glass; we cannot think they will all be found with sting-
wounds, or that the evidence will he in favour of all
having been stung. If stinging were the only cause of
death — in a melee where the fight is furious, many
would have no time for selecting the vulnerable points
in the armour, and hundreds of bees would be found
united sting* and wound; but after a bee-fight how
few cases of the kind really are found. When two
distinct races, say blacks and Ligurians fight, the killed
are nearly all of one race, favouring- the idea that
amongst bees the sting is not (apart from the jaws) the
only means of offence and defence. The 'galled jade'
may wince at the last sentence in our esteemed corre-
spondent's letter, ' our withers are unwrung.' We cannot
possibly admit imperfection where we sincerely believe
imperfection to be impossible, and we pity the presump-
tion and foily of those who dare to call in question the
wisdom of the All-Wise. The bee is a thicket in the
forest of wonders in which we live, and not until we
have attained a higher condition shall we be able to see
and understand its intricacies. In the meantime, then-
pursuit affords the highest mental pleasure, and each
point gained reveals new beauties that beacon and bring
us nearer to their Omniscient Author. — Ed.]

PATTERNS FOR COTTAGERS.

Some of my cottage neighbours, who have kept
bees for years in skeps have seen my box-hives
(two of your Cottagers, one of your Standard, and
six of my own rough manufacture), and, astonished
at results, are wishing to commence. I think it
might prove a help if I distributed some of your
'Leaflets;' but, as we are very ignorant here, I
should like samples (some of the poor fellows can
hardly read). One I induced to cut a hole in his
straw skep at top, as soon as the bees ' hung out,'
and put a box (large fig-box) on top, with rags
round edge to fill tip crevices, the honey so obtained
has started him making a rough wooden hive. My
own hives have been made from Colman's starch-
boxes, which are very nearly the same dimensions
as your ' Cottager,' with dead-air space of 1 inch at
sides, a | soap-box, wood at ends, the length and
breadth arc the same as your Cottager ; and the
material comes to — Box 3d., soaj3-box 2d., nails
say Id., 1-lb. tin of paint 6rf., and zinc-excluder Is.,
brings up a total of 2s. The bottom board braced
(front brace projects to form alighting-board), and
then wrenched off gives floor. I have had some
splendid honey out of common fig-boxes, which
fill rapidly, probably owing to shallowness. Our
cottagers look at 8s. for a hive, cheap though it is.
Shall I be dealing fairly if I show them how to
make as above, and lend patterns of your wide-
ended frames? The making would keep a few at
home and out of the ' public' Is it a fault to have
the hive as shallow as mine are, 81 inside mea-
surement?— One who wishes to Help, Par/ham,
Chichester.

[Any one has full liberty and license to make and sell
any and every article generally used in bee-keeping in
England. As regards our own inventions or adaptations,
seeing we have given working details of everything to
enable bee-keepers to make their own, if they are able to
do so, it was scarcely necessary to make the application.
The depth of hive, 8j, is within half an inch of the
Woodbury, and the only objection we should offer lies
in that very fact ; it seems (nay, is) such a pity to make
hives whose frames are nearly, but not quite, inter-
changeable with a common standard. — Ed.]

A PLEA FOR COTTAGERS.

Having watched with interest the persistency
with which numbers of your correspondents recom-
mend to cottagers the advisability of keeping their
bees in moveable bar-frame hives, I have herewith
taken upon myself to reply to the said correspon-
dents on behalf of the cottagers. Perhaps those
writing have not troubled to put themselves into a
position to inquire or find out the means placed at
the disposal of our 'rural cottager' (for of such I
conjecture they mean when quoting the word
cottager). I myself have frequently recommended
the same method of bee-keeping, pointing out the
advantages it has over the old system, but have
been met invariably with the question, How much
does a frame-hive cost ? To which f have replied,
from 5*. upward. Imagine the surprise of the poor
cottager (who earns from 9s. to 16*. per week, and
has a family to support) at the absurdity of recom-

October 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

117

mending him to purchase such an expensive article,
when he can purchase five skeps for the money !
Can we wonder at the reluctance of the cottager in
taking up the bar-frame system? Again, supposing
a cottager (I mean a cottager or labouring man of
Worcestershire or Herefordshire) takes the bar-
frames into consideration, how is he to find out how
to manage them, when it is diametrically opposite
to anything he has seen or heard of1! Any sugges-
tion from yourself or your numerous correspondents
will greatly oblige. — J. J. A., Market Square, Brom-
yard, Sept. 19th, 1881.

[Cottagers without means, and in districts so benighted
that there are no sources of instruction, are in poor
plight indeed, and may well be excused if they are slow
to improve. But is the case generally as our correspon-
dent puts it:j "Would it not be wiser to invite 'the
' cottager ' to a better understanding of bee-management
in skeps, that he may obtain the means of further im-
provement, rather than to teach him that frame-hives
and improved culture are out of his reach ? Besides, it
is now so easy for a cottager or other person to make
hives, that no one with average brains need be long
without one or more, if he has the desire for them. If a
cottager wants a rabbit hutch he finds means to obtain
it, and with a bee-hive the same result would be achieved.
Who is to create the desire for improvement is the chief
question, and we should say certainly not those who pre-
tend that it is beyond one's ability. — Ed.]

BEE LORE AT TUNBRIDGE WELLS.

I am now getting some bees together again. This
ought to be a glorious country for them, with culti-
vated land, including fields of clover and orchards
on one side, and miles of heather on the other. I
stocked your hive with a heavy lot of bees on Mon-
day, the 12th inst., and they have nearly built out
five sheets of foundation and begun two others, with
lots of syrup and pollen stored. I drove some more
condemned bees on Saturday last, much to the
astonishment of the owners. An old lady came
just after I had taken them from a doubled straw
skep, and she expended a good stock of pity both on
me and the bees. She had been a bee-keeper for
years and years, she had tried all kinds of hives,
she had stupified the bees and tried to feed them
into a stock after taking the honey. 'But bless you,
the old way was the best and the kindest. They
always died, poor things ! and how could they live 1
You could give them the sugar stuff, but you
couldn't give them bee-bread to make the combs to
put it in.' I could not convince her that they made
combs from syrup. ' AVell, sir,' she said, ' you arc
trying to be kind, but they must die ; they won't
stop in a hive that hasn't been " dressed." Now, I
daresay you know a lot about bees, but we must
all live and learn, so I will tell you how to make
the bees stop in a hive. Rub it all over with some
bits of old comb, and then — now don't think it
nasty, these little hands that have made lots of
puddings and tarts do it over and over again every
June — then get a bit of pig's dung, about half as
big as your thumb, and stick it just in the middle
of the crown of the hive — inside mind, and, sure
enough, a swarm will never leave it.' ' Now, do you
really think,' said I, ' that that helps to keep the

bees 1 ' ' Think it, I know it, sir ! I used to be
superstitious (sic), but I did not think myself too
old to learn when I was told that. I lost some lots
of bees before, but never a lot put in with the pig
dung.' I tried a little reasoning with the old lady,
but without instilling a doubt in her mind as to the
effect of her odorous hive-dressing, so I drove off.
I don't know whether the old folks about you prac-
tise this operation ; perhaps you may like to try
the effect yourself, and tell us the result in the
Journal next year. — P. H. Phillips, Crowborough,
Tunbrielge Wells, Sept. 19th, 1881.

BEE LORE— HONEY FLAVOURING IN
HERTFORDSHIRE.

I may mention that the poor people in this
neighbourhood very rarely ' take up their bees '
until ' after harvest ' for the following reason, ' that
the bees gather honey all the summer, but only
add the flavouring just at last, just about harvest
time.' One old man who has kept bees all his life
has told me that ' honey is not worth eating till the
flavouring is put in it.' Make what use of this you
like, but it may not be a new idea to you. I have
not heard this argument anywhere but in this
county. — Herts.

PREVENTING ' WINTER DRAUGHTS.

Now that winter is again approaching, I give a
sketch of the apparatus I am now adjusting to the
entrances of my hives, to prevent the cold winds
blowing in. It is surprising what a draught a
slight wind will cause, through even a small
entrance, and I have many times wished that I
could devise some means whereby the difficulty
might be overcome, and at the same time allow
the bees a free passage.

The sketch shows the under side of the said
apparatus, which is made by cutting a half-inch
groove in a piece of deal one inch square (or more),
of the desired length ; the entrance passages being
half-inch square, and cut through as shown in the
illustration, A being the front, or outside entrance,
when in position. The wind driving in at a passes

"^

^*

3a^

Draught preventer — inverted.

along the tube, or groove, and out at either end,
the shape and position of the inner entrances pre-
venting it from passing into the hive. A saw-cut
should be made, and a piece of wire gauze inserted
therein, at about half-an-inch from each end of the
tube, so that the bees may not pass in or out at
the extremities. The draught preventer answers
best when it can be used between an outer case,
and a hive standing inside, but it will be found a
valuable addition to hives of any shape. It will
help to check robbing, and in winter the sun's rays
cannot shine directly into the hive to entice the
bees out, as it often happens on the snow-covered
ground.

118

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

The half-inch groove and passages are sufficient
for medium and small colonies during winter
months, but, of course, for very strong stocks the
bee-keeper will regulate the size accordingly.

I have no doubt that a medium colony, sheltered
from draught, without chaff-packing, would winter
better than one stronger, with packing, if the latter
had only the ordinary direct entrance, other con-
ditions being equal. — (Anonymous. — Ed.)

ENCOURAGING EXPERIENCES.

Four years ago I commenced this interesting and
instructive study with one swarm in a skep hive.
The second year my stock increased by a swarm
and cast to three hives, from which, owing to the
cold and wet season, I did not, at its close, extract
more than three pounds of honey, considering it
essential to leave the bees a sufficient quantity to
feed upon during the coming winter, which, I have
since learned, was mistaken economy, as they exist
and thrive as healthily upon sugar-syrup at a
decidedly minimum cost, and in this way allow the
honey to be closely extracted without loss or
detriment to the bees.

The third year my stock was increased .to seven
hives, all of which I had transferred into frame
hives, but from all of them, in consequence of the
spring and summer having been so disadvantageously
cold and backward, I had but the moderate yield
of twenty pounds of honey. Nothing daunted,
however, I fed and protected them through the
severities of last winter, during which I did not
lose one stock, and this summer have been amply
rewarded, fortune having favoured us with an early
spring and warm summer, consequently productive
of aUundant resources for the gathering and storing
of honey. And I have the gratification of informing
you that my yield has amounted to over 226 lbs.
of honey ; that I now consider myself no longer an
amateur, having been appealed to by numerous
inquirers in and beyond my immediate neighbour-
hood for information as to the successful system
I have adopted, which I have taken advantage
of by in every possible way, doing my utmost
to popularise apiculture as not only an inter-
esting, instructive, and profitable, but a humane
study.

In several instances this summer I have 'driven'
bees on the approved system as advocated in the
Journal belonging to those of my neighbours who
did not themselves understand the operation, and
who, rather than have their bees destroyed, have
offered them to me for my experience and trouble
in rendering such assistance ; and in two or three
cases I have put two lots together in one hive,
giving them two bars of comb out of old hives with
the rest of artificial comb-foundation, and in all of
these hives the bees are working well. I am, in
all, possessed of an apiary of thirteen hives, five of
them being 32 ins. by 14i ins. inside. In con-
clusion, allow me to thank you, Mr. Editor, for the
prompt and patient attention you have always
shown to any request I have made, or question
asked. — Susan Theobald, Tower House, Leicester,

WHICH IS THE BEST HIVE?

Although my name has not appeared on your
list, I have taken the Journal over two years. I
have Vols. VII. and VIII., and four numbers of
Vol. IX. I fear I am asking too much, but would
you kindly give me a little advice upon one subject?
I am a working man, and a young bee-keeper. I
started with the straw skep and brimstone pit. ;
next trying Pettigrew's large hives and driving :
then Stewartons ; and now Messrs. Abbott's frame-
hives. Still I am not quite satisfied.

Before finally arranging my apiary there arc two
things to be decided, viz., Which is the best hive
and frame for practical use ? The size of frame
most suitable for our district is the Woodbury
Standard, which, I believe, will come into general
use ; and the longitudinal principle also. But
whether they shall be double-walled hives, and
broad-shouldered, open-ended frames, or a hive like
the one shown on p. 8, No. 97, British Bee Journal,
with wide-ended close-fitting frames, I cannot make
up my mind for want of more information. What
I want to know is this : —

1. In the improved Giotto hive, what is to
prevent the bees escaping from under the frames
into the case, and remaining there to build- comb
perhaps ?

2. Will not the lengthened top bars in a wide
hive make it difficult to insert sections or cushions
between the frames and hive side ?

3. Is the dummy board fitted close to the hive-
sides, or only the width of the frames (perhaps I
should have said length of frames)? If the latter,
what holds it in position?

4. I like the principle of the improved Giotto
hive, but there appear to me to be some difficulties
in the way of working it that with my present
knowledge I cannot see my way to overcome.

I feel that I am not justified in asking so many
questions on my own behalf, but if you should
think them worthy of a paragraph in the Journal,
there may be others like myself to whom the in-
formation may be of some value. If not, perhaps
you may kindly give me a few hints at some future
time when you have leisure, for which I beg to
hand you a stamped envelope, &o. I may add
that I am using some of your frames of both the
kinds in question, but find that they do not work
together. — WlLLM. Botfield, Culminijton, Brom-
field, Salop, Aug. 25?/,.

[1. In tlic hive we illustrated, and have in use, there
is nothing to prevent the bees getting under the frame-
ends, and between them and the outer hive walls.
Practically, the frames themselves touching each other
and the front of the box or cafe form a hive of them-
selves which, by the moveable dividing-board or dummy,
can be shut off or enlarged to any reasonable extent
This nest of frames hangs suspended in a hex, and for
convenience of packing for winter, or applying sections
in summer, we have left two inches of space along both
sides of the said nest, and thus far have every reason to
he satisfied that it is in no way detrimental. Anyone
objecting to the spaces can do without them; they are
not essential, but they are convenient; they give ample
room in lifting the frames out and replacing them ; they
enable one to turn up the quilt (which covers the spaces)
and look for signs of overcrowding; aud they secure

October 1, 1881.]

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

•119

immunity from sun heat in summer, and good packing
space in winter. It is only reasonable to suppose that if
bees are stinted of space within the frames, they will
get outside of them, as they will out of any other
receptacle that is too small for them ; but during all the
time our hive has been in use there has not been an
attempt to take possession of the spaces in question.

2. The lengthened top bars need not be in the way in
a hive, long enough from front to rear. There is,
however, no reason whatever for putting sections in the
side spaces, and, as -we have before said, the spaces
themselves may be done away with, or reduced to half
an inch or less, as in Hale's (Horncastle) Giotto hives.

3. The dummy-board, as we have it in use, tits the
hive sides loosely, but it need not be wider than the
frames are. It is kept in position by a strut against
the back of the hive, which, when pressed down, jambs
the frames close, and makes them practically solid, thus
actually preventing the need for propolis, which, as a
matter of fact, is very little used.

4. "We are always glad to give information if we arc
able to do so, particularly through the Journal, where it
will be read by many. We believe the principle of our
Giotto to be a good one, and some day the public will
see the advantage of it, not the least of which consists
in the fa ilitv with which a nest of the frames can be
put into any box that will hold them without regard to
shape, make, or finish, and it was with a view to ex-
hibiting that facility that we made the top bar so long.
With a set of those frames, in pieces, any hedge-car-
penter, or amateur, can make his bee-nest of any width
or depth he may desire, regard being had to the length
of the parts. He can nail the frame-ends on any parts
of the top bars to suit boxes of any width, and he can
shorten the ends to suit shallow boxes, or he can have
them made of extra length for tall boxes, and thus hives
can be obtained for a mere song. — Ed.]

SWALLOWS AND BEES.

I do not know if an incident of the kind men-
tioned below has ever come under your notice, viz.,
if swallows kill bees. If they do, they must be
dangerous enemies. The other day, I saw a swallow
fly up to another which was sitting on a telegraph
wire, and put something into its mouth and then go
away. The other almost immediately dropped
what it had received. Noticing that it looked large
I went and examined it, and found it to be a full-
sized drone. — W. B. L., Qiiorn.

[We have once or twice heard complaints of swallows
as bee enemies, but hope the evidence against them had
no better ground than their having caught the drones to
feed their young with. There are several birds that will
capture drones, and they run some risk while about it,
but only the ' tom-tit ' (to our knowledge ) will take
worker bees. Big, fat drones are welcome food for young
birds, and doubtless the old ones think they were sent for
the purpose. While drones abounded our hives were j
besieged by common sparrows ; they would pounce upon
the drones and capture them most dextrouslv, but not a
■worker-bee would they touch, as far a« we could see ; and
from the fact that now the drones have departed the
hives are unvisited by birds, there are good grounds for
supposing that drones only were the object cf their
search.: — Ed.]

UNITING BEES.— FIGHTING.

Ten days ago I drummed a very large swarm of
black bees out of a straw skep, for a neighbour, to
save the bees from destruction, and put them into
a hive filled with foundation, confining them to six

frames, and feeding liberally and constantly with
syrup. In six days they had filled out all the sis
frames, and mostly filled them with food all sealed.
My neighbour now asked me if I wanted more bees,
if so to drum another large swarm of his. I did so,
and went about the work as follows : The weather
being cold and dull, I turned up the skep and
poured a quantity of syrup, strongly scented with
essence of peppermint, among the bees between the
combs to give them a feed and make them lively,
and let them rest for twenty minutes. During this
time I opened the bar-frame, removed the dummy,
and inserted the remaining four bars of foundation
and sprinkled the bees on the other frames with
peppermint-scented syrup, also putting some in the
feeder above the frames. I now drove the bees out
of the skep and poured rhem on the flight-board of
the hive, opened the door wide, and in a few minutes
all were inside, and I thought the job done all in
order. The next morning, however, I found the
entrance choked with dead bees, and on removing
the bottom board I found, as I estimate, from a
third to a half of the bees I added the night pre-
vious dead. On looking inside I found the founda-
tion in two of the new bars twisted and bent out
of shape, a thing which never happened with me
before, and the fighting still going on, but only to
a small extent. Can you suggest any reason for
the fighting, the twisted foundation, and the dead
bees 1 I have united my own bees twice this year
in exactly the same way, and no fighting ensued. —
" Dix" Leslie.

[If the new combs of brood and honey had been re-
moved prior to the bees being united, there would have
been no fighting, since there would have been nothing to
tight for or defend, and the bees could have beeu so
mingled that they woidd scarcely have known ' t'other
from which.' In our leaflet ou ' Uniting,' we have
advised that bees to be joined should be 'reduced to a
common state of poverty;' and though we admit that
occasionally some of our directions may be harmlessly
ignored, we are careful to recommend that they he
strictly adhered to. It is not our province to advise
experiment, but to give the result of experience and show
a safe way of procedure. Many are prone to ' catch the
nearest way,' as Ladv Macbeth so tersely puts it, but
they too often reap ' the illness ' that attends it, to make
it a safe or even warrantable proceeding. — Ed.]

ABBOTT'S NEW GLOVES.

I write in the first flush of a brilliant success
with your new gloves received by post this morn-
ing. I tried them in examining three hives during
a half-hour of sunshine. Some bees were very
irritable.' I just soaked the outer pair in a solution
of washing soda. The success was brilliant. — Jcmx
Mabten, Endnge, Sejrt. 3rd, 1881.

P.S. — You can use this as you like. To show
there is facility of manipulation with the gloves, I
afterwards caught a queen by her wings and caged
her.— J. M.

NOVEL USE FOR BEES.
I send you the last new use of a bee, or, perhaps,
you might sav, a very early one, as the writer is
supposed to have lived at the, end of the eleventh

120

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

century, Dandi by name, who wrote the poem
' Dosa-Kumara-Charita' in Sanscrit, though the
story itself may have been much earlier, but only
then turned into poetry. — Apaharavarma, son of
the king of Mithila, goes on his travels, and,
amongst other things, becomes a robber or burglar,
only, as in the scriptural style, he is a breaker
through, not as with us a breaker in ; he says :
' One very dark night, I set out determined on
robbery, and equipped with a dark dress, a short
sword, a spade, a crow-bar, a pair of pincers, a
wooden man's head (to be pushed in through any
opening in a wall so as to receive any blow which
might be given), a magic candle, a rope and
grappling iron, a box with a bee in it (to be let
loose that it might put out the lights), and other
implements.' So even such an innocent animal as
a bee is capable of being put to a very bad use by
human ingenuity. (Early Ideas, by an Arian,
p. 82.) — J. R. Haig, Union Club, Trafalgar Square,
Sept. 13. vx

FINDING WASPS' NESTS.
The way I have found wasps' nests is to stand
a distance from the hives and observe the line of
flight the wasps take, watch and follow those that
fly low and steady, they being loaded. In this way
I have traced them over the Rectory lawn garden
and by the side of a plantation into a field on my
glebe farm, a quarter of a mile distant. — Robert
Thorpe.

AFRICAN BEES.
In reading a book written for boys, by the Rev.
H. C. Adams, Vicar of Old Shoreham, some years
ago, and finding that he makes mention of a breed
of bees in Africa which appear to build large
houses of earth and have no stings ; I wrote to ask
for his authorities. He replies that they were
perfectly trustworthy, but he cannot be certain
now (so many years since he wrote his book) what
they were. I wonder if any of your readers know
anything of them, or have friends out there who
could tell us anything of them. This apparent
industry and freedom from powers of offence would
make them very valuable. Indeed, they would
become so popular as to promise to pay the expenses
of their transportation. — C. Feilding, Sept. 22.

THE RED CLOVER IN NEW ZEALAND.

It has always been supposed that the red clover
in New Zealand would not seed. A friend of mine,
however, whom I met last year, informed me that
his red clover, in the N. Island, fructified. So they
must have some insect besides the humble bee who
is capable of fertilising the blossom.. — C. Feilding.

BE READY.

I venture to suggest to all bee-keepers that they
read well Abbott Brothers' remarks in their adver-
tisement in B. B. Journal for August (outside
page), and follow their advice. The importance of
not being ready has been fully verified in Lincoln-
shire this seaaon. — R. R. Godfrey, Grantham.

HOW QUEENS ARE LOST.

The paragraph in your editorial notes in Journal
for July, ' How queens are lost,' came home to me
with some pith, as I had just lost two Ligurian
queens under similar circumstances, which, with
your permission, I will relate, as I am sure it will
interest your readers.

First of all, I drove a hive from a straw skep,
with a young unmated queen, and put them into a
frame-hive. For eight or ten days I watched to see
if the queen was laying, but there was no laying all
this time, so I came to the conclusion, that, as the
young queen had not been mated before leaving
the straw skep, there was no brood in it from
which to make another queen. I was right, and
returned the queen to the straw skep, and gave my
new bar-frame hive a Ligurian that I had breeding
in another bar-frame, allowing them to make one
for themselves, which they have, — a nice one, too.
Well, I introduced my queen in the usual way —
caged her for two days. I liberated her without
any apparent hostilities being manifested towards
her. But oh looking for her two hours afterwards,
I found her ' balled,' and she dead in the bottom of
the hive.

At once I procured another, and gave her to the
same hive, with two days' caging. She was well
received. All day I watched her every half-hour.
She was all the time doing well, with a loyal-
looking colony ; but alas ! she lay dead on the cold
ground in the morning. I was still bent on having
a pure Ligurian queen about our apiary, so I
procured still another. But I made up my mind
not to give her to murderers again, so I made a
hive for her with five bars, containing grubs and
young bees. I shook no bees off the bars as I
lifted them, but allowed all to remain, concluding,
as I was putting all on. a new stand, the old bees
would return to their respective hives, and leave
nothing but brood and young bees. This all proved
correct, as for days there was no traffic out or in
the hive ; nor was there any till the bees became
old enough to go forth. It is now a prosperous
and contented colony, with a beautiful Ligurian
queen at their head.

But to return to the queen-killing hive. I gave
them a comb with a queen-cell on it, but they tore
it out. I then gave them some Ligurian eggs, but
they did not make queens from any of them. I
still kept looking out for queen-cells being formed,
but none. One day my eyes became unusually large
to see lots of eggs about. So I would find the layer,
and did. A nice black queen was there in all her
glory, and no doubt had been there all the time,
and had ordered the slaughter of my other queens.
She had left the straw that she was returned to in
a courting expedition, and entered the frame-hive ;
that no doubt she had entered during the eight or
ten days she was in it, returning from similar ex-
cursions, I am now satisfied. After finding out the
cause of all my disappointment and expense, I
hope that my sad experience will be a caution to
others. — J. Kennedy, Comber, Co. Down.

P.S. As a confirmation of the above stronger
than mere conjecture, I have this week (August

October 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

121

10th) driven the said straw skep, and found only
about one hundred bees in it, with all honey and
no brood, and for a month past they have been
quite idle. Still it is wonderful that they dwindled
away to such an extent in such a short time. But
there has been no breeding since about 1st June. —
J. K.

WINTER QUILTING.

May I ask you to give your advice on the sub-
ject of winter quilting 1 Although most unwilling
to question the opinion of those versed in apicul-
ture, I cannot help thinking that the materials
commonly used for the first layer, viz., tick or
calico, are far from the most suitable. Any such
close fabric is, when the least damp, most imper-
vious, and, if so, to be avoided when free evaporation
is an essential. I quite believe that the only per-
fect arrangement is horse-hair cloth covered with a
chaff cushion, but this is unfortunately expensive,
and what is wanted for general use must be cheap.
I have made, for experiment, a mat by binding
straw into rolls with twine and then sewing them
tightly together, the result being similar in sub-
stance to the straw skep. I shall now squeeze it
into a wooden frame, the size of the hive top, to
make the edges square and neat, and fasten in with
fine wire, — do you think this is likely to answer, or
would it be propolised to any serious extent 1 I
thought of keeping it from touching the bars by
leaving the frame a little beyond it, and the frame
could be made snug by tacking a strip of list round
it. Any suggestion from you on the subject will
be most valuable. — J. H. V., Manea, Aug. 15.

[There is no objection to straw pads or straw in frames
as top-covering for frames, but it ought to lie close upon
them to prevent loss of heat by circulation of air above
the brood-nest. The reason we recommend a layer of
light material next the frames is that it may be laid
directly upon them without danger of crushing the bees
shoiild any be up there. When laid on, it can be gently
smoothed down, and the bees cautioned to ' stand from
under,' which they will quickly do, and then a straw pad
or chaff cushion can be safely laid on. Straw crown-
covers in wood frames, are an old institution that fell
into abeyance when the quilt was introduced, hut now,
in the form of chaff cushions, the principle is being
revived. Chaff cushions are formed by nailing four
pieces of thin board together as a frame of the size of the
hive, from two to three inches deep ; canvas is nailed on
both sides, with chaff or similar material between, and
when put upon the first layer of quilting they are excel-
lent for the purpose intended. Straw cushions of the
same make suggested by our correspondent, laid on to
the frames with neither calico, hair-cloth, nor canvas in-
tervening, woidd he crowded with propolis, every irregu-
larity being filled and sealed up. — Ed.]

HOLY-LAND BEES, &e.
I have waited for you to first give your experience
with these bees. In some particulars it corresponds
with mine, but I think I can say a little more about
the hybrids, and but little respecting the pure race,
as I have been so unfortunate as to lose the queen
I had from you. On receiving her in June of last
year, I introduced her to a medium-sized cast, and
had her laying a few hours after abstracting the
black queen.

Within two or three days I took out a frame of
eggs and gave it to a queenless colony, and soon
had a lot of fine queens. These were all over three
weeks before they laid an egg, and I began to think
they would be drone-breeders, but at last they
went to work, although all proved to be hybrids.
The loss of the imported queen I attribute to
having her wings cut, as probably in my absence
the bees swarmed and the queen was lost. Her
bees were all beautifully marked, and appeared so
until late in the autumn, when I packed them for
winter ; but as they were such dreadful spitfires I
did not look further than to see that thoy possessed
plenty of brood and honey, although had I looked
farther I should probably have discovered what I
did this spring — that the queen presiding had whole
wings. I found at my first examination this year
that the hive contained hybrids, and so of course
knew what to expect. The bees of the imported
queen were very yellow, but they were crosser than
any Ligurian hybrids I ever had to deal with, and
took no notice whatever of smoke, while the hybrids
are perhaps more easily handled than Ligurians,
showing a striking contrast to the Ligurian hybrids,
most of which I find are of a cross nature.

I did not notice if the pure race were given to
robbing, but the hybrids are first and foremost at
every opportunity. They have also a peculiar way
of their own in robbing without fighting. Where
heavily laden bees of other hives drop on the ground
under the entrance, there are these waiting for, and
coolly persuading them to give up their load, just
as we have seen bees cross tongues at the entrance
with those of their own hive. Not once, in such
cases, did I see the robbers at the flight-hole ; they
seemed to know it would not be safe there. It ap-
pears strange that a bee would so easily give up its
load, especially as sometimes three or four would
rush towards one at the same time, and almost
push it over in their hurry to be first.

I do not think either the pure or hybrids will
produce more honey than Ligurians, while their
comb-honey is of a very dark and damp-looking
appearance, as the honey is close to the caps, and
in this state it is not so saleable.

You say your hybrids are all very well marked ;
mine are tolerably so, but far from being so well
banded as Ligurians. I think it quite possible that
the latter may have come from a cross between the
Palestine bees and the blacks at some distant -time,
especially as the hybrids partake of the gentleness
of the Italians. They are, as you say, very prolific ;
but I have Ligurian hybrids ahead of them in that
respect, besides storing more honey.

My bees were left to themselves from the begin-
ning of October till the end of March, when I went
up to Crawley and packed them for their journey
to this place. I had them down in vans by road,
arriving here March 31st, a distance of about twenty-
eight miles. In some places loose flints lay on the
hard road, having only recently been put on, but
on arrival I was pleased to find that not a single
comb had broken, although I use no bottom rails
to my frames.

122

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

There was a keen east wind blowing at the time,
which continued for some days after they reached
here. It was nearly a week before I could release
them, when I began to feed for the first time. It
was fortunate, considering the weather, that they
had not been stimulated earlier, or I should, I am
afraid, have had a quantity of chilled brood. As it
was, but few of them had commenced brood-rearing,
and there was, of course, little open honey in the cells.

Although I bad them in such a favourable con-
dition for removal, I was, of necessity, greatly be-
hind in the matter of brood-rearing ; and it took
some time before the bees showed any perceptible
increase. Some, however, were ready to swarm by
the beginning of June, and altogether they have
done remarkably well. — S. Simmins, Rottingdean,
August 18, 1881.

THE BRITISH BEE-FARMER'S HIVE.

Will you kindly favour me with your opinion of
my best course of conduct with my hive? It is a
small frame-hive in which I hived a swarm May
26th ; I fed them, and they made their eight combs
in the fortnight. In about another six weeks I
extracted about 4 or 5 lbs. of honey, but desisted
from taking more, as I thought the bees objected
to the brood that had been a little shaken out of
the comb, as I found a good many thrown out the next
morning. I thought, perhaps, when the one lot
was hatched out the queen might perhaps leave the
end bars for storing; but she didn't. I fancy if I
had supered it, I shonld have had a good deal of
honey; but acting on a certain gentleman's principle
I left it as it was — and I reckon lost all the honey ;
the bees were laying about a little, but not in great
numbers.

I had all the bars out this morning, one end bar
is clear of brood, nearly full of honey, but only a
little sealed. The other end bar, the inside has
about a third sealed comb with a little brood, the
outside perfectly clear, I imagine ready for storing ;
the other six frames have more or less sealed honey
at top, and brood scattered all about middle bars
rather thickly. They are bringing out and killing a
few drones this morning ; not many drones in the
hive. I dropped a few ounces of barley sugar in
the feeder these last few wet days ; but they left it
altogether this fine morning.

I am rather doubtful if they can get much honey
about here, though they get big loads of pollen of
all colours, and they arc very liberal with propolis.
I am surrounded with trees and greenery, but not
many flowers. All that I can see to do is to leave
them alone, and let them do as they like till the
time comes for weighing and feeding up for the
winter, and being satisfied with my honey harvest
of 5 lbs.

Which lot of bees is it that comes out about one
o'clock of a fine day, about two or three hundred
fly about the front, all going in again about half
past two ; are they the indoor workers out for a
constitutional'! — G. J. Bryant, 115 Pentonville Road,
N., Aug. 22.

[Our querist is evidently reaping fruit from the
Kobinsonian seed scattered broadcast from Frodshain

last spring, and which we did our best to prevent the
growth of at the earliest opportunity, foreseeing that it
would be our lot to remedy as far as possible the mis-
chief the principles thence inculcated would be eer tain
to bring about. The hive described we recognise a s the
so-called British Bjo Farmer's hive, twelve inches square,
holding eight frames, about ten and a half inches square
inside ; and from this absurdly small bee nest, which has
not more than half the capacity the breeding power of a
good queen demands, the ' Bee- farmer' is led to expect
any number of swarms, and to be able to extract twelve
pounds of pure limpid honey per week, and 'the system
if followed honestly'' (it is said), ' should bring an annual
income of ten pounds per hive.' (Vide British Bee Far m-
ing, by James F. Kobinson.] Supering is eschewed by the
precious system (?) inculcated and nothing in the way of
obtaining comb honey tolerated ; but twice a-week the
two outside combs are to be put through the extractor,
and three pounds of honey taken from each. In such a
miserably small bee domicile the results promised are
simply impossible, and the experience of our correspondent
is wdiat might reasonably have been expected.

We cannot help our correspondent at this late date,
the honey harvest being over, except by recommending
him to provide boxes of at least thirty inches in length
with a moveable dummy or divider, and with entrances
at the end, and to transfer the contents of the present
boxes to them giving additional frames of comb foundation
in the spring, if the bees survive, to enable them to in-
crease their brood nest and attain strength. He may
then gradually fill the hives with frames, and should the
season be favourable he may reasonably expect a larger
honey yield either in the form of extracted or comb honey.

The bees that disport themselves about the hive entrance
as stated are doubtless the young bees, taking their airing
flight, and marking the hive's locality and bearings. — Ed. J

BEES DESERTING THEIR QUEEN.

A few days ago I had a strong after-swarm from
a straw skep, which I hived in the usual way, and
at once placed on its permanent stand. All seemed
well, but on going to feed them in the evening I
noticed an unusual commotion. I thought nothing
of it at the time ; but next morning found the
bustle had given way to stillness. On turning up
the skep I found it occupied by about fifty bees on
one side, and the queen alone on the other ; I tried
to catch the queen, but she took wing, and after
flying round several times finally settled on my coat.
I thou caught her, and put her in a box with a
glass lid with a score of her subjects,1 and watched
the result. The bees at once attacked her with
great fury, and but for my intervention would soon
have killed her. They certainly were most dis-
loyal. Now what was the cause of all this] was
the queen barren and had the bees found out her
condition, as seems probable from the fact that they
had not commenced comb-building, no doubt correctly
thinking it was useless to prepare cradles where no
babies were expected? Bees arc doing exceedingly
well this season. — ARTHUB 11, White, Charlton
House, BelUngkam, Northumberland.

[The solution of this problem is by no means difficult.
The after-swarm, as is commonly the case, had several
queens with it, and the commotion noticed was the result
of their quarrelling. One of the queens had evidently
then departed with the majority of the bees, one was
still attended by a small retinue of about fifty, and a third
was ' out in the cold ' wandering in the hive unattended.
Having selected their own, they repudiated the abandoned

October 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

123

queen, and would have killed her had they uot been pre-
vented. Bee-keepers too often ignore the polyarchic
nature of after-swarms, apparently from a fixed faith in
the generally correct principle that only one queen is
allowed to exist in a hive.

An after-swarm may contain a dozen young queens all
anxious, able, and willing to reign ; but nature says two
perfect females shall not live together in a hive, so they
tight or rim, as the case may be, until only one remains
with a cluster. — Ed.]

ERRATIC QUEENS.
The queen I wrote to you about some time ago
is doing very well ; but as she filled nearly the
whole of the brood-nest with drone eggs in the first
case, there were not many worker-bees hatched out.
More than half of the bees in the hive at one time
were drones, but the}' are disappearing fast. After
the first hatching of sealed brood, the breeding
stopped for more than a week for want of pollen,
and now breeding is going on very slowly, there
being about a dozen larva) feeding at the same time.
They are all now worker-bees, and from the same
cells that previously contained drones. The queen
lays plenty of eggs, but they do not hatch, except a
few about the centre of brood-nest, owing to the
scarcity of bees. As each egg fails, she lays another,
so that many cells contain two, and a few three,
eggs, one in each cell being fresh and the others
dried up. I am quite satisfied with the queen, the
misfortune was in her being overcharged with eggs
on introduction, and this would not have mattered
much but for the hive having been queenless about
five weeks previously. — Henry Stott, 188 West
View, Tong Moor, Bolton, Aug. \§th, 1881.

VINEGAR FOR STINGS (?)
I think it may be useful to your readers to know
that vinegar, so highly recommended by your
correspondent, ' J. R. J.,' as a cure for bee-stings, is
not successful in all cases. I was stung on the
face yesterday while taking some honey, and having
extracted the sting, at once applied a little sweet
oil, and then some ordinary brown table vinegar.
I repeated the application of vinegar two or three
times, and thought no more about it at the time,
as bees'-stings usually affect me butlittle. Gradually,
however, the whole side of my face, and especial!}'
my eye, swelled up very considerably, in fact, this
sting has caused me more discomfort than I have
ever experienced before. — M. W.

PLANTAIN LEAF versus AMMONIA.
Having read in the columns of your valuable
paper, that plantain leaves, when applied to bee-
stings, were a sure cure. I accordingly resolved to
test them as follows : — I was stung, firstly, on the
inside of calf of leg, and immediately applied the
leaf, after well bruising it, from which I found
immediate relief from ptfin, it not swelling in the
least. I was next stung on the back of neck, the
sting being in fully three minutes. Being so
thoroughly confident in the efficacy of the leaf, I did
not apply my usual remedy, viz., ammonia, but
served it the same as already mentioned above,

which relieved the pain, but did not wholly stay
the swelling at tho time (this was done about 5
p.m.), but was far superior to ammonia, for by next
morning there was not the least sign of my being
stung. I can therefore safely recommend the
plantain leaf as being the cheapest, and an effectual
remedy for bee-stings. — J. J. A., Market Square,
Bromyard, July 2 3rd.

EGG-STEALING BY BEES.

The following, which I think is a clear case of
egg-stealing, may interest your readers. On 14th
July, a hive cast. I did not intend it to cast ; I
had heard the queen piping tho evening before, but
just as I was going the next morning to cut the
queen-cells out, the cast came off. I put them into
a hive with three or four empty combs and fed
them, as I intended to take the queen when ferti-
lised and give her to a stock that had an old queen.
On 2nd August I looked into the hive and found
they had made queen-cells in which there were
grubs, and there was no other brood in the hive ex-
cept one or two drone-grubs near the queen-cells;
on 5th August, found both queen-cells and drone-
cells sealed; on 16th August, found queen-celis
open and saw queen. I suppose they lost their
queen in the first instance, when she went out for
her marriage tour ; but how and where did they get
eggs to make a new queen unless they stole or
borrowed them from another hive 1 Another case
came under my observation. I had a stock with an
old queen that I determined to kill and give them
a young queen. I examined it one day and found
it had not a trace of either brood, eggs, or queen,
but one sealed queen-cell, that I opened and found
a full-grown grub in it. Now, where did they get
the egg to make that queen, as they must have
been without a queen for some time, as there was
no brood in the hive of any kind except the sealed
queen-cell 1 Have you ever known bees steal eggs
to make a queen 1 We have had the most wretchedly
wet summer I ever remember, — bees could do no-
thing. I am glad to hear that you have had such
a good season. — W. Conway Preston.

[We have never heard of an authenticated case of egg-
stealing by bees, though sometimes instances have
occurred that have led to the conclusion that such
stealing had taken place. Is it not probable that the
eggs that produced the queen-ceil (?), and the drone-
grubs were laid by the young queen of the cast prior to
her making her wedding tour ? We have had many
such experiences; and is it not possible that with eggs in
the hive and an unfertile queen present, the bees may
have raised a queen-cell on a drone larva ? Its proxi-
mity to drone-brood favours this view, and such mistakes
are often made by bees. The probability is that the
queen was present in the hive during the whole time
but had hidden herself as young queens frequently do,
sometimes, as we have found, by creeping headlong into
a cell. In the second case, the probability is that (lie
full-grown grub in the queen-cell found in the hive was
from an egg laid by the old queen previous to her abdi-
cation. It is known that bees depose their old queens
before they become drone-breeders exclusively ; however,
it is reasonable to suppose in this case, that the queen
was capable of laying, and even though the egg was an
unfertile one, the bees would still build a queen-cell upon

124

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

it, futile though its effect would be. Singular things
are constantly occurring with bees that puzzle and per-
plex observers, but when they can be accounted for on
any reasonable assumption we are chary of admitting
them as new features. If bees stole eggs on such occasions,
they would, we think, do it sufficiently often to satisfy
minute observers of the fact, and fewer stocks would die
out through queenlessness. — Ed.]

BEE-QUIETING, BEE-GLOVES, BORAGE, AND
IRISH HONEY.

I have found a way of clearing the bees from the
bar-frames, when I can take what honey I like and
transfer them if I like ; but we do not smoke them,
as we find it best not to do so. I wish your corre-
spondent was present covered with honey instead
of a veil ; I would engage he would be half killed
in ten minutes. I find india-rubber gloves value-
less, the bees sting through them fearfully. People
should be careful what they write. Do you or any
of your readers believe the tales of honey collected in
the neighbourhood of Waterford 1 If you do, I think
you will believe anything. I am very fond of my
bees, and am now managing them all (forty hives)
myself, and selling a great lot of honey. When I had
a 'bee-master,' I sold little honey and lost 100/. a-year
with my bees. There is no better country in the
world than this for bees ; we have food from the
end of February till the autumn. I should like all
your readers to see the borage. I have mislaid the
gentleman's letter who wants enough for an acre ;
will he write again 1 I shall not have enough for
that, but he shall have all I can spare ; the bees
are mad after it. Wishing you great prosperity. —
T. Beale Browne, Salperton Pari-, Cheltenham.

[From what we saw of the bee-flora around Water-
ford and heard of the fame of Messrs. White & Sons, the
honey merchants of that place, who gave us the infor-
mation on which our calculation in the July Journal was
based, we place the greatest reliance on the statement
they were kind enough to forward to us. It was not
sent for publication ; but being of interest, we took the
liberty of 'echoing' the statement which our corre-
spondent is disposed to disbelieve. Messrs. White and
Sons have a high reputation around Waterford, and
we regret that we had not the opportunity of mailing
their personal acquaintance during our tour in Ireland.
We quite agree with our esteemed correspondent that
people should be careful what they write, but when
authenticated by name and address, their statements are
held to be worthy of respectful consideration.

(BtlptB from % pibes.

Cheshire. — Bee-keeping. — ' Thanks for your skilful guid-
ance I get more expert in manipulations with my bees. I
have now resolved to do away with skeps ; next summer I
shall transfer the remainder into wide close fitting frames.
I find the Ligurians in this locality do not come out so soon
in a morning, or work so late at night, as black bees, and
they are more easily affected by the cold. In the honey
season, however, they appear to be marvellous workers.
This has been my best year ; but never can expect to realise
near one fifth so much as I read about in your Journal.
I took the first prize here at the Over Flower Show, and
the weight of honey taken from it, section-supers as
well as box super, weighed hut about If! lbs. At the
show named I and our friend Mr. Saxton, of Nantwich,
drove a hive of bees surrounded by some two to three
hundred people. After which we transferred them into

a frame-hive, and returned the surplus honey, and bees
to the owner. Thus we are endeavouring to enlighten
people in our own simple way. We have two good bar-
rramists here beside myself.' — Parent Stock.

Ha/dock. — Comb-founaation. — ' Never used foundation
before, but every one ought to do so. You do not say
sufficient in its praise. It is built up at once. I put
driven bees, to save them from sulphur-pit, into two
hives, and gave them three frames each, and two days
after could hardly believe what 1 saw.' — G. M. S.

Bees at, Tisbury. — ' Talking of Norway you may be
interested to hear that I saw the king's apiary at
Christiania. Bee-keeping, however, in Norway appears
at a very low ebb. I was allowed to open the hives,
and so on as much as I liked ; but there was nothing
vei'3' new. The most interesting thing was that in all
the bar-frame hives the frames ran, as in your Com-
bination hive, across the entrance. The season here has
been on the whole capital for bees, — 40 to 50 lbs. of comb-
super honey per hive. (I should have had 10 to 15 lbs.
a hive more if I had been in England.) And this with-
out any lime harvest at all — we had curiously enough no
lime blossoms this year.' — Ashton G. Radclifpe.

Midhurst. — 'I am happy to say I have used sixty sheets
of your flat bottom foundation, and have not had a mis-
hap. I never saw a bar-frame or a bit of foundation
till this year.' — J. Jarvis.

Worcestershire. — Thin hives again. — 'This has been the
best season I have known for honey-gathering in this
part of the country. One of your 3s. Gd. Woodburys has
given me 130 lbs. of the very best honey, and a large
swarm, and probably the bees have 10 lbs. remaining in
the hive.' — Chas. Lyne.

Cairnie. — ' I have splendid honey results this year, I
have learned the art of super jng and preventing bees
from swarming ; as soon as 1 find time I will give you a
full account. What about 3'our plaster casts ? do you
sell them, and what is the price ?' — A. Cockburn.

[Yes; 10s. per pair. — Ed.]

Hill Cottage, Faljield, Gloucestershire, Aug. \0th,
1881. — Speciality Feeder. — 'Having given your speciality
bee-feeders a good trial this season, 1 should like to tell
you that they have done good service, but seem to want
slight alteration. I found that heat or damp caused the
wooden stands to curl up, and hold the tin rim of the
bottle so tight that considerable force was needed to
remove it ; also, that under similar circumstances the
perforated zinc being passed together horizontally,
twisted about, some being drawn \ inch away from the
holes in the cover of the bottle. Either the warping of
the wood should be prevented, which might perhaps be
done by nailing the two pieces together with the grain
of one piece crossing that of the other, or the hole in the
wooden stand should be made larger, and the zinc
arranged so as to be free, and so not affected by con-
traction of the wood. Even as it is, it is the best feeder
I have tried, and a little alteration would, I think, make
it perfect. We have had a good season here for those
whose bees were brought forward early, but the supplies
in this neighbourhood, which is almost entirely in
pasture, generally cease when hay is cut.' — H. Jenner
Fust, Jim.

Whissonsett , Norfolk, Aug. 23. — The Harvest. —
' What a truly glorious honey harvest we have had this
year in this part of England, it has been everything that
one could have desired. I have taken fully 800 lbs. from
ten stocks, I cannot give you the exact weight as I gave
so much away during the £arly part of the summer,
though I certainly have not over-stated it. My heaviest
and best hive was a Stewarton, and the first year of my
Inning tried them too. (I think, Mr. Editor, I shall try
them again.) So I hear we are to have another try at
getting up an association for Norfolk, I heartily say,
" May it prosper ! " What is the matter with the Norfolk

October 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

125

men that they have not come forward before ? Are they
themselves afraid of the horrid east wind, or are they
waiting for some one to invent a warm padded top coat,
with which to clothe every bee'during working hours in
the months of April and May? I like Norfolk, though a
stranger, but not these winds ; and I am sure, eoidd they
speak, my little favourites woidd say the same.' — Alfred

E. BoOKER-HlLL.

Bee-keeping at Salisbury, Aug. 27. — ' Proper 1 ee-
keeping, even with skeps, has been entirely unknown in
my parish and neighbourhood until I tried to show the
way to better things. My man-servant is a decent car-
penter, and has the free use of my tools, and I am
attempting to get some cheap Cottage hives made by him
to serve as a bait to our neighbours. lie has adopted
bar-frames for himself, and had fair success this season.'

—ii. g. w. a.

Benmore, Sept. 5th. — ' Hives of the Griffin class are an
absurdity as regards price. Forty of such hives would
buy a small cottage, and where on earth are they going
to store such a mass of extras? Surely that cannot be
the way to popularise bee-keeping. It may be very well
for scientific purposes, possibly, but for the purpose of
making bee-keeping profitable, to my mind, it is simply
ridiculous.' — D. "Wood.

Hunt/y, Sept. 6. — Bees in Aberdeenshire. — 'In
Aberdeenshire I may tell you that I commenced the
season with five frame-hives and two straw, and have
now seven frame and three straw hives, and the total
amount of honey I have taken is 12 lbs. of extracted
honey and eight 1-lb. sections. Is not this miserable ? but
I see by the Journal that you have done well in England.
Wishing you the success you deserve.' — Geo. M'Intyre.

Holehuuse Farm, near Milton, Sep. 8. — 'Very much
pleased with the comb foundation and your excluder
you sent to me. I took a Makeshift hive (your Standard
pattern) to the show at Kidsgrove, and one bar from a
standard hive with comb, bees, and queen in an observatory
hive, which was the greatest feature there. I took the
first order for a Combination hive of your pattern; so
you see that your ideas are making steady progress in
North Staffordshire. I have now four converts to the
bar-frame hives (the Standard), and gained you a sub-
scriber to the B. B. J.' — G. Clowes.

Query No. 422. — Earwigs in Hires. — I have lately
observed several of my hives, both frame Woodbury and
common hives, infested with an insect, one of which I
enclose, and which I have been informed is a species of
earwig. I have killed numbers late in the evening
mostly coming out of the hives. I was recommended to
use camphor, but it had no effect. Kindly tell me how
to destroy them. All the hives, with one exception, are
perfectly new, and the bees active and healthy. My
bees have been a great success this season, and seem to
have been so in the few places they are kept about here.
Your British Bee Journal is of great help to me, and the
Limnanthes Douglasii you sent in the spring was
especially favoured by them. I have a splendid lot of
young plants for next year from the seed of the old ones.
— H. O. Langley, Thurles, co. Tipperary, Ireland.

Keply to Qttery No. 422. — Earwigs, or more properly
earwings, for they have beautifully delicate wings of
the shape of the human ear, having the power of flight,
cannot be kept from hives by ordinary appliances effec-
tive with creeping things. Their chief object is warmth,
and the remedy against them is to prevent their gaining
access by keeping the entrance narrow, that the bees
may be able to guard it, and by using hives that will
not permit access to the quilts, or other covering, for it
is in the warm spaces about the hive in which they

most love to congregate. In large hives with spare
combs they will make their abode in the spare cells if
they can pass the sentinels, but with tight hives, narrow
doorways, and moderately strong stocks, this is almolt
impossible. We are glad you have found ' Limnanthes'
a useful bee-plant. — Ed.

Query No. 423. — Wasps' Nests. — Will you supplement
your instructions on the destruction of wasps' nests by a
few more details ? If the ' guards ' at the mouth of the
nest be on the alert how do you insert jour squirt with-
out first dealing with them ? and if you attack the nest
in the daytime, you not only fail to destroy all the wasps
that are foraging abroad, but will be attacked by them
on their return home. — K. C. J.

Reply' to Query- No. 42-'!. — The turpentine should be
squirted or poured into the hole leading to the nest — the
guards die instantly from the effects of the fumes. With
all due respect, we beg to say again that the wasps re-
turning from foraging will not attack. We very much
prefer daylight for this kind of business. Any one with
nerves should wear a veil ; but after having seen the effect
of the turpentine, and the easy way in which the returning
foragers turn over and die as they alight in the entrance
will soon feel disposed to be rid of the obstruction to bis
view. With such easy means of destroying wasps, at
hand, no one has occasion to suffer from their depredations
for any length of time. — Ed.

Query No. 424. — What is a Complete Hive? — Having
had an argument yesterday with a gentleman as to
whether a moveable comb-hive under any circumstances
can be complete without a moveable roof in addition, I
shall feel greatly obliged if you can give your opinion in
next Journal. — A. Adams, Melksham, Sep. 22, 1881.

Reply to Query No. 424. — Our decided opinion is
that a hive of any kind to be ' complete ' should have a
rain-proof roof. It is no argument against this proposi-
tion that bee-boxes, and skeps put into bee-houses, are
called ' hives,' and sold as ' hives,' the latter often being-
minus floor-board, as well as roof : facts often forgotten
in the comparison of the respective cost of the various
kinds offered for sale. — Ed.

Query No. 42o. — Preventing Syrup Crystallising. —
Will the editor kindly say how crystallising may be pre-
vented in the syrups given to the bees? I have found
syrup crystallising in spite of vinegar and boiling. A
correspondent some time ago mentioned glucose as a pre-
ventive, but he did not state the quantity needed. Is
glucose likely to be injurious to the bees ? — D., Boulogne.

Reply to Query- No. 423. — We are experimenting
with American glucose with a view to ascertaining its
suitability for bee food, and as an agent in preventing re-
crystallisation of syrup, but have not yet been able to
determine the smallest quantity that can be used for the
purpose. Alone it is a flavourless sweet, and has been
both commended and condemned in America as bee food
— one party claiming it to be the bee's natural food,
another condemning it as the cause of bee losses in
winter, and a third utterly condemning its introduction
to bee uses because it is in America so freely used in the
adidteration of honey. During summer, with honey
about, the bees would not touch it, and some (leakage
from our puncheon ) was washed away ; but now, bees
and wasps haunt the shed in which it is kept, and the
leakage is not lost. In the proportion of a quart of
glucose to three of syrup, making a gallon of bee food, it
has answered admirably, there being no sign of crystallisa-
tion, and the bees take it freely. It is sold in original
puncheons of about six hundredweight, but we shall be
willing to send anyone a few one or tl.vo pound jars of it
at Gd. per lb. for use or experiment. Mr. Cheshire
claims that it is true bee food, and seeing that it enters
so largely (under the name of grape sugar) into the
natural composition of honey, we cannot see any danger
in its use as such. — En.

126

THE BBITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[October 1, 1881.

Queky No. 426. — Earwigs.— Are earrogs injurious
to bees? or are they only about the hives for snug
quarters? If they do injury, how can they be de-
stroyed ? [See Reply to Query No. 422. — Ed.]

Excluder to prevent Swarms. — Have yon, or any of
your readers, tried the excluding zinc with the Combina-
tion hive last season to prevent swarming ? and if so,
with what result? and how many frames were left
between it and the entrance ? Please ask your readers
to give their experience on the matter. — F. Jellico,
BlacJirocJi, Sep. 21.

DR. PINE'S WOVEN WIRE VEILS

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.

W. F. — Ligurian Queens. — The pipe-cover cage is a
useful institution when queens are to be united to
old queenless bees, but is not necessary in hives where
there is hatching brood. It is not usual for the whole
of the abdomen to be yellow, they vary greatly ; the
colour of the queen is no criterion of the colour her
progeny will be. If queens arrive in unkind weather,
they will keep for some days or weeks in a warm,
dark cupboard; no time can, however, be guaranteed,
as so much depends on the number and condition of
the bees that accompany thejn. As a rule the queen
will live longer than they, not being liable to dysentery
through over-gorging, while every bee will be ready
to yield the last drop from its honey sac to preserve
her life, though it die immediately of starvation.

Carpet Strips to Dummies. — These are formed by
doubling strips of carpet and nailing them between
two thin boards, so that the double or loop edges pro-
ject and fit the hive. For a Woodbury, the two
boards should be about 13| inches long, and the carpet
should project about half an inch each way, that when
squeezed in the whole (as a dummy) may fit tightly.

Consumption of Sttgak. — A lady bee-keeper complains
that ' no one seems to know how much syrup, that is,
how many pounds of sugar, bees ought to consume in a
year,' and we are sorry to say that unlets the particu-
lar circumstances under which the bees are supposed
to exist lie ' given,' we cannot be very helpf id. Natu-
rally, they would require none, their honey would be
sufficient for them, but if, in autumn, they are robbed
of their store, they should be recouped sufficient to
enable them to live through the winter. A strong stock
newly robbed in September would require, say, 12 to
15 lbs. of sugar to render it safe till May. It might
not consume one fourth of that quantity, but one can
never tell what kind of weather may occur, nor how
much brood will be raised. In a good hive, bees nj
very little food for their own purposes, but if breed
be largely induced the consumption will be enormous.

J. F. — Keeping Mite nut of Hire.*. — Having the hives
in a house, and no means of preventing the mice
running over them, it is obvious that they must be
protected by wirework, perforated zinc, or wooden
covers, that the vermin cannot get through. A zinc-
excluding adapter on the top of the quilt would be of
great service, and, being a useful article in other
respects, would be the best for the purpose* The
entrance to the hive should be of a size to allow only
two bees to pass. A bag of chaff or a folded sack laid
on the adapter would give all the additional winter
protection necessary.
Wintering. — Fleece TrW, as Packing. — Fleece wool,
cleansed as suggested, would make excellent non-con-
ductive packing for hives, but we fear is too valuable
for such use.

Turning Hives Round.— It would be very injudicious
to turn hives round to prevent the sun shining into
the entrances. A very short experiment would show
the difficulty the bees would find in being compelled to
enter at the back instead of (lie front of their hives.

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First Prize for best Bee Dress, at South Kensington, 1879.

Price 2s. 9(1 post free. Strips of Wire Cloth, for makin
them, Is. 8d. each, post free. Letters to Editor. fo. 15

d:r. fine's
bee-keepers' lotion.

This Lotion will be found to almost instantly remove the
pain of a sting and prevent subsequent inflammation. It is
also a remedy for scalds, burns, and the stings and bites of
other insects besides Bees.

Price Is. 6d. per bottle, or Post-free for Is. 8d.

Agent —
Ma. C. N. ABBOTT, Editor of B. B. Journal,
Fairlawn, Southall. fo. 15

BEST BAR-FRAME HIVES, 1 inch wood, 8*.
each. BAR-FRAME HIVES, A inch wood, unplaned,
5s. each. Instructions for Management, illustrated, 3<(.

Orders for 32s. and upwards Carriage paid. HIVES sent
on approval if requested.

Post office Orders payable at Horncastle.

Address ISAAC HALE, Hohncastle.

fo. 3

GLASS HONEY JARS.— Abbott Brothers take
orders for these for forwardment from Birmingham.
Price, 1 lb., 15s. per gross ; 2 lb., 18s. per gross. Packing
2s. and 2s. lid. respectively. Those who wish for these
must order early, as no stock is kept. There are no agents
and no depots. Abbott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.

LIMNANTHES DOUGLASII SEED for pre-
sent sowing, Is. per packet, Post free. Address
Aiibott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.

LIGURIAN QUEENS.
4 BBOTT BEOS, will be prepared to supply

fi_ LIGURIAN QUEENS, of Choicest Breed, in October,
Price (is. each. Safe arrival guaranteed. Please order a
few days beforehand.

Address Fairlawn, Southall.

N

SPRAY DIFFUSERS.
TEAT little Bone (Ox-ivory) Affairs, for Spraying

S Combs and Bees, or for Diffusing Deodorisers or Dis-

infectants in Sick-rooms. Price Is. 6d., post-free.
ABBOTT BROS., Soviuall.

THE

Bttttna

[No. 103. Vol. IX.]

NOVEMBER, 1881.

[Published Monthly.]

(Sfoiinrial, fjotrtxs, $l

NOVEMBEE.

The general work of the apiary being over,
and the bees quiet and comfortable in winter-
quarters, there now only remains to clear up
and pack away any impedimenta that may
have accumulated, ere closing the account for
the season, and totalling the various gains and
losses. English bee-keepers, as a rule, have
great cause for rejoicing, but in Scotland and
Ireland the results have not been cheering,
though here and there some good takes have
been recorded ; notably, one in Ireland, of
180 lbs., from a single stock, and a query will,
doubtless, be freely echoed, if one, why not

many

? And although we are not able to

say

what other stocks in the same apiary have
done — though we shall probably have a report
— we would remind our readers that there is
generally a best stock in every apiary, and in
a large apiary the best is usually ' a wonder,'
We have had such an experience with our own
bees this year, and if every stock had served
us similarly, we should declare bee-keeping to
be, not one of, but, the most profitable business
extant. Towards the end of April, a stock of
half Syrians was so strong that a second hive
of combs was put under it, and this was rapidly
tilled, and the population so immense, that on
May 14 it was divided into three, foundation
being given to the swarm, and thus, there
were, in a fortnight, three splendid stocks,
a, b, c. From a we took, during June, two
full swarms, and, during July, extracted 27 lbs.
of honey ; that stock is now strong and well
found for winter. From b, the swarm, we
have also had two swarms (one a cast, which
-we have kept, and which is also safe for win-
ter), 6 lbs. super, and 21 lbs. of extracted
honey; and b is now in good winter order. From
c we had one swarm, and 38 lbs. of super
honey ; twelve 2-lb. sections, for which we were
awarded a prize at South Kensington, but the

stock which is very strong in bees needed
10 lbs. of syrup to fit it for wintering ; it is
choke full of bees, and has a large quantity of
brood, and, all? being well, will be fit for
repeating the' career of its present stock in
the spring. Here, the*, has one stock multi-
plied into eight, and those we have retained
have yielded 44 lbs. of comb honey, in sections,
and 46 lbs. extracted. What the four swarms
that were sold have done we cannot report,
but as they all went out early they must have
done well. The profit on that one stock has
been simply enormous — say it was worth three
guineas in April, there are now four stocks of
equal value ; four swarms have been sold for
6/., and the honey for 51. 6s., making a nice
little sum altogether ; and we have four stocks
left. Many other stocks did exceedingly well,
but this, the only lot we worked for comb
honey, made us wish there had not been such a
demand for swarms, as evidently, this year,
honey-getting would have been the more
profitable game. Apropos to this, we may
mention that a noted bee-keeper and caterer,
formerly of Crawley, in Sussex, has discon-
tinued hive-making for sale, and has gone in
for honey only, at Eottingdean, in the same
county, whence he has kindly forwarded a
description of his draught- preventer, men-
tioned on another page. We owe an apology
for wandering into our own apiary, and peni-
tently return to ' our muttons,' to advise that
now bees are quiet, everything possible should
be done to prevent future disagreeables. Hive-
roofs should be thoroughly investigated and
made rain-proof, and vermin carefully exter-
minated (it is astonishing how many thousands
of insects may be prevented by destroying
their nests now), a routing out of crevices with
a small bunch of birch-broom will be of great
service. Old combs should be boiled up (or
melted down) to prevent harbour for wax-
moth, and the possible spread of disease ; old
skeps should be burned for the same reason ;
old frame-hives that are too good to burn
should be thoroughly cleansed ; old ideas should

128

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

be sifted, and old debts paid, particularly those
outstanding for the Bee Journal ; and then to a
goodly number we can say there will be some-
thing off your minds as well as off ours.

Cottage Bee-keeping — We dare say there
are many who, having read the account of our
wonderful stock of bees, will wish that every
cottager in the kingdom had success equally
good all round, and we heartily wish so, too ; but
wishing is of little use without one puts one's
shoulder to the wheel, and tries to bring about
what is desired. A great many have tried to
convince the cottager that the improved method
of bee-culture is the better, have shown him
hives and supers, and have manipulated in his
presence, and shows and the Bee Tent have
carried its practice and results to his very door;
but in a general way the efforts to convert him
to the new system have had but one result.
He is astonished at the wonderful things set
before him, but does not believe them to he
possible in his own case. He is frightened at
the apparent costliness of the hives and appli-
ances, shrugs his shoulders, and declaring ' such
things are not for the likes o' me,' reverts to
the skep, and is little the better for what has
been put before him, and in time begins to
doubt the evidences of his senses as to the
genuineness of the efforts made in his behalf.
By reference to a letter from the Rev. and
Hon. H. Bligh in another page of this Journal,
it will be seen that a still further effort is to be
made to bring ' cottage bee-keeping ' home to
the mind and understanding of the people, and
valuable inducements are offered to those who
shall best exemplify the most economic method
of conducting it to a satisfactorily profitable
result.

Bee-keeping experts are invited to establish
a ' Poor Man's ' corner in their apiary, and to
conduct the work of it in every respect on the
lines which a poor cottager can pursue, ac-
curate accounts being kept, to be open at all
times, and a balance-sheet produced, which,
and the reports of the visitors, will form the
grounds on which awards will be made of the
ten pounds in prizes which have been so hand-
somely offered by the generous originator of
the idea. Here is a held in which the various
schools of bee-keepers can and must compete,
There is no loophole of escape. They all
profess that bee-keeping is one of the best
means of enabling a cottager to increase his
income, and that their hive, or their method, is
the best. Now for it, who will back out ? or
be conspicuous by his absence F There have
been challenges, and acceptances, hopes that
trials would be arranged, snivellings and
drivellings because there have not, and sinister
imputations levelled at those who were willing
to try conclusions; but never before has

challenge in the friendly guise of competition
been more honestly thrown clown or backed by
such evidences of desire to see it carried out for
the common public good. The idea is noble
and unique, and we have little doubt but that
the British Bee-keepers' Association, to whose
hand it is offered, will gladly take it up, and
carefully carry it through ; though to get all
possible good out of it, and to prevent as far
as possible suspicion of unfair treatment, we
would suggest that the 'Poor Man's' depart-
ments should be located in the gardens of
cottagers, that they may see for themselves
how everything is done, and get practical
lessons of the most valuable kind under the
various systems that may be thus brought home
to them.

HOW TO MAKE A FIRST-CLASS HIVE.

Now that the whiter is drawing upon us,
and there will be little to be done with bees,
there will be opportunity for those who can
use saw and hammer to amuse themselves
economically in the manufacture of hives for
use next season. The hive we are about to
describe we have elected to call the ' Copyable
Hive,' because almost everybody will be able to
make it, and that, too, out of almost any kind
of boards that are available. Foreign egg-
boxes are a favourite resource of rabbit-hutch
makers, and out of an egg-box, by attention to
our directions, as good a hive may be made as
ever bees delighted to dwell in. It is un-
necessary to enlarge upon the advantages of
frame-hives, as they are now generally admitted;
and as we are not animated by any new theory,
but have simply a desire to enable people to
make their own hives, and prevent the outcry
against improved bee-culture on account of the
cost of the implements required in its practice,
we proceed at once with our task, simply
premising that the original hive was exhibited
at the late Dairy Show at the Agricultural
Hall, but was unnoticed by the judges.

To begin then. The tools that will be
required are a hammer, a saw, a pencil, a rule,
and a square, and a plane if special neatness is
desired ; and the materials, some boards and
sonic nails; and if very common boards be used,
a yard of canvas, a few tacks, and a little paint
or pitch — not a very formidable array, nor
very difficult to compass.

First cut four pieces of wood about 1 6 inches
long, an inch thick, and say three inches wide,
and out of the upper end cut pieces two inches
wide, and as low down as will leave the broad
part, a (fig. 1), eight inches high — not a very
difficult job ; but it will be all the better done
if the lines for the saw cuts be correctly marked
by rule, pencil, and square. Now cut two boards

November 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

129

each 8
thick,
inside-
boards

a (fig-.

w

f inches wide, from \ to J of an inch
and of the length the hive is to he
— say '-'4 to 30 inches, and nail these
(6) fairly and squarely on the fronts of
1), allowing them to project at bottom

Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

} of an inch,* and at top \ inch. The two
faces, b, should now be laid together, and tho
projecting horns above a cut to the height the
hive is to be inside when finished. The front
horns may be left as they arc, but the back
ones should be shortened, as, on the right of
tig. "J, to give slope to tho roof, which will be
accomplished by cutting three or four inches
off the top of each. It will now be understood
that the two faces, /*, are to be the inner side-
walls of the hive, and if those faces be now
laid upon the table, and the then upper long-
sides or backs of a be boarded over,f the two
hive sides will be completed, and they will
each be double-walled with space between of
the width of the piece a.

In putting on the top sloping-pieces to form
the hive sides, one board may be made to form
both by careful lining out and sawing, and as

the spaces in the hive-walls are to be filled
with packing, it will not matter if their outer
skins are in narrow widths, except for appear-
ance sake, which we are not taking into

The object is to give opportunity of shrinkage'
which is almost sure to happen, when," if the hoards at
first were even, the lower part of a would 1"' left
projecting, which would spoil the hive. The overhaDg
above a will be the runner for the frame-ends to rest on,
and the shoulder of a must be well out of the way.

t In covering the backs of a with hoards to form the
outside skin of hive, it will not matter about the joints
.being a trifle apart, so that a bee cannot git through,
ventilation above the brood-chamber being desirable;
but should there be any difference in the thickness of
the boards, the thinner should lie nailed on at the lower
part of the hive side, that the thicker boards may over-
hang them, and prevent the formation of lodgments for
rain or snow.

account. The sides of the hive being formed,
the front and back next claim attention, and
these simply require to be nailed on. Remem-
bering that the thickness of the inner and
outer skins of the hive sides are uncertain
(because we do not know what thicknesses may
be used), we cannot say exactly what lengths
the boards to form the front and back must be;
but if boards of sufficient length be taken, they
may be arranged, nailed on, and the ends after-
wards cut off with ease and certainty. Sup-
posing a board to be about 24 inches long, two
lines, c c, should be marked with square and
pencil, exactly 14i inches apart, that being

the inside width of a Woodbury hive. Then if
it be nailed to the hive sides so that the parts d
cover the faces a, and the lines c are even with
the faces b, the lower part of the hive front
will (when the entrance is cut) be correctly
formed. The back will require to be similarly
treated, and then the upper parts of front and
back can be easily boarded up ; and should the
boards be too long, the ends can be cut off after
they have been nailed on.*

The sides, and front, and back
put together, the floor-board and roof have to
be made, and these being nearly alike, and in
the character of simple flat doors, need give
little trouble. They may both be made alike
so far as' the wood- work is concerned, of a size
that will cover the sloping top, the two end
ledges, /,■ /,-, overhanging. The joints should
be made as close as possible ; and for the roof,

having been

unless they be covered with strips of wood
closely nailed down, the whole should be covered
with canvas and painted.

To complete the hive, and render it tenable,
it is now only necessary to provide frames, a
divider, and a quilt; but the directions for
these must be deferred to another chapter.

* Recruits at carpentering will often find it economical
to nail en their stuff before cutting it to specified lengths,
as much splitting (in nailing) will be prevented?

a 2

1:10

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

BRIGHTON HEALTH CONGRESS.-
HONEY AS FOOD AND MEDICINE.

It will interest those who are interested in
the promotion of the consumption and sale of
honey to learn that a Domestic and Scientific
Exhibition, extending over ten days, will he
opened at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, on
the 12th proximo, when an opportunity will be
afforded, by the earnest aid of F. V. Hadlow,
Esq., of 8 Prince Albert Street, Brighton, of
obtaining for honey a place amongst food
products or preparations. Mr. Hadlow, as a
bee-keeper, and one of the executive committee
of the show, is anxious that there should be a
large exhibit of honey, and we have advised
him of our opinion that secretaries of Bee
Associations who have at heart the develop-
ment of the honey trade should take the
matter in hand, and, in furtherance of that
view, we give all the publicity in our power
to the undertaking.

Mr. Wm. Hamilton, of Ship Street, Brighton,
is the Hon. Sec., and will forward all particulars
and forms of entry, and there is little doubt
but that Mr. Hadlow, as a bee-keeper, will take
care that any exhibit of honey sent shall be
carefully staged. Articles for exhibition are
to be at the Pavilion, Brighton, between the
5th and 8th December ; but as there is every
probability that all space will be taken early
in November, immediate application should be
made by those who wish to obtain it.

A BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
FOR CORNWALL.

We are pleased to notice that a movement is
on foot for the establishment of a Bee-keepers'
Association for Cornwall. A meeting to discuss
the matter was held at the Town Hall, Truro,
on Tuesday, October 11th, at which there were
present : the Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen in
the chair, the Revs. W. Rogers (Mawnan), C. R.
Sowell (St. Gorrans), A. II. Malan (Perranar-
worthal), Mrs. Hockin (Flushing), and Messrs.
G. Dixon, Truro, and ('. Kent, Itoi/al Cornwall
Gazette, Truro. It was unanimously resolved
that an Association should be formed, to be
affiliated with the British Bee-keepers' Associ-
ation. Mr. Kent was appointed hon. sec. pro
ton., and empowered to draw up a circular to
forward to all the clergy, magistrates, &c, in
the county, convening a meeting to be held at
the Town Hall, Truro, on Tuesday, November
22nd, for the purpose of adopting rules, electing
officers, and the transaction of other business
incident to the formation of the Association.
We sincerely hope the effort will bo crowned
with the success its spirited promotion well-
nigh ensures for it.

AN ASSOCIATION FOR NORFOLK AND
N< )RWICH.

We are exceedingly glad to be able to report
that at length an Association for Norfolk and
Norwich has been started imder most favour-
able circumstances, and with every prospect of
success. In the Journal for January last a
County Association for Norfolk was proposed
by the* Rev. A. E. Booker-IIdl, of Whissonsett,
and although seconded by Mr. G. Ringer, of
Diss, it fell to the ground, ap2)arently through
lack of support ; but since the Yarmouth show,
so ably promoted by Mr. Samuel Barge of that
place, a most lively interest has been manifested;
and now that the standard has been raised by
the Rev. John Blake Humfrey, of Great Dun-
ham Rectory, Swarf ham, quite an array of bee-
keepers and patrons of the charming pursuit
the Association is intended to encourage has
rallied round it. The reverend standard-
bearer enrolled thirty knights and nobles prior
to the 14th October. Mr. Samuel Barge had a
contingent of over twenty; and the Rev. .1.
Lawson-Sisson, of Ediugthorpe, North Walsham,
whose name is a tower of strength to the Asso-
ciation, has quite a battalion of his own, ' and
the cry is still they come.' Lord Leicester,
the lord lieutenant of the county, heads the
list of those willing to be helpful, closely
followed by Lord Walsingham, two ladies of
title, two baronets, four members of Parlia-
ment, five clergymen, and a large number of
gentlemen well known as bee-keepers, and
influential for good to the cause. Such a
beginning is, in itself, augury of immense
success for the Association, and no words from
us are needed to commend it.

CYPRIAN BEES.
The experiences and opinions in America
regarding the merits of those bees are any-
thing but reassuring.

Mr. A. P. Mo m, in tho American Bee Journal, writes
tlead against them.

Mi\ A. T. Williams, who br.ed largely from imported
Cyprians, says: 'They are much crosser than the hybrids,
and are not superior in any particular.'

Mr. Dadant, after much experience as a dealer and
breeder of them, says: '1 am not enamoured with the
Cyprians — their temper is unamiable. I had the pleasure
of seeing- a Cyprian colony make .Mr. Jones (of Canada)
beat a hasty retreat. It was a pleasure, because lie ridi-
cules my veil.'

The Editor of the American fier Journal says : ' Re-
garding the Cyprians (from which much was expected),
we have Mime very damaging reports. They are said to
be very tierce ill disposition, relies-; on the combs, easily
aroused, and display no superiority to the Italians as

boney-gathe ■

Mr. ( '. Dadant says of ( lyprians : ' We want to get rid
of them as fast as possible. It is impossible to control
them. When their ang sr i< aroused you cannot get them

November 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

i:.l

quiet. My son opened a Cyprian colony at one of our
apiaries, they stung- every animal around the apiary,
ducks, chickens, &c. They went inside the house to
sting the good woman who was quietly sitting in her
chair. You cannot look in front of a Cyprian colony
without being assailed. You cannot move a block at
the entrance without live or ten bees darling- to your
face like sparks from fireworks. While extracting my
son received hundreds of stings from them. We do not
-want any more such bees even if they were better than
Italian bees— and this is not proven to be the case. My
grandchild was assailed by these furies while standing in
front of one of the hives. I hastened to bring- him into
the house, and was of course followed by a cloud of
angry bees; after fifteen minutes or more, while still
bathing- his head, we were again assailed by these bees,
who were angry at not finding their way through the
window. They do not know how to gorge themselves
with honey when you smoke them, they shake their
wings and fly to sting. They act exactly as the Egyptian
bees do, and are no doubt of the same family.'

The last extract coincides exactly with our
experience, trad wo can go even further. On
several occasions bees that have crept between
the folds of our clothing (which they are very
prone to do), have, when liberated at night,
itttacked us by gas-light, when other bees would
have been only too glad to escape if it were
possible to do so. — En. B. B. J.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Quarterly Meeting- of the Committee, held at 441 i
Strand, on' Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1881, present,— T. W.
Cowan (in the chair), Rev. E. Bartrum, D. Stewart,
J. M. Hooker, II. Jonas, and the Honorary Secretary.
The following country representatives were also present,
Mr. Jesse Garratt and Mr. Allen, West Kent ; Mr. P.
II. Lemare, Surrey: Rev. J. Blake Ilumfrey, Norfolk.

The minutes of the last meeting- were read and con-
firmed ; the balance-sheet for the month ending Sept. 30th
was also read, showing- a balance in hand of 91. 18s. Id.
— The Chairman reported that Mr. Henderson had ex-
pressed his willingness to undertake the duties of librarian.
Resolved that Mr. Henderson's offer be accepted, and that
he be empowered to carry out the resolutions passed at
former Committee meetings in respect to the library. —
The Secretary presented to the meeting the several copies
of Modern Bee-Jceeping received from members of the
Committee with suggestions for the improvement of the j
third edition. Moved by the Rev. E. Bartrum, and |
seconded by W, Jonas, ' That the several copies be sent
to the Rev. Gr. Raynor, and that he be requested to
revise the work in accordance with the suggestions made
by the several members of the Committee, and to forward
the same to the Chairman to be further revised by him,
and afterwards to be submitted to the Committee for
their approval at a future meeting.' (Carried un-
animously.) It was also resolved that the charge
for advertisements should be the same as in the
previous edition. — Resolved that arrangements be made
for the completion of the collection of hives, &c. at the
South Kensington Museum as early as possible. Mr.
Jonas kindly undertook the office of attending to this
collection. — The Assistant Secretary was instructed to
• obtain estimates for the reprinting of the Quarterly Papers.
— The Chairman submitted a draft schedule of prizes
suitable for competition at the Royal Agricultural Show
to be held at Reading 1882. Resolved, ' That the same
be submitted to the Council of the Royal Agricultural
Society, and offered for general competition on the
understanding that a grant of 30/, is made by the Royal

Agricultural Society to the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation.' It was resolved 'That the Chairman and the
Honorary Secretary should have an interview with Mr.
Dick, the Secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society,
at Si mth Kensington, and make the necessary arrangement
for holding- the annual show next year.'

Tie- Secretary called the attention of the Committee
to the fact that the present certificates of the County
Association were not suitable for presentation to the
County Associations. Mr. Hooker suggested that special
certificates should be prepared to accompany the awards
of medals, or other prizes. It was resolved, ' That each
member of the committee should endeavour to obtain
copies of certificates which might be suitable for the
purpose.' Proposed by Mr. Stewart and seconded by the
Rev. 10. Bartrum, ' That Honorary Secretaries of County
affiliated Associations being entitled to exhibit at the
Association's annual show at the same rate of entry fees
as paid by members, and otherwise to be entitled to the
same privileges as members, with the exception of the
right of voting at any meeting.' (Carried.)

Moved by the Honorary Secretary and seconded by
the Rev. E. Bartrum, 'That in all future schedules exhi-
bitors should be requested to send their honey to the annual
shows in crates similar to those illustrated in Modem
Bee-Jceejiing, and that a rule be inserted requiring sections
of honey to baglazed, or exhibited in crates protected by
glass at the sides.' It was also resolved, that special
labels should be provided by the Committee for attaching
to crates of honey sent by rail or carrier, the Secretary
to forward such labels to the exhibitors with the request
that they be attached to their several exhibits.

Since the date of the above meeting arrangements have
been made for the Association's Annual Show for 18S2,
at the Royal Horticultural Gardens at South Kensington
on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday,
August 3, 4, •">, 7, and 8.

Members of the Association are requested to observe
that all communications respecting- the Library should
in future be addressed to Mr. G. Henderson, Clarendon
House, Ealing, W.

The Librarian desires to acknowledge with thanks the
receipt of the following additions to the Library : —

Prom T. W. Cowan, Esq.: —
British Bee-keeper's Guide-book to the Management
of Bees in Moveable Comb Hives. By T. W. Cowan,
F.G.S., F.R.H.S. 1881.

From Alfred Neighbour, Esq. : —

An Enquiry into the Nature and Order of Bees. By
Rev. John Thorley. 1705.

An Essay on the Management of Bees. By John
Mills. 1766.

The Practical Bee Master. By John Keys. 1780.

Antient Bee Master's Farewell. By John Keys. 1700.

A Treatise on Bees. By Robt. Huish. 1*17.

The Apiarian's Guide. By J. II. Payne. 183.'!.

Naturalists' Library. Vol; VI. Edinburgh. Sir W,
Jardine, Bart. 1840'.

The History and Management of Bees. By John
Wighton. 1842,

Pi actical Bee-keeper. By John Milton. 18J3.

Artificial Swarms (a Treatise on). By Ed. Scuda-
more, M.l). 1848.

On the Management of Bees. By Thos. Nutt. 1848.

The American Bee-keeper's Manual. Bv T. B. Miner.
1849.

The Hive and Honey Bee. By II. D. Richardson.
1849.

Bee-keeper's Manual. ( 3rd edition.) Bv Henry Taylor.
1849.

The Honey Bee. (An Essay reprinted from Quarterly
lieview.) 1852.

The Handbook of the Honey Bee. Slater's. 1850.

132

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

Handy Helps. (Bee Hives and Honey.) 1865,

Buzz-a-Buzz, or, The Bees. A Translation from the
German, by Rev. W. C. Cotton. 1^72.

The Apiary. Bv Alfred Neighbour. 1878.

Bee Culture. By Thos. G. Newman. 1879.

Calendrier Apicole. By M. Haniet. 1870.

The Italian Bee. By II. C. Hermann. 1660.

The Dzierzon Theory. By Berlepsch. 1877.

Manual for the Many (Bee-keeping). By J. II. Payne.

The Librarian regretfully notes the absence from the
Library of Vol. I. of the British Bee Journal, lie knows
that the volume is ' rich and rave.' But as no Bee-
Library can be said to he complete without a perfect
series of the Bee Journal, he desires respectfully to
appeal to some member of the Association kindly to
supply this vacuum. Such an act of self-denial would
be appreciated.

The Quarterly Conversazione of the Association took
place at 44(5 Strand on Wednesday, October 12th. Pre-
sent, T. W. Cowan, J. M. Hooker, H. Jonas, Jesse
Garratt, G. Allen, A. II. Heath, C. F. Williams, F, N.
Jackson, Rev. F. T. Scott, S. ,1. Baldwin, Rev. E.
Bartrum, F. II. Lernare, J. Oamaschella, G. Hender-
son. T. B. Blow, D. Stewart, W. Groombridge, Rev. J.
Blake Ilumfrey, II. G. Moms', J. Douglas Dick, G. D.
Clapham, &c.

T. W. Cowan, Esq., of Horsham, was voted to the
chair. The Chairman, before calling on the Rev.
II. R. Peel, Hon. Sec. of the Association, to read
his paper, expressed his regret that the President of
the Society, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, who had
intimated her intention of occupying the chair, was
unable to be present

County Bee-keepebs' Associations: theib Objects
and Development.

I have undertaken to read a paper upon 'County
Bee-keepers' Associations ' in place of the one promised
fur this Quarterly Meeting by our good friend, the Rev.
George Raynor. From a pressure of more onerous, and
lerhaps less agreeable duties, he is compelled to postpone
lis paper upon 'Hives and Bee-houses' until a more
convenient season. My only qualification for assuming
this task is that I am both the Secretary of the Central
and also of one of the County Associations, and there-
fore am, as it were, behind the scenes of ea.ch, and
am acquainted with the requirements and necessities of
both. I may add that before writing this paper 1 com-
municated with the secretaries of all the existing County
Associations, asking them for suggestions of any kind,
and that I have, as far as possible, embodied in my paper
the substance of the answers which have been so kindly
sent to me.

In treating of County Bee-keepers' Associations, I
shall be obliged to trace their history from their com-
mencement; but iny audience need not be alarmed at
the prospect of a long detention, as their history is a
brief one, and there is but one source from which
materials for such a history can be collected. That
source is the monthly paper known as the British Bee
Journal, which has been from the beginning the organ
and mouthpiece of these County Associations, and
without the aid of which the great confederation which
now represents the bee-keeping interest in England
would, perhaps, never have existed: — I say in England,
for Scotland is the fair and legitimate field of the
Caledonian Apiarian Association; and as vet no
County Bee-keepers' Association has been formed in
Wales. More than one cry, however, has found utter-
ance in the Journal for some one to come over to Wales
and help its inhabitants; and I believe that it only needs
a tour of the Bee Tent, such as was made last year in
Ireland, to make each Welsh county break forth into a

i:

Bee-keepers' Association. Ireland, since that tour, has
formed an Association of its own, and is engaged in
forming more than one Association for the Irish counties.
When I speak, then, of a great confederation, as now in
existence, I refer only to the counties of England; and
the epithet I have used may seem presumptuous, but I
believe it most sincerely to be a great confederation, —
great in its capabilities of development, and in its
powers of good for the future. Numerically, it may
not be great at present, but even now it is not to be
despised.

Many persons, friends as well as foes, have called
attention to the list of members of the British Bee-
keepers' Association, and expressed .surprise that we have
not a larger number. ' For an Association ranging over
the whole of England, we shoidd have expected,' they
say, ' to have seen at least twice or three times the
number.' But I always reply, ' Wait a bit ; you have
not seen the whole family as yet. You have only seen
the parents. You have still to be introduced to a rising
family of children, not to speak of the prospect of
several more olive-branches to follow.' This year, for the
first time, we have been able to furnish such unbelievers
in the greatness of our confederation with the names
and ages of all the children who have been born as yet,
together with a statement of their annual incomings.
Through the kindness of the honorary secretaries of the
County Associations in responding to the request of the
British Association, a little volume was placed in the
hands of our President at the South Kensington Show
in July last, containing the reports and balance sheets
of tin1 Central and Affiliated Associations for the past
year; and this volume has enabled me to give you the
following returns: —

The British Bee-keepers', or parent Association (founded
1874), at the close of 1880, numbered 300 members,
and its income for the year was 075/. 10s.; Lincolnshire
(founded Oct. 1875), 206 members, income, 85/. 4s. llr/.;
Devonshire (founded Nov. 187o), 104 members, income
101/. 4-s. lirf. ; Dorset, 0!) members, income, 01/. 5s. 7d.;
Shropshire, 53 members, income, 38/. 3s. lit/.; Hert-
fordshire, 260 members, income, lti7/. 10s. '2d.; Surrey,
100 members, income, 81/. 2s.; West Kent (Nov. 1878),
07 members, income, 59/. Is. nd.\ Warwickshire (Sept.
1879), 85 members, income, 98/. L9s. id.; Berks and
Bucks, 70 members, income, 23/. 15s.; Suffolk, 02

members, inc e, 61/. 8s.; Essex, 81 members, income,

30/. Total members, 1470. Total income, 1483/. 13s. Id-/.
These returns are made up to the close of the year 1880,
So that in December there were 1487 bee-keepers, or
well-wishers to bee-keeping, linked together for one
common object in this confederation, and 14*3/. 13s. KW.
honestly spent in promoting it. I believe that the
returns for the year L881 will show a large increase both
of members and of incomes. In Herts, which is the
only county about which I can speak with certainty,
the number of the members of the County Associa-
tion has risen from 200 in December last to 330. At
the present time, I must also, in proof that our eon-
federation is not an insignificant one, point to the
names of those who have promised us their support as
Presidents of our County Associations. If any one will
examine the list of these names, lie will find two
members of the Royal Family the Princess Christian
and the Duke of Coiiimughl the Archbishop of
Canterbury, and the Lord Lieutenants of several
counties, in the list of Vice-Presidents, he will find a

large proportion of the Peerage of England, and most of

the members which represent their respective counties in
the House of Commons, Such a list of names as
encouragers ami supporters of our attempt to make bee-
keeping one of our national industries, together with the
name of the President of the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, which alone is a guarantee for our honesty of
purpose and resolve to carry that purpose out, will, I

November 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

133

think, convince most unprejudiced persons that our ion-
federation is not deficient in greatness either as regards
the present or the future.

Now how did this confederation arise? It may be
interesting to some persons to know that the idea of any
kind of Bee-keepers' Association at all was first started
by a correspondent signing himself ' II. W. T.' in the
first Dumber of the Bee JouiiialihsX was ever publishi d
— the number for May 1st, 187-'! — and that it reached
the Editor almost too late for insertion — after the prin-
cipal matter of that number had been set up in type.
The Editor, however, considered the scheme proposed so
worthy of consideration and discussion, that he printed
it on a supplementary page in order to bring it before
the notice of the public as speedily as possible. The
proposal of 'II. W. T.' was to set on foot a Bee-keepers'
Guild, consisting of members paying such yearly sub-
scriptions as might be agreed upon, and consenting to
such rules as might afterwards be drawn up. The
proposer was of opinion that the Guild should be very
closely connected with the Bee Journal, and that the
advantages thereof should be part and parcel of the
same scheme. He advocated the establishment of a
central market or depot for the sale and purchase of
bees, honey-comb, honey, and every kind of bee-gear.
A company of voluntary shareholders was to be formed
from the members of the Guild, with limited liabilities,
and entitled to certain profits upon the principle of any
Other public company. A system of prizes was sketched
out for honey and bee-gear of any description, or any
novelty connected therewith, the prizes to be awarded at
the Shows of the leading Agricultural and Horticultural
Societies of the kingdom, who, it was thought, would
appoint judges to pronounce upon the merits of the
exhibits.

The idea thrown out by 'H. W. T.' seems to have
met with general approval. The title of 'guild' was,
however, not so universally approved. To many it
seemed to savour of affectation. 'What's in a name?'
Bays Juliet. But we all know that there is a great deal
in a name ; and, I think, that in the present day, at all
events, it is a happy thing for us that we were not
named a guild. We should be ranked now with the
aesthetic fraternity. We should be said to be engaged
in a bee-cult instead of bee-culture; whilst the sunflowers,
which are so often seen near bee-laves, would give a
colouring to the accusation. No one can reasonably object
to the name of 'Association' which ultimately prevailed.

The year 18".'! seems to have passed away without
any steps being taken to give the suggestion of 'II. \V. T.'
some practical effect. 'II. W.T.' himself seems to lone
been alarmed at his own boldness, and to have acted like
the little boy immortalised by Punch, who chalked up
' No Popery ' on the wall, and then ran away. ' II.;W. T.'
is heard of no more. The Editor of the Bee Jcufnal,
however, did not let the matter drop so easily; and in
the May number of the year 1874, we find that a show
has been arranged to take place at the Crystal Palace
in September; that subscriptions have been collected for
prizes ; and that the subscribers to the Prize Fund are
invited to attend a meeting at 168 Camden Street,
NW., near the Camden Station, on the North Louden
Railway, with a view to laying the foundation of a
National Association for the promotion of apiculture.
The meeting duly took place. The Hon. and Rev. Henry
Bligh took the chair, and (as it appears) remained in it
from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. Those four hours were of in-
describable value to British bee-keeping, for. in that si ace
of time, the gentlemen present (amongst them Icing- the
well-known nanus of Symington, Hooker, Cheshire, ami
Hunter) constituted themselves into a society called the
'British Bee-keepers' Association,' and took over from
the Editor of the Journal all matters connected with
the Show at the Crystal Palace, as well as the funds col-
lected for the pin pose of the Exhibition,

The Association having been formed, the Show having
been held, and members having been enrolled from all
parts of England, the spirit of propagandism and mis-
sionary zeal seems to have manifested itself in the heart
of the British bee-keeper. More than one who came up
from the provinces to witness the Metropolitan Exhibi-
tion, at the Crystal Palace, burned with a desire to
transport the Show, or a similar one, into his own
county, and impart to his friends and neighbours a
knowledge of the marvels, in the way of bee-keeping,
which he had seen in London. Mr. I!. R. Godfrey,
present hon. sec. of the Lincolnshire, seems to have been
the pioneer in this direction. An exhibition of bees, hives,
and honey, was grafted upon the Show of the South
Lincolnshire Horticultural Society at Grantham in July
187o, and proved most attractive and successful. Thus
was laid the foundation of the Lincolnshire County
Association, which., under the guidance of Mr. Godfrey,
has grown with each succeeding year. It was the exhi-
bition at Grantham which seems to have suggested to
Mr. Charles Tite, then residing, I think, at Yeovil, iu
Somersetshire, that the knowledge of bee-keeping would
be most widely diffiused by the formation of County
Associations. This gentleman is clearly the founder of
these important societies, and deserves the credit of their
origin, as will appear from the following extract from a
letter which appears in the September numb?r of the
Bee Journal in the year 1875, signed 'C. T.,' and headed,
— ' Proposed County Associations of Bee-keepers.'

' The success of the exhibition at Grantham must have
led hundreds of your readers to see how much similar
undertakings, in various parts of the country, would do
to spread a knowledge of bees and "bee-keeping-. Can
nothing be done to form local societies of bee-keepers ?
I think that local effort might, with great advantage, be
brought to bear. I would, therefore, venture the follow-
ing suggestions : —

' 1. That steps bo taken for opening communication
between the principal bee-keepers of each county, or
such groups cf counties as could conveniently act
together. This could be done by publishing in the
Journal a list of those willing to join such associations
with full names and addresses.

' 2. That when a sufficient number of names has been
thus obtained, a meeting be held at some convenient
place, in each district, for the appointment of a com-
mittee, with chairman, treasmer, and secretary.

' 3. That the objects of the Local Societies be the same
as those of the Central Association — the management
and improvement of bee-culture.

' Subscriptions, rules, and other matters of detail, could
easily le settled at the district meetings. I make this
suggestion for several reasons. In the first place, I think
it would excite greater interest in the rural districts, if
a number of bee-keepers could agree, as to some method
of taking united action. They could exhibit, at local
Flower shows, and thus shed a light upon those who keep
bees in the okl grope -in -the -dark plau. They would
probably be able to i tier prizes for honey, &c., even if
the prizes were small, where nothing is now done in
that direction. Then, again, they could spread inform-
ation on their favourite branch of study by means cf
lectures and cheap literature. She ulci any of your
readers, who reside in Somerset or 1 Mi set, think my
suggestions worth trying, I shall be happy to co-operate.'

Well done, 'C. T.' One voluntei r is worth ten pressed
men. There is an editorial note attached to Mr. Tite's
letter which I think should be recorded also, as it marks
.a step in the history of these Assoeiatiors. The Editor
says : —

•Our correspondent's suggestion has the right ring
in it, and we shall be happy to second any efforts
that may he made in the direction indicated; at same
time we fear that unless a set of rallying points be
first formed, few Associations will be established. We

134

THE BEITISH BEE JOUKNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

therefore suggest that those anxious for the formation
of Bee Societies in their respective localities should
volunteer to act as Secretaries for the time being, and
invite the co-operation and assistance of bee-keepers in
their neighbourhood. We shall be glad to publish a list
of such names.'

The Editor's note was not without results. In the
October number of the Journal for 1875 I rind the
following notice headed 'County Associations:' —

' As a beginning we have received the names, as under,
of two gentlemen willing to act as Secretaries during the
formation of Bee-keepers' Associations in their respective
counties. "We trust that in the ensuing month others
will declare themselves, and that in connexion with the
London Central Association a great work may be accom-
plished. The names are — Charles Tite, Wyndham Street,
Yeovil ; William N. Griffin, Kock House, Alphington,
Exeter.'

These two gentlemen, well known now to all bee-
keepers in the south-west of England, are entitled to the
grateful acknowledgments of the bee-keepers in every
part of the country. Like the Roman of old who leaped
his horse into the gulf yawning in the Forum at the call
of patriotism, so did these gentlemen plunge into the
gulf of complaints, correspondence, clamour, criticism,
and all those other ills that a Secretary is heir to,
which was then opening beneath their feet and demand-
ing its first victims.

But our Lincolnshire friend is not far behind them.
First in the correspondence of the same number of the
Journal (October 1875) appears a letter headed again,
' Proposed County Associations ' ( the name is becoming
familiar as a household word), and signed ' A Mid-
Lincolnshire Bee-keeper.' lie says: —

' The proposal of " C. T." in the September number of
"our" Journal is, in my opinion, the very thing wanted
to bring the country at large into co-operation with the
London Association. I have no doubt that, with the help
of the Journal, that Association is doing good : but the
Journal is the mainspring of all good that may have been
done in the counties. I would now suggest that Grantham,
having taken the lead in the holding of County Bee Shows,
do also take the lead in forming the first. Branch Associ-
ation. I know there are men living in the town well able
to raise the banner, and when once raised I have no doubt
others would rlock to it. I would just venture to make
one more suggestion, viz. that the following counties be in-
cluded in the branch, and that it be called " The Lincoln,
But land, and Nottinghamshire Branch of the Bee-keepers'
Association." Hoping soon to see a move made in this
direction, I beg to subscribe myself — A Mid-Lincolnshire
Bee-keeper.'

I think we can all form a pretty good guess as to who
that 'Mid-Lincolnshire Bee-keeper' was, and I also think
that if he were asked his opinion now, he would tell you
that he finds Lincolnshire a sufficiently wide field for his
energies, and that one county affords quite sufficient work
for any secretary.

The next link I can find in the history of County
Associations is a letter in the Journal headed, 'An Asso-
ciation for Dorset.' The writer says : —

' An effort is being made to get up a County Association
for Dorset. There are several extensive apiaries in the
county, and the Dorset clergy have long been trying to
teach their cottage neighbours that bee-keeping on the
humane principle will pay far better than the old system.
The exhibits of honey at the district Flower shows have
been very passable, notwithstanding the badness of the
season; but, of course, ouly the cream of the hone}' has
been displayed.' The signature to this letter is, ' Novice.'
I do not think that the present Honorary Secretary of the
flourishing Dorsetshire Association coidd shelter himself
under this pseudonym in 1881, however humblvhe may
have thought of himself in 1876.

In the December number of the Journal for that vcar

we find the movement for County Associations gaining
strength rapidly. ' Our readers,' writes the Editor, ' will
be glad to know that the County movement is pro-
gressing. Lincolnshire has now an Association, with
the Rev. D. W. Pennell, of Grantham, for Hon. Sec.
Devon and Exeter are enrolled under the presidency of
S. Bevan-Fox, Esq., a bee-keeper of world -wide re-
pute, with W. N. Griffin, of Alphington, as Hon. Sec.
Somerset — Mr. O. Boole, of Uphill, Weston - super -
Mare, is working vigorously in the formation of an
Association, and has just sent us a report. Liverpool —
William Watkin, Esq., of Rohv, is the volunteer Hon.
Sec, and is anxious for work. Yorkshire — J. G. Kirsten,
Esq., of Bridlington, Yorkshire, is willing to work, but
the state of his health has caused him to leave England
for the winter months. Dorset — Mr. Charles Tite will
work for Somerset and Dorset. Hereford and District---
An attempt will shortly be made to improve bee-culture
in this fertile district. Ten pounds worth of bar-framed
hives is to be offered to cottagers gratis, on condition
t hat they adopt as a motto, " Never kill a bee." ' Nor did
the enthusiasm kindled in the hearts of county bee-keepers
abate in the summer of 1876. In the June number of the
Bee Journal for that year I find proposals made to form
County Associations for Worcestershire and Staffordshire,
whilst shows were held at Exeter, AVorcester, Wolver-
hampton, and for the second time at Grantham. In
January 1877 a letter appears from the Hon. and Bev.
C. Feilding, one of the best friends of our Association,
announcing that, he is endeavouring to form a Shropshire
Association, and asking all those who would support the
movement to put themselves in communication with him
without delay. The desire for more knowledge of bee-
keeping seemed to be spreading over England like a flood,
and everything was promising a bright future for bee-
keepers in every county of England, —

' There is a tide in the affairs of man
Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune.'

Had the British Bee-keepers' Association taken this tide
of enthusiasm at the flood, a knowledge of the art of bee-
keeping would soon have been spread throughout the
length and breadth of the land ; but, alas ! instead of
seizing upon the great opportunity thus offered to them,
the Committee of the Central Association were divided
amongst themselves, and engaged in what the great
Duke of Wellington declared to be the worst of all
wars,— a civil war. Private jealousies and animosities
were allowed to prevail over a regard for the genera]
good, and those in authority seem to have spent their
strength in efforts to undermine one another instead of
setting an example of unity and concord to the young
Associations which were springing up around them.
The records of the British Bee-keepers' Association from
May 1877 to May 1878 are of a very painful character,
and it is well to draw a veil over them — a veil only to be
raised as a warning whenever indications of the same
self-seeking and jealous spirit may be discernible, either
in the British or in County Associations. The natural
results followed. Members fell away from an Associa-
tion which they thought was doing no good, subscriptions
ceased, and on the 25th of March, 1878, only twenty
persons could be found to advocate the continuance of
the British Bee-keepers' Association.

Having no longer any central authority to look to,
many young Associations were nipped in the bud for
want of support and encouragement. The weaker went
to the wall. The stronger prepared to detach themselves
from the British Association, and to maintain an
independent existence of their own. There occurred on
a small scale that, same process of disintegration in our
confederation which we now see taking place in the
Turkish Empire. Just as Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Servia and Bulgaria, found that the government at
I Constantinople was unable cither to protect or control

November 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

135

them, and so threw off the yoke to which they had
submitted, and asserted their claim to autonomy and
independence, so did the Lincolnshire Association begin
to draw away from the British, and offer itself to the
adjacent counties as a centre of government. The
British Bee-keepers' Association was regarded as the
Sick Man, the name which has so often been applied to
the decaying Ottoman Empire. Its dissolution was
regarded as a matter of course. Arrangements were
being made for its funeral, and the mourners were
already going about the streets. But just as the Sick
.Man of Turkey lias often disappointed the expectations
of Russia and other anxious friends, so did the British
Bee-keepers' Association revive all of a sudden, and
enter upon a new leas.' of life. From that little
remnant of twenty who had voted for the continuance
of the Association in its darkest hour, the Society was
reconstructed and established on a new basis. Signs of
vitality soon began to appear.

At the Annual General Meeting of the British Asso-
ciation held on Wednesday, Feb. 12th, 1879, the
following subject was placed on the agenda paper for
discussion : The promotion of County Associations in con-
nexion with the British Bee-keepers' Association on the
model of those existing in the counties of Lincoln, Devon,
Dorset, and Salop. TheBee Tent wascoiistrncted,and began
to traverse the country. Mr. S. .7. Baldwin was appointed
as expeit to conduct the manipulations and give lessons
in bee-management. The existing Associations began to
lift up their heads again, and to return to their former
allegiance. The trumpet gave no uncertain sound, and
the other counties began to array themselves for the
battle. "West Herts commenced its organization, and
soon developed into an Association for Hertfordshire.
West Kent followed suit under the able management of
Mr. Garratt. The counties of Surrey, Warwickshire,
Suffolk, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Essex, rallied
their bee-keepers together in 1879 and 1880, and formed
Associations which, under the guidance of able and
energetic secretaries, are now working most successfully.
Better men for the task could not have been found than
the Rev. W. Stewart Walford, -Air. Noble Bower, Mr.
Lemare and Captain Campbell, Mr. Cartland, Mr. Darby,
and Mr. Aubrey.

This present year is marked in our history by the rise
of an Association for Wiltshire, originated by the Lev.
AY. E. Burkitt, and of one for Norfolk, the credit of
which must be given to the Rev. Blake Humfrey, and
our old friend, — I mean our friend of long standing,
the Bev. J. Lawson Sisson. Before the close of the
year I hope to he able to announce the formation
of other Associations. I am in correspondence with a
gentleman who will, I hope, not shrink from the some-
what formidable task of establishing an Association for
the North Riding of Yorkshire ; and if this is doue, I
have no doubt that the East and AYest Ridings will
follow the example set to them. I have hopes of an
Association for Sussex, and one for Cornwall ; and I
cannot believe that our friend, Mr. Charles Tite, who is
the founder of this confederation, will allow his own
county of Somerset to hold itself aloof, and not cast in
its lot with the British Bee-keepers' Association and
those affiliated to it. I may add that the Lincolnshire
Secretary, Mr. R. R. Godfrey, writes to me that he is
inundated with communications from bee-keepers in the
counties of Lancashire, Leicestershire, Northampton-
shire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Huntingdon, and Cam-
bridgeshire, who ask for advice and information in
endless ways. 'I would suggest,' he says, 'that the
British Association should storm each county during the
coming winter by means of meetings held on a bold
scale, which should be held on a ma»rket day in the
various market towns in each county. The British
would do a grand stroke,' he says, 'if it could bring
about the formation of Associations in the counties named.'

Each of these County Associations has the same
object before it, viz., to spread a knowledge of the best
systems of bee-management within the limits assigned to
it, and to make bee-keeping a national industry. It is
very important, I think, tbat no Association should take
a narrower view of its mission than this. There has
been, in some cases, a tendency to enter into a crusade
against straw skeps, and to think that if an Association
can supersede straw skeps by wooden hives, its great
object has been accomplished'. That is a very narrow
view to take of its mission. The aim of each County
Association should be, I think, to teach its members how
to make the most of every sort of hive, whether made of
straw or wood, and of whatever shape. The cottager is
generally found to be accustomed to the straw skep, and
to entertain a conservative affection for it. Then why
not teach him how to turn his dome-shaped skep into a
flat-topped one, and instruct him in the art of supering ?
He will soon leave off killing his bees in order to get
their honey ; and he will soon want to know more of
what goes on inside his hive, and to talk of making a
hive with moveable frames, and all the modern improve-
ments.

The means by which this knowledge of bee-keeping is
to be disseminated will, I think, he found to be pretty
much the same in all well-conducted County Associa-
tions. Very much, of course, depends upon an Associa-
tion being well organized at the outset. The main point
is to choose a good Secretary — I might say to find one;
for there is no process of natural selection for secretaries.
There are not so many anxious for the post that they
tight and devour one another until the fittest alone
survives. Still thirteen counties have thirteen excellent
secretaries at their respective helms, so that it is not
impossible to find them. I need scarcely say that the
motives of a secretary in accepting office should be above
suspicion. There must be a perfect assurance in the
minds of the members that he is not seeking his own
advancement, or any pecuniary benefit to himself, or the
Association will fall (as has been the case) to the ground.
He must be a good man of business, and be conversant
with the manner in which public affairs are generally
conducted ; and I think he will find it most satisfactory,
both to himself and to the Treasurer of the Association,
if they settle their accounts— as we do in the British — at
the close of every month.

As Associations develope, it will be found necessary, I
think — and Mr. Godfrey confirms me in my opinion — to
divide the county into districts, and appoint district-
secretaries to act in conjunction with the chief secretary.
They will be found invaluable in the arranging of
shows if the annual show is moved from one town to
another; in the organizing of lectures and addresses
within their respective limits; and of regulating the
uninterrupted circulation of the Bee Journal, or any
other channel of information authorised by the Associa-
tion. An Assistant-Secretary, where the funds admit it,
will be found of the greatest advantage, not only to the
Honorary Secretary himself, but to the interests of the
Associations generally.

Any man of known honesty and integrity will serve
for a Treasurer, and if no such vara avis can he found in
a county (even with the aid of the lantern of Diogenes),
a county bank will generally be found willing to under-
take this office, and to discharge it most efficiently.

Having secured a Secretary and Treasurer, a County
Association will next want a President, and I should
always advise that (other things being equal) the Lord
Lieutenant of the county should be invited to preside
over it. No one can certainly object to the Queen's
representative as not being a proper person to preside
over bee-keepers. Several County Associations are
presided over by ladies, such as the Berkshire and
Buckinghamshire by the Princess Christian, and Wilt-
shire by the Marchioness of Aylesbury. The British

136

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

Association cannot, of course, object to ladies being
appointed to the office of President, since it is itself
governed by a lad}'.

The appointment of Vice-Presidents will follow in due
course, and I believe tint the nobility and leading gentry
of any curaty will always be found ready to give their
support to a County Association if it is known to be
established on a sound basis, and to be actively engaged
in doing good. The Secretary of any Association which
intends to ally itself with the British should be careful
to inform the President that, according to the rules of
the British, each President of an affiliated County Asso-
ciation becomes an ex-officio Vice-president of the Central
or British Association, and will one day be invited in
that capacity to distribute the prizes at the Annual
Metropolitan Show. I may say here that the Princess
Christian, the President of the Berks and Bucks Associa-
tion ha?, at our President's request, announced her
willingness (as far an such long engagements can be
made) to give war the prizes at South Kensington next
year, and to redeem the promise which she was unable
to fulfil in August last through the sudden death of a
relative.

There is another official, who will, I think, now be
found indispensable to the working of a County Associa-
tion, and that is the County Expert. Mr. S. J. Baldwin
has, to borrow the language of dramatic circles, created
this role, and has taught county experts what is
expected of them: He has done the Association a
double service in this respect, and deserves a proper
acknowledgment for it. A county secretary will soon
find himself besieged with applications for a Bee Tent to
attend the Horticultural and Cottage Gardens Shows in
his county. He may find volunteers who will accom-
pany it, and deliver gratuitous addresses without any
charge to the Association, but, as a rule, he will have to
depend upon an expert for the manipulations and short
explanations, which make the Bee Tent so attractive.
He will have to cast about him for some young man
"who is an enthusiast in bee-keeping, having had some
experience in bee-management, and is able to express
his thoughts with tolerable fluency. I believe 1 am
justified in saying that Mr. Abbott, of Sonthall, would
be willing to take such a young man as a pupil, and
give him instruction in the more advanced branches of
the art for a moderate remuneration ; and that Mr,
Baldwin, or one of the experts employed by the British,
would be willing to allow him to accompany him in
his missionary tours, and give him an insight into
work" in the Bee Tent. A young man, whose heart is
in his work, will soon acquire the skill and confidence
which are necessary for the expert, who is both manipu-
lator and lecturer also.

But the duties of a County Expert are by no means
confined to attending upon the Bee Tent. As soon as
an Association can command sufficient funds, there is no
better way of spreading a knowledge of bee-keeping than
by sending the expert on a tour of hive inspection to the
homes of all the members of the Association; bee-
keeping will soon become popular then, and the cottagers
will join ; there will he no more superstitions about bees;
no more propitiations of swarms with fresh pilchards.
As tin' expert goes to and fro, knowledge will be
increased; his vi-its will be duly announced beforehand,
through the district secretaries, and be eagerly expected
by the members. Two inspection tours should, of course,
be made annually, if possible, in spring and in autumn;
but if th.e funds are insufficient for two visitations, then
I should recommend the spring time in preference to the
autumn, and for a two-fold reason : (1) Because though
the proper wintering of bees is very important, the
spring feeding and strengthening of stocks before the
honey harvest commences are even of move importance
still; and (2) Bscause the expert will be furnished with
a receipt-book, and in the spring time, -when the

heart lightly turns to thoughts of love and honeymoon,
and si on, material honey for the breakfast-table of the
new menage, members will open their hearts and their
purses at the call of the expert, and pay their subscrip-
tions early in the year. There is no better way, too, of
obtaining new members. Neighbour Jones will say to
neighbour Smith, ' Here's the bee-man a-coming round
next week. He's a-going to overhaul my bees, and
help me get 'em ready for the summer. Why don't
you join the 'Soeiation, and get yours fettled up too ?
He'll have his book with him, and give you a receipt
all square ; ' and so neighbour Jones introduces the
expert to neighbour Smith, and another member
is enrolled in the ranks of the Association. This
process is repeated in every cottage which the expert
enters, and the result ought to be highly satisfactory to
the secretary.

At the conclusion of his tour the expert will make his
report, which will eventually be printed and sent to all
the members, who will thus learn the state of bee-
keeping in their county. Let me give you, as we are
now on the most practical part of our subject, the
report handed in to the Hertfordshire Association by our
county expert, Mr. T. B. Blow, of Welwyn, — a most ex-
cellent expert, let me say, who has the interests of our
( 'ounty. Association thoroughly at heart.

' 1 have to report,' he says, ' that the spring visit to
the members of the Association in 1881 was commenced
ou March 3rd, and was completed on April 30th. The
actual number of days occupied was thirty-two, and
during that time 2o0 members have been called upon,
and 842 hives of bees examiued. The actual time taken
up in examination of hives and giving of advice has
been 121 J hours, showing an average of slightly under
half an hour to each person. The number of miles
travelled has been about G47. [Mr. Blow is a good
bicyclist.] In only two cases has the allotted time been
exceeded. Taking the apiaries on the whole throughout
the county they may be said to be in good condition, the
proportion of good to bad being 7 to 1. A considerable
number of stocks have perished during the past winter ;
Tuesday, Jan. 18, being a very fatal day, many having
then been blown over and destroyed. Under death from
other causes, death from starvation in bar-frame hives
claims by far the greatest number of victims. The starv-
ation has not, in my opinion, resulted from the bees
having been left with a short store at the commencement
of winter, hut from insufficient covering on the top of the
hive, and from neglect, or want of knowledge of con-
tracting the space of the hive by dummies. In many
rases only one thickness of carpet was placed on the
top, and often this had been shifted out of place in the
act of putting on the roof, thus causing a continuous
draught through the hive. In one case where the bees
were still alive no quilt at all was on the hive —simply
the roof. I could not ascertain how long this had been
the ease. The number of liar-frame hives in the members
apiaries is 504, and of skeps 338; so that it will be seen
that the frame-hives have come into very general use,
hut certainly a proportionate amount of knowledge re-
specting their management has not I a acquired with

them, and I am forced lo the conclusion that in the

hands of inexperienced persons thej are far worse than
straw skeps. Information respectiug them was, however,
eagerly eought, and I have no doubt thai a great im-
provement in their management and wintering' will bo
made. With skops fewer deaths have arisen from starv-
ation, owing, I think, to the fact thai less care is required

in wintering, and the management is better undersl I.

A large number had, however, died out through queen-
lessness. Thecost of bar-fram i hives is a great complaint
among cottagers, and the atl rapts at home-made hives
leave much to be desired, 1 think that the Association

should endeavour rather to show how the honey may lie
collected ill the best form from straw skeps than to

November 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

137

advocate the use of bar-frame hives amongst cottagers.
The small, though very good, collection of Air. Beard of
Northall deserves mention for the reason t hat the whole
of his skeps are adapted for the collection of honey in
sectional supers, and that too at small cost. The hives
are cased in with a rough box and roof. Chaff is put in
to the level of the top of the skep, and it is then quite
easy to put on the crate of supers with a board. Only
three cases of foul brood have been met with. The chief
centres of successful bee-culture seem to be Iladham,
Ashwell, Baldock, Hitchin, and Welwyn. The west of
the county is certainly far behind the east at present in
this respect; the latter is, however, behind in point of
number of members and the amount of subscriptions
paid. About twenty-five members have been added to
the Society.'

I quote this report at length because I believe it will
be useful to other county experts, and show them the
points to be attended to. Time will not allow to say
more now respecting the county expert, but I lay the
utmost stress on the usefulness of his office and its
importance to a County Association. The expert acts
as the connecting link between the members and the
Secretary, just as the Secretary himself acts as a con-
necting link between his County and the British Bee-
keepers' Association.

The Lincolnshire Secretary says, in a letter to myself,
' I shoidd like to have at least three experts ; one for
South, one for Mid, and another for the North division
of Lincolnshire, and I don't despair of having them, but
it will not be this year.' We will hope there is a good
time coming, Mr. Secretary.

When a County Association has a President, Vice-
Presidents, a Committee, a Treasurer, a Secretary, and
an Expert, its organization might, perhaps, be thought
complete; but it is not so. A County Association, to
be properly conducted, ought certainly to affiliate itself
with the Parent Association. An affiliation fee of one
guinea must be paid into the treasury of the British,
before the daughter can be received as a member of the
fainity ; but we do not fall into the error which caused
the American colonies to sever themselves from the
mother country. We do not expect Taxation to be
submitted to without Representation. We do not expect
the County Associations to co-operate with us in our
great work of teaching fee management to Britain,
without giving them a voice in our councils, and an
opportunity of making known any grievance under
which they may be smarting. Every member of a
County Association should, in my opinion, have a vote
in the election of officers — I mean a real expression of
his will recorded on a printed voting paper, and attested
by his own signature — such a right as each member of
our British Association is entitled to, and in most cases
exercises. All the members cannot attend general
meetings, and if they do, they usually find their com-
mittee chosen for them beforehand. This is not the
case if you make use of voting papers. Each man can give
his vote then wherever he may be, and the giving of that
vote makes him take a greater interest in the affairs of
the Association. He feels himself, indeed, on a level
with a county freeholder, when he has to give his vote
for the election of two members to represent him in the
Bee Parliament, held at 440 Strand, London. These
two representatives, when elected, have a right to attend
the Quarterly Meetings of the Central Association, and
to bring forward any matters with which they may be
entrusted by their constituents. Eree speech and fear-
lessness are to them allowed. Any suggestions which they
may make are gratefully received by the Central Com-
mittee, and deliberated upon at their next meeting.
Any questions that may be put receive a full and speedy
answer. K personal attendance be impossible, letters
may be written to the Secretary of the British, and they
will receive as much attention as though the writers of

them had been actually present. I am sure that I am
expressing the sentiments of every member of the Com-
mittee of the British Association when I say that we
welcome the appearance of the County Representatives
at our Quarterly Meetings, and that we are glad to avail
ourselves of their counsel and suggestions.

Such, then, is tho organization of a well-conducted
( iounty Association so far as my experience has reached.
The objects towards which this organization is directed
are, for the most part, four in number: —

1. The circulation of the Bee Journal, and other pub-
lications amongst its members. With regard to this I
may say that the. most satisfactory plan appears to be
the division of the County into a certain number of dis-
tricts, making a district for every ten or fifteen members,
who are instructed to keep the Journal one or two days
for reading, and then to transmit it- to their nearest neigh-
bours. These instructions are not always attended to
faithfully. Some members will keep the Journal in their
houses for a week, or a month, or two months ; whilst
the other members write and complain that it has never
been sent to them. We have tried every means, I think,
in Hertfordshire, to put a stop to this irregularity of cir-
culation. We have asked each member to inform us if
he or she does or does not wish to receive the JownaL
We have placed those who have been denounced to us
as obstructives, on the bottom of the list. We have
taken measures for appointing heads of dictricts to
attend specially to the circulation of the Journal in their
several territories. We have even discussed the pro-
priety of discontinuing the circulation of the Journal
altogether, but each time we have broached this point,
we have been told that the circulation of the Bee Journal
is the one thing that our members value above all their
other privileges; that it is the one thing which binds
them to the Association ; that if it be discontinued, their
subscriptions will be discontinued also ; and so we go o:i
with our task in spite of the impediments which are
thrown in our way by the thoughtless and inconsiderate
few who mar the regularity of our machinery, and retard
the education of their brethren.

l'. The purchase of a Bee Tent, with a view to its
appearance at the Horticultural and other Shows in the
County. Every one knows now what a bee tent is, how
it is constructed, what is about the cost of it, and whence
it can be obtained, so that I need not dwell on these
particulars. A picture of the British Bee Tent, which
was erected at the South Kensington of lb~6, appears in
the last number of Mr. Newman's American Bee Journal.
Much practical knowledge is conveyed to the public
through the displays and lectures in the summer time
when indoor lectures are out of season, and the admission
fee of sixpence a-head is usually found sufficient to
recoup the Committee for their outlay in the purchase
of the tent at the close of the second if not of the first
year.

3. The sending of an Expert to visit the apiaries of
members once or twice in the j-ear, and to make a report
thereon. I have already spoken as to the importance cf
this step.

4. The holding of an Annual County Show, at whicli
prizes are awarded for the best, exhibits of honey, hives,
and bee apparatus generally, and at which the progress
made from year to year can be accurately measured. 0:i
this point I will only say that it has been found desirable,
to institute Local Classes at which the members of an
Association can compete amongst themselves, and Ope:i
Classes in which they can see some of those advances
and improvements which are continually being- made in
the art of bee-keepiifij*. There is a question whether it
is better to hold a County Show in the chief town c c
city of a county, or to move it, annually, from one centre
of population to another. I think, that the gener; I
opinion of County Secretaries is in favour of the latter
plan, as so much information on Bee-keeping isimparti !

A 3

13S

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

to any locality in which a show is held. There is also a
variety of opinions as to holding- a County Bee Show on
its own merits independently of any other attractions, or
engrafting it on to some large flower show, or any other
public gathering. We have tried the latter plan in
Hertfordshire with considerable loss, whilst Mr. Godfrey
has tried the former in Lincolnshire with considerable
success; and, I believe, that if committees have only the
courage to make the venture, a well-organized bee show
will be found to possess sufficient attractions of its own.
I think the experiment has been tried in Surrev, but I
know of no other county, with the exception of Lincoln-
shire, which has held a bee show pur et simple.

Connected with the show is usually a Honey Fair,
which offers the members great facilities for the disposal
of their honey and wax. Those who are thinking of
forming Associations are frequently deterred by "the
fear that their members will be unable to sell the honey
which is produced. My experience is that the demand
for honey, in an attractive and portable form, is far in
excess of the supply. Others here present to-night will,
I think, be able to confirm what 1 say. Mr. Godfrey
held a honey fair at Grantham this year, subsequently
to the Lincolnshire County Show at Louth, at which, I
believe, all the honey offered found ready purchasers.
• We understand,' says one of the Lincolnshire papers,
' that large sales were effected, and good prices realised.
With the exception of a few massive supers, and one or
two small lots, it may be said to have been a " clear
out." Nearly three-quarters of a ton of honey was on
sale, the average price being lid. per lb. for extracted
honey, and Is. 3d. for honey in the comb.' Mr. Huckle
informs me that nearly the whole of the honey exhibited
in an attractive and portable form at the late South
Kensington and Dairy Shows was disposed of at good
prices, one exhibitor (an artizan) alone disposing of
401. worth at the two shows. Another member of our
Association has been able to dispose of a quantity of his
honey to a West-end tradesman at Is. Gd. and Is. Qd.
per lb. wholesale. Mr. Blow informs me that he is
anxious to purchase a quantity of honey from 1 cwt.
to 2 cwt. at Is. 2d. per lb., but cannot get it anywhere.
He also tells me that during his recent visit to York-
shire, Mr. Win. Foggett, of Thirsk, informed him that he
was open to purchase bees-wax in large quantities, and
was in the habit of giving Is. 8d. per lb. for it. Mr.
Blow is of opinion th.it no difficulty will be found as to
the disposal of any quantity of honey, i. e., honey col-
lected well. Another correspondent says, ' Those' who
have honey lying on their hands are those who take no
pains to make it attractive after it has been removed
from the hive.' Depots for the sale of honey have been
tried by some Associations, but the supply has been in-
sufficient to keep them going. Depots for the sale of
hives and bee apparatus have also been tried, but not, I
think, with any great success.

I have been asked, ' What has the Central Association
done towards the development of these Associations ?'
My answer always is that it has done very much. Even
in the days of its temporary decadence, when it was
not strong enough to hold the annual show as usual, it
was not unmindful of the County Association. The
silver and bronze medal were sent" to the County Secre-
taries for competition at their shows, as prizes for the
best exhibits of honey, and the certificate of the Associa-
tion was also awarded as a honey prize. As soon as the
Association righted itself, the loan of the Bee Tent was
offered to all affiliated Associations fur their county
show; experts were found them if required, and I wish
my hearers to understand that this combination of Bee
Tent and expert represents (on a fine day, and where
there is a good attendance), it may be, 10/.. it may be
15/., or it may be 201. of gross receipts. We calculate that
the average net profit made from the Bee Tent on
ordinaiy occasions is not less than 5/. per show. Besides

this, the county representatives have been admitted to
the Council of the British Association.

Let me add also that County Associations enjoy
almost all the privileges accorded to members of the
British. They can use the honey market, which is
under the charge of Mr. S. J. Baldwin. They can purchase
the publications of the Association, which are in such
demand that they are now most of them out of print, at
the trade price, and I do not think that we can go any
lower than this, — it will not do for us to undersell the
trade.

What more can the Central Association do for the
Counties? Here, again, my answer still is, Very much.
The Central Association can make the development of
these County Associations its first and foremost object,
and in no other way, I believe, could a knowledge of
bee-keeping be more effectually or more rapidly spread
over England. If it is only recognised that we are all
members of one family, — all one great confederation, as I
said at the commencement of this paper, there will be no
room for any feeling of jealousy, that the County Asso-
ciation should be exalted at the expense of the Central.
If the County Associations are flourishing and doing
their work well, the credit of their success will be
reflected on the British. But I must warn the County
Associations not to expect too much. When I invite the
County Secretaries to say what they most require, what
would most increase their efficiency, and what chiefly
retards their progress, there is one general cry, ' Our
great want is want of funds — shortness of cash — this is
our greatest hindrance.' Help us with grants of money
and we shall do great things.

Now I must tell the County Association at once that
though I should advocate the most liberal and generous
policy possible on the part of the British towards the
County Associations, they must not expect to receive
grants of money (at least not for the present), and it is
simply puerile for any one of them to say, 'If you cannot
do this you are no good to us, and we shall walk no
more with you.' I must remind those who hold these
sentiments of the old fable with which Menenius
Agrippa dissuaded the people of Bome from their in-
tended revolt and brought them back to their allegiance, —
the fable of the Belly and the Members : the members
starved the belly, but they themselves perished in the
operation.

The income of the British Association at the end of
last year, seems to have been a considerable one, as far as
Bee Associations are concerned — 076/. 10s., but with the
exception of a small balance of 4/. 12s. 6d. in the Trea-
surer's hands, the whole of this amount was honestly
spent in promoting a knowledge of bee-keeping.

No country bee-keeper, who knows anything of the
history of bee-keeping in England, would for a moment
wish that the British or Central Association should
withdraw from the position it has attained to at the
annual shows of the Royal Agricultural Society of
England, and at the show of the British Dairy Farmers'
Association; — I hope, after the successful experiment of
last year, I may soon be able to add at the show of the
Bath and West of Englaud Society. No one, I think,
would wish to see the annual show at Smith Kensington
abandoned, and our connexion with the Royal Horticul-
tural Society severed.

These shows are occasions on which large numbers of
persons of every class meet together, and from which
they return anxious to introduce the improvements
which they see in bee-keeping, as well as in other matters .
into their own neighbourhoods; here the foundations of
future County Associations are laid. No one again
would, I imagine, wish to check the circulation of
Modern lire-keeping, of the Diagrams, and of these
Quarterly Papers, by grudging the amount of our
printing bill.

Some members of County Associations might point to

November 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

139

the expenses of our Irish Tour last year, and say that
' charity should begin at home,' but they must remember,
what we are so often told now, that Ireland is an
' exceptional' country, and that the deficiencies upon that
tour were met by private donations, and not from the
funds of the Association.

But though we may be unable to help the County
Associations with grants of money, we may be able to
help them in other ways, and, first, by a piece of advice :
"VW arc all suffering from want of funds in the County
Associations (I am speaking now as a county secretary);
but is not this because we made our subscriptions too low
in the first instance ? Half-a-crown is the ordinary
subscription in many Associations. It is the ordinary
subscription in that Association to which we all look up
as our elder sister, who sets us a pattern and an example.
— the Lincolnshire Association. Lincolnshire has 206
members, but the members' subscriptions for 1880;amount
only to 221. 10s. I know that it is a very invidious task
tn raise the amount of subscription to any Society or
Association when it has once been fixed; but I think it
ought to be clearly stated in every report or prospectus of a
County Association that 2s. Gd. is meant as only the
cottager's subscription, and that those who wish to bene-
fit others as well as themselves, and who do not wish to
rank as cottagers, cannot be allowed to subscribe less
than, at all events, vs. I think we have rated ourselves
too meanly; we have been (like Uriah Heep) too 'umble;
we have not had courage enough for success in a great
undertaking : for, you may depend upon it, that' what-
ever valuation you put upon yourselves, the outside
world, even if it takes you at your own valuation, will cer-
tainly not rate you any higher. We do more for our mem-
bers than the subscriptions which they pay warrant us in
doing. Just let me tell you, for the sake of illustration,
what a Hertfordshire member gets for his 2s. Gd. sub-
scription : he gets the Bee Journal, for which he would
have to pay Mr. Abbott 6s. ; he is admitted free to his
county show, which woidd otherwise cost him Is., if he
went in at the fashionable hour; he has his hives
inspected for nothing, which would cost him 7s. Gd. if he
had the expert down on his own account, or os. 9rf. if
he went shares with a neighbour, in addition to his
travelling expenses ; he can go into the Bee Tent gratis,
at. any show in the count}', on production of his mem-
ber's ticket, by which he saves 6c/. on each occasion,
and on production of the same ticket he has free admis-
sion to any lectures or meetings which may be held
on the part of the Association ; so that for half-a-crown
he gets about the worth of one pound; and yet you hear
people going about and saying, 'I don't see what good I
get out of the Association ! ' I am sure if (as Sam Slick
says) ' there's a deal of human nature in man,' there must
be an extra quantity of it in members of County Asso-
ciations.

I would advise all County Secretaries, then, to make a
clear line of demarcation between the cottager's sub-
scription of 2s. Gd. and the gentleman's subscription of
•5s., and I think their funds will benefit by the process.
Persons who can afford it should give 10s. Gd., and the
aristocracy of a county should he impressed with the
fact that a guinea is the least sum they can give without
being considered mean.

One more piece of advice let me give. Secure the
co-operation of the public press in your counties ; take
care that your meetings and lectures and shows are well
reported ; and let those who have the pen of a ready
writer contribute little articles on bee-keeping to the
columns of their local newspapers. There is no support
so valuable as that of the press ; and may I add no
greater mistake than to quarrel with a good bee paper
when you have one, and scheme about with the idea of
setting up another in opposition to it ?

And now for something better than mere advice.
There is another want experienced by the County

Secretaries, as I find from their letters to myself, and
expressed with an unanimity which is only surpassed by
that produced through shortness of funds — the want of
experienced and able lecturers whose coming into a
comity would awake or revive an interest in bee-keeping.
Now I think that as one of the means by which the
Central professes to do its great work is by lectures and
meeting's, the County Secretaries may very fairly ask
the British Association to defray the expenses of a
lecturer or speaker who should deliver addresses on
bee-keeping in the winter or early spring months at
meetings previously organized by the county secretary in
the principal market towns. If volunteer lecturers
could be secured, so much the better for the funds of the
British Association. If not, they have at their command
a band of lecturers of no mean capacity in their experts,
whose charges for a lecturing tour would, I am sure, be
as reasonable as possible, and whose addresses would be,
perhaps, of a more practical character than those of the
majority of amateurs. The county secretary should, I
think, make all the arrangements for such a tour of
lecturing, and the County Association should defray all
expenses of advertising and securing rooms. The Central
Association woidd act liberally if it defrayed all expenses,
travelling and board included, of their lecturer.

But I think that to get the greatest amount of good to
bee-keeping from such an arrangement, the lectures
should be quite free, and not be regarded as a source of
gain to the County Associations. If you want to get a
room full of people, you have only to tell them that
there is something going on inside, and that there is
nothing to pay for going in to see it. I once drove about
fifteen miles on a winter's night in the Black Country to
deliver a lecture for a lecturing Association. When I
entered the room, three men were sitting over the fire,
and two of them promptly decamped when they heard
that a lecture was to be given, and that they were
expected to listen to it. The third man was more
s}'mpathetic, and after saying that he thought it was a
pity that I had come so far for uothing', volunteered to
go the round of all the public-houses, and try to get up
an audience ; but he said there ' moant be nothing to
pay.' In a quarter of an hour I had one of the largest
and most appreciative audiences that it was ever my lot
to address.

It wotdd be a cruelty to send down a lecturer from
London and place him in a similar position. If lectures
are to do anj' real good in the present daj', it is a sine
qua iirm that they should be free. People think that
there is some bona fides about them, and that they are
inaugurated with an honest purpose. Seats can he
reserved, and admission given by tickets, but there
should be no payment. When wo started the Hertford-
shire Association, we held free lectures in all the chief
towns, and had large attendances, from which we secured
many members. The next year, emboldened by success,
we tried some lectures on the frout-seats-one-shilling,-
hack-seats-sixpence principle, and the result was — empty
benches. If the lectures are free, the only cause of
failure must he in a want of organization on the part of
the County Secretary. Mr. Godfrey wants a lecturer to
stump the chief towns in Lincolnshire. Mr. Burkitt
wants the same for Wiltshire. If the willingness of the
Committee is only expressed, I have no fear that there
will be any want of applications.

It has been suggested by Mr. Dunman, Dorset, thsa
the British Association could further assist the Counties
if they sent a member of their Committee to visit the
annual show of each County Association, with a view of
reporting to the central authorities upon all that he sees,
and making suggestions, if he observes anything requiring
alteration. He thinks that, on the one hand, the members
of County Associations would see that there was a
Central Society, and that the British might enlist many
members by appearing at such shows. This suggestion

140

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

is certainly deserving of consideration, but more difficult
to carry out in practice.

At the meeting held in this room on 12th February,
1879, I h'nd from the minutes that I indulged in a
prophecy : I expressed my belief that in ten }-ears from
that date there would scarcely be a county in England
without its Bee-keepers' Association. I am reminded
that in the year 184G, when the corn-laws were repealed,
the late Sir Robert Peel expressed his belief that in ten
years' time all civilised countries would accept the
doctrines of free trade, and impose no duty upon
English produce. I regret very much that his prophecy
has not met with fulfilment, seeing that not one single
nation has followed the example of England as yet, and
it makes me rather tremble for the result of my own pre-
diction. I trust, however, that the historical coincidence
will be confined to the prediction, and be disconnected
from their fulfilment. If foreign nations continue to be
stem Protectionists, the counties of England have not
equally set their face against the formation of Bee-
keepers' Associations. Out of the forty counties of
England (omitting Wales for the present) thirteen have
now Associations, and there are eight years in which the
the other twenty-seven counties may provide themselves
with them, so that my prophecy cannot be said to have
been too sanguine yet. What may not be done in eight
years if we all work harmoniously together 'J And
we do work harmoniously together. There is not
a single letter which I have received from a county
Secretary which does not testify to his appreciation of
what has been done by the Britisb Association, and to
his desire to preserve the connexion with it unbroken.
As we often see in the Queen's speech, — ' Our relations
with the other powers are of the most friendly and satis-
factory character.' One letter, in particular, has the
impress of kindly feeling- and brotherhood about it, and
I hope tbat I may be pardoned if, notwithstanding the
length of this paper, I quote the latter portion of it. I
must preface the quotation by saying that there was an
unfortunate delay in sending the Bee Tent from South
Kensington to the show of a County Association ; that
it arrived, in fact, too late for the show, and that the
County Committee were put to much loss and incon-
venience thereby. The Committee of the British Asso-
ciation offered, of course, to make any compensation to
the Committee of the County Association, but this was
declined. 'Our committee,' writes my correspondent,
'took into consideration the proposal made by your
Association to compensate us for the loss which resulted,
and unanimously agreed that no claim should be made ;
and this on the ground that the incident, though unfor-
tunate, was in the nature of an accident, and that the
occasion furnishes an opportunity of testifying to the
cordial, sympathetic feeling which animates the respec-
tive Associations.'

As long as such a feeling as this prevails, I have no
fear for the fulfilment of my prophecy. With so many
good men working, as County Secretaries, so zealously in
different parts of England, I feel confident that before
ten years have expired, every county will have its
Association ; that bee-keeping will rank as one of the
most prosperous industries of this country, and that our
confederation will reach a pitch of greatness which
those, to whom its origin is due, never, perhaps, ventured
to hope for or expect.

[The discussion on the foregoing paper is reserved In
our next issue.]

PROPOSED BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION FOR
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
May I, through the medium of the Bee Journal, ask
any bee-keepers in Cambridgeshire who are willing to
join in forming a County Bee-keepers' Associate >n to send
me their names and addresses? — ELe&BERT R. Phei.,
Abbott's Hill, Ilemel Ilempsted, Herts.

AD VER TISEMENT.

Momebn BeetKeeping. Arrangements are now in pro-
gress for the publication of the third edition of this work
early in November; to consist of not less than 7000
copies. Persons desirous of advertising in the same are
requested to communicate with the Assistant Secretary,
Mr. J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Dairy Show.

An Exhibition of bees, hives, and honey, was held in
connexion with the Annual Dairy Show, at the Agricul-
tural Hall, Islington, on September 15th, 10th, 17th,
19th, 20th. In the classes for hives there was a good
display and a healthy competition. Compared with the
previous year, there appeared to be lack of interest in
the honey classes, but the honey displayed was of a
very superior kind, well staged and bottled, and looked
exceedingly tempting. The judges were the Rev. G.
Raynor, Messrs. W. Freeman, and J. M. Hooker. The
stewards of the bee department were, the Revs. II. It.
Peel and E. Bartrum, and Mr. T. W. Cowan.

The following were the awards : —

Hives. — For the best Observatory hive, stocked with
bees and their queen ; the bees to be in confinement :
second prize, bronze medal, Neighbour and Sons-; third
prize, certificate, C. N. Abbott. For the best Frame
hive of a substantial character for general use in an
apiary, price not to exceed 15s. : first prize, silver medal,
A. Blake; second prize, bronze medal, J. Lee; third
prize, certificate, Green & Sons; highly commended,
C. N. Abbott ; commended, C. N. Abbott. For the
most economical (best and cheapest) hive, on the moveable
comb principle, for cottagers' use, with arrangements for
summer and winter, price not to exceed 10s. Gd. : first
prize, silver medal, A. Blake ; second prize, bronze
medal, J. Lee; third prize, certificate, Green & Sons;
Highly commended, G. N. Abbott.

Honey. — For the best 24 sections of comb honey, each
section not more than 3 lbs. in weight : first prize, 40s.,
J. Walton ; third prize, 10s., W. Hunt. For the best
24 sections of comb honey, each section of not more than
li lbs. in weight : first prize. 20s., J. M. Hooker ; second
prize, 15s., J.Walton; third prize, 7s. (irf., W. Hunt.
For the best exhibition of comb honey in one or more
supers, of any material, sectional supers excluded : first
prize, 20s., F. Cheshire ; second prize, 15s., II. Heath.
For the largest and best exhibition of run or extracted
honey, in 24 reputed 2 lbs. glass jars : first prize, 20s.,
II. Hart; second prize, 12s. (id., 3. Walton. For the
best exhibition of run or extracted honey, in 24 reputed
1 lb. jars: first prize, 20s., J. M. Hooker: second prize,
12s. Gd., J. Walton; third prize, 7s. Gd., W. Hunt;
fourth prize, 5s., II. Hart.

Bees- Wax. — For the finest sample of pure bees-wax,
not less than 6 lbs. in weight, obtained from combs made
bv the exhibitor's own bees: first prize, 10s., C. N.
A'bbott.

CYPRIAN AND SYRIAN BEES.
Mr. T. B. Blow, of Welwyn, Herts, expert of the
Hertfordshire Bee-keepers' Association, intends to visit,
the East with the object of importing bees of the various
Eastern countries. In this Mr. Blow is animated with a
patriotic feeling, as he thinks it is not desirable that
English bee-keepers should be behind their American
cousins. Fur some time past large consignments of
Eastern bees have been forwarded to America; audit
is said they are much appreciated both lor their working
powers and their greater prolificness. Mr. Blow hopes
to be able to bring over a large number of stocks from
Albania, Dalmatia, Smyrna, Cyprus, and Syria, and ex-
pects to start very shortly.

November 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

l li

NEWTONWARDS HORTICULTURAL SHOW.

This society offered prizes for honey in three classes,
which brought out some good examples of honey from
local bee-keepers, and although the competitors were not
numerous tin- exhibits were most creditable, and speak
loud for the future. John Miller, Esq., J.P. Comber, was
the largest exhibitor, and showed some beautiful sections.
staged to great advantage, being placed in glass cases
about 2\ inches broad, and high enough to hold a pyramid
of sections: six in the bottom and ending with one on
top which male a good show out of little. lie showed
two of these cases, and also some superb run honey, for
which he gained three first prizes. C. ('. Russel, Esq.,
and -Mr. Ditty came second with beautiful run honey in
3-lb.glassjarssuch as are recommended in the Bee Journal.
Mr. Love also took a second with some really nice while
comb he raised in a combination with queen excluder;
hut tic sealing wasverj incomplete, and the comb on the
whole, was very ' holey.'

The tent of the Armagh Bee-keepers' Association was
on the gri unds during the day, and was visited by a
good many wishing to see the ' wonders of the bee-hive;'
but they were move or less disappointed with the exhi-
bition, not that Rev. Mr. Lett and Mr. Green were un-
equal to the occasion : but they were short of material,
having only one strawskep of bees to perform upon, and
so had to drive them at all the several performances, and
sometimes failed to find the queen.

John Miller, Esq., .1. 1'. exhibited a frame of Anglo-
Italian bees with queen, which were much admired, and
elicited a great ileal of attention, no doubt ; but the visit
of Messrs. Abbott and ( larr last year has created a great
stir, and is doing much good amongst bee-keepers, and
many- are now commencing to keep bees that never before
thought of such a thing. — Cokiiespondext.

THE IRISH REE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
This association held its first bee-show in the Gardens,
Salthill, co. Dublin, on October 10th ami 11th, and
the result was an 'enormous' success, the tent being
crowded with visitors on both days. The Rev. J. M.
Aldridge, the Rector of Eyrecourt, co. Galway, assisted
by Brother Joseph, lectured and operated on and amongst
the bees to the intense astonishment of the audiences,
and fairly electrified them by his easy manipulations.
The Dublin newspapers are 'full' of the event, and by
leading articles, and long and glowing descriptions of
tie- wonderful things done at the show, are doing their
best to induce a larger interest in the great work by
pressing upon the public the necessity for supporting the
Association that has made such excellent progress in so
short a time.
_ The Freeman says, ' Public attention has been recently

directed to the subject of 1 -keeping as a profitable

enterprise well suited to this country (Ireland), and'the
idea has been taken up with an earnestness which augurs
well for its realisation. An association has been estab-
lished, which we hftve no hesitation in recommending to
the approval and support of the public. Its obj: els are,
primarily, humanity to the most industrious and most
wonderful of all insects, and also the promotion of in-
dustry well adapted to the circumstances of the country.
All classes are hound to promote die objects of the Irish
Bee-keepers' Association, which are the encouragi ment,
advancement, and improvement of bee-culture in Ireland.

particularly as a means of bettering the ■ lition of

cottagers and the agricultural labouring classes.' The
Irish Times and the Express have elaborate des iriptions
of the lecture, the former concluding, 'To do anything like
justice to the lecture of yesterday, and to tie demon-
strations introduced, would require' much sine i in I ed :
but those who wish to be shown bow wonderf idly God
moves, even in His minor works, will do well to hear the
Rev. Mr. Aldridge on bee-culture.'

Notwithstanding tic general lament that the weather
in Ireland has been had, and litil" honey forthcoming,
Brother Joseph, whom the Express well des irib is as one
of the cleverest be— masters in Ireland, took 180 lbs. of
honey from one hive in five weeks, leaving 30 lbs. for the
winter store of the l> :es ; and this, we take it, is one of
tli • best arguments in favour of improved bee culture,
and should induce the earnesl co-operation and support
by all clasps, of the associations, not only in Ireland,
but all over the world, that have been formed to pro-
mote it.

WILTSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION".

At the Swindon and North Wilts Agricultural
Society's show at t'alne, September -0th and 21st, 1881,
an exhibition of bees, hives, honey, &c, by the Wilts
Bee-keepers' Association was held, at which prizes as
under were given. A bee-tent was erected, in which all
op 'rations were witnessed in safety. An expert from
the British Bee-keepers' Association attended, and gave
practical illustrations and explanations of the manner of
diving bees, transferring bees from straw skeps to bar-
frame hives, extracting honey without killing the bees
or injuring the combs. Live bees working in glass ob-
servatory hives were also exhibited.

The following is the award of prizes, which were open
to all: — Class 1 — For the best observatory hive, stocked
with bees: 1st, Mr. A. Adams, Melkshain, 7s. <'<-/.; 2nd,
Rev. E. Davenport, Hungerford, 5s. 01a?s 2 — For a
inoveable-comb hive complete : 1st, Rev. W. E. Bivrkitt
(3rd, South Kensington; 2nd, Marlborough), 7s. Gd.;
2nd, Mr. J. E. Wilshire, Semiugton, 5s. Class .'! — Ditto
for cottagers' use, price not to exceed 7s. — 1st, Mr. J. E.
Wilshire, 5s. ; 2nd, Rev. W. E. Burkitt (also 2nd at
Hungerford and 2nd at Marlborough), 2s. Gd.; 3rd, Mr.
A. Adams, Certificate. Class 4 — For the best single
super, of glass, wood, or straw- 1st, Rev. W. E. Burkitt,
5s.; 2nd, Mr. li. Manfield, Melksbam, 2s. Gd. ; 3rd, Mr.
S. W. Bailey, Semiugton, Certificate. Class 5— For the
best 12 lis., in either 1-lb. or 2-lb. sections: 1st, Mr. 11.
Manfield, 5s.; 2nd, Lev. J. II. Dixon, Linkenbolt, 2s. ('•</.:
■•trd, Rev. W. E. Burkitt, ( lertificate. Class G— For the
best run or extracted honey, in glass jars or bottles, not
less than I! lbs. in all: 1st, Miss E. Preston, Marlborough,
5s.; 2nd, Lev. W. E. Burkitt, 2s. C.rf.; 3rd, Mr. R. Man-
field, Certificate. Clas3 7 — For articles of general use in
ll:e apiary: 1st, Rev. W. E. Burkitt (50 articles), Ts.ik/.;
2nd, Rev. J. II. Dixon, 5s. Class 7n — For •') lbs. best
bees- wax: 1st, Rev. J. II. Dixon, 5s.; 2nd, Mr. R. Man-
field, 2s. Gd.; 3rd, Rev. W. E. Burkitt, Certificate.

Cottagers only; no entrance-fee. Class 8 — For the
best made flat-topped skip, with fe 'ding hole, super,floor-
board and cover, complete : 1st, < reorge White, Shalbourn
( 1st at Hungerford and 1st at Marlborough), 5s. Class '.)
— For the best bar-frame hive : no ontr\ . ( llass 10 — For
the best super of honey: no entry. Class 11 — For the
best run or extracted honey, in 'jia-s jars, not less than
G lbs. in all: 1st, James Giles, Buttermere, 3s. Class 12
—For the best wasps' nest; no entry.

Clasi 13 — For the be t last year's stock of bees in
skep or bar-framed hive : 1st. Rev. E. Davenport, 7s. Gd.;
2nd, Rev. W. E. Burkitt.

The Judges were Me: irs. ( '. A. Houghton, George
Childe, and W. E. Burkitt, Hon. See.

GRANTHAM HONEY FAIR.
The lion '\- fair in connexion with lie- Lincolnshire
Bee-keep us' Association was ln-ld in the Westgate
Exchange on Saturday, Sept. 21, and largely patronis id
from the opening to the close. The fair open,"! at
twelve o'clock prompt, and was S ion the seen" of life and
business, and from tic onset it was evidenl that a great
sale would be the result. A grand lot of honey, both in

142

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

the comb and extracted, was offered, some magnificent
supers fioni the Uffington apiary being the centre of ad-
miration. A number of splendid sectional supers from
the Horsham apiary were quickly cleared, also a lot from
the Belvoir and Weston apiaries. The really fine lots of ex-
tracted honey offered in such nice, neat, saleable form could
not fail to attract, and few could resist the temptation to
purchase, and large sales were effected, and good prices
realised. With the exception of a few massive supers
and one or two small lots, it may be said to have been a
clear-out. The hard-working committee may congratulate
themselves on these satisfactory results, which must be
most encouraging to them in their labours. The Lincoln-
shire Bee-keepers' Association is the only association in
England that ventures on such a bold stroke as the
holding of a honey fair proper; and it may not be
assuming too much if we predict that ere long the sup-
porters of similar institutions will follow the example
thus set them, and that we shall witness the chief centres
of England holding their annual honey fairs or auctions,
and the people able to lay in a store of pure good honey.
One most important fact we cannot help mentioning,
and this is the thorough desire of the committee of the
Lincolnshire Bee-keepers' Association to carry out what
is set forth in the rides of the Association, aid more
particularly in Rule 9, which says the committee shall
endeavour to carry out the objects by certain specified
methods, including ' the most profitable disposal of bee
produce.' Thus, at the Grantham honey fair members
of the Association had the opportunity of disposing of
any surplus heney at a good price, free of commission,
and those members who were slow to avail themselves
of the privilege have only themselves to blame if they
have honey on hand. Nearly three-quarters of a ton of
honey was on sale, the average price being lie/, per lb.
for extracted, and Ifirf. for comb. Owing to the great
failure of the honey harvest in Scotland this year, our
English bee-keepers have had a grand opportunity of
selling to good advantage. Surely, with so many bene-
fits offered by our County Association, a growing increase
of members should follow. The whole arrangement s_f or
the fair were (under the direction of the lion, secretary)
ably carried out by Mr. Bolton, Mr. Brett, Mr. Eaton,
Mr. 1 low right, Mr. Barnes, and other members of the
committee. — Grantham J' urnal.

CALEDONIAN APIABIAN ASSOCIATION.
Minutes of closing meeting of se-sion 1881 of the
Caledonian Apiarian Society was held in M'Inr.es'
Temperance Hotel, Glasgow, on "Wednesday, UHh
October. Present: Kev. John Irving, Innellan ; Bailie
Lauchland, Kilmarnock: W. W. Young, Berth; J.
Johnson, J. Muii head, Stirling; AVm. Sword, Falkirk;
David Woods, Benmore; J. D. Hutchinson and B.J.
Bennett, Olasgow. The Secretary lead the circular
calling the meeting, and, on the motion of the Bev. Mr.
Irving, Bailie Lauchland was called to the chair ; after
which the minutes of last meeting were read and con-
firmed; and letters of apology from Mr. J. Anderson
and others. The financial statement was then given,
showing that the Stirling Show had given a clear gain
to the Society of 16/. Se. Mr. Bennett remarked that
one reason of the success at Stirling, even in such a very
bad year, was the willingness of the mi rubers in lending
every aid in their power to make the show a success ;
special thanks being due to Mr. Johnstone, of Touch, an
able bee-keeper and a most willing worker. The medals
and prize-money were distributed to the successful com-
petitor.-. There was a discussion with regard to Affiliated
Societies, and the Bev. Mr. Irving said that the inks
were quite complete as regards the finance — 1«. for
every member, till twenty, and 6s. for every additional
twenty members, or part thereof; but in eddition for
the year 1882, they should have the use of the I'm'

Tent, by paying the cost of carriage and any damage
that it might sustain. Mr. Bennett said a plan if the
tent, and instructions how to erect it, should be sent with
it, so that there could be no difficulty in the matter.
Mr. Baitt's letter was again brought up, as to having- one
society for all Scotland ;, but, after discussion, the
1 Secretary was instructed to refer him to the rules for
affiliation, as all that could be' entertained meantime.
The Secretary laid on the table a pile of correspondence,
and complained of the many frivolous pretexts upon
which the members and non-members wrote to him. all
of which demanded a reply. On the motion of Mr.
Wood, seconded by Bev. Mr. Irving, it was resolved that
the society express its strong disapprobation of such
correspondence, and desires to remind members that Mr.
Bennett has given his services gratuitously for the last
seven yeais to the society for love to the favourites the
bees, and to see and improve the cottagers of the country,
and, therefore, the members should be careful uot to make
his duties too irksome by giving him unnecessary
trouble. On the motion of Mr. Young a vote of thanks
was given to Bailie Lauchland for presiding, and the
meeting terminated.

Cmxesponaente.

THE PROMOTION OF COTTAGE APIARIES.—
VALUABLE PRIZES OFFERED.

On my return to England, after an absence of
nearly three years, I observe with pleasure the
advance which has been made in the science and
practice of bee-keeping. Great improvements
apparently have been effected in the construction
of hives, sections, and other apparatus. The use
of comb-foundation has greatly increased the pro-
ductive capabilities of the apiary. The practice of
improved systems of bee-keeping has been encouraged,
far and wide throughout the country, by the estab-
lishment of local associations.

In one particular direction, however, it seems that
little advance has been made. There is a want of care-
fully ascertained and properly authenticated inform-
ation astothe cost and profit of bee-keeping generally,
and also comparatively between the various systems
now used. This scantiness of information must
hinder, to a great extent, the adoption of improved
systems by the Cottager class. The poor man must
be convinced that it will pay before he will be per-
suaded to make even the most economically planned
outlay which any modern sj'stem involves. He
looks with suspicion upon all the costly apparatus
with which the apiaries of most of our scientific
bee-keepers are stocked at the present day. He
knows that lie cannot afford to invest as much him-
self, and for whatever capital he is invited to em
bark, be wants to be assured that he will receive a
proportional return. The truth is that the question
of profit does not really enter into the calculations
of a large proportion of our amateur bee-keepers.
Most of them accept bee-keeping as an amusement,
and if needs be arc willing to pay a little for it, or
at all events are quite content if all expenses are
cleared. Many bee-keepers are extravagant, and
even where they are not, a great deal of money must
necessarily be spent by those who test the inventions
of others, or work out their own. There arc a few

November 1, 1881.1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

143

who keep bees for profit whose commercial success
is apparent to their neighbours ; but these very
often do a great deal of business in the sale of
swarms, and in the supply of hives and bee-keepers'
requisites. It would be difficult, therefore, to ascer-
tain how much of their profit is due to the sale of the
staple product of an apiary, — the honey. Hence there
is a lack of that sort of information which would be
most likely to induce the poor man to become a bee-
keeper after the improved systems of the present day.
Knowing as we do what poor men might do with
bees, many of us, I am sure, regret that the number
of cottagers' apiaries is not very largely increased.
13/. a-year is not an extravagant estimate of the sum
which a poor man might clear by his bees. A regular
5«. per week might be thus added to the incomes of
thousands and tens of thousands of the cottager class.

The remedy which suggests itself to my mind is
that, if possible, the leading bee-keepers of the pre-
sent day should be induced to keep in their apiaries
a separate economic department. That some system
should be established by which the cost and profit
of bee-keeping would be ascertained, and the results
made known to the public.

As a definite proposal is more to the purpose than
a mere suggestion, I beg leave to offer to the Com-
mittee of the British Bee-keepers' Association 10/.,
to be awarded in prizes according to a scheme of
which the following should be the main features: —

(1.) That competition shall be open to any person
residing in Great Britain, and to any system or
combination of sj-stems.

(2.) That prizes of 6/., 3/., and 1/., be given to the
competitors whose ' Poor man's separate economic
department' shall be judged (respectively 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd) to have been the best managed, most
efficieut and profitable during the period of com-
petition (savfrom March 1st, 1882, to September 30th,
1883.)

(3.) That accurate accounts be kept from the
date of entry to the time of judging. These
accounts are to lie open to the Committee of the
British Bee-keepers' Association or their agent at
any time, and they are to be delivered, signed as
correct, to the judges with any remarks that the
exhibitor may please to add. The accounts to be
published in the British Bee Journal after the award
of prizes, and also, if thought desirable, at the close
of the first season of the competition.

(4.) That the apiary of each exhibitor be visited
during the summer of 1883 by an expert appointed
by the British Bee-keepers' Association Committee,
who shall make a full report in writing to the
judges. His travelling expenses to be divided
among the competitors.

(5.) That the judges take into account the results
as shown by the balance-sheet, and also the report
of the expert.

I cannot but think that such a competition, as
this which I have attempted to sketch out, might do
much to promote the increase of apiculture. Not
only should we have definite information to give to
our inquiring poorer neighbours, but there would
be an opportunity of applying a crucial test to the
comparative merits of the various systems of bee-

keeping. The most approved frame-hives would pro-
bably be brought into competition with the storied
Stewarton, or the less costly skep. The various
methods of gathering the honey harvest would be
tested. We should learn whether extracted honey
or sections paid the best. Many a wrinkle would
probably be gained from the statistics which such a
competition would afford.

In conclusion, I would only express my regret
that the sum offered for prizes seems insufficient to
ensure a large competition, and I cordially invite
any brother bee-keepers to join with me so as to
increase the amount offered in prizes, and make it
sufficient to repay the trouble which the competition
would entail. I would further suggest that special
efforts should be made to induce as many as possible
of our most reliable authorities on bee-keeping to
join in the competition ; and if possible that it should,
annually or biennially, form a part of the British
Bee-keepers' Association's prize programme. — Henry
Bligii, The Vicarage, New Hampton, Oct. 1881.

PREVENTING WINTER DRAUGHTS.
I am every day more pleased with my draught-
preventer. I find it answers best with the trian-
gular passages for the outer entrance, as the
draught is then more easily carried along the
groove to either end ; and with a side wind, when
attached to the outside of a hive, what portion of
the draught that does not drive right through the
groove will pass out at one of the front entrances,
as represented thus : —

Entrance-front.

Hive.

Whereas, were the apparatus turned with the
double entrance inwards, some portion of a side
draught would go into the hive. When used
inside an outer case, it does not matter so much
which way the apparatus is placed so that it is set
close to the floor-board and tight between the hive
and outside wall. I am making them a little
wider now so as to give a single flight-hole opposite
the point of the triangle, as represented above.

As an instance of its efficiency, a strong colony
confined to seven combs stood facing the bleak
north-east wind we have lately experienced. It
had a space of £ inch under the back division-board,
and when I lifted the carpet covering the vacant
space at the rear, the draught (coming right
through the hive) drove up with such force as to
make it quite uncomfortable to myself; but after I
put a preventer at the front, there was not enough
to move a hair. I often noticed last spring, on
removing the cushions from hives in my bee-house,
that the ticking covering the frames rose and fell
as the wind blew, although the entrances were only
one inch wide at the time.

Speaking of bee-houses reminds me that you do
not advocate their use, but mine has proved a
great success, and I wish all my hives were

144

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

arranged in such. I can manipulate in all weathers,
and with a high wind there is no danger of the
quilts blowing about, or brood getting chilled. —
Saml. Simmins, Oct. lith, 1881.

HIVE STANDS.
Heiewith I send you sketch of a stand which
some of your renders may think worth a trial.
Five, that were fixed about a month since, stood
the gale of the 14th iust. without the slightest
mishap. The slates may be fixed nearly, or quite,
half their depth in the ground. The distance of
the slates apart, and the length of the pieces of
wood on top, to be regulated by the size of hive

A. — R.cofing slates fixed in the ground.

B. — Pieces of wood, 3 inches wide and 1 inch thick.

intended to be used. If saw-cuts arc made about
\ inch deep, on the under sides of the two pieces of
wood, where they meet the edges of the slates, it
will keep them in their places, and the stand is
complete as per sketch. Two more pieces of wood
fixed each side of the hive, and fastened to the
pieces resting on the slates, form an improvement
preventing the hive shifting on its stand.

The advantages claimed for this stand are sim-
plicity in its formation, cheapness and durability,
is vermin proof (so far as its height will allow), and
encumbers very little ground.

Might not the space between the slates be utilised
for plants requiring a little shelter during winter ?
Mine are fixed with the spaces looking north and
south. Why not fix pieces of glass at the ends for
further protection'? — I purpose giving it a trial,

I must not omit to mention that I place a piece
of slate or tile, flat under the edge of each slate, in
the ground to prevent the possibility of the slates
sinking. — J. R. W. Hole, Stoke Edith, Herefordshire.

WHITE SAUK FROM CALIFORNIA.

I beg to enclose sample of our white sage seed ;
this produces our fine white honey, coming into
bloom about the 1st of June. It lasts about six
weeks; it is bi-annual ; it grows mostly on light,
sandy soil ; its bloom is luxurious, its stem being
from six to ten feet in length. If you can find
time to sow, or think it worth while, 1 should like
to bear of your success per British /a. Journal. 1
feel a greal interest in your apiculturul labours.
1 have two apiaries ; in all about 100 colonies.
Our crop this year is nearly a failure. I take a
great interest in all your concerns, and hope that
the dear old land may not lie behind their fan ured
brethren in the Far West.

If I was within reach of London I should have a
trial of some of your things now in use. I wish I
could send you a sample of our white sage honey,
but it is not moveable. — R. Strathearx, Santa
Pmda. Ventura co., California, Sejit. \(U/i, 1881.

P. S. — I should have liked one of your ' spray
diffusers ; ' is there anything I can send for it 1
— R. S.

[We have sent a spray diffuser by sample packet post,
and hope it will arrive safely; the seed Eent is full
payment, only our esteemed friend forgot to say when
it should lie sown. — Ed.]

NEW ZEALAND FLAX.

Having received the July number of the British
Bee Journal, I see you would like a few seeds of
the New Zealand flax to try. I herewith send you
a packet hoping it will arrive safely. From my
experience, I don't think much of it, as the honey,
or rather sweet water, which comes from it is of a
pungent flavour, and its being so watery is apt to
give the bees dysentery. It is certainly a wonderful
plant, as it produces a great quantity of this honey-
water, but to rely on it for good honey would not
do at all. It likes a marshy soil, as it takes up a
great quantity of water.

The white clover, as at home, is the great honey -
producer. It continues in flower about two months.
Next conies the pohutakawa and mastrce, which
grows as large as the evergreen oak, and is very
much like it in appearance. There are also a great
many forest trees which flower, and are honey-
producers. The ti tree is a flowering shrub, which
the bees are very fond of, and as it is a spring
flowerer, it does a great deal of good. It is very
pretty, and would look quite nice in any garden ;
but here it is thought nothing of because one finds
it everywhere. When in flower, it looks as if it
were covered with snow : the blossoms arc so
thick.

I hope you are all well at Southall, and that you
are still prospering in your undertaking of teaching
the public. Please remember me to all friends,
and with all good wishes for your future success,
believe me, — Frank C. Parish, Dublin Street,
Ponsonby, Auckland, Sept. 8, 1881.

VINEGAR FOR STINGS.

I think it may be useful to your readers to know
that vinegar, 'as a cure for bee-stings,' is successful
if people will only give it a fair trial. Your corre-
spondent, ' M. W.' questions this ; but, if instead id'
first applying sweet oil, be (or she) had applied vine-
gar, it would have had a fair chance, and I have no
doubt, (he result would have been different. I have
used it for years, to young and old, under all circum-
stances, and the universal testimony is, that it gives
relief from pain almost immediately, and no swelling
results afterwards. I have had an old man stung
in three and lour places at once, on the check, eye-
lids, and eyebrows, and yet, after the application of
viMcgar, the pain was removed, and scarcely any
swelKnk followed, even when there were two stings

November 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

145

extracted from one eyelid. I might multiply cases,
but one more shall suffice. I was driving a hive of
bees the other night in the house, and my son in-
advertently putting his hand upon a bee got stung.
I extracted the sting, and he rubbed the place
with vinegar, and was surprised at the effect, and
had no pain or swelling afterwards. I recommend
vinegar because it is in common use, and always
handy, and, is indeed, in all cases that have come
under my notice a true and simple remedy. —
J. 11. J. *

A FRENCH CURE FOR BEE STINGS.

The following statement has lately appeared in
a French medical journal : — ' A dog was severely
stung on the nose by bees, and his master watched
to see what he would do. The animal went straight
to a bed of leeks, and rubbed his nose violently
among them, and the result was a complete cure,
without any swelling or inflammation.5

The remedy has since been tried on human
beings with complete success, and as leeks can be
grown in every cottage garden, it is within the
reach of all. — A Hampshire Lady.

CURE FOR STINGS.

I have found the following plan to answer most
satisfactorily, — First, find the place, which is gener-
ally pretty easy to do, pull out the sting at once
(killing the bee, not out of revenge, but mercy, to
save a lingering death), then, with a barrel-key or
level cut quill, or anything with a small hollow
end, press for a few seconds on the stung part ; this
forces out the poison, which is quite visible;
wiping it off, apply strong spirits of hartshorn, and
in most cases no evil results will follow.

As regards gloves while manipulating, like my
neighbour Mr. Adams, I use none, having been told
by that gentleman that ' the more you get stung
the less you feel it,' which I have found to be
correct; so that, while at first my hands would
swell sadly when the above remedy was not at
hand ; now I never apply anything when stung, the
pain is of very short duration, and the swelling
almost nil. As regards bee-veils, I do not like
Dr. Pine's, the wire shines too much by sunshine
or candle-light. — J. B.

STING LESS BEES.

That a variety of stingless bees does exist we
may see from the following extract from the
Journal of Mr. D'Albertis, the Italian traveller.
From his account of it, it does not appear to be of
much value, as, although the honey is prized by
the natives, the taste and smell were very offensive
to him. — J. W. Measures, Long Sutton.

lb- .-peaks of it thus: — 'Since leaving the reed-fringed
banks we have been no longer annoyed at night by
guats. But if we anchor near the shore during the day,
we are attacked by a bee, which is quite as vicious. It
is small, black, and voracious. There is nothing on
board, hard, dry, soft, or liquid, which it. spares. Meat,
biscuits, fruit : nothing cornea amiss to this tormenting:

insect. It has no sting, and therefore causes no pain;
but it is noxious in other ways, fur it settles on the

hands, on the face, in the eyes, in tl ars, in the beard,

and in the hair. If out- attempts to remove it witli
one's Augers, it leaves a most unpleasant odour. It
comes nil board when the sun lias hardly risen, and only
leaves us nt sunset. To get rid of it is impossible; it
exists iu such numbers that though we kill thousands,
there is no apparent, diminution. On land it lives in old
trees, and produces a blackish honey, and wax of a red
colour, which is used by the natives in various ways.' —
D'Albertis' New Guinea.

STINGLESS BEES.

If there exist a race of good honey-gathering bees
without stings or other equally hurtful weapons, is
it at all probable that they could be still amongst
the things undiscovered 1 However, for C. Feilding's
information I send the inclosed clipping from the
Gentleman's Magazine for June 1758, perhaps some
of your subscribers may have correspondents in
Essequibo, S. America, who might inquire into the
matter. — S. Ormsby, Kilkeel, co. Down, Ireland.

' The bees that are most common here are black, as is
also their wax, nor are they furnished with stings. The
ii.-li are taken in the rivulets or creeks, by mixing the
juices of certain herbs or roots with the waters, and
thereby depriving them of their sensibility for a certain
time, without rendering them at all less tit for food.'

STING POISON.

One of your correspondents some time ago stated
that bee-poison is not acid. I to-day amused my-
self by collecting some of their poison on blue
litmus paper, which at once showed its extreme
acidity beyond doubt. — W. Bassano, Haden Cross,
Old III!/, Sej)t. 30.

PROLIFICNESS OF SYRIAN BEES.— THE
SEASON AT ULVERSTON.

The Syrian queen I had from you threw off five
swarms in June, and the first swarm threw a virgin
on the 18th July, and a second on the 30th. The
queens of the old stocks got purely mated ; also
one other ; the remainder all met with black drones,
and the bees are not marked at all. We had rain
almost every day in June, July, and first three
weeks in August. The last week was very fine,
also nearly the whole of September.

It certainly has been the worst year for honey on
record. I have had only seven swarms from my
eighteen Standard stocks this season. I have
boiled 18 stones of sugar, this autumn, to keep
them alive over the winter. I bad a few sections
filled in May, otherwise there would have been
none. — W. Butler, 18th October, VI 'rerston.

OBSERVATORY II IVES.

Would you be good enough, in your next issue
of the Journal, to give a few hints on the making
of an Observatory hive I If the letter-press were
accompanied by illustrations, such as you favour

140

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

us with, it would be doubly useful, aud easy for
an amateur to work to. — Merci, Derby, Oct. 21st,
1881.

[We shall he glad to give ample directions for the
manufacture of an Observatory hive if our correspondent
will indicate the kind required. Is it to be for exhibition
purposes, or for quiet study at home, in the garden, or
in the house ? a single-framed unicomb, or with several
frames in the same plane, or with several frames, side by
side, as in an ordinary hive ? If for exhibition purposes
the features required should be named, i.e., whether
facilities for seeing the bees, is to take precedence of a
hive to receive ordinary frames. In many prize schedules
prizes have been offered for the Observatory that shall
give the most complete view of the bees and their queen,
hut generally the awards have been given to the Obser-
vatory containing the largest number of bees without
regard to the terms of the competition in respect of the
hive. We mention this because a hive can be made (has
been made and exhibited) iu which it is not possible for
a single bee to bide, except in the entrance way. "When
full of bees it takes first prize, but when only partly
occupied it is ' nowhere,' though the conditions, as to the
hive, remain the same. There is, however, the draw-
hack to its general use, that its frames are specialities,
and not interchangeable with others in ordinary hives.
This, too. raises another point, viz., what kind and size
of frame shall the proposed hive be made to contain ? —
Ed.]

ABBOTT'S ROBBER TRAP.
I think you may like to know that I have found
your ' Robber Trap,' as described in the August
number of the British Bee Journal, a great success.
The th-ee hives (2 inch) in which I placed six
lots of cottagers' condemned bees, were furiously
attacked by my old stocks, and I was told that the j
feeding occasioned this. I tried only putting on
the bottles at night, but still the fighting continued ;
1 was then advised to try Mr. Cheshire's porches,
and they certainly had some effect, but one hive
was still beset, so [ then had one of your traps
made, and the relief to the besieged bees was very
great, and I saw them carrying in loads of pollen
successfully through the holes. 1 then had another
fitted to a hive which wasps were inclined to attack,
and I am sure it is of use, though they slip in
through the holes sometimes. The straight part of
the (rap is of plain zinc, not perforated, but I fancy
there is quite ventilation enough down the perfor-
ated tube (of which the mouth is an inch wide)
and through the two holes. — A Hampshire Ladt.

DIVIDERS— WOOD, GLASS, OR METAL]

Can you or any of your readers inform me, from
experience, what kind of divider is best for using
between sections ; whether thin wood, zinc, tin, or
glass ( I used nunc this year, and the result was
uneven combs that would not pack. I intended
using thin wood dividers, but have been informed
that the bees often stick the combs to them, — is
this the case 3 Were it not for this, I should
prefer wood, as being warmer, and less likely to
prevent the bees taking well to the sections. It
might be worth while for your readers to compare
notes by sending the results to the Journal.—
A Subscriber, Oct. 20th, 1881.

[We shall be very glad to have the question reported

on by those who have tried the various kinds of dividers.
We say there is nothing like wood, but perhaps a currier
would say, there's nothing like leather. — Ed.]

THRASHING BEES TO DEATH.—
UNNEIGHBOURLY CONDUCT.

Permit me to give you a short account of the
difficulties and disappointments I have experienced
with Ligurian bees.

On the 15th May, 1880, I purchased a Li-
gurian queen, and caged her alone on a brood-
comb, as directed by Messrs. Neighbour <fc Sons.
I did not unite the bees which came with her, but,
not wishing to destroy them, I shook them out on
some flowering bushes at some distance from
the hives, and left them to live or die. In the
second week of September, after removing supers,
I found, to my great disappointment, that the
combs were heavily charged with foul brood.
For the sake of experiment, I went to work at
once, according to the directions given in a num-
ber of your Journal. I put the bees into an
old skep, broke up and burned the combs, scraped
the hive and frames free of all particles of wax and
propolis, smoked with sulphur fumes, washed first
with a solution of carbolic acid, then with warm
water and dried. I then fixed a few pieces of
clean comb and comb-foundation and replaced the
bees, feeding them for a fortnight, in the following
March 1 found the hive very weak in bees, but
clean and healthy, and about the middle of July
they sent off a fine swarm.

This summer in Scotland has been dull and cold,
and my bees did not do well, four stocks only
yielding -13 lbs. of super honey.

But to return to the Ligurians — At the end of
August they were very strong, but without a
sufficient store of honey for the winter. I began at
once to feed them, and soon they were in a condi-
tion all that I could desire.

A friend and neighbour of mine, living within a
few hundred yards, had among his sixteen hives one
very weak, which had kept its drones and was
either queenless or with a virgin queen ; he had
placed it on a feeding-board which he had allowed
to overflow ; he had, however, removed the feeder,
and washed and cleaned all round the hive. A few
days after this occurred, en Sunday the 25th Sept.,
a very fine and warm day, he sent me word that
my Ligurians had attacked the hive in question in
tremendous force. I was unable to go to him at
the time, but sent him word to remove the hive to
a shed or some out-of-the-way place, and use a
little turpentine to keep off the bees from the next
hive. He did not, however, adopt my advice, and
next morning, when I was able to visit him, I
beheld a sickening sight ; for several yards round
the ground was thickly covered witli slaughtered
bees, apparently all Ligurians. According to his
own words, he would not ' desecrate ' the Sabbath by
removing the hive, as 1 had advised ; but, leaving
it as a trap to entice the invaders, he and his son
had each taken a handful of twigs and lashed them
for a couple of hours till all were slain ! advising

November 1, 1881.1

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

147

me, for the good of the neighbourhood, to put
away my Ligurians.

Perhaps you may kindly publish this communi-
cation and give some advice on the subject, and
say whether you think I should give up the
Ligurians. I am sure you will think with me that
my neighbour is greatly to blame, and deserves the
title of ' John the Bee-killer,' which I have bestowed
upon him. It will be very long before I forget the
'Bee massacre' of Oakfield. — Valerian Novitzkv.

[The 'neighbour,' in his crass ignorance, doubtless
believed the robbing was the natural effect of proximity
to Ligurians, and endeavoured to prevent it in the future
by the stamping-out process. It is a grave pity when
adjacent bee-keepers cannot be neighbourly, and worse
still when one takes up a line of conduct that might
provoke reprisals. The cause of the robbing was the
spilling of the syrup, which would, at this season, induce
bees of any race to try to obtain a share, and the bee-
killers have shown most pitiable stupidity all round.—
Ed.]

THE HONEY HARVEST IN THE NORTH OF
SCOTLAND.

Last month I promised to give you my results,
and here they are — viz., best hive, -U. 5s. hd.;
worst hive, a good swarm and 13s. worth of surplus
honey from old hive. Before I began to read the
British Bee Journal we counted thus — 'one top
swarm, 70 lbs. ; one second swarm, 40 lbs. ; old
stock, GO lbs. ; run-honey from old hive and top
swarm, 56 lbs. — sold at 7 J. per lb., total. 1/. 12.s. 8 I.'
Matters, however, have begun to mend : the
quantity of honey required to fill a hive with comb
is now much better understood.

To make a long story short, let me say that I
am well pleased with the season's work, and many
others hold the same idea. On the 30th September
and 1st October I had the pleasure of seeing a
good many bee-keepers and their results. I will
give you just one specimen, which will illustrate
more than a dozen others. At Delrachie, Inveravon
(Mr. John Grant's), a ten bar-frame hive was
introduced. Very few — indeed I don't think any
one in the immediate district — had ever seen a hive
with frames, and fewer still would believe that bees
would stay and work in it. ' John,' however, got
a hive and some copies of the Bee Journal : direc-
tions were also given how to hive the bees, etc., &c.
At last a swarm was obtained, and safely put into
the ' timmer skep,' when lo, and behold ! they
began to work ! A number of home-made supers
were placed on the top of the frames — I should
rather say on the quilt; the latter was not removed,
only a ' slit ' cut across. The only protection the
supers had (except the roof) was a bit of news-
paper. Well, what was the result? 18 lbs. of
splendid super honey, three frames about 14 lbs.;
left plenty of honey for bees, indeed another frame
might have been taken.

In the same district I found that several hives
had perished during summer. Now I would ask,
if a beginner can prod ice the quantity of honey
mentioned above, what would have been the results
in the hands of an expert?' What is wanted to

make the district one of the best in the north of
Scotland is just the British Bee Journal in the
hands of every bee-keeper, and I have no doubt
that will take placo next.

On the evening of 30th September I gave a
lecture to a private company of bee-keepers, at
Castleton, of Inveravon, and illustrated my subject
with the Diagrams published by the British Bee-
keepers' Association. Several parties had to walk
home six miles after twelve o'clock midnight. By
this you will see there was some interest created in
the district. — A. Cockburx, Honey Grove, Cairnie-
Ly- Keith, jSf.B.

BEES AS RETRIEVERS OF HONEY.

I send you the following particulars of a some-
whit disagreeable incident which happened to me
lately, and which may prove a serviceable caution
to some of your readers : — On the evening of the
13th inst., I took six bars from an Italian bar-frame
hive, which consisted of eighteen bars, measuring
1 ft. G in. in length, and 1 ft. in depth, and 1
calculated that those six bars would contain at
least 30 lbs. of honey, probably more. As it was
getting somewhat dark by the time I had finished
operations, I put the ba~s I had taken in a shed
about fifty yards from the bees, placed them
close up together and covered them with an old
veil.

When I went up the next morning at 10.30 to
bring it away, there was not a drop of honey in any
of the combs : the bees had unsealed every cell,
and the comb was perfectly dry. I have seen
bees clear up honey, which has dropped about
during manipulation, etc., iu a very short time, but
had no idea they were so expeditious about their
work as they proved to bo in this case. — Herbert
A. Kent, 33 New Street, Salisbury.

A BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION WANTED

AT CORK.

I have had no practical experience in bee-keeping, but.
I have been studying the matter for sone time to try
and find out the bast method to begin with, so as to
avoid mistakes. I have read many books, and got all
the catalogues possible of bee-furniture, and naturally I
am somewhat in a fog on some points. What I want to
get at is a system that is moderately simple and cheap,
as I should uot object to make a little coin, while also
having the enjoyment of looking after the bees.

I also labour under the disadvantage of knowing no
bee-keepers who work on modern scientific principles. I
live within seven miles of Cork, and for miles round
very few keep bees at all, and those that do invariably
use the old skep, and do not even make use of a super of
any sort. I only know of one cottager wdio keeps bees,
and hardly any farmers, large or small, have them : the
only persons who keerp them being a very small number
of the country gentry, or business men close to towns,
and they all use the skep. I have heard of two who use
bar-frame hives. This just shows how much we want a
Bee-keepers' Association in co. Cork. I would be glad
to join one if started, as it would be a great help to have
a show to go and see bee-furniture, &c.

The Italian System of Bee-heepiny (Giotto Ulivi's),
by A. J. Danyell, strikes me as very simple. His hives

14:8

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[November 1, 1881.

(have they ever been tried in England?) are on the
plan of 'close-ended frames' that you allude to in your
remarks on ' Wintering Bees in a Half-inch Swarm-box.'
It appsars to have some objections, but 1 suppose pro-
polisation is inseparable from any sort of close-ended
frame-hive, and the difficulty would be increased if
applied to the bar-framed hives in general use. It
appears to have too much door room for winter and
robbing. As far as I can see, the universal opinion is in
favour of a much larger hive than Giotto Ulivi's, which
is only 9 x 8 in the frame ; but then the size of the hive
can be extended unlimitedly, so that a large hive could
be had, as seems to be much desired at present by some,
by increasing the number of frames instead of enlarging
the frames. But of course the Italian frames could be
made of any size wished for. These hives appear cheap
and easily made; swarming under command; and arti-
ficial swarms easily made ; and they admit of any system
of bee-keeping being applied to them.

Down south here it is difficult enough to get cottagers
to take to even skeps unless you give them skeps and
hives as a present, let alone to get them to adopt an
improved method, as what would be thought very little
trouble elsewhere is considered 'too much trouble' by
them here. So 1 would have very little hope of seeing
bar-frame hives used here as they are by cottagers in
England, but. would be very glad to find my supposition
proved erroneous.

The 'Combination hive' seems lo me the best plan.
By having two entrances for the bees, one at the end so
as to have the frames across the door; and if you want
to make the frames at right angles to the door without
changing the frames, all you have got to do is to open
the other door at t he side, and close the one at the end.
This idea struck me when reading your criticism of the
' Griffin Hive.' Has the latter hive been ever in use, fi t
I imagine it would be hard to open up in the spring, as
it would be all propolised at the close ends? Very
presumptuous of a beginner to be offering opinions.—
J /G.. S.j Passage West, Co. Curl;..

SPARROWS AND BEES.— TWO QUEENS
IN A HIVE.

I must congratulate you upon having such well-
behaved 'common sparrows' in your neighbourhood.
I should consider them very uncommon if they only
condescended to feed their young with my drones ;
but the truth is they have completely paralysed
several of my stocks, and nil through the summer
those hives without shades to the entrance have
si ilh red greatly. During the last few weeks (since
the drones have disappeared) I have been compelled
to make special protectors; for the wretched things
would stand upon the alighting-boards, ami take
the bees with impunity, and all those which dropped
with heavy loads of pollen have been the first to
perish.

I have at this time a stock of Ligurians with two
queens in perfect harmony, one is getting old. I
bought it three years ago, and deprived it (if wings,
— the ('titer is a fine young one. 1 first discovered,
the fact nearly three weeks ago, and have had an
interview with both this day. J am wintering on
three combs only (Standard size), and there is even

now considerable patches of brood, the hive being,

of course, crammed with bees.- T. V. Ward, Church
Emise, Highgate, Oct. 7, L881.

[It is quite evident that there are sparrows and
sparrows. — Ed.]

WHICH IS THE BEST HIVE?— OPEN AM)
CLOSE-ENDED FRAMES.

I am glad to see that this question is being rentilated,
as it is one that I have been anxiously studying
theoretically, as I have had no practical experience of
bee-keeping; but when I make a start next year, I want
to begin with the best practical working hive. It
strikes me, as far as I can judge from reading up many
works on bees and catalogues of hives, that there is a
general tendency to treat bees in a very artificial way,
and in opposition to their natural habits. I have had a
considerable experience in the keeping of dogs, poultry,
pigeons, and birds, and my object (and I may add that
of any fanciers that I am acquainted with) has been
always to go as near to nature in their treatment as
possible. Now it strikes me that bee-keepers force their
bees in many cases unnecessarily, when by going closer
to nature they would probably succeed better. Why
compel bees to use open-ended frames, wdieu close-ended
ones are what they wish for, and, I might say, make a
light for, when those that are open-ended are forced on
them? If the close-ended frames have been so veiy
successful in Italy, why should they not be in England,
especially in their improved form, as made by Messrs.
Abbott? Taking the ' Griffin hive 'as a sample of the
open-ended frames, and its complicated method of con-'
version into close-ended for winter use, it appears
monstrously absurd when compared to what I might
designate the simplicity of an ' improved Giotto hive.'
Then 1 s e it repeatedly stated that there is frequently
considerable trouble in getting bees to go up and work
in supers, and that often nothing will induce them to go
up, and that various dodges have to be used to get them
to go at all. If bees have such an instinctive dislike to
go up into supers, why compel them? Why not let
them fill section-frames in the body of the hive with the
ue of the queen-excluder? I imagine that a good deal
of the different, opinions as to so many divergent ideas
on the formation of hives is that each inventor thinks
his own bantling the best, and he won't recognise any
improvement in other people's hives, as he did not
originate it. One says, 'Use supers on top;' another
says, ' Don't, do anything of the sort, but use collateral
hives;' another says, ■ You're both wrong: the longitu-
dinal is the best;' somebody else says, 'that all are
good,' and also advises ' nadiring, perhaps;' and then the
' bee - farming ' revolutionist says everybody is an
ignoramus but himself. So wdiat is a poor beginner to
do? Willi Mr. Cowan's book as a guide, a beginner, if
he has any bent for live stock pursuits especially, should
get along fairly; but. I think the words, 'close-ended
Frames,' are not even mentioned or alluded to in any
way by him, and he also says nothing about the Stewartoil
hive, at which I felt much disappointed.

It is plain that to be successful in bee-keeping one
must go in for modern and improved methods, as
exemplified in .Mr. Cowan's work; and as bar-frames are
now to be used, tic next point to lie settled is whether
to adopt open or close-ended. In using open-ended
frames, apiarists go to a great deal of trouble preparing
their hives for winter use. which, it seems plain, would
be much belter done by the bees themselves if given
clcse-suded frames. As you very trulj say, it appears

to hi' • st raining at the gnat and swallowing the camel.'

It looks like trying to tit round pegs into square holes.

My letter is rather long, but it is simply looking for
information, and not as offering opinions, which would
be rather presumptuous for a beginner. — A Coue Bee-

KEEI'EB.

HONEY YIELD oh IRELAND.

Seeing in the June Journal thai Messrs. White gol in
thirty tons of honey, for the season, so I made some

November ], 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

140

inquiries of them, as I did not know whether this weight
was the sum total of the hives as received, or the
contents as cut out, but found it was the weight of
extracted (?) honey shipped by them. On reading the
calculation for Ireland, based on this thirty tons in the
Journal for July, I intended writing to you on the
matter, but, somehow or other, and being busy with my
own bees at the time, I forgot to do so, but was reminded
by Mr. T. B. Browne (p. 124) doubting Messrs. White's
statement. Messrs. White's statement I fully believe to
be perfectly correct ; but then they say, as quoted, ' from
the country round here.' Now situated as Waterford
is, ' the country round here ' would embrace three
counties, from which Messrs. White received honey. I,
of course, don't mean to say that Messrs. White received
all the hone}' from the three counties, but the calculation
of the honey yield for Ireland, based on the thirty tons
received by Messrs. White, is, irrespective of the area of
the counties and bee -flora, probably much in error
owing to the assumption that this thirty tons came from
the county of Waterford only.* Messrs. White only
received about ten tons this year, but from this it is no!
to be inferred that the season was a bad one, but is
owing to the condition in which the hives were when
the honey glut commenced. I think the system of
management is most wretched ; the bees are put into
miserably made straw hives, which are, almost without
exception, placed on rough stone flags, they hive every
cast or squib till any good stock is ruined, and when the
great smotheration day comes, the heaviest and young-
est hives are usually selected. I have known a man
winter ( P ) ten and thirteen stocks, and find himself
with about one alive at the commencement of summer.
Any stocks alive at the end of spring, instead of
being strong and ready for work, merely drag out an
existence.

One of the great drawbacks to straw hives, or any
hive in which the combs are not moveable, is that the
combs get filled up with honey, the number of eggs
laid, therefore, becomes restricted, and there is no late
breeding, consequently no yoimg bees go into winter
quarters; and when the spring arrives, and breeding
should commence rapidly, the hive is short-handed, and
the bees all old.

The person who iuquires about African bees, I can't
now refer to his name, will have all he requires in
Ligurians, as, practically, they have no stings. I only
introduced two queens this year, and, from all I see of
them, they are the bees to have. I never think of
smoking a hive of them before opening it, and when you
lift off the quilt, instead of a set of demons dashing at
you, they crouch on the combs. Not the least advantage
of Ligurians is the ease with which you can find the
queen. — Francis Jones, Mullinabro', 'Waterford.

* Messrs. White's statement, dated from the city of Water-
ford, was, ' We got in thirty tons of honey last season from
the country round here,' and that we understand to mean
round the city of Waterford, and our calculation was fairly
based on the assumption that the county of Waterford pro-
duced that amount. It cannot be supposed that Messrs.
White received all the honey that the county of Waterford
produced, or much more from the distant surounding local-
ities than the balance left in Waterford, which would tend
to show that we were not very wide in our figures, though
the estimate was only roughly formed. A wide margin
was also given on the fact that we treated Waterford as one
of thirty-two counties, and multiplied its ' assumed ' product
by that number, but, in reality, the county of Waterford
contains less than a forty-fourth of the acreage of Ireland,
so that, bad we given Waterford credit for producing only
twenty-two instead of thirty tons, the same totals would
have worked out. The county of Waterford contains
461,533 acres, and twenty-two tons contain 49,280 lbs., or
an average of about a ninth of a pound (or rather less than
two ounces) of honey per acre. — Ed.

<B t\m$ front % gibes.

Cairnie-by-Keith. — (An echo with the right " ring "
in it. — Ed.) 'I shall print a new list of hives shortly,
and shall give you a free advertisement. I alwaj s hold
that your Journal must circulate by hundreds where
at present only a stray copy is to be found.' —
A. ('(iriniunN.

Wigtownshire, Whithorn district. — 'It might be inter-
esting to some of your readers to know what season we
have had in this the most southern district in Scotland.
We opened with a very backward spring, in fact, well
into the first of June, before anything like business
commenced in the way of swarming, of which we had
more than sufficient during the remainder of the season.
During the first two weeks in July we had a continuous
fall of rain, which retarded our hives greatly, and, 1 may
say, the remainder of that month was the only working
season we had here ; since that time I have not ex-
perienced a more backward season. I may state, that
since the season commenced for putting hives " down," as
the term goes here, a friend of mine (Mr. Nairn) an 1
I have managed to rescue from the hands of the
destroyers no less than sixty-nine hives; those, we
expect, will remunerate us for our struggle in rescuing
them from the sulphur-pits. The best of those sixty-
nine did not exceed 20 lbs., and some had no honey at
all. Over all, in my own, I can only calculate about one-
third per hive of what I had last season. I have reduced
my hives by uniting from thirty-nine to fourteen, and
which I calculate will make them pretty strong. I need
not trouble you with all details farther than I have a
great dread of the coming winter for our cottagers, as
they cannot see the force of giving alms to poor bees.' — ■
Jambs McL, wrick.

Section Dividers. — Apropos to section dividers : — mv
man tried a piece of thin millboard for the purpose, anil
the bees devoured it ! — H. G. W. A.

Garelochhead, Sept. 20. — 'A very bad year this; onlv
two swarms out of six hives (bar-frame), I will have
about 20 lbs. of honey from two of them ; but
thanks to ten days in September, many of them have
frames sealed to the very bottom. We have very little
but heather here, and the extractor for that has not been
invented yet. Will Mr. Baitt kindly give us his ex-
perience, we have not heard from him for a long time ■
he belongs to the heather district?' — Bobert Hamiltox'

Wantage, Sept. 30th, 1681. — 'I consider that bee-
keeping, without the Journal, quite a farce, and your
Leaflets contain an amount of information, easy to under-
stand, and which would take a cottager a lifetime to find
out without them. I presume that Christinas will be
the time to become a subscriber to the Journal? —
W. Silver, Jun., Wantage, Berks.

[Many thanks for the good opinion expressed. Sub-
scribers may commence at any time of the year, but
every new subscriber would find it wisely economical
to date his subscription at least six months back, and get
the Nos. of Journal for that period, — they teem with
valuable information. — Ed.]

Triny, Oct. :ird, 1881. — 'I have banished straw skeps
from my apiary and mean to stick to bar-frame hives,
with, perhaps, a look at a Stewarton. Not being sure
but that I may have to leave here for two years next
autumn, I have now reduced my stocks to three, in bar-
frame hives, Abbott's Standard size, the frames of which,
I think, are rather too large. The honey yield this year
has been exceptionally good ; the small amount I obtained
last year I could tell you the weight of, but this I cannot,
but know I obtained more than GOlbs. from one hive,
which is now strong enough to stand the winter, and
stiD has some brood comb. I read in the British Bee

150

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[Novomber 1, 1881.

Journal ' The Visit to Mr. Cowan's Apiary,' with
pleasure. I before had Mr. Cowan's book, and think it
is excellent and cheap. We are now having beautiful
weather, but the bees nave not worked much (there being
not much food, — no heather) since the end of July ; but
when they did work the yield was something: enormous.
About six or seven weeks ago, a friend and myself
drove fifteen condemned stocks for some cottagers, at a
village near, but could not persuade them to get bar-
frame hives, although some were very pleased to know
that honey might be taken without destroying the bees.

1 have also transferred five or six hives for friends.' —
G. H. B.

Hereford, Oct. 8th, 1881.-^4 Pleasant Report.—' You
may remember I consulted you as to the supposed loss of
two Italian queens in introducing. I am glad to be able
to report that I was mistaken, for although there were a
fortnight after introduction no eggs or brood in either
hive, 1 noticed bees carrying in pollen; I then fed them
gently for a time, and now I find in one hive young
Ligurians hatching, and in the other plenty of eggs. My
report for this year is favourable, — from ten hives I have
taken .'S;"S0 lbs. of honey, all in sections, well sealed and
flat ; my greatest yield from one hive was 75 lbs. net,
this, by the way, was my only hive with frames across
the entrance, and plenty of room at the back, I began
with sections at the back and raised them ; I was obliged
to put on two tiers of sections during the height of the
season. By the way, I believe no bee-keeper need have
any difficulty in selling his honey, only it must be in
marketable shape, either in nice sections, or in 1 or

2 lb. glass jars. I send my honey to a grocer, and he
sells it on commission, it goes "like hot cakes.'" — A.
Watkins.

Downie, N.B., Oct. 8th, 1881.— 'Allow me to say, with
modesty, that your article "Wintering Bees," in this
month's Journal, is most valuable and instructive, and
so well timed. I regret to say that in some cases, in our
quarter, my friends and myself were unable to intercept
the brimstone pit, with all its inhumanity. Some good
swarms were saved and united. I have heard of no good
harvest of honey among bee-keepers, except to those who
used comb-foundation, and managed their bees in accord-
ance with the rules of advanced bee-keeping. My Italians
(a grand stock now) are into warm winter quarters, and
all other stocks strong. I have made up seven bar-frame
hives stocked with bees, and sent a copy of Mr. Cowan's
book for each hive, supers, &c, in aid of a bazaar to
clear off some, debt on our church. The spread of these
hives over the country side may be a means of dissemi-
nating just the knowledge you are living and labouring
to diffuse and circulate.' — John Main.

($ircrics anb ^{qplits.

Query No. 4:27. — 1. Ripening honey. — I am think-
ing of using next season an extractor fur taking honey,
and I read from your paper that hone}' may be taken at
intervals of a few days if allowed to ripen afterwards,
what process has it to go through to ripen so as to be
able to put it up in jars at once? — 2. Feeding late. — I
have driven, a few months since, a hive of bees which
I did not feed at the time 1 replaced in bar-frame hive,
and now, beginning of September, I find they have built
six good combs ; but they contain no honey," I have now
fed them with 7 lbs. (?) of syrup, placing it in the empty
combs at each end at intervals of a few bars, and it is
wonderful where it all goes to, do they take it out and
replace the syrup in the centre combs? ' The four centre
combs are well covered with bees, so consider them strong
enough in population without joining any more to them ;
but when shall I know when to give, over feeding, 1

intend closing the four centre combs with dummies when
done feeding, will there be an}' fear of giving too much
sugar, and producing dysentery, shall I feed till they will
not take any more ? I must mention I have two hives in
this condition, both strong in bees, but require feeding.
3. Do Beet: change the nature of syrup f — Does the
syrup, when taken by the bees, remain syrup, or does it
undergo any change when stowed away by them in the
centre combs, as I suppose they have taken it to ? — Gilly-
floweu.

Reply to Query No. 427. — 1. Our Correspondent will
find all necessary particulars on page 26 of June Journal
this year. — 2. The bees generally remove syrup that is
given to them in combs, and store it where they think
best, if they think at all, for the time being, and that is
generally where it will have the best chance of being
evaporated. Though appearing to have been written at
the beginning of September, this communication only
arrived here on the 24th October. Had the feeding
been done at the time named the bees would have
had it sealed over, and there would have been no
danger; but we cannot advise syrup feeding' in quan-
tity now. It will be better to give sugar cake when
required. Two square feet of sealed comb is about
the requisite quantity, and no more need be given. —
3. Undoubtedly the syrup undergoes a change in the
stomachs of the bees, because it comes into contact
with their acid secretions, and is thus in degree con-
verted to grape sugar. — Ed.]

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.

J. P. — Killing Drones. — Bees killing drones is not
always a sign that they have a queen, as the
slaughter may be a consequence of impending starv-
ation; but when, in autumn, the bees allow their
drones to live it may bo fairly taken as an indication
of queenlessness.

Honey' Jars. — The cheap hone}' jars are apparently
too cheap to be worth much care in making, hence
they vary sometimes in size. There is little doubt
but that honey varies in density, and hence it is
impossible to have jars that, will always hold ex-
actly any specified weight. Under such circumstances
it is wiser to pack and sell at so much per jar,
and not at per reputed pound. The same principle,
holds in respect of ' 1 and 2-lb. sections ; ' these are
of ' reputed ' weights, but whether the bees will put
the full quantity in them depends not upon the will
of the bee-keeper, but upon exigencies of bee-life
beyond his control.

Fern Hill Lane, Gouowen, Oswestry'. — No mime
having been sent with your communication we have
been unable to reply, and hope you have not been
scolding us very badly.

A Converted Brimstone Match. — On the first page
of the August number of Journal our correspondent,
who forgot to give his name, will find an explanation on
the question of wooden-based foundation that we hope
will be satisfactory.

II. Briggs. — Aro Address. — Moving four hives thirty
yards, and having nearly two months to do it in, ought,
not to be a very difficult task. Ilalf-a-yard per day
would do it, advancing in line; but if there are in-
superable barriers to that style of progress, carry them
half-a-mile away for a time, and bring them home to
tlio varil when the garden has been converted to the
proposed timber storr.

G. II. — We have been informed that the notice of the
deatli of Signoi Lucis Paglia, which had been for-
warded to us, and which appeared in our October
number, did not refer to the Italian queen raiser but
to his father.

THE

[No. 104. Vol. IX.]

DECEMBER, 1881.

[Published Monthly.]

(lEbitarid, tlotkcs, #c.

DECEMBER.

Tlie past month has been so exceptionally
fine and open that even the most dilatory have
had opportunity for ' fetching up ' arrears, and
making all snug and comfortable for the bees.
The sharp snap of frost that commenced on the
5th ( >ctober was a serious caution, and had it
continued would have placed many in difficul-
ties ; it caught us, with three dozen Ligurian
queens on the way, and but for the happy
change we might have had reason to rue the
late venture. Now, however, all but two are
safe in various communities. Of these last one
took flight, and was probably chilled, for she
did not return, and the other died in the cage,
having been introduced to a supposed queenless
hive, but into which a hybrid queen from a
nucleus stock had introduced herself. The 5th
of November being a specially fine day here, a
swarm of hybrid Syrians ventured out, and
clustered on the roof of another hive ; and so
unusual an occurrence gave us no little concern,
as we had no idea as to which hive they came
from. Happy thought ! We captured the
queen and clipped her wing, and with a flour-
dredger turned the bees into millers ; and in a
few moments, when they had discovered her
absence, they went home, and the queen was
soon given back to them. This proceeding
may be worth remembering by others should
a similar difficulty occur with them. AVe are
glad to know of the increased auxiet}' evinced
for the formation of County Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciations, and of the increasing strength of those
already in existence. Among the latest proposals
are those of Leicestershire, Sussex, Derbyshire,
and Somerset ; and in the latter case a circular
appeal has been sent out by Messrs. Charles Tite,
of Fair View, Yeovil, and T, C. Head, of Somer-
ton, accompanied by a fly-leaf, to be returned
with answers to a few questions, and (it is hoped)
a promise of membership and subscription. The
questions are, — 'Do you think the proposed

Society would do good ? How many persons
could you induce to become members ? Please
send their names and addresses. Would a
visit from the Expert and Bee Tent be accept-
able at your Flower Show ? Would you
volunteer to give a simple lecture on "Bees
and Bee-keeping " in any village near your
home?' We think the idea a good one, and
capable of considerable enlargement. As an
instance, we would suggest that an endeavour
be made to acquire such statistics as would be
important to back any attempt that may pre-
sently be made to obtain Government recogni-
tion of bee-culture as a national industry. All
who are intelligently engaged in the pursuit
are alive to its importance, and to the necessity
for a better understanding of its principles and
practice by the people at large ; and it is toler-
ably certain, from many facts that have come
to our knowledge, and are generally patent,
that the present voluntary system of education
cannot always continue. On another page will
be found an able letter from Mr. Jesse Garratt,
of Hockenden, Kent, which will better explain
the position we are alluding to than any words
of our own. There is a point beyond which
enthusiasm is suicidal ; and although many have
the heart and will to make great sacrifices for
the benefit of their fellow-men, it cannot be
right to expect or permit them to injure them-
selves permanently for the benefit of the nation,
and so there wTill come a time when, as Mr.
Garratt jmts it, the question will have to be
asked, ' What next ? ' and in reply we would
suggest an appeal to the Government for aid.
We will not presume to a knowledge of the best
means of help, or the direction in which it
should be applied ; but we feel that it would be
useless to ask for assistance of the kind hinted
at, without being prepared with reliable statis-
tics in support of our case. We would, there-
fore, urge upon the committees of the many
associations formed and forming, the necessity
for, as far as practicable, a census of the apia-
rian strength of the United Kingdom. The
present winter would be a good time for doing

152

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[December 1, 1881.

this ; it would be a great step in advance, and
though perhaps not perfect, it would at least
be reliable, as far as it went. As a means of
accomplishing this, and to be -prepared for
the contemplated appeals to Government, we
would suggest that circulars be issued to all
known bee-keepers asking them for returns
that, when consolidated, would furnish grounds
upon which to found the suggested application.
If thought well, the duty could be entrusted to
members of associations only ; they may be
relied on as having the interest of bee culture
at heart ; they would be active in the work,
and their returns could fairly be depended on;
and though this method would leave out un-
associated counties, the returns, as far as the}'
went, would be reliable and valuable. The
county committees could map out the districts
for each willing member to investigate, and the
classification could be done by the British, and
the information obtained should, we think, be
as comprehensive as possible. For instance,
there might be asked, — 1. The name, address,
and condition of the bee-keeper. 2. Is he a
member of an association ; and if so, Avhich ?
3. Number of stocks possessed on January 1,
1882, in frame, hive, and in skeps, and their
estimated value. 4. Number of stocks de-
stroyed to obtain honey in past year. 5. Weight
of honey so taken. 6. Weight of honey ex-
tracted from frame hives. 7. Weight of super
comb honey taken ; from skeps ; from frame
hives. 8. Value of honey taken. 9. Number
of swarms sold to dealers. 10. Number of
swarms sold to non-dealers. 11. Value of
swarms so sold. 12. Value of swarms retained.
13. Weight of wax obtained. 14. Weight of
comb-foundation used in past year. And many
other questions might be put.

Associations might also make returns of the
number of their members, their funds, and the
disposition of them in prizes, lectures, &c. ;
and dealers and others might be induced to
furnish statistics of value.

If only two or three thousand returns coidd be
obtained, they would be worth the trouble and
cost involved, as they woidd be a basis for cal-
culation, and their value would still be great,
even though all the questions were not answered.
To carry out the idea, we feel assured the public
press would be helpful, and all papers in which
bees and bee-keeping are discussed would join
us in doing the very utmost to bring it to a
successful issue.

BEE-KEEPING IN LINCOLNSHIRE.

Through a promise made to the respected
Hon. Sec. of the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers'
Association at their great show at Louth of
late, we made a short excursion into that

county on the 5th ult., and so thoroughly
enjoyed the trip, the kind hospitality we
received, the pleasure an insight into the
effect of that Association's labours afforded,
and the happiness of meeting many old friends
and making new ones, that we cannot refrain
from inflicting upon our readers a short narra-
tive of the events as they occurred.

Though the day of our starting was most fine
here (nine miles west of London), we found on
arrival at Grantham that it had been raining
in torrents the whole of the day, showing the
little value of individual experience in regard
to the general condition of the weather. The
evening was most agreeably spent at Mr.
Godfrey's cheerful fireside ; and the pleasant
addition of Messrs. Yates, Plowright, and
Boulton to the circle, all old friends, staunch
supporters of the present system of bee-culture,
and exemplars of its successful pursuit, gave
zest to the enjoyment, and left no opportunity
for lull through want of a subject for conversa-
tion. How lightly passed the hours ! Cheerful
companions, a feeling of being ' at home,' a
pleasant subject, or rather a series of them, to
talk about, the opinions of good worthy men
to listen to, a bright fire, brilliant light, a
smiling glass, and a fragrant cigar ; and who
can wonder that we heard the clock strike one
twice in succession before we dreamed it was
Sunday morning ?

Sunday took us to the magnificent old church,
whose tall sjjire reminded us of a companion
attraction in the town unceremoniously linked
with it in the following doggrel inscribed over
the door of a public-house : —

' Stop, traveller, this wondrous sign explore,
And say when thou hast viewed it o'er and o'er,
Now, Grantham, now two rarities are thine,
A lofty steeple and a living sign.'

The ' living sign ' was a stock of bees in
former days ; but now, alas ! it is what was
written of it with prophetic pen many years
ago, evidently by one who did not love bees,
and was not enthusiastic in their praise, viz. : —
' Oh, Grantham ! ye have little to boast,
For it's only a bee-hive stuck on a post.'

Only a bee-hive now, for the bees havo
departed, apparently not caring to be ' stuck
on a post ' when so many well-managed apiaries
are ' living signs ' and give proof of the advance
made in their culture in Lincolnshire.

Monday morning at nine found us, a party
of four, including Messrs. Godfrey, Yates, and
Boulton, en route for Sleaford, about twenty
miles from Grantham, and on the way we were
joined by Mr. T. F. llippon, of Ancaster,
whose bees did remarkably well this year,
gaining him second and fourth prizes at Louth
for the best glasses of run-houcy. At Sleaford

December 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

153

we visited the apiary of Mr. Jackson, also a
prize taker, and having overhauled his bees,
discussed their merits, and partaken of his kind
hospitality, we mounted the trap that had been
sent from Evedon, a few miles off, and drove
to the farm of Mr. R. Thorpe, where a pleasant
surprise awaited us. Mr. Thorpe, thanks to
' the Association,' has been fully imbued with
the advantages of bee-keeping in connexion
with farming, and has taken to the business
most enthusiastically. On page 93 will be
found a communication from him showing his
ardour, and the surprise his activity created
amongst the cottagers in the neighbourhood ;
and it was exceedingly pleasant to find, not-
withstanding a few errors easy of remedy, that
he had gone into the work so intelligently and
well. His apiary is wholly composed of con-
demned, but now rescued, bees, thirty -six
stocks in all, and excepting a very few late
arrivals that had been fed into wintering con-
dition, all are in frame-hives, comfortably
packed in chaff with chaff cushions (or pillows)
on the frames, and all (after a little uniting,
which was most easy on this particular occa-
sion*) are likely to prosper. They are princi-
pally arranged under long sheds of lean-to
form, the only demerit being that they are too
close together, an evil which will be remedied
prior to the busy spring season. These thirty-
six stocks have been rescued from death by
Mr. Thorpe. They are on four, five, and six,
or more frames well stored and sealed. Most
of them have hatched out batches of brood.
All have queens, and when a little more dis-
persed, there is every probability of their doing
well, and amply repaying their spirited owner.
Mr. Thorpe fully intends to cultivate crops,
that, in addition to yielding a paying return in
fruit and seeds, will afford pasture for the bees,
and enable them to give a second return in
honey and swarms, and he will be very glad to
receive suggestions on the subject from any
one. An eminent Lincolnshire authority, in
reply to questions, has told him, 'It will not
answer to sow any of the usual bee-flower seeds
in a wood. They are all plants that delight in
a free exposure to sun and air, and bees do not
visit woods so much as open fields. 2. A field
of poor clay if ploughed in the winter, and a
surface of fine "weathered" soil produced,
would grow borage, phacelia, limnanthes, and

* The doctrine that similarity of odour predisposes
bees to friendliness was particularly notable here. The
bees had all been fed with the same kind of syrup, and
-in many instances had to begin work with it on comb-
foundation of one make in new hives, and there is
reasonable ground for supposing that under those con-
ditions they all gave forth a similar odour. At any
rate, we judged this would be the case, and., sans
ceremonie, bees were united off-hand, and there was no
fighting.

so on ; but mignonette grows best in a deep
rich open soil. -"3. Hedge-rows, if ploughed
and harrowed, woidd, perhaps, do best for
mignonette and sweet alyssum. 4. Arabis for
early spring does not like clay ; if heaps of
broken bricks, stones, and road scrapings be
thrown up in any odd corners, Arabis mixed
with wall -flowers may be stuck over them.
5. There is a growing demand for bee-flowers,
and a sale might be found for assortments by
advertising.' Mr. Thorpe now wants to know
' What woidd be the best sorts to sow, and the
most suitable soil, and time of sowing?' and
we trust our gardening readers will be good
enough to give him and others the full benefit
of their experience in this Journal.

We spent nearly four hours with the Evedon
bees, and while busy as bee-masters can be
when at their favourite pursuit, our labours
were pleasantly interrupted by the arrival of
the Hon. M. Finch Hat ton, a vice-president of
the Lincolnshire Agricultural Association, who
had been previously interested in Mr. Thorpe's
venture; and on leaving he undertook to do all
in his power to get the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers'
Association affiliated in some way with the
Agricultural : and this we understand has been
done. After four hours' work an hour was
spent in discussing the merits of Lincolnshire
poultry and mutton, and a profusion of other
delicacies with which his horn of plenty was
stored, Mr. Thorpe ordered horses, and bidding
adieu to Evedon and its hospitality, drove to
the residence of Mr. J. Brown, of Swineshead,
Avhere, after a sumptuous tea, three or four
hours' bee talk, not, perhaps, especially enter-
taining to the ladies, varied by plenty of good
cheer, our party retired to bed.

Next morning, after breakfasting on the
best of everything, we visited our host's apiary,
and all present were delighted with the admir-
able condition of his bees. There were twenty-
four stocks in splendid condition in frame-hives
of one pattern, well packed and quilted, the
only drawback being, as in Mr. Thorpe's apiary,
the hives were too near to each other ; but this
will be remedied in time. While collecting
the bees, Mr. Brown erected a long brick build-
ing with tiled roof and open front resting on
pillars that, as a precaution, had been painted
of different colours, and gradually filled it,
saving about seventy stocks that otherwise
woidd have been brimstoned. Mr. Brown is a
large fruit-grower, having many acres of
orchard, and one object in keeping the bees
is the fertdization of blossoms, with the hope
also that the hees will repay the cost of their
maintenance. Considering that he grows
flowers by the acre for the Manchester
market, and crocus-bulbs by the rood for the
London trade, there is little doubt but that

154

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[December 1, 1881.

the bees will do something more than simply
keep themselves.

The indefatigable Mr. Godfrey was not
present at this inspection of hives. He had
stayed for the night with Mr. E. B. Horner, of
Swineshead, one of the party at Mr. Brown's,
and, having scented other bee-keepers, was too
busy making converts, and enlisting the sym-
pathies of some of the members of the Agri-
cultural Society's committee to note the lapse
of time ; but he turned np in readiness for a
visit to Belvoir Castle Grounds in the after-
noon.

In the meantime, having tendered our best
thanks to Mr. Brown for the very hospitable
reception accorded to u,s, Mr. Thorpe drove us
to the railway station, and in little more than
an hour we were back in Grantham. Here we
Were at home in a few minutes with our fellow-
traveller, Mr. Yates, a veritable descendant of
Tubal Cain, and a 'man of might,' who fashions
ploughshares by the hundred, and harnesses
the ploughs to steam-engines, the blasts of
whose breath woidd take the wind from the
sails of his great trade ancestor could he but
see the mighty machines at work. Yet with
the weight of many thousand pounds worth of
working machinery, and its responsibilities on
his mind, our friend can never resist an offered
opportunity for saving the lives of working
bees, and striving to teach their would-be
destroyers a better way of management. And
his method is one calcidated to do an immense
deal of good, for his lessons are conducted at
the homes of the people whose bees he has
rescued. He buys them, and feeds them up on
their own stands, and thus forces upon their
former owners a knowledge of the value of
what they would otherwise have destroyed, and
we trust that many who read these lines will
adopt his method of reforming bee-icides. In
this way, Mr. Yates has quite a catalogue of
bee-stations, having nearly sixty stocks scattered
over the county, about a dozen of which are
within his own curtilage. Like all enthusiasts,
Mr. Yates has tried nearly every kind of hives
and appliances that have been manufactured ;
and perhaps some day he will give the world a
few of his ideas as to which he most approves.
All his bees in the home apiary are in first-
class order, and Avell apart in the large garden ;
one stock of Ligurians from a queen obtained
from Mr. Baldwin, Bromley, being specially ex-
cellent in strength, beauty, and gentleness, and
the bees would win at any show where these
qualities are in demand. After wishing health
and prosperity to Mr. Yates, his wife, and
family, in Rip Van Winkle fashion, he packed
us off in his carriage to Belvoir with orders to
return at H p.m. to discuss the merits of some
grouse he had ' potted ' on the Yorkshire moors

some weeks before ; and, business preventing
his joining us, Mr. Plowright took his place.
Mr. Boulton took the reins, and, with Mr.
Godfrey safely returned, away we went to the
Castle.

Here in grounds of great natural beauty,
with Mr. Ingram for our guide, we wandered
as in a paradise, discoursing of bee-flowers, of
which Mr. Ingram is making special study,
and will one day report upon for the benefit of
all who love the bee. A few years since
Belvoir gardens lacked one essential to perfect
beauty — running water; but now it has a
natural supply discovered by aid of divining-
rods (laugh who may, Mr. Ingram assured us
of the fact) on high ground, where its presence
was not suspected, but where with little digging
it burst forth, and now trickles pleasantly
down the hillside over rocky falls that look
centuries old, and like the work of nature. So
interesting were the various objects that greeted
us, that huicheon-time was at hand too soon to
jnerniit examination of the bees, and the even-
ing being cold, they were not visited except by
Mr. Roberts, of Belvoir, who gave a favourable
report.

At luncheon we were joined by Dr. Emmer-
son and Mr. Ball, of Leicestershire, whose
object was to gain information as to the best
means of establishing an Association for that
county, within whose borders we then were.
As a matter of course, that important feature
was the chief topic, and when ' homing ' time
arrived, it was evident that a Leicestershire
Association was a foregone conclusion, and the
hope was generally expressed that Messrs. R.
and G. Symington, though unable to keep bees
under present circumstances, would give their
county the benefit of their large experience.
The shades of evening warning us that it was
time to depart, we returned by the way we
came, light of heart, and wondering what next
would happen to show the extending' interest
awakened in behalf of our favourite pursuit.

Eight o'clock found us ready to ' make
game' of the grouse now claiming attention,
and under the direction of our returned com-
panion, and host of the evening, they were
thoroughly appreciated even to the very back-
bone, when the duties of the day being over,
and (individually) our allotted time being
nearly spent, our party broke up amid many
kindly exjiressions of regard that have laid the
foundation of pleasant reminiscences,

Wednesday morning, our visit nearly at an
end, but our good friend Godfrey's apiary un-
explored. There is an old saying, too often
true, that 'the shoemaker goes worst shod,'
and considering (ho immense voluntary labour
Mr. Godfrey imposes on himself for the com-
mon weal, a slip-shod apiary in his keeping

December 1, 1881.]

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

155

would not have been a surprise ; but instead,
we found the whole of his stocks in first-rate
condition, and one especially "worthy of men-
tion, for the reason that it had been a source of
pleasure and instruction to very many inquiring
friends, and was still in excellent condition in
all respects. It was in an Abbott's Observatory
hive, of the pattern now being described in the
Journal, and those who are anxious to initiate
their neighbours into the moveable - comb
system of bee-culture cannot do better than
make such a hive, and keep it in use, as, on
the Combination - hive principle, it can be
worked so as to exhibit the movements of the
bees at any time without opening it, and in
almost perfect security. In Mr. Godfrey's
garden, it stands in the open on a grass plat,
but it woidd be better if placed so that the bees
entered the hive through a boarded fence or
screen, as the bees (if not as gentle as they
should be) wordd be less likely to resent inter-
ference.

But the time came as it always will, when
even the best of friends must part ; and with
every feeling of regard for, and a grateful
sense of the many kindnesses received from
our old and new friends, we bade farewell to
Grantham, only regretting that Messrs. Des-
borough, Brett, and Sells, who were to have
been of our party, had been prevented joining
us, and that we were unable to accept the invi-
tation of Dr. Russell and Dr. Carline, of
Lincoln, to visit their apiaries.

HOW TO MAKE A FIRST-CLASS
OBSERVATORY HIVE.

' Merci,' in reply to our note on p. 146, says,
' My primary object (in asking for directions
for making an Observatory hive) was study at
home, though if that and exhibition can be
combined, as I gather from your remarks it
can, so much the better. I should say, there-
fore, one adapted for several frames side by
side (certainly not in the same plane), and to
receive ordinary frames. The kind of frame is
Abbott's broad-shouldered Woodbury shape,
14A by 9 being the inside measurement of my
hives. I had thought of making the hive
proper of mahogany, and putting it in a painted
case to protect it. A word of advice as to
whether mahogany or some other wood is most
suited would also be esteemed a favour.'

As regards the wood of which to make such
a hive, the taste of the intending maker must
be allowed play, as almost any kind of wood
will answer the purpose. Mahogany and pitch-
pine look handsome when French-polished or
varnished, and being hard are less liable to
injury by dint or rub, but with this exception

ordinary sound pine or yellow deal will do.
Soft pine would be best for the floor of the
hive, as being of a spongy nature, it is not so
cold as the harder woods, and will be more
comfortable for the bees. The' kind of hive
demanded is in the nature of that for which
the first prize was awarded, and a highlj'
eulogistic official report rendered, by the judges
at South Kensington Show in 1879 — see p. 197,
Vol. YU.British Bee Journal; and the only point
in which we shall fail in fulfilling the actual
requirements is in respect of the frames, which,
when in use in the observatory, must be de-
nuded of the broad-shouldered ends which
render them so useful and valuable in ordinary
hives. The illustration shows the hive minus the

Kg. 1.

glass crown-board (?) ; but as it is intended to
be put in a case, we shall, in our description,
dispense with the legs, as they can be added at
pleasure.

First, then, to get a piece of wood of the
kind determined on, about five feet long and an
inch and a quarter square, and cut into it two
grooves, along the whole length. These are
to receive the plate- glass walls of the hive,
and must therefore be of sufficient width to
admit them — say a quarter
to three eighths of an inch,
and they should be not less
than a quarter of an inch
deep, running down the
centre of the two sides in
which they are made.
Now with a plane take
off the angle to the dotted
line

_nj

%

at the corner of Fig. 2.

2, and cut the
piece into four equal lengths to form the
corner posts of the hive. To fix them in posi-
tion, four pieces of wood will now be required,
to form the base, c c . These should be an inch
thick, if great neatness is aimed at, so as to be
stout enough to receive nails or screws from
the inner side, which will prevent defacement
of their exterior. Two of these pieces to form
the sides of the base should be thirty inches in

156

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[December 1, 1881.

length, exactly, and, say, four inches wide, cut-
perfectly square at their ends,* and close, fair,
and flush with each end, one of the corner-
posts is to be screwed as at c, with three two-
and-a-quarter'inch screws,t care being taken
that the grooves are in position to receive the
glass, which will be insured if corner a be kept
inward. The two sides being thus far complete,
we would cut two pieces of board of the thick-
ness the glass is to be,+ and of the length to fit
the grooves, and would slide them in to re-
present the glass side -walls, and keep the
corner-posts steady. The front and back now
require to be adjusted, and bearing in mind
that the side-walls are to be exactly 14i inches
apart, that the grooves in the corner-posts are
of the thickness of the glass of which we are
uncertain, we would cut two pieces of board to
represent the glass walls of the front and back,
and fit them till they fill the grooves, and keep
the side-walls at the exact distance apart
desired — viz., 14| inches. This accomplished,
we would tie or brace the parts together
temporarily, while the bases at front and back
are fixed in their places by screwing at the
corners, as was done with the side pieces. The
skeleton of the hive will now be formed, and
the four boards reduced to 8J inches wide may
be sent as models for the glass-cutter to work
by, while preparation is being made for putting
in the hive floor. This, as we have said, had
better be of soft pine, and to hide the ends of
the boards the whole should be let in level with
the top of c c. (Supposing inch pine to be
selected, it will be necessary to screw fillets
(strips) of wood about f inch thick, and, say,
two inches wide all round the inner side of c c,
one inch (or the exact thickness of the pine-
boards) from the top of c c, to form ledges on
which the floor may be laid and fixed. In
cutting the boards for this purpose, they should

* Joiners -would mitre the corners of the base tog-ether
for the sake of appearance, in which case. the pieces
would have to he longer, and the ends cut at an angle of
45° ; but amateurs will scarcely attempt to make such
' joinery ' in this case.

+ In making the holes for the screws, care must be
taken to bore far enough, but not through the side
pieces; if not far enough, turning home the screw will
burst out the wood (if it be a hard kind), which will be
worse than screw or nail marks on the outside. But
perhaps many will not, care to save appearances in this
respect, in which case screws countersunk into the wood
may he used from the outside, screwing into the corner-
posts or through them for longer screws maj' be used
without detriment.

X It would be well in the first instance to inquire as to
the thickness the glass obtainable will lie. as it is not
always easy to get it of special gauge, unless at con-
siderably heightened cost. Odd pieces large enough
for the purpose can often be obtained from the waste
crate at low prices. Hence it will be advisable, if
possible, to select the glass first, and proceed ; with the
thickness in view.

first be laid across the hive base, touching the
front and back pair of corner-posts, and should
be carefully marked off on the inner under-
side, and fitted down on to the fillets above
described ; then when pushed close to the
corner-posts it will be easy to mark the shape
of the posts on the corners of the boards, and
to cut them to fit, leaving a right-angled gap
in the centre of the floor space, which it will
be quite easy to fill up. In fixing the floor-
boards, it will greatly strengthen the whole
fabric if the screws are driven diagonally
through their ends, or edges, into the base
pieces, which will render the work almost
solid. Two strips of wood an eighth of an inch
thick, and of the same kind as the base pieces
and corner-posts are made of, and an inch and
three quarters wide, rounded on one edge to
form a bead, should be fitted along the top of
the sides of the base to cover the joints and
the screw heads, the beaded side being outside
and even with the faces of c c. On these the
side glass-walls will rest, which will make
them a height of eight inches and three eighths
above the level of the floor-board. Two other
pieces of similar width to the foregoing, and a
quarter of an inch thick, will be required for
the front and back, which will raise the glass
walls an eighth of an inch higher than the side
walls, which will be all right.

The entrance will now
demand attention, and it
can be cut out of the solid
under the front piece last
mentioned, or a portion
of the front piece itself
can be cut away, the
latter being the simpler
method. The glass when
it comes from the glass-
cutter's will not have a
smooth edge, and as the
side -pieces (the walls)
will have to serve as run-
ners for the frames, it
will be necessary to grind
them smooth, which may
be done by rubbing them
on a flat doorstep in a
mixture of sharp sand
and water. They should
be a little rounded on the top, the angle8
being ground away. When the glasses are in
position, the tops of the corner-posts should be
cut off even with the glasses at the back, and
the outside corners diagonally opposite a may
be taken off with a spoke-shave or chisel, from
nothing at the base c to the dotted line in fig. J.
leaving the tops of the corner-posts as in tig. 3,
when the whole will appear in horizontal
section as in fig. 4, and will be ready for the

Fig. 3.

December 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

157

frames and crown-board (?) ; but as these will
require further illustration, their description

will bo deferred to another number. In the

meantime, anything not clear to our readers, if

they will notify us, we shall be happy to enlarge

upon it.

(To be continued.)

BRITISH BEE-KEEPEHS' ASSOCIATION.

A Committee Meeting was held at 105 Jermyn Street,
on Wednesday, November 16. There were present : Mr.
T. W. Cowan (in the Chair), Rev. E. Bartrum, Rev. G.
Ra-ynor, J. M. Hooker, II. Jonas, W. O'B. Gleimie (trea-
surer), and the Rev. H. R. Peel (hon. sec). The minutes
of the last meeting- were read and confirmed. The
balance-sheet for the month ending October 31st was
also read, showing a balance in hand of i\l. Is. Id. It
was resolved that a circular be sent to all those members
who were in arrear with their subscriptions.

Letters were read from Mr. Henderson, the librarian,
stating that a catalogue of the books had been made out,
and suggesting that arrangements should be made for
their circulation amongst the members by means of the
book post. It was resolved, ' That Mr. Henderson be
empowered to draw up rides for the management of the
library in accordance with his suggestions.' Votes of
thank's were passed to Mr. A. Neighbour and Mr. J. J.
Hunter for valuable donations of books to the library.

The Secretary presented the corrected copy of Modern
Bee-k^epmff, as revised by the Rev. G. Raynor and the
Chairman in accordance with the suggestions given by
the several members of the committee. It was resolved
that the revised work be adopted, and the Secretary do
make arrangements for the publication of the third edi-
tion. A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. R. R. God-
frey for the use of the woodcut ' Hiving under Difficul-
ties," and the Secretary was requested to solicit the use
of the same for the frontispiece to the third edition. On
the report from Mr. Jonas relating to the collection of
hives and bee-keeping appliances at the South Kensington
Museum, it was resolved, ' That Mr. Jonas be em-
powered to make the necessary arrangements for the
completion of the collection.'

The Chairman reported that the Executive Council of
the Brighton Health Congress had consented to grant
the Association space, free of charge, for the exhibition
of honey and bee-keeping appliances. The Secretary
was requested to communicate with several manufac-
turers and other members inviting them to assist the
Committee in forming such an exhibition. The offer
made by the Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, through the
British Bee Journal, to give 10/. as prizes for the pro-
motion of cottage apiaries, was considered ; and it was
resolved to invite the Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh to attend
the next Committee Meeting for the purpose of con-
sidering with him the best means to he adopted for the
purpose.

The Secretary presented a proof-sheet of the pro-
posed Schedule of Prizes for bees, hives, honey, Sec, to

he offered for competition at the Royal Agricultural
Show, to be held at Reading next year. It was resolved
to submit a similar schedule for the consideration of the
Council of the Bath and West of England Agricultural
Society, to be offered for competition at their annual
show, to be held at Cardiff during 1882.

The Library. — The librarian desires to mention, with no
slight degree of satisfaction, the result of his appeal for
Vol. I. of the British Bee Journal. Two members — Mr. J.
Walton, Honey Cott, Weston, Leamington, and Mr. F.
Bennett, Shifnal — have placed the desired volume at the
disposal of the Association. The offer of the former
having reached the librarian first, has been accepted,
and the book is now deposited in the library. To both of
these gentlemen the librarian desires, on behalf of the
Association, to tender his sincere thanks ; as also to the
donors of the following books : —

Mr. John Camaschella, Derby Villas, Forest Hill : —
Some numbers of the ' Bee-keeper ' and ' Bee-keeping.'
Mr. J. Hunter, Cranboum Street, Leicester Square: —
The A B C of Bee Culture. By A. I. Root.
Medina, 1879.
A Book for Bee-keepers. By Alfred Rus bridge. 1875.
Bee-keeping (Manuals for the Many). By J. H.
Payne. .M.'ird thousand.

The Practical Bee-keeper. By John Milton. 1851.
The New Bee-keeper's Text "Book. By A. J. King.
1878.
The Apiary. By Alfred Neighbour. 1878. '
A Manual "of Bee-keeping. By John Hunter. 1879.
Practical Bee-keeping. By Frank Cheshire. First
and second editions.
The Bee-keeper's Magazine. Vol. I. New York, 1873.

Rev. E. Bartrum, M.A., King Edward VI.'s School,
Berkhamsted : —

The Stewarton : The IRve of the Busy Man. By the
Rev. E. Bartrum. 1881.

A? the library now contains a large proportion of
the more recent English and American works on apicul-
ture, the Committee are desirous that it should be
made accessible to the members of the Association. They
have instructed the librarian to draw up rules which will
enable the members to avail themselves of the advan-
tages of the library. The librarian considers that the
best method of circulating the. books would be by the
aid of the book-post, and has accordingly drawn up the
following regulations : —

1. That the postage of the hooks from and to the
library be defrayed by the borrowing member.

2. That no book be retained longer than fourteen days.
•'!. That, in the event of the book being lost or

damaged while absent from the library, the borrowing
member engage to replace or repair it.

The librarian will be pleased to furnish information
as to the contents of the library. He also desires to
say that he would be much gratified by being favoured
with further donations of either old or recent books on
apiculture, in order that, bibliographically, the library
may lie rendered more complete. Communications to
be 'addressed to Mr. G. Henderson, Clarendon House,
Ealing, W.

.AIR. BLOW'S TOUR THROUGH WILTSHIRE.

The following is a summary of the Lectures delivered
at the various meetings during the Wiltshire tour by
Mr. T. B. Blow.

My object is to advocate the claims of the newly
formed Wiltshire Bee-Keepers' Association, and I will
just explain why various county Bee-Keepers' Associa-
tions have been established, and their - objects. A
centurv or two ago bees were very extensively kept in
this country, their honey being then used for many of

158

THE BRITISH BEE JOUBNAL.

[December 1, 1881.

the purposes for which sugar is now employed. Mead
in those days -was a very much more common drink than
at the present day. The wax was utilised for tapers,
candles, and many other purposes. "When sugar became
common and cheap, bee-culture fell into disuse, and iu
place of wax various mineral and vegetable substitutes
were found. So completely had bee-culture died out
that a deal of the honey that was used was imported
from various foreign countries. Now a number of gentle-
men who had the interest of their country at heart gave
attention to the matter, and came to the conclusion that
it was possible, not only to revive this industry, but
to reanimate it in a much better form ; thanks
principally to the efforts of American bee-farmers.
They contended that if the honey could be produced
here, it should be produced, and that money shoidd not
be sent out of the country for what was wasted here,
simply from lack of knowledge on the part of the bee-
keeper, and want of sufficient number of bees to collect it.
Here was a trade that had the advantages that no
other trade that I know of possesses, viz. no payment
for raw materials or labour, and yet it was neglected.
They saw what an opportunity was open for, 1. Bene-
fiting the country by increasing its wealth, for each
pound of honey collected adds to the income of the
nation ; 2. Benefiting the cottagers by increasing their
incomes, by imparting to them knowledge of advanced
bee-culture, and so enabling them to get a higher
price for their honey ; .'i. Benefiting the farmer, the
gardener, and the fruit-grower, for large numbers of
bees kept mean large crops of fruit ; 4. Benefiting the
bees themselves, by teaching their owners to spare their
lives, for no advanced bee-keeper is so foolish and
wasteful as to kill his bees. They therefore formed the
British Bee-keepers' Association, and I will read from
the report the avowed objects of that Association.
(Here the objects of the Association were read from the
report.)

1 have shown how the British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion was established, and its objects, and will now come
nearer home and speak of the newly formed Wiltshire
Bee-keepers' Association.

Your Iron, sec, Rev. W. E. Burkitt, seeing that so many
( Vmnty Associations were being formed, and rendering
so much good work, determined that Wilts should not be
behind, more especially as it was such a good county for
bee-keeping. He took steps to have the Bee Tent of the
British Bee-keepers' Association at llungerford in the
early part of the summer, and to have an exhibition of
bee-keeping appliances on show. And I must remark
that a more creditable collection 1 never saw out of
London, and it, too, the work of amateurs ; seeing this
was enough to show that Wilts would not be long behind,
having in it men of this stamp. The result was the for-
mation of the Wiltshire Bee-keepers' Association. Now
I want to show what the Association intends to do, and
why it deserves the support of even those who are not
bee-keepers. (Here Mr. Blow thoroughly explained the
work of the Association, and the many advantages it
offered to those who kept bees.) Now to those who do
not keep bees it is no mean advantage to know where
to be able to procure honey of the most desirable
quality, and to know also that the subscription money is
spent for the benefit of the country— a mild form of pro-
tection ; in fact, a kind of subsidy paid to enable English
bee-keepers to get knowledge how to raise their honey in
good form, and to be able to keep the foreign product out
of this country, a much better plan than that of late we
have heard so much of from the Fair Traders. This
keeping out .of the foreign honey deserves more attention
than is usually supposed. The annual imports of honey
amount to many thousands of pounds, and all this should
and could be produced here.

Now I trust that I have shown that there is plenty of
work in store for the Wiltshire Bee-Keepers' Association

and that it is deserving of your support. I therefore
trust that many will give in their names as members to.
to Mr. Burkitt. (Mr. Blow then devoted about thirty
minutes to practical bee-keeping, having a host of appli-
ances at his disposal.)

Now apart from practical bee-keeping, there are some
points that may be of interest. It is proved that bees
have been kept as domesticated insects for thousands of
years. We read of Canaan as a land flowing with milk
and honey ; and on the papyri from Egypt mention is
made of the bees and honey, and a hive is represented on
an ancient tomb at Thebes. Mahomet in the Koran
mentions the use of honey as medicine, and it is still
a favourite food and medicine with the Bedouins of
north Arabia. It is remarkable that the only creature
that Mahomet assumes the Almighty to have directly
addressed is the bee ; he says, ' The Lord spake by
inspiration to the bee, saying, Provide thee houses in
the mountains and the trees, and of those materials
wherewith men build hives for thee.' This proves that
in those days hives were built of various materials. Al
Jiedawi, the eminent Arabic commentator in the Koran,
says the 'houses' alluded to are the combs, whose
beautiful workmanship no geometrician can excel. This
shows that considerable attention was paid to bees, the
beautiful buildings of the combs being noticed by
Mahomet. A still higher antiquity can be traced in the
Sanscrit, wherein ma signifies honey ; and madhupa,
honey-drinker, Madhu has clearly the same signification
as our mead. In Chinese mat. signifies honey, thus
showing a second derivation in this Turonian term fiom
a more primitive language from whence both flowed.
In the Creek and Teutonic languages, two branches of
the Aryan stem, the names of the bee, Melissa and
Bienne, are clearly derived from the constructiTe faculty
of the insect, to which the early Sanscrit also points.
There are sixteen species of the genus Apis, all confined t o
the Old World. 'Hie New World genera of Trigona and
Mellipona are of interest, as they seem to lie Nature's
first attempts to construct the genus Apis; and, according
to evolutionists, they woidd form very good links indeed,
The}* are stingless (and in this point I am sure that bee-
keepers would wish that Nature had never gone further ),
and are otherwise not so perfectly made. They do not
build their cells with the same degree of accuracy, being
much more lavish in the use of wax. Both genera are
social and honey-gathering, and their head-quarters are
in Australia and South America. The only instance of
the occurrence of the genus Apis with the genus Melli-
pona in the Old World is at Java. Thus we see that it is
not the bees of the genus Apis alone that collect honey,
almost every country being furnished with honey-
gatherers of some genus or other.

Foreign bees deserve some attention. There is the

Egyptian bee, which is taken up and down the Nil i

rafts (sometimes as many as 4000 hives on a raft), and so
two harvests are gained. The ancient Greeks used to
move their bees from Achaia to Attica for the same
purpose, and this plan lias also been tried on the Missis-
sippi. The Ligurian bee is, doubtless, the golden-banded
bee mentioned by Virgil. Carniolan bees from Austria
are noted for their gentle disposition and great working
powers. Much good has been done by the introduction
of foreign races into this country, though on this matter
the Americans are far before us.

I attach so much importance to this matter that I
intend to go to Cyprus and the Holy Laud in December,
to import large numbers of the bees of these countries.
In Syria and Palestine bees are much kept, and at Beth-
lehem the wax is used for the pilgrims' tapers, and a
profitable trade done. Though honey of some districts
is highly esteemed, there are parts that produce uneat-
able honey. Xenophon relates that during the reti at of
the Ten Thousand the men fell in with large quantities of
honey, and that all who partookof it were attacked witli

December 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

15!)

vertigo and headache. The celebrated botanist Tourne-
fort, in the seventeenth century, found near Trebizond
Largequantitiesof Azalea Pontiea and Rhododendron Ponti-

ciiin, which, though sumptuous in blossom, had a repu-
tation among the natives for producing the same
symptoms, and he therefore concluded that it was honey
from these plants which caused the bad results among the
soldiers of the Ten Thousand.

WILTS BEE-KEEPEKS' ASSOCIATION.—
AN EXPERIMENT.

I believe Mr. T. B. Blow, expert of II. B. K. A., is
Bending you a report of a Lecturing Tour he has just
made with me through "Wilts; but he will probably not
mention how much interested all who heard him
expressed themselves with his addresses, and their
appreciation of the willing help he was always ready
to offer.

It occurred to me a few weeks ago, that the best way
of mahing the W. B. K. A. better known, and extending
its influence, would be the delivery of practical lectures
by an expert, in some of our towns, during the winter.
( )n mentioning this idea to Rev. II. JR. Peel (whose zeal in
behalf of the County Associations is so well known), he
at once most kindly offered (at his own expense, in order
to test the plan) to send down Mr. Blow for a week; the
arrangements being, that the lectures should be entirely
free, that the W. B. K. A. should engage suitable rooms,
and duly advertise the addresses, getting them as fully
reported as possible. The steps taken to do this were :
invoking the aid of the clergy; advertising in all the
local papers, giving a full list in each of the time and
place of all the lectures; getting letters and paragraphs
inserted in most of them a week beforehand ; distri-
buting hand-bills (this is best done iu towns through
the crier, whose bell we also avail ourselves of an hour
before the meetings, at a small expense) ; circulating
hand-bills and prospectuses of the W. B. K. A. in the ad-
joining villages, and sending them to every incumbent
and magistrate within four or five miles of a lecture.

It may encourage other County Associations to go and
do likewise if I briefly state the result of our tour.

We commenced at Salisbury, on Monday, Nov. 7th, at
2 o'clock, in the Council Chamber, E. F. Kelsey,
Esq., mayor, in the chair. The archdeacon and many
country parsons were, present ; 1 2 new members joined
our Association. Warminster, Nov. 8th, at S o'clock,
in the Athenaeum, Joseph Ilinton, Esq., (an extensive
bee-keeper), in the chair ; 2 new members. Trow-
bridge, Nov. 9th, at 7, in Hill's Hall, Major Clark in the.
chair; 8 new members. Devizes, Nov. 10th, at 3 o'clock,
in New Town School, Rev. J. Hart Burges, D.D., in the
chair; C> new members. Chippenham, Nov. 11th, at
2.30, in Town Hall, liev. J. Rich, vicar, in the chair ; 8
new members. Malmesbury, Nov. 1 1th, at 7, in School-
room, the Rev. G. Tucker, vicar, in the chair; 5 new
members. Swindon, Nov. 12th, at 8 o'clock, in Town
Hall, C'apt. C. Wykeham Martin, R.N., in the chair:
only 1 new member — this, though the largest town we
visited, from some unexplained cause, afforded the
smallest audience ; but, in spite of very small attendance
in some places, the Association gained strength daily,
and the seed sown will doubtless bring forth more fruit
with the new year.

On our way we visited six apiaries, the owners gladly
availing themselves of Mr. Blow's advice and professional
assistance, which he was ever ready to give, when needed
Mr. Blow's addresses were thoroughly practical, giving
full directions for bee management in the plainest possible
manner, and were much appreciated by all who heard them.
Nearly an hour was generally spent after the lecture in
answering questions, and explaining the various articles
exhibited, which consisted of bar-frame hives, one very

simple one, the other a very complete one, on Abbott's
' Combination ' principle ; a flat-topped skep, fitted into
a rough square box, so as to take a crate of 21 1-lb.
sections, the said box being capable of serving as a
' Makeshift ' bar-frame hive ; and a useful collection of
apiarian appliances, and also honey, both in sections and
extracted. At Trowbridge, I should mention, some
useful and very cheap bar-frame hives were exhibited by
Mr. J. E. Wilshire, of Senington, for which he gained a
1st and 2nd prize at Colne, in September last ; and a
capital regulating feeder, invented by Mr. Blow. Many
copies of .Mr. Cowan's new book and Modern Bee-keeping
were sold, and Abbott's Leaflets, Mr. J. Desborough's
lecture, and a number of odd copies of B. B. J. (kindly
contributed gratiutously by the Editor), were given
away.

The receipts and expenditure were nearly as follows: —
Paid — Hire of .rooms, advertising, and * Hon. Sees.

travelling, and other expenses, 8/. 18s. Sd.
Receipts — New members' subscriptions, 10/. 12s. Gd.
Special donations, 15s. : total 11/. 7s. 0c/.

Balance in favour of Wilts Bee-keepers' Association,
■21. 8s. 10f/.

Should a similar tour be projected elsewhere, I venture
to suggest that, if time could be spared, the lectures
should only be given on alternate days, the intermediate
ones being devoted to visiting any bee-keepers near at hand,
anxious to avail themselves of the assistance of an
expert ; this, I am sure ( from the experience we have
had), would be much appreciated, and, I think, pay the
extra cost, and do more to advance the interests of the
Association, and bee-keeping in general, than anything.
I should like to see this first attempt followed up now (if
funds admitted), during the winter, by some still more
homely addresses in village schools, by any friends who
would do it ' for love ; ' and then next spring (but this
would be a more difficult and expensive affair) by an
expert going about provided with some cheap hives, and, 1
suppose, a hawker's license, in a gipsy's caravan, giving
plain lectures on the village green, practically illustrated
(then, on the next da}', before leaving), by his showing
cottagers how to drive their bees, make artificial swarms,
put on supers, &c. &c. Ocular demonstration, I am
convinced, is the only way of convincing the labouring
class generally, that there is a more excellent way than
that practised by their grandmother-. Much, however,
might be done in this direction, if every member of a
County Association would devote what time he could
spare (as I know many do) to such work among his
neighbours.

To conclude this long yarn, let me state, that the
Wilts Bee-keepers' Association only began to be talked
about in June, and now numbers 98 members, of whom
44 joined during the tour; and several invitations to hold
bee shows next year have already been received. —
W. E. Burkitt, Hon. Sec. W. B. K. A., Butterinere
Rectory, Hungerford, Nov. 18, 1881.

BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION FOR EAST KENT.

On Monday afternoon, Oct. 24, a meeting was held
in the Cathedral Library, Canterbury, for the purpose
of considering the desirability of forming an East Kent
Bee-keepers' Association. The chair was occupied by
the Dean of Canterbury ; and then1 were also present :
the Bishop of Dover, the Rev. R. N. Gandy, Mrs.
Harrison, Captain McPakin, the Rev. W. Flower, the
Kev. G Beardsworth, Messrs. J. B. Plumtre, J. Martin,
A. Foreman, and other ladies and gentlemen. The Rev.
A. Welch, vicar of St. Mary Cray, and Mr. J. Garratt,
of the same place, attended as a deputation from the
West Kent Bee-keepers' Association.

* N.B. — These were greatly diminished by the kind
hospitality everywhere received,

1(50

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[December 1, 1881.

The proceedings were opened by the Chairman, who
briefly introduced to the meeting

The Rev. T. F. Scott, vicar of Hartlip, the promoter
of the movement. He had, he stated, been for the last
thirty years or more a cultivator, and lie might say a
successful cultivator, of bees, and lie therefore thought lie
would be justified in asking his friends of this division
of the coimty to come together and to follow the good
example given to them in West Kent, He might also
mention that another reason why he had taken this step
was that at a meeting of the British Bee-keepers'
Association at London the Baroness Burdett-Coutts
requested him to do so. He might mention that the
West Kent Association was merely the result of a paro-
chial meeting at St. Mary Cray, but had now grown
into very large dimensions. He believed that East Kent
was in every way favourable for bee-culture. The
present system of management enabled them to double the
produce of the honey-bee, because it w&s not necessary
to kill the insects. The system now in vogue was a
humane one, and they might obtain from 50 lbs. to
100 lbs. of honey from one hive in a year — that was an
exceptional year. The most he (the speaker) had taken
was 49 lbs. and this year the highest was 30 lbs. But
that was very good interest, seeing that a swarm of bees
only cost about half-a-guinea. The Archbishop of
Canterbury was the President of the West Kent Asso-
ciation, and it did not seem advisable to have two
separate societies. He would therefore propose that a
Bee-keepers' Association be formed for the eastern
division of the county of Kent, but suggest that the two
should be amalgamated.

The Bishop of Dover seconded the proposition, and
expressed himself in favour of the amalgamation of the
two associations.

Replying to Mr. Plumptre, the Rev. A. Welch said lie
and Mr. Garratt were appointed a deputation to ascertain
the views of the meeting as to whether they were in
favour of the formation of one association for the county.
They were in fact rather afraid that it was intended to
form another association, and, as they might imagine,
their minds were much relieved at finding that they
would not have a rival in the field. The speaker
proceeded to explain the working of the West Kent
Association, and said a county association might be
worked, but still keeping the divisional sections.

The motion was then put and carried, it being also
declared desirable that the two associations should be
amalgamated.

Mr. Welch said he believed there were already twelve
counties amalgamated with the Central Association.

The Rev. R. N. Gandy proposed, and the Rev. W. J.
Monck seconded, that the following noblemen and gentle-
men be asked tobecome Vice-Presidents of the Association :
The Dean of Canterbury, the Bishop of Dover, Arch-
deacon Harrison, the Earl of Montcharles, the Earl Guild-
ford, Lord Harris. Earl Sondes, Lord Hothfield, Sir
Wyndham Knatehbull, the Rev. Sir Brook G. Bridges,
Bart., Sir Walter James, Sir Moses Montefiore, E. L.
Pernberton, Esq., M.P., Sir Edward Watkin, M.P., Akers
Douglas, Esq., M.P., Major Dickson, M.P., C. K. Fresh-
field, Esq., M.P., Matthew Bell, Esq., C. J. Plumptre,
Esq., and J. B. Plumptre, Esq. The list was adopted.

The Rev A. Welch said, gentlemen who joined the
Society would thereby be in a position to benefit their
poorer neighbours. At one of the shows in London there
was a large amount of honey exhibited by cottagers, all
of which was of the best quality. That showed that they
did avail themselves of the better system of bee-keeping.

Mr. Garratt observed that the Association made it
their prime object to offer prizes at shows for the best
practical hive made at the lowest cost, in order to induce
the labouring classes to adopt the best systems.

The Rev. F. F. Scott, in answer to a question said, he
proposed to fix the terms of membership at a sum not less

than 5s. per annum, and cottagers at the reduced fee of
2s. Gd.

A provisional committee for the purpose of arranging
matters with the West Kent Association was formed.
The Rev. F. F. Scott was elected hon. secretary pro tern.,
and Captain Vallance, of Sittingbourne, hon. treasurer.

Mr. W. Mount proposed that the fee for cottagers be
reduced to Is.

The Rev. R. N. Gandy seconded, and the motion was
carried unanimously,

ASSOCIATIONS AND HONORARY
SECRETARIES.

The interesting paper read by the Hon. Sec. of tho
British Bee-keepers' Association at the last quarterly
meeting, appears to me to have come at a most opportune
time. To those who have for any considerable time been
engaged in the practical work of developing County
Bee-keeping Associations, the ideas and thoughts sug-
gested by Mr. Peel's paper must be of great value. The
writer may justly feel gratified in contemplating the
active and vigorous growth of the Association to wdiich
he'has contributed so largely ; at the same time there is
probably some alloy of anxiety mixed therewith, when
the thought occurs to him .that 'time, which tries all
things,' has, as yet, only brought his test to bear in a
slight degree. It is altogether unnecessary for me to
enter into any discussion upon the practical benefits that
result from the improved systems of bee management,
those being already fully apparent, but my object in
addressing you is to endeavour to aid,, as far as my
humble capacity permits, in strengthening the basis upon
which the Association is built up.

The present condition of the Association appears to be
comparable to that of a free-growing child, tended by
fond parents, and well supplied with voluntary and
admiring nurses, expatiating on his promising appearance
and the happy future in store for him ; but more or less
present in the minds of all is the thought that he may be
growing too fast for his strength, hence the necessity for
carefully watching the development of his constitution.

Passing from simile, I would desire to say a few words
on the subject of the constitution of County Bee-keeping
Associations. The writer of the paper referred to before,
very naturally sketched out a plan which would provide
a very good organization, without involving any very
great financial strain, but contemplated the use of volun-
tary machinery only, or, at most, the employment of an
assistant secretary at a modest salary. This plan is, no
doubt, a very suitable one on which to start an Association,
but should success reward the efforts of the pioneer band,
they must inevitably have to face the question of ' What
next?' The history of the West Kent Association, with
which I have been closely connected since its first incep-
tion, probably shares a common experience; but a short,
sketch of its carper may not be out of place : — It was
the outcopie, or survival, of a small local society formed
at St. Mary Cray in the autumn of 187IJS. At the end
of the first 3-ear it had 45 subscribing members ; 2nd
year, 84; and at the present time 186, the subscriptions
averaging about 7s. Cxi. per member. The commit tee
lias held its meetings in the place of its birth, and has
formed branches or district centres in two localities;
managed by local honorary .secretaries. It is now upon t lie
eve of entering on a further extension of its working
area by embracing the whole county of Kent; an
influential body of East Kent Bee-keepers having pro-
posed to ally themselves, and unite in forming an Asso-
ciation under the title of Kent Bee-keepers' Association.

During this time the management has devolved into a
large degree, or I should perhaps more precisely say, the
carrying out of the details has fallen, upon me, as Hon-
orary Secretary, and, without any wish to magnify the
services which 1 have rendered to the Association, 1

December 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

lfil

would say that they have demanded much thought and
time. This, of course, was to be expected from any one
accepting the office, and 1 must fully admit that it has
been a source of much pleasure, and of a considerable
increase in knowledge on apiarian subjects. But, after
three years1 service, and a very careful consideration of the
matter, I came to the conclusion that I could no longer con-
tinue to occupy the position that 1 had done, and therefore
notified to the committee that at the termination of the
present year I must relinquish the same. Thia placed
the committee in a position of perfect freedom to discuss
the question of the present status and the future
prospects of the Association, and to determine in their
own minds the degree of confidence which they felt in its
stability and promise.

The difficulty of providing an experienced successor
was fully admitted, and fears were expressed that the
' constitution ' of the Association would receive a great
shock by my retirement. The special or peculiar qualifi-
cations of the secretary of such an Association in the
present position of bee knowledge made this result-
obvious. Being appealed to, as to whether I could
suggest a course or recommend a successor, I could only
answer that I had no means of solving the matter, thus
throwing upon the committee the solution of perhaps the
most important question that had occupied their atten-
tion. And this I conceive to be a question that all
County Associations must deal with, as upon the con-
clusions arrived at will depend the permanence and
continuity of the bee-keeping movements. The dis-
cussion which took place narrowed itself into the issue
as to whether the movement should be permitted to
collapse (this result being apprehended), or whether the
secretary should be requested to retain the office on a
professional footing, and the final decision was entirely
in favour of the latter.

Although the matter involves personal interests, my
belief in the necessity of such a step in the interest of
the Association generally increases the pleasure with
which I regard that decision. I do not pretend to say
that the solution thus arrived at is the only practical one ;
in all cases, as the circumstances of the different County
Associations may vary considerably ; but I have been
impelled to state my views and experiences, in the hope
of being able to contribute something whereon the lines
of future progress may be laid.

Before I conclude I would take the opportunity of
expressing the pleasure with which I listened to Mr.
Peel's most interesting and suggestive paper, every line
of which bore the impress of his kindly nature.

Apologising for the length to which I have extended
my observations, and trusting that you will be able to
insert my letter in your valuable Journal. — Jesse
Garratt, Huvkendon, Kent.

NORFOLK AND NORWICH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

This Association i9 being entered upon by the residents
in Norfolk with great warmth and zeal. There are
already one hundred persons enrolled as members, and it
is hoped that as many more will join the Association in
the course of the next two or three months. Mr. Barge,
of Great Yarmouth, is working very hard in his district.
and undertaking his charge very methodically. Tin'
Kev. ,1. L. Sisson, the most accomplished bee-keeper in
the county, is doing all he can by letter-writing and
otherwise, to diffuse a knowledge of bee-keeping on
humane and "modern principles; We feel s,ure that -he
lias done much good to the cause alreaij-yfor there 'are
"signs of an increasing desire to know more about the
treatment of bees on a better system. Books on bee-
keeping are being bought up in Norwich, and names
come in most unexpectedly to be put down as subscribers
to the society. Mr. Littleboy and Mr. Back, and the

Kev. J. II. Payne, are giving valuable assistance in the
formation of tin- Association in and about the neighbour-
hood of Norwich. The Kev. H. R. Peel having most
kindly consented to come down into Norfolk and give
addresses, there will be grand inaugural meetings both a!
Yarmouth and Norwich on November 30th and De-
cember 1st. At Norwich J. J. Coleman, Esq., M.P. for
Norwich, and R. H. Mason, Esq., Necton Hall, will
take the chair at an afternoon and evening meeting re-
spectively. The Earl of Leicester (the Lord Lieutenant
of the county i has consented to become Patron, and the
Marchioness of Lothian President, of the Association.
Both the Bishop of Norwich and the Dean have become
members of the Association.

SUSSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Y'ou will be glad to hear that there is a good prospect
of an Association being formed for Sussex. I have been
in communication with, and have seen a great number
of persons interested more or less in bee-keeping, and
am pleased to say that the Earl of Chichester (Lord
Lieutenant of the county) has consented to be the
President. The Bishop of Chichester, Earl Egmont,
Earl de la Warr, Right Hon. the Speaker, and Sir
Henry Fletcher, M.P., have consented to be Vice-
Presidents. I have also a list of others who will aid on
the Provisional Committee, and as soon as we have suffi-
cient names down, we intend to call a meeting for the
purpose of forming the Association, and electing a
working committee, and the officers. I have received
the greatest encouragement, and I should be glad if any
one in the county, taking an interest in the formation of
the Association, will communicate with me. — T. W.
Cowan, Comptons Zea, Horsham, November :!.">, 1881.

CORNWALL BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

A public meeting was held, on Tuesday, Nov„L':2nd, at
the Town Hall, Truro, for the purpose of forming: a Bee-
keepers' Association for Cornwall, the Chair was occupied
by the Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen, and there were
also present the Rev. W. Rogers (Mawnan), Rev. A. I'l.
Malan (Perranarworthal), Rev. C. R.Sowell (St. ( rorran),
Rev. J. Symonds (Baldhu), Mrs. Hockin (Flushing),
Messrs. J. S. Jago (Mevagissey), W. B. Baker
(Tredorwin), .1. W, Wilkinson (Perranarworthal), A. P.
Nix, T. R. Polwhele, G. Dixon, H. James, G. II. Chilcott,
J. Hendy, .1. Estlick, and C. Kent (Truro), &c.

Mr. Kent, the Hon. Sec, reported that a preliminary
meeting was held at Truro on Oct. 11th, at which it was
decided that steps should be taken to form an Association
for Cornwall, and that 21. 12s. Gd. was subscribed towards
the preliminary expenses. He had sent out 400 cir-
culars soliciting subscribers towards the Association,
and had received thirty-seven names of ladies and gentle-
men ready to join the movement, including Sir John St.
' Aubyn, M.P.; and the Hon. T. C. Agar-jlobartes, M.P.,
and that there remained a liability of only Ws. Gd. to-
wards the expenses incurred in these preliminary pro-
ceeding.- . '

Letters regretting inability to attend the meeting were
read from the Rev. Stanhope Rashleigli (St. Wenn,
Bodmin), and Mr. A. C. Willyams (Truro).

The following rules were then adopted: —
. 1. That this Association be called the ' Cornwall Bee-
. keepers' Association.'

2. That the Officers shall consist of a President, Vice-
Pre'sidents, Hon. Treasurer, Hon. Sec, anjd a Committee,
.not exceeding twenty-four members of the Association,
the whole of whom shall hold office frtf one year, and fee
eligible for re-election.

•°j. The management of the Association be vested in
the Committee, of which the President, Vice-President,

162

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[December 1, 1881.

Treasurer, and Secretary, shall be ex officio members.
Three to form a quorum.

4. The minimum annual subscription of members shall
be 5s. (excepting for cottagers, who will be admitted on
payment of Is. per annum), payable on the 1st January
in each year.

5. The Committee shall hold an annual exhibition of
bees, honey, and appliances, together with a honey fair,
at such times and places as they may deem most suitable
for the interests of the Association, and as far as the
funds will permit they shall arrange lectures and
meetings, circulate the suitable books, journals, and
pamphlets, and afford opportunities for the disposal of
bee produce.

0. A general meeting shall be held as early in the year
as possible, when the Officers for the ensuing year shall
be elected, and questions of government discussed and
resolved upon. A special meeting may be called by the
Acting Committee at any time, and shall be so called by
the Secretary within fourteen days of the receipt of a
requisition signed by any ten members of the Association,
slating the nature of the business for which the general
meeting is to be called.

7. That any vacancy in the Committee that may occur
during the interval of the annual meetings held for the
election of Officers may be filled up by the Committee.

8. That the Association be regularly affiliated to the
British Bee-keepers' Association, and that the JRev. H.
11. Peel be elected an honorary member for life.

On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr. T. B.
Polwhele,it was decided that the Lord Lieutenant of the
county, the Bight Hon. the Earl of Mount Edgciunbe,
be invited to become President.

Sir John St. Aubyn, M.P., the Hon. T. C. Agar-
Bubartes, M.P., and the Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen,
were unanimously elected Vice-Presidents, Mr. A. P. Nix
(Truro), Hon. Treasurer, Mr. C. Kent, Royal Cornwall
Gazette (Truro), Hon. Sec, and the following as the
Committee :— Bevs. W. Bogers, C. B. Sowell, A. II.
Malan, B. J. Baker, and Stanhope Bashleigh. Mrs.
I [( .ckiii , Messrs. T. R. Polwhele, J. S. Jago, W. Prockter,
W. K. Baker, .1. Branwell, Junr., J. W. Wilkinson, J.
Ilendy, (t. Dixon, and G. II. Chilcott, the members to be
completed at a general meeting to be held at Truro in
January.

The Hon. Sec. said he had been in correspondence with
the Rev. H. 1!. Peel, who had rendered the utmost
assistance in organizing the Association, and making
suggestions as to its government. lie also reported that
Mr. Peel had offered on behalf of the British Bee-keepers'
Association to send a lecturer down to Cornwall provided
this Association would thoroughly advertise the meetings
and make them free to all. This announcement was
received with applause, but it was thought that the
matter had better stand over till the new year.

Mr. AY. K. Baker thought the Association ought to
make some acknowledgment of the assistance rendered
by Mr. Peel, and proposed that he be elected an hon.
member of the Association for life. This was seconded
and carried unanimously.

Votes of thanks to the Chairman for presiding at the
meeting, to Mr. Kent for the trouble he had taken in
organizing the Association, and to the Mayor for the use
of the hall, terminated the proceedings.

LOUTH SHOW, LINCOLNSHIRE.
rtepobt of the judges in classes 21, 22, 23, 24,
25, 26, 27, 28, and 20.
In Class 21 (five entries) no new idea was shown, and
the judges had only to decide the prizes as between one
and the other of the exhibits. Class 22 (five entries). —
The same may be said of the exhibits herein. The
generality of the extractors are very cumbersome, and if
some improvement were made in the portability of the

extractor, to enable it to be readily taken round to
apiaries at a distance from each other, an article an-
swering this requisite must receive encouragement.
Classes 2" and 24 (seven entries). — The exhibits in these
classes showed but little merit, except the article to
which the first prize was awarded in ('lass 24. The
safe transit of honey in the saleable form it is now pro-
duced is of paramount importance. Class 25. — There
were two entries in this class, both showing all manner
of bee appliances, many of which are now only matters
of curiosity, as their usefulness has long ago passed
away. Still, a large collection of these appliances will al-
ways prove interesting and instructive. Class 2(i (ten en-
tries).— There were several novelties, and the one to
which the first prize was awarded is a very useful
article, enabling foundation comb to be firmly fixed to a
bar or any part of the hive without melting the wax or
making a slit or opening in the bar itself. The opera-
tion is very simple, and when ouce seen is easy of imita-
tion ; altogether a good class. Classes 27, 28, and 29,
call for no special remark, except that the exhibitions of
the diagrams in Class '28, and the bee plauts in Class 2!),
must always prove instructive, and deserve much more
especial attention and study than can be given to them
at an exhibition. — J. Gr. Desborough, Or. Brett, A.
1'. Russell, J Boltox.

PBOPOSED BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION FOR
DERBYSHIRE.

A movement is being made in Derbyshire to establish
a Bee-keepers' Association for that county. May I ask
all those that are, willing to interest themselves in the
matter to forward their names and addresses to 11. V.
Edwards, Esq., Yew Cottage, Ockbrook, Derby '1 — II. R.
Peel, Abhot's Hill, Heme! Hempstead.

SOMERSETSHIRE— A SECRETARY AY ANTED.

The bee-keepers of Somerset number several hundreds,
scattered all over the county, with here and there a good
group, living close enough to act in concert. Amongst
them, moreover, are many enthusiasts, and not a few
wdiose names are well known in connexion with apicul-
ture. Notwithstanding all these advantages, they have
at present no county association. The AY est of England
Apiarian Society," which had its head-quarters at
AA eston-super-Mare, and which made such a show a few-
years since, has practically ceased to exist, although a
very fair exhibition was held in connexion therewith as
recently as last August. The fact is, Mr. A. L. Perrett,
of Queen's Villa, AYeston, who acted as secretary, trea-
surer, and committee (and did all the work admirably,
too), is about to leave the neighbourhood, and cannot
therefore continue the direction of affairs. Who will
come to the rescue ? It is a fine field, and could be easily
managed by any gentleman who has his heart in the
work and a little time to spare. The county affords
splendid pasturage, with its rich moorlands, grand ranges
of heather-clad hills, thousands of orchards, and widely
varied systems of cropping. Moreover, within the
borders of the shire, numerous flower shows and agri-
cultural exhibitions are annually held, at most of which
something could be done to bring the pleasures and
profits of bee-keeping under the notice of the uninitiated.
The Somersetshire gentry, too, subscribe liberally to any-
thing calculated to'i'aise the status of their punier neigh-
bours. In short, a good working committee and a
zealous secretary would soon place bee-keeping in its
proper position throughout the county. Surely the men
of Somerset will not be content to remain without
organization now that Dorset and Wilts, Devon and
Cornwall, are in working order. Unfortunately, some
of those who are most anxious to see an association in
operation cannot spare the time to set it going ; but

December 1, 1881.]

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

163

there must be some one able and willing to do the work
when the want is thus publicly announced 'i At Tavmti in,
Weston, Somerton, and other places, prizes have been
offered for honey for years past, and considerable pro-
gress has been made in the method of placing it upon the
market. Still, much remains to be done; and there is
ample work for a large county association with sub-
committees at Bath, Taunton, and "Weston-super-Mare.
Scores of subscribers could at once be obtained in each
district. Many bee-keepers at Somerton are ready to
organize at once, and are anxious to have the Bee-Tent at
their next flower show. Our esteemed and enthusiastic
honorary secretary, the Rev. II. K. Peel, has been doing
his utmost to set things in motion in the fair ' Summer-
land ' of the Saxons. If things cannot be put ' ship-
shape ' within reasonable time, it would not be a bad
plan to send one of the tents to the flower shows at Bath
and Taunton next summer, to arouse local interest, and
to give direction to the comparatively dormant interest.
— ('. T. '

BEE EXHIBITION IN CONNEXION WITH TIIE
LINCOLNSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
At the November Meeting of the Council of the Lin-
colnshire Agricultural Society, held at Lincoln on the
11th ult. (the Hon. M. E. G. Finch-IIatton presiding), the
question of holding a Bee Exhibition in the Show
grounds at the Annual Meeting, to be held at Sleaford
in July next (introduced by J. Martin, Esq., of Wain-
fleet), was considered, and power was given to the Prize
List Committee to make arrangements with the Lincoln-
shire Bee-keepers' Association for an Exhibition.

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION,
PROPOSED BEE LIBRARY.
To Members and Non-Members, Brother Bee-keepers,
— I am desirous of establishing a library for the
benefit of members of the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers'
Association. Allow me to ask if you will kindly aid me by
forwarding any bee literature you can spare. Our good
friend, Mr. Abbott, has kindly promised to present a
copy of his Journal monthly. Mr. Neighbour's and j\lr.
Cowan's works are also promised ; and I shall myself be
pleased to contribute some twenty or so volumes
(ancient and modern works) towards the object. — R. R.
( rODFKEY, Hon. Sec, L. B. E. A.

ONTARIO BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION AND
THE BARONESS BUBDETT-COUTTS.

Abbot's Hill, llemel Hempstead, November 8th, 1881,
— ' I send you a copy of a letter which our President
has received from the Secretary of the Ontario Bee-
keepers' Association, and which may interest the readers
of the Bee Journal. — Herbert R. Peel.'

' The Baroness Burdett-Coutts , London, England. — The
bee-keepers of Ontario (Canada) have noted with plea-
sure the interest you have manifested in promoting
practical and scientific bee-keeping among the working
classes of Great Britain. As a recognition of your noble
efforts to foster and encourage an industry that is 3-et in
its infancy, and one which is calculated to bring pleasure
and profit to the deserving poor of our Fatherland, the
Ontario Bee-keepers' Association, by resolution, made
you an honorary member of the Association while in
session in the City of Toronto on the 17th of September
last. Pursuant to that resolution, I have the honour to
enclose your membership ticket and a copy of the
Constitution and Bye-laws. You will pardon me if I
have not designated you aright, and kindly take the will
for the deed. — I have the honour to be your obedient
humble servant, R. MoKxtgiit, Secretary and Treasurer,
Of/ire of the Ontario Bee-keepers' Association, Owen
Sound, 'October 24th, 1881.'

CaiTCspmbcnxc.

*»* Tliese columns arc open to subscribers, so that their
queries, replies, correspondence, and experiences may lie
fully and faithfully recorded: and for tiie discussion of aU
theories and systems in Bee-culture, and of the relative merits
of all hives and appurtenances, that the truth regarding them.
may be ascertained. The Editor, therefore, must not be ex-
pected to coincide with all the views crpvessed by the various
■writers. All Correspondence is addressed to the Editor.

FORMATION OF COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.

From numerous letters which I have received
lately, there seems to be a misapprehension in the
minds of many bee-keepers as to the manner in
which County Bee-keepers' Associations can be
formed. Man)' gentlemen write to me expressing
surprise that no association has been formed for the
particular county in which they happen to be re-
siding ; but they must understand that the British
Bee-keepers' Association requires some invitation or
some request for assistance before it can intervene
in the formation of a county association. If any one
wishes to form an association in his own county, he
must at least give himself the trouble to put a
notice to that effect in his county papers, and to
collect sufficient bee-keepers together to attend a
preliminary meeting before we can assist him. The
time may come when the British Association may
feel itself sufficiently strong to ' invade ' the coun-
ties which as yet show no signs of activity ; but,
for the present at all events, we must help those;
who are willing to help themselves, and these, I am
glad to say, are sufficiently numerous to employ all
our time, energies, and funds. The success which
has attended the Wiltshire Association, formed in
September last, and numbering already upwards of
100 members/shows what can be done by local effort,
supplemented by aid from the Central Organization.
— Herbert R. Peel, Hon. Sec, Abbot's Hill, Hemel
Hempstead, Herts, November 2\st, 1881.

CYPRIAN BEES.— A HONEY PRESSER.

We have had a very bad season for the bees. I
believe it has been the worst on record. AVe had
only one week of good weather about the end of
May, and two or three days, the time the heather
was in bloom. One of the Cyprian queens 1 got
from you was very prolific ; it swarmed seven times
and bred about sixty queens. I sold six of the
swarms, and gave two or three of the queens away
The queens were flying about in all directions.
One day my wife was out in the garden pulling
berries, and a queen (a Cyprian) lighted on her hat,
and when she came into the house it flew off to
the window. I put the same queen into one of my
hives and she did very well. She was a very fine
one. They are very good honey-gatherers ; but at
the same time they are very savage little fellows,
although I only got one sting with them. The
honey was very thick this year ; it could not 1 le
got out of the combs at all with my extractor. It
is one of Mi-. Steel's improved ones. So I bought

1(14

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[December 1, 1881.

a honey-presser from Mr. Watt Smith, engineer, of
Carluke, who,' I suppose, was the inventor of it.
He is a very ingenious worker. The honey is put
into a small brass cylinder, full of holes in the sides
of it, and pressed out with a rammer and screw till
the conibs are quite dry. It is a first-rate inven-
tion. I have no doubt but five or six pounds more
of good honey can be got with it than any other
way that ever I tried ; so I would advise every
bee-keeper to get one to press out heather honey,
which cannot be got out with the extractor. —
William Russell, Pettinain Village, N.B., No-
vember 25.

CYPRIAN BEES.

I am sorry that you do

not like the Cyprian bees, especially as our Hert-
fordshire expert is just going over to Cyprus to
bring back queens. I kept them for a year in an
observatory hive in my study, and never had any
unpleasantness with them, though they were often
flying about in the room. I have never had such
a prolific queen before. I have just sent an order
to Mr. Blow for five Cyprian queens. I hope your
readers will study the Rev. A. Salisbury's article on
Cyprian Bees in the American Bee Journal for Oc-
tober, page 33. He appears to be well pleased with
them. I do not think that Americans generally
have had time enough to form an opinion about
them. — Herbert R. Peel, Abbot's Hill, Herts,
November 2ith, 1881.

TIN DIVIDERS BEST.

Having used dividers of thin tin this year with
success, I can confidently recommend that material.
I think it is better than either wood or glass, as
wood must be as thick as glass, or nearly so, to
insure keeping straight. Then there is a lot of
extra work for the bees in stopping up with pro-
polis the spaces where the dividers do not go up
to the top of the sections. On the other hand, the
tin being so very thin, the sections, when wedged
up, fit so closely that propolising is reduced to a
minimum. As regards its being colder, I think
that is altogether beside the question, as when
there is a good honey yield, the hive being full of
bees, and the supers covered up well with old rugs
or blankets to keep the heat from escaping, the tin
would be no disadvantage on that score. There is
also little or no liability for the bees to attach their
combs to tin dividers, as is so often the case with
wood. — A Warwickshire Bee-keeper, Weston, Leam-
ington, November KM, 1881.

DRAUGHT-PREVENTERS.

I beg to suggest that the draught-preventers be
made one inch longer than the opening of the hive ;
the shutters of the hive withdrawn ; the draught-
preventers placed in their place ; the shutters
reversed the straight end, pushed up to it, and all
will be firm together ; but the inside groove must
be as far from the edge as the shutters are thick.
If the draught-preventer is placed before the

shutters, great care must be taken, or the hole in
the shutters will not be opposite to the hole of the
preventer.

If you think the suggestions are worth a space
in the Journal, you are at liberty to publish them,
— J. R. T., Sainton Heath, Stamford,

GROCERS' HONEY.

A correspondent writes (says The Grocer, a weekly
journal devoted to the interests of the grocery
business) : —

' I am sorry to hear that English honey is being- gra-
dually forced out of the market by its Australian rival,
and that what was once a notable industry is becoming
merely an amateur accomplishment. It seems that since
bees can now be persuaded to make their honey in boxes
they are used in Australia largely as packers of their
own combs, their very tidiness thus fitting them to supply
the export trade. I forget how many hundreds of pounds
of their honey is at present exposed in the London shop-
windows, but I hear that in a southern shire famous for
the production of bacon, some local ladies are going to
take a leaf out of the book adopted by Lady Bective in
the case of woollens, and to patronise Wiltshire honey
and promote its manufacture. Lectures on the subject,
to be delivered in the principal towns, is a part of the
programme which aims at reviving a once popular and
successful industry, and supplying the farmer, or rather
his wife, witli tins much-needed addition to the ordinary
sources of income. A curious novelty has also appeared
in shops. Rose honey has the colour and the fragrance
of the (lowers which the producing bees feed upon, but
the taste is sickly and the sweetness too dead.'

[It seems to us that the ' Correspondent,' wdio is so
' sorry' and all that, has become, like grocers' things are
generally, considerably mixed, and needs a little retire-
ment— to Earlswood, Hauwell, or Colney Hatch. It
is somewhat humiliating to bee-keepers, members of
associations, and others interesting themselves in the
promotion of bee-culture, to find that such trash passes
current for truth, and is unnoted in the leading organ of
the grocery trade, whose editors ought at least to know
the condition of the market in respect of an article in
the sale of which grocers have been for years, and still
are, so deeply concerned ; otherwise it deserves only ridi-
cule— unless, as a demon of suspicion suggests, it is the
beginning of a deliberate trade trick or swindle. De-
scribing the English honey to be found in shop-windows
as Australian, may lie but the forerunner of an importa-
tion that will also be described as from that far-off land,
come whence it may ; and grocers, and the public
generally, having been charged with the idea (for the
above clipping has gone the round of the papers), the
' Correspondent ' may find a market for a lot of trash and
laugh in his sleeve at his dupes. — Ed.]

WIDE AND OPEN-ENDED FRAMES.
Your correspondent in November Bee Journal
inquires about wide and narrow-ended frames, the
wide being propoliscd if used during summer, the
narrow giving trouble of putting half-inch pieces
between during winter. I beg to suggest part
narrow and part wide, placed alternately. In
summer there would then be \ in. space between.
If the narrow ones were withdrawn, during winter
the space would be filled with a little care, if the
last time before placing in winter quarters the
narrow ones containing brood were placed at the
edges of the brood-nest. They might be withdrawn
later without destroying any brood. — 3. R T.

December T, 1881.]

THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

105

SNOW SHUTTERS FOR HIVES.

I have been making snow shutters to my new
hives this season, which, if you think worth any-
thing, or interesting to the readers of the Journal,
I shall feel highly favoured by your notice. I
make the two sides of porch square and rebated on
their inner front sides to half the thickness of the

wood. The shutter then fits into the rebate, and
with a button on each side of porch, is firmly fixed
or detached in a moment. The sides of the porch
come down only to within a quarter inch of alight-
ing-board, so that with shutter in position, the bees
are not actually confined to the hive, which is
effectually shaded and protected. — W. Walker,
Jun., Welcombe House, North Devon.

ABBOTT'S ROBBER TRAP.

I have to thank you for describing your ' Robber
Trap ' in the August number of the British Bee
Journal. I had a cottager's condemned stock
attacked and destroyed in three days, and they
began at another, and all my efforts to stop the
robbing was unavailing until I used the Robber
Trap, which entirely prevented it through my
apiary. A friend of mine has derived a similar
benefit. It is simply invaluable, as I should
doubtless have lost a third of cottager's condemned
bees. — R. Thorpe, Evedon, Lincolnshire.

BEE-KEEPING IN INDIA.

I shall be much obliged if any of your numerous
readers would give me any information on the
heading of this letter. Has bee-farming ever been
attempted in India, and if so, with what results,
and in what parts of India? I have been many
years in India, and have often seen the wild bees
and combs, and tasted the honey out of the jungles
of the Western Ghats, and in other parts, even in
the midst of the hot weather ; but I have never
heard of anyone keeping bees out there. At that
time, I am sorry to say, I knew nothing at all about
bees, and took no interest in them, barring eating
the honey, which was delicious ; but this year,
whilst at home, I have been much interested in
the matter, and the astonishing advances that
have been made of late years in the art of bee-
keeping ; and when I go out again I shall most
certainly like to set up, if possible, an apiary in
India, and try to induce the natives to take to it,
as I consider they would do so readily if it was
shown to be profitable and feasible ; and, moreover,
many of them arc welljitted by nature to succeed

in it. I presume English bees-wax would melt in
the hot weather of the plains of India, where the
temperature in an outhouse would be considerably
over 109 deg. Fahrenheit ; but I fancy it would
answer on the hills, as, for instance, the Neilghcr-
ries, Mahableshwur, and hundreds of other places
where there is a delicious temperate climate all the
year round. Even in the plains the temperature
could be kept down to between 80 deg. and 90 deg.
by means of wet khuskhus latties and punkahs ;
and as labour is very cheap in the glorious East,
it would, perhaps, pay to keep a couple of punkah-
walas during the hot weather months if the apiary
was a large one. At any rate, if the English wax
would not do, I suppose the wax the wild bees out
there make would. In the hot weather, in some
places, flowers would be scarce ; but, then, look at
the glorious masses of flowers and luxurious vege-
tation during the rains and cold weather. Perhaps
there are others beside myself interested in this
matter who would appreciate any remarks about it
from you or any of your subscribers. — Chas. F.
Fuller, Captain B.E.

NEW ZEALAND FLAX— LIGURIANS IN NEW
ZEALAND.

I have not the number at hand, but I think that
it was in that for July, that you expressed a desire
to possess some seed of the New Zealand flax. It
gives me much pleasure to be of service to you. I
enclose a packet of the seed, which I received from
a trustworthy seedsman. Your offer to return a
parcel of seed of the Limnanthes Douglasii I
accept, although I should have been glad to for-
ward the flax-seed even if there had not been a
quid pro quo attached to your request. It will be
an experiment to see in how far this plant, so
highly recommended by you, will succeed in this
climate. If you could give a few hints regarding
its culture, you would probably benefit many who
desire to raise the plants from seed. I have now
at my ground at Homebush, about eight miles
from Sydney, two colonies of Italian bees, imported
by me at much trouble and expense, from Mr. A.
H. Newman, of Chicago. They reached me after
the bees had been incarcerated for fully six weeks,
including five or six days on the railway, and four
weeks at sea. After this treatment they arrived
here on the 2nd of July, at the commencement of
our winter. You will see, therefore, that there
were many difficulties in the way of success. The
bees arrived in a very weakened condition. I soon
transferred them to clean Langstroth hives, after
removing fully a quart of dead bees from each
hive. Our winters are always mild enough for bees
to continue flying and honey-gathering ; and as this
winter has proved no exception to the rule, there
are plenty of honey and pollen-producing flowers in
bloom. About four weeks ago I found a patch of
brood in the centre of a comb in one of the Italian
hives. The young bees arc hatching out ; and I
see a manifest improvement in the number of in-
habitants. I have, therefore, fair reason to hope
for ultimate success in establishing the Italians in

166

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[December 1, 1881.

these parts. I continue to read your Journal with
much interest. J am often astonished at the
amount of information to be found in the Bee
Journals, and, although I have my favourites, I
find most valuable matter in one and all of those
which I take. — S. MacDoxnell.

[Limnanthes seed need only be thrown thinly upon the
ground in early autumn and raked in ; it flowers pro-
fusely and seeds itself. We in turn should have been
glad of a few hints on the cultivation of the flax. — En.

ENCOURAGING REPORT FROM A WILT-
SHIRE COTTAGER.

I see, by the accounts given in the British Bee
Journal, that some bee-keepers have not had a good
honey harvest. I am pleased to tell you I have
had a good harvest. I wintered eleven stocks last
winter. I had over five hundredweight of super
honey. I have been told that a cottager ought to
pay his rent out of his bees. I thought that could
not be done ; but now I have proved it can be
done : I pay 51. a-year for my cottage, and I have
cleared 30/. out of my bees this summer. I started
five years ago with one swarm in a straw skep, and
now I have thirteen stocks in bar-frame hives,
and four in straw skeps. I have enclosed post-office
order for the Bee Journal. — T. Owen, No. 7 Shaft,
Corsham, Wilts, November 21, 1881.

COVERING FOR SKEPS.

"Will you kindly say in the B. B. Journal what
you think of this 1 1 cover my straw skeps with
cement and hair mortar, and just leave a small
part on the top for ventilation. 1 have tried it one
year, and 1 think it is good for three things — it
keeps the bees warm in winter, and from the burn-
ing rays of the sun in summer ; and, lastly, it
keeps the skeps almost for ever. I think it would
be good for cottagers like myself for cheapness and
durability. — C. Pollard, Haugltley.

[Cement-covered hives are impervious, and in cold
weather the moist vapours from the bees will condense
under it, and the straw will get wet and rotten. It is,
further, against the use of cement that in attempting to
drive bees from hives encased in it, it is liable to break-
age, and in summer, if exposed to the sun, is liable (as
we think) to become too hot. We are not in favour of
any covering that will not permit the vapours of a hive
to escape. — Ed.]

QUILT v. CROWN-BOARD.

In Abbott's catalogue of bee-hives, etc., for 1881,
speaking of the Standard hive No. A, it is claimed
as an improvement (see p. 5, par. 2), — 'The
abolishment of the space which existed between the
frames and their covering, and that great improve-
ment the quilt, first introduced by us into England
in lieu of the abominable crown or honey board.'

Will you kindly inform me in next month's issue
of your Journal, why the abolishment of the space
between the frames and their covering is such an
advantage 1

I am quite a beginner at bee-keeping, and most
probably manipulate them wrongly ; but I invari-

! ably find the quilt I use on my bar-frame hive
firmly jjropolized in a day or two, down to the tops
of the frames, so much so, that when I remove the
quilt to look at a frame, I jar the whole hive very
much, and cause great commotion amongst the
bees ; besides, I generally find some bees killed
under the quilt. The quilt is nice and warm, and
just the thing for wintering bees, but for ordinary
manipulation, such as feeding, using supers, dec, as
far as I can see, it would be advantageous to have
a crown-board with space between the same and
the tops of the frames.

Will you also please inform me how I am to use
a super (and what size should this be) with one of
your Combination Irish hives ('Woodbury '), length
20 inches 1 Is the floor-board of the super to rest
on the tops of the frames, or is the quilt to be
placed between the two 1

Lastly, I shall be much obliged by your telling
me what the groove along the centre of the under
edge of the ends and side of the roof of the Com-
bination hive above alluded to, is intended for. —
Citas. F. Fuller, Capt. R. E., Fairlawn, Fylton,
near Bristol.

P.S. — What is the best way of taking off the
quilt when firmly propolised to the tops of the
frames'! No matter how softly I try to do it, 1
shake the whole hive.

[The advantages gained by the abolishment of the
crown-board and the space between it and the frames of
comb, and the adoption of a close-fitting quilt, are
increased comfort to the bees, particularly in winter, and
increased facility for manipulation. The comfort of the
bees is, to our mind, of the first importance when profit
is a consideration; and next to that, convenience for the
bee-keeper, and at all our efforts at hive-construction,
except for experimental purposes, these two principles
have been adhered to in their order. The original
inventors of the frame-hive, impressed with the con-
venience of the rnohility of the combs, doubtless, though
it would be convenient also to the bees if facilities were
provided by which the bees could have free passage Over
and around them, added to which, a crown-board
detached from the bee nest woidd be handy for removal
when examination became desirable. The English
inventor, the late Mr. T. Woodbury, whose name will
ever be remembered with the deepest respec! as the
greatest bee-master of the time, evidently considered lire
ci mvenieiiee important, and in the hives bearing his name,
left a space of three eighths of an inch between the frame
tops and the crown-board, but the bees always protested
against it, and built comb up to the latter, causing
terrible trouble when it became necessary to investigate
the condition of the hive; and though repeatedly cleared
away they repeated the offence (?), unless it was tun
late in the autumn Eor them to do so. Had our corre-
spondent witnessed the difficulty of removing a crown-
board under the circumstances described, he would not
wonder at our describing it as abominable. With three
eighths of an inch of comb, tilled generally witli honey,
and with the board itself glued down with propolis, il
was no easy task to open the hive for any purpose ; and
when, by the use of a strong screwdriver, and some-
times a spade, the crown-board was wrenched from
its bedding, the picture it presented was anything but
assuring. The surface of the boards and the tops of the
frames wore covered with bleeding honey, which the
bees would swarm upon in thousands, and robbing \\ ould
often result; and after the examination it was almost
impossible to replace' the crown-board without crushing
many bees, unless the precaution were taken to scrape on

December 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

1U7

the broken and bleeding- comb. The wrench given to
prise up the crown-board often brought with it several
of the frames of comb, which was a source of danger to
the queen, crushed many bees, and rendered the rest
furious, making it no easy task to manipulate under the
circumstances, and as a result the frame-hive system
was not in favour as it now is. In wintering, the space
between frames and crown-board is the source of inestim-
able mischief. Naturally the bees build from the top of
the vessel on which they are located, and partly to the
sides of the same, and the top space between each pair of
combs thus becomes an inverted chamber from which
heated air cannot escape, and over which there is no
circulation ; but with the open space above, the heat and
vapours from the condensed bees easily And their way to
the crown-board and disperse over the whole hive, and
condensing in the cooler parts render the hive damp and
the outer combs mouldy. The cooling effect of this
condition naturally causes the bees to consume food
largely in order to generate the heat necessary to life,
and in times of protracted cold, when natural discharge
of the feces accumulated in the bodies of the bees is
impossible, the stock will almost certainly become
dysenteric and perish. There was an immense mortality
of bees in America last winter through dysentery, and
the bee-masters there attribute it to every imaginable
cause but, as we believe, the right one, viz., the space
above the frames which they believe to be essential
because the bees in self-defence cluster there in severe
weather, but, from our point of view, they only cluster
there because the space above makes the combs cold
and untenable. Dysentery used to be the winter scourge
in England, but since the close-fitting quilt has been
adopted in lieu of the crown-board, it is exceptional to
find a case in a well-managed apiary.

As regards manipulation with the quilt, excepting' the
fact that the bees propolise it, as they do everything that
is not perfectly close fitting, we., have not a word to say
against it, unless to complain that they are rather fond
of biting holes in it. We have no difficulty in removing
or replacing it, and seldom give offence to, or injure, a
single bee. We remove all but the lowest stratum at
once, then, raising one corner of the latter, proceed to
remove it gently as one would a piece of sticking plaster.
"We pull it in the direction of the frames lengthwise,
holding the hand low, and, to prevent the hive or frames
moving, should the adhesion be great, we put the other
hand on the exposed frame ends, and never have any
trouble — well, 'hardly ever.' In replacing the first
layer, we first rub out what propolis is hard enough to
break away, and lay the square of sheeting or ticking, as
the case may be, upon the frames and bees, it is not
heavy enough to hurt one, but serves as a reminder to
the bees to go down between the combs, which the
majority quickly do ; in a minute or less we feel along
the frame tops to be sure every bee is out of danger, and
if any are in the way a slight raising of the part above
them with the point of a pin enables them to get away,
and then we lay on the other folds of the quilt, and the
business is done.

When supers are used it is best to place an adaptor
between it and the frames, and to take away the quilt ,
so that the super can be removed without any comb
attachments. It is difficult to say what size of super
should be used on a hive, as it will depend on the
strength of the stock of bees ; we should use a small
number of sections at first, and add to them as the bees
showed inclination to adopt them.

The groove along the under side of the roof cover is
intended to cause any rain that might drift there to drip
away rather than soak under by capillary attraction.

The postscript being ah-eady replied to above, we
woidd suggest that a firm stand and a firm hand are the
only preventives of shaking — that we can warrant
effective. — En.J

(!£djacs ham % |5ibcs.

Fonthill, Tidmrij, Oct. 24.— Sparrows ami Bees.—' With
regard to the communications of " AN'. L. 13." on p. 119,

I can most distinctly state that sparrows will eat worker-
bees, catching the bees as they come in heavily laden.
I am always told that they must be drones that are
caught, but this is most certainly a mistake.' — A. G. K.
Station Cottages, Huntingdon, November 2?>rd, 1881. —
' I am pleased to learn that an Association is proposed
for the Cambridgeshire bee-keepers. I wish it every
success, and hope Huntingdonshire won't be left far
behind. But as these two counties join each other ami
neither of them is very large, I think' it would be a good
thing for the two to unite. A strong association could
then, no doubt, be formed, and the two counties would
undoubtedly be mutually benefited. If you t hink such
would be approved of, perhaps you will kin dly give a
hint in your next issue. I feel confident that an asso-
ciation would do a very great amount of good here,
where bee-keeping, especially upon the modern system,
is almost an unknown thing. This year has been the
best and most encouraging one I have ever had in bee-
keeping. I have been successful in every way. The
season has really been everything that could be desired.
I took over 50s. worth of comb honey from one hive,
which is very encouraging, although the amount is but
small in comparison with your "A. B.C." of last month.
(Sections nicely filled with wdiite honeycomb, and glass
jars with pure extracted honey, are quite a new thing
here, and meet with a very ready sale. I am pleased to
inform you that the comb foundation I had from you
has all turned out satisfactory. Every sheet has pro-
duced the straightest comb possible. I could not have
beheved how quick and beautiful it is built out, had I
not seen it. I intend in future to use neither old combs
nor empty frames. I am quite sure that old combs are
not worth saving. Your extractor is rightly named the
" Little Wonder," and you are quite justified in saying
it must be tried before it can be believed in. I only
regret. that I did not adopt it earlier. — A. Shabp.'

Grantham. — November Swarm. — ' Sunday, November
loth, a real summer day, my bees as busy as in May. One
stock actually threw off a small swarm about 2..'J0p.m.,
as the bells of our old church were ringing for service.
The bees were from a swarm I had from a vicarage
near here in June last, and that had swarmed on a
Sunday. They have thus given early proof of their
being thoroughbred Sunday-swarmers. I watched and
waited for the swarm settling down ; but no, all was
confusion. Twice they returned to the hive and came
out again. It occurred to me the queen might have
fallen on first coming out; and I made a search, when
I discovered her decked with a red sash, which had
been attached to her for exhibition purposes during
the past season, but which I unfortunately had neg-
lected to remove at the close ; hence her being on the
floor. 1 removed the sash and returned her to the
hive, when the bees at once settled down, contented
with a more than half-dead queen. Just before dusk
I went to see how matters were, when I observed a
large cluster of bees on the floor, near to the hive,
quite benumbed. On looking them over I discovered
my poor maimed queen, she having evidently crept out
of the hive again and fallen, where her subjects
had followed her, thereby risking their own lives rather
than deserting their queen (a circumstance certainly
exemplary). I took up the benumbed heap, carefully
removed quilt, and returned them to the hive. On ex-
amination the following morning, I found the queen
alive, but very feeble, and in the evening dead.' — 11, K.

GoDI'MiEY.

108

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[December 1, 1881.

Weston, Leamington. — 'Have got bees pretty well
ready for winter now. Harve put lumps of loaf sugar of
about three pounds weight each on top of the frames of
several stocks, which 1 think have not food sufficient to
last them till February. Being short of run-honey, I
last week extracted the whole of the honey from one
stock, and gave the bees about G lbs. of syrup, and shall
make them do with a good lump of sugar for what more
they may require.' — A Warwickshire Bee-keeper.

Stingless Bees. — ' I have no time to write, but there is
a " stingless bee " in Australia. I have taken many
hives. It builds in the gum-tree, " Eucalyptus," a small
nest, and yields very delicate liquid honey. The bee is
about the size of a house-fly. It is perfectly harmless,
and is considered a delicacy by natives, who gobble both
honey and bees.' — L. V.

Sense of Colour. — 'I am anxious to see if you make
any comments on Sir J. Lubbock's address to the British
Association on the sense of colour that bees possess. I
cannot but think that he over-estimates their power of
sight. It is their wonderful sense of smell which seems
to me almost invariably to guide them.* If the bees
had once been to a drop of honey, I fancy their sense
of smell would lead them to it again. Without any
reference to the colour, I hope in the next Journal to see
some remarks on the subject.' — A. E. 11,

New Idea Frame. — ' You ma}- be glad to know that
your " new idea " frame, which I only tried late in the
season, has answered well with me. I think very large
results might be obtained by using it. I think the winter
"entrance," sketched on p. 117, a good idea, and shall
try it with a slight alteration this winter.'

Natwal Ligurianising. — ' I fear I shall at length be
forced to have Ligurians. By some wonderful accident
my bees are now in some cases distinctly crossed with
Ligurians. How this has happened I cannot think, as I
do not know of any Ligurians within several miles of
my apiary. My only reason for so persistently keeping
my bees as pure " blacks " as I could was that they
might be quiet to handle, and therefore have not intro-
duced Ligurians' blood, as I might otherwise have done,
as I particularly like having my bees tractable. It is
almost impossible now to open the hive, which is most
"crossed." The other day the bees came at my smoker
as though it was nothing.' — Ashton G. Badcliffe.

Many Eggs or LarvtB in Cells. — ' I received a piece of
comb a few weeks ago which had been taken out of a
common square box. It contained four cells, with three
eggs each, and five with two and two, with three grubs
each a few days old, and two with two each the same age,
and an egg newly deposited sticking on to one of the
grubs. I examined the box and found plenty of room for
the queen ; even the comb that the piece was cut out of
was empty. What could be the cause of it? It was
Aery nice weather at the time, and a good quantity of
honey coming at the time.' — T.

The irregular distribution of the larva? is due to the
hive possessing a fertile worker in lieu of a queen. They
often lay many eggs in single cells, sometimes as many
as twenty. Had the piece of comb been left in the hive,
the bees woidd have enlarged the cells and made room
for their contents, which would have hatched out drones
only. — Ed.]

* We are of the same opinion, anil have little faith in the
conclusions arrived at. Sir John Lubbock once told the
world that bees could not find some honey he had hid (in
summer) amongst some flower-plants, ignoring the wonderful
sense of smell which directed them to a better source of
supply. Had Sir John known that, with honey in abund-
ance in the fields, bees will not take the trouble to pick up
spilt honey of their own previous gathering, he would not
have misunderstood the hint the bees gave, that the honey
he offered them was not so good as they could get in abund-
ance from flowers in the fields. — En.

Spiteful Neighbours. — 'I heard the other day of a man,
a few miles from here, and within a few hundred yards
of a subscriber to the Ii.B. Journal, who is mad at the
new style of bee-keeping, as be calls it, and blames his
neighbour's bees for robbing his. He closed the mouth-
holes of his own, and put out basinfulls of sweet water,
and drowned his neighbour's bees. What should be
done with a man like that ? I warned my friend to
watch him.' — T.

[We do not think the law can be put in force against
the mean-spirited fellow who spitefully destroys his
neighbour's bees ; but he ought to be reminded that it is
a game that two can play at, the fear of reprisals being
more likely to deter him than any appeal that may be
made to his feelings. — Ed.]

(Queries an& Replies.

Queby- No. 428. — Irregular Combs. — Last August I
transferred the brood combs of three skeps to a bar-
frame hive and joined the bees, but, through improper
fixing, all the combs are locked together,, and five frames
are immoveable. What I want to know is — (1 ) Shall
I in spring remove dummy and gradually fill up with
sheets of comb foundation and let them swarm naturally
or let them swarm from the five frames as they are
now? (2) If I adopt either course, shall I drive in
twenty-one days after the issue of the first swarm, and
how is it performed ? My hive is of your Combination
type. Had I known in time that straight nice combs
were so easily produced from foundation, I should hare
avoided the mess and trouble, not to speak of the failure
of transferring, a rather delicate job for a cottager who
had never seen driving, uniting, transferring, or even a
frame hive till I made one myself, and consequently
one's hands are rather apt to tremble. — B. Fii.meb,
Ruchinge, Ashford.

Reply to Queby No. 42S. — The best course will be
to leave the bees where they are till the bees are strong
in spring, and then lift out the five frames bodily, and,
having separated them, tie the combs fairly into them,
and in a day or two, when they have been made
secure by the bees, frames of food may be gradually
given. It is never necessary to drive bees from frame
hives for transferring, because the whole contents can
always be removed and the combs dealt with piece-
meal.— Ed.

Query No. 429. — Glucose. — What is it, and what are
its nature and properties ? Does it resemble honey in any
May? — Back Lebanon, Cupar Fife, N. B.

lli'.ri.v to Queby No. 420. — Glucose is identical,
chemically, with grape sugar, of which honey is largely
comprised; it is colourless and almost tasteless, and is
used largely in America in the adulteration of honey,
which it very much resembles. — En.

Query No. 4:10. — Green Honey. — Some honey lias
been sent me from Essex, which is quite of a greenish
colour, the taste is excellent. Can you account for this
colour ? — Breconshire.

Reply to Query No. 430, — We are unable to
assign a cause for peculiarity of tint in the honey.
Perhaps some of our readers may help to explain
it.— Ed.

Query No. 431. — Bees and Snow. — I shall be much
obliged if you will let me know in the next number of
tin' British Lee Journal how J can prevent my bees
coming out when there is snow on the ground. 1 have
tried everything I can think of, shading them and putting
small tunnels at the flight-hole; but it is no use. We
often get deep snow up here, and sometimes when it is

December 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

169

on the ground the thermometer will go up to 40 or
60 degrees, mid out they come to die on the snow, and as
a good deep fall of snow takes some time to melt even at
that temperature the loss of bees is terrible. I have tried
shutting them up by nailing perforated zinc over the
holes, and tind that doing so nearly always produces
dysentery ; when they tind they can't gel out they get
excited and gorge themselves with honey, and, of course,
dysentery is the result. If you can suggest anything I
shall feel much obliged. — W. Conway Preston, Muir
of Ord, N. B.

Reply to Query No. 401 . — As neither shading nor tun-
nelling appears to be of any use we would try additional
ventilation, and total darkness either by removing the
hives to a dark room or cellar, or by forming an enclosed
ante-room, or lobby in front of the entrance as suggested
on another page. — Ed.

Query No. 432. — Drone-laying Queens. — I have a
yellow queen, hatched in July last. She laid some
worker-eggs in August, which proved to be hybrids ; but
during the month of October she laid nothing but drone-
eggs, which the bees turned out in all stages of inter-
cellular life. Say, is she likely to return to her normal
duties of laying worker-eggs in the spring? — J. D.,
Downpatrick, Nov. 3.

Reply to Query No. 432. — The information given is
barely sufficient to warrant a direct reply : therefore we
say, if the queen that laid worker-eggs in August laid
drone-eggs in worker-cells in October, we should have
little hope of her resuming worker duty satisfactorily in
future. We should consider she had been injured, and
had become useless. If, again, she from some unex-
plained cause laid the drone-eggs in drone-cells, we
should hope that she would still be serviceable, and
would retain her, though such ovipositing would savour
of freakishness. — Ed.

Query No. 433.— (1) Abbott Frames.— What are the
distinctive advantages of your make of Woodbury
frames? (2) Entrances. — Which do you recommend?
entrances hollowed out of floor-board, or cut in side
of hive — and why? (•">) Arrangement of Frames.
— Do you prefer to arrange frames at right angles
or parallel to entrance ? (4) Flour Cake for Winter.
— Will bees live through winter on flour-cake alone,
without sealed stores? If so, about how much will
be required? (5) Throwing out Queens. — On two
recent occasions I united stocks, both of which I be-
lieved to have queens. Yet in neither instance has a
dead queen been cast out of the hive since. How can
this be ? The dates on which I united were October
18th and 26th.

Reply, to Query No. 433.— 1. We prefer our pat! in
of frame with widened ends, because they are self-
regulating as to distance from each other; because they
keep the bees within the hive, instead of allowing them
to ramble, and the heat of the hive to escape as is the
case where distance-pin? are used, and because the pro-
jecting ends are convenient for handling. 2. We prefer
entrances cut out of the hive, because they leave the
floor-board level, permit of its being easily cleared of
dead bees and debris from the outside, and because they
permit of the easy adjustment of entrance-slides. 3.
We prefer frames parallel to the entrance of a hive for
reasons given ad nauseam in the Journal. 4. We think
flour-cake for winter food a grave mistake, as it is
almost certain to induce breeding abnormally (seep. 104,
' Sufficiency of Food '), and lead to a diseased condition.
5. The probability is that the bees carried the queens
out of the hive during the day and dropped them at a
distance. — Ed.

Query No. 434. — The Bingham Smolter. — 1. In using
this smoker, would you kindly inform me if charcoal
was used to kindle and keep up combustion of the

tobacco-leaves or other material used ? I am afraid that
simply filling the tube of the smoker, the fire might die
out just when it was required. Would the use of
charcoal be in any way injurious to the bees?

2. I have two or three hives, the bees of which were
unfortunately hived late (Aug. 8th). Consequently I
have been feeding them with good syiup up to this
time, and I And that they have not sealed over the liquid
honey in the combs, although they have hatched out a
fair quantity of young- bees. Would you kindly state if
the bees, being in this condition, are likely to survive
the coining winter? and also the best food to be given,
or any management you can recommend to save them ?
I have given flour-cake, but it does not appear palateable
to them. — W. II. B.uuext, St. Seng's, Southampton,
Nov. 14.

Reply to Query No. 434. — 1. We have not ex-
perienced the difficulty anticipated with the Bingham
smoker, and should certainly not use charcoal as suggested,
its fumes being deadly poison.

2. If we had foreknowledge of wdiat the forthcoming
winter is even likely to be, it would be easy to prophesy
as regards the bees; but as the weather of to-morrow is
a secret to-daj-, we cannot offer an opinion. In all such
questions, our advice is offered on safe premises. We
declined in October to recommend November feeding.
October was a very cold month, and from past years'
experience, November should have been much colder,
yet it has been mild and spring-like, and bees may have
been enabled to tide over the risk attending late feeding.
— Ed.

Query' No. 435. — I have a swarm of bees in a straw
skep. It weighed 20 lbs. a month ago, and has had
about 4 lbs. of artificial food since. Ought they to have
any more now, or be left to themselves till the spring?
Will it be possible for a beginner to transfer them to a
Woodbury hive in the spring, and what is the best time ?
— J. G., St. Leonards.

Reply to Query No. 435. — Should the stock be
sufficiently strong in bees, it ought to do without
more food until the spring crocuses are in bloom, when
it will be good policy to feed gently and continuously
with syrup, and to give pea-flour as artificial pollen. It
is quite possible and as easy for a beginner to drive bees
as for an expert, if he will adopt the principles advised
in the Journal and Leaflets. With the bees absent, the
transferring of combs is simply mechanical labour, which
any one, with a little tact and patience, may readily ac-
complish. The best time for the work is twenty-one days
after swarming, as then there will be little, if any, brood
in the hive likely to be injured in cutting and fitting the
combs together. Considering, however, the cheapness
and utility of comb foundation, we have ceased to re-
commend the transfer of broodless combs ; it is far safer,
better, and cheaper to take the honey that is found in
the hive at the time stated and melt up the combs, and
to give the bees full sheets of foundation to work out as
already directed in Journal. — Ed.

Query No. 43G. — Sugar Cake. — We have had a most
abundant honey harvest this year, which in some mea-
sure we owe to the many valuable hints and good advice
contained in the Journal. Will you kindly say in your
next what sugar-cake is ? Whenever we have been
obliged to feed bees in the winter, we have given barley-
sugar. In your reply to Query 427 of this month,
you say, speaking of winter feeding: — ' It will be better
to give sugar cake when required.' We tried dry un-
erystallised sugar one, but the bees all died. Wishing
you a happy Christmas and a prosperous new vear. —
E. R. East York), November 21, 1881.

Reply to Query No. 430. — Sugar cake is made by
boiling 4 His. of loaf sugar and half a pint of water
together, stirring all the time to prevent burning. Try

170

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[December 1, 1881.

a few drops occasionally on a cold plate, and when it
sets hard (i.e., not sticky) it is done. Kemove from the
fire, and keep stirring until nearly cold, then pour into
moulds. Dinner plates, lined with paper, answer well
for this purpose, and the paper need not be removed
until the food is given to the bees. — Ed.

Qieby No. 437. — Two or more Stocks as one. — it is an
admitted fact, I believe, that if one wishes to be success-
ful with bees, strong colonies are of the first importance,
and this being the case, it has occurred to me, that two
or more stocks, with their queens, may be worked to-
gether without risk to the latter. My plan for obtaining
this object is as follows : — Take a large double hive with
entrances at both ends, containing two stocks, being kept
separate for the first three or four days by means of a
divider of perforated zinc, the perforations to be small
enough to prevent bees passing through, which I think
would have the effect of causing the bees of both stocks
to have a smell in common, hence preventing fighting.
On the third or fourth day after commencing this experi-
ment, I would substitute a divider of the ordinary ex-
cluder zinc for the one having the fine perforations, and
thereby giving free intercourse between the two stocks at
the same time, at the same time keeping the queens in
their respective domains. The points I should like your
valuable opinion upon are — (1.) Is such an arrange-
ment practical ? (2.) If so, do you think the conjoint
action of two or more stocks any advantage over the
present system of working stocks independently ? (■'!.)
Would the presence of two queens so near each other
tend to excite a desire for swarming ? — Sydxey Foud,
Southerton -House, Ottery St. Mary, Devon, Nov. 10,
1861.

Heply to Queby No. 437 1 — (1 and 3.) Though
feasible on the face of it, the proposal is not practical,
and is against the natural habits of bees — they insist on
one queen and one brood nest, and where two healthy
queens are within speaking distance of each other, they
fight or swarm out. (2.) We doubt the value of the
proceeding, even supposing the bees would live amicably
together under the circumstances. The two sets of brood
would require two sets of nurses, and honey and pollen
gatherers to provide and administer the food required,
and neither lot of bees would store more surplus than
they would do as separate colonies. For honey-gathering
purposes, one stock may be built up with combs of hatch-
ing brood from another, and a vast population created in
an easy and safe way, and with such facility the experi-
ment proposed does not seem particularly attractive. —
Ed.

Query No. 438. — Size of Frames. — I have a doubt
about the size of my frames. They are 9£ in. deep by
9J in. wide (inside measure). Is this too small for
general use ? I have plenty of room in rear, and also
above brood-nest, but what I want to know is, what the
disadvantage (if any) is in having frames so much
narrower than the Woodbury P I made my frames thus,
before I knew the proper size, and have a lot of boxes bv
me to fit.— W. T., Norton Lees, Sheffield, Nov. 24, 1881.

Reels to Quedy No. 438. — There is no advantage in
having the frames of Woodbury size, beyond the facility
afforded for interchanging them. Other sizes may be
made interchangeable, as are those named, and provided
the hives will contain a sufficient number of I hem to afford
the requisite breeding and st irage spare, the latter have
no disadvantages so far as the bees are concerned. — Ed.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS-

J. L. W. N. — Unsealed food or honey extracted from
combs in autumn should be boiled and bottled off,
when it will keep, and be perfectly good bee-food for
use in the spring.

FRAME-HIVES, double walled, with Abbott's
Woodbury Frame, on stout legs, moveable reversible
floor-board, porch, entrauce-slides, dividers, and quilt, com-
plete, well finished, for 21s. ; if painted, 23s. Cash with
order. H. Wall, Rashwood, Droitwich. fo. 40

ARABIS ALPINUS, the best early Honey-
yielding Flower, blooms from March to July, or all
the year round by successive plantings. It has been bloom-
ing with us from March to February. Price, Is. Gd.
per hundred plants; 10s. Gd. per thousand ; very hardy; sure
to grow, and increases rapidly. Plant one foot apart every
way. Abbott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.

To MANUFACTURERS of COMB FOUNDATION.

PURE BEES' WAX, of Good Colour, may be
had in any quantity, not less than 28 lbs., at Is. 6rf.
per lb., free to Southall Station, Great Western Railway.
Address Abbott Bros., Fairlawn, Southall.

A new supply, Latest Edition.

rnHE A B C OF BEE CULTURE. By A. I.
J_ Boot, Medina, Ohio, U. S., Editor of ' Gleanings.'
' Invaluable to beginners, and also as a book of reference.'
Price, in paper covers, 4s., Post free. Abbott Brothers,

Southall, London, Middlesex.

pLASS HONEY JARS.— Abbott Brothers take

VJT orders for these for forwardment from Birmingham.
Price, 1 lb., 15s. per gross ; 2 lb., 18s. per gross. Packing
2s. and 2s. Gd. respectively. Those who wish for these
must order early, as no stock is kept. There are no agents
and no depots. Abbott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.

PURE EXTRACTED HONEY, Is. Bd. per lb.
in Glass Jars, jars included. Address Abbott Bros.,
Fairlawn, Southall.

VEGETABLE PARCHMENT for Covering
Honey Jars or Preserves. Price 2s. per lb. Sample
Sheets, id., post free. Invaluable in the Household.
Abbott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.

LIMNANTHES DOUGLASII PLANTS, Is. 6d.
per 100. Plant now to fill the honeyless interval be-
tween Fruit-blossoms and White Clover. 10s. per 1000.
Certain to grow, and very hardy.

Address Abbott linos., Southall, Middlesex.

DIAGRAMS FOR LECTURES, by the British
Bee-Keepers' Association, with descriptive Pam-
phlet, 8s., free on rail. Abbott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.

HE LECTURE.— A few Copies on hand.

Price 2s. 2d. post free. Letters to Editor.

T

CIjc gritblj |Vcc |aurnal

AND BEE-KEEPER'S ADVISER.

The British Bee Journal is published monthly, and
contains the best practical information for the time being,
showing what to do, and when and how to do it.

Subscribers to the Journal are first, second, and third
class. First class are those who subscribe 10s. Gd. per
annum, from any date, who are entitled to immediate re-
plies, per post, to their queries, when a stamped direoted
envelope is sent. Second class are those who subscribe Gs.
per annum, and whose queries can only be replied to through
the columns of the Journal ; nnd Third arc Clubs of Cot-
tagers, each consisting of not less than six, to whom the
charge will be 4s. Gd. each Member.

Subscriptions, Correspondence, mid Inquiries to be addressed to

C. N. ABBOTT, Bee Master,

School of Apiculture, Fairlawn, Southall, London.

THE

[No. 105. Vol. IX.]

JANUARY, 1882.

[Published Monthly.]

(SfaxtomI, ftoiias, fe.

JANUARY.

A Happy New Year ! to all our friends, and
that it may be a prosperous one generally is
our most earnest greeting at the beginning of
1882. Christmas has passed and, we trust, has
been merrily spent, and thankfully. The past
year, though all that could be desired in the
South of Britain, has not been so kind in the
North and in Ireland, where wet and cold have
prevailed ; nevertheless, there has been no di-
minution in the ardour of bee-keepers, who
continue to press onward against all difficulties
to the establishment of bee culture as a national
industry. How many Associations have been
formed and are forming in the United Kingdom
we are almost afraid to say, lest we should
omit any and offend, but their name is Legion,
and the work they are doing invaluable. A
year ago we were enabled to congratulate ' the
craft ' on the establishment of a central Asso-
ciation in Ireland consequent on the ' raid '
made by the British in that gloriously beautiful
land, and now we are in a position to state that
a similar Association is forming in Wales under
auspices (reported in another column) that will
ensure it a firm base for operations in that too
long reticent Principality.

The efforts of the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, worthy of all praise, as they have
ever been under the able guidance of the
Rev. Mr. Peel, promise a vast increase of
usefulness through a channel that, until of
late, has existed only in name in their pro-
spectus. For a long time there has been a
library in connexion with the Association, with
Mr. Cheshire as librarian, but its books, with
one or two exceptions, have remained on the
.shelves of the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals, Jermyn Street, London,
who kindly placed them at the disposal of the
Association ; but now they are likely, under
the care of Mr. Henderson, of Ealing, to fulfil
the purpose of their existence. Mr. Henderson

is developing his idea that the books should be
lent, to the members of the Association, and,
for love of the work, has voluntarily under-
taken the labour involved in their distribution
and the correspondence it will entail. Bor-
rowers, however, must be punctual in returning
the books forwarded to them, a rule which
must not be tampered with, or there will be an
end to all regularity.

The English literature of bee-keeping will,
all being well, receive a most valuable addi-
tion during the coming season in the form
of a translation of Dr. Dzierzon's master-
piece, Rational Bee-keeping, an immortal work
by the greatest German authority, quoted
everywhere, but never yet rendered into Eng-
lish in its entirety. The translation is by S.
Stutterd, Esq., of Banbury, whose scholarly
ability is beyond question, and whose ren-
dering of the text it is a pleasure in itself
to read, and we have undertaken to supervise
the Anglicised technicalities. The illustrations
will all be reproduced, and every care will be
exercised that the translation shall be intact,
that wherever the English language is under-
stood, the princijDles of German bee-culture
may be ventilated. Hitherto English bee-
keepers, except in isolated instances, have been
able to compare notes with America only.
Presently they will learn how things are done
in Germany, and done successfully, too, and
light will be let in which the unprejudiced will
duly apj>reciate.

Another great means of instruction and help
to the cause will be inaugurated this year, and,
let us hope, will be faithfully carried out. On
page 142 of the present volume of this Journal
will be found an offer by the Honourable and
Rev. H. Bligh, of valuable prizes for the pro-
motion of cottage bee-keeping, and the Com-
mittee of the B. B.K.A. have taken the matter
up, and are considerably exercised as to the
best means of carrying out the competition in
a way that shall prevent the possibility of
after-remark on its strict fairness. We are not
in a position to publish the various suggestions
that have been made, but we may state that

IK

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 1, 1882.

the idea is acknowledged to be an excellent
one, and it is hoped that additional donations
will raise the ten pounds offered by Mr. Bligh
to twenty guineas at the least ; and we would
add, as much more as can be got together, that
the competition may be as extensive as possible,
and that there may be no lack of means to
ensure close scrutiny during its carrying out.
It should be well understood that the competi-
tion is double-barrelled, and that both barrels
are charged with missives which, if they reach
their mark, will destroy ' old fogeyism ' for good
and all, and will establish beyond doubt the
value of bee-keeping as a paying industry when
well understood and practised. "We look upon
this scheme as one of the most valuable' ever
set on foot, and consider it worthy the most
earnest attention of bee-keepers associated and
otherwise. Well-wishers to bee-keeping can
imagine the effect of the establishment of a
few frame-hives in an unbelieving cottager's
garden ; first-class hives, made from sixpenny
egg-boxes (see November Journal), and fitted
out with foundation made at home after the
manner shown at the late South Kensington
Show. Fogey would open his eyes so wide
that Fogeyism would get through the lids,
leaving room for Common Sense to come in and
establish itself ; and what would the advocates
of expensive hives and bee-palaces have to say?
for the second barrel of the scheme, whether
intentionally or not, aims straight at them, and
its bomb will explode in their midst, scattering
them to the winds, and leaving the ground
clear, that bee-farming may be practised with-
out being heavily^ handicapped.

There is one other subject that has occupied
our thoughts for some time, and which, we
think, will commend itself to our readers, viz.,
the establishment of a Bee-keepers' Chrono-
logical Calendar of Events, to issue monthly
for the year in the Journal, and to take per-
manent form at the year's end, when, subject
to correction and revision, if satisfactory it
could be interspersed with concise information
on bee-keeping, and would be eminently useful.
We are collating facts from past years' records
in the Journal and elsewhere, but there are
many things that we cannot put our hand upon.
We want the dates of all kinds of bee inven-
tions and discoveries both here and elsewhere ;
the dates of formation of Associations, the
birth-days of prominent bee-keepers past and
present, and death-days of those who have been
gathered to their fathers ; dates of lectures and
shows, and of any fact that may be thought
worthy of record, and we confidently ask our
readers to give us all the help they can in our
desire to get uj> an array of facts that may be
turned to useful purpose. Our list for the pre-
sent month is rather meagre, but by the end of

it, before the February Number appears, we
hope it will be enlarged. Hon. Sees, of Asso-
ciations can be very helpful if they will take
onty a little trouble, and our readers generally'
can, and we hope will, afford ready assistance.

USEFUL HINTS.

The Mild Season. — The weather during the
past three months has been, generally, so mild
and open that bees have been unusually active,
in some instances gathering pollen, or its sub-
stitute, so late as the 6th December, and as a
consequence the consumption of food and the
loss of bees has been greater than 'they would
have been had the bees been confined by cold
and remained in a semi-dormant state amongst
their combs. In hives ' well found ' in autumn
there will be little danger, but stocks compara-
tively weak shoidd be watched.

Signs of Evil. — Bees seldom suffer and die
without giving signs that a watchful eye can
detect. If in danger of starvation they will
fall to the hive-floor, and some of them will
struggle to the entrance and stand shivering
till they die. If d}'senteric through cold or
excessive moisture, some will crawl, with dis-
tended bodies, outside the hive, and there will
be excreta of dirty yellow appearance about the
alighting-board. When breeding has com-
menced, and from any cause is suddenly
checked, dead white bees, partly eaten, arc
likely to be seen at the entrance, and in
either case the hive should undergo immediate
examination.

Winter Searching. — Outside appearances,
while often suggestive of evil within, are not
always indicative of the extent of it, and we
woidd, in all suspected cases, at once make
search by passing a wire hook through the en-
trance over the floor-board round the hive. If
many dead be found the hive will- most likely
require to be dried and the bees fed, and
feeding should always follow on the discovery
of white bees on the alighting-board. In
searching with a wire, if but few dead bees be
found, and the living follow closely ujdou their
removal, there will be little cause for anxiety
for the time being, and if the clustering bees
are found to reach the floor-board (in an ordi-
nary hive), they may be accounted safe. The
worst sign of mischief is the discovery of
numbers of dead and dying bees all distended
and many burst, their filth, of a brownish-
yellow colour, staining both bees and floor-
board and emitting a sickly odour. This is
dysentery, a disease more easy of prevention
than cure. There is another evil the searching-
hook may discover, and that is, the presence of
mice in the hive. These, like dysentery, should
be carefully guarded against, but sometimes,

January 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

173

like the mouse in the fable, they get in and in-
crease to a size that prevents them getting out
again. Their presence will he known by an
abundance of comb chips on the floor-board,
and, at all risks, they (the mice) cannot too
quickly be dislodged. They eat both bees and
honey, their odour is most objectionable to
bees, and often bees will desert a hive in con-
sequence of it.*

Dysentery. — The cause of this is cold and
dampness. In warm weather, however damp,
provided the bees can fly abroad, it docs little
harm, as the bees can discharge the fa3cal
matter outside the hive, but in cold weather,
with the cause ever present, the cure of dysen-
tery is not an easy task. Dryness of hive,
warmth, and new syrup or barley-sugar, are
the requisites ; and, if it be possible, a spraying
of the combs with salicylic solution, to arrest
the fermentive action the dysenteric odours
may have produced, will be desirable. Hot
bricks on the hive or under it, and a bottle of
warm salicylized syrup given at night, is the
best rough and ready treatment, and the first
fine day should be taken advantage of to give
the bees a flight and to cleanse them tho-
roughly. After a flight, which may be caused
on a fine day by giving warm syrup copiously,
a new set of combs, containing sealed honey, in
a clean hive, will be most beneficial. Dysentery
is the winter scourge of dilatory bee-keepers,
and as it generally cuLninates in foul brood, it
ought to be carefully guarded against, or strong
measures should be taken to cure or stamp it out.

Spring Feeding. — The mild weather has
made spring flowers start into renewed life ab-
normally early, and many are inquiring as to
the advisability of giving pea-flour and stimu-
lating the bees with syrup. It would be about
as reasonable to put cucumber plants in the
open ground ; they might thrive for a day or
two and then be killed outright. Take Punch's
advice and ' Don't do it.' The blossoming of
crocuses is usually indicative of the time to
commence feeding, but this year they are likely
to be full early. Breeding in winter, however
caused, is generally followed by dysenteric
symptoms, and, curiously enough, dysentery,
however caused, is nearly sure to induce
breeding. Bee-keepers should, therefore, care-
fully avoid the possible causes of either.

Drying Out. — At this time of year every
opportunity should be seized for drying the
quilts and packings about the hives. A sunny
day ought to find all the roofs turned inside to
the sun, and the quilt. &c, exposed, that the
sun's rays may dry and air them. We have often

* Bee-gear stored for future use should lie carefully
protected from rnicely visitation. Many supers remain
unoccupied, and the bees persist in swarming because
they (the supers) have been where mice have been,

suggested that a window in the roof to admit
heat into the upper storey during winter would
be advantageous.

Queen Wasps. — Though we were almost
free from wasps during the whole of last
season, we have caught and killed scores of
those hidden in the coverings of hives and
amongst piles of drying deal boards. They
may be of great service in the economy of
nature, but are not wanted near apiaries, and
should be destroyed.

Tom Tits. — These saucy little rascals do a
great deal of mischief in snowy weather, when
food for birds is scarce. They wait at hive
entrances and attract bees to the alighting-
board, where they snap them up and devour
them. Those who do not like to kill them may
prevent them doing mischief by fixing a piece
of wire-netting a few inches about the hive
entrance, so that the bird cannot pick up the
bee from the floor-board. On the wing the
bee is fairly safe, and in close quarters the bird
will be likely to get the worst of it.

Preparation. — Now is a good time to pre-
pare for the coming season by ordering what-
ever goods will be of a certainty wanted. Bee-
keepers should consider that hives and bee-
fixings are too bulky to be stored in sufficient
quantity to be ready for all emergencies, and
they must not blame beehive-makers if they
have not at swarming time exactly what each
bee-keeper requires. There are dozens of pat-
terns of hives, and for a hive-maker to provide
as large a number of each as might be wanted
of the whole, it woidd be necessary to have a
store-room as large as the Crystal Palace and
capital in proportion, — a proposition too absurd
to be entertained for a moment. There are
many hive-makers and dealers in bee-gear, all
ready and anxious to know the state of the
public mind in respect of hives and other
goods, but, with few exceptions, the desired in-
timation will not be given until the things are
actually wanted, and then the unfortunate hive-
maker will be held to blame. It may be urged
with good show of reason, that bee-keepers
have not the capital to advance in the winter
season, an argument that may cut both ways,
and brings us no nearer to a solution of the
difficult question, ' What shall hive-makers
provide ?' If it be true that ' a word to the
wise is sufficient for them,' we are content to
let the question rest, but doubtless there will be
many otherwise, who will put off till ' to-
morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, to the
last syllable.' The beginning of a new year is
a good time for settling accounts and clearing
up arrears of subscriptions for Bee Journal.
We are very grateful for the patronage we
have received, and tender our best thanks to
all our friends and supporters, but we cannot

174

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 1, 1882.

refrain from quoting an observation by a young
lady on Ramsgate Pier, just as tbe boat was
leaving for London : — ' Thank you very much,
dear (readers). Give my best regards to every-
body ; tell them how well we are all getting
on, and don't forget the Post-ofEce order!'

HOW TO MAKE A FIRST-CLASS HIVE.

We have been asked whether the dimension
given for the breadth of the inner side walls,
viz. 84 inches, is not too great seeing that the
depth of a Woodbury frame is only 8 inches
from the under side of the shoulders on which
it rests, and that consequently there will be
three quarters of an inch between the bottom
of the frames and the floor-board ? In reply
we would direct attention to the foot-note
which shows that shrinkage was comtemplated,
and, as a matter of fact, will be almost certain
to take place, reducing the hive sides consider-
ably, and probably leaving less than half an
inch beneath the frames. We gave the di-
mension advisedly because in all probability
home-made frames will be furnished with a
thicker bottom rail than is customary, which
would still further reduce the space, and because,
under all circumstances, even supposing the
three quarters of an inch to remain in full, it
would not be detrimental, while if less than a
quarter should be left it would be obstructive.*
Nevertheless, if the tbree quarters be objected to,
it will be easy to plane off a little at top or bottom
of the hive and reduce it. Regarding the top
edge of the side boards, we ought to have advised
that the outside angle should be planed away
so as to leave only about an eighth to a quarter
of an inch for the frame-ends to rest upon. In
our own best hives we usually use boards still
narrower than those described, and fix a thin
strip of hard wood as a runner along the top
with about an eighth of an inch top sur-
face, only. We endeavoured to show this in
our sketch to the artist, but he has shown
tbe side boards, flat on top and level with
the corner pieces, p. 129. We are further
questioned as to whether the outside casing
should not project a quarter inch at bottom in
the same way that the inner walls do, and we
can only apologise for not having said as much,
though we thought it would be obvious to in-
terested readers. The frames now claim atten-
tion, and as we know of no ordinary frames
that are so good as those with broad shoulders
to tbe top bars, called after our own name, we

* The contemplated mode of making the frame-ends,
by which it might he found convenient and less ex-
pensive to reduce the thickness of the 'lugs ' or shoulders
of the frames, which would let the frame a little lower into
the hive, was also in mind when the direction was given.

strongly advise that they be adopted. They
have stood the test of several years, have in
hundreds of cases displaced plain frames with
distance-pins, have been adopted by many hive-
makers (generally without acknowledgment) , and
would be made by almost all amateurs but for
the nicety required in their manufacture, and
which can only be achieved by the use of
machinery which few of the latter class possess.
We, however, now propose to simplify their
manufacture so that any one may make them
who can use saw, chisel, and hammer respect-
ably, and who can bore through a piece of
leather or gutta percha with a bradawl.

To make the top bars for ten frames a piece
of soundboard is required, 17£ inches long, 10£
to 11 inches wide, and half an inch thick,
though slightly less than the last would do. Lay
it on the bench, and with the square mark it
across at exactly an inch and a half from each
end, then saw along each of the lines an eighth
of an inch deep as it lies, and saw, chisel, or
plane out the ends to the depth of the saw
grooves,* forming a rabbet at each end, as per
woodcut, and leaving 14i inches of wood solid

Fig. 1.

across the centre. With a pencil and rule line
out the piece lengthwise, and cut it into bars
an inch wide, when it will be seem that each
bar will fit the hive crosswise, the shoulders
formed in cutting the rabbet preventing longi-
tudinal movement. The wide ears must now
be put on, and herein has been the difficulty
with amateurs ; if they nail on small pieces of
wood they would almost certainly split; but
if they adopt our idea they cannot fail. There
is an old saying, ' There's nothing like leather,'
and if our hive-making friends will obtain a
strip of sole leather, or its best substitute, gutta
percha, ten inches long, half an inch wide, and
of the thickness of the reduced frame ends and
cut it into inch lengths and then divide it
diagonally as shown

here they
pieces,that
frame ends

will have twenty end-
when fixed to the
will neither split nor break off.

Our next woodcut shows the true size (in
flat section) of the Abbott frame-end, resting

* In view of leather being used to widen the shoulders
it may lessen the cost if the ends of the frames be rab-
bel ted a quarter of an inch instead of an eighth ; it will
not weaken the bar, and the leather being a quarter inch
thick will be stout enough for all purposes.

January 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

175

on a hive runner indicated by the parallel
dotted lines, the thick line represents the saw
groove, in which foundation is fixed ; the part I
is the piece of leather or gutta percha, and the
dotted lines to the left show the parts cut off
from the plain bar, to form the pointed end

which is so convenient in handling. It will be
seen that the pieces nailed on also rest on the
hive runner, and this evidences that the shoulder
on the underside of the bar is sufficient guide to
the position in which the leather pieces should
be fixed. In nailing them on, inch wire pins
will do for the wedge-shaped ends ; but inch
and a half wire nails will be required for the
square ends, and they should be driven diagon-
ally into the thick part of the bars. The top
bars being formed, the remaining parts of the
frames are not difficult; the uprights may be of
quarter or three-eighth stuff, the latter prefer-
ably, as it will be easier for amateurs to nail
into; they should be of the same width as the top
bar, and should be fixed so as to hang a quarter
of an inch (as nearly as possible) from the hive
sides. The length is usually seven inches and
three quarters, which with the eighth of an
inch ' gained ' by reducing the ends of the top
bar and an eighth, the thickness of the bottom
rail, makes eight inches, the measurement
mentioned by the correspondent first quoted.
The mode of making the saw-groove along the
centre of the top bar for receiving comb-foun-
dation has been already described ; but a re-
petition will perhaps not be unacceptable. The
best way is to take the bars to some one using
a small circular saw, and get them cut true
upon it ; but failing that convenience they may
be cut with a key-hole saw, a hole having been
first bored near one end to permit of its point
being passed through. The quilt is a simple
arrangement, a piece of light linen or cotton
material as the first layer, and then several thick-
nesses of carpet, flannel, bagging, felt, or any
other porous material that may be convenient.
For feeding purposes it is usual to cut the hole

through them on one side of the centre, so that
when not required for that purpose the hole
may be covered up by simply reversing the
upper strata of which it is composed.

The dummy, or divider, next claims atten-
tion, and it is usual in cheap hives to cut a
piece of board of a size to fit the hive, and to
consider it good enough for all practical pur-
poses, but our endeavour is to show what is a
little better than ' good enough,' and therefore
we describe the dummy or divider that was
awarded first prize at the South Kensington show
in July last.

It is formed of a piece of soft pine an inch
thick, 8| wide, and about 13i inches long,
planed on both sides and on top and bottom.
This is grooved at each end, on the right
about three-quarters of an inch, on the left about
an inch deep, the grooves being about three-
eighths of an inch wide. Two slips of oak,
three-eighths of an inch thick, and about an
inch wide, are cut to fit the grooves, and that
on the right is fixed in position by a single pin
driven through the whole at a, which permits

Abbott's Pbize Division Board, 1881.

the oak slip to move, like a scale-beam, on its
centre, and fit against a hive-side, whether it be
right-angled or sloping in either direction.
The slip on the left, however, is differently
treated, and two small slots, about a sixteenth of
an inch wide and three-eighths long,
are made in it as indicated, near the
top and bottom. A loekspring of the
ordinary V pattern is then fixed at
or near a, in the groove above, so
arranged that its loose or outer arm
shall press outward at the centre
against oak strip No. 2 when it is
placed in the groove. The strip
being so placed, and pressed against
the spring, two pins are driven
through the cheeks of the groove, and through
the slots in the oak slip also ; and if these be
done as intended, the dummy as a whole
should be capable of fitting any hive of Wood-
bury pattern, even though its sides be not per-
pendicular. In inserting it it should be taken
in both hands below its centre, and the oak
strips pressed into the grooves at bottom, and

17G

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 1, 1882.

when between the hive walls it may be pushed
to the bottom without difficulty.

To prevent it touching the combs when in
position, it will now be necessary to fix small
blocks of wood, leather, or gutta-percha, to the
top outer corners of the oak slips as shown in
the woodcut, and these should project at the
least a quarter of an inch beyond the face of the
central part of the divider, and ordinarily it
will be well to make them property distance-
keeping on both sides, that they may be rever-
sible. Many may prefer to use two springs on
the left of the divider, in which case they
should be so arranged that their outer arms
press against the oak slrps near the top and
bottom.

Winter Packing. — The double walls of the
hive will give ample space for packing any
reasonable amount of chaff or other material, to
prevent loss of heat through them, and although
we are thoroughly convinced that nothing can
be devised so perfectly protective as the combs
themselves when duly enclosed, there are
many who will not be satisfied without chaff-
cushions or other packing at the front and back
of them. To meet this requirement, and to
' kill two stones with one bird,' we devised and
exhibited at South Kensington Show a chaff-
cushion or box, that might also bo used as a
feeder, with the advantage that in case of acci-
dent the bottle might be replaced almost with-
out trouble or expense. The woodcut shows a

/I

i

— i

,■ i

/ 7

-

Abbott's Feeding Dummy.

little light wooden frame, with central divisions
of a size that will exactly receive a common
green glass medicine-bottle. At the bottom of
this compartment, and about half-an-inch from
the bottom of the frame, a slip of zinc is intro-
duced having holes in its centre, upon which
the inverted bottle will stand. The side com-
partments of the frame may be filled with pack-
ing up to the top ; and if feeding be unnecessary
the central compartment may be stuffed with
anything easily removeable, an old stocking-foot
or small bag filled witli hay would answer; but
in spring and autumn, when feeding is neces-
sary, this dummy arrangement will be found
most useful, as the food can be administered
without disturbance of the bees or the quilt,
and in perfect security from outside bees under
fair ordinary conditions. In feeding, the
mouth of the bottle is covered with a small

piece of vegetable parchment, and the daily
dole is regulated hy the number of holes in it,
which should be made with a red-hot knitting-
needle, in which case they will remain open.
Three or four holes will be ample for spring
feeding.

Top Cushion Feeder. — A top cushion is a
handy thing on a hive in winter, as it keeps
the quilt beneath it closely down upon the
frames, while it permits due ventilation ; but we
think most of our readers will agree that when
feeding is necessary it is very inconvenient,
and often highly injurious to the bees, to be
obliged to remove the cushion to permit of the
feeding-stage being placed upon the quilt. At
the South Kensington Show, several of our
hives were furnished with our cushions, and
one was exhibited with the dummy feeder
above, in Class 35, No. 259, as ' a new invention,
calculated to improve the culture of bees,' but
the judges did not think much of it, and passed
it over. As will be seen from the woodcut, it

is a wooden frame with central compartment.
The underside of the frame, except the central
space, is covered with the usual strainer or
calico, and the compartments thus formed are
filled with chaff or other packing. The cen-
tral space is of the same size as our feeding-
stage, so that when the latter, or any other not
larger is iqron the quilt, the cushion can be
worn upon the hive, and feeding continued
without its removal. "When discontinued, the
bottle can be removed, and its place filled with
a bag or pad in the usual way. There is not
much in the invention, but in use it is very
convenient, and one can but wonder that it was
not thought of before. It is applicable to any
hive or feeder.

We have now run through all the chief
parts of one of the simplest and best hives that
has ever been brought to the notice of the
public. Wo have not thought it necessary to
describe a special porch, or entrance-slides, as
they are matters of every-day knowledge, nor
have we tried to introduce aught beyond the
ken of a novice or amateur, whether as a car-
penter or bee-man. Nevertheless, if anything
is not clear, a post-card pointing out the de-
ficiencies will ensure early attention in the
Journal.

January 1, 1882.]

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

177

HOW TO MAKE A FIRST CLASS OB-
SERVATORY HIVE.

Our friend ' Merci ' has paid us a high com-
pliment on the accuracy of the directions
hitherto given. He withheld his opinion until
he had made a hive as far as wo had described
the way to do so, but has made it only fifteen
inches long, instead of thirty, thereby taking
from the hive the chief means of observation,
for without length in the interior there cannot
be sufficient separation of the combs to permit
a Ml examination of them individually. Our
description, however, will answer for any
length, as far as the body of the hive is con-
cerned ; but for the facilities the peculiar
features of the crown-board (?) are intended
to supply, shortness will be, in a measure,
fatal.

The frames for the hive, as we before stated,
will be denuded of their wide ends, and in lieu
of them tin ends will be put on in the frames,
being prepared thus : — Take a piece of board
exactly fourteen and a half inches long, and
three eighths of an inch thick, and cut it into
bars an inch wide, which will exactly fit be-
tween the side walls across the hive. Each of
the bars should have three small screw eyes,
an eighth of an inch in diameter, inserted in
the top, one in the centre, and the o ther two
about three quarters of an inch on either side
of it ; the whole to be in a line along the bar,
and when screwed home, to stand across it so
as to be easily threaded from above — by acci-
dent, only two are shown in the wood-cut.

Bab, with Tin Ends, foe Observatory Hive.

The sides of the frames should now be put on
a quarter of an inch from each end of the bars.
They will be seven and three-eighths inches
long, and an inch wide, and the bottom rails
fourteen inches long, and a quarter of an inch
thick, when nailed on, will make the frame
eight and one eighth inches deep outside
measure, leaving a quarter of an inch clear
between them and the floor-board when in
position.* Now take some strips of stout tin,
iron hooping, sheet copper, or brass, as may be
most convenient or tasty, an inch in width,
and about two and a half inches long — round
off one end, and having made some screw holes
in the other, fix them to the ends of the top

* These frames, when intended to he put into an
ordinary Woodbury hive, should be fixed under false top
bars of the usual shape, three eighths of an inch thick,
■when they will be of proper depth, and will be flush
with the others in the hive.

bars, the rounded ends projecting,* and, ex-
cepting the comb foundation, which may be
fixed in any way preferred,! the frames will
be complete, though the chances of propolisa-
tion will be lessened if the half inch that
touches the glass at each end of them be re-
duced on the lower side, so that the thickness
under the tin shall be not more than an eighth
of an inch. The frames being made there only
remains the crown-board (?), which is a frame
of wood filled with pieces of glass, with slight
apertures between them. To make the frame,
a piece of wood, about eight feet long and an
inch square, should be obtained, and a groove
made along one side of it, three-sixteenths of
an inch from the edge. The groove should be
of a width to receive the plate glass that is to
go into it, and of a depth of about a quarter of
an inch, rather more than less ; and the piece
should be cut into lengths to form the frame,
which should be of a size to lie upon, and be
even with, the tops of the corner posts of the
hive, the grooved side, being inwards, and the
edge that is three-sixteenths of an inch from
the ground at the bottom. The manner of
making the frame may be left to the taste of
the maker ; it may be nailed together, halved
together and nailed, or tenoned together in the
same way that common school slate frames are,
and an amateur cannot do better than borrow
a school slate to learn the way to do it. Hav-
ing formed the frame, which may be plain or
beaded according to taste, the glasses must be
put into it before it is nailed or glued together;
and these require care in their preparation.
The engraving shows the style of arrangement
— a wide piece of glass at each end, and the
centre filled up with narrow pieces, rather less
than an eighth of an inch apart. The greatest

possible facility for examining the combs will
be obtained by having the narrow strips an
inch and a half wide only, but they would pos-
sibly be too weak to be of practical utility.
The safest width, consistent with easy observa-
tion, is four and a half inches, and there should

* The rounded, projecting ends must each eventually
have a hole made in it, hut the position of them will de-
pend on circumstances, which will he the subject of con-
sideration later.

+ The easiest way of fixing the foundation will be by
sawing the top bar down the middle before the ends are
nailed on, leaving one corner loose until nearly finished,
and when the foundation is inserted in the saw groove
press the loose side of the bar home to its position, and
fix it with the screw through the metal plate. In this
case the screw holes must be made in appropriate posi-
tions, which is apparent. — Ed,

178

THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 1, 1882.

be at least three pieces of that width, which
will leave the end pieces eight inches wide
each, as nearly as may be consistent with the
depth of the grooves in the frame. Five
pieces of glass will thus be required; (our
woodcut shows four only) the three central
pieces should be rubbed smooth on both edges,
and the two end pieces on their inner edges
only, and when ready they should be put into
the sides of the frame with glue, to which

1

2

8

4

a little sugar has been added — a tea-spoonful
to about a tea-cupful of glue — and then the
ends of the frame should be fitted on and
made secure. When placed on the hive, a six-
teenth inch hole should be bored straight
through each corner into the solid part of the
corner posts, and a wire nail with the head
filed off should be driven down into each post.
The crown-board should then be lifted off, and
the nails tapped a little further in, that they
may be well below the surface of the crown-
board, forming steady pins to keep it in its
correct position when in use.

Though this hive is of sufficient length to
receive twenty frames, it will be evident that
if that number were put into it they would be,
in a sense, fixtures, inasmuch as there would
be no room within it for movement of any of
them ; and it would be in the nature of a simple
glass hive, and little better than one of the
ordinary kind with windows in it ; but it being
intended that the frames shall be moveable
within to permit of the thorough inspection of
each frame of comb, it is not advisable to use
more than eight frames of comb, and one di-
vider, or dummy. The last-named may be
formed of an additional frame, covered on the
front side with a thin board, which coming
exactly under Slot No. 2 in the glass top, may
be made to fit the sides of the hive by slips
of glass, wood, or metal, pushed down from
above, and the top of the frame can be simi-
larly treated. The hive will now be complete,
in a sense ; but before dismissing the subject,
its use may need explanation, to prevent our
readers concluding (as has already occurred)
that some of the directions wo have given are
unnecessary.

Wo will suppose that eight frames of foun-
dation have been put into the hive with a
swarm in the usual way, and are built out and
occupied by the bees, and that it is determined
to overhaul them. It will be found that the
tin ends of the frames project beyond the sides
of the crown-board, and that there is a space

between the latter and the top of the hive
walls, along which the frames can be slid ; and
it will be well here to note that if, through
warping of the wood or faultiness in construc-
tion, the space should be sufficient to permit a
bee to pass, it can be reduced by shortening the
tops of the corner posts, for it is only necessary
that there should be room for the frame to
slide. Now in a general way, the hive being
all glass, if the dummy be released and drawn
to the back of the hive, the frames can one by
one be drawn back also ; and as there will be
over sixteen inches of empty space

through

which they can be passed, and as each frame
can be considerably skewed by advancing one
of the tin ends more than the other, there will
be sufficient opportunity for observation.* But
it may happen to be desirable to take special
cognisance of some particular part of a comb,
to witness the hatching of a queen, the forma-
tion of a queen-cell, or any other interesting
operation, in which case it woidd be a ' vast
improvement ' if the frame could be brought
close to the side wall of the hive, and it is for
this purpose that the slots in the crown-board
and the eyes in the frame-tops have been pro-
vided. We will suppose that frame No. 4 from
the front contains a special point of interest.
We slide the four in rear of it to the back of
the hive, where they (with the dummy) will
occupy about seven inches, and we bring No. 3
under the slot No. 2 in the crown-board. There
will then be eight inches full between the re-
maining three frames and the slot (No. 2) on
the front side, and over nine inches at the
back, in which the fourteen-inch frame can be
swung — but how are we to swing it ?
We make a hook similar to the sketch,
and slipping it into slot No. 2, thread
it through the three eyes mentioned
before, or if the comb is unevenly
balanced, we thread two eyes only, and, lifting
and turning the hook, we turn the frame, the
tin ends sliding easily out of the space between
the hive walls and the crown-board, and being
' slung,' we alternately bring it to both sides
of the hive, and examine it at leisure. We
selected No. 4 frame for illustration because it
and No. 5 are the crucial tests of correctness,
but the latter would have to be brought under
No. 3 slot. We have only now to describe the
cover for the hive, which is not particularly
important at present; and we defer it to our
next, trusting that anything not understandable
may be reported to us in the meantime, that
the whole matter may then be cleared up, and

* With the hive in this condition (without the slots
in the top) the judges at South Kensington, 1879, con-
sidered it specially worthy of mention, and that it pre-
sented ' a new starting-point for vast improvements.

January 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

171)

that many hundreds of amateurs and others
will make hives of the kind described, and
keep bees in them as a means of instructing
their friends and neighbours and furthering
the interests of bee-culture generally.

NORFOLK AM) NORWICH BEE-
KEEPERS' ASS< >OIATK >N.

This Association is increasing rapidly, having
(in the lGtli December 1-47 members on its lists,
whieh number will be, without doubt, rapidly
increased when the circular letter just issued,
announcing its formation and objects, has had
due effect. It is highly gratifying to see so
many influential names on the front page of
the circular as patron, president, vice-presidents,
and committee, and to And so much that is
practical and useful embodied in the letter itsel f.
The ' chief aims of the Association ' arc all that
can be desired, and the ' advantages of member-
ship'— viz., 'free admission to all exhibitions
and any bee tent, free admission to all lectures
and meetings, a sure market for honey, the
opportunity for learning much more about bee-
keeping, and the privilege of competing for
prizes at shows — entry free ' — ought to swell
the number of membeys enormously. Those
intending to attempt the formation of county
or other Associations would do well to write for
copies of the circular and exhibit them when
canvassing for patronage, the list of names on
the first page being sufficient to satisfy the most
lofty that the recognition of bee-culture will be
in no way derogatory to them. The Rev. J.
Blake Ilumfrey, of Great Dunham, Swaffham,
Recton", is the Honorary Secretary pro tern.

BEE ASSOCIATION FUR CAMBRIDGE-
SHIRE.

We are glad to be able to report that an.
Association has been formed for Cambridge-
shire and the Isle of Ely. The Lord Lieu-
tenant of the county has consented to be the
President, and Sir II. Brand, Speaker of the
House of Commons and M.P. for the county,
is one of the Vice-Presidents. A meeting will
lake place during the early part of the present
month, particulars of which can be obtained of
the Rev. A. T. Crisford, of Great Shelf ord
Vicarage, who has accepted the office of Hon.
See., and will be glad to receive the names of
all bee-keepers in the county.

FIXING FOUNDATION IN SECTIONS.

This has hitherto been a tedious process,
involving the use of molten wax and all the
disagreeables attending its use, but our eldest
junior (Mr. J. A. Abbott) has contrived a

means by which, with well-made foundation,
the work may be easily, effectively, and rapidly
performed. We use the term 'well-made' as
applied to the foundation advisedl}', for in
many instances, either through carelessness or
ignorance in its manufacture, or through im-
purity of the material, it is sent out as rotten
as sand, or as brittle as glass, and in either
case will scarcely bear handling. Our junior's
invention consists of a simple little wheel on a
handle, and the method of using it will be
easily understood by reference to the illustra-
tion. The section may be open, flat, of made
up square, but for the present purpose it is in
the flat, that part only being shown to whieh
the foundation is to be attached. It is laid
upon a table (near the edge will be most con-
venient) and the piece of foundation is laid

flat upon its covering, rather more than hall'
its (the section's) width. Upon the foundation
is laid a piece of wood, about an inch and a
half wide, and three-eighths thick, as a gauge,
having projections at either end, which, when
applied to a made-up (square) section, will
cause the front face (against the wheel) to lie
exactly alongside the centre of the section,
permitting about an eighth of an inch of the
wax foundation to be visible along its lower
edge. Now, with the left hand pressing upon-
the gauge piece, take the wheel handle in the
right, and having dipped the wheel into some
thin starch, roll it heavily along the exposed
strip of foundation, pressing the wax into the
wood, and the work may be considered doxk,
it only being necessary to set the section right
way up, and to bend the foundation so that it
shall hang perpendicularly.

With sections ready, foundation cut to shape,
and a small plate containing a little starch at
hand, any one, after a few minutes' practice,
can fix the guide-sheets at the rate of from five

1 80

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 1, 1882.

to ten per minute. Combs built in sections in
which the foundation has been fixed by the
means described, have not the thick rib of wax
at the top, which is usually found when the
foundation has been cemented in with molten
wax, which is a great feature in its favour.
The invention was exhibited at the South
Kensington Show in July list, in < 'lass '.j~>,
and was favourably mentioned by the judges,
and -at the Louth Show (Lincolnshire) was
awarded the first -prize in class 2C>, the judges
also making special mention of it in their
report — page 1<>'3 in present volume of Bee
Journal.

TRADE CATALOGUE.— ADVERTISING
THE JOURNAL.

Mr. A. Cockbum, Cairnie-by-Keith, M. lb, has
favoured us with bis catalogue dated Nov.
1881 for 1882, in which he says of the Bee
Journal, No. 30, in his list of apiarian require-
ments :

'If you do not read the British Bee Journal, get it at
once; if you do not, you need not expect to know public
opinion, and the best mode of bee-culture so clearly
taught by (he Editor. It is published monthly; price Gs.
per anninn ; Cid. per copy post free. Address; 0. N.
Abbott, Fairlawn, Southall, London. Please do not
forget. '• Xo Journal, no honey:" so said a customer of
mine.'

Mr. Cockbum not only speaks in favour of
the Journal, but plainly states that his hives
&c. are of the patterns, or on the principles we
advocate; and if all arc made with the care and
neatness displayed in those exhibited by him
at our English shows, which we have no reason
to doubt, he has no compeer on his side ' the
border,' either for quality or cheapness. We
sincerely thank Mr. Cockbum for his kindly
mention of the Journal, and hope some day to
have the pleasure of his personal acquaintance.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
At the monthly meeting of the Committee held at 105
■Termyn Street, on the 14th Dec, there were present
Mr. T. W. Cowan (in the chair), Her. G. Ravnor, Mr.
1). Stewart, Mr. J. M. Hooker, Mr. AY. O'B. Glennie,
(Treasurer), and Rev. 11. P. Peel (Hon. Sec.) The Hon.
and Rev. If. Bligh was also present, and discussed with
the Committee his proposals for a competition with the
view to the better promotion of cottage apiaries through-
out the United Kingdom. It was the general opinion of
the meeting that Buch a competition should he limited
forthe first year to the six Home Counties ami that a sum
of 217. should be offered in prizes of 0/.. 51.. 41, ::/., 21.,
and 1/., for t lie best managed and most profitable poor
man's economic department of an apiary. It was re-
solved that the question he adjourned for further con-
sideration to the next meeting, and that in the meantime
a set of rules be drawn up for the management of the
competition. A letter was read from the Secretary of
the Royal Agricultural Society, approving of the. draft
schedule of prizes for bees, hives, honey, and bee-keeping
appliances, to ho offered for competition at the Royal
Agricultural Show to he held at Reading in July next.

and stating that the Royal Agricultural Society \vi uld
be pleased to grant the sum of 30/. to the British Bee-
keepers' Association to enable the Committee of that
Society to carry out the proposed exhibition. It was re-
solved that a vote of thanks he sent to the Council of tin'
Royal Agricultural Society for their increased support
towards the promotion of bee-keeping.

The Prize List for the Annual Show of 1882 was
completed, and it was resolved to publish the same in the
Bee Journal for the ensuing month (see advertising
columns), and to prepare the same for general distribution.
It was also resolved to hold the next Quarterly Conver-
sazione on Wednesday, January 18th, the Rev. 6. Pay nor
promised to read a paper on ' Bee Hives and Houses.'

The Library. — The Librarian desires to acknowledge,
witli thanks, the receipt from C. N. Abbott, Esq., of
Vol. VIII. of the 'Gleanings in Apiculture ; ' a series
of the 'Crystal Palace Leaflets;' .1. G. Desborongh's
'Lecture on Bee-Keeping ; ' and ' .V Lecture on Bees
and Bee-Keeping,' Southall, 1879.

The following works, acquired by purchase, have been
added to the library : — Per. John Thorley's 'Melisse-
logia; or the Female Monarchy," 1 "44 : Rev. Stephen
White's 'Collateral Bee-Boxes,' 17G4; Joseph Warder's
' True Amazons,' 176o; John Mills' 'Essay on the Man-
agement of Bee3,'1766; W. White's 'Complete Guide
to the Mystery and Management of Bees,' 1771 ; Dani I
Wildman's 'Complete Guide for the Management of
Bees throughout the year,' 1790; Francis Iluber's ' New
Observations on the Natural History of Bees,' 1808;
John Keys' 'Treatise on the Breeding and Management
of Bees,' 1814; P. Hiush's 'Cottager's Manual forthe
Management of Bees for everv Month in the Year.'
1823; 'The Honey-Bee ami Bee Books,' No. 141 of
Quarterly Review, Dec. 1842; Arthur J. Darnells
'Italian "[Giotto] System of Beo-Keeping,' 1876; 'The
Honey-Bee' (Chambers's Information for the People).

BEES, HIVES, AND HONEY AT THE
BRIGHTON HEALTH CONGRESS.

The Council of the Brighton Health Congress invited
(through Mr. F. V. Hadlow, the Chairman of the Food
Department) the Committee of the British Bee-keepers'
Association to make a display of honey and bee-keeping
appliances at their exhibition, which commenced on the
12th Dec, and allotted space free of charge for the pur; ose,
The exhibition of honey, &c. was under the able manage-
ment of T. W. Cowan, Esq., the Chairman of the Com-
mittee of the British Dee-keepers' Association. Bee-
hives and other appliances were kindly sent by Messrs.
Neighbour and Sons, Mr. S.J. Baldwin, Mr. A. Rusbridge,
Mr. T. B. Blow, and Mr. Wooldridge. Specimens of
small sections of honey in the comb, and i xtracted how ■
in glass jars, were contributed by T. \V. Cowan, Esq.,
J, M. Hooker, Esq.,Mr. P. Seott, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Rus-
bridge, and Messrs. Neighbour & Sous. Many hundreds
visited the exhibition, and much interest was displayed
in the department all itted tobees, hives, houpy,i!fcc. The
uses of the various exhibits were explained by T. A\ .
Oowan, Esq., Mr. Baldwin, and Mr. Rusbridge, The
Congress sat daily, and various papers were read on the

promotion of health ami the production of f I. At the

meeting held on Thursday, the 17th, .1. I.'. Holland
Esq., M.P. in the chair, Mr. T. W. ( lowan read a paper
on Honey as Food. This paper will appear in our next

issue.

NORFOLK AND NORWICH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION,

A series of meetings (as under) were held during the
week ending Dee. •'!. Ley. II. P. Peel had intended to

address the meetings, but was prevented by illness, and
Mr. T. B, Blow was the lecturer in his stead. — Tie' I

Jauuary 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

181

meeting was held at Swaffham on Tuesday, Nov. 29.
Harvey Mason, Esq.of Necton Hall, in the chair. There
was a good attendance, including Rev. <i. 1>. Winter,
Miss Winter, Rev E. A. Winter, Air. and Mrs. Harvey
Mason, Miss Dolignon, Mrs. and Miss Smith, Rev. B.
Boucher, Mrs. ami Miss Boucher, Mr. Tumour, Mr.
Herbert Day, Miss Day, Miss Caroline Day, Mrs. John
Blake Hunrfrey, l!ev. B. Smith, Rev. 1'. Grwyn, Rev.
Montague Flare, Mr. Stead, &c. At the close of the
address a considerable number of questions were asked,
and many present made close examination of the various
appliances that were shown. During a short interval
in the lecture, the well-known form of thai veteran bfe-
master, Rev. J. Lawson Sisson, appeared, lie read a
most humorous extract from an American bee paper,
which convulsed the audience with laughter. Rev. J.
Blake Hunrfrey was present, and after speaking of the
object of the Association look the names of several
present as Members.

(in Wednesday, Nov. 30, a meeting was held in the
Coru Hall, Yarmouth, attended by most of (lie local bee-
keepers, including Rev. .1. L. Sisson, Mr. S. Barge, -Mr.
Edmunds, &c. Owing to the fostering care of Mr.
Barge, Yarmouth must up to the present time lie con-
sidered tlie head- quarters of advanced bee-keeping in
Norfolk. Through Sir. Barge's instrumentality the
Tent of the British Bee-Keepers' Association lias been
twice to Yarmouth, though it has not yet appeared in
any other town in the count;,'.

'Hie grand day of the week was Thursday, Dec. 1, at
Norwieh. At: '2 p.m. a committee meeting was held.
The committee being as follows: — Chairman, Mr. Harvey
Mason, Mr. Samuel Barge, Mr. W. II. Bachs, Rev. A. F.
Bellman, R. W. Cooke, Mr. Emms, Mr. .1. E. Empson,
Mr. C. E. Edmunds, Mr. AY. J. Giduey, Rev. A. E.
Booker Hill, Rev. J. Lawson Sisson, Rev. II. Smith,
Rev. W. d. Stracey, lion. See. Rev. John Blake
Ilumfrey. Hon. Treasurer, Mr. G. II. Littlebov.

At 3 p.m. the inaugural meeting of the Society was
held. J. J. Colman, Esq. M.P. in the chair. There
was a large attendance including Constance Mar-
chioness of Lothian, Mrs. J. J. Colman, Miss Colman,
Mr. Colman, junr., Mrs. and Miss Blake Ilumfrey, Rev! J.
L. Sisson, Mrs. Bellman, Rev. E. Harrison and party. Rev.
AY. Boddington, Rev. G. Selwyn, Mrs. Harvey Mason,
the Misses Bemeys, Mrs. Booker Hill, the Sheriff of
Norwich, Miss Norgate, Mr. Ringer, Mr. J. Tumour,
Rev. AY. Harris, &c. The Chairman, after introducing
t ho subject, called on Mr. Blow to address (lie meeting.
After the address a considerable number of questions
were asked by the Sheriff and others; and then the Rev.
.1. Blake Hunrfrey gave an account of the Associations.
He remarked that to say at its commencement it stood
third (in point of numbers of members) amongthe county
Associatii ns, proved the desire of the ( lounty of Norfolk
to promote bee-culture. He then read the list of Patrons,
ftc. Patron: The Earl of Leicester. President: TheAIar-
chioness of Lothian. Vice-Presidents: The Bishop of
Norwich, the Dean of Norwich,theEarlof Rosebery,Lady
( 'aroline Kerrison, Lady Stafford, Lord Walsingharn, Sir
Reginald Beauchamp, Bart., Sir William Ffolkes, Bart.
M.P., Sir Henry Stracey, Sir Willoughbv Jones, Sir E. T.
E. Lacon. M.P., A. T. Amherst, Esq.,M.R, G. AY. P. Ben-
thick, Esq.,M.P., B. Gurdon,Esq., M.P., J. J.Colman, Esq.,
M.P., J. Tillet, Esq., M.P. Mr. Blake Ilumfrey gave a
sketch of what the Association would be likely to do during
the coming year. A resolution was carried that, ihe Asso-
ciation is worthy of support and the proceedings terminated.

At 8 p.m. a meeting was held, Harvey Mason, Esq. in
the chair, there being a fair and appreciative audience.

On Friday, Dec. '6, the final meeting was held at

Litcham, there being a crowded audience; amongst others

Miss Winter, Rev. Stratton Campbell, Rev. J. and Airs.

Orton, Mr. Fairer, Rev. AY. Eaton, Airs. J. Blake

''■„" Hunrfrey, 'Rev. A. Booker Hill, Airs. Booker Hill, the

Misses Hill, Misses White, Randell, Chatton, Copeinan
and Carter, Air. Gidney, &c. Algernon Digby. Esq., in
the chair. The audience was most appreciative, and con-
sisted mainly of just t lie class of people that the Asso-
ciation wishes to touch. A. prize hive was offered by
Rev. A. Booker Hill for the best exhibit of super honey
taken without injuring the bees.

This meeting terminated a most successful tour, and
there is little doubt but that Norfolk will take a high
place amongst the county associations.

NORFOLK AND NORWICH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

A most successful bee-keeper,' tour through Norfolk
lias just been completed with Air. T. Blow for lecturer.
The Rev. II. R. Feel most kindly promised to come into
the couuty and give some addresses, but was unfor-
tunately prevented doing so by illness. At his own
expense he generously sent down Air. Blow in his place.
No better substitute could have hi en found, and I should
like to give Air. Blow a word of praise through your
columns, and recommend him to other honorary secre-
taries who may be forming County Associations and
casting about for a lecturer. He delighted every one by
his lectures, and won a place in every person's esteem by
his quiet, modest manner and disinterested conversations
on matters of bees, various sorts of hives, bee-furniture,
&c, &c. He is now about to leave England for Cyprus
ami Palestine in search of the bees of those lands in
order to import them into this country. Together with
all his friends, 1 heartily wish him success. — John
Blake IIvJirnEY, Son. See., Great Dunfiam Rectory,
Swqfliam, Dec. 9, 1881.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE AND ISLE OF ELY

BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
On Monday Nov. 28, a meeting of Cambridgeshire

bee-keepers and others interested in t lie subject of bee-
culture was held in the rooms of Air. Haviland, St.
John's College. Air. Godfrey, Hon. Sec. Lincolnshire
Bee-keepers' Association, Air. Desborough, and Air. T. B.
Blow were present. It, was proposed, seconded, and
carried, ' That a Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Bee-
keepers' Association be established.' A committee, with
secretaries, treasurers, &c, having been chosen, the rules
of the Society were drawn out and fully discussed, Mr,
Godfrey giving a deal of valuable assistance in this im-
portant matter. The committee were authorised to
have the objects of the Association printed and widely
circulated through the country. Each Member of the
committee undertook to look up the bee-keepers of his
di t riot, and induce them to become members of the
Society, and altogether a most promising start was made.
Air. Blow then gave a short address on the objects of
the county associations, &c, and after the usual voti a
of thanks the proceedings terminated.

THE DEVON AND EXETER BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.
This Society was represented at the Exhibition of the
AVest. of England Fat Cattle and Poultry Show, held at
the Devonport Market on tho 13th, 14th, and 15th
December, 1881, by a collection of apicultural appliances
being simply a beginning, on a small scale, with a view
of having a large show and an important honey fair
in connexion with this Society at their next exhibition.
Air. AVm. N. Griffin was present on behalf of the Bee
Association. During the three days of the exhibition,
many thousands visited the show ; and if it can be
judged by the questions asked, and the great interest
taken in this department, bee-keeping is steadily ad-
vancing in the ci unty of Devon. Several new members
were enrolled on this occasion.

182

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 1, 1882.

COUNTY ASSOCIATION FOR LEICESTERSHIRE.
Just a line anent the Leicestershire Bee-keepers'

Association. Names come in freely from all parts of
the county. There are many extensive apiaries in the
shire, and' there is a general feeling- that an Association
is a desideratum. The clergy are -well to the fore in the
matter, as is their wont when the poor man's benefit is
concerned. I hope next month to he able to report the
real existence of a Lei. U.K. A. — Edwin Ball. Moil. Sec.
(protein.), WaltMm, Melton Mmebi-ny, Dec. 16, 1881.

COUNTY ARMAGH BEE-KEEPERS!

ASSOCIATION.
The first annual general meeting of the County
Armagh Bee-keepers' Association was held in the Town
Hall, Portadown, on Monday. Mr. Wakefield Richard-
son having been moved to the chair, the report for the
vear 1881 was read and adopted. In it the committee
state that the Association, which was founded in March
last, now numbers fifty-eight members, and the subscrip-
tions for the current year amount to 19?. It wisely
advises members to pay attention to the packing with
some non-conducting material of wooden frame hives,
and to feeding their bees in early spring. It is further
stated that since March the Association have held an
exhibition of hives at Portadown, and one of bees, hives,
and honey at Lurgan. and have given practical demon-
strations with hiving bees at Ncwry, Lurgan, Narrow-
water, and Newtownards. The report closed with an
expression of thanks to Lord Lurgan, Mr. Richardson,
of Moyallon, and the press for services rendered to the
Association. In the course of the discussion on the
report, Mr. M'Crum suggested that the Association
should endeavour to ascertain the number of hives in
the possession of members, and, if possible, of those in
the county. The secretaries were directed to take the
necessarv' steps to do so. The following were then
appointed officers for the ensuing year: — President. Mr.
Peter Quin; Vice-Presidents, Sir W. Verner,Mr. M.'C.
Close, M.P.; Major S. Blacker, Mr. J. Hancock, J.P.;
Viscount Mandeville, Mr. J. N. Richardson, M.P. ; Mr.
R. G. M'Crum, J. P.: and Mr. St. J. T. Blacker-Douglas;
Committee, Mr. \Y. Allen, Mr. J. Ussher, Mr. T. Best,
Mr. G. Hazlett, Mr Hamilton Robb, Mr. \V. JAVonfor,
Mr. Andrew Donnelly, Mr. .lames II. Shaw, Mr. Wake-
field Richardson, Mis. Joseph Atkinson, Mrs. Alfred
Armstrong, and Miss Fforde; Treasurer, Mr. T. G. Peel ;
Secretaries, Mr. G. Greer and the Rev. If. W. Lett,
M.A. The members present then drew lots for a frame-
hive, which was won by Mr. Thomas Best, J.P., of
Portadown. Votes of thanks to the secretaries and to
the chairman terminated the proceedings, which wero
most interesting and useful, from the discussions which
took place, and from the assembling of hee-keepers from
so many districts.

[We are glad to know thai an attempt will be made
in one county to obtain a census of hives, Ac. If every
county in the kingdom would adopt a similar course,
much valuable information would he collected. Why
can it not be doneP — Ed.]

ASSOCIATION FOR TYRONE, IRELAND.
A Tyrone Bee-keepers' Association has just been
formed. The Earl of Rmfnilv is our President, and
Lady Ranfurly our Patroness. The Rev. II. W. Lett,
hon. secretary of the County Armagh Bee-keepers'
Association, is to deliver an inaugural bet lire at Dun-
gannon on the 28th, after which we hope by means of
lectures throughout the county to show to lice-keepers
the advantages of joining one Association, and adopting
improved methods' of bee-keeping. I hope next month
to he able to report a considerable addition to our
members. — Thomas S. I'oitTKit, Ifnt. Sec. '/'. />'. A". A.,
Cloffher Park, Tynne, Bee. 21. 1881.

THE BRECKNOCKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

An exceedingly interesting meeting was a short time
since held in the Shire Hall, Brecon, for the purpose of
establishing a Br icknockshire Society in connexion with
the British Bee-keepers' Association. The objects of this
society, as explained by the Rev. Herbert Williams and
Rev. J. J. Evans (hon. secretaries pro tern.) are the en-
couragement, improvement, and advancement of bee-
culture, as a means of improving the condition of
cottagers and the agricultural classes, as well as the
aovocacy of humanity to the industrials labourer — the
honey bee.

The British Bee-keepers' Association was founded in
J*"4, since which several county branches have ben
established in connexion with it. The institution bi<l -
fair to solve the great social difficulty of providing a
means of livelihood for those who are unable, from sick-
lied or old age, to follow any laborious occupation. Il
was stated at ihe meeting that a labouring man in the
county of Brecon had obtained from his bees this year
two hundredweight of pure honey, the market value of
which would be about 14/. to io/. — no bad profits to
enabl" the poor man to pay expenses of medicine,
food, and clothing for his family. Another speaker
mentioned that he had himself commenced his stock last
year with a hive of bees for which he paid 15s.; in I 93
than one year the 15s. has produced SI. : few investments
can be better than that. Our ingenious cousins have
lately sent across the Atlantic a cargo of 81 tons of
honey, stored in half a million of small boxes. Now there
is no reason why the county of Brecon should not rival
this and make itself famous as a land flowing with milk
and honey. In addition to the great profits to be derived
from bee-keeping, the greatest possible interest attaches
to it as a scientific pursuit. .lust as cattle and sheep are
being bred so as to produce most meat and least bone, so
we may imagine it possible in the course of time Mime
fortunate bee-master may introduce to the world a breed
of bees without stings, and with a prolonged proboscis
which would enabl' its owner to penetrate into sweet
recesses of dowers beyond the reach of the present lace
of bees. Bees are known to exercise a very important
influence in the fructification of plants, fruits, and llowers.
There are many flowers which would fail to reproduce
themselves if it were not for the help of bee3. As an
instance of practical importance to agriculturists, it
appears with regard to wheat that the pollen of one plant
is conveyed to another plant by bees, and so a cross is
introduced, and a more vigorous plant is the result;
whereas if such plant simply reproduced itself without
any admixture or cross, the produce would he deteriorated
in quantity and quality. An improved system has been
devised by which honey can be taken at any time without
injury to the bees, and a very ingenious apparatus was
exhibited at tin' meeting for extracting honey- without
breaking the combs, which might then lie returned to
the hive to be again tilled with honey. Several bee-
hives of the newest and most scientific designs were
shown, as well as a fumigating bellows, gloves, Mils.
artificial combs, &C. Should the Society's funds allow,
an exhibition w ill lie held in certain districts in the County,
where an expert from the Parent Society w ill attend :
and. in a tent specially adapted for the purpose, will
exhibit the most skilful method of handling bees. By
means of a transparent curtain across the tent, the
exhibitor will show how bees can be driven from one
hive to another, the queen secured, and other similar
feats accomplished.

Lord Tredegar has kindly consented to act as President,

anr| among the Vice-Presidents are the Lord Bishop of
St. David's, the High Sheriff of Breconshire, the Members
for the County and Borough, the Ex-Mayor of Brecon,
and .1. P. Gw'vnno-Holford .Esq.

January 1, 1881]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

183

KENT BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

As my communication to you last month drew atten-
tion to the important question of ' how the increasing'
demands upon the time and capabilities of the Secretary
of a County Bee-keepers' Association are to he met,' it
may be of interest to some of your readers to know how
the matter has been subsequently dealt with by the
Association with which I am connected. From the first
moment that the subject was brought to the attention of
the Committee, it has not ceased to engage their careful
consideration ; and the deliberate conclusion that has
been arrived at by a numerous body of men of at least
average intelligence may fairly be regarded as the best
possible solution of the matter, so far at least as the
circumstances of our own Association admit of. The
three years' probation of a young Association is generally
admitted to be a critical time, and if at the end of that
period there is satisfactory evidence that its growth has
not been over-stimulated, but that the interest of the
members is maintained, and the general condition one of
vigour, it becomes the duty of those to whose charge it
is committed to carefully arrange the conditions for a
lengthened career of usefulness.

The question has been looked upon in the light of a,
new departure, but the Committee, having regard to the
awakening interest in the objects of the Association,
have not hesitated to commit themselves to the increased
expenditure involved in providing a moderate remunera-
tion for the services of the Secretary, ' relying (to use
the words introduced into their annual report ) upon the
active endeavours of all the members to increase the
prosperity of the Association so that the additional
charge may not prove burdensome to its funds.' The
sum to be placed at the disposal of the Secretary for the
current year is 50/., but subject to the contingency of
disappointed expectations. During this time valuable
experience will necessarily be acquired as to the capa-
bility of the Association to provide remuneration com-
mensurate to the services rendered. — Jesse Garbatt,
Hockenden, St. Mary Cray, Dec. 28, 1881.

STINGING OF QUEEN-BEE — WILDMAN THE
BEE-MASTER AND GILBERT WHITE — IDIOT
BOY AND BEES— QUEEN BEE JELLY— TUS-
SILAGO FRAGRANS.

The above subjects are sufficiently interesting to de-
serve further investigation, though they were often dis-
cussed at the Canterbury meetings of the East Kent
Natural History Society, as briefly reported in the
Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, April and
October, 1874, and July, 1872. The late Major Augus-
tus Munn often brought to the forenamed society many
queen-bees, and pitted them together in pairs, when they
fought like gamecocks till one was killed. We saw them
poke out their stings during the contest, but could not so
well see what the Major declared to be the fact, that
they were exclusively directed to the spiracles (breathing
orifices) of the antagonist. He insisted that it was only
thus that they could sting each other, and that they
could not sting the human subject, as indeed seemed true
in several trials in which the queen-bee failed to sting
even the delicate skin of ladies, though she would quickly
sting another queen-bee to death. We plainly saw her,
when irritated on the human hand, protrude her sting,
and eject its venom, but without at all penetrating the
skin. In fact, the queen-bee could not, or [at least did
not, sting the delicate hand of women. Surely this
question deserves further inquiry, for I know, from pain-
ful experience, that queen-wasps can and will sting man.

The question is curious in relation to a passage con-
cerning the exhibitions of the famous bee master, Thomas
Wildman, and to the Letter LXIX. to Daines Barring-
ton, in Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne.
Major Munn, describing Wildman's performances with

his bees, and handling them rudely with perfect im-
punity, said that his pretended command over them was
one of the wonders of the time, which excited the in-
terest of the king and nobility, and an offer of a large
reward for the secret. But Major Munn asserted that it
was simply the exclusive use of queen-bees ; and then he
put some of them — I think seven or eight — into the
hands of mj-self and others, and truly there was no sting-
ing, though we saw the stings out and at work. But
there are so many mysteries about bees, that we can
never give too much attention to them. Here is one, to
which the Major's explanation is by no means applicable.
In the letter above quoted, the good old naturalist of
Selborne describes an idiot boy, who used to suck the
live bodies of bees, keep lots of them alive between his
shirt and skin, and even overturn their hives to get the
honey. Yet he had never the least apprehension of
being stung. ' Had] his capacity,' wrote White, ' been
better, and directed to the same object, he had perhaps
abated much of our wonder at the feats of a more
modern exhibitor of bees, and we may justly say of him

now " Thou,

Had thy presiding star propitious shone,
Shouldst Wildmanbe."^

Here, then, is an explanation of a passage in Gilbert
White which has been ignored by his many commenta-
tors. There is a quarto treatise, with plates, on bees,
wasps, and hornets, published with Wildman's name, in
1768, eight years before the date of White's letter.

As to queen-bee. jelly, as nothing satisfactory as to its
chemical and histological characters could be found in
the books, I undertook the examination of several
samples, which were supplied by Major Munn. He said
that he agreed with the eminent entomologist, George
Newport, that this jelly, or bee-bread, is simply ' pollen
paste.' But my experiments proved that it is not a mere
collection from plants, but in reality, an animal product,
or secretion formed within the insect, as chyle is from
food of vertebrates. In short, queen-bee jelly, though
containing a few perfect and some disintegrated pollen
grains, is mainly a substance affording an abimdance of
Mulder's protein, in a molecular base, which base is
morphologically like that which I have long since de-
scribed and figured in animal chyle, as may be seen in
the English version of Gerbro's Anatomy. Therefore
this queen-bee jelly woidd seem to be just such a nutrient
material as is best fitted for the insect larva, like milk
for young mammalia, and the ingluvial secretion of cer-
tain birds for their nestlings.

Tussilago, or Petasites fragrans, grows wild in shad)'
and damp waste places, and flowers abundantly, with a
pleasant scent, very early in the year, before the crocus
blooms. I have seen the honey bees, tempted out by a
few fine days at that time, busy among the flowers of
this Tussilago, when no other plants were flowering.
This is a robust, herbaceous species, that will flourish
even in spite of persecution, aa it has done for many
years on the north side of Canterbury Cathedral.

The foregoing notes are submitted to the Bee Journal
in the hope that they may receive some elucidation
therein. Two of them are particularly interesting, in
respect to the most excellent and popular book on out-
door natural history in our language; and, indeed, any-
thing relating to the structure and economy of the
hymenoptera may be curious and important. — George
Gulliver, Canterbury, December 5, 1881.

[One would scarcely have supposed Major Munn cap-
able of suggesting, to say nothing of seriously asserting,
that Wildman's extraordinary performances were con-
ducted with queen-bees only, since he, the Major, well
knew, as indeed he often showed, that queens never come
into contact without fighting.

How the death-blow is given in a royal combat we
are unable to say ; but invariably, in all the combats we

184

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 1, 188:2

have seen, the winner of the fight has had her sting
directed against the underside of the thorax, and ap-
peared to he trying to get her sting into the leg-joints,
as the most vulnerable parts assailahle, and in no case
was an attempt made to sting the abdomen, in which
the spiracles are located.

In manipulating, we have often found it necessary to
hold a queen between our lips, when, if she was kept
straight, there was no sensation of stinging ; but if held
so that her stinging end was curved towards the mouth,
we have several times felt the effect of her sting and of
the poison in the lower lip. From experience, we think
a queen cannot sting, except her body be curved round
the object to be stung, thus bringing her curved weapon
into pla}r. It may be that the shape of the sting is pro-
tective to her ; were it straight, it might be too freely
used, often causing death. Has any one ever endea-
voured to detect a difference (chemically) between the
sting-poison of a queen and a worker ? The latter, as
most people know, is sharp and painful ; but every one
has not been stung in the mouth by a queen, and it is
our impression that her sting-poison has a peculiarly
paralysing effect, somewhat in the nature of the juice of
the plant Tarragon. A spray of Tarragon chewed has
a peculiar paralytic effect upon the unwounded tongue.
Is impossible that a similar effect (fatal to a bee) may
be produced by the ejection of the poison amongst the
articulations under the thorax ?

We hope many will contribute their ideas on the sub-
jects revived by the celebrated author of Gullivieri,
that we may get nearer the earnestly sought truth re-
garding them.

Of royal jelly we know little beyond its uses, but
Dr. Donhoff, an eminent German authority against
whom Mr. Cheshire a year ago shivered a feeble lance,
once gave a report on its properties, which was trans-
lated and published in the American Bee Journal twenty
years ago, and which, in the hope it may be useful, we
here append. — Ed. B.B.J.

' The royal jelly, with which embryo queen-bees are fed,
contains annual albumen and fibrine. At least nine-tenths
of the mass consists of these. This is evident from the fol-
lowing tests : —

' 1. If the jelly be treated with ether and water, the pure
substance alone will remain. This is whitish, translucent,
and elastic, having all the appearance of coagulated albu-
men and fibrine.

' 2. If the jelly dries up in a royal cell (as is the case,
particularly in queenless and drone-producing colonies
where the bees undertake to rear a queen from a drone
larva, which invariably perishes in the process) it becomes
transformed into a tough, yellow, transparent mass, like
that into which protein substances are converted.

' 3. If the wax and sugar be extracted from the jelly by
ether and water, and a solution of sulphate of copper be
added to the residuum, oxide of copper will be precipitated
by caustic potash, but the solution will retain the blue
colour of the salt.

' 4. The mass remaining after treating the jelly with
ether and water will be completely dissolved by a solution
of caustic potash, assuming a faint yellow tinge, and on the
addition of muriatic acid, will emit an odour resembling
that of sulphuretted hydrogen.

' Ingredients present in minute quantities only are : —

' 1. Wax, — When I treated the jelly with ether and water
there remained an evaporation by heat, a white mass hav-
ing an unctuous feel, and which, when warmed, rendered
paper transparent and glossy.

' 2. Sugar. — When the jelly was digested in water, hold-
ing sulphate of copper in solution, the addition of caustic
potash produced a brownish yellow precipitate.

' 3. No trace of pollen or starch could be detected by cm-
ploying the usual re-agents. The presence of albumen and
fibrine shows that the jelly is an animal secretion, and
should be designated by some more appropriate name.

' It seems probable that the secretion is effected by a
gland in the gullet or (esophagus, since jelly is never found
in the stomach of the bee.'

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

County Bee-keepers' Associations : theib Objects

and Development.

Discussion on Rev, H. P. Peel's Paper.

Rev. J. Blake Humfrey said he had listened to Mr.
Peel's paper with much pleasure, and it had resolved
many questions respecting Associations which had
troubled him. His principal difficulty, however, was
how the cottager was to dispose of his honey after the
bees had gathered it. He had had a conversation with
a chemist and bookseller in a town quite close to his
place, who told him that it was quite impossible to
sell honey ; that the supply was greater than the
demand. Well, upon that he (the speaker) thought
what was the use of getting up a County Association if
they could not get rid of their honey. He had been
talking with a great many gentlemen in the room from
whom, and from Mr. Peel's admirable address, ho had
gathered that it was perfectly easy to get rid of honey if
it was in a portable form. But there was another
difficulty : they got up County Associations with the
two-fold object of advocating a more humane and intel-
ligent treatment of the honey-bee, and of bettering the
condition of the cottagers, by presenting inducements to
them to devote themselves to bee-culture. It was the
cottager class they had to deal with, and his county was
purely an agricultural one, where the wages of the cottager
varied from 10s., 12s., to 15s., and not more ; and then
he had his wife and children to look after, and a great
many expenses besides, so they must try to put the scheme
in a really practical form, so that the cottager could
take advantage of it. If they went to the cottager and
said, 'In the first place, j'ou have to subscribe 2#, ('«/.,
then you have, in order to get your honey to the market,
to make some nice boxes for yourself ; and then you
have to get some most beautiful glass jars,' the cottager
woidd begin to say, ' that there are so many expenses to
be incurred, that unless you give me 5s. I cannot do it
at all.' At the same time he (the speaker) must say
that Mr. Peel has answered these questions very satis-
factorily in noting the number of inducements held out
to the cottager. He should like, however, to get more
information as to the nature of the honey which was in
the market now, not in Lincolnshire, not in London,
where the British Bee-keepers' Association came in, but
in a county like Norfolk.

Rev. E. Bartrum said the question of the sale of honey
has always been a difficult one, but it seemed to him
that the difficulty in that respect was less, this year than
in any previous year. He had a friend who had been a
bee-keeper for three or four years, and this }'ear he had
been most successful ; the quantity of honey he had to
sell was 800 lbs. lie wrote to him (the speaker) and
asked how he should sell his honey ; he replied that if he
were in his place he should apply to the experts of the
Association and ascertain from them whether they would
be willing to act as agents, and he should also send the
honey to the neighbouring towns and offer it for sale at
the large grocery establishments. He had since heard
that his friend had sold all his honey. He was per-
suaded, from the observations which fell from Mr. Peel,
that if a person were to take proper means his honey
could easily be sold. lie knew a grocer in his own town
of about 4000 inhabitants, who purchased 100 lbs. of
honey from a man who lived about four or five miles
away, and he was the only bee-keeper iii I lie neighbour-
hood. If lOOllis. of honey were required by a grocer
in such a small place, the demand in larger towns must
be correspondingly larger. Of course, the quality was a
great point, and the sections that were becoming so
popular sold with the greateM rapidity, llo mentioned
to a friend that evening an incident which occurred at
the show at South Kensington. A man came forward
and thanked him for what he had done at Derby. He

January 1, 1882. J

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

185

said he did not know what he had done, but lie should
be glad to hear. The man said, ' I was selling my honey
at 2s., you came forward and said, " You are putting too
low a price on it ; as it is so early in the season I would
charge 2s. Qd. for it." I immediately advanced my charge
and sold my honey, so I am indebted to you for putting
more than I expected into my pocket.' He did think
that, as an Association, they might consider whether
they could not appoint half-a-dozen experts or agents
in different localities. lie thought every association
might be advised to appoint persons who, for a certain
percentage, would undertake to sell the honey. It
happened, in the case of their Central Association,
their experts were becoming so busy and prosperous
that they could not be expected to give much attention
to the sale of honey. He congratulated these gentlemen
on their position, and it was impossible to find fault with
those who had found the Association a means of
prosperity, but at the same time it was most advisable
that they should break down anything in the shape of a
monopoly in the sale of honey. He did not think that
the matter should be in the hands of one or two persons.
It would be a great advantage if they could appoint half-
a-dozen persons in London who would undertake, for a
small commission, the sale of honey ; and also persons in
each of the commercial centres such as Birmingham,
Manchester, and Liverpool, whom they could ask to sell
the honey. He thought they might promote the sale of
honey a great deal by the way in which they introduced
it into their own homes. Since he had become a bee-
keeper he had made it a custom to have honey on his break-
fast-table, particularly so if there were friends visiting
him, so that they might enjoy the honey, which they
generally did, having it before them in an attractive form.

Mr. Garratt said that Mr. Peel referred in his paper to
the difficulties which County Associations experienced
in consequence of the want of funds. He agreed with
him that it would not be a good thing to assist County
Associations in that way. To ask for funds from the
Central Committee, from whom they already received so
much valuable assistance, would tend to demoralise
County Associations. The less assistance of that kind
given the better. With reference to the practical work
which fell upon the Secretary of the County Associations,
which were all at present young, he should like to
remark that these Associations might be carried on more
successfully, and developed sooner, if care were taken to
appoint a proper Secretary and Assistant-Secretary,
who could carry out the work energeticall}'. These
Bee-keeping Associations had shown that there was a
great deal of vitality in the movement ; but to reap the
benefits which were laid before them, the work should'
be thoroughly organized and carried out more rapidly
than it was. No doubt in the early days of the Asso-
ciation, it was necessary that there should be a lar^e
amount of voluntary help ; but these Associations must,
in his opinion, assume more practical shape ere long.
Here and there there might be individuals so placed and
so circumstanced that they would give a large amount
of their time to the work ; but they must be an exception,
and in due course they would have to contemplate—
and he spoke with the knowledge he had of the Asso-
ciation with which he was connected — the means of
carrying forward these Associations more energetically
than hitherto. He should deeply regret if the move-
ment came to a standstill — that was to say, ceased to
advance ; because if it ceased to advance, there would be
every probability of its falling back again.

Mr. Baldwin said that the remarks of Mr. Bartrum
would lead one to suppose that honey was a drug in the
market. He could say with confidence that it was not.
Where it was not sold it was because of the exorbitant
prices demanded. If the honey was put in a proper
form, and a reasonable price asked for it, he did not think
there would be the slightest difficulty in disposing of it.

Mr. Blow said that the great cause of honey not
selling was that too much was asked for it. Now that
bee-keeping was becoming a business, of course only a
fair profit must be required by the producer. This year
he had lots of applications for honej' ; and not being
able to supply it, he put himself in communication with
one who had generally a large quantity. In one or two
cases he had succeeded in bringing about bargains to the
extent of one or two hundredweight. One hundred-
weight and a half was sold at 10c?. per pound. He
thought the highest price was Is. Id. for comb honey.

The Chairman (T. W. Cowan Esq.,) said he] was sure
they had listened with the greatest attention and plea-
sure to Mr. Peel's paper ; they were indebted to him for it,
and they were also indebted to him in a great measure for
organizing these County Associations. Mr. Peel joined
the British Bee-keepers' Association at a time when it
was nearly shipwrecked ; but he was the means of re-
starting the Association. He told 3'ou there were about
twenty members of the Association at that time, and he
(the Chairman) was one of those who stuck to the sink-
ing ship ; and it was through Mr: Peel's captaincy that
the ship rose again to sail in smooth waters, as they
were doing now. The number of members throughout
the country, Mr. Peel stated, was 1476, and that 1483/.
had been expended in bee-keeping throughout the year ;
that was rather a remarkable sum to spend by the Bee-
keepers' Associations, it was an expenditure of about 1/.
per member. They knew that many of the subscriptions
were only 2s. 6c?. ; and that therefore there were many
gentlemen in the country who were sufficiently inter-
ested in bee-keeping to subscribe very much more than
their legitimate amount. Mr. Peel mentioned there was
a difficulty in getting cottagers to use moveable-frame
hives. He found in his neighbourhood a prejudice against
them, but if they could get one or two cottagers to adopt
moveable-frame hives and succeed with them, they would
find other cottagers likely to follow the example. In
respect to one cottager in his own neighbourhood he
might mention that he began two years ago when the
Bee Tent came down to the Horsham Flower Show ; and
he (the Chairman) was glad to say that he had adopted
the frame-hives. Since that time he had made his frame-
hives pay very well ; and this year he has bought c/uite
a number of hives. That man came to him some time
ago, and brought him the money to procure him an
extractor. He was able to pajr for all the apparatus
that he used from the profits of the honey which he
had sold. He has also been able to buy nearly all the
bee-hooks he coidd lay his hands upon. That was a good
example of what a cottager can do. With regard to the
experts it was true they required them ; but it was not
every one who could make an expert, as it was necessary
that these experts should be able to speak. There were
many cottagers who could drive bees and transfer bees
from straw skeps to moveable hives : but there were few
who coidd speak of the process to other people. It was
necessaiy, therefore, to get experts for these County
Associations who could speak. A great many awkward
questions were sometimes asked at the shows ; Mr.
Baldwin and Mr. Blow would tell them that very queer
questions indeed were put. With regard to County
Shows he thought there was no difficulty in selling honey
at these ; and if the shows were supplemented, as they
had been at Lincolnshire, by a honey fair to which
members were invited to send their honey if they did
not dispose of it at the shows, the shows and the fairs
together could be made remunerative to the members.
In Lincolnshire this year all the honey not sold at Louth
was sent to Grantham ; and he believed it was all sold
for good prices. He was a producer of honey ; he cer-
tainly produced more honey than he could consume. His
honey went to different shows, and he very seldom saw
it back. His honey went from Louth to Grantham ; he
had since learned that it had sold readily, and he ex-

186

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 1, 1882.

pected to be rewarded by receiving a cheque in due time.
With regard to the cost of the hives they heard a paper
read a few months ago by Mr. Lyon on a cheap hive for
cottagers. Mr. Lyon showed that cheap hives could he
made out of boxes for Is. Gd. Arid if cottagers liked they
could buy frames and get a carpenter to make a hive for
4s. or 5*. Then with regard to the crates the cost of
these was about 2.?., or a little more, and the cost of the
jars was about 4s. per dozen ; that would be 6s. for the
crate and the jars. He (the Chairman) had on the table
specimens of crates of honey, which were sold for 1/.
They could make a stipulation with the purchaser that
if the crates and jars were returned they would receive
2s. for the crate and 4s. the jars, and these could be
used again; if they were not returned the cottager had
his money, and need not lose anything. A large quantity
of honey sent to the different shows was sent in large
supers, and a great deal of it was smashed on the way.
The honey is usually sent, closed up, and railway porters,
not knowing that it is such a damageable article, knock
about the boxes and destroy the honey. If it were sent
in small packages in boxes, such as those shown, open on
both sides, with glass covering, so that porters could see
what the crates contained they would be more careful in
its transit. In the case of these crates if the purchaser
saw on their arrival that any of the jars were broken he
could refuse to take the crate in and make the railway
people responsible. These crates would stand a good
deal of knocking about. The Chairman concluded by
proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. Peel for his able
and interesting lecture ; he was sure they were in-
debted to him for the great trouble he had taken in
preparing it.

Mr. Peel said he could assure them it had been a
pleasure to him to prepare, and read that paper, more
especially as he had not been able to do anything for the
Association lately owing to a protracted illness. He had
a piece of good news to tell them, and that was that Mr.
Henderson had volunteered to act as librarian, and would
communicate through the Journal in what manner he
proposed to make the Library accessible to the Members.
That appointment would be a great advantage to the
Society, and he hoped the Library would go on and
prosper. Mr. Jonas has intimated his willingness to look
after the collection of hives and other apparatus in South
Kensington Museum. If they could make that exhibition
attractive they would probably induce the South Ken-
sington Department to recommend their Diagrams to the
Schools of Art which were scattered throughout the
country. Mr. Blake Humfrey in his remarks said he
should like to know what sort of honey was produced in
Norfolk. He could easily ascertain if it were good by
sending samples of the honev to Mr. Cowan, who woidd
submit it to his friend, Mr. 0'Sullivan,for analysis. Mr.
O'Sullivan, of Burton, was undertaking a series of ex-
periments in the analysis of honey, and if they sent him
any specimens he would tell them their constituent
parts.

This closed the discussion, and a vote of thanks to the
Chairman brought the proceedings to a close.

' Wintering Bees.' By Thos. W. Cowan, Esq. — We
have been favoured with a copy of the second edition of
Mr. Cowan's excellent reading on the above subject, revised
and enlarged. It is a most useful paper, containing much
valuable information, and we confidently recommend it.

Liguiuans fob the Cape. — On Tuesday last a stock
of Ligurian bees was put on board the Kinpauns Castle
steamer (one of Donald Currie and Co.'s boats) bv Mr.
W. J. Pettitt, of the Apicultural Institute, Dover. "They
are for the Botanic Gardens, Cape Town, Cape of Good
Hope, and were consigned to Messrs. Divine, Gates & Co.,
members of the Acclimatisation Society, Adderley Street,
Cape Town, — Dover Standard, Nov. 12.

Cnntspontrcncc.

*,* Tliese columns are open to subscribers, so that their
queries, replies, correspondence, and experiences may be
fully and faithfully recorded; and for the discussion of all
theories and systems in Bee-culture, and of the relative merits
of all hives and appurtenances, that the truth regarding them
may be ascertained. The Editor, there/ore, must not be ex-
pected to coincide with all tlie views expressed by tlie various
writers. All Correspondence is addressed to the Editor.

AN APPEAL TO HAMPSHIRE.

What a pity it is that Hampshire does not pro-
vide itself with a County Bee-keepers' Association !
From inquiries which I have made, it seems that
there are country gentlemen and clergymen in
abundance who would give their support, to such an
Association if any one could be found who would
take the trouble to start one. Surely some philan-
thropic individual can be found in Hampshire who
will exert himself to impart to the cottagers of his
county the means of increasing their incomes, which
are open to those of the surrounding counties of
Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey, and Sussex ? Now is
the time of year for organization, so that the cam-
paign may be opened in the spring of 1882. —
Herbert R. Peel, Hon. Sec. B. B. K. A., Abbot's Hill,
Herts, Dec. 1M, 1881.

P.S. — Hampshire will soon be the only southern
county without a County Bee-keepers' Association,
as I hear that the men of Somersetshire are bestir-
ring themselves.

COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS ANTICIPATED BY
'AN ANTIENT BEE-MASTER.'

At a time when simultaneous efforts are being
made to establish County Associations for the
promulgation of bee knowledge and the education
of the artisan and labourer in the art and mystery
of bee-keeping with a view to the improvement of
their income, it may not be amiss to give a quota-
tion from the preface to a work entitled The Ancient
Bee-master's Farewell, published by John Keys in
the year 179G, which seems exactly to point to the
proceedings now being taken by those interesting
themselves in the foundation of these County Asso-
ciations.— J. G. Uesborough, Stamford.

' The most, likely means to establish the Bee Art,
I believe, will not be accomplished without the patronage
of Agricultural Societies ; namely, the encouraging a
proper person or persons to exhibit in the bee season the
most improved method through the chief market towns
of the kingdom. The person must be capable of ex-
plaining the processes, and have with him the necessary
instruments.

' I would also recommend this employment to any
ingenious young man, properly qualified, provided with
the apparatus, as a practice that most likely would turn
to much advantage ; taking care not to introduce tricks
and fancies, as some have done, to tlie destruction of
multitudes of bees, instead of exhibiting any real im-
provements.

' Or if such persons resident in villages would qualify
themselves, they might, even in their limited stations,
exercise the art to their own benefit and that of the
neighbourhood by performing it at a stated rate.

January 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

187

1 Rural curates might considerably augment their too
frequently niggardly stipends by the cultivation of bees,
and act at the same time consonantly with their clerical
profession, as it is an innocent amusement, both healthy
and profitable.

' Farmers and others who keep numerous stocks of
bees cannot be supposed to attend so minutely to every
particular as those who have not many, and have more
leisure ; yet in this, as well as in all the other articles
of husbandry, the greater the care bestowed, the greater
the return that usually follows. Besides, most of the
operations on bees are to be performed in the evening,
or early in the morning, and therefore will not interfere
with more important business.'

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION'S PROPOSED LIBRARY.

I think that this is about the best suggestion that
has been made lately, and hope that it will receive
the hearty support of all members of the Associa-
tion. But, sir, all of us are not the fortunate
possessors of bee books other than those in ordinary
use, as in my own case ; for the ' rich and rare ' in
bee books, as in other departments of bibliography,
is only to be attained by long and well-directed
search ; still, all can contribute, if not books,
money, which will also be needed to found a library
worthy of the Association, and I am sure that Mr.
Godfrey will be as pleased to receive donations for
this purpose as books. — J. W. Measures, Long
Sutton, Dec. Uth, 1881.

CYPRIAN BEES.

In reference to some notes on Cyprian bees
in November Bee Journal, I wish to state that I
have had a stock of these bees, bought of Mr. Hale
of Suffolk last March. I have watched them through
the season, and have found them quite inoffensive ;
never having noted one viciously using its sting.

I want to know what, if any, distinguishing charac-
teristics there are betweeu Cyprians and Ligurians.
— E. Hall, Sheering, Harlow.

HONEY PRESSER.
I saw in your last'an article by Mr. Russell, Pet-
tiuain, on a honey presser, which he had from Mr.
Watt Smith, of Carluke, whom he supposes was the
inventor of it. May I inform him that I invented it
over thirty years ago, and have had it in use ever
since, though I have made several improvements in
it since then 1 Two years ago I invented a small
lever for filling the cylinders before pressing, so
that there is not so much screwing as formerly. It
divides the honey into two distinct classes. — Adam
Orr, Crossford, by Lanark, N.B.

NEW TUBULAR FEEDER.
I beg to call your attention to a Tube Feeder,
designed specially for use in winter when stocks are
found destitute. It renders most efficient service,
being far superior to feeding with solid sugar in
any form. It consists of a glass tube, 4 in. by h in.,
being convenient, holding half a fluidounce of
syrup, a small hole punctured at bottom, and cork

at top, put through cover, board, or quilt, between
combs, just within the border of cluster. Bees take
food as required. If attended and filled every day,
it ensures the safety of stocks from few days' neg-
lect, which might prove fatal. This was devised
by me last winter to meet the trial of that severe
frost, which found some of my stocks in poverty. —
E. Hall, Sheering, Harlow.

NEW ZEALAND FLAX.
I have been interested in the recent correspon-
dence on this subject, hoping to find some useful
suggestion on its cultivation, cfcc. I have myself
grown the plant for the last four or five years, but
have not succeeded as yet in flowering it. I ob-
tained the seed from Messrs. Hooper & Co., Covent
Garden, and had no difficulty in raising the seed-
lings with ordinary treatment in a greenhouse, but
I find the readiest method of propagation is to de-
tach the offshoots from the root (once you get a
plant to work on). It is a slow-growing plant, and
the greatest length of leaf I have yet obtained is six
feet. It makes a very pretty plant for the centre of
a small bed in summer, but in our latitude it is
only half hardy, and always perishes in winter.
Possibly the conditions are different in the south of
England. I send you by post to-day an offshoot
taken off in April this year, from which you can
judge of rate of growth, &c. I think it will grow
easily, although it will be rather crushed in the
transit. — ' Dix ' Leslie.

Let me thank you for the packet of seed of
Phormium tenax. Do not let any of your friends
indulge in the idea of feeding their bees with the
flowers of this plant. In the first case it will be
several years before the plants raised from seed
attain any size, or reach that period of maturity
which is evidenced by the production of flowers. I
have never yet flowered it, and my plants, before
the occurrence of the winter of '79 and '80, were
of large size. The frost of these seasons utterly
destroyed them. Those who can find room for
' Phormiums ' will find groups of it effective in their
pleasure grounds, but until we change places with
New Zealand we shall not be able to grow it profit-
ably for bees. We must multiply early-blooming
flowers for our bees ; the delight they have in the
vernal flora is unmistakable ; and again in autumn,
when there are no fragrant bean-fields, when the
white clover has faded, and the limes have changed
flower into fruit, bees then seek eagerly for nectarous
flowers; and all who care to^study the wants of the
occupants of their hives should provide, as far as
possible, suitable plants, and save the little creatures
from long and weary flights, in which many lose
their lives, and all waste precious time. — W. Ingram,
Belvoir, Dec. Uth, 1881.

GREEN HONEY.
In reply to query No. 430, it is said that both
gooseberry and sycamore blossoms yield honey of that
colour, viz., sea-green, and of very superior quality.
( Vide Pettigrew's Handy Book, p. 28.)— H. S. Y.

188

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 1, 1882.

GREEN HONEY.
Referring to query 430 in your December
Number, I find that honey gathered here has
sometimes a very slight greenish hue ; and when I
was a lad, living at Clapham, four miles south of
Kensington, the honey gathered there had the same
hue. I shall be glad if other bee-masters near
London or large smoky towns, such as Manchester,
Bradford (Yorkshire), or the Black Country, will
give their experience, as I have attributed the
colour to the dirt of the atmosphere mixing with
the pure amber colour of the honey. The hue was
absent this year, and this I attributed to the much
clearer sky and absence of long-continued east
wind, which brings us London smoke. The source
of bee food about here is fruit-blossoms — almond,
apple, pear, thorn, lime, horse-chestnut, many
flowering shrubs, and ordinary garden flowers. In
reference to your correspondent with the ' Spiteful
Neighbour,' may I ask why, if I trap my neigh-
bour's cat, I can be punished, the spiteful
neighbour, who traps your correspondent's bees,
cannot (as you suggest he cannot) be punished
also? — J. W. H., Phillimore Gardens, December 24.

I notice that some correspondent asks you this
month about green-coloured honey. I notice that
the honey I have at Woodford in the early part of
the season is green. The past has been the best
season I have yet had for honey ; but this is not a
good neighbourhood for it, I think. With thanks for
your interesting Journal. — William Smither.

A SAFETY HIVE WANTED.

[Or, more gentle bees. — Ed.]
Of course, no one but a lunatic, amongst the
multiplicity of hives in the market, would be
unable to find one to suit him ; nevertheless, I
must plead guilty in that respect. And why?
Well, my bees must be very different to those
written usually about in the Bee Journal. One hive
especially is smoke-proof. All the summer no
one could go within twenty yards of it with
impunity. I have seven stocks, and to use the
extractor to them, stirring them up every few days,
would be tantamount to banishing every one from
the garden (an acre and a half) all the summer.

My first ' kick-up ' every season is putting on
supers, smoke or not, as you please ; the moment
the centre hole (three -inch) in crown -board is
uncovered, although only for a moment, the rush at
one's veil and gloves reminds one of the sparks from
the mouth of a rocket. Then, when filled, to put
an empty super between it and the stock is some-
thing desperate, during the few moments this
operation occupies one is covered by a swarm of
angry bees. As to taking a full section from the
centre of a crate to substitute au empty one, I
should like to see any one do it. Then, in the
autumn comes another desperate affair ; hardly a
second is occupied in taking off a super and putting
it on a board set ready with a bee-trap, but in that
short time the rush of angry bees from the bottom
of super and top of hive is something frightful.

And you must understand for days after any of
these operations, woe betide anyone venturing
within a range of thirty yards ! The hive I want is
one in which all these operations could be carried
out without disturbing a bee. I would have a
crown-hole of six inches at least, closed with a zinc
slide. Before removing the winter covering from
this hole (I use old cocoa matting), I would push in
the slides. I would then put on my super, which
should have a bottom of thin pine with a corre-
sponding hole to that in the hive top, withdraw the
slides, and the job is done. When full, the slide is
again pushed in, a piece of zinc pushed between
super and hive, empty super put between, zinc
withdrawn in both cases, and all is right. At the
end of the season the zinc plates again pushed
under super, zinc slide in crown -board pushed
home, super carried away and a bee-trap fixed over
the hole in top, and all is complete. Thus all these
operations are performed without the escape of a
single bee.

Well, sir, in endeavouring to cany out this
principle with the ' Irish Hive ' you sent me in the
spring, I was unfortunate. The removal of the
dummy of wooden foundation between hive and
honey store in rear, in order to replace it with
queen-excluder diaphragm in the spring, would
never be tolerated by my ' demons ;' so in its place
I fixed a partition of two f-inch pine boards,
with just sufficient space between for a zinc divider
to work easily. In these boards was an opening
eight inches wide, and down to the floor-board
within two and a half inches. When I wanted to
use the honey stores at back, I filled it at my
leisure with sections, made all secure, drew out the
plain excluder, replaced it with the long-holed
queen-excluder zinc you sent me, and congratulated
myself on having done all without exciting a single
bee.

Through a window I had cut in the upper part
of back honey store, I observed that work was at
once commenced in the sections. In due time these
were ready for removal, the queen-excluder divider
was quietly withdrawn, the plain one put it its
place, and a bee-trap placed on the top of honey store.
Next day the whole interior was removed, every bee
having speedily and quietly left by the bee-trap,
and through one of the long apertures between the
frames left oj>en for that purpose before dark the
previous day. After some difficulty, for there was
some drag at the bottom, I lifted out one frame,
and immediately a most peculiar smell was observ-
able, and all inside woodwork was of a reddish-
yellow tint. I then saw, to my dismay, that the
bottom of the chamber was covered with dead bees
in a decomposing state. I got out the remaining
frames of sections, all beautifully filled, except
where the frames dipped in the dead bees, and
then cleared out the dead, which filled a quarter of
a peck, with half a pint to spare. Of course, I was
very vexed at this destruction, especially as they
were all worker bees. Can you suggest the cause,
and help mo with advice on the matter1! Do you
think the mischief was caused by the queen-
excluder zinc not going completely down to the

January 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

180

floorboard ? You see there were two and a half
inches of plain board there ! Could it be the bees
got down there, and wTere unable to find an exit 1
I cannot think so, there being an abundance of
space under, between, and around the ends of
frames.

Favour me with your opinion in next month's
Bee Journal and oblige. — Jacob Robinson, Bet/ton
Green, Bury St. Edmunds, Nov. 15, 1881.

[The cause of the disaster scarcely needs explanation :
the bees were suffocated by the plain zinc divider being
thrust in, thereby shutting off the means by which they
usually passed from the rear of the hive, and leaving
only the bee-trap as a means of escape. No provision
was made for the admission of air while the rear of the
hive was being cleared, and the bee-trap being a means
of exit only, through which the bees were constantly
passing, no air could get in through it, and the rear of
the hive became a 'Black Hole of Calcutta,' the dying
bees giving forth a reeking sweat that discoloured the
wood as described.

It would be very easy to adapt the Irish, or any, Com-
bination hive to meet the requirements pointed out.
Indeed, had our correspondent made a three-inch hole in
the floor-board or hive-side, through which ventilation
could have been given when the bee-trap was put on, it
would have been a perfect arrangement. But after all,
why keep such irascible bees, if they are naturally so ?
If, however, the hives are crowded too closely, or our
correspondent a little impatient in dealing with them, it
may not be all their fault. Perhaps he will kindly give
Some particulars of breed, and position of hives, that
may help to account for their savageness. — Ed.]

[The foregoing having been crowded out of the
December issue we sent Sir. Robinson a printed ' proof '
of the same in reply to his inquiry whether the matter
had been overlooked or lost, and he has further favoured
us as follows : — ]

Many thanks for the 'proof that my communi-
cation was not mislaid.

Your explanation of the death of the quarter of
a peck of bees I think will hardly meet the case, as
these sections were not taken till the end of Sep-
tember, and on the day I took them I question
whether there was a quarter of a peck of live bees
in the honey chamber altogether, for I chose it
specially for the reason that so few bees were there.
Then assuming your solution to be the correct one,
the bees coidd not have been dead more than six-
teen hours. Now these were in such a decomposed
state, and the stench so bad, that I fully imagine
they had been dead for weeks rather than hours.
Again, the fact that the sections were filled with
beautiful comb but only down to the level of the
dead bees, nothing below that, points to the con-
clusion that the mischief was done before comb-
building commenced. If the destruction of bee-
life only dated from the previous day, would not
the sections have been found full to the bottom? I
can quite understand what is your opinion of a bee-
keeper who has such a quantity of dead bees in his
hive for weeks without knowing it ; but, perhaps,
if your gardener, and yourself and family were
driven from your garden for two or three days every
time you opened a hive, you would be careful to do
so as seldom as possible.

Certainly, I shall be very pleased to give every
information respecting my bees as to origin and
position of hives.

They originated from the deservedly noted 'Fair-
lawn ' apiary. You sent me the swarm on the
20th of May, 1880. This is still in the Woodbury
hive you sent it in, and is in course of gradual
removal to the most distant point of the garden
from the house. To show their ' friendly ' nature
even at this season of the year I am attacked by
them during the few moments occupied in moving
them the necessary half-yard when a bright day
enables me to do so. One of my seven stocks is
thus accounted for, another is in the ' Irish ' hive
which was so unfortunate, and the remaining five
in square box hives of the same square as the
' Irish;' but two inches deeper, and with bars, but
no frames.

The last-mentioned six stand in a bee-house
fourteen feet long, while your original demons were
all the summer on a stand six feet from the others,
and all faced the east. — Jacob Robinson.

[Reference to our books shows that we supplied a
swarm of black bees at the time stated, and most cer-
tainly, excepting in colour, there was nothing which
could be considered demoniacal about them. If all the
stocks originated from them, they must have changed
their queen more than once, and they cannot be
'original demons' that now inhabit the hive, but are,
doubtless, a cross through foreign bees in the neighbour-
hood. We should like a tussle with them. Regarding
the dead bees, our opinion is unaltered: a few hours
of suffocating heat and confinement will produce con-
ditions that will account for the appearances described.
Had the bees been dead 'for weeks ' they would have
become dry ; or had they been stinking, the bees would
scarcely have stored their honey in so fold a chamber. —
Ed.]

BUILDING DRONE-CELLS ON WORKER
FOUNDATION.

While writing, I may mention an ingenious plan
by which my bees showed that they were not to be
beaten even by comb-foundation. When giving an
extra story to one of my hives last summer, I filled
all the frames with your flat-bottomed foundation.
In the autumn I found that it had all been worked
out regularly, with the exception of one of the
outside frames. One side of this was worked out,
and about half of the other side; but the remainder
was pared down and made quite smooth, and from
the top a separate comb was started obliquely, and
worked out with drone-cells. — J. W. Napier,
Stretton Parsonage, Dec. 13.

[We always leave about three-quarters of an inch at
bottom of foundation, so that bees may build a little
drone-comb, wdiere it will be as little harmful as possible,
for usually they will have a bit somehow.— Ed.]

CURIOUS POINT OF LAW ON BEES.
Being over here on a short holiday, my eye fell
on the enclosed, which I have cut out of the
Northampton Mercury. The cutting seems to be
worthy of a place in next B. B. J. — Wm. Berrill,
Ridtjeioay, Chesterfield.

Robert LoveU, Grimsbury, v. Georye Lines, labourer,
Chipping Warden. — Mr. Whitehorn for the plaintiff,
who claimed II. for a hive and bees. It appeared that
two years last Michaelmas the plaintiff, on leaving Chip-
ping Warden, handed his hive and bees over to the

190

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[January 1, 1882.

defendant, and asked him to take care of them for him
till he fetched them. He did not go near again till a
few weeks ago, when he found a number of bees in
another hive, and he now claimed his own hive and
these bees. He did not pretend to say that these were
the identical bees he left with the defendant, but he said
they were the descendants of them, his own, in the usual
order of things, having died. — The defendant denied that
these bees were the descendants of the plaintiff's, and
said they formed a swarm which settled in his garden
after the plaintiff's had perished. — His Honour gave
judgment for the plaintiff with regard to the hive, but
reserved the question of the bees for consideration.

[With the above in mind, one ought to be careful how
they arrange for standing hives in other people's pre-
mises, for, in the summer-time, as is well known, the
inhabitants of a hive, except the queen and drones,
change very frequently; and often, through swarming
and early drone-slaying, the whole population is changed.
This is worth remembering. — Ed.]

BEES SWARMING ON SUNDAYS.

With regard to the curious fact of bees so often
swarming on Sundays, has the vibration of the
sound-waves caused by the ringing of the church
bells anything to do with it 1 I remember years
ago my bees would generally swarm on week days
just as the bells called us to Wednesday and Friday
11 a.m. service. I intend to joke my bell-ringing
friends on the subject. I have never seen any
plausible reason given for the fact. Is the above
rational reasonable 1 — Edw. Harris, Branton Abbott
Rectory, Norivich, Dec. 9.

A TALE OP A TIERCE.

I showed a friend the other day a frame of comb
and bees, when he rewarded me by telling me the
following : —

In September 1879 he, a neighbour of yours— he
is within four miles of you in a bee line — bought
two tierces of raw sugar for food for his livestock,
but found that his neighbour's livestock, other
than quadrupeds, shared in his provision. One
tierce he used during the winter, and the summer,
with its abundance of natural food for animal
sustenance, found him with one tierce of this sugar
on his hands. To be out of the way until winter's
requirements again demanded it, this tierce was
rolled into an open shed, dry and sheltered. Soon
it was noticed that bees visited it ; then that they
beautifully and perfectly cleaned, almost polished,
all parts of the staves that had been sticky with
sugar. So far, very good.

Truly said the poet :

' How doth the little busy bee improve each shining

hour,'
And blend the sugar that I waste with nectar from the

flower.

The bees came in peace and went in joy among
his gardeners and herdsmen ; contentment crowned
by admiration reigned over that tierce, the owner
whereof was a happy man.

But with the polishing of sugary staves the bees
were not contented. To that they were welcome,
so they helped themselves no more. Instead of

ceasing when the outside was cleaned, they came
in greater force. The streaming cloud of bees in
and out of that shed was a sight. What could it
mean ? Behold at night the owner of that tierce
groping silently and with candle in hand around it,
and imagine the lengthening of his countenance as
he found a broken stave with a hole in it big
enough to insert three fingers. In go the fingers,
but they feel no sugar ; a stick also, but reaches
nothing. ' Ah, you winged rascals ! Did the
divine Doctor patronise and eulogise such robbers]'
At once a fence of stakes was built around that
tierce ; to these stakes boards were nailed ; within
these boards sawdust was shot until that tierce was
entombed in sawdust. Winter came, the tierce
was disinterred, and by weight it was found to be

minus 6 cwt. It was reported that Mr. , a

large bee-keeper near, never had so good a season
as 1880.— H. L. M.

LAUREL FOR BEES.

In no book on bees that I have read have I seen
any notice of their fondness for the common laurel.
Perhaps the abundance of laurel about my garden
has given me an unusual opportunity of observing
this fact. However, that may be, I have (been
often surprised at the eagerness with which they
frequent this shrub in the spring, just as the fresh
leaves are formed. Of the blossom they take no
notice.

I observed that on alighting they immediately
went to the under side of the leaf, and following
their movements, I found that near the base of the
midrib, and close to it on either side, are two or
three small glands, which are the objects of their
search. These they evidently tap, and soon after a
cicatrix forms over them, and they are no more
visited. What do they get from this source ] Is
it propolis1! for it seems an unlikely place for a
secretion of honey. — A. G. W. Aubrey, Halt
Rectory, Salisbury.

[That bees work on the laurel in the spring was
noticed on pp. 34, 72, and 74, Vol. V. If any of our
readers will examine the underside of an old laurel leaf,
they will find two or more wounds close to the midrib
of the leaf near its base ; and from these, under favour-
able conditions, the nectar or honey-dew gathered by the
bees is obtained. How the wounds are created, or
under what conditions they distil the bee-food, we are
unable to state. Perhaps in the ensuing spring the
subject may have closer attention. — Ed.]

(SrJKttS from % Hibcs,

Inverness, Nuv. 28. — Bees exposed to a storm. — ' During
the furious gale on night of 21st the roofs of my Standard
and another hive were blown off, and also the quilt, the
frames being open and exposed to wind and torrents of
rain — it was discovered between 7 and 8 o'clock during
the height of the storm, so nothing could be done but
putting on the roofs then ; but about 10 a.m. when
there was a lull, I went to have an examination and put
on dry quilt, quite thinking to find all drowned, on
taking them to a shed and removing floor-board to my

January 1, 1881.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

#

mi

astonishment found hardly a dead hee, and they were
as lively as possible, so after feeding' them with warm
syrup poured between the combs and giving a dry board
and quilt, returned them to their place hut tied down the.
roofs of all the hives to stakes driven in on each side of
the hives. I cannot understand how they survived such
a storm exposed probably for some hours before they were
discovered. I had previously no anxiety as to their safety,
a- 1 believed I had made 'all firm and safe for winter
storms.' — M. A. D.

Wokmgham, Berks, Bee. 22, 1831. — ' I again take the
pleasure of wishing you a pleasant Christmas-tide, as well

also a happy and prosperous new year. AYith many
other readers of the b'.L'.J.,! have often felt a real
pleasure in reading it. and take occasion to recommend it
to nthrrs. Herewith mv -subscription of 10s. lirf. for
|ssi\ bong.liv* the 11. R. J..r Isaiah Cai.d.

Boston. Li new nshirr.— ' The bees in this neighbour-
hood, I believe, are well eared for for the coming winter,
thanks to your exertions and instructions disseminated
amongst tne persevering bee-keepers in this neighbour-
hood, who have taken Time by the forelock in paying
attention to your instructions, and managed them
accordingly. We seem now to be appreciating the im-
p roved management of bees, which will repay their
keepers for a little extra attention to the improved
system.' — James Lighton.

Leslie, X. B. — ' The past season has been the most un-
profitable one on record in this district. The heaviest
first swarm which I have heard of (I did not see it) only
j lelded 301bs., but any that 1 have seen only produced a
t'e\s pounds. I am referring just now to straw skeps,
few people here keeping bar-frames. With the exception
of one week in the end of May the weather had been very
unseasonable, nothing but rain and gales of wind with
little or no sunshine. "We don't want any more "comet"
years hereabouts.' — John Livingstone.

Giotto 1'rimiple. — '1 have been hoping to see more in
your Journal as in the improved " Giotto" hive, and as
to the practicability of converting jny bar-frame hives
to Giottos.' — G. A., Tunbridge Wells.

Professional Cottagers. — ' I see the man von recom-
mended has been in the habit of swooping off a great
many prizes ai the various shows as a " Cottage Bee-
Keeper." This is very seductive and very nice, but how
about the chances of a bund fide cottager ever managing
his bees in the most approved principles? Have prizes
for professionals if you please, but not allow them to
snatch away cottagers' or amateurs' prizes. If this latter
principle is carried out our county jflgpeiations will
flourish and increase.' — Robert Tiio:

(Queries anb JIcBjics.

Query No. 439. — Separators for Sections. — C'oidd anv
of the readers of the 11. B.J. inform me when separators
were first invented, and by whom? — Adam Orr, Cross-
ford b\f Lanark, N.B.

Reply to Query No. 439. — The first separators we
ever saw were the invention of Mr. John Stewart, of
Arbroath. N.B. They wen- of glass, and the sections
that' had been wrought between them were exhibited at
the first show of the East of Scotland Bee-Keepers'
Association at Dundee, in September, 1876. .The date
of invention we cannot vouch for. Mr. IJaitt added to
the perfecti^i of the sections exhibited at Dundee In-
putting glass bottoms to them in lieu of wood, and the
bees having built to the glas3, showed the honey as well
as the sealed comb. — En.

Query No. 440.— Fertile Workers. — Be kind enough

to give the marks of the fertile workers through your
Journal, so as I might know them. — A. 0.

Reply to Query No. 440. — Unfortunately these
pests have no distinguishing- marks by which they may
be known from worker bees, and it is only by their eggs
and brood, irregularly scattered and in heaps — for they
often lay from fixe to ten or more eggs in a cell — that
their pre- sence is suspected. Their progeny are always
drones ?— Ed.

Query No. -441. — Doubling to nave transferring. — ■
Would you give me your opinion on the following
method instead of transferring in spring? Could I not
set the skep on top of the frame-hive making the bees
use the flight-hole, furnish the frame-hive with your
comb-foundation, and as soon as the bees begin to make
comb in the frames drive the queen into the frame-hive
still keeping the skep on the frame top ; but putting
excluder zinc between the top and bottom hive, twenty-
one days after fixing the zinc all the bees could go
into the lower hive, and I could deal with the skep
as I pleased. I think that would save the trouble
and uncertainty of swarming. — J. C, Lambert, Sunk
Island.

Reply to Query No. 441. — The method proposed
would answer very well if means were taken to permit
the escape of the drones that would be hatched in the
top hive, as they could not get through the excluder zinc
and might cause a panic in the upper story. A bee-trap
or a robber trap might be of service, and in the latter
case we know of nothing so good as a simple tube of zinc
with perforations that will prevent the passage of bees,
except at the end of the tube. — Ed.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.

A Young Bee-Keeper. — Preventing Swarming. — This
is one of the puzzles which bee-keepers have nut yet
solved satisfactorily, and probably never will, unless
the instinct of the bees becomes changed. Swarming
may be hindered, and its probability lessened by cut-
ting out queen-cells, by removing the queen, and leav-
ing only one queen-cell, by caging the queen, and
cutting out all queen-cells from time to time, and by
various other expedients — such as giving increased
space for breeding — but if as the effect of the season
for the time being the bees have acquired wdiat is
called the swarming mania, they will issue repeatedly,
even though the queen be confined within the hives.
Confining the queen and cutting out the cells contain-
ing embryo queens, as a matter of course, prevents
actual swarming, but repeated attempts by the bees
are almost as great a nuisance, and do nearly as much
harm (when barm can be done by it) as swarming iu
reality. There have been many inventions for swarm-
preventing, but none hitherto published have been suc-
cessful except temporarily.

A HAMPSHIRE Lady. — The description of the founda-
tion-fixer will he found in the present Number. The
Robber trap may be kept on without doing' harm, and
may be useful in keeping out vermin.

Vague Address. — The gentleman who on the 22nd
of December favoured us with sixty stamps for one
cloth A 11 C of Bee Culture, and suggested that our
address ( ' near London ' ) -was ' rather vague, and not
definite,' will oblige if he will forward his own, which
was omitted in his letter, when we shall be glad to
forward the book.

J. J. S., Somerton. — Artificial Pollen, — The pea-Hour
named is excellent for the purpose, if obtained fresh.
The skep and shavings offer the besl means we know
of for administering it. We shall give full directions
in our next.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Jan. 1, 1882.

F

SUBSCRIBERS' COLUMN.

OK SALE.— Vol. III. of British Bee Journal, complete.
Unbound, 4s.

L

ANGSTKOTH
Free.

on ' The Hive and Honey Bee.'

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price given

12 of Vol. VI. of Bee
Apply to Editor.

w

VOL. VII. of
Abbott Bros.

w

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>OYAL FOEEST'

3s. 9rf. each. Supers as above, 2s. 6rf.
Wokingham, Berks.

Cane-worked Straw Hives, with

Price

Isaiah Gadd,

JAj Abbott's new Zinc Excluder and. Quilt. Price

A

FEW more good Stocks of Bees in Straw Hives.
Price 19s. dd. each. Isaiah Gadd, Wokingham, Berks.

DR. PINE'S WOVEN WIRE VEILS

QUINBY'S 'New Bee-keeping,' an invaluable work.
Price 7s. G</. post free. Address Abbott Bkotheks,
Fairlawn, Southall, Middlesex.

END Two Stamps for Abbott Bros'. Catalogue, 1881.
Southall, Middlesex. ^j

No.

Journal. Full

CIOWAN'S ' British Bee-keeper's Guide.' Latest work —
; up to the times. Cloth, 2s. dd. ; paper, Is. 6<i ;
postage, 2cl. Address Abbott Brothers, Fairlawn, Southall,
Middlesex.

ANTED.— Honey in Sections. Address prices and

particulars to Editor British Bee Journal.

British Bee Journal, complete, unbound.

Fairlawn, Southall, Middlesex.

ANTED.— Abbott's /Little Wonder' in exchange for

Cashmore's Artificial Rearing Mother ; cost 21s.

Master, South School, Camrose, Haverfordwest. fo. 12

NOTICE.

THE GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE FARM.

A SAMPLE HIVE can be seen at 5 Agar Street,
Strand, W.C., where Orders can be given.
An experienced Expert will be sent when required to lay
out work or arrange Apiaries.

Terms, 10s. 6d. a-day, with travelling expenses. Orders
should be addressed, The Manager, Great Hampshire Bee
Farm, King's Somborne, Stockbridge, Hants. fo. 15

LESLIE TAIT,

MANUFACTURER OF BEE-HIVES,

Metal and Wooden-cornered Frames,

Sections, Comb Foundation, &c,

And DEALER in all APIARIAN APPLIANCES.

Descriptive Catalogue free on application.
Address— FOVE BAN, by ABEBDEEN. fo. 13

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FROM'"" A PHOTOGRAPH
First Prize for best Bee Dress, at South Kensington, 1879.

Price 2s. dd. post free. Strips of Wire Cloth, for making
them, Is. 8d. each, post free. Letters to Editor. fo. 15

de. Plane's

BEE-KEEPERS' LOTION.

This Lotion will be found to almost instantly remove the
pain of a sting and prevent subsequent inflammation. It is
also a remedy for scalds, burns, and the stings and bites of
other insects besides Bees.

Price Is. 6d. per bottle, or Post-free for Is. 8d.

Agent —
Mr. C. N. ABBOTT, Editor of B. B. Journal,
Fairlawn, Southall. fo. 15

to
&e.

Liberal Wage given if able to make Hives, etc. Good
Cottage and Garden provided. Apply Mr. Thorpe, Evedon,
Sleaford, Lincolnshire.

WANTED. -An experienced APIARIAN,
Manage fcTwo %piaries, raise Queens, Nuclei,

rpUBULAR FEEDER for Winter Feeding.—
__ Tiiese are excellent for practical use to save Stocks of
Bees that might otherwise perish in Winter. Price 3s. per
doxen, or 17s. per hundred. Cash with order to E. H\ll,
Sheering, Harlow, Essex.

THE LECTURE.-
Price 2s. 2d. post free.

-A few Copies
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hand.

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THE

amtml,

mt

[No. 106. Vol. IX.]

FEBRUARY, 1882.

[Published Monthly.]

(ffibxtaxwl, HCotifts, #r.

FEBRUARY.

The weather during the past mouth, after
the experiences of latter years, and of last year
especially, has been extraordinarily mild in
character, and in density of atmosphere has not
been paralleled during the past hundred years.

Barometrical registrations show the atmo-
spheric pressure to have exceeded that of a
30-inch mercurial column during the greater
part of the month, and frequently to have ex-
ceeded thirty-one inches; and during all this
time there has been almost total absence of
wind, or, to put it more fashionably, 'atmospheric
disturbance,' and during sunshine bees have
been able to disport themselves without danger.
Reports from various sources, some of which
are ' echoed ' herein, tell of the abnormal state
of the country : birds breeding, young birds on
the wing, and flowers and blossoms appearing
as if 'twere really spring, and within the bee-
hive a forward state of things that cannot be
considered wholesome or safe.

Effect of the "Weather. — The natural
effect of the protracted mild weather has been
shown in the abnormal breeding of bees ; and
from much correspondence on the subject there
is reason to fear that many bee-keepers are dis-
posed to encourage it; but in every case, except
when starvation is imminent, we have strongly
advised that they be interfered with as little as
possible until toward the end of the month,
when severe frost will be less probable. In
places where crocuses and other early spring
flowers have already appeared, breeding will
certainly have commenced, and bee-keepers
cannot be too careful in protecting the hives
against severe cold should it suddenly set in.

Feeding Needy Stocks. — This must of
course be done at all hazards ; but care should
be observed that no temptation to robbing be
caused. Occupants of breeding hives are on
the alert to gather food from any source, and
woe betide a weak colony that offers induce-

ments to invaders. Barley sugar, given in small
quantities, is the best food we know of — an
ounce or two per diem, to be given at night,
will answer well, or a small bottle of warm
syrup every two or three nights, given so that
the bees can take it quickly, during the night,
will bo useful. A frame of sugar-cake, without
flour, placed next to, but not amongst, the clus-
tering bees, will save trouble, but may cause
breeding, which we should be sorry to en-
courage at present ; but if given, a bottle of
water should be set over the feed-hole, so that
it shall not be necessary for bees to go outside
in search of it. It may not be wanted, because
condensation of the vapours of the hive may
furnish the bees with sufficient, but it is well
to provide against the other contingency.

Barley Sugar, Sugar Cake, and Flour
Cake. — Bee-keepers cannot be too cautious how
they deal with these articles, but should under-
stand that they have distinct properties and
uses. Barley sugar, through the chemical
action of the acid used in its manufacture, will
be sure to liquefy and run about when given in
larger quantities than the bees can take. It is
made by boiling three pounds of loaf sugar and
half a pint of water, stirring the whole time,
and when all the sugar is dissolved, a wine-
glass of vinegar should be added and the boil-
ing continued till the bubbles crackle, when it
should be tried by dropping a few drops on a
cold surface. If in a few moments it sets hard
and dry, it is done, if not, boiling must be con-
tinued. Be very careful not to burn it, for
burnt sugar is death to the bees.

When clone it should be poured into tins,
and afterwards broken up and packed in air-
tight vessels, or it will speedily soften and form
into a mass.

Sugar cake is made in the same way as barley
sugar, except that the vinegar (or other acid)
must not be used. When the sugar is
thoroughly dissolved, and sets hard on trying-
it, the stirring should be continued until the
mixture is nearly cold, when it should be poured
into moulds. To fill a frame it is only neces-
sary to lay it (the frame) on a sheet of paper on

194

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 1, 1882.

a cold surface, raising and blocking up tbe paper
all round the outside of the frame. The thick
mixture should then be poured into the frame,
and when cold and hard, a wire passed round it
will keep it from falling out if placed in the
hive. Sugar cake is useful as a reserve of food
to keep bees from starving, but its general use
cannot be recommended.

Flour cake is useful when it is intended to
stimulate bees to breeding, and should not be
given at other times, or abnormal breeding will
be the almost certain result. It is made in the
same way as sugar cake, but. when cooling
should have a half pound of pea-flour added to
it and well stirred in. Some advise common
wheat en flour as sufficient for the purpose, but
inasmuch as it contains starch in large propor-
tions, it is not the best.

Stimulative Feeding. — Towards the end of
the month stimulative feeding may be begun,
but it must be understood on all sides that
when once begun it must be contmued if the
best results are desired. Feeding ' by fits and
starts ' will excite the bees spasmodically, but
the object in stimulative feeding is to keep
up a gentle excitement that will gradually in-
duce breeding, and conduce to its continuance.
Bees in a state of nature will gather honey or
pollen from any source on every possible occa-
sion, but it is only when the spring flowers give
hope of a continuous supply that they set to
breeding in earnest, and it is in supplementing
this supply that early, gentle, continuous feed-
ing is most valuable. It must never be for-
gotten that the incoming of honey and pollen
very largely governs the breeding propensities
of bees, and this shows the height of wisdom.
If simple wealth in stores were the incentive,
the summer's accumulation would induce breed-
ing throughout the winter, and results would be
disastrous. This does not take place, and
though, through disturbing causes, bees occa-
sionally breed in winter, it is not good for the
bees, but is fraught with danger. The disturb-
ing causes may be undue mildness of weather
and consequent activity and consumption of
food, continual disturbance of the hive by wind
or passing traffic, or by coldness or dampness of
the hive, causing dysentery, as has been before
explained.

Artificial Pollen. — When bees begin to
gather food for themselves, and there is hope
that frost will not interfere greatly with their
breeding, pea - flour, which is the nearest
approach to natural pollen, may be given to
them. Some have great difficulty in getting
bees to take the pollen, but if put into crocuses
in the first instance they will very soon acquire
a taste for it, and search for it in other direc-
tions. But bees are not likely to take pollen
rapidly, unless there is also a corresponding in-

coming of sweets ; therefore, when coaxing
bees to take it, it is advisable to give them
syrup also, by the bottle preferably, as least
likely to cause robbing.

Water for Bees. — It should always be
remembered that when breeding bees require a
constant supply of water, which should be so
arranged that they cannot drown in it. A
leaking dish with pebbles, moss, or tea-leaves
in it, into which water can drip, is one of the
best means of supply.

Preparing for Summer: Forcing Bees
into Supers. — Those who are wise will get in
their supply of hives and sections before they
are actually required, for reasons often given,
but there is one little ' dodge ' which those
who wish to force bees into supers will do well
not to omit. We last year advised many who
could not get their bees to ascend to the sec-
tions on top, to fill one or more with brood and
put them amongst their sections in the top
crate. It is well known that bees will not
desert brood unless forced to do so for self-pre-
servation, and this condition is not likely to
occur in summer at a time when supers ought
to be filling. Sections of brood may therefore
be safely put into crates, above the excluding
adapter, with the almost certainty that the
bees will take possession and continue to work
there ; and as the queen will not be able to
add to the brood, and its presence will not con-
taminate other sections, the combs built by the
bees will be stored with honey only. We
therefore advise that certain frames be fitted
with sections to be put into the body of the
hive, so that they may, when the time is ripe,
be lifted to the top, thus lessening the brood
chamber and forcing the bees into the supers.
The two-inch sections will, as a matter of
course, be too wide for this particular service ;
but if cut down the middle they will do very
well. The difficulty in most cases will be the
size the other way, as the majority of sections
are of American standard sizes, viz., 4± x 4{
and 61 x 5±, and will not fit English frames.
Those who use Abbott's sizes of frames can,
however, get out of the difficulty, for their sec-
tions are specially made to fit them, a Wood-
bury frame taking four or six, and no alteration
is necessary except that the thin bottom rail
should be removed and a stouter one introduced
and nailed between, instead of beneath, the
bottom of the frame ends. The semi-sections
can be fitted with foundation in the usual way,
and when they have done duty as attractions to
the supers, they can easily be replaced in their
frame, and restored to the brood-nest, if desired ;
but after having been only once used for breed-
ing, as would be the case with swarms, they
might be thought worthy a different fate. This
semi-section idea ojjens the way to certain sue-

February 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

195

coss in honey -getting, in favourable seasons,
and will be the menus of increasing the yield
in sections at all times.

The Proposed Chronological Calendar.
— This will be postponed for the present at
least, for it is evident that little interest is felt
in the matter, only one gentleman, W. X.
Griffin, Esq., of Alphington, having responded
to our appeal for aid in its organization. We
Tender him our best thanks.

Bee-Houses and Hives. — By reference to
the admirably written paper, read by the Rev.
G. Raynor, which will be found in other
columns, it will be evident that differences of
opinion exist, and we suppose always will exist,
in regard to matters of the most vital im-
portance in bee-keeping. "With regard to bee-
houses, the consensus of opinion is very de-
cidedly against them, and we regret that Mr.
Raynor's success should have induced him to
recommend them in the face of that opinion.
The comparison of the bee-house used by Mr.
Raynor, which is about 12 feet long and about
4 feet high, on its stand, and into which twelve
hives are crowded, with Root's House Apiary,
which is 16 feet in diameter at the least, and
of octagon shape, so that its entrance - faces
face nearly all the chief points of the compass,
is barely legitimate, and his (Mr. Root's) state-
ment of the advantages of such a building
should, we venture to think, have been ac-
companied Avith the disadvantages he at the
same time points out, and we therefore give
them that both sides of the question may be
heard. Mr. Root says : —

' The objections to the house apiary are, first, the
expense, especially the Jirsi expense, for a man can make
a start in bee -culture with a very small amount of
capital, with the out-door hives, and the sales of honey
and bees, will at once furnish all the capital needed for a
moderate yearly increase. With the house, the capital
to put up the building must be furnished at the outset,
and a house for fifty colonies will cost much more than the
same number of hives. Most apiarists prefer working' in
the open air to being cramped up in a building, no
matter how large it may be, even at the expense of
having to perform more labour and take more steps.
Secondly, in a building, we are obliged to get all the
bees out of the room every time we open a hive, and
bees, either dead or alive, are very untidy when crushed
by careless footsteps on the floor of a room. To avoid
this necessitates an almost incessant use of the broom.
Again, when young bees are out for their first flight they
will, if the hive is opened just at the right time, come
out in the house in great numbers, and to try to stop
them by any other means than closing the hive is like
trying to stop the rain from falling. The bees, after
having had their "play-spell," will insist on returning to
the hive in the same way that they come out ; and if they
are driven out of the house and the door closed, they
will sometimes collect in a large cluster on or about the
door. It is true they are seldom lost, for they will
usually be allowed to enter the hives neare-t the door,
but it weakens the hive from which they came, and is
apt to puzzle a novice sorely. To obviate this trouble
we can avoid opening the hive during the aften.oon, or

at such times as the bees are likely to rush out for a
play — after a shower, for instance.'

We are painfully aware that, being connected
with a hive business, we are at a disadvantage,
inasmuch as we are likely to be suspected of
interested motives, and particularly as some of
our writing in respect of the Improved Giotto
frame-hive, written without a notion of Mr.
Raynor's opinions thereon, arc so opposite to
his : but to relieve ourselves in some degree
from liability to suspicion we would point out
that our sole object is the benefit of bee-culture,
and that, while recommending things, we show
every one how to make them for themselves in the
cheapest possible way, which we have done witli
every article we have put before the bee world.
We trust it will not for a moment be supposed
that we attribute other than the highest and best
motive to Mr. Raynor, viz. ' an earnest desire to
arrive at the truth;' we are imbued with the same
desire, and in some of the instances cited, be-
lieved, from the experiences of ourselves and
many others, that it (the truth) had been arrived
at, and that further bitter experiences would
be unnecessary. We have not now space to go
largely into the questions raised in respect of
hives and frames, but can assure our readers
that if we could have obtained cork suitable for
hives at a reasonable price, cork hives would
have been abundant long since, but as a matter
of fact, virgin cork is not sufficiently shapely for
frame hives, and manufactured cork is too ex-
pensive. We may add, in respect of a Standard
frame, that no one strove more earnestly than
we to get one adopted by the British Bee-
keepers' Association, we foresaw what is now
generally evident, aud although greatly in
favour of a tapering frame we were willing to
adopt any the Association might determine on.
As regards the Woodbury frame which Mr.
Raynor ' believes ' we have ' lately put forth,'
if he will turn to the reports of the first Crystal
Palace show, he will find that we were awarded
two first prizes for Woodbury hives, containing
Woodbury frames, and we have never ceased
making them. The subject, however, is too
important to be dealt with hastily, and when
the discussion following on Mr. Raynor's essay
comes before our readers there will be better
opportunity for fuller observation. We are
sorry to feel that we do not agree with all that
has been said on the questions in hand, but
most sincerely thank Mr. Raj'nor for re-
introducing them. — Ed. B. B. J.

HOW TO MAKE A FIRST-CLASS HIVE.

The foregoing has been a subject of inquiry
during two months, viz. November 1881 and
January last ; and now we feel it necessary to
reply to a few questions that have been put, to

IOC

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 1, 1882.

show our amateur readers how to deal with it.
A reverend correspondent from Co. Carlo w,
Ireland, asks, among other matters, ' "What is
the space behind the frames for ?' and in reply
we say, — -For any purpose for which such sjiacc
may be useful. In spring or autumn it may
be used as a place for feeding. ; Raise the back
dummy a. quarter of an inch or little more, and
put in the food, in an)r of the simple forms that
commend themselves to cottagers, but which
when outside or near the entrance of a hive
but too often cause robbing. Odd pieces of

bleeding comb may be put there to be cleaned,
combs tilled with syrup may be placed there,
or barley sugar, or sugar cake, or loaf sugar
moistened ; or, if a system of regulated feeding
be determined on, it will be very easy to adapt
any of the feeders in use, so that the bees can
get under the food as if it were on the top of
the hive, and in this case will be less likely to
fill up the brood-nest with liquid food. To do
this, a strip of wood of the length of the hive
from side to side, about three-fourths of an inch
thick, and about half-an-inch wider than the
feeding-bottle, will be required. Through the
centre of this a hole should be made, large
enough for a feeding-plate of vulcanite, or
metal, which should be fixed as in ordinary.
The wood should now be cut away from one
side of the hole so that when the strip lies with
the feeding-plate uppermost, the bees can get
into the hole, and it should then be laid on the
floor-board of the hive with the last-named
hole against the dummy, when, if the dummy

* In the woodcut which we give above, the hive is
shown with its front corner transparent, so that anyone
may see at a glance how easy of arrangement are all its
parts. As shown, it has our physic-bottle feeder dummy
in it, which is far from being a bad thing, and anyone
can make it.

\

\

be raised about half-an-inch the bees will have
access. An easier way would be to cut a notch in
the dummy, or make a cork hole, to correspond
with the hole in the side of the feeding-stage; but
any plan will answer-that gives the Vices access
to the bottle of. food on the feeding-plate.
When feeding bees in the rear of the hive, the
entrance should be contracted to the smallest
size convenient to the bees, for as great in-
terest will attach to the feeding domain, the
front of the hive may be less guarded than
usual. As summer approaches, the back part
of the hive maybe gradually filled with frames,
sections or section frames, always remembering
that bees will often store honey on the ground-
floor of their hives, when they will not visit
supers at all. For winter use the brood-nest
can be brought to the centre of the hive, a zinc
tunnel laid from the entrance to a dummy or
chaff cushion, with entrance at the bottom (as
per woodcut) , on
the front side, and
a similar one with-
out entrance at the
back, and all va-
cant space can be
filled up with hay
or shavings. The
hive for winter use may be readily adapted for
two stocks by making a second entrance.

( lur reverend querist then s'ays, ' If the hive
is to be filled with more frames in summer, will
not a larger super and adapter be required than
for the hive as it is ?' And to this we say, No,
under ordinary circumstances, because if stor-
ing were going on in rear as well as on top, and
the sections are removed as soon as they are
ready, there is ample provision for storage in
both places.

Question No. 3 then is, ' Are the side-spaces
to be packed in winter? if so, why are there
not similar spaces at front and back?' The
side-spaces are intended to be packed in winter;
and if there is fear of evil from a few bees
getting into them in summer, the packing may
be retained on the principle that what will keep
out the cold will keep out the heat. It would
be advisable when starting it with a swarm to
pack the sides lightly with hay to prevent the
queen getting down, and the possible danger in
dislodging her. At every examination of a
frame-hive there may be a few bees difficult to
keep off the quilt, or from other parts under the
roof, but if the cover (roof) be left on askew,
or tilted for a short time, they will find their
way out.

Question No. 4, 'Is the floor-board to re-
main fastened to the hive?' In ordinary
square hives it is well to have it moveable, as
otherwise it is difficult to clear it ; but with
long hives we have concluded that it is quite

February 1, 1882. J

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

197

safe, and better in many respects, that they
should be firmly nailed on. Loose floor-boards
often warp, or the side walls shrink, leaving
crevices for the bees to stop, or to form harbour
for insects, whereas when nailed on they are
close-fitting ; and in these hives, which, except
during the summer, are seldom more than
half tilled, and on which the whole brood-
nest can be moved from end to end almost with-
out disturbance, the whole of the floor-board is
comeatable for any purpose.

Question 5, ' What way is the door and glass
door of the section crate to be placed P and
what is it for?' The glass front with shutter
should be placed where it will be convenient to
look through to see if the outside sections arc
full, — and that is its purpose.

Question 6, ' Which side of the adapter goes
next to the tops of the frames ?' The side to
which the zinc is fixed is usually kept upper-
most permitting the passage of bees between it
and the frame tops. If it were laid zinc down-
ward, the passage of bees would be materially
interfered with, and there would be a great
deal of propolis used.

THE IMPROVED GIOTTO-FRAME
HIYE.

If we may judge by the number of letters
received on this subject, the principle involved
therein is gradually gaining adherents, and,
having been long convinced of its value in bee
culture, we think it right that those who wish
for hives on that principle should be shown how
to make them in the simplest way. The advan-
tages of close-ended frames have been consider-
ably dwelt upon from time to time, and need not
again occupy valuable space, particularly as it
is evidenced, in the letters referred to, that
they are understood and appreciated. One of
the chief advantages of the improved Giotto-
frame principle consists in its pliancy, by
which any box of reasonable size may be con-
verted, at very small cost, into a useful hive.
Take any ordinary packing-case ; or, perhaps,
it would be well to determine first the size the
hive is to be, and, supposing it is agreed that
its outside dimensions shall be somewhat
similar to those of an elongated Woodbury, say
about 14 ins. by 8,and'2() to 80 ins. long; we must
select a box of somewhat larger dimensions to
contain the frames, of which, practically, the
hive will be formed.

Having our box, which, as before said, may
be of any reasonable size, we cut away part of
its top, so that it shall have sufficient slope to
earn- off the rain when the lid or cover is put
on it.

We now cut a piece of half or three-quarter

inch board of exactly the length the box is
wide, and, having marked the centre of it, and
measured off seven inches on each side of the
centre, we apply a square (carpenter's) and
make two lines, as in sketch, which will be
exactly 14 ins. apart — the width the hive

•

glance at

proper is to be. We then line out the board
lengthwise, and cut it into strips exactly 1 in.
wide, to form the top bars of the frames.
Well, that little job is quickly disposed of, and
if the board was 9 ins. wide there will be eight
frame bars all evenly marked, showing the
exact spot where the frame-ends are to be
attached to them.

Now for the frame-ends : well, a
the woodcut will show the shape
they are intended to be ; they must,
for the size intended, be 1£ ins.
wide, 7f ins. long, and about \ in.
thick, and the notch cut out of the
top must be an inch wide, and as
deep as the top bars are thick, for
they are intended to go into the
notches and fit tightly. It is almost
needless to say that if there are
eight frames sixteen frame-ends will
be required, but care should be
tu ken that they are all smooth and
true on their edges and square at their ends
and notches. We next want eight bottom
rails, which should be exactly 14 ins. long,
I in. wide, and \ in. thick, and then the
frames will be ready for nailing together.
Remembering the pencil marks on the bars
are 14 ins. apart, and that the hive is to be
of that size, and it being essential that when
the frames are put side by side to form the
hive there should be no irregularities inside to
tempt thebeestopropolise, it will be important in
putting on the frame-ends that their outsides
should be exactly even with the pencil-marks,
which will keep all the inner surfaces of the
frame-ends smooth and even ; and then, if the
bottom rails are nailed on properly, the frames
will be true and equal. But before the frames
are nailed together it will be advisable to make

\-.

]

a saw-cut down the middle of the top bar to
receive the comb foundation or guide, as may
be decided on, and, having fixed the right
hand frame-end, the other may be left un-
nailed until the foundation or guide is in its

198

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 1, 1882.

place. For fixing the frame-ends we would
recommend screws, to go through the cheeks
of the top-ends, and also through the bars,
because it may some day be convenient to
enlarge the hive by widening it, in which case,
by withdrawing the screws and providing new
bottom rails, the frames may be widened at
pleasure, which cannot be done with the frames
in any other form of hive. The frames having
been made, the box must be prepared to receive
them : they are 8 ins. high, and require to be
supported by their ends, so that they shall be
from | to j in. from the bottom, which
can be easily effected by nailing strip3 of
wood along both sides, inside the box, at the
necessary height. If the top bars of frames
arc i in. in thickness, the top edge of the
strips must be 7£ ins. above the bottom ; but
if they be f in. thick the tops of the strips will

be I in. lower. The woodcut will show how
the frames are to be placed, side by side; and
when an entrance way has been made in the
front end of the box they may be placed inside
upon the strips, which may now be considered
the runners.

The box we arc presuming to be about !j()
ins. long, and we strongly advise as much as
this, because it maybe convenient, for wintering
purposes, to put two stocks in it, separated rJy
a thin board only or a solid comb, in which
case the heat will be greatly economised ; and
in any case a little spare room in such a hive
can do no possible harm, but may be found
highly convenient.*

With the frames in position, it will he seen
that there is, or may be, considerable space
between the hive walls and the inner hive, and
it will naturally occur to many that the bees
will get from under the hive proper and take
possession of these spaces, but if they do it will
be simply because they have been stinted of
room in their own domain.

Should any one fear this eventuality, and
wish to provide against it, a moveable piece of
wood, 1 in. square, and of the length of the
hive inside, laid along the floor of the hive on

each side of the frames will effectually confine
them, and for winter use will give space for
warm packing. To confine the bees to the
frames (from the rear) a simple, plain board
only is needed, 14 ins. long, and 8i ins. high,
or tntrcabouts, and to keep all tight together
and prevent propoHsation a strip of wood, long
enough to reach the back, should be strutted
tightly against it.

With quilt upon the frames, and alighting
board and porch fixed, the hive will now be
ready for the reception of a swarm ; but its
treatment, with other matters, must be delayed
until our next issue.

* Last year a 24-in. hive on this principle, but with
frames somewhat larger, was completely occupied !>_v a
swarm ; in about three weeks nearly every comb being
tilled and sealed. — Ed.

THE IRISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

There are times when no news may be con-
sidered good news ; but this cannot he said of
a Bee-keepers' Association, and particularly of
that which was so lately formed in Ireland.
Complaints are being made that nothing is
being done, that there is no energy at head-
quarters, -and, evidently, no "faith in the cause
in the minds of those who are in office. Now
is the time when arrangements should he
making for the summer campaign ; but nothing-
is being done. We have heard that the Royal
Dublin Society is anxious — aye, ' anxious '— -
that the I.B.K.A. should be represented at
their Annual Show in April next, and surely
the opportunity should not he allowed to slip ;
yet so far nothing has been deaie.

0 ie dissatisfied member Writes : — ' I see by
the leaflet, that one of the objects of the As-
sociation was to have lectures during winter
months; but, up to the present, nothing _ has
been done.'

Another says: — 'Only for the press harping,
our Irish Association would be on paper only;.
The Hon. Sec. fears to take one active or
energetic step.'

We are sincerely sorry to hoar such com-
plaints, and, coming whence they do, to feel
that they are but too well founded. The gist
of them all is, ' There is nothing being
done.' Surely in such case (he members
will take matters in hand, and not allow the
Association to dwindle awny because its Hon.
Sec. is too bus}- or too timid to take a step
in advance.

We are told the Committee is so widely
spread that a quorum cannot be obtained in
Dublin, and that, therefore, the whole thing
drags ; but we sincerely hope that, failing
action on the part of the Hon. Sec, the mem-
bers will make themselves heard and save the
Association, so full of promise, from a lingering-
death.

February 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

l'J9

THE BLIGrH ECONOMIC APIARY
COMPETITION.

The Committee of the British Bee-keepers'
Association have under their consideration the
rules and regulations that will govern this im-
portant competition, and they will, in all pro-
bability, be ready for publication in our next
issue. In the meantime we may say that, as
the competition is intended to show the supe-
riority of improved bee culture, and to con-
vince the world at large that bee-keeping, Avhen
well understood and practised, is a profitable
industry, and as it is intended that it shall be
carried on under surveillance by recognised
authorities, it is proposed to limit the com-
petition to members of the British Bee-
keepers' Association and of Associations in
affiliation with that body. This will not be in
any way prohibitive, as intending competitors
can qualify themselves in that respect forth-
with, but an important part of the proposal
will limit the competitors to such as shall be
approved by the committees of the respective
associations, and here is a duty imposed on
the committees that we trust will not be lightly
dcalt with. From our point of view, the com-
petition should be strictly confined to experts
who Would be able to give good reasons for
whatever occurred, so that, excepting the
weather, which none can control, there should
be aslittle left to chance influence as possible.

Again, as the duty of surveillance will de-
volve upon the Committee, by themselves or
by their deputies, we would suggest that their
labour will be lrpitened and made much more
pleasant if moral considerations have weight
in the approval of competitors. "We hope there
will be a large number of entries, and that the
competition will not be considered as between
one and another, but that all will unite in a
great effort against the ignorance and stu-
pidity which have so long held bee-keeping
unworthy a place among the industries of the
country. After years of expensive and patient
labour, the country has been aroused to a con-
sideration of the question, many associations
have been formed under royal, noble, ecclesi-
astical, and titled patronage, and hundreds of
ladies and gentlemen have interested them-
selves, and are on the tip-toe of hope and
expectation ; and we want to see this competi-
tion so carried out as to honestly jn'ovc that the
labour, expense, patronage, and interest, have
not been bestowed upon a myth. — En. B. B. J.

Bees in Taius. — ' A notice has recently been posted 1 o
the effect tliat, as the keeping of hives in the neighbour-
hood of markets, schools, and refineries is clangorous, it
is forbidden to raise bee in Paris without special per-
mission, and that all persons possessing hives must sup-
press them within a week, unless authorisation be pre-
viously obtained.' — Eclto, Jan. 26.

BERKS AND BUCKS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.—ROYAL APPRECIATION OF
HONEY.

The Berks and Bucks Association have been
honoured by the acceptance by Her Royal Highness
the Princess Christian of the splendid exhibit, of
honey which won the British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion's Silver Medal at their great show at Maiden-
head last autumn. The prize was deservedly
awarded to Sir Gilbert A. Clayton East, Bart., the
President of the Association, whose exhibit consisted
of twenty-two Abbott's original sections, holding
two pounds each, the liquid honey in the cells
showing to the beauty of perfection against the
glass, which in these take the place of the wooden
bottoms of ordinary sections. The exhibit was
purchased by the Association specially to present to
Her Royal Highness, and the Rev. Edgar Sheppard,
Minor Canon of St. George's Chapel, was deputed to
present it ; and to prove the deep interest taken in
the proceeding, Her Royal Highness, who is the
Patroness of the Association, graciously acknow-
ledged its receipt with her own hand, writing, ' 1
am extremely grateful to the Committee of the
Berks and Bucks Bee-keepers' Association for their
kind present of honey ; and may I ask you to convey
to them my sincere thanks for their kind thought
of me.' — Signed, Helene, Princess Christian of
Schleswig Holsteiu, Princess of Great Britain and
Ireland.

[Oould anything possibly be nicer 'i — Ed.]

PERMANENT COLLECTION OF BEE-HI YES,
etc., AT SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.

The British Bee-keepers' Association has wisely
determined to make the permanent collection of
bee-hives and bee furniture, <fcc., at the South Ken-
sington Museum more attractive to the general
public, and so sjjread a knowledge of modern bee-
keeping and create a wider interest in its study.
At present it is composed of hives, etc., lent by
Messrs. Neighbour, Baldwin, Hooker, Cowan, and
others.

With this object, a member of the Committee has
been endeavouring to obtain for this collection
frame-hives, and modern appliances, and other
objects of interest.

Abbott Brothers have promised a hive fitted with
various kinds of guide comb, also queen cages,
robber traps, and other articles manufactured by
them, and last, not least, their valuable collection
of different kinds of bees preserved in spirits,
admired at Louth and other shows. Mr. Cowan
has promised specimens of comb, honey, jars, crates,
&c. Several bar-frame hives have been contributed
by others, and by Mr. Baldwin an observatory hive ;
and it is to be hoped that some one may be found
to contribute a stock of Ligurians to exhibit in it,
for the attempt is to be made of keeping bees in the
observatory, and one or two other hives to give a
livelier interest to the collection ; but it remains to
be seen if London, which supports so many trades,
can also support the bee-keepers.

200

THE BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 1, 188:?.

Not an unimportant feature in the collection will
be its ultimate value as a central collection of all
curious and rare bees, their enemies, diseases, and
freaks ; and it is most earnestly hoped that any
friend to bee-keeping will carefully preserve any
specimens of such, and send them direct to the
Permanent Bee-hive Collection, South Kensington
Museum, and write to Mr. H. Jonas, of 64 Redcliffc
Gardens, South Kensington, the member of the
Committee of the British Bee Association who has
undertaken the charge of the collection, and who
will gladly receive any contribution of interest and
answer any communication respecting the same. —
Communicated.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The Annual General Meeting of the members will be
held in the Board Room of the Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at 105 Jermyn Street,
on Wednesday, February 15th, at four o'clock in the
afternoon. The chair will be taken by the President of
the Association, the Baroness Burdett-Ooutts. The
following important subjects will be discussed at this
meeting, viz.: —

' That it is desirable that the British Bee-keepers'
Association do set forth a Standard Frame, stamped by
its sanction and authority, with the view to bringing
such frame into general use. Its size and form to be
determined by a Committee appointed for that purpose.'

' That vacancies in the Committee occurring at any
time during the current year be filled up from the un-
successful candidates, according to the priority of the
votes obtained at the election.'

' That the British Bee Journal (so long as it shall
remain under the Editorship of Mr. Charles Nash Abbott,
and promote the interests of the British Bee-keepers'
Association ) be regarded as the official organ of the
aforesaid Association.'

The First Quarterly Meeting of the present year was
held in the Lecture Room at Exeter Hall, Strand, on
Wednesday, January 18th. Present: Mr. T. W. Cowan
(in the Chair), Rev. G. Raynor, Rev. E. Bartrum, J. M.
Hooker, IT. Jonas, I). Stewart, W. O'B. Glennie
(Treasurer), and Rev. II. R. Peel (Hon. Secretary).
The following county representatives were also present,
viz., Rev. Astley Roberts and Mr. G. N. Martin (Hert-
fordshire), Mr. W. S. Darby (Berks and Bucks), Rev.
W. E. Burkitt and J. II. Dixon (Wiltshire), Captain
Campbell (Surrey), and Mr. Jessie Garratt (Kent). The
minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed ;
the balance-sheet for the past year was also read, show-
ing a balance in hand of 17/. 2s. llrf.

The Secretary submitted the Committee's report
for the past year ; resolved, that the same be printed
and a proof forwarded to each member of the Committee
for his approval, previous to its being issued to the
members. Mr. T. B. ISluw (Welwyn), Mr. J. R. Pocock
(Bromley), and Mr. It. Green (Rainham), were elected
as supplementary experts to the Association.

The following motions were discussed with the county
representatives : —

(1.) Moved by the Rev. II. R. Peel, 'That the Com-
mittee of the 15. B. K. A. do affirm the principle (if
voting a fixed sum every year to he expended in
assisting the formation of County Associations, by
providing- a lecturer for a series of lectures similar to
those which have recently been held in Wiltshire and
Norfolk.'

The Rev. W E. Burkitt stated that the recent tour in
Wilt* had been most successful. It was the general
opinion of the meeting that a proportionate sum s) Id

be expended by the County Association itself, and that
the Central Society shoidd receive some guarantee from
the County Association that such lectures would be well
organized and advertised throughout the county, in
order that they might produce good results. It was
resolved, ' That the Committee should recommend the
sum of -J07. to be devoted to this object during the vear
1882/

(2.) The Hon. and Rev. II. Bligh's motion for the
promotion of economic departments in apiaries. Mr.
Bligh submitted a list of rules for the management of
the competition, which were discussed by the Committee
at considerable length. Some amendments being con-
sidered requisite for the success of the undertaking,
ultimately it was resolved to appoint a sub-committee,
consisting of the Chairman, Rev. G. Raynor, and the
Honorary Secretary, to revise the rules and to confer
with Mr. Bligh for their final adoption.

The Secretary called attention to the frequent violation
of the rules relating to the awarding of medals and certi-
ficates at the annual shows of County Affiliated Asso-
ciations, such prizes being open for competition only to
members or cottagers residing within the boundaries of
the county, or within such boundaries as shall be defined
by the County Association. No competitor to enter for
more than one county competition. The latter clause
being added to the original rule to enable County Asso-
ciations to include parishes situate on the borders of
their county which are not situated within the county,
but connected with it for various purposes.

A Conversazione was held at six o'clock ; there was a
large attendance of members, including Revs. E. Bar-
trum, II. R. Peel, T. Sisson, W. E. Burkitt, and Messrs.
C. F. Williams, Col. E. Smyth, A. Neighbour, J. Cam-
aschella, II. G. Morris, F. Lyon, D. Stewart, J. M.
Hooker, W. O'B. Glennie, H. Jonas, Capt. Campbell,
J. Garratt, G. Henderson, T. W. Cowan, S. J. Baldwin,
P. Athanes, G. B. Clapham, F. II. Meggy, G. Drink-
water, &c. The chair was occupied by the Rev. J. H.
Dixon, representative of the Wiltshire Association.

The chairman having briefly introduced the Rev. <t.
Raynor, of Hazeleigh Rectory, Maldon, Essex, the rev-
erend gentleman proceeded to read his paper on

Bee-Houses and Hives.

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, — The subject upon
which I am about to address you this evening is so ex-
tensive, and its interest so great, that if I were not fully
convinced of the sympathy of my audience in the arduous
task which I have taken upon myself, I should despair
of treating it satisfactorily, even in the most cursory
manner. But from the kindness experienced, on former
and similar occasions, I feel that I may count on your
forbearance on the present occasion, with regard to the
few remarks which I propose to lay before you on ' Houses
and Hives.'

Without further preface, then, I will at once enter
upon my task.

And, 1st, as regards bee-houses. I can fancy that 1
hear a general chorus of exclamation, ' Why, I thought
they were exploded long ago ! Surely advanced bee-
keepers, nowadays, would never think of introducing
such a cumbrous erection as a bee-house into their api-
aries ! '

Well, I am perfectly aware that they have been written
down, and that the modern fashion is to decry them;
nevertheless, since my earliest days of acquaintance with
the honey-bee, I have never been without one or more
good and substantial houses in my apiary, and, what is
more to the point, have always found them productive
of large yields of honey and swarms, in fair seasons,
more so, indeed, by far, than hives on separate stands.

The objections to the use of houses are generally
stated thus:—- 1. Expense; 2. They form a shelter for
mice, moihs. spiders, .vc. : •'!. Dampness; I. They en-

February 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

201

courage robbing ; 5. Are inconvenient for manipulating,
causing also disturbance to the adjoining hives; and,
6. Loss of young queens on their return from mating
with the drones.

Let me endeavour to answer these objections seriatim,
first of all premising that by the word ' house' I do not
understand the simple bee-shed, open in front, and some-
times at back also, but a complete enclosed house, with
closed front, and folding-doors at back, with proper venti-
lation, and other modern appliances.

First, then, as regards expense. The original cost of
one of my houses, similar to the one I have just men-
tioned, and which I have had in use for about twelve
years, was 51. 5s. It contains twelve bar frame hives, six
on the upper and six on the lower, with sufficient space
above each hive for crates of sections, or other supers.
The space between the hives is 8 in., and each hive
stands upon its own separate floor-board, the sunk
entrance of which corresponds with an entrance exactly
similar in size and shape, formed in the front of the house.
The house is divided into two compartments, each with
a pair of doors opening at the back and fitted with stout
locks. Ventilators, which may be opened or closed at
pleasure, are placed in the gable ends. The upper tier
of hives stands at a height of 4 feet from the ground, the
lower at 2 feet, thus affording space beneath for cup-
boards, or receptacles for hives, apiarian implements, or
other bee-furniture. The entrance to each hive is iso-
lated and surrounded by projecting boards of 8 inches
in width, and each has its separate alighting-board, the
divisions thus formed being painted white and green
alternately, the entrances ranging 2 feet from each
other.

Now, I think it will lie allowed that in such a house
as this, which is substantially built of good sound pine,
a less expensive hive will be required than for a single
stance where no protection is afforded, and where double
walls, stout roof, and separate stand, aie simply matters
of necessity. In the latter case we may estimate the
cost of a well-painted and finished hive at 2os. at the
least. For twelve hives we thus incur an outlay of 1-0/.
Now let us compare this with the cost of the twelve-
hived house. Since a house of this description readily
admits of chaff-packing to any extent desired during
ike winter months, and of shelter from the burning rays
of the summer sun, a much less substantially constructed,
and consequently less expensive hive, will be required.
In practice, I find that a good moveable-frame hive, with
quilt and floor-board complete, can be obtained suitable
for this purpose for the sum of 8s. But even putting
the cost at 10*. and allowing the sum of &. for the house,
the total cost of the house with its twelve hives will be
12/., showing a balance of •'!/. in favour of the house
system as compared with that of hives on separate
stands. Thus, 1 think, 1 have sufficiently refuted tie'
allegation of greater outlay being required, — at least
when the number of hives is not below twelve.

The next objection, 'That houses form a shelter for
moths, spiders, mice, &c.,' is at least as true of hives on
separate stands. An occasional brush over, externally
and internally, will keep both clear of these, pests, i s-
peeially if a little sprinkling of diluted carbolic acid be
used. Dampness I have found injurious to separate
hives, but never to those protected by a well-ventilated,
weather-proof house.

'But,' say some, 'houses encourage robbing!' To
which I reply, not necessarily more than the separate
stand system. To my house-entrances a modified form
of the tunnel, recommended in Modern See-keeping, is
applied, and no single instance of robbing to any extent
has as yet come under my notice. If stocks are kept strong
in population, with young and fertile queens at their
head — which ought to be the case in every well-managed
apiary — no injury from robbing will ever arise. The
separation of the entrances, to which I have already re-
ferred, is also preventh e of robbing.

The next allegation is, ' Inconvenience in manipula-
tion.' Now before manipulating a hive on separate
stand, my own practice is to remove it to a quiet corner,
or under the friendly shelter of some neighbouring tree,
in near proximity: finding this plan advantageous for
several reasons, more particularly that you escape annoy-
ance from returning bees, as well as from those which
take flight on the disturbance of the hive — all returning
to the original stance, on which an empty hive has been
placed to afford them occupation. And just so I pro-
ceed with my house-hives. The one to be examined is
taken from its shelf, its place being temporarily occupied
by an empty hive, in which sometimes are placed combs
for cleansing after slinging. Thus all returning bees are
pleasantly employed during the examination of their
domicile, and no undesirable commotion arises.

But I come now to the last, and by far the most im-
portant, objection to the use of houses, viz. The loss of
young queens ; and of this, I fear, there is considerable
danger if the plan of natural swarming be allowed. In
actual practice I never, if possible, permit a natural
srwann from the houses assigned to the production of
honey. From one containing twelve hives, and from
another with six, during the last season I had not a single
swarm, either artificial or natural, and, strange to relate,
1 made no excision of queen-cells, nor did I practise any
of the usual methods of preventing swarms.

The houses, all through the many weeks of bright
summer weather, from the middle of the month of May
down to the early part of August, — a period abnost
without a check to t he abundant influx of honey, indeed
a season so prolific I scarcely remember within the last
thirty years, — during the whole of this period the houses
were thoroughly ventilated and kept as cool as possible,
with the thermometer standing, as it did at one time, at
03°. These house-sheltered hives were almost daily
relieved of their sections, and the gorged outside combs
were passed through the extractor and returned to be
refilled. From one of these houses came my largest
honey yield, viz. from four hives, 412 lbs. of super comb
honey, "chiefly in 1 and 2-1 b. sections, beside extracted
honey, of which, from want of leisure, unfortunately I
did not keep account. The largest yield from a hive on
separate stand was about 80 lbs. The. combs of several
of my swarms on separate stands fell, from the intense
heat, although built on thick foundation, while no such
accident occurred to those under the protection of a
house.

These eighteen house-protected stocks worked con-
tinuously and quietly throughout the summer, evincing
no undue commotion, nor any inclination to the swarm-
ing fever, although separate hives gave repeated swarms,
more particularly those in straw skeps, for I must plead
guilty to a lingering fondness for the hive of our fore-
fathers, and should be sorry to see my apiary deprived
of its half-dozen skeps. But the loss of young queens,
it is said, is of common occurrence where houses are
used, in consequence of the entrances to the hives being
so much alike and so near to each other. 1 have already
said that if natural swarming be permitted, there is
clanger of the loss of youthful queens; and yet not more
so than you will almost always find in the cottage gar-
dens. The cottager's apiary, as you all know, is almost
invariablv confined to a corner of his little garden ; and
who has 'not often wondered, when, beholding his row of
rotten skeps in close proximity, that, after swarming, he
does not usually lose his young queens, or that his hives
are not decimated by robbing ? But during a long and
varied experience of cottage bee-keeping, I have rarely
found this to be the case. Why then should we fear the
loss of queens from houses? Probably because there
may exist more of sameness— less distinctive marks— in
the entrances to house hives. However this may be,
there is a very simple way of avoiding risk by removing
the parent hive, immediately the swarm has issued, to
some quiet nook remote from other stocks, and placing

202

THE BEITISH BEE JGUBNAL.

[February 1, 1882.

the swarm, without delay, upon the parent stand.
Whether in houses, or on separate stands, I always
practise this plan. Thus the young queen has every
chance of safe return, over-much swarming is dis-
couraged, from your swarm you may reap an abundant
harvest, even during its first summer, and it will never
desert its hive, as too often happens with the unskilled
cottage class.

In consequence of the rapid strides with which bee-
culture has been developed in this country during the
last few years, weighty reasons iu favour of house
apiaries have arisen, more especially is it desirable that
the cheap modern frame-hive should have house protec-
tion.

Before entering on house erection, however, I would
advise every one to consult an article on House Apiaries
by Mr. Root, t lie well-known American bee-keeper, in
Ins ABC of Bee-culture, in which he gives a sketch,
with ground-plan, of an octagonal house apiary for
thirty-six hives. I will not attempt a description here,
since each can read it for himself, but I can only say
that if I had to recommence bee-keeping, with my many
years' experience, I should not hesitate to adopt his plan
to a great extent, and by so doing have not the least
doubt of being able to save in expense, at least fifty per
cent, of what I have already invested, and to reap the
advantages enumerated by Mr. Root, which, in conclud-
ing this part of my subject, I venture to lay before you.
He says:—

' The good and desirable qualities of the house apiary
are, that it is always sheltered and dry, the hives being
kept in good repair, which is a great advantage over out-
door hives. Hives can be more quickly opened, requir-
ing no covering save chaff-cushions in winter and single
cloth iu summer. Surplus hone}-, either extracted or
comb, can be removed quickly, since we store it in the
centre of the room, instead of the laborious carriage
necessitated by out-door hives. Empty frames, empty
combs, combs tilled for destitute colonies, frames of sec-
tion boxes, in short, everything required in working
about the hives, may be stored in the centre of the room,
within arms' reach of every one of the thirty-six hives.'
No small convenience and saving of labour, as will be
readily granted by those who know the amount of labour
attendant on the management of thirty-six hives. Next,
he remarks, ' we can handle the bees and do all kinds
of work with them during rainy weather, when out-
door hives could not be touched; and further, we can
handle the bees by lamp-light, after the duties of the
day are over, making new colonies, and thus avoiding
robbers which are often troublesome during the day-time.
Artificial swarming, queen-rearing, and other operations,
can be carried on very expeditiously, and at a small
expense, for the reasons we have mentioned.' These are
great advantages, and I believe the day is not far distant
when we shall see our loading apiarians adopting, to a
great extent at least, the house system. To carry it oul
successfully must be the work of skilled and practised
men. Rut let the novice, the more beginner, gain an
acquaintance with his work, by practising on his out-
door hive, before he embarks on 0 larger scale, and exten-
sively invests his money in the lions • system.

I have treated this part of my subject somewhat more
at large than originally I had intended, thus curtailing
the latter part, — the 1 live, -which is the less to be re-
gretted inasmuch as three papers on this interesting and
all-important theme have lately been read before the
members of this Society.

If in what I am about to say I shall appear to contro-
vert any of the positions taken up by the authors of
those able papers, I need scarcely ask them to set down
my motives to an earnest desire to arrive at the truth,
and not to any feeling of a more personal nature. I
have no interest in the sale of any particular hive, my
sole object being the production — pro bono publico — of
the best and cheapest hive ; a hive which shall afford —

1st. Protection from weather of all kinds and from
sudden changes of temperature ;

2nd. The greatest possible simplicity of construction
compatible with strength and soundness of ma-
terials ;

3rd. The greatest facility of manipulation, whatever
the object aimed at ; and

4th. Adaptability to the purposes required, whether it
be production of comb, extracted honey, or queen-
rearing, or all combiued.

And when, at a moderate cost, we have procured a
hive possessing these qualities, I think you will all agree
with me that we shall have attained a great desideratum,
if not perfection.

Under my first head of protection from weather will
come material. Let us then inquire what was considered
by the ancients to be the best material for their hives. Not
to go further back than Virgil, we find him recommend-
ing cork. The word used is ' cortex," which may be
translated ' bark ' of any kind, but the bark of the cork
tree was especially designated by the word ' cortex ' by
way of eminence. Columella also places cork first. He
says, ' If cork-trees are plentiful in the district the best
kind of hive will undoubtedly be a cork-hive, since cork
is not affected either by heat or cold.' That this view of
two of the most able and extensive writers on bees
amongst the ancients, dating back a period of nearly
2000 years, should coincide with the conclusions of modern
apiarian science, arrived at after actual experiment, is
sufficiently remarkable.

I believe it is generally allowed that the best hive wall,
and almost non-conductive of heat or cold, is the double
one with cork dust between, which form, in fact, a treble
wall. Now, to me it has always been a puzzle, why we
should not apply an inside coating, or wall, of cork to our
single-walled hives ; and year after year, at our great hive
shows, I have looked for "a hive of this class, but in vain.
The only reference to such a hive, amongst the written
bee-lore which I possess, is the one in the Journal of
Horticulture for December 20, 1669, where a correspon-
dent relates of a cork hive, which he had proved, ' I find
that last, winter the bees were kept free from damp and
disease, and were very strong, in fact it was my best hive.
.Such hives are very easy to make. Let a wooden frame
be made just the same as for a straw Woodbury hive,
and then have five pieces of common cork, cut the size of
the openings (where the straw is placed in the Wood-
bury), and fit them in ; then drive one or two wooden
pegs in, on each side, to keep the cork in its place. For
the top it is better to drive two pieces of strong wire,
edge-wise, through the frame and the cork, to prevent it
sinking in the middle, with the weight of the feeding-
bottle; then cut a two-inch hole in the middle, and the
hive is complete. The pieces of cork for the sides cost
sixpence each and for the top one shilling and sixpence,
so the whole hive can lie made for a few shillings.'

Now the hive which I should like to sec would be the
one thus described, minus its ' crown-board' of cork, for
which I would supply tile quilt, and plus four outer walls
of straw or pine; and 1 trust that some of our enter-
prising luxe-manufacturers will, before long, present US
witli such or similar combination hives. I am persuaded
that with such a hive, beneath the shelter of a house, ^ e
shall have made a decided step in advance in the matter
of domicile for the bee. So much for material.

My next point is simplicity of construction. By tins I
mean that there must he no complicated mechanical ap-
pliances of any kind, no racks, no sides opening on hinges,
the least possible opportunity afforded to the bees oi
renderingr their combs immoveable by propolis. What
we require is a simple four-sided frame-hive, from which
the frames may be raised vertically, or moved horizon-
tally, with the least possible disturbance of the bees, and
the'avoidance of the crushing of a single bee. If wo can
attain this, 1 lliiuk you will agree with me, that we shall
also have attained great facility of manipulation. For the

February 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

203

sake of brevity, theu, we may consider simplicity of con-
struction and facility of manipulation as synonymous
terms.

And here, I fear, I am about to throw down the apple
of discord, in entering upon the consideration of the best
size of frame for all purposes, and in earnestly recommend-
ing this Association to take steps for putting forth a
Standard frame. After the very great work which the
British Bee-keepers' Association has already effected, and
in view of the important functions which it has yet to
perform, it may well be credited with sufficient authority
to name a standard frame. The many disadvantages
accruing to the bee-keeping work! in general, from the
want of a recognised standard frame, are so patent to
all that they require no enumeration here. So much is
this want, felt, that several well-known apiarians have
put forth their quasi standards, in despair, I presume, of
the Association taking action in the matter.

Now I believe, at the present time, there is a great
opening for the Association to take up the subject ; and

I will tell you why. Amongst the most successful and
devoted apiarians of the present day, as regards both
science and practice, 1 think — taking for our guidance
the prize-lists of our most important shows — we may set
down the names of Messrs. Abbott, Cowan, Cheshire,
Hooker, Neighbour, &c. Now of what sizes are the
frames used and recommended by these gentlemen ?
Allow me to say that I quote inside dimensions. Mr.
Cowan's frame — I speak subject to correction — measures
13J in. x 7| in. ; Sir. Cheshire uses the Woodbury,
13 x 7\ ; Mr. Hooker's, 1 3i x 8A ; Messrs. Abbott and
Neighbour have, I believe, lately put forth hives with
the Woodbury frame. Il appears to me a singular, but
very suggestive, fact that these gentlemen — long experi-
enced and practical men withal — should all be using and
recommending a frame of size closely approximating to
the old Woodbury frame. And more than this, I believe,
from conversations held with other advanced apiarians,
that there is a general consensus of agreement in favour
of a frame nearly approaching, at least, the Woodbury
in size.

My reference hitherto has been to rectangular frames,
generally known as square frames; but, in my opinion,
the tapered frame has a decided advantage over the
rectangular as regards facility of manipulation ; and its
inventor, Mr. Abbott, if he had conferred no other
favour on bee-keepers, would have deserved our warmest
thanks. The tapered frame requires the front and back
of the hive to be tapered also, in order that the ends of
the frames may be kept at the same distance from them.
This arrangement causes so much less danger of crushing
bees, and little or no disturbance in manipulation, that
none but those who have used both kinds of frame can
understand the undoubted advantage of the taper over
the rectangular form. , »

In America, a-; in our own country, frames of various
size are used; but the Langstroth frame, 17 x !), is
more used than all others taken together. The next in
order is, perhaps, the one recommended by Prof. Cook,

II or 12 inches square. The former I think too large
and the latter of inconvenient shape. Speaking from
practical experience, and taking into consideration faci-
lity of manipulation, adaptation for supers of whatever
kind, doubling, with a view to obtaining extracted honey,
artificial swarming, queen-raising, and safety in winter-
ing, I have found a taper frame of the following size the
best, viz. length at top 14 in., at bottom 1:5 J in., depth
8^ in. A hive containing ten of these frames, and two
division-boards to be replaced by two additional frames
during the summer months, if requisite, will be found
a convenient size, containing over 2000 cubic inches.
The separate-stand-hive used iu my apiary contains, in
its front compartment, ten or twelve frames of these
dimensions, and is thus described : — The hive, consisting
of stand, roof, or super-cover, complete, is divided into
two compartments, with appliances for summer and

winter use. Its outer walls are double, with inch space
between, which is filled with cork-dust. The front, com-
partment contains ten frames, and two division-boards
which may be exchanged for frames when desired. Its
capacity is 2500 cubic inches, or rather more than one
bushel. The back compartment contains three frames
of the same size as those in front, and also a division-
board. The frames range from front to back in the fore-
most part of the hive, and in the opposite direction, or
parallel to the entrance in the after compartment. This
after compartment has several uses, viz. for depriving
purposes, starting sections, or it may be used asanucleus
for queen-raising, a separate entrance with immoveable
alighting board and porch being provided. A zinc
divider with rectangular perforations, which may be
opened or closed at pleasure, is inserted in the partition-
wall between the two compartments. The frames rest
upon zinc runners, or upon the chamfered upper edges
of the front and back of the hive. The distance-guides
to the frames are simply small strips of wood tacked on
to the ends of the top bars. These, in practice, I have
found preferable to the broad-shouldered frames, as
being less liable to break, and also to the distance-pins or
staples, which I consider as simple abominations.

But to return to the subject of the standard frame.
It may be laid down as an axiom, ' That, moveable-comb-
hives only are worthy of consideration in these days of
advanced bee-culture.' And since the frame may be
said to form the principal part of the hive, it fortiori, it
may be proved to be of the utmost importance that the
most convenient and useful size and shape of frame
should be determined and put forth as a standard by this
Association ; and if no other member will move a reso-
lution to this effect, I shall hope, after consultation with
our worthy Secretary, to do so at no very distant time.

Of other kinds of hive than the simple four-sided,
moveable frame, I have said nothing, but I feel most
strongly that a good and inexpensive straw skep — a sort
of transition hive between the old skep and the frame-
hive, something on the lines of the old Grecian hive —
is much needed, as a connecting link which may serve
to lead our cottage people from the present debased style
of bee-keeping to higher and better things.

Then there is the Stewarton. AVhat shall I say of the
Stewarton ? My friend, Mr. Bartrum, calls it 'the hive
of the busy man.' Well, I will confess, that if rny usual
number of stocks — from thirty to forty — were located in
Stewarton boxes, I should expect, to be a very busy man,
indeed. As they are at present in simple frame-hives, I
manage, with the help of a handy boy, by devoting an
hour or two in early morning and late evening to keep
them in tolerable condition ; but if, instead of one box
for each stock, I had three to manipulate, and these so
firmly glued together with a substance which we call
propolis, but which Virgil called

' gluten,
Et visco et Phrygian servant pice lentius Ida?;'

— that is to say, that 1 lie bees procure this glue, which is
more adhesive than birdlime or the pitch of Phrygian Ida,
for stopping up the chinks of their hives — then, I say,
and without fear of contradiction, that I should be the
busiest of busy men. Asa matter of fact, I commenced with
the Stewarton in the year 1805, after a correspondence
in the Meld newspaper, at that time not long established,
and I have kept the hive in use ever since, but merely as a
variety. Many a fine box of comb-honey have I taken
from the Stewarton. and have always found that the
bees winter well in it, but as regards manipulation it
is a sealed book, far more so, indeed, than the cottage
skep.

Another attempt at a revival, both in America and in
our own country, is that of the Giotto hive, or rather of
its principle of the close-ended frames. I remember, in
the summer of the year 1853, assisting a friend, an apia-
rian enthusiast, residing within a few miles of Birmingham,

A 3

204

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 1, 188i;.

to open and examine a Huber's leaf-hive, which con-
tained a strong colony of bees. The cloud of bees which
rushed to the attack, on the forcing- asunder of each
frame on its hinges, was certainly a caution to me as a
novice, and of which I may truly say, ' Though lost to
sight, to memory dear.' Well, gentlemen, I do not think
this principle is going to make much progress. I have
worked Giotto hives, with the close-ended frames fitting
close up to the back and front of an outer shell, and I
found that the bees made so free use of propolis that the
hives became fixed-comb hives, to all intents and pur-
poses. I have worked hives with the same frame ends
at various distances from front and back, and I have
found that, with a quarter-inch space, these ends were as
firmly propolised as in the former case ; when two, three,
or four inches of space were allowed, I have found that
combs were built between the frame-ends and the outer
shells, and this invariably during a plentiful yield of honey.
And no wonder that it should be so, to those who are
acquainted with the habits of the bee, for whoever knew
the bees to leave a space in their hives unoccupied, when
having the power to fill it F No, my friends, be well
assured that the bee, equally with Nature herself,
abhors a vacuum. And has it not been laid down as a
maxim by all experienced apiarians that ' a bee, being
able to pass through an opening of a quarter of an
inch, if it be much less, is disposed to bridge it over
with propolis, if it be much greater, combs will be built
in the space ? '

Gentlemen, I have done. If these few and crude re-
marks shall have caused you a little amusement, and if
any hints which I have given shall bear fruit by means
of the discussion evoked thereby, my purpose, has been
answered, and the small amount of labour bestowed will
have been amply rewarded.

[The discussion on the foregoing paper will be given
in our next issue.]

The Library. — The Librarian desires to acknowledge,
with thanks, the receipt of the following books : —

From Mrs. Beach, Shirley, near Birmingham: The
Antient Bee Master's Farewell. By John Keys. 1796. —
Seventy Bounds a-year : how I made it by my Bees. By
J. W. Pagden. — The Bishop's Advice : ' Keep Bees.'
By K. B. Edwards.— A Short and Simple Letter to
Cottagers. By the Rev. AY. C. Cotton.

From John Camasohella, Esq. : Nuove Nozioni di
Fisiologia Apistica. By Don Giotto TJlivi. Forli,
1881.

From the Rev. H. M. Stallybrass : Hints to Begin-
ners on the Study and Practice of Apiculture. 1880.

The following works, acquired by purchase, have been
added to the Library : — John Gedde, The English
Apiary. London, 1721. With a new Discovery of an
excellent Method of Bee-houses and Colonies. London,
1722. — Thomas Wildraan, A Treatise on the Management
of Bees. London, 1788. — [M. de Reaumur], The Natu-
ral History of Bees, translated from the French. 1744.
— F. Huber, Nouvelles Observations sur les Abedles. 2
vols. 1814.— |M. l'Abbe Delia Rocca, Traits' complet
sur les Abeilles. 3 vols. Paris, 1790.— Carl T.-E. von
Siebold, On a True Parthenogenesis in Moths and Bees.
ls:,7.

NORFOLK AND NORWICH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

I see by this month's Journal there is a report which is
incorrect. It was the Suffolk Bee-keepers Association
who kindly let us have the use of their tent at our Horti-
cultural Show, and not the British as stated; and that
only once, viz. August 1881. It was my intention to
have had it the previous year, but it was engaged else-
where.— Saml. Baiige, Great Yarmouth, Jan. 8.

CORNWALL BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

A general meeting of the members of this Association
was held at the Town Hall, Truro, on Wednesday.
Present the Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen (in the chair),
Rev. W. Rogers, Rev. C. R. Sowell, Rev. J. Symonds,
Mrs. Polwhele, Mrs. J. W. Hoekin, Mrs. Tom, Messrs.
T. R. Polwhele, W. K. Baker, G. Dixon, J. Branwell,
jun., J. W. Wilkinson, J. S. Jago, J. Hendy, A. P. Nix,
W. Cock, and C. Kent, Hon. Sec. The minutes of the
last meeting having teen read and confirmed, the Sec-
retary reported that since the meeting in November
twenty-one new members had joined, including Sir James
McGarel Hogg, M.P., 1/. ; and Mr. A. Pendarves Vivian,
M.P., 1/. Is.; and that up to the present the annual sub-
scriptions paid and promised amounted to over 20/. The
Chairman stated that at a meeting of the committee held
just prior to the general meeting, it had been decided
that a series of lectures should be delivered in May by
the Rev. J . G. Dangar, one of the Hon. Sees, of the
Devon and Exeter Association, whose travelling and
other expenses would be paid by the British Bee-keepers'
Association, through whom the arrangements for the
lectures were made. The towns selected were Laun-
ceston, Liskeard, Truro, Penzance, St. Austell, and Fal-
mouth. It had also been determined that an exhibition
shouldjbe held at Launceston in June, in connexion
with the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Society's Show,
at which prizes would be offered for the best stocks
of bees to be shown for manipulation, and for the best
and cheapest hive for cottagers. Other exhibitions
would also be held in connexion with local horticultural
shows, one of which was to take place at Liskeard. Mr.
J. Hendy moved that the first annual exhibition and
honey fair be held at Truro, either in August or Sep-
tember, as the committee thought most desirable. This
was seconded by the Rev. J. Symonds and carried. Sir
James McGarel Hogg, M.P., and Mr. A. Pendarves
Vivian, M.P., were then added to the list of Vice-
Presidents. The next business was the completion of the
Committee of Management; and the Hon. .Mrs. Gilberl
(Trelissick), Mrs. Tom (Truro), Mrs. Polwhele (Pol-
whele), Miss Svmons (Ilatt), Rev. J. Symonds ( Baldhu I .
Messrs. G. H. 'Fox (Falmouth), W. N. Griffin (Alph-
ington), and E. II. Hoc-kin (Hessenford), were unani-
mously elected. Votes of thanks to the Mayor for tin-
use of the room, and to the Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen
for presiding, terminated the proceedings.

SURREY BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
REPORT FOR 1881.

In submitting their third annual report the committee
congratulate the members on the steady progress that
has been made. The annual county show was held in
Guildford, on the 14th of September last, in the grounds
of Henry Parson, Esq., to whose kindness, liberal assist-
ance, and co-operation the committee are greatly in-
debted. The prizes offered by the Association were not all
competed for, but at the close ,,f the show ten of these
were gracefully presented to the successful competitors
by Mrs. Parson. The display of honey, hives, and appli-
ances, was satisfactory; and the interest of the show was
greatly enhanced by the skilful manipulations and ex-
planations given by Mr. Baldwin, the expert of the
British Bee-keepers' Association, who attended with one
of their Bee Tents, and gave great satisfaction to the
visitors.

Local Shows. — An exhibition was held at Croydon,
in June, in connexion with the Horticultural Show,
wdien the new Bee Tent was satisfactorily used there
for the first time. Messrs. F. Jackson, W. Hollands,
and W. P. Wenham, rendered able assistance. The
committee have received much encouragement from the
kind interest evinced by gentlemen who have invited the
exhibition of the County Association's Bee Tent, in their

February 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

305

private grounds, in connexion with some other gather-
ings, free of all expense to the Association. Among
these successful and interesting exhibitions must he re-
corded that at Lythe Hill, Haslemere, under the patron-
age of the President of the Association. Also one at
Godalming, under the auspices of the governing body of
the Charter House, which was well attended. And one
at Busbridge Hall, near Godalming, by the very kind
invitation of J. C. Ramsden, Esq. All of these, the
Committee are assured, gave general satisfaction, so that
they may hope these local efforts will lead to greater
results. A visit was also made with the Bee Tent to
Camberley, in connexion with the Annual Horticultural
Show at that place.

The committee have to regret the resignation, on his
leaving England, of their able and indefatigable local
secretary, Mr. E. S. Whealler, of Croydon, and they feel
that their cordial thanks are due to him for his zealous
efforts in extending their operations in that locality.
They also regret that Mr. Jackson, who succeeded Mr.
Whealler, has been obliged to resign his appointment.
Mr. B. Hinton, of Everton, Croydon, has kindly accepted
the office. The committee beg to acknowledge deep
obligation to T. W. Cowan, Esq., of Horsham, and S. A.
Sholl, Esq., of Godalming, for their kindness in acting as
judges at the County Show; also to Mr. Jas. Abbott, of
Southall, for like "services at the Croydon and Charter
House shows. The balance-sheet is herewith submitted,
showing cash in hand of '221. lis. 5d., with outstanding
liabilities of 10/. 6s. 8d. The total number of subscribers
is now 134. In conclusion, the committee regret that
Mr. Lt man finds it necessarv to resign the office of hon.
secretary, and they have therefore appointed Edward
Daw, Esq., of Godalming, to act as' hon. secretary in his
place, but they tender to Mr. Leman the cordial thanks
of the Association for the zealous and courteous manner
in which for three years he has discharged the respons-
ible and delicate duties devolving upon him in organiz-
ing tlie Surrey Bee-Keepers' Association. — 21 Jan. 1882.

berks and bucks bee-keepers'
association.

Lecf.ure by W. H. Harris, Esq. — On the evening of the
12th ult., W. H. Harris, Esq., of Windsor, gave a very
interesting lecture on bees, their structure and habits.
The Hall was full and the audience were not slow in
their appreciation of the subject. Mr. Harris was par-
ticularly happy in his description of the habits of the
bees, and the distribution of a number of printed slips,
such as figure on our Journal wrapper, showing the queen
surrounded by her workers, elicited many expressions of
pleasure, gratification, and loyalty. Nothing could have
been more successful than was the meeting as a whole,
and the results to the Association were, we understand,
highly satisfactory.

LEICESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

AVe are exceedingly pleased to be able to announce
that Leicestershire can at length boast of a Bee-keepers'
Association. At a meeting, held on Saturday, Jan. 21,
by the kind permission of the Mayor, in the Old Town
Hall parlour, Leicester, the Association was formed. As
the bulk of those present were practical bee-keepers (some
on a large scale), the proceedings were entirely of a
business nature. Rules and regulations were first dis-
cussed and agreed upon. The election of officers next
engaged the attention of the meeting. It was resolved
that nis Grace the Duke of Rutland "be requested to act
as president, and a number of other influential gentlemen
as vice-presidents ; and doubtless it is pleasant news to
members of the Leicestershire B.K.A. to learn that his

Grace has already kindly acceded to the request. A
committee was then elected in part, and W. L. Lamson,
Esq., M.R.C.S., of Waltham ; Edwin Ball, Esq., of
Waltham ; and the Rev. A. M. Rendell, Rector of Coston,
were elected treasurer, secretary, and auditor respectively.
Affiliation with the British Bee-keepers' Association was
discussed and determined on. The proceedings then ter-
minated with votes of thanks to the Mayor, the chair-
man, and the Rev. A. M. Rendell, secretary. There were
about thirty present, and the enthusiasm of the meeting
was abundantly displayed by the lively interest evinced
in the discussion by Mrs. Theobald, Mr. Alderman Kemp-
son, J. II. Smith, Esq., and Messrs. Bryan, Carter, and
Riley. Orders were given for the printing and circula-
tion of rules, and an approximate date named for the
next committee meeting. All communications should be
addressed to Edwin Hall, Esq., Hon. Sec. Leic. B.K.A. ,
Waltham, Melton Mowbray.

HEREFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS-
ASSOCIATION.

The Annual General Meeting of this Association was
held in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall, St.
Albans, on Monday, Jan. 16, under the presidency of
the Earl of Veridam. There was a good attendance of
members, including several ladies. Georsre N. Martin,
Esq., of the Bank, St. Albans, was elected Hon. Secretary
vice the Rev. II. R. Peel, who is leaving the county.
A summary of the Report and the proceedings at the
annual meeting will he given in our next issue.

SUSSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
We have received a preliminary circular, through the
kindness of T. W. Cowan, Esq., which shows that a
powerful organization is on foot to encourage bee-culture
in the county of Sussex. The Association will be affiliated
to the British Bee-keepers' Association, and will be under
the presidency of the Eight Hon. the Earl of Chichester;
and there are for vice-presidents : — Right Hon. the Earl
of Egmont, Right Hon. the Earl De La Warr, the Right
Rev. the Bishop of Chichester, Right Hon. Lord De
Blaquiere, the Right Hon. the Speaker, G.C.B., Sir
Henry Fletcher, Bart.,M.P., Earl Winterton, Sir W. W.
Burrell, Bart., M.P., Sir E. F. Campbell, Bart., J. R.
Hollond, Esq., M.P., R. Loder, Esq. There is a pro-
visional committee of eighteen gentlemen, many of them
being well-known bee-keepers. The hon. treasurer is
the Rev. J. F. Hodgson, of Horsham ; the Rev. N.
Andrews is hon. sec. ; and the organizing secretary.
T. W. Cowan, Esq., the chairman of the British Bee-
keepers' Association, and a tower of strength in himself.
With such an array of patronage and bee-keeping talent
the success of the Association is already secured, and,
we trust, has a long career of usefulness before it.

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The first annual meeting of this Association was held
in the Board-room of the Corn Exchange, Chelmsford,
on Friday the 20th ult., but the Report did not reach
us (ill the 28th, Saturday — too late for further notice.

DEVON AND EXETER BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The Annual Meeting of the members of this Society
was held at the Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter, on
Monday, Jan. 2nd, 1882. Mr. W. H. Ellis presided,
and there were also present the Right Worshipful tin'
Mayor (T. Andrew, Esq.) and many of the Members, as
well as an influential number of ladies and gentlemen
interested in the Society.

200

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 1, 1882.

The report was read b}- the Hon. Secretary.

The Chairman said that lie was sorry to inform them
that the Hon. Treasurer had been obliged, owing to the
pressure of business, to relinquish his office.

The statement of accounts for the year ending the
31st December, was read by the Key. .1. G. Dangar.
On the general account the total receipts amounted to
271. 13s. 4rf., while the expenditure was 15/. lis. 0d.
The account in connexion with the Torquay Exhibition
showed receipts 20/. 0s. 2d., including a cheque from the
Torquay Winter Garden Company of 10/. 14s. l\d. In
respect to the lecture at Ileanton Satchville and the
shows at Charlton Flynton and Devonport, the receipts
and expenditure were almost identical. The whole
showed a balance in the bank of 11/. 10s. 7d., upon
which they were heartily congratulated by the Chairman.

Mr. W. Ellis was re-elected President, the Council
were re-elected, and the election of Vice-President was
left to them. The Hon. Secretaries were also re-elected,
and the Rev. J. Dickenson was elected Hon. Treasurer.

Mr. W. K. Fox, R.N., read a paper on ' Cottage Bee-
keeping.' He said that he had seen many complaints
in the Bee Journal of the. difficulty experienced in
inducing cottagers to adopt frame hives, and use a
better and more profitable system of managing their
bees. As far as the more expensive hives were con-
cerned, they must consider the attempt a failure, and
had better give them up, and try and improve the
cottager's skep, and educate him up to the bar-frame.
The skep was worthy a more prominent place in their
bee literature. In Modern Bee-keeping, a Handbook for
< 'ottagers, the chapter on straw hives occupied one out of
seventy-six pages. Although it would not bear any
comparison with bar-frame hives, it. was certainly
without a rival as a winter domicile ; and when they
remembered the immense super of 86 lbs. uett taken from
a skep, and exhibited by his namesake in 187o, they
must acknowledge that it had done well in the past, and
with care and attention might have a similar future.
For their poorer neighbours it had the great advantage
of being cheap. The present method of cottagers' bee-
keeping in the South of Devon was deplorable. Gener-
ally speaking, his hives, considering the egg-laying
powers of the queen, were absurdly small ; very few
had facilities for supering, and he had no idea of uniting
weak stocks, or late swarms to stocks, every weak and
late swarm being placed in a separate hive, and ' taken '
in autumn instead of being united or returned. Artificial
swarming was still a mystery to him, and he priced
swarms according to the month they came off, size and
weight not being taken into consideration. Except in
heather districts, the honey season ended the last week
in .Inly, vet he did not 'brimstone' his bees until
Michaelmas, the bees meanwhile, living on their stores
for over a month. His idea of winter feeding consisted
in placing a handful of moist sugar outside the hive near
the entrance, the excitement thus caused being bad for
the bees, and the sugar, when stored in the combs, being-
liable to ferment : his stands were often placed in
positions where no sun could reach them, and under
trees, often imperfectly protected from the rain ; and
last, but not least, there was his short-righted, un-
grateful, and cruel plan of brimstoning them in return
for their hard summer work and t ho store they had laid
up for their owner. He (Mr. Fox) would propose, as a
remedy, that the Association should approve a standard
skep for this county, one with a flat wooden tup. L5 in.
in diameter, the sides straight and Din. in height, having
a cubical capacity of 202o in., and with a hole in the top
for supering and feeding. This should be exhibited at
their shows, and they should influence skep-makers to
sell the hive the Association recommended. They should
also write a few leaflets on skep management and uniting
swarms. If the Association agreed with his remarks, he
would suggest thai they shouW use their influence with

the editor of Modern Bee-keeping ', and try to secure in
the next edition fuller directions for cottagers as to what
they should look for in purchasing skeps, and a few
simple directions for uniting swarms.

Votes of thanks to Mr. Fox for his paper, and to the
President for presiding, concluded the proceedings.

A "WORD FROM WILTS.

' The Man in the Moon,' a very lively contributor to
the Trowbridge Chronicle, writes as follows in a recent
number of that journal in reference to the labours of Mr.
R. Mansfield, of Melksham :—

' I think it should be generally known that the Wilts
Bee-keepers' Association sprung up through the propo-
sition of a bee-fancier at Melksham. That Bee Tent
which created such a buzz of satisfaction at the last
Keevil Flower Show held there, struck rhe key-note of
the Wilts Bee-keepers' Association, and now the county
is all in a buzz of industry spreading the principles of
the Association. You may depend upon it there are not
many drones in that hive, at the rate it is progressing,
and hives of workers are being established all over the
county. Like Brother Jonathan's Spelling-bees, this hive
of working bees will create a rare buzz in the country,
and set many a cottager on his legs in the way of scienti-
fic bee-keeping. Might not this field of enterprise be
properly called mans field, for you cannot expect women
to take a very active part in it, though rustic matrons,
as the queen-bees of the cottage, do make it a source of
income but in the old-fashioned way? '

PROSPECTS IX SOMERSET.

There is every reason to hope that Somerset, will soon
be numbered amongst the affiliated Associations. Words
of cheer reach us from several quarters of the fair western
shire, and it is quite evident that new interest in bee-
keeping has been awakened, and a fresh spirit of inquiry
aroused. At the annual meeting of the Taunton Horti-
cultural Society, on January 16, a letter was read from
Mr. Charles Lewis, of Fore Street, Taunton, in which he
stated that he thought it desirable to hold a bee show in
conjunction with the next horticultural exhibition. The
Somerset Bee-keepers' Association had had it under con-
sideration, and he now wished the matter to come
before the general meeting of the Horticultural Society.
Mr. Lance proposed, ' That it is desirable to allow an
exhibition of bees at the same time and place as the
horticultural show, provided that satisfactory arrange-
ments can be entered into between the two societies.'
Mr. Stevens seconded the proposition, but it was decided
to allow the matter to stand over until the committee
meeting. It was arranged that the next annual show
should take place on August 10, reserving to the com-
mittee the power of altering the date, should it be found
desirable to do so. The bee-keepers in the neighbourhood
of Somerton, who have had one or two little shows of
bees, honey, &c, are also ' taking time by the forelock,'
and preparing to do grander things next summer.

Another sign of progress is the commencement of a
series of articles on bees and bee-keeping in one of the
local papers.

JOTTINGS FROM DORSET.

We are not asleep, Mr. Editor, although you have
heard very little from ns lately. Our honorary secre-
tary and treasurer, Mr. W. II. Dunman, Jan.. of Troy-
town, has been hard at work since the summer shows
came to an end, and the report to be read at our annual
meeting will be of a most encouraging description. As
we shall be gathering together about the time the Jour-
nal for February goes to press, 1 will give you a rough
outline of it, us I have seen the draff. Having referred
to L88] as the raosl Successful year in the Society's

February 1, 1882.] 'Z\ S53 THE BKITISH BEE JOUENAL.

207

history, the committee give many interesting particu-
lars respecting the shows held at Sherborne and Coife
Castle last summer, and then state that forty-six new
members had joined during the j-ear. As evidence of
the interest aroused in the county, it is mentioned that
the hon. secretary has had to reply to nearly 900 letters
during the past twelve "months. The ready sale for
honey is then referred to, and it is announced that an
assistant secretary and an expert have been appointed.
Depots for the sale of hives, bee furniture, &£., have been
opened, and others are being arranged for. Lectures
have been delivered, and others are shortly coming off.
The president, the Right Hon. the Earl of Shaftesbury, has
started several cottage bee-keepers in the neighbourhood
of his seat, St. Giles's ; and Lord Allington has intro-
duced bee-keeping to an influential circle by means of
bis observatory at Crichel. The committee make an
earnest appeal for funds wherewith to purchase a Bee
Tent, return thanks to the editors of the principal county
papers for the space they have recently devoted to be?-
keeping, and, in conclusion, ' trust that the subscribers
will take every opportunity of reminding neighbours and
friends of the objects of the Association, and that they
will do their best to increase the number of members.'

EXPERIENCES OF 1881.— BEES AT PLYMOUTH.

The second year of my bee-keeping in Plymouth is
over. Last year was good enough, but this year I have
done even better. Starting with two hives in 1880 I
reaped as my harvest in the autumn over 200 lbs. of
honey, and formed two strong hives with which to carry
on operations in 1881. These wintered well and grew
into fine strong hives by the middle of May. I took
swarms from them about the end of the month, and these
were followed by another from each shortly afterwards.
One of the latter was lost during my absence from home
for two or three days, and this, of course, reduced my
profits very considerably. One first swarm Isold; this
left me four hives for honey-getting. They gathered
honey from the middle of May to the end of July, when
the weather permitted. I took quantities in supers and
sections, and in August used the extractor upon most of
the combs of the body boxes. The total yield was 240 lbs.
of comb and honey. Two of the stocks I joined into one
and then fed t hem. I have now. I believe, three hives
in good condition with which to begin the new year.
M\ expenses tlii- \ear for hives, supers, foundation comb,
ground-Trent, and other costs, have been 61. 18s. The in-
come from bees and honey sold has been over 131. ; in
addition to this, I must have given away and consumed
quite another three pounds worth of honey. This shows
that, like breweries, apiaries also can pay in Plymouth.

I have a few experiences of these two years that you
may like to record. First, as to the length of life of the
Worker bee. In 1881, after a first swarm, I cutout all
lie royal cells from the parent hive but one. This one
apparently failed. As soon as I was aware of it, I gave
them eggs in drone comb out of another hive for the
sake of the experiment. Again they failed to rear a
queen. Next I gave them worker eggs and left them
for a month. Early in August I removed a good super
of honey, and took the opportunity to look below again.
There was no sign of eggs or brood, and the hive was
nearly full of honey. At the end of the month I drove
them into some emptv combs and evtraeted .')0 or 40 lbs.
of honey from those thev had left. In the second week
of September 1 brushed them off these emptv combs into
a bos, intending to unite them witli another Ntock.
They stayed for a few days here ; but when I came to
operate finally upon them I found that they had started
five new combs, stored quite 2 lbs. of honey, and had a
queen, eggs, and young brood. How this queen had
sprung into existence I cannot tell. She may have been
with them, but barren, ever since the beginning of June.

But this is certain : no e^<j; was laid in the original hive
from the beginning of June to the end of August.
During all this time the bees were as active as any,
and after three months of wear and tear a quarter of
the population was still alive. Perhaps worker bees
have a rather longer life than they are credited with.
Secondly, we all are anxious to have near our bees
pollen-yieidiug_flo\vers in the early spring. I can speak
most highly in favour of the common gorse. The bushes
are golden with flowers in March, and the bees seem to
get any amount of food from them. Down here they
have been in flower nearly all the winter, and to-day
there are sprays and branches covered with bloom. By
the way, supplying artificial pollen does not seem to be a
very modern discovery ; an old gardener here tells mo
that when he was a boy he used to see his father iu the
spring turn up the bee-buts and throw iu a handful of
barley meal, and pour in syrup among the combs.

Thirdly, — About the enemies of bees. Sparrows are a.
plague here as everywhere. But I hear that in the
Sciily Isles they are such a pest that bees cannot live on
account of them. In the autumn I. was calling on a
gentleman, and I asked him whether he had any bees.
' Yes,' he answered. 'I have several bottles full in the
kitchen garden.' Their foes are many.

Fourthly, — The tenacity of life in drone brood is per-
fectly marvellous. I have stood combs in a running
brook for hours, turned a tap of cold water upon the
young grubs and eggs in open cells, left combs out for
the night, and yet in each case numbers of drones have
survived and spoilt the honey-comb. I think worker
grubs and queen grubs are much less hardy.

Fifthly, — The swarming fever among bees during the
past summer has been almost unparalleled in past history
I should think. In spite of the cutting out of royal cells
and other dodges, yet in a most unaccountable way they
have swarmed. An odd feature in their swarming was
this — the lateness of the sw arms. In several instances,
I noticed that after the summer weather had thoroughly
broken up, casts that followed maiden swarms still went
; out. Bees are not sure weather prophets.

The last experience that I wish to trouble you with is
one that was most troublesome to myself. I had four lots
', of condemned beesto feed up in two hives. It was in the
I middle of September and the weather was tine. I had
from you several pounds of very stout-looking foundation,
it was firmly set in the frames, the feeding went on
famously, and looking from the outside combs all seemed
- proceeding most satisfactorily. After some days I ex-
1 amined the inside. The confusion within was frightful.
| All the interior combs had broken down in both hives,
l and the arching rolls of wax formed the sepulchre of
hundreds of bees and the queen in one case. The sheets
had broken away about an inch from the bar all the way
along. The reason of it seemed to be that the bees drew
out the cells and stored thp syrup towards the middle
and lower part of the combs, and left the top inch almost
unworked. The weight caused them to tear where they
were weak. After clearing out the mess 1 tried carefully
again, with the same result on a smaller scale. At last
1 had to give them I'-inch strips of foundation and be
satisfied with that. It ruined the hives, as the bees were
hindered, and lost the fine weather, and perished in num-
bers from the constant avalanches. 'Were they fed too
quickly P or was the foundation rather brittle ? The wax
seemetl to me to be very 'mealy.' — Buzz, 10 Caprera
Terrace, Plymouth, Dec. til, 1881 .

"The foundation used was of the kind variously known
as ' Raitt's,' ' Root's,' or ' American,' having conical cell
bases. It was made thick, or 'stout-looking,' to increase
its strength, and if the bees had begun at the top all
would have been well. Is it not probable that top-
feeding may have prevented top-building under the
circumstances, and is there not a lesson to be learned
from the catastrophe ? — El>.]

208

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 1, 1882.

(lUiTcsponucutc.

*,* Tliese columns are open to subscribers, so that their
queries, replies, correspondence, and experiences may be
fully aiul faithfully recorded: and for the discussion of all
theories and systems in Bee-culture, and of the relative merits
of all hives and appurtenances, that the truth regarding them
may be ascertained. The Editor, therefore, must not be ex-
pected to coincide with all the views expressed by the various
writers. All Correspondence is addressed to the Editor.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
Among all the wonders of the world, I am as-
tonished at the fact, that this county, which is one of
the best in the country for bee-culture, is almost the
very last to attempt to unite to form an Association.
We have people in affluent circumstances, apiarists
with every opportunity to keep the wheel going
round when once in motion, yet no one seems to
attempt to break the ice. I am sure, if once they
were acquainted with the celebrities who act as
patrons to the British Bee-keepers' Association, they
would soon cast in their lot with us. Let us hope
they will shortly get their eyes open to the neces-
sity of forming an Association, and record the fact
of some good specimens exhibited in the British
Bee Journal at the various shows about the coun-
try from the county of Gloucester during the pre-
sent year. — An Old Bee-keeper, Cirencester.

THE SEASON AT HORSHAM.— THE INVEN-
TION OF DIVIDERS.
On Saturday I took advantage of the fine day
and examined my bees, and found brood in all but
one, and in some a considerable quantity. I hope
the bees will not suffer for it in the spring. They
have not been fed, but are crowded. I do not like
to see them quite so forward.

I see in Replies to Queries you say the first
separators you ever saw were the invention of
Mr. J. Stewart in 1876. I am sure you will
excuse my pointing out, that I exhibited at the
Crystal Palace in l87-r> a set of sections with glass
separators ; and in 187G, at the Alexandra Palace,
1 took first prize for sections worked in this way.
My sections were placed on a board, and pieces of
glass extended from top to bottom, and I used
these always until the tin separators were intro-
duced from America. I also used glass between
the combs in supers, and I have some of these
discarded supers by me now. Neighbour got a
prize for his divisional super the same year. My
sections were kept together by means of a hinged
framework. Neighbour and Lee copied these sec-
tions, and exhibited them subsequently on a
perforated zinc adapter. I always made a point
of using separators ; and perhaps you will recollect
with the sections I exhibited the pieces of wood for
the sides for packing. 1 am sure you will excuse
my pointing this out, as you wish to have a correct
record. I do not mean to say I was certainly the
first to use them, but I believe I was. — Tiio. Wm.
Cowan, Horsham, Jan. 23rd, 1881.

[We do not remember the circumstances referred to,
hut doubtless they are correct, and we have much
pleasure in publishing the correction. — Ed.]

THE MILD SEASON- BEES, BIRDS, AND
FLOWERS.

Among the many notable things which have
marked this unusually mild winter — the blooming
of spring flowers, and nest-building and egg-laying
of birds — none can be more significant than the
following, which has come under my notice this last
week : — Having heard a rumour of the issue of a
swarm of bees, Mr. Clarke and I proceeded to the
house of a cottager near this town, and found that
the rumour was based upon fact. AVe ascertained
that the sw'arm came forth on January 11th. The
proprietress, not approving of such premature pro-
ceedings on the part of her bees, compelled them to
return to the hive by drenching them with water.
She saw no drones.

The hive, a straw skep, is on a stand in a very
sheltered corner ; it is undoubtedly very full of bees.
They do not appear to be starved, they were even
then being fed by the usual weapon — the elder
scoop ; but we were not permitted to raise the hive,
duly plastered down to the floor-board with mud,
so we could not see much.

We drove the bees at this place last autumn, and
many bees from the adjoining hives, which were
driven, joined this one, which was weak, and gladly
welcomed this accession of strength. — J. W. Mea-
siiiks, Long Sutton, Jan. 19th, 1882.

THE COPYABLE HIVE— MAKING THE
FRAMES.

I have read your directions (in Nov. and Jan.
Journals) for making a hive, and can easily follow
them ; but it has occurred to me that an easier way
to make the frame cuds instead of leather would be
to cut them with a coarse fret-work saw. Most
amateurs who have any carpentering taste possess
such a saw. — S. Harding, Chehnsford.

THE COPYABLE HIVE.
I see you invite discussion about your hive-frames

as per Journal. From previous Journals, I judged
that you thought favourably of the Giotto frame.
As I understand, instead of the widened ends you
propose ends same width as top, viz., one inch.
That, of course, leaves the circulating space outside,
which I see you have complained of frequently. Of
course, the widened shoulders, viz., bits of leather,
shut the draught off upwards ; but does not the
Giotto do that as efficiently, as the frame sides come
level with the top bar? I perhaps, for want of
knowing better, have only one objection to the
Giotto, which is this, that in sliding the frame bees
would certainly be crushed. I suppose, instead of
that, they would have to be put plumb down in the
position wanted. A point in favour of the latter is,
that with Giotto frames a single-walled hive is prac-
tically a double-walled one. — J. C. Lambert, Stink
Island, Jan, 1 .">///, 1882,

[There is little doubt liiit thai a careless bee-keeper
will crush bees at every turn, but it is certainly nut
necessary to do so. After a year's experience with the
improved Giotto frame, we are strengthened in our ex-
pressed opinion of its value. Dzierzon scouts the open-
ended frame, and lie is no mean authority. I'll'.

February 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

200

THE CELL OF THE BEE.

When we behold this little insect constructing
its cell, to contain its winter stock of honey,
constructing it of that form which is demonstrably
the strongest, and the most convenient, it seems
the extravagance of absurdity to suppose that the
instinct by which it is directed is the offspring of
ignorance.

The phenomenon, indeed, is one of the most ex-
traordinary that the animal world presents to our
contemplation. It must be evident to every one
who has given the least attention to the obvious
properties of different figures, that there are only
three which will admit the junction of their sides,
without any vacant spaces between them, all the
figures being equal aud similar, namely, the square,
the equilateral triangle, and the hexahedron : of
these the last is the strongest and the most con-
venient. In this form, then, we find that all the
cells are constructed. This is a curious and won-
derful fact ; and what is equally remarkable, the
middle of every cell on one side, is directly opposite
to the point where the three partitions meet on the
opposite side. By this position the cell receives
additional strength. This is not all. If human
ingenuity were to contrive a cell, which would re-
quire the least expenditure of material and labour,
it would be a question, not easily solved, at what
precise angle the three planes which compose the
bottom ought to meet. The late celebrated mathe-
matician, Maclaurin, by a fluxionary calculus de-
termined precisely the angle required ; and he
found, by the most exact mensuration the subject
would admit, that it is the very angle in which
three planes in the bottom of cell of a honey-comb
do actually meet. The same curious fact was as-
certained by a German mathematician : Reaumur,
presuming that the angles were adopted for the
purpose of saving material, jjroposed to Koenig, a
mathematician of eminence, that he should de-
termine what would be the angles of a hexagonal
cell, with a pyramidal base, to require the least
material. By the infinitesimal calculus, he ascer-
tained that the greatest angle should be 109° 26',
and the smaller 70° 34' — the very angles which the
insect adopts. What an astonishing coincidence is
this ! A profound mathematician is required to
solve a very difficult problem ; and it is found that
his conclusion, gained by the exercise of considerable
ingenuity and deep thought, was practically ex-
hibited in the operations of the bee. How few are
capable of that scientific investigation which this
insect illustrates by its practice ! It seems the
extravagance of folly to believe, that out of the
numerous different combinations of which two
angles are susceptible, that which most saves labour
aud material should be adopted by random chance,
or blind necessity. 'He' that holds the ocean in
the hollow of His hand, — ' He ' it is in the darkness
of the hive guides this little insect to fashion and
mould the cell and form the comb in the beautiful
and wonderful form in which we behold it. — W. H.
Baigent, St. Denys, Southampton, January \'2th,
1882.

HONEY PRESSER.

In the January number I observe an article on
the above from Mr. Orr, and I do not deny him the
the honour of having invented and made a honey
prcsser thirty years ago ; but as I never saw his
or heard of it, it remains true that I have made
one, but whether it is the same as his or not, re-
mains to be proved, as I do not think he has ever
seen mine. Some twenty-five years ago I made an
article to order for the purpose of pressing honey ;
but only since I commenced to keep bees, some few
years ago, did it strike me some machine could be
made to do away with hand-pressing, when I com-
menced and made what Mr. Russell bought, and was
highly pleased with ; and I shall be very glad to
show it to Mr. Orr, and if he finds it to be similar '
to his, then it may be said we are one in mind at
least. — Andrew Watt, Blacksmith, Carluke.

BEE SWARMING ON SUNDAYS AND BELL-
RINGING.
I have kept bees for over four years, and have
had during that time many swarms — as many as
twenty -two in 1880 (the greatest swarming year in
these parts) but only one happened on a Sunday,
and not one last year, or in any other previous year.
And this occurred at 1 p.m., when no church-bells
were chiming. Further, my hives are all within fifty
yards of the church-tower, in which are three bells,
chimed for half an hour morning and afternoon on
Sundays. .So that I, at all events, am not disposed
to charge our little friends with such wilful mis-
conduct as choosing Sunday for packing up and
flitting. An old-fashioned bee-keeper in the parish,
keeping about a dozen hives, regularly stays away
from church every Sunday morning during the
swarming season, believing in the tradition that the
bees do prefer Sunday, but has had a swarm but
twice on that day in the last four years. — L. W.
Stanton, Coombe Keynes Vicarage, Wareham,

PERFORATED EXCLUDER ZINC.

I was, I think, the originator of the perforated
zinc for making drone-traps and dividing the hive
from supers, but at that time used a size larger
than Mr. Cowan and the gentleman who sent speci-
men pieces to your subscribers. I think he was an
auctioneer, but I forget his name ; however, before
either of the gentlemen made their ideas public,
Mr. Cheshire had been to Oakley Square aud seen
mine — i.e. drone-trap and perforated divider to keep
out queen ; though I find it won't always do it, and
so I do not now use it. The traps arc perfect. So
New Zealand flax is of no use. I tried very hard
to get it to grow, but it would not. — Charles H.
Edwards, The Chalet, Mill Hill, X. W.

[The ' auctioneer ' was Mr. O. Poole, whom we credi-
ted with being the first to publish the use of the material.
-En-]

A VISIT TO A CITY APIARY.
Being deputed by the Committee of the Lincoln-
shire Bee-keepers' Association with the Honorary
Secretary (Mr. Godfrey) to attend a meeting at

210

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 1, 1882.

Lincoln of the Prize Coinrnittee of the Lincolnshire
Agricultural Society for the purpose of arranging an
exhibition of bees, hives, and honey at their annual
show, to be held at Sleaford in July next; and
having satisfactorily performed that duty, our foot-
steps were turned uphill — and unless any one has
been to Lincoln they do not know what uphill in
that city means — to visit the apiary of Dr. Russell.
the resident surgeon at the Asylum.

It was late in the afternoon, the weather was too
hazy to enjoy the view from the delightful eminence
on which the Asylum is situate, the spire of Newark
Church and the Mound of Belvoir Castle being
visible in favourable weather. The Asylum grounds
are sheltered from the cast by the massive walls of
the old Castle, which now enclose the County Caul ;
and in a garden bounded on three sides by high
walls, and on the fourth by the Asylum buildings
we found Dr. Russell's apiary, consisting entirely
of bar-frame hives, standing separately, some twelve
or fourteen in number.

This gentleman is only a recruit, and ought to be
held up to the bee-keeping world as a specimen of
what may be done if properly set about. All his
bee knowledge has been derived from what he has
seen at exhibitions, and he is an adept at bee-
management as any bee-master may see at a glance.
His success during the past year was well deserved,
he was a successful exhibitor at the Show of the
Lincolnshire Association at Louth, carrying off a
silver medal and several other prizes. The produce
of his apiary during the past year has repaid all his
expenses, and he is now receiving constant appli-
cations for more honey; but he has none left to
dispose of. His stocks of bees were all strong and
healthy, ami he is looking forward to a good harvest
in the forthcoming season, an 1 he is certain to come
to the front in strong form when the Lincolnshire
hold their show in the autumn as they anticipate
doing in the venerable city of Lincoln, as well as be
a formidable competitor at the show of the Lincoln-
shire Agricultural Society at Sleaford, in July next,
if he should enter the Lists.

After enjoying an hour's conversation with the
doctor he was called away to attend a man who had
fallen out of a cart near the Asylum gates, and we
were obliged to leave for our return home without
having the pleasure of saying farewell to our
friend.

I >r. Russell is the local secretary of the Lincoln-
shire Bee-keepers' Association at Lincoln, and we
feel certain his efforts will ensure success to the
Association in his neighbourhood. — J. G. Des-

BOROUGH,

GREEN HONEY AND COMMON LAUREL.

With reference to the green colour of honey ob-
served by some of your correspondents, have any of
them noticed whether the bees had access to much

I common laurel, and whether they worked on it more
than usual prior to the green shade being observed \
In May of 1877 my bees were working most ener-
getically upon the common laurel, far beyond any-
thing I have noticed since, though since that time
1 have always noticed them every spring working
on the laurel when the young leaves are enlarging.
That time was the first that I had noticed the exu-
dation from the under side of the leaf, and my
section honey that year was all of a very decided
sea green colour, and had a very delicate flavour of
laurel leaf or prussic acid, which, together with the

I colour, I attributed, whether rightly or wrongly, to

! the large amount of honey gathered that year from

' the laurel.

I have not resided in Devonshire since that year,
and my bees have not the same large expanse of
laurel to work upon, and since that year I have
never had any green tint in my honey. It would be
interesting to learn whether the laurel does give this
colour when present in large quantities, and also to

| know more of this secretion of the laurel leaf, which,
as your correspondent, on page 72, vol. v. of British
lln Journal, says, is never absent from the leaf of
the common laurel, not the sweet bay laurel, but
the common laurel used to give the flavour of bitter
almonds or prussic acid in making custards, etc. —
C. E. Fletcher, Salop.

POPPIES AND BEES.

('.in any one say if double and single poppy are
injurious to the bee? A clergyman in this neigh-
bourhood who keeps a number of hives, and takes a
Lrrcat interest in bees, tells me that the poppy makes
them lazy and unfit for work. As this is my first
year at the bees, and as I grow a large quantity of
the poppy, I shall feel much obliged for information
thereupon. — J. Temflecumbe.

MADAGASCAR LEES.
1 n a magazine, Temple Bar, 1 read an account of
'An English slave in Madagascar." This man was
cast away there in the last century, and was treated
as a slave. It particularly is stated that he helped
his finances by keeping bees, having as many as
ill HI hives. Is anything known of bees in this
country ? If so, are they of any special breed or of
any quality worth importing? Perhaps some of
your numerous readers might give information on
the subject. — Osbert Ward.

BEE-KEEPING AT OSWESTRY.

AYe have been favoured with a copy of the Oswestry
( Commercial Circular, an advertising medium given
away to every householder, in which a local bee-
master unnamed is contributing a series of articles
on bee-management, and will doubtless attract much
attention to the subject besides doing good service
to those already keeping bees. There are hundreds
of 'local bee-masters' who might, with the Bee
JourMil as an authority to fall back on, write read-
able and useful articles for publication in their local
papers, or in the interest of the craft might get
articles, to wit, How to make a First-class Hive,
inserted bodily, or piecemeal. Local Associations
might undertake this kind of work, it would
strengthen their hands, spread the knowledge they
arc wishful to disperse, and be beneficial in the
direction implied by their existence Ed. B. B. J.

February 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

211

DZIEEZON'S RATIONAL BEE-KEEPING.

Will you allow me to correct a mistake in the
notice of the translation of Dzierzon this month ]
It should have read that the translation is by Mr.
Dieck and myself. On writing to Dr. Dzierzon he
referred me to Mr. A. Neighbour, to whom he had
already given permission to translate. I found from
Mr. Neighbour that Mr. Dieck had completed a fifth
of the work for him, but business engagements
would not allow time to finish, and if what was done
would be of service I was quite welcome to make
use of it. This offer was gladly accepted, and I
should not like the fact to be lost sight of that Mr.
Neighbour and Mr. Dieck took the initiative in
bringing this work before the English public. — S.
Stutterd, Banbury, Jan. Wth, 1882.

We are extremely sorry for the omission, and would
gladly have given all credit due in respect of the above,
tint did not happen to know anything about it. i see] I
that Dr. Dzierzon, in presenting Mr. Neighbour with n
copy of the work, had written that he 'would feel
highlv honoured by the translation of it into English.'—
Ep. ' '

BEES IX A LETTER-BOX.
The German Journal of Traffic relates that a
swarm of bees took possession of the letter-box in
the village of Schwarzbach, in Alsace, last spring,
and built their cells and made their honey in
their novel hive. They took care to leave ample
space for the letters, and, as they interfered with
neither postman nor public, they were allowed to
remain. The postmistress of Schwarzbach has four-
teen pounds of virgin honey which she would like
to dispose of. — Lady's Pictorial.

FIXING FOUNDATION IX SECTIONS.

The easiest way to put foundation into American
sections is to make a saw cut at B, fold up the

c J t

aF

-JL

re

JB

section, and slip the foundation in before fastening
— H. Parson, The Firs, Guildford, Jan. 2.

SIZE OF ABBOTTS' WOODBURY FRAME.

Please give the exact dimensions of the Wood-
bury frame you use, accompanied by a little
diagram if you have one at hand. Also be kind
enough to say whether it is the same size as the
frame recommended by the late Mr. Woodbury.
If this information has been previously given, a
reference to the number and page will suffice, as I
have all the volumes of the B. B. J. I am glad to
say. — Somerset.

[On pages 36 and ?,7 of Vol. I. of B.B.J, the original
Woodbury Hive will be found fully described; and in
our next impression, seeing that a Standard frame is
again proposed, we will give full particulars of it (the
Woodbury), that the question may be woll understood.
Abbotts' Woodbury Standard frame is 14 inches wide
and 8§ deep outside measure, the hive being 14j inches
wide and 8| deep inside measure. The original Wood-
bury frame -was 13| inches wide and 7H, or barelv

i

8 inches deep, the hive being 14,1 inches square and 0
inches deep inside. The Abbot t Woodbury has thus a larger
frame in a smaller hive than the original, the reasons for
which will be repeated next month.— Ed. B.B.J."]

BEE-STINGS, &c.
My object in writing is to try to answer some of
the questions proposed by Mr. John Urell in Journal
for October last. I have no doubt, that the bee
constantly touching its adversary with the sting end
(some call it the business end), is only its trying to
get the sting between the joints of the har-
ness, and that the repetition is rendered
necessary by the enemy endeavouring to
avoid it. The whirling round may possibly
be accounted for by the aforesaid enemy
drawing itself away from the attacking
bee, while the latter ' sticks to him ' and
' follows him up.' The reason why the
sting is not left behind when a bee is
stung, or in the case of the mouse referred
to by Mr. Urell, while it is almost invari-
ably left in the human skin and other large
animals, may be accounted for by observing
the structure of the sting, which is flatfish
in form and has a set of nine barbs each
side, the barbs differing in size and dis-
tance between, getting smaller as they
near the point. When the sting is driven
in to the human skin, which is comparatively
thick, this double set of barbs (pointing-
back from the top) holds so firmly that the
working apparatus gives way from the 1 lody
of the bee sooner than the sting from the
skin. The reason why Mr. Urell found no
sting in the nose, lips, or ears of the mouse,
is to be found, I presume, in the fact that
the mouse is so very thin-skinned, and
much more so the bee, that there is not
sufficient hold for the sting, which can
therefore be easily withdrawn; — I will
not presume that for the same reason Mr.
Urell got stung a number of times, but
found no sting remaining. Like yourself, Mr.
Editor, I belong to the thick-skinned genus ; very
rarely have I been stung without the sting
remaining. When such is the case, of which I
had an experience only this week, I conclude that
only part of the sting penetrated, perhaps only so
far as two or three barbs ; consequently, it is easily
and quickly withdrawn. In such cases the sense of
pain is very little, and scarcely any swelling, which
is not the case (with some exceptions) when the
bee has a fair chance, for theu the sting, with
its eighteen fiercely sharp barbs, holds with terrible
firmness, and a good dose of poison is inserted.

By the way, Mr. Editor, I have not yet seen an
illustration of a sting which pleased me- — I mean the
illustration, not the sting. I send you a rough sketch
of a sting point, according to my observation. I may
say the same also of the inner part of the hind leg,
which I choose to call the clothes-brush ; a sketch
of which I may send another time if it be according
to your mind. — J. Brown (Baptist Minister), Meiks-
ham, Wilts.

212

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 1, 1882.

A SWARM OF BEES.
B hopeful, B cheerful, B happy, B kind,
B busy of body, B modest of mind,
B earnest, B truthful, B firm, and B fair,
Of all Miss B haviour B sure and B ware,
15 think ere you stumble for what may B fall,
B true to yourself, and B faithful to all ;
B brave to B ware of the sins that B set,
B sure that no sin will another B get.
B -watchful, B ready, B open, B frank,
B manlv to all men whate'er B their rank ;
B just and B generous, B honest, B wise,
B mindful of time, and B certain it flies;
B prudent, B liberal, of order B fond,
B uv less than you need B fore B uying B yond :
B careful, but yet B the first to B stow ;
B temperate, B steadfast, to anger B slow ;
B thoughtful, B thankful, whate'er ma? B tide,
B justful, B joyful, B cleanly B side ;
B pleasant, B patient, B fervent to all,
B Best if you can, but B humble withal ;
B prompt'and B dutiful, still B polite,
B reverent, B quiet, B sure and B right ;
B calm, B retiring, B ne'er led astray,
B grateful, B cautious of those who B tray :
B tender, B loving, B good, and B nign,
B loved shalt thou B, and all else shall B thine.

Bee Books. — It is sufficient to read the criticisms upon
recent books on bee-culture which have appeared in
these pages to understand that many of the objections
offered to books on gardening are true of bee-books. The
book which shall show the unlearned apiarian how to
lead from the straw skeps up to the complicated but
doubtless most profitable bee-hive seems still to be wanting ;
and until this is provided in a cheap form, and brought
within reach of the poorest bee-keeper, I fear little will
be done to make apiculture universally popular. Writers
upon improved systems of bee-keeping seem, as a rule, to
proceed upon the assumption that their readers are al-
ready to some extent versed in the higher branches of
bee-keeping. This is the very class of readers who want
least of all to be taught, because the groundwork they
already possess, combined with education, enables them
to acquire through experience most valuable knowledge.
The poor untutored bee-keeper, who has .kept bees
in straw skeps all his life, and yet with few variations
proceeds in his work almost as his father did before him,
is not only incapable of appreciating the teachings found
in an advanced book, but he has prejudices to overcome,
and the only hope of influencing him in a better direction
is to make the steps from crude to perfect hives as simple
and as attractive as possible. Profit is an element in
bee-keeping that exercises a potent influence. If it can
be shown that the newer way is the more profitable,
very much is done to encourage experiment ; but then
'the showing must be lucid, and it must be truthful.
Books that are mere puffs of this or that form of hive
must always be viewed with suspicion ; books that are
mere compilations by book-makers are worthless. In
bee-keeping, of all things, it is important that the actual
worker should tell his own story, and tell it in such a way
as to assure the credulous and not over-intelligent student
that the writer is giving facts that are undeniable. — A. 1).
in Gardeners' Chronicle, Jan. 7.

[The above has been strongly commended to our notice
by an eminent bee-keeper of Lincolnshire, as exactly
embodying his sentiments; but we do not quite see why
it is necessary to lead any one to a ' complicated ' hive, or
to try to induce them to believe that such a hive is the
most profitable.

That books have been published to puff expensive and
complicated hives and systems, and to damnify every

attempt to produce a cheap and simple one, no reasonable
reader will attempt to deny, nor will they gainsay the
fact that many have been compiled to sell which are worse
than worthless. It is true that the book which will as-
sume that an intending bee-keeper knows nothing of the
subject has yet to appear; but we trust it will not tend
to anything bevond the most rigid simplicity. — Ed.
B.B.J.]

Lecture at Cairnie. — A lecture was delivered in the
Coffee House Hall on Friday evening, Dec. 16, when there
was a good attendance. Mr. Win. Tait, Broomend, in
the absence of the liev. Dr. Davidson, occupied the chair.
Mr. A. Cockburn, Cairnie, who is a practical bee-master
and writer on apiculture, gave an excellent lecture on
the practical and profitable management of bees, which
was illustrated by diagrams. On the motion of the
chairman, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the
lecturer.

(£clj0c?3 frnnt % ||ite.

The Journal in Suffolk.—' I lend the Journal to eight
or ten of our villagers, all bee-keepers, who used to be
bee burners, but who are so no longer. Our people read
the Journal with pleasure, feeling special interest in any
communication from cottagers. I begin winter with
twelve stocks, all in good condition ; ten of them are bar-
frames. Wishing you still greater success in all your
efforts for the public benefit, and the humane treatment
of the little bees for this coming year.' — J. J. Or., Hauqhlnj
Suffolk, Dec. SO, 1881.

The Seaso7i in Sussex. — ' The season so far has been
wonderfully mild. I gathered, only the other day, a few
pieces of mignonette out-of-doors, whereas other years it
is generally cut off in November. Some days have been
particularly warm, and there are instances of young birds
having been hatched and flown at this early date, and I
hear the thrush singing from morn till night. The last
day or two has been chilly, with wind S.E., and possibly
we' may get a spell of winter shortly.' — Samuel Simmixs,
Itottendean, Jan. 18, 1882.

The Season in Devonshire. — ' If you think it worth
mentioning in " Echoes," to show the mildness of the
season, on the 6th January, in this neighbourhood,
several peacock butterflies were seen, as well as a queen
wasp, and several wild strawberries were found.' — Wm.
N. GniFFiN, Alphington, Jan. 10, 1882.

Queens Stinging. — ' Queen-bees can sting. I hail
painful experience of one on the inside of one of my
fingers only last summer.' — T. F., Nether Witton, Jan. 1!'.

Otter// St. Maty, Jan. 21, 1882. — 'My bees have do»e
wonderfully well the last season, and seem to startle the
old-fashioned bee-keepers. We hope to have a proper
bee show next August.' — W. B.

Weston, near Leamington, Jan. 2±th, 1882. — 'To-day,
at noon, the sun was shining bright and warm. Bees
flying in all directions ; so I decided to look at a
Carniolan stock to see how they were getting on, took
off coverings and quilts, found five seams of bees full,
right down to bottom of the frames, took all combs out
and examined them, found two good-sized patches of
brood in two frames, and a third with lots of eggs ;
queen and bees looked healthy and bright. I have
shaded the direct entrance to all my hives by simply
placing a single side of a one-pound .section, slanting in
front, and sticking a fine wire pin into the top edge to
keep it in place, so the bees go in and out at each end.
When requiring to see that the entrance is clear, it can
be taken away and replaced in a moment ; it likewise
acts as a guard against the tom-tits to help keep them

February 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

213

away. Hoping we shall all have a good season, including
the Scotch, Irish, and Yankees, is the wish of — A
■Warwickshire Bee-keeper.'

The Season. — Co. Armagh. — 'I thought I would write
to tell you what wonderful weather we are having for
this season of the year. Last week, from Tuesday till
Friday, it was as warm as June, and the bees were on
all the flowers gathering pollen from daisies, crocuses,
and snowdrops, till late in the afternoon. The catkins on
the hazel trees are in full flower, so that the bees are
gathering quite a quantity of pollen when the sun shines.
My hives have all begun to breed except one, and two quite
largely.' — T. W. Kiohabdson.

Winter in Ireland. — 'In south-west Kerry we have
four weeks less winter than England, six weeks less than
County Down or the Borders of Scotland, eight weeks
less than Aberdeen or the north of Scotland. These all
out of central winter and added from 1st March to spring
and before 1st December to the autumn. But the summer
four months, June, July, August, and September, are not
so hot as Central England is in summer.'

Singular Occurrence. — *-One of my twenty hives had
drones playing on Christmas Day. Last year I had a
hive with drones in October, and it did well in summer
following.' — Jno. E. Adams. Kingsbridge.

Diss. — ' This last season was very unfortunate for
many, I only obtained GO lbs. from ten hives, seven of
them old stocks. My mistake was in not taking the
produce from them during the honey harvest, as I could
not get them to take to the supers — only two of them.'

G-.R.

Arbroath. — ' I thank you very much for sending me on
the much-famed Journal as usual. Although 1 gotthelast
one written with red ink I had no more mind about it
until I saw the other come in flying colours also. With-
out the Journal I would just as well be without my bees,
and without them I would lose a few pounds a-year. There
are few domesticated animals that 1 have not kept, but
the bees take the place of all the rest put together. Three
years ago I bought a skep, and now I have nine frame-
hives all in good condition, after giving me a fair honey
harvest. With these few lines I send a P.O.O. to secure
the Journal for another twelve months." — Thomas
EIenderson.

The Season. — TJ'areham, Dorset. — 'Bees very busy.
Primroses, crocuses, &c, in full bloom. More's the pity,
I fear.'

Paignton, Smith Devon. — Prolific Bees. — 'I began last
spring with three old stocks. I have now fourteen stocks
fiom the three, and two more swarms flew away, I know
not where. Is not this a wonderful increase from three
hives ?' — Clebictjs.

The Season at West Linton (Wintering). — 'This has
been a very bad season here, although not so bad as
1877-70. I bought a straw hive in the spring, which
threw off 10 lbs. of bees in four swarms, and of all these
I had no honey, while of a bar-frame I had one swarm of
4 lbs. of bees and twelve sections, 1| lbs. each ; from
another, a swarm of 4 lbs. of bees and twelve sections,
1 J lbs. each and six half filled ; from another that did
not swarm twelve sections, 1 j lbs. each, and one super
0 lbs. ; while of my other bar-frames I had from 3 to 0 lbs.
of comb-honey. I only mention this to show that bar-
frames are better adapted for gathering honey than for
swarms. There was no comb-honey off straw hives here
this season. " So much for the straw hive." I had
three hives last spring where the queens commenced to
deposit eggs in the cells about the 8th of March. I ex-
amined them every fortnight till 15th of April, and found
that the eggs were deposited in different parts of the
hive, and none were hatched by the bees. I then put a
hot-water bottle below two of them night and morning,
continuing till the middle of June, and was surprised to

see as much brood in every stage at the next examination.
These two bar-frames were the ones I had swarms and
sections from. The other gradually dwindled away and
died in the autumn of 1881. The queen was three years
old and had never before failed to do well. She stopped
breeding in August, 1880. Now just a word for the
" Lanarkshire Bee-keeper." He either does not want to
give mnch information, or he does not dig deep into the
mysteries of the bee-hive, lie gives a very good account
of dysentery in its man)- forms, but as to its real cause,
or the way it ma}' be prevented, he has very little to say.
If his forty years' experience fails ^to find a preventive,
what may be expected of a beginner ? He asks if cold
causes so much injury, how did twenty Stewarton hives
come through the winter of I860 without incurring
disease, while those that were better protected were sub-
jected to dysentery and spring dwindling ? Bees derive
their heat from two sources, viz., the heat they generate
and the heat of the atmosphere (sunshine), and if that
protection allowed the heat of the bees to escape it would
also hinder the heat of the atmosphere (sunshine) from
reaching them, and therefore (though much wrapped up)
they would be occasionally colder and more liable to
disease than those less protected ; but although they (the
Stewartons) came through so well, I have little faith in
keeping bees in such " deil-me-care " fashion. On page
40, vol. ix. he says, " I disbelieve that cold, if bees are
kept dry, is the cause of dysentery or spring dwindling.
Nay, I have proven the reverse." And lie has done no
such thing. He says that carbonic gas is one cause of
spring dwindling, and it is caused by the cooling down of
the heated air, and if he is correct in his statements,
cold must be one of the chief agents that cause spring
dwindling.' — Francis Baillie.

Bee-Keeping in Poland. — ' I may add, for your infor-
mation, that I am anxious to get my relatives ill llussian
Poland to work their bees on modern principles. For-
merly the Poles were great bee-keepers, and never killed
their bees. Bee-keeping has of late years gone out of
fashion. In the memory of my wife (a Pole, aged o7)
honey at her home cost only three roubles (2s. Gr/.=one
rouble) per pud (40 lbs.). Children and servants never
got sugar, but always honey. It rose rapidly to ten
roubles, and sugar was then more freely used. It now
costs eighteen roubles, about the English price. There
is always a great sale in Russia for honey, as the conser-
vative sect of "Old Believers" will not touch sugar.' —
H. II. C, Lipbrooh, Hants.

County Carlou; Ireland. — Flour Cake. — 'I have sad
news of one of my hives — the one which had no honey
(all being late swarms), about which 1 wrote to you. I
have been trying to keep them alive on flour-cake ad-
ministered over the frames, and till a few days ago all
appeared well. To-day, however, an examination re-
vealed the fact that they were all dead, and the bees and
foundation and frames mouldy. The flour-cake seems to
have melted and run into water, which formed in little
pools on floorboard. I at once examined the other stock
(which is close by in an exactly similar hive) and was
rejoiced to find them dry and in apparently good condi-
tion. As they had some honey 1 had only given them a
little cake, which has all disappeared. I am much dis-
heartened at the loss of so many bees. There were three
or four stocks united in the lost hive — most of them con-
demned bees that I saved — and hoped to have brought
through the winter. Alas ! I began my bee-keeping too
late. I knew nothing about bees till the last season was
over, and the first two stocks I got, which cost me 2Z.,
turned out to be third swarms, with no honey, and I had to
unite them to give them a chance. Both stocks, however,
when so united with two or three more were strong and
healthy, and if I had only had sealed honey for them might
have done well. Oh ! if I had only known you in time- -
vour advice would have saved me much loss. How I wish

214

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[February 1, 1382.

I was within reach of you, that we might have a talk !
Half-an-houv's conversation would clear away mountains
of difficulty. I have to thank you much for your very
kind help hitherto.'

[This is only a specimen from among many in a similar
strain. Fogey bee-keepers and writers who have stocks
to sell advise intending beginners to purchase ' stocks '
and lead them to expect swarms from them ; but it is a
custom with those who have good stocks to keep them
and sell only their rubbish. We invariably advise be-
ginners to purchase swarms; for by the aid of comb
foundation they can turn them into stocks in three weeks,
and be sure of their healthiness. — Ed.]

(Queries ;mb Jkplics.

Query Xo. 442. — Pees as a Public Nuisance. — I have
built a bee-house in my garden, against a wall. There
is a public road on the other side of the wall. Last
summer the bees were made irritable by a little plunder-
ing, when they stung two of my neighbours who weie
passing up the mad. Can such persons compel me to
remove my bee-house away from the road!' What is
tin' law in such a matter!' — Clebicts, Devon.

Reply to Query Xo. 442. — If it can be proved that
bees from the house in question are repeatedlv sting-
ing passers-by on the public road, there is little doubt but
that they may fairly be considered ' a nuisance injuri-
ous to health,' and in such case the justices have power
t<> order their removal. The law is peculiar in respect
of animals liable to injure the person; a dog may worry
a man to within an inch of his life, but, if he has not
injured any one before, there is no liability on the part
of the owner. A dog has his first mouthful free, and
probably bees may not get their owner into trouble till
their dangerous character is well established, and then
we would rather not be defendants in an action for
damages for injury to the person, for ' establishing a pre-
cedent ' is an expensive luxury. — Ed.

Query No. 44;3. — Purity of Pace in Pees. — What are
the marks of pure Ligurian bees ? I have some so-called
Ligurians which have the three yellow bands clear
and distinct on a dark body, but without the broad tawny
orange band immediately behind the wings, which dis-
t inguishes some of my other so-called Ligurians. Are the
dark bees pure or cross-bred ? I send you a specimen
bee of each kind. They are both good workers, and have
been carrying loads of pollen all this las/ ii-celc. — Clericis,
Devon.

Reply to Query Xo. 44:3.— The markings of pure
Ligurians are not always the same, but we are always
satisfied if the bees are all marked alike. Generally,
there is a narrow or half band of yellow colour immedi-
ately behind the thorax, and then two broad or full bands,
the end of the abdomen being dark, but there is no rule
as to shade of colour either in dark or yellow. Hybrids,
the progeny of a yellow queen mated with a blackdrone,
and vice versa, will partake of the markings of both
varieties, and it is certain they will not all be marked
alike. Uniformity in this respect has been thought a
sufficient test of purity, but now the races and varieties
have been so intermingled through thoughtless introduc-
tions by breeders, whose true interest it was to keep them
pure, similarity of colour will be no test, and bees may be
bought for pure Ligurians without any of their good
qualities. It was claimed by Messrs. Jones and Benton
that the Cyprian and Syrian bees were distinct in cha-
racter, and they immediately set to work to breed both
races in the Cyprians' apiar}-, and the Italian breeders
have been doing worse by bringing Cyprians and Syrians
among their Ligurian apiarians, so that presently it will
be difficult to find or keep a pure race at all. — Ed.

Query Xo. 444. — Hiving Swarms. — In putting a new
swarm into a bar-hive you recommend that the bees
should be shaken in front of the hive, but why would it
not do to shake them on to the top of the bars? which
latter way would appear more expeditious. — F. C.

Rei>ia- to Query Xo. 444.— If when the bees are
placed on the bars of a frame-hive they would obligingly
make haste and get under them, instead of boiling over
and lying in heaps upon them and along the hive
sides, it would be more expeditious, but ordinarily it will
be found better to arrange the frames and quilt, and let
the bees run under them, as in the latter case they can be
left to their own devices. When a swarm is first hived
great heat is generated, and if the hive be put upon its
stand as soon as the bees are in it, and only the ordinary
entrance left open, they will often desert their hives, or
be suffocated in their frantic attempts to get out of it.
In hives with fixed legs it is advisable to lift out one or
two frames and pour the bees into the body of the hive,
but in that case we recommend ample ventilation by the
partial removal of the floor-board for a time. In the
Combination or Irish hive it is only necessary to remove
the dummy at the back of the framps and pour the swarm
in the unoccupied part of the box, and by-and-by, when
the bees have gone amongst the frames of foundation,
the dummy may be gently replaced. — Ed.

Query Xo. 445.— Unitiny. — Is it practicable to drive
bees from a double-walled moveable-comb hive, with
cork between the walls ? Last autumn I drove some bees
out of a single-walled hive, and found it much more diffi-
cult than driving from a skep, particularly from a hive
where the frames were not all filled in. My reason for
driving the bees was because I took some condemned bees
from skeps and united them with my own, as directed in
leaflets; but it afterwards seemed to me that it would
ha\ e done as well if I had merely smoked the bees in the
frame-hive well, and then shaken the condemned bees on
the top of the frames. Would you consider this sufficient ?
— F. C.

Reply to Query Xo. 44o. — It was because the latter
was not always sufficient that the fuller directions for
uniting were given. It cannot be necessary to drive bees
from a moveable-comb hive when the combs can be simply
taken from them and the bees alone left behind to be
dealt with at will. There are many ways of uniting bees
(and queens too) that are safo now and then, and those
who please may try them, but it is our province and
pleasure to tell people how not to fail; and if they will
only believe in our teaching, and act upon it, they will
not go far wrong. — Ed.

Query Xo. 446. — Pees amony Broken Combs. — I have
one late swarm in a box (without frames), which had only
managed to half fill the box with comb; I united some
more bees with them in the autumn, but unfortunately
must have jarred them in driving rather too violently,
because after I had placed the hive again on the stand, upon
looking through the window at the back, I found a good
part of the comb had fallen down on the floor-board. I
nave left them in this muddle; if they live till the spring
what do you advise? Would it be best to drive them
into a bar-hive with comb-foundationearlv in the spring,
and feed them ?— F. C.

Reply- to Query' No. 446. — A late swarm in a box-
hive, without foundation, yet with all its combs new and
tender subjected to driving ! How often have we advised
against these things? It would be bad policy to drive
the bees out of their combs in spring and sacrifice the
brood they (if alive) will have raised. Wo would split
or wrench off the side of the box, cut out the ci imbs, tie
them into frames as in the process called transferring,
put the frames together in a frame-hive and close up with
a dummy-board, giving frames of foundation one by one
as the bees increase and are able to occupy them, — Ed.

February 1, 1882.]

THE BTUTISH P.EE JOURNAL.

215

Query' No. 44". — Sand-Martins. — A friend of mine is
anxious to commence bee-keeping, but where he would
have to put his hives there is a great number of sand-
martins. Could you tell -me through the medium of your
Journal whether they would be likelyto interfere with the
bees; and if so, whether there is any means of protecting
them? — F. J. Cox, Sidcup, Kent.

Reply to Query No. 44r. — We know little of sand-
martins, but (excepting to drones) believe them to be
harmless. There is often an outcry against martins, but
the following from the Bee-Keepers' Guide (American),
by ffm, C'amm, tends to show their utility rather than
otherwise : — ' I am taking up too much of your space this
time, but must add that I shall have to move my martin
box. I found martins very useful in driving away hawks
just when young chickens are most in danger from them,
and so put up a martin box; but I set it among my hives,
only eight or ten feet above them, and last summer the
bees often drove ihe birds away when trying to light on
their box ; though I noticed that the bees never entered
the box, and if a martin could run the gauntlet, and
once get inside its house it was safe enough. Though I
have noticed for hours' I never saw a house-martin at-
tempt to catch a bee. Bee-martins; too, build in trees in
front of my hives, but several post-mortem examinations
have disclosed nothing but the remains of apple-tree
borers, ground-hugs, and what might have been parts of
a drone.'— Murrayville, III., Dec. 12, 1881.

Query No. 448. — Preserving Young Queens. — In your
articles last spring on the management of an apiary you
gave directions for raising queens in nucleus hives to be
built up into stocks. Will you at your earliest conveni-
ence kindly give what you consider would be the best
plan to adopt in order to hatch out and preserve the
queens from any cells that may remain after stocking all the
nucleus hives !J Such queens, I think, would be valuable if
they could be fertilised andkept in boxes similar to those
in which queens are imported, to replace any that may
die or be lost. — G. M. F., JExeter.

Reply to Query No. 448. — Attempts to utilise spare
queen-cells in small boxes are almost certain to fail. A
young gadding queen out for her holiday does not return,
or will not stay at home in such tiny places after having
heard the joyful hum from strong stocks, that is so
congenial to her nature. It is furthermore doubtful if it
will pay to form nuclei for all the queen-cells that may be
reared, though it maybe well to keep a few spare queens
on hand. Queen fertilization in small boxes being uncer-
tain, it only remains to secure their fertility in- larger
ones, when, as after marriage the}r will not leave their
hive so long as they are properly attended, they may with
comparative safety be transferred to smaller boxes. — Ed.

Query No. 449. — The Giotto Principle. — Having read
with interest in the British Bee Journal your observa-
tions with reference to the Giotto hive, and your sug-
gested improvements, I have been contemplating altering
my ordinary double-walled hives to correspond with the
system, but would like to know your opinion on the plan
I propose to adopt before carrying it into execution.
The great advantage of the Giotto hive is undoubtedly
the close-ended frames, and I propose to widen the ends
of my frames so as to make them touch one another at
their sides and still leave, as at present, a quarter of an
inch between the frames and the sides of the hives.
There would then he a hollow space, and perhaps j-ou will
say that that is not quite the Giotto system, as the combs
will net touch the walls. The difficulty which presents
itself to me is this : Shall I be readily able to disengage < me
frame from another when propolised together, as of course
they will be, by thrusting a thin knife between them
from above 'i I think I shall, but several persons to
whom I have mentioned the idea seem to think that I shall
have a difficulty. I have made some draught-preventers
after the pattern in your Journal, and 1 put one as a trial

on one of my hives. Upon examining the openings of m}r
hives the other day I was surprised to find that there
were about thirty dead bees in that of the hive on which
the draft-preventer was, whereas 1 only found one dead
bee in all my other five hives. Can you account for this y
I am rather afraid to put draught-preventers on the other
hives inconsequence. — A. W. A., Tunbridge Wells, Jan.
14, 1882.

Reply to Query No. 449. — When the close-ended
framesare suspended in a hive they will touch each other
and form inner side-walls, and combs built within them
will be attached to them, but will be moveable with
tin- frames, winch is exactly the Giotto principle. Such
frames if well made and pressed close together cannot
well be stuck together with propolis, and if their edges be
first greased such sticking will be almost impossible.
The great Dzierzou is so averse to the use of open-ended
frames that he prefers simple bars which allow the bees
to build against the solid hive walls, so that every comb
has to be detached with a knife before it can be removed.
He thinks nothing too much trouble in 'rational bee-
keeping,'provided it lessens interference with the natural
habits of the bees. We have not used draught-preven-
ters, but think it likely that the darkness caused by them
may have prevented the bees carrying out their dead, as
is their natural habit. — Ed.

NOTICES TO'raRRESPOrTDENTS^&^lNQUIRERS.

G. T. — M ood Foundation. — We do intend prosecuting the
production of this desirable material, and hope to be in
full time for its use ; but brass-cutting is not easy or
cheap work, and ' Home was not built in a day.'

Turnham Green. — Bees with four hours' sunshine. —
The bees being in a sheltered position with four hours'
sunshine, there must have been causes outside ' the
situation' for their condition in autumn. Nothing is
said of the strength of the swarm (which came from
■ Devonshire), the size of the hive, or whether the
frames had been rilled with comb-foundation; but it
is evident from ' the outer comb being nearly empty
and quite deficient of honey,' that the super ' put on
six weeks after hiving' ought not to have been put on
at all, unless the bee-nest had at the same time been
contracted and enclosed by a division-board or dummy.
The probability is that the hive was too large for the
swarm, or the swarm too small for the hive; and that
though the bees were probably doing well, putting on
the super gave so much room for the escape of heat from

. the brood-nest, that it checked the progress of the
breeding and comb-building on the ground-floor. We
cannot recommend the removal of the stock from its
sheltered position to the flat top of a two-storied house,
where it will he continually exposed.

Removing- Bees. — Kilh/lea. — Bees cannot be at once
moved so short a distance as ..eighty yards without
risk; but the risk will be minimised by removing them
in cold weather, and planting a branch of a tree in
front of their alighting-board to cause them to notice
the change when taking a flight. Bees do not fly
'abroad' at this time of year, and by judicious manage-
ment the old location may be so disguised that when
tiny extend their flight, they may not recognise it.

W. R. — Stocking frame-hires front sl-eps. — If the skep,
when full of bees, be placed upon a hive whose frames
are filled with foundation, and no means of exit from
the skep be permitted except through the frame-hive,
the bees will undoubtedly take possession of the latter
and fill it if the weather will permit them to do so.
As you do not wish for comb-honey, and the contents
of the skep in autumn will answer your purpose, there
can be nothing to say against the plan proposed; but
we cannot recommend it for general adoption. The
other matters contained in the letter have been already
dealt with.

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [Feb. 1, 1882.

SUBSCRIBERS' COLUMN.

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mode of advertising their wants, we have opened an
Advertising Column, for non-trading Subscribers only,
wherein they may make their wants or Irishes known
at the rate of One Penny for every six words, or part
of six words, but no advertisement must contain more
than thirty-six words.

Stamps to accompany in all cases and there can be no
reduction for repetitions.

FOR SALE.— Vol. III. of British Bee Journal, complete.
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QUINBT'S 'New Bee-keeping,' an invaluable work.
Price 7s. Gd. post free. Address Abbott Brothers,
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Catalogue, 1882.

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up to the times. Cloth, 2s. Gd. ; paper, Is. 6rZ. ;
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NOTICE.

THE GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE FARM.

A SAMPLE HIVE can be seen at 5 Agar Street,
Strand, W.C., where Orders can be given.
An experienced Expert will be sent when required to lay
out work or arrange Apiaries.

Terms, 10s. Gd. a-day, with travelling expenses. Orders
should be addressed, The Manager, Great Hampshire Bee
Farm, King's Somborne, Stockbridge, Hants. fo. 15

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yielding Flower, blooms from March to July, or all
the year round by successive plantings. It has been bloom-
ing with us from March to February. Price, Is. Gd.
per hundred plants ; 10s. Gd. per thousand ; very hardy ; sure
to grow, and increases rapidly. Plant one foot apart every
way. Abbott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.

L~~IMNANTHES DOUGLASII PLANTS, Is. Gd.
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First Prize for best Bee Dress, at South Kensington, 1879.

Price 2s. 9<t post free. Strips of Wire Cloth, for making
them, Is. 8d. each, post free. Letters to Editor. fo. 15

DH. PINE'S
BEE-KEEPERS' LOTION.

This Lotion will be found to almost instantly remove the
pain of a sting and prevent subsequent inflammation. It is
also a remedy for scalds, burns, and the stings and bites of
other insects besides Bees.

Price Is. 6d. per bottle, or Post-free for Is. 8d,

Agent —
Me. C. N. ABBOTT, Editor of B. B. Journal,
Fairlawn. Southall. fo. 15

PURE EXTRACTED HONEY, Is. 3d. per lb.
in Glass Jars, jars included. Address Abbott Bros.,
Fairlawn, Southall.

To MANUFACTURERS of COMB FOUNDATION.

PURE BEES' WAX, of Good Colour, may be
had in any quantity, not less than 28 lbs., at Is, (></.
per lb., free to Southall Station, Great Western Railway.
Address Abbott Bros., Fairlawn, Southall.

THE LECTURE.— A few Copies on hand.
Price 2s. 2d. post free. Letters to Editor.

PRICE SIXPENCE.

THE GAEDENBE.

A MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE AND FLORICULTURE.

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ittftsh

THE

[No. 107. Vol. IX.]

MAECH, 1882.

[Published Monthly.]

€bxtaxml> Sottas, fit.

MAECH.

The weather, almost always the foremost
topic in the minds of bee-keepers, Las during
the past month been exceedingly mild and
pleasant, and bees have had a busy time
amongst the crocuses and other early flowers,
and breeding has become the order of the day
in the majority of hives. It is very natural for
bee-keepers, seeing their bees so active, to wish
to help them, and notwithstanding the cautions
given in previous Journals of late, the tempta-
tion has been irresistible in very many in-
stances, and bees have been stimulated far be-
yond what a wise policy would dictate; for it is
by no means certain that King Frost will not
pay us a visit, and should he come, the forward
hives, like the forward buds, will suffer greatly.
Up to the present, seeing by their activity that
our bees are alive, we have interfered with them
as little as possible ; many are full of bees al-
most to ' bursting, but except in one instance
we have not opened a hive, knowing that every
disturbance is stimulative, and that under the
conditions which have been present, they will
have been breeding sufficiently for the time of
year.

Small Beginnings. — "When let alone, bees,
being well supplied, will do what their instinct
prompts them to, and naturally, will not do
much harm : they obtain a slight income
daily, which indicates to them that it is time to
think of increasing their numbers ; greater heat-
is generated through their activity, and the
queen deposits a few eggs on each side of a comb.
If the income continues from day to day, the
small patch of eggs is increased daily, and in
about three days the first-laid eggs begin to
hatch, and then the consumption of food begins
in earnest. While breeding was in abeyance,
only as much food was consumed as was neces-
sary to the production of heat for sustaining
life, and for repairing wasting tissue ; but
as soon as brood appears in a hive it has to

be fed for the production of new tissue, and the
consumption of food increases enormously, pro-
portionate, of course, to the quantity of hatching
brood. After a long suspension of breeding,
the bees in the hive having become in a sense
aged, do not readily take to the duty of nurses,
and for the first few weeks the queen does not
lay very rapidly, but when the young bees (the
nurses proper) begin to appear, the breeding is
greatly enhanced, the queen being doubly
stimulated, and, the income continuing in-
creasingly, the hive will soon be filled with a
youthful population.

In a backward season, there would be no
chance of natural income for bees until March,
when the crocuses would yield their delicious
product, and then it would be sufficiently early,
and, usually, good policy to help them hj afford-
ing them a small but continuous supply of
syrup, for, considering how small are the be-
ginnings of breeding, and that a month will
elapse before the young bees begin to hatch in
force, and that during all that time the death-
rate will be greater*, owing to the increased
activity of the bees, it will be well to encourage
them by eking out Nature's supply of food, and
rendering its ingathering less precarious. In a
season like the present, when bees have been
active all through January and February, and
have obtained a sufficiency of income to induce
breeding during all that time, young bees will
have hatched in large numbers, and stimulation
by feeding would cause the hives to be filled
with brood and bees in quick time — long, in-
deed, before they would be able to gather food
from natural sources, and having in breeding
consumed their stores within the hive, they
would require constant additional feeding to
enable them to exist till the blossoms opened.

Breeding too Early. — We have in the fore-
going indicated the effect of too early stimula-
tion, in the spring, and would point to the
necessity for careful judgment thereupon, for
if bees are unduly brought into existence,_ it
will be necessary to feed them to preserve life,
or they will soon begin robbing, or they will
die. Many bee-keepers suffer considerable

218

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

losses in this way, and, not seeing the point we
are endeavouring to elucidate, attribute them
to spring dwindling consequent on stimulation,
whereas it is simply the consequence of their
own ill-judged action in stimulating unduly.

Needy Bees. — Stimulative feeding consists
in the administration of food gently and con-
tinuously, teaching the bees to believe in a con-
stant source of income, and is entirely different
in its effect to what for the sake of distinction
we call ' spasmodic feeding,' i.e., giving the bees
quantifies of food that they can take quickly,
at various intervals. The former induces a
steadily continued activity, the latter a rush of
excitement — the former once begun must be
continued or great evil may result ; the latter,
when the temporary excitement is over, cannot
in a mild season like the present do much harm,
and therefore, where bees are needy and must
have food, it will be well to give them a few
pounds quickly at night. Many stocks that
have been gathering pollen largely will have
become need}- through having consumed their
honey in breeding, being naturally led to de-
pend on the continuance and increase of the
outdoor supply, and if not aided as suggested,
may fall victims to the false hope engendered
by the extraordinary, we had almost said un-
natural, condition of the weather and their
present surroundings.

Cessation of Income.— The first effect of
cessation of income is the stoppage of egg-
laying, the bees at once resolving that no
further expenditure of resources shall take
place, they cease the stimulation of the queen.
If relief be not quickly afforded, they prevent
the increase of jiopulation, and satisfy their
own need by eating the unhatched eggs, and,
failing help, the young larvae arc consumed,
then the more advanced grubs, and the bee-pap
with which they are surrounded, and presently
the sealed brood is torn out, the soft parts
eaten, and the remains of the immature bees
thrown out of the hive, where they often awaken
curiosity, but do not convey to the uninitiated
the straitened condition of the inmates.

White Bees on the alighting-board are the
bees' signal of distress — their white flag, which
should at once be responded to. It may be
hung out at almost any time during the breed-
ing season, and its presence shows not only that
serious mischief exists, but that it has been
going on for some time, and that the hive is in
danger from impending starvation. A check
in the incoming of honey during swarming
time will cause the bees to relinquish the idea
of swarming, and white drones will be thrown
out, and in all these cases it is peculiar that the
bees leave them on the door-step of the hive, as
if to mark the poverty of the inhabitants with-
in. As a rule, bees carry away their dead and

throw them to the winds, but when in trouble
as indicated, they adopt the very best course to
attract the attention of their owners. "When
white bees appear, food should instantly be
given, but it is always better to prevent their
ap23earance by attending to the bees' necessi-
ties in advance.

Judging Hives by Weight. — This is a
most fallible proceeding, and often in spring
and summer very misleading. With a fair in-
coming of honey, bees will breed in spring, and
use up the honey as fast as it comes in, and the
hive being full of brood will be very heavy, yet
it may not possess sufficient store to last forty-
eight hours. It is important to bear this in
mind, as a day or two of bad weather may re-
duce flourishing stocks to a state of pauperism.

Stimulative Feeding. — The beneficial prac-
tice is usually commenced about the end of
February or the beginning of March ; but, as
before suggested, the continued mildness of the
weather, and the comparative abundance of
natural bee food, render it unnecessary in many
places, at the present time. Young bees are
already coming forth in considerable numbers,
and good stocks will be in swarming condition
in good time, unless bad weather sets in. There
are, doubtless, places and apiaries where the
advantages mentioned are absent, and where
stimulative feeding will be a necessity ; and in
such cases it must be remembered that stimula-
lalive feeding once begun must be continued
until the flowers and blossoms give forth their
abundance. The principle of stimulation con-
sists in supplying a constant income to the bees
at a time when but for it they woidd be get-
ting: nothing. The sudden introduction of
sweets in bulk to a hive causes at once great
activity and excitement, and while they are
storing it in their cells they act for a time as if
it were summer, flying abroad by day and often
suffering severe loss of numbers through cold
or wet ; but when supplied so that thej' can get
only very little, but can get it constantly, they
soon show signs of activity, but without any
violent demonstration. With a feeder on a
hive so arranged that the bees can help them-
selves from one pin-hole only, at which about
three bees can work, they take in as much as
three bees per minute cotdd bring in from the
fields ; and doing this constantly it may be ex-
pected, and in fact is so, that they are soon in-
duced to make ' small beginnings;' and as the
season advances and their breeding becomes
extended, a second hole in the feeder is made
available for them, and their intake being
doubled and presently further multiplied, their
activity is greatly stimulated, and they go on
increasing as before suggested, and thus a large
number of young bees are produced in hives that
otherwise would remain comparatively inactive.

March I, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

219

Artificial Pou.kn. — This in a general way
consists of the flour obtained by grinding peas
of the kind used in making pea-soup, that being
the specified purpose for which the flour is pre-
pared ; and though other kinds of meal maybe
given to bees, the pea-flour is most highly ap-
preciated by them, and is the least wasteful.
When stimulating bees with syrup, and they
are seeking pollen in the flowers of the cro-
cuses, if a little of the pea-flour be put into
each flower, the bees will quickly show their
liking for it, and having tasted it, they will
visit any vessel in which it may be placed, and
will carry it home in large quantities. Al-
though an excellent substitute for pollen, and
bees take it greedily in spring when the latter
is scarce, they will not look at it when a good
supply of natural pollen can be obtained ; nor
will they care much for it unless honey or syrup
is coming into the hive. Many bee-keepers
forget that honey and pollen are necessary for
the formation of bee-pap ; they offer the pollen
substitute, but forget to feed with syrup, and
the bees not being aroused by the one to the
necessity for the other, do not take the pollen
as freely as do those that are under the stimu-
lative influence of the feeding-bottle.

HONEY JARS.

At length we hope and believe we have
succeeded in procuring honey jars that will
meet the approval of our friends both as re-
gards price and appearance. It is of German
make, and of the shape indicated in the sketch :
a plain, unvarnished fact,
easy to fill and empty, and
easy to pack. The glass is
strong and quite white ;
the}' hold one and two
pounds of honey, and will
be true to their respective
sizes. The cost of the one-
pound sizes will only be
one shilling more per gross
than those we were able
to get from Birmingham
in past times, which were
of green glass, very thin,
and of various sizes ; but we regret to say
the larger jars are more expensive than for-
merly was the case. The prices are, per
gross, for the one - pound jars, packed at
Southall, 18s., packing included, and for the
two-pound jars, 23s. per gross. Half or quarter
grosses will cost an extra shilling for repacking.
Single dozens will be two and three shillings.
Every care will be taken in packing, but we
cannot be responsible for breakages in transit.
—Ed. B. B. J.

THE BLIGH ECONOMIC COMPETITION.

As will be seen on another page the rules of
the Cottager Apiary Competition, instituted by
the Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, have been ap-
proved of by the Committee of the British Bee-
keepers' Association, and will have due effect.
The object in view is to get expert bee-keepers
to establish such apiaries as cottagers could ob-
tain with ordinary thrift, and to prove to the
world at large that bee-keeping when rightly
understood and practised is a profitable industry,
and worthy more respectful attention than is
usually accorded to it. The entrance-fee is only
5s., the regulations are not very exacting, but
the hope and belief exist that the Committees
of Associations will exercise a keen judgment
in the selection or approval of candidates for
competition that no one of doubtful honour or
ability may take part in it.

It will be a most interesting experiment, and
permission to enter as competitor will be really
a certificate of merit, and we trust every able
expert will enlist in the good cause and elicit
from the doubting multitude a general approval
of bee-culture as a profitable business.

BEE-CULTURE AT THE ROYAL

HORTICULTURAL GARDENS, SOUTH

KENSINGTON.

It has been announced that a Dairy, Poultry,
and Minor Food Products' Exhibition is to be
held at the above Gardens, and is to extend
over a period ' from about March 21st up to
about May 6th next,' Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier
being advertised to deliver a course of instruc-
tion on ' Poultry Management,' which will ex-
tend from March 14th up to April 3rd, and
Mr. Cheshire a similar course on ' Bee Man-
agement,' from April 11th to May 1st, after
which the students will undergo examination
for certificates and medals. We are always
glad to help forward every movement that has
for its object the improvement of bee-culture,
more particularly when that is its sole purpose
and the means adopted are in unison with the
efforts that are being made by existing associa-
tions ; but in the present instance there is room
for doubting if it be so. The British Bee-
keepers' Association is the recognised head of
the bee-keeping interest in this country, and
the objects of an Exhibition Committee that
utterly ignores the existence of the central
authority, yet abruptly adopts its h'nes and
assumes for itself the lead, are, to say the least,
questionable. The Exhibition Committee, by
whom constituted, the prospectus sayeth not,
assures the public that ' The Association for the
Promotion of Food Production by Women '
gives a cordial and active support to the Exhi-

a 2

220

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

bition, and to the courses of instruction intended
to be given ; but the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation is not only not mentioned, but has not
been applied to on the subject, though the Ex-
hibition Committee have with questionable taste
taken upon themselves the work the British
Association is engaged upon. Mr. Cheshire
well knows that the Association (from which
he has lately seceded as a member and com-
mitteeman) has been striving to obtain the
sanction of Government to the appointment of a
Professorship of Apicidture, that classes of in-
struction might be held, and certificates, of
value as coming from an authenticated source,
might be awarded to deserving students ; and
he also well knows that the matter is only in
temjDorary abeyance : yet in the face of that
knowledge he has accepted a professor's duties
without the authority that gives certificates and
medals practical value. From our point of
view the whole thing is a mistake, and savours
more of Barnum than bee-culture. The fees
for the course of lectures are one guinea for
each person, and for space for exhibits one
guinea per foot run, eight feet wide.

THE

IMPROVED GIOTTO
FRAME-HIVE.

In our last we showed how a hive on the
principle named could be made, and we now
propose, in fulfilment of our promise, to show
how it should be stocked with bees. On page
197 there is a diagram showing how the frame's
top bars should be sawn down for the intro-
duction of foundation ; and if our readers have
them so prepared, they have only to slip in
sheets of that precious article of a size to almost
touch the frame-ends, and reach to within about
| inch of the bottom rail of frames, and then,
if the toj> bars be fixed into the notches of the
wide frame-ends, they will be ready for use,
excepting, perhaps, that it may be well to drive
one or two pins through the top bar, here and
there, to cause it to more firmly clutch the
foundation.

Now, when a swarm is ready f6r hiving, the
first thing to do is to determine, as near as may
be, how many of the frames of foundation the
bees will be able to cover with even a little
crowding on both sides, and then to put that
number of frames in the box, in the front part
next the entrance. Take then the back-board,
which will be all the better for having clamps
or ledges nailed across its back face, and fix it
with struts pressing from the back of the hive
against it, so that it fits quite closely against
the frames and squeezes them together tightly,
but with this little provision, that it shall be
one inch clear of the floor of the hive. This
may be very easily done by putting two blocks

of wood or two stones under it before strutting
it, and then, if the quilt be laid on so as to
cover the bee-nest only, the hive will be ready
for the swarm's reception. How comfortable
bee-keepers would feel if, when swarms are
likely to come off, their hives were always
equally ready beforehand, so that there would,
as in this case, be nothing to do but to catch
the bees in an old skep or tin pail — the latter
preferably because bees cannot adhere to it — i
and run with them to the hive and pour them
into the space at the back of it, as near the
back-board as possible. If the queen be with
the swarm, a necessity common in all cases, the
bee-keeper may be quite easy on the question
of safety ; the queen and bees will run under
the back-board, and along and under the sides
of the bee-nest formed by the frames, and will
take possession in double-quick time, and the
hiving may be considered accomplished. There
will then be nothing to do but to cover the hive
loosely, to keep off sunshine or rain until even-
ing, when the supports of the back-board should
be taken away, that it may be put down to its
proper position, and put two strips of wood
about an inch square one on each side of the
bee-nest along the floor-board, when the hive
may be securely covered up, as is ordinarily
done, with a sloping roof, or any other means
by which the rain can be kept out of the box.

In forty-eight hours at the furthest, the hive
may be uncovered, the back-board and two of
the frames pushed back one and a half inches,
and another frame of foundation slid down
between them — not a bee can be crushed,
because in pushing the frames down all bees
between the frame-ends will be moved out of
the way, and the hive may again be closed and
the operation repeated every day or two, so
long as the bees are able to cover the combs.
Bees that at first are only able to cover four
frames of foundation will, in a few days, be
able to cover ten frames of comb ; at first they
would be in spaces nearly one and a half inches
wide, but when the combs are built out they
have only half-inch interstices to pack into
and no waste sjDaces around the frame-ends
to occupy to keep the heat from escaping. The
Rev. G. Raynor, on another page, appears to
believe that open-ended frames arc only detri-
mental in winter, when many frames are left
in a hive, but we have great faith in the
necessity for preserving heat amongst the bees
when combs are being built, and when, though
ventilation is necessary, it is best supplied at
the bottom of the hive. No hive can be bettor
adapted for the reception of sections in the
rear of the brood-nest, for a sheet of perforated
zinc will cut off the queen's domain at any
point, and if sections be put into the frames,
separators of thin board or tin, with holes or

March 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

221

entrance-ways made in suitable parts of them,
can be slipped between the frames and may
rest on the floor-board without detriment, but
with the enormous advantage that they abso-
lutely prevent the bees having access to any
part of the sections but the inside of them.
Though the sections will be wider than the
frames there can be no disarrangement of
them, because they (the sections) will butt
evenly on both sides of the separators, and will
all be jammed together tightly by the struts in
rear of the back-board. In the trial of hives,
&c, that will take place under the crucial
competition instituted by the Hon. and Rev.
II. Bligh during this and next summer, we
shall, all being well, give the principle a fair
public trial.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The first Meeting- of the new Committee elected for
the current year was held at the Langham Hotel, Port-
land Place, on Wednesday, February 15. There were
present — Mr. T. AY. Cowan in the chair, Hon. and Bev.
II. Bligh, Bev. E. T. Scott, Rev. G. Baynor, Mr. J. M.
Hooker, and Mr. D.Stewart. The minutes of the last
meeting were read, continued, and signed ; the balance-
sheet for the month ending January 31st was also read,
showing a balance in hand of 0(3/. Is. A letter was read
from Mr. W. X. Griffin, the Honorary Secretary of the
Devonshire Association, requesting that castings of the
blocks of illustrations as inserted in Modern Bee-keeping
might be allowed to be taken for the use of the Devonshire
Association. Resolved, ' That such castings be taken,
and the blocks lent to County Affiliated Associations
when required.' The amended scheme for the promo-
tion of cottage apiaries, as proposed by the Hon. and
Bev. II. Bligh, was submitted, and, after some discussion
and a few verbal amendments being made, it was moved
by Mr. J. M. Hooker, and seconded by the Hon. and
Bev. II. Bligh, ' That the scheme as revised be adopted;'
carried unanimously.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Th:' Annual General Meeting was held in the Board-
room of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals, 105 Jermyn Street, on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
The chair was taken by the President of the Associa-
tion, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts. There was a large
attendance of members, including several representatives
of County Associations; the audience included Sir Francis
Burdett, Bart., Hon. and Bev. H. Bligh, Revs. E. Bartrum,
G. Baynor, F. T. Scott, F. G. Jenyns.W. J-:. Burkitt,
J. II. Dixon, A. T. Crisford, and Messrs. J. M. Hooker,
D. Stewart, S. H. Morell, S. J. Baldwin, G. D. Clapham,
J. D. Desborough, J. E. Littleboy, D. Stewart, J.AYillard,
J. Garratt, G. Henderson, H. C. Finch, F. Lyon, A.
Neighbour, S. Barge, &c. ; there were also several ladies
present, every available seat being occupied.

Iu the unavoidable absence of the Rev. H. R. Beel, the
Honorary Secretary, through indisposition, the minutes
of the last general meeting ami the Committee's Report
for the past year were read by Mr. T. W. Cowan, the
Chairman of the Committee. The following is

The Anxual Report.
In presenting to the members of the British Bee-
keepers' Association their report for the year 1881, the
Committee are glad to announce that the number of
members continues steadily to increase. The Association
numbered on December ulst, 1881, 284 ordinary mem-

bers, and 13 life members; an increase of 38 from Janu-
ary 1st to December .'{1st, 1881. Thirty-four new
members have since been enrolled, making" the present
total 831.

The Committee also notice with great satisfaction the
increase of County Bee-keepers' Associations in affiliation
with the Central Society. During the past year such
Associations have been established in Brecknockshire,
Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Sussex,
and Wiltshire ; and efforts are being made to establish
County Associations in Derbyshire, Oxfordshire, and
Somersetshire. The AYest Kent Association has united
with one commenced in the eastern division of that county,
and a County Association for the whole of Kent has
thereby been formed on a strong and solid basis. It is
much to be regretted that Hampshire should now be the
only southern county which is without an Association, or
the prospect of one. There are now altogether eighteen
English and AVelsh County Associations, with an aggre-
gate of 2000 members, all of which it is expected will be
affiliated with the Central Association. The Committee
are also glad to report that the tour of the Bee Tent in
Ireland, during the summer of 1880, is producing good
results. In addition to the Irish Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion established in the spring of 1881, there are now two
County Associations: one in Armagh, of which Mr. G.
Greer and the Bev. H. AV. Lett are Secretaries ; and
another in Tyrone, under the management of Mr. Thos.
S. Porter, of Cloghen Park. The Secretary for the Cen-
tral Irish Association is Mr. Robert Sproule, Richmond
Road, Fairview, Dublin. The Committee think it not
beyond their province to call attention to the number of
Scottish Bee-keepers' Associations which are now in ex-
istence. The Caledonian Apiarian Society, which traces
its origin to the first show held by the British Bee-
keepers' Association at the Crystal Palace, was formed
in December, 1874. It has held Exhibitions at the
Shows of the Highland Agricultural Society, at Edin-
burgh, Dumfries, Perth, Kelso, Stirling, and Glasgow,
and is prospering under the guidance of Air. Robert
Bennett, 8 Holland Place, Glasgow. Iu January, 1876,
a kindred Society was formed at Dundee, with Air. Baitt
asSecretary. In 1878 Perth followed suit ; and Societies
have subsequently been formed at Stirling, Cowal, and
Falkirk. It will be seen that the East of Scotland Society
has affiliated itself to the British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion.

County Shows of Bees, Hives, Honey, &c, have been
held by the several Affiliated County Associations, at
which prizes offered by the British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion for the production of honey have been awarded as,
follows : — Berks and Bucks Association : Silver medal,
bronze medal, and certificate, Sir Gilbert A. Clayton
East, Bart., Hall Place, Alaidenkead. Dorsetshire :
Silver medal, Air. J. Antell, Puddletown ; bronze medal,
Rev. G. H. AVynne, AVhitchurch ; certificate, Mr. B.
Slade, Puddletown. Devonshire: Silver medal, Air. A\T.
N. Griffin, Alphington ; bronze medal, Bev. J. A. Kempe,
Newton St. Ayres ; certificate, Aliss Symons, Hatt.
Hertfordshire: Silver medal, Air. J. S. Brooks, Barnet;
bronze medal, Aliss Gayton, Aluch Iladham; certificate
not awarded. Kent: Silver medal, Air. G. Allen, Orping-
ton ; bronze medal and certificate not awarded. Lincoln-
shire : Silver medal, Air. A. P. Russell, Lincoln ; bronze
medal, Rev. W. Y. Turner, Bardney ; certificate not
awarded. Shropshire: Silver medal, J. Fryer Bennett,
Esq., Shifnal; bronze medal, Air. Copeland, Shifnal ;
certificate, Air. II. Powell, Hampton Lode. Suffolk:
Silver medal awarded to an exhibitor not residing within
the recognised boundaries of the county ; bronze medal,
Airs. Goodhart, AVetherdon Bectory ; certificate not
awarded. Surrey: Silver medal, Capt. C. D. Campbell,
Box Grove, Guildford ; bronze medal awarded to an
exhibitor not residing within the recognised borders of
the county (see ' Privileges of Affiliation,' No. .'!) ; certi-

222

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

ficate, Mr. Marriott, Woodside Green, Norwood. War-
wickshire : Silver medal, Mr. T. B. Thompson, Birming-
ham ; bronze medal, Mr. J. Walton, Weston ; certificate,
Mr. E. H. James, Sutton Coldfield.

During the past year the Association's Bee Tents have
been erected at the following Agricultural and Horticul-
tural Shows, viz. At Thane, in Oxfordshire: Hungerford,
in Wiltshire; Wimbledon, in Surrey; Aylesbury, in
Buckinghamshire ; Sandy, in Bedfordshire ; Slindon,
Ringiner, Horsham, and Hawkhurst, in Sussex ; Want-
age, in Berkshire; Long Buckby, in Northamptonshire;
and Southampton, in Hampshire. The Bee Tent was also
erected at the Royal Agricultural Show held at Derby,
where many thousands of persons witnessed the various
exhibitions which daily took place during the continu-
ance of the show.

Three meetings have been held during the year, at
which papers have been read bearing upon the improved
methods of bee-keeping, viz. — (1) On Wednesday, Feb-
ruary 16, by Mr. F. Lyon; subject for discussion : 'Cheap
Bar-frame Hives for Cottagers' Use.' (2) On Wednes-
day, April C, by Mr. C. N. Abbott, Editor of the British
Bee Journal ; subject for discussion : ' The Hive for the
Advancing Bee-keeper.' (3) On Wednesday, October 12,
by the Kev. II. R. Peel; subject for discussion : ' County
Bee-keepers' Associations : their Objects and Develop-
ment.' A copy of each paper, and the report of the dis-
cussion subsequently held thereon, has been forwarded
to each member of the Association.

A lecture (in lieu of the Quarterly Paper) was de-
livered in the Council-room of the Royal Horticultural
Society, South Kensington, on Tuesday, July 26, the first
day of the show, by Mr. Frank R.Cheshire; subject:
' Bees as Florists' Hybridizers and Fruit Producers.'

The Committee are glad to report that there has been
an increased demand for the various books and pamphlets
published by the Association. A new edition of Winter-
ing Bees, by Mr. T. W. Cowan, considerably enlarged,
has been printed. The second edition of Modern Bee-
keeping, issued in February last, has been disposed of,
and a new edition, enlarged and revised by the Com-
mittee, is now ready. A full list of the Publications of
the Association will be found at the commencement of
this Report.

Several valuable donations of books have been added
to the Library, for which the thanks of the members are
due to Mr. J. P. Jackson, Mr. II. Jonas, Mr. C. N.
Abbott, Mr. T. W. Cowan, Mr. John Y. Detwiler, Mr. J.
J. Hunter, Mr. A. Neighbour, Mr. J. Walton, Mr. E. S.
Whealler, and others. Arrangements have now been
made by which the books are made available to members
residing in the country by means of the book-post. ( 'ata-
logues, together with Rules and Regulations, and every
information relating to the Library, may be obtained
upon application to the Librarian, Mr. G. Henderson,
Clarendon House, Ealing.

Mr. Henderson makes the following report : — ' I have
much pleasure in reporting to the Committee that since
my acceptance of the office of Librarian to the Associa-
tion in November, 1881, I have been enabled to procure
an addition to the Library of sixty volumes. The num-
ber of books and tracts having a reference to Apiculture
on the shelves of the Library is at the present time up-
wards of 120. The addition of books that I have been
privileged to make has been due to the generosity of
several public-spirited members of the Association, and
to the kindness of the Committee in permitting me to
purchase such volumes as have fallen in my way.
(1) Books. — The books in the Library are fairly repre-
sentative of the English and American works on bee
culture which have of late years been published, There
are a few of the eighteenth-century apiarian authors to
be found there ; while I regret to say that foreign works
on bee-keeping are conspicuously absent. (2) Periodi-
cals.— It gives me much pleasure to report that I have

been able to perfect the series of the British Bee Journal
and the American Gleanings of Bee Culture ; and I have
great hopes, if not of completing, yet of making consi-
derable additions to, the volumes of the American Bee-
kee2yers'1 Magazine and the American Bee Journal.
(3) Trade Catalogues. — I purpose endeavouring to make
a collection of the various trade catalogues which are
issued by the makers of bee appliances, seeing that they
contain the records, and generally some illustrations of
the progressive ingenuity and inventive faculty of those
so engaged. It is frequently the case that the inventions
of to-day supplant those of yesterday ; and as it is desi-
rable that a " local habitation " should be provided for
them before they are consigned to the limbo of the past,
the shelves of the Association asm to be a fitting place
for their reception and preservation. I hope I may be
favoured with copies of the catalogues of hive-makers
throughout the kingdom. (4) Borrowers of Books. —
I have already been applied to for books by several
members ; and I trust that, when the Library is better
known, and the facilities of borrowing more recognised,
I shall have more numerous applications. (5) Catalogue.
— I have drawn up a catalogue of the contents of the
Library, a copy of which accompanies this report. It will
be seen from it how much is required to be done in the
way of increase before it can be entitled to be considered
(to use the words of Mr. J. P. Jackson, the original pro-
moter of the Library) " A National Bee Library.'' It is
satisfactory, however, to know that a beginning has been
made — that the foundation has been laid ; and it is to
be hoped that, by the generous help and kindly sympathy
of the members generally, and the patient and pains-
taking efforts of the Committee, the Library will be
worthy of the British Bee-keepers' Association, and
prove itself a precious and valuable Bibliotheca de
Apibus?

The Committee regret that the permanent collection of
Hives and Appliances at the South Kensington Museum
is not yet by an_v means worthy of the Association.
Contributions to this collection have been made by -Mr.
S. J. Baldwin, Mr. J. M. Hooker, Messrs. Neighbour and
Son, and Mr. T.W. Cowan; active measures are now being
taken for its completion by Mr. H. Jonas, 64 Redcliffe
Gardens, S.W., who has kindly undertaken the office of
custodian to the collection. Contributions of appliances
and natural objects relating to the cultivation of the
honey bee have been promised by Messrs. Abbott Bros,
and others. As soon as a suitable place has been allotted,
these objects will be collected and arranged. Mr. Jonas
will be glad to receive any specimens of rare bees, their
enemies or diseases, and of anything nicely to add in-
terest to the collection. All articles intended for this
collection should be addressed, ' The Store-keeper, South
Kensington Museum, London, S.W.'

The following report has been received from Mr. S. .1.
Baldwin in regard to the sales on honey which have been
effected on behalf of members during the past year : — ■
' I beg to report, for the information of the Committee,
that, notwithstanding the unprecedented large harvests
of honey made by the members of the British and
Affiliated County Associations during the past year,
there has been but little difficulty in finding a ready sale
at good prices, and in most cases by members themselves,
There are many respectable houses in London quite will-
ing to take the matter up, if a constant supply of honey
is forthcoming. So that members have nothing to fear
as to the sale of their honey, if put up in a neat and
attractive form. 1-lb. sections are in greater demand
than any other size. Extracted honey in jars, from 5 lbs.
to 20 lbs., is frequently inquired fur. During the past
year I have received from members 710 lbs. of honey,
450 lbs. of comb honey in sections, and liOOlbs. of ex-
tracted honey; for the former I paid Is. 3d. per lb., and
the latter an average of Is. per lb. Some of the consign-
ments have been both carelessly and insecurely packed,

March 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

223

which has been the cause of much waste of honey and
time. — (Signed) S. J. Baldwin.'

The Committee desiro to call the attention of members
to the last clause of Mr. 1 'aid win's report, and to state
that consignments of honey must be sent to Mr. Baldwin,
or to his order, in proper travelling crates, and that in
all cases samples of the honey must be sent to and be
approved of by him, previously to the consignment being-
sent for sale. The Committee hope that the system of
packing hone}' for exhibition in travelling crates will
soon be better understood and more generally practised.
There will then be little risk in sending honey to the
shows.

The Annual Show of the Association was held in the
gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, at South
Kensington, on July 20 to August 1 inclusive. This
Exhibition was by far the largest ever held by the Asso-
ciation. The exhibits of honey were numerous and of
excellent quality ; large sales took place, and good prices
were realised. Sections of comb-honey and extracted
honey in glass jars were shown in a greatly improved
form. The prizes were distributed to the successful
competitors on the third day of the show, by the Baroness
Burdett-Coutts, President of the Association, in the
absence of H.K.H. the Princess Christian, who was pre-
vented by the death of a relative from fulfilling her pro-
mise to discharge this office.

The Association made its second appearance at the
annual show of the British Dairy Farmers' Association,
held in the Agricultural Hall, Islington, on September
15 and the following days. A good display of hives for
general use was exhibited, but the entries in the honey
classes were not quite so numerous as they were last
year.

By invitation of the council of the Brighton Health
Congress, a display of honey, hive, and other bee-keep-
ing appliances, was made at the Domestic and Scientific
Exhibition held in the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, on
December 12 and following days. At a meeting of the
members of the Congress, held on Thursday, December
15, J. R. Holland, Esq., M.P., in the chair, a paper on
' Honey as Food ' was read by Mr. T.W. Cowan. A Certi-
ficate of Merit was awarded by the judges to the exhibits
of the Association.

The Committee note, with much pleasure, the support
which is now being given to the promotion of bee-keep-
ing by several of the leading Agricidtural Societies.
During the past year the Association made its first ap-
pearance at the annual show of the Bath and West of
England Agricultural Society, held at Tunbridge Wells ;
prizes were offered for honey, hives, and other appliances.
The Bee Department was visited by many thousands of
persons, who evinced much interest in the exhibition.

With regard to their balance-sheet, the Committee
■would call attention to the fact that, although the amount
to be carried over to the 1832 account is not large, the
receipts and expenditure of the Association have both
been considerably increased. They confidently hope
that, as the importance of the work the Association is
carrying on becomes more recognised, it will receive in-
creased support, and thus enable the Committee for 1882
to extend their operations into many counties where bee-
keeping, upon the humane and profitable system, is but
very little understood.

The Committee are also glad to state that the Royal
Agricultural Society of England have this year increased
their grant from 207. to 30/. The Association is thereby
enabled to extend its prize list for bees, hives, honey,
&c, at the Royal Agricultural Society's Show, to be held
at Reading on July 10 and four following days. It is
hoped that a similar subsidy will be granted by the Bath
and West of England Agricultural Society for a similar
exhibition at their annual show, to be held at Cardiff.

In conclusion, the Committee have to state that ar-
rangements have been made for holding the Annual

Show of 1882 at the Royal Horticultural Gardens, South
Kensington, on August 3 and following days, and that
H.K.H. the Princess Christian has consented to present
the prizes to the successful competitors.

The statement of receipts and expenditure for the year
ending 31st December, 1881, was also read by Mr. Cowan.

The President moved, and* the Rev. F. T. Scott
seconded, ' That the Report and Balance Sheet, as read
by the Secretary, be received and adopted, with a vote
of thanks to Mr. Kirchner, the Auditor.'

Mr. J. E. Littleboy moved, ' That votes of thanks be
given to the retiring Officers and Committee.'

Mr. T. W. Cowan proposed, and Mr. J. M. Hooker
seconded, ' That votes of thanks be given to the Council
of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, for the gratuitous use of their Board-room for
Committee and Quarterly Meetings.'

Sir Francis Burdett expressed the very great pleasure the
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
had in having- their Board-room occupied by the British
Bee-Keepers' Association, as he considered that the
objects of the two Societies were identical.

The Rev. E. Bartrum proposed, and Mr. D. Stewart
seconded, ' The election of President, Vice-Presidents,
Treasurer, Auditor, and Secretary, for the year 1882, in
accordance with Rule 8.'

Mr. Cowan returned thanks on behalf of Mr. Peel for
his re-election, in doing so he stated that Mr. Peel de-
sired him to say that he hoped the meeting would confirm
the resolution passed at the last committee meeting, viz.
' That the sum of SOI. be granted during the current
year for the purpose of assisting in the development of
Comity Associations by means of lectures.' (Confirmed
unanimously.)

The President was sure every one present regretted
the absence of Mr. Peel, and sympathised with him in
his illness. She moved that a vote of condolence of the
meeting with Mr. Peel in his illness be passed. (Carried
unanimously.)

The Assistant-Secretary having read the results of the
election for the Committee of 1882, Mr. Cowan moved,
and the Rev. E. Bartrum seconded, ' A vote of thanks
to Mr. Willard for his services as scrutineer of the voting
papers.'

The Rev. G.'Raynor moved as an amendment to Rule
8 — ' That the words by the Acting Committee be struck
out, and the following words be added, from the unsuc-
cessful Candidates according to the priority of votes ob-
tained at the Election.'' He said the rule, as it stood at
present, had always appeared to him objectionable. The
Committee was a representative body, elected by the
members of the Association, and, as such, ought strictly
to represent that organization. But he maintained that,
in effect, it failed to do this. He would put to them a
case. Supposing a vacancy to have occurred on the
Committee, and at their next 'meeting merely a quorum
of three members to have assembled, and that, instead of
selecting the first name on the list of unsuccessful candi-
dates, from motives of interest or favouritism, they took
some other, even the last it might be ; he asked would
that be acting justly either towards the individual or the
Association ? To him, therefore, on the very face of it,
it ^seemed best to remove a temptation which tended
towards injustice, or at all events permitted it. He had
pleasure, therefore, in moving the amendment.

The amendment was seconded by the Rev. F. T.
Scott, and carried.

Mr. T. W. Cowan proposed, and the Hon. and Rev.
II. Bligh seconded, ' That the thanks of the British Bee-
Keepers' Association be voted to Mr. Charles Nash
Abbott for the liberal manner in which he has hitherto
promoted the interests of the Association through the
pages of the British Bee Journal, and that the British
Bee Journal continue to be regarded as the official organ
of the Association.'

224

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

The Rev. G. Raynor proposed, 'That it is desirable
that the British Bee-keepers' Association do set forth a
Standard frame, stamped by its sanction and authority,
with the view to bringing such frame into general use, its
size and form to be determined by a committee appointed
for that purpose.' fie said that he felt it to be a subject of
the greatest possible importance to the bee-keepers of this
country, and to all, indeed, who were either technically or
otherwise interested in the art of bee-culture, for art it
most certainly was, and that of the highest order. If he
were able, or inclined, to go through all the advantages
which would undoubtedly arise from the adoption and
propagation of a standard frame, neither time nor their
patience would suffice for the task. He would, therefore,
endeavour, very shortly, to state a few of the most pro-
minent of these. First, then, woidd be the inter-change-
ability of all frames. How great a boon this would be
manufacturers of hives, vendors and purchasers of bees,
and of other apiarian appliances, might well tell them,
and he expressed a hope that many such were present
who would support him that day. Indeed this point
could not well be over-estimated, especially now that
bee-culture was being taken up extensively by some of
our leading agriculturists. A few days ?go he had re-
ceived a letter from a cultivator of many broad acres in
Lincolnshire, to the effect that he was investing largely
in bee-culture, and upon modern and approved principles.
He was a large grower of mustard-seed, and it had rightly
occurred to him that, in entering on the practice of this
industry, he might largely increase the fertility of his
crops, and at the same time reap a golden harvest from the
produce of his bees. And what a field was opened to
the bee-farmer, by the thousands on thousands of acres
of mustard, with its rolling plains of golden bloom, — by
the fields of fragrant white clover and other honey-
producing plants. He rejoiced that, at last, the farmers
were showing signs of a movement in the right direction,
for if once they could be induced intelligently to cultivate
the honey-bee, the labourer would soon follow his
master's example and teaching. At such a crisis, then,
how highly important it was — far more so than at any
former period in the history of this country — that this
Association should come forward boldly, and stamp with
its authority, a standard frame, so that the transfer and
sale of bees and hives might be rendered easy of accom-
plishment throughout the length and breadth of the
land. Honey-extractors would then come into more
general use, since one size alone would be required.
What was the case at present with regard to the frames
in use — their name, like their size and shape, was Legion ?
The one which lay upon the table — approaching the
Langstroth in shape and size — would not be suitable for
this country. There were some even larger and more
unwieldy than this, and others barely half its size. He
did not wish to enter into detail, since if this resolution
met with the approbation of the meeting, a committee
would be appointed, and to it all details must be left,
nevertheless he thought that something was due to this
assembly. They must, however, consider that any-
thing he might say was merely his own personal
opinion. From the discussion which had taken place
on this subject after the reading of his paper on Houses
and Hives, at the last quarterly conversazione of the
Association, his views were pretty well known, and
he was agreeably surprised, on that occasion, at find-
ing so general an agreement on the desirability of
possessing a standard frame. He might say then) for
himself, that he thought a twofold frame should prevail —
of rectangular and of taper forms — each frame to contain
equal superficial contents. Each should be, as nearly as
possible, of the size of the old Woodbury frame, but one
important point was that the one-pound section should
form its basis. In other words, the frame should lie
capable of receiving an equal number, say six one-pound
or three two-pound sections. This he thought a most

important point. In practice thore would not be found
the slightest difficulty in adapting these sections to a
tapered frame as well as to a right-angled one. Indeed,
he used them in his own apiary, the adaptation being the
simplest possible. The dimensions he woidd advocate
would be inside dimensions, because in that case the
strength or thickness of the material used would be of no
consequence ; what we wanted was the actual comb-
surface. It woidd be a mistake to attempt a standard
hive. It was the frame we required. Then the hive
might be used of any size by increasing or diminishing
the number of the frames. Some five or six years ago,
the subject of a standard frame had met with a decided
negative when brought forward by this Association.
Unhappily, its councils were then divided : he did hope
that they would be more successful now. He would not
detain them much longer, but would like, shortly, to en-
deavour to answer prospectively a few objections which
he felt might be brought against a standard frame.
These were that uniform extractors and uniform frames
would be found a certain means of spreading disease.
But surely this was a futile objection ! Even if it were
the case, we have a full knowledge of disease — the chief
of which was foul-brood — and we knew how to eradicate
it. In all other transactions of life the maxim caveat
emptor was fully acted upon, and he had yet to learn
that bee-keepers, as a rule, were more easily cheated than
other classes. We do not refuse to enter a hired convey-
ance or a railway carriage through fear of its former oc-
cupants having been afflicted with some infectious or
contagious disease. In every phase of life we have these
risks to encounter, and may therefore dismiss this objec-
tion. Again, there have been some who have said,
' Wait until we can have an international standard.' To
this he replied that we should have to wait the natural
course of our lives. An international standard frame
would be no more attainable than an international mone-
tary standard, the establishing of which, we are all
aware, whenever attempted, has failed, and, he believed,
always would fail.

As regards our exhibitions, he woidd say, 'Do not
make your standard frame a sine qiul non for hive com-
petition.' To do so, he thought, would be an act of in-
justice to many, since it would disqualify those hives to
which they had hitherto awarded prizes, and had thus
encouraged their sale. But let the new frame take its
chance amongst others, and do no more in its favour
than to give it the preference crcteris paribus. If he
might be allowed to make a forecast, he would say that
it would soon work its way into public favour, and
thereby so great an impetus would be given to our
national bee-culture as neither we nor our forefathers
ever beheld.

Mr. T. W. Cowan seconded the resolution, which was
carried nem. diss.

The following gentlemen, — Messrs. C. N. Abbott,
T. W. Cowan, F. Cheshire, J. O. Desborough, J. M.
Hooker, Rev. G. Raynor, A. Neighbour, and Rev. F. T.
Scott — were appointed the committee to carry out the
foregoing resolution.

The Rev. W. Burkitt proposed, and the Rev. .1. II.
Dixon seconded, ' That the term " Cottager," as referred
to in the British and County Associations' Prize Sche-
dules, should receive some authorised definition at this
general meeting.'

This resolution was discussed at considerable length)
the bond fide cottager proving somewhat analogous to
the bond Jide traveller — very hard to define. It was the
general opinion of the meeting that each County Asso-
ciation should make its own definition, according to cir-
cumstances, and the clause in the resolution relating to
the County Associations was accordingly withdrawn.
In respect to the Central Society it was left for the
Committee to take the matter into consideration and
report to the next General Meeting.

March 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

22 ft

The President expressed her hope that both the Central
and County Associations would consider the matter
carefully. She hoped nothing would be done to deter
the better class of working men from exhibiting1. It
might be found advisable to make two sections of classes
— one for bona fide labourers, and the other for artisans,
railway men, &c.

A cordial vote of thanks to the Baroness Burdett-
Coutts for her kindness in presiding over the meeting
was passed unanimously.

The Librari/. — The Librarian desires to acknowledge,
with thanks, the receipt of the following books : —

From the Rev. H. K. Peel, several volumes in numbers
of the American Bee Journal, American Bee Magazine, and
Elssiissisch Bienenzuchter ; and from Mr. C. N. Abbott,
several supplementarv numbers of the same.

From Mr. T. W. Cowan : R. Huish, The Cottagers'
Manual, for the Management of Bees for every month
in the year. Second edition. London, n. d. — Thomas
Nutt, Humanity to Honey Bees; or Practical Directions
for the Management of Honey Bees. Wisbech, 1832.

From Mr. J. Camaschella : Pietro Benuzzi, Inno-
vazioni Apistiche. Milano, 1881.

From Mr. W. T. Joyce : J. W. Pagden, Early Arti-
ficial Bee-Swarming.

From Mr. J. T. Harveyson: Rev. W. C. Cotton, M.A.,
My Bee Book. London, 1842. — Dr. Lardner, The Bee
and "White Ants ; their Manners and Habits. With
Illustrations on Animal Instinct and Intelligence. Lon-
don, n. d.

The following works, acquired by purchase, have been
added to the Library : —

Moses Rusden, A Further Discovery of Bees, treating
of the Nature, Government, Generation, and Preservation
of the Bee. London, 167f>. — J. Simon, Le Gouvernement
Admirable, on la Republique des Abeilles. Paris, 1758.
— P. L. Ducouedic, La Ruche Pyramidale ; ou nouvelle
methode de conduire les Abeilles. Rennes, 1806. —
A. Schmid und G. Kleine, Leitfaden fiir den Unterreicht
in Theorie und Praxis einer rationellen Bienenzucht.
With 151 tigs. NSrdlingen, 1865.— W. E. Shuckard,
British Bees : an Introduction to the Study of the Na-
tural History and Economy of the Bees indigenous to
the British Isles. With 10 coloured plates. London,
1866. — C. De Ribeaucourt, A Manual of Rational Bee-
keeping, translated from the French by A. F. G. Leveson-
Gower. London, 1879. — J. F. Robinson, British Bee
Farming: its Profits and Pleasures. London, 1880.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Donors to Prize Fund for 1882.

£ s. d.

H. Bostock, Esq 2 2 0

J. W. Bassauo, Esq 1 1 0

F. R. Jackson, Esq 1 1 0

H.Jonas, Esq 1 1 0

Messrs. Neighbour & Son 1 1 0

H. G. Morris, Esq 1 1 0

Rev. H. R. Peel 1 1 0

Rev. G. Raynor 1 1 0

Thos. F. Ward, Esq 0 10 6

Rev. J. L. Sisson 0 10 0

Mrs. Leigh Spencer 0 10 0

F. Lyon, Esq 0 5 0

G. Allen, Esq 0 5 0

Rev. Thos. Milles 0 5 0

Mr. J. Rodham 0 5 0

Mr. J. Walton 0 2 6

BEE TENT FIXTURES, 1882.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

May 24, 25. — Oxfordshire Agricultural Show at
Witney.

July 10-14. — Royal Agricultural Show at Reading.

July 11. - Hampton Hill Horticultural Show.

July 26. — Dane Hill, near Uckfield, Horticultural Show.

August 3-8. — British Bee-keepers' Association Annual
Show at South Kensington.

August 30, 31. — Great Yarmouth Horticultural Show.

HERTFORDSHIRE ASSOCIATION.

July 37. — Potters Bar Horticultural Show.

RULES FOR THE HON. & REV. H. BLIGH'S
ECONOMIC COMPETITION.

1. The object, of this competition is to show the re-
lative merits of different systems of bee-keeping, and to
prove that bee-keeping, if conducted on economical prin-
ciples is highly remunerative to the bee-keeper.

2. Competitors shall be members of County Associations
affiliated with the British Bee-keepers' Association re-
siding within the recognised boundaries of their respective
counties, or members of the British Bee-keepers' Associ-
tion residing in the county of Middlesex. Each com-
petitor shall be limited to one entry, and shall pay an
entry fee of 5*.

3." Prizes of Ql, 51., 41., 3/., 21., 11., shall be awarded in
order of merit to the competitors, who shall derive the
greatest profits from an experimental apiary of not more
than two hives at the outset which may be increased to
any extent by natural or artificial swarming, the total
capital to be employed in commencing and maintaining
the apiary must not exceed 2/., and the competition to
extend from May 20th, 1882, to August 30th, 1883.

4. The apiary shall be established in the garden of
some cottager to be selected by the competitor, and
approved by the Secretary of the County Association, or
in the case of the comity of Middlesex by the Secretary
of the British Bee-keepers' Association.

5. The competitors shall keep a diary (a duplicate
of which shall be kept at the cottage), in which all trans-
actions connected with the apiary shall be recorded, and
each item of expenditure and receipt entered. Such
diary to become the property of the British Bee-keepers'
Association at the close of the competition.

6. Each hive shall be weighed, and the weight minus
the roof and covering shall be recorded in the diary. The
hives shall be stocked with bees without combs, the bees
to be valued at 4s. per lb. Comb foundation may be used
at any period of the competition at 2s. Qd. per lb. for
thick, and 3s. per lb. for thin. No bees, brood, or natural
comb, to be imported into the apiary after commencing.
Queens may be introduced into the hives at any period of
the competition and shall be valued as follows : —

In the month of May .... 8s. each,
„ „ „ „ June .... 6s. „
„ „ „ »Julj .... 4s. „
„ any other month .... 3s. „
All expenses incurred after the commencement of the
competition must be defrayed from the original capital
of 2/. Vouchers must be produced for all purchases made
throughout the competition, including hives, bees, and
any appliances used at the commencement.

7. Each competitor may make his own hives and
supers, but vouchers for the cost of the materials must
be produced and the workmanship valued by the Sec-
retary of the County Association or an expert appointed
by him.

8. Every amount expended in the apiary for food or
any other incidental matter of whatever nature shall be
charged against the apiary, and everything legitimately
sold shall be set down in its favour. Vouchers must be

226

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

produced for all swarms and honey sold during the com-
petition according to the printed forms supplied to each
competitor for this purpose.

9. The Secretary of the County Association may visit
the competing apiary at any reasonable time, or may
appoint an expert to do so. The record of such visits to-
gether with any remarks which it may be advisable to make
to be entered in the diary, which shall alwaj's be accessible
for the purpose.

10. The competitor shall certify that during its con-
tinuance he has fulfilled all the conditions imposed by
these rules, and that all his entries in the diary are true.
The Secretary or his expert shall certify as to the quantity
and value of the honey produced bj- each competitor.

11. Any attempt at fraud will be punished by dis-
qualification.

12. All entries must be made on the proper printed
forms and accompanied with the entry fees, on or before
May 1st, 1882. Application for entry forms to be made
to the Assistant Secretary, Mr. J. Iluckle, King's Langley,
Watford, Herts. — Herbert R. Peel, Honorary Sec-
retary, Thornton Hall, Stony Stratford, Bucks.

DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
We are pleased to announce the formation of a Bee-
keepers' Association for Derbyshire. President, His
Grace the Duke of Devonshire. Hon. Secretary, pro
tern., Mr. H. V. Edwards, Ockbrook, Derby, to whom all
communications are to be addressed.

CORNWALL BEE-KEPERS' ASSOCIATION
SHOW.
The Committee of this Association have decided to hold
their first Exhibitionof Bee Manipulation at Launceston, in
connexion with the Show of the Royal Cornwall Agricul-
tural Society, on the 14th and 15th of June. They have
also decided to offer a prize of 20s. for the best bar-
frame hive for cottagers, price not to exceed 5s. — All
information to be obtained of Chas. Kent, Esq., Hon.
Sec., Truro.

ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

The first annual meeting of this Association was held
in the Board-room at the Corn Exchange, Chelmsford, on
Friday, Jan. 20.

The statement of accounts for the past year showed a
balance against the Society of 11. .'is. lOd. ; but Mr. Aubrey
pointed out that really there was no deficit, because the
Society had the bee tent, which was worth nearly 251.
He then read the annual report.

Mr. Aubrey said a claim had been made upon the
Society for damage done to hives lent to the lecturer
in the bee tent. The Rev. Mr. Watson, of Sutton, lent
some bees for the Shoeburyness Show. That gentleman
claimed two guineas, but the committee thought that one
guinea woidd quite compensate him for the damage.
The committee came to the conclusion that as the bees
had not swarmed by the 17th June, the day of the show,
they were not in a particularly forward state.

Mr. Aubrey said that although in a paper read before
the British Bee-keepers' Association it had been stated
that in fine weather it was possible to make ten, fifteen,
or even twenty pounds with a bee tent, the Essex Asso-
ciation had only cleared about 71. on all the shows that
it had attended. The Hertfordshire Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation attended eleven shows, and they only made a
profit of less than 61. He mentioned this because it
might be thought their officers had not properly done
their duty at the bee tent. It did not seem possible to
make 20/. at one show.

Mr. Debnam : We should have to be crowded all day
long to get that amount.

Mr. Aubrey : And charge more money, too,

The report and balance-sheet were then adopted.

LINCOLNSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

AND LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'

ASSOCIATION.

The Lincolnshire Agricultural Society (following in
the wake of the Royal) has decided to add to their pro-
gramme at the forthcoming show (to be held at Sleaford
on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of July), that of a Bee Ex-
hibition, and have voted the sum of 20/. to be offered
in prizes for bees, honey, hives, &c, and a conference
between that Society and the Lincolnshire Bee-keepers'
Association has been held respecting the Schedule of
Prizes and to make other requisite arrangements.

It is not intended that the Bee Exhibition to be held at
the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society Show should take
the place of the annual exhibition of the Lincolnshire
Bee-keepers' Association, which will be held as usual in
September, most probably at the city of Lincoln.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION

CONVERSAZIONE.

Discussion on the Rev. O. Radnor's Paper on Bee-houses

and Hives.

The Rev. E. Bartrum said that all must feel indebted to
Mr. Raynor for his excellent paper, and he certainly was
grateful, notwithstanding the hard hits his friend had
administered to the Stewarton. He was happy to hear
from a friend in the room that his harvest from the
Stewarton in 1881 had been earlier, larger, and more pro-
fitable, in a pecuniary sense, than from his bar-frame
hives, so he supposed there was room for both lands of
hives. Mr. Raynor had not used the improved Stewar-
tons with bar-frames, so that he had scarcely given a
fair trial to that which he had so strongly condemned.
A Stewarton could scarcely be kept in a bee-house, as
the roof would require to be taken off if the hive pros-
pered, and super upon super was added. The Rev. II. J.
Wilcox, the late lion. Secretary with Mr. Peel of the
Herts Association, had spoken with great enthusiasm of
his bee-house and its results, but his experience had not
been a very long one. The difficulty of removing the
various hives from the bee-house every time they required
attention seemed to him a fatal objection. A ' very busy
man ' could scarcely remove each hive to the shade of a
neighbouring tree, substitute another in its place, and
then manipulate and return the hive to its former posi-
tion without a serious loss of time. He fully agreed with
Mr. Raynor with regard to a common standard. The
question was becoming one of pressing importance. The
Germans had recently discussed and agreed upon a com-
mon standard, and we might well follow their example.
Almost every new writer, either of a book or a paper,
suggested some new standard differing slightly from
what had been adopted by others, making confusion
worse confounded. An attempt at uniformity seemed
very desirable, and he hoped the Association would take
the subject up. In conclusion, he expressed his hearty
thanks to Mr. Raynor for his interesting and excellent
paper.

Mr. Jessie Garratt (Kent Association) said that Mr.
Raynor seemed to have lost sight of the fact that the
size of the frame affected the operation of slinging. He
considered that a 12-inch frame was better adapted for
the extractor than one of the oblong shape, as the frame
could be put in it as it was in the hive, and consequently
the liability to breakage would be lessened. He had
been much pleased with a paper that had been read some
time ago by Mr. Lyon, lie had found Mr. Lyon's hive
both cheap and simple, and lie had adopted Mr. Lyon's
ideas, and had found great convenience in the size of
his frames. Even tender combs might he slung in the
natural position, while those in the unnatural were apt
to give way. He was able to confirm the remark made

March 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

227

by Mr. Raynoi as to the scarcity of swarms this last
season. A Kent bee-keeper had averaged twenty pounds
of honey per hive from eight stocks of bees. Mr. Bar-
triun said that in the Stewartons it was not necessary to
disturb the bees, yet it was desirable that honey should
be easily removed. He might mention that the size of
the Lyon frames was 10 x Si, outside of box 12A x 9.

Mr. Lyon said that the design of his paper had been
to suggest to the. cottager the desirability of rendering
lobster-boxes serviceable as hives. The size of these
boxes was: outside measurement, 18xl2Ax9; frame,
11 4 x 8| from top of hive to inch of bottom. As for the
standard frame, the Woodbury size should have the
preference, l^xSf, or deducting | for thickness of
wood, 14J x 8J. This woidd not be so violent a wrench,
and its adoption would render a less number of present
hives unserviceable. But much depended on the shape
of the top bar of the frame.

Mr. (xlennie stated that six or seven years ago this
question of a standard hive had been discussed. At that
time there was considerable diversity of opinion respect-
ingit ; Captain Martin, Mr. Abbott, Mr. Rusbridge, and
Mr. Lee, each Linking at it from his own point of view.
It was at that time found desirable to waive the con-
sideration of the matter. But if now it was thought
possible to establish a uniform size of frame, he was
strongly in favour of the Woodbury size, — Mr. Wood-
bury being a kind of patron saint among bee-keepers.

Mr. Neighbour said that the size of his frames was
12 x 10. He had an objection to the tapered shape : it
was not easy to make; and he considered that the
square or rectangular was the more useful and more
capable of being easily made and easily worked.

Mr. Baldwin said he had no feeling against the use of
a standard frame; and in the event of its being adopted
by the Association he. would most readily adapt his
Frames to that size. He considered the tapered form of
the frame a great advantage in manipulation, and there-
by there was much less danger to the queen. His
frames were 13| at top, liH at bottom, and 8f deep.

Captain Campbell considered it was very desirable that
a standard frame should be adopted by bee-keepers.
He was of opinion that frames of a uniform shape might
be produced at a cheap rate; and if bee-keepers could
see that that was the case, and that the use of the
standard frame would prove more economical, it would
be a great inducement for them to accept it. It would
be honourable to associate the name of Woodbury —
the pioneer of the bar - frame — with the proposed
change.

Mr. Hooker said he should be happy to adopt in his
future hives the size of frames arrived at b}' the Asso-
ciation.

Mr. T. W. Cowan said he had some experience in bee-
houses, as formerly he had kept all his bees in lofts over
his stables. Two hives were placed at each window, on
tables about three feet high, and the entrances to the
hives were about three feet apart, so that they were not
close together. The only drawback to the lofts was the
great loss of bees in chilly weather, when many of them
returning laden with honey or pollen, dropped down
and were not able to rise. It was very easy manipulat-
ing the bees, because when the hives were opened most
of the bees would fly to the light, and, as the window
opened outwards, they could be easily let out, and the
window closed again. There was very little danger from
robbers. He was not now able to have bees in a loft,
but kept most of them on separate stands. He has,
however, a bee-house something similar to the one de-
scribed by Mr. Kay nor. The hives in this stand in
separate compartments in pairs. The porches in front
are painted different colours, so that the young queens
may easily recognise their homes. At the back there
aTe folding-doors, and a board on hinges at the bottom
nine inches high, made to fall down when it is wanted

to draw out the hives. For wintering the hives were
put close together, and the bees in one shut off with a
division-board on the right, and of the other on the left,
so that the two stocks helped to keep each other warm.
The whole of the outer space could be filled up with
chaff, nearly eighteen inches in width, and this, with
chaff on the top, placed bees in a very good condition for
wintering. He preferred the bees on one shelf as low as
possible, and thought two shelves one above the other
would be awkward for manipulating. Although his
bees were m >t a foi >t off the ground many were thrown
down on to the ground. Mr. Raynor had mentioned
Mr. Boot's bee-houses, as described in his A B C of Bee-
culture. Mr. Boot did not use separate hives in his
hexagonal houses. He had boards for front and back fixed
on the shelves, these were rabbeted along the inside of
top edge to allow the frames to hang on, and the colonies
were kept apart by division-boards only. On this plan
the adjoining colonies could be easily united, and the
hives extended by removing the division-boards and in-
troducing frames. If he (Mr. Cowan) wished to build a,
bee-house on a large scale he would certainly adopt tins
principle. As the bees woidd be in the dark he would
provide a window to allow them to escape. Mr. Koot
works his bees by lamp-light, but he ( Mr. Cowan ) thought
Mr. Koot could not be serious in recommending this plan.
He had tried it, and did not think anyone who had once
done so would repeat the experiment. He was very much
stung ; on opening the hive the bees boiled over, were
furious, and flew at the lamp, and most of them did not re-
turn to the hive. His first experience of work by lamp-
light was not very encouraging. With respect to the.
shape of frame he thought a tapered frame was very con-
venient, as it allowed the frame to be taken out of the
hive easily, but for the present he thought we should not
give up the rectangular frame. During last year he had
seen that the Americans had tried the plan of inverting
the frames, so as to place the top of the frame contain-
ing the honey to the bottom and the brood to the top.
He did not know if there was much in this; but if there
was, a rectangular frame would be much more easily
adapted to this purpose than a tapered one. He had
tided two frames, and certainly with these two frames,
when inverted, the bees carried all the honey from the
bottom into the supers, as the top was filled with brood,
and brood was raised in the bottom part. The bees also
filled up the space between the comb and bottom bar with
wax. Further experiment in this direction is certainly
worth making before we adopt a taper frame. He
would mention that an intermediate hive between the
straw skep and the wooden moveable-comb hive was
found in that known as the Sherrington hive. It was
for those who preferred straw a good and cheap hive.
Mr. Bartrum, our champion of the Stewarton, had asked
Mr. Raynor if he had tried the latter with frames and
all the latest improvements, but he (Mr. Cowan) would
say to him, Don't, as with the experience of Mr. Raynor,
the advantages to be derived from a moveable-comb hive
were very much greater than from a Stewarton. He had
last season fully carried out the 'Renfrewshire Bee-
keeper's' instructions, and removed the supers as soon
as the cells nearest the windows were sealed. The
result being that not one of his supers was completed
on the outer combs. The Stewarton is not a moveable-
comb hive in the fidl sense of the term, as only
the centre combs were moveable. He quite agreed
with Mr. Baynor that broad shoulders, distance-pins,
or racks, were superfluous, and were only in the way
of improvements of the frames. The Giotto hive
he had tried, and was obliged to give it up in disgust,
as it always got propolised and the frames stuck together.
He remembered when the question of a standard frame
had been discussed by the Committee ; and it was aban-
doned because the hive-makers who had been consulted
could not agree with the Committee as to size. The

A 3

228

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

general feeling seemed to be in favour of the Wood-
bury size, which was ESx7| inches, inside measure,
and" lie himself should certainly prefer a frame as
nearly that size as possible. In some districts, the
Langstroth and Abbott frames were too large. In
Sussex he had found the best results were obtained
from the Woodbury size frame. He was very pleased
that Mr. Eaynor had introduced the matter before them,
and should certainly give it his support.

Mr. Neighbour said that the Stewarton hives were
now made with brass screws.

Mr. Cowan said that he was aware of this, but
objected that the central combs could not be placed to
the outside if necessary.

Mr. Baldwin said he had tried the inverting process,
but he had not found it very successful. He knew a
case of reversal of frames where the bees broke down
the combs and built them up afresh.

The Chairman inquired, how, presuming that im-
proved bee-houses were adopted, would the cottager
be able to procure them. In bee-houses he thought
that more bees would be lost than in separate hives.
He considered that the nearer the mouth of the hive to
the ground, the less number of bees would be lost : his
hives without legs were placed on bricks, so that the
bees might get home easily. With regard to having an
uniform standard, he had found that the frame with the
strongest comb was the best, and he considered - the
square frame the preferable for that purpose. He had
a slinger in which the combs were hung in the natural
manner, but still they were broken.

Mr. Hooker said that his hives had boards reaching to
the ground from the mouth of the hive.

Mr. Cowan said that there would be no danger in
extracting, if the comb touched the wire on both sides.

The Rev. Or. Eaynor, in reply, said that he would not
make further allusion to the Stewarton hive, his main
objection to it being the great difficulty of manipulating
and examining its contents, in consequence of propolisa-
tion. It was true that he had not used the hive in its
improved form, — when fitted with moveable frames, —
but his objection would have as great force in this case
as in the other, and for the same reason. In referring
to Mr. Gamut's remarks 'that a 12-inch square frame
was better adapted for the extractor than one of oblong
shape, since the frame could be placed in the machine
in the same position which it occupied in the hive, and
thus become less liable to fracture," he thought in actual
practice very little difference would be found to exist ;
he could say that he had no experience of-foreakage to any
extent in the case of t he oblong frame when placed end-
wise in the extractor. Mr. Neighbour's suggestion that
the taper frame would be more difficult of construction
than the rectangular, he thought was hardly correct, as
country joiners and others, who were in the constant
habit of supplying the taper frames, appeared to ex-
perience no difficulty; indeed since all frames either
were, or ought to be, made upon blocks, the labour and
expense would be much tin- same in either case. He was
extremely pleased to find so general a desire expressed in
favour of the adoption by the Association of a standard
frame. This was the one point on which he had ex-
pected to find the greatest amount of opposition; but,
looking to the reception his suggestion had met with that
evening, he felt that, to tin- great impetus which the
Society had already given to bee-Culture, another addi-
tion would soon be made, — that of giving to the world
the best size and form of a moveable frame as the stan-
dard of the British Bee-keepers' Association, and to
which it would attach the name of its greatest apostle,
the late Mr. Woodbury, since it was evident that the
dimensions would most nearly coincide with those of the
frame used by him.

lie was. rejoiced to hear Mr. Cowan state that he used
bee-houses, and approved them, but his own experience

did not tally with that of his friend as regarded the loss of
bees. His own houses, down from the lower tier of hives
to the ground, were closely boarded to prevent the bees
from being blown underneath, and so perishing ; and the
higher alighting boards, ranging at the distance of 4 feet
only, from the ground, did not seem to cause greater loss
in chilled bees than was the case with hives on separate
stands. He took the precaution, however, of scattering
sawdust around all his houses and hives,whieh he thought,
especially on a cold soil or lawn, a great preservative of
bee life. When Mr. Cowan spoke of inverting frames in
order to induce the bees to transfer their honey to the
supers, he could not think that this could be done with
advantage. The cells were built with an upward pitch,
and, consequently inverting the frames would reverse the
pitch. Now the bees could scarcely use cells in such 8
position, either for brood or honey : and if they were
compelled to cut them away, down to the mid-rib, and
build new ones, great loss of time would be involved,
Besides, the bottom bar of the frame having become the
top one, would require to he lengthened in order that its
ends might extend to the supports.

Then, as to manipulating by lamp-light; he bail oc-
casionally practised it with success, notably after the
severe snow-storm of a year ago, when twelve of his
frame-hives were partially filled with snow, and he had
removed them indoors and transferred the combs and
bees to dry and clean hives by lamp-light, lie had
placed the lamp in front of the hives whilst he mani-
pulated behind, and the few- bees which toolc wing
soon returned to the hive with very little loss or dis-
turbance.

To the remark of the Chairman that he feared the
expense of a house would be beyond the means of the
cottager, Mr. Eaynor replied that since the cottager
would not require an elaborate or ornate structure, if a
handy man, he could soon put together a house, and
material was inexpensive. He would not detain them
longer, but woidd offer them his best thanks for the
kind manner in which they had received his remarks.

Mr. Cowan, in proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. Eay-
nor for his excellent paper, said he had seen some bee-
houses made by a bee-keeper who kept forty hives, and
as they were a very cheap form, they would do for a
cottager. They consisted of some boards for a shelf,
pieces of quartering at the corners, and a light frame for
the doors and roof, and the whole covered with asphalts
roofing felt, which could lie obtained very cheaply.

Mr. Stewart seconded the proposition.

On rising to return his ackni iwledgment for the vote of
thanks accorded, Mr. Eaynor said it had given him very
great pleasure to meet them all there that evening, — in-
deed the evenings spent at these quarterly conversaziones
were amongst the pleasantest of his life. The few re-
marks he had been aide to throw together in his paper
had been so cordially and so kindly received, that he felt
more than rewarded for any slight labour they might
have cost him; and when he thought of the great amount
of good compassed by assemblies of this description/where
members from remote parts of the country met together,
received and gave hints on their favourite subjects of
bee culture, and carried new ideas back with them, he
felt that the Association was spreading knowledge, and
doing a work, which no other organization could perforin.
Again thanking them, and expressing a hope that they
might meet again on many similar occasions witli equal
pleasure and advantage, he would not trespass longer on
their time.

The Rev. E. Bartrum proposed, and the Rev. T, Si-son
seconded, a vote of thanks to the Chairman for presiding
on the occasion.

A suggestion was made that a resolution respecting
the adoption by the Association of a standard frame,
should lie brought forward at the General Meeting on
the loth of February.

March 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

220

BEE-HOUSES AND HIVES.
Kindly allow me a short space in reply to your critique
on my paper ' Houses and Hives.' In the first place,
there was no occasion for an apologia pro vita auctoris,

since in all rny conversation with friends 1 have never
heard, even by implication, ' interested motives'- attrib-
uted to you. On the. contrary, we arc all impressed by
the great and pood ntviii you have cariiwlan-for so many
vrars in spreading abroat^a betterjrfWounder know-
ledge of apiculture. *■■*■ "'

When, tlieivfor^jave -dJfi^t^-aSditfer we must — on
certain points of manai'. meet, let us not call these differ-
ences ' bitter I'speBfii

Your remarks mi m\ omitting to quote Mr. Root's
' disadvantages ' — <m \\ el as 'advantages' — of 'House
Apiaries' almost amount to a charge of suppressio veri;
but I feel sure that you did not intend to bring so
serious an accusation against me. In my paper I bad
stated, under six heads, the disadvantages usually alleged
against houses, and had endeavoured to answer them to
the best of my ability, and in accordance with my ex-
perience. Under these heads were included, as 1 sup-
posed, all, or nearly all, of Mr. Root's objections.

The first in both lists was 'expense:' this 1 proved —
to my own satisfaction, at least — to be an error in re-
spect of my own house. Mr, lioot'.- next objection is
that ' most apiarians prefer working in the open air to
being cramped up in a building."

1 submit that this is merely matter of opinion. For
my own part, in very hot, or very cold weather, 1
decidedly prefer working indoors. The only other ob-
jection he makes is the ' disturbance' of young bees.

This question "of ' disturbance ' I had already con-
sidered. Indeed, at the close of your quotation, Mr.
Root answers it himself by saying, 'To obviate this
trouble we can avoid opening the hive during the after-
noon, or at such times as the bees are likely to rush out
for a piny — after a shower, for instance.'

You also regret that ' my success with houses should
have induced me to recommend them in face of the con-
sensus of opinion being decidedly against them.' Some
years ago 1 believe opinion to have been against them.
but now, judging- from the discussion on my paper, and
from other umnistakeable signs, I believe that an im-
proved system of apiculture is bringing them into favour.
.Wain, if success in the use of any article is no recom-
mendation, what is to recommend it '?

To your objection that ' the comparison of my bee-
house with Mr. Root's house apiary was barely legiti-
mate,' I reply that I made no such comparison, but care-
fully avoided it.

I designated Mr. Root's as a 'house apiary' — my own
as an inexpensive moveable' bee-house.' I may, however,
be allowed to say that a house-apiary on Mr. Hoot's
plau might be erected at much less cost in this country
than in North America.

Here we have not to provide against a, temperature of
from 10° to 20' below zero, for two months together,
during the winter, and of 120' of heat in the shade
during' the summer; consequently houses, less substan-
tially and expensively erected, will answer our purpose.

Many advantages of house-apiaries, enumerated by Mr.
Root, I coidd not introduce into my paper, nor will I ask
you now for space. All can read them for themselves.
But as strongly confirmatory of my view, just stated,
let me quote a few lines: — 'With the strides that bee-
culture has been making recently, new reasons have come
up for making it desirable that hives should be housed;
and in spite of the difficulties, many house-apiaries are
now giving very good results, and with, perhaps, less
labour than when the hives are kept in the open air.'

And now the only remaining subject on which we
differ is the Giotto principle. Here I fear we are ' wide
as the poles asunder.' With our present practice of
contracting hives for the winter — say to five or six

frames — 1 cannot see that the small amount of space un-
occupied at the ends of the frames can form any valid
objection to the ordinary mineable suspended frame.

During the two or three seasons that I have wintered
on this plan, the bees have gone through in perfect
health, without any sign of dysentery. Surely this
shows that there can be no current of air circulating
around the open ends sufficient to cause injury to the
bees. To the propolising of the closed ends I certainly
have an insuperable objection, as also to I heir crushing-
powers. One form of the Quinby hive is a closed-ended
frame, but not a closed-top frame, and of this Mr. Root
says: — 'With a small colony, and a new hive, either
closed-top or closed-end frames may lie handled very
well; but with an old hive so full of bees that they cover
the end bars of the frames so that they prevent your

seeing the wood at all Well, if you think we

don't know how, try one such hive yourself, or visit
someone who knows how, if such there be. A careless
person might not be aware that he killed bees at all, and
some do not seem to care, but to me the sight of t lie
quivering form of a little fellow, crushed and mangled,
while the closed-ends are being brought up into place, is
enough to spoil the pleasure of bee-keeping.'

I have been careful to quote from Mr. Root only,
because I know that both you and I esteem him very
highly for his works' sake, and were it not for trespass-
ing on your space, I could give much more to the same
effect from his pages; but let this suffice.

After all, it is not men, but measures — principia non
homines — to which we ought to look to guide us through
life's tortuous paths. Magna est Veritas et preevalebit. —
Geohgp. Raynob, Hazel'eigJi Rectory, Feb. 11, 1882.

P.S.— My old friend, Mr. Carr, of Newton Heath,
writes to me that he was the first to introduce the
wedge-shaped frame. He states that seventeen years
ago he w7iote to me, recommending his liar-frame hive
with wedge-shaped frames. I remember the correspon-
dence, but forget about the hive. He also states that
' Messrs. Neighbour, many years since, described his
wTedge-shaped frames in their catalogue.' I must leave
you to settle the point with Mr. Carr. For myself. 1
was under the impression, and have always heard it.
stated, that you first brought out the tapered frame,
making the hive with tapered front and back to match
the frame, for the sole purpose of facility in manipula-
tion, and not for the purpose of more safely retaining
the combs, either when built or tied in the frames,
which Mr. Carr states to have been the object of his
frame.

[We earnestly thank our reverend and esteemed corre-
spondent for his kindly observations at (he head of this
communication, and assure him that he but does us justici i
in acquitting us of all thought of imputing the slightest
doubt on his truthfulness. As regards the subject in
hand, which has become a little mixed through the im-
portation of house apiaries into the argument . it would
perhaps be well to divide it into its proper sections that
there may be no further misunderstanding.

We have, then, hives, bee-houses, and house apiaries —
three distinct subjects though intimately related to each
other. A bee-hive intended to contain one. or even two
(twin (stocks is in a sense a bee-house, but does not come
within the meaning of the term as applied by Mr. Raynor,
any more than a bee-house (a hutch to contain a dozen
closely packed hives, the subject of Mr. Raynor's com-
mendation) is within the meaning of the term ' house
apiary;' and one cannot fairly apply what may be said in
favour of the last-mentioned domicile to that previously
named. The house apiary of Mr. Root, and the stable
lofts of Mr. Cowan, in each of which there is ample
room for all kinds of manipulation, and in which lively
bees under manipulation fly to the windows, while other
bees are kept out, are very different affairs to the bee-
houses of Mr. Raynor in which the hives are so closely

230

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

packed that none of them can he examined without re-
moval to a distance. But Mr. Root and Mr. Cowan
admit that there are serious drawbacks even to the house
apiaries, and in respect of the bee-house advocated by
Mr. Raynor, Mr. Cowan's opinion and experiences are
decidedly adverse. Writers great and small are generally
adverse to ' bee-houses' and in favour of separate stands;
and though with some of these bee-sheds, i.e. large
covered areas are held permissible they by no means re-
commend them. Wildman,Laugstroth,Quinby,Dzierzon,
Pettigrew, Hunter, Cheshire, and a host of others condemn
' bee-houses,' and it was with this consensus of opinion
in view that we expressed the hope — perhaps clumsily —
that Mi'. Raynor's commendations would not lead to
further ' bitter experiences,' by inducing new trials of an
exploded system. Several correspondents have during
the past month given their ideas on the subject, which will
I ii i found in other columns, and for the present we leave it.

Regarding the hive with close-ended frames, or, as
' put ' above, the ' Giotto principle,1 we should be sorry to
think our opinions so widely differ as Mr. Raynor de-
scribes, and feel assured that they are not; for, again, we
do not write of the same thing : and if he will take an
opportunity to visit Fairlawn, we will undertake, if not
to convince him. at least to terribly shake his opinion,
which is now so deadly opposed to the Giotto principle.
We cannot believe that it is the principle that is in fault,
but can quite understand that practical experience with
hives on a wrong principle of construction may have dis-
gusted our esteemed friend and fellow-worker in the
cause of truth. Truth is great and will prevail, and only
those who have honestly sought it, though perchance er-
roneously, will be able to stand when it is declared.
Earnest, truth-seeking' men can afford to differ in opinion,
but before the mighty truth itself they will be as one,
both having sought and having found her.

But, now, another dive into ' the well,' to bring out the
truth as regards the tapered frame. It is true that Mr.
Carr's hives of many years since had frames that were
slightly wedge-shaped, but it was no part of the principle
of their adoption that they facilitated manipulation by
lessening the danger to bees. Though the frame was
slightly tapering, the hive was rectangular, and the de-
clared object of the wedging was that combs would be
prevented falling, for if they tried to fall they would
only be the more firmly held between the narrowing
frame ends. — Ed.]

BEE HOUSES AND HIVES.— SEPTAGONAL
HOUSE.

In re your remarks in February Journal, a neigh-
bour had a septagonal house, and in an ecstasy of joy I
built one. It was ready all but the inside fittings. In
the meantime I had become conscious of the backward
state of my neighbour's bees on the north and west sides.
In spite of all the temporary shelter he could give them
they made no discernible progress, thousands continually
perishing. This was in 18711. In 1880 they still kept
falling to the ground unable to rise whenever it was cold.
My house has never been made a ' bee ' house yet, and
never will, that is my experience of a septagonal. My
bees were kept in a long shed and did well. The shed
faced the south.

My humble opinion is (and I have tried Pettigrew's
system) that bar-frames are best. The most convenient
way is to have them in a garden on their own legs, so
that you can get about them.

Bees do not require more protection than their hives
afford them. I have seen bees wintered, 1878, with the
hive standing mi two bricks so that they could put a
plate of food tinder for them whenever il was fine, and
they were ready to swarm as soon as any in the locality,
Mine are made of half-inch pine, close ends, six bars, re-
mainder for sectional boxes. — Parent Stock, Feb. lo.

BEE HOUSES AND HIVES.— AN OUT-DOOR
APIARY.

It was with much surprise that I perused the paper
upon ' Bee Houses and Hives' by the Rev. G. Raynor,
which appeared in the Februaiy Bee Journal. Nothing
seems to me more calculated to cripple and hamper an
operator when overhauling a hive than to be cribbed
and confined inside a bee-house. Mr. Raynor seems to
find Stewarton hives, as regards manipulation, 'a sealed
book,' and well they may be, inside a bee-house. Stewart on
hives are not intended to be experimental hives for rearing
queens and frequent examination. They are designed,
and, as far as my observation enables me to judge, are
admirably calculated to produce very large harvests of
perfectly pure virgin comb honey.

My first Stewarton hive was stocked in 1874 ; this
hive is still in existence, and has, with one exception,
yielded me a. good honey harvest eveiy jear since. In
L876 I obtained 144 lbs. of pure super honey, and 6 lbs.
of slung honey from this colony, and last summer it pro-
duced more than 1 cwt. of splendid super honey. To
show what these hives will do in an out-door apiary, I
may state that only three hives last summer (all
Stewartons) were devoted to honey gathering. One
hive produced 130 lbs., another 114, and the third about
113 lbs. of super honey of the very finest quality. Each
hive filled and completed 4 supers, and two more from
each hive were finally removed partially filled. Out
of these 18 supers, only one had been contaminated with
either brood or pollen, and that to only a very small
extent ; though I never use queen-excluding zinc. In
estimating the result obtained from these hives, it must
be, borne in mind that the bees here have nothing to rely
upon for filling their supers but white clover and lime-
trees, and our harvest generally terminates soon after the
middle of J uly. The bees had no assistance given to them
beyond fixing narrow strips of foundation, about one-
third of an inch deep, along the bars to keep the combs
straight.

I should hesitate before I ventured to turn out the
population of one of these large colonies inside a bee-
house, but have no difficulty in manipulation them out
in the open. The utmost amount of interference which
they require is the removal of royal cells if they chance
to swarm ; formerly on these occasions I was accusl omed
to overhaul all three stock boxes, which is undoubtedly
a troublesome operation ; but as 1 never but once found
any royal cells in any stock box but the upper one, I now
content myself with a thorough examination of this one
only, which is a very simple and easy task, as fully three-
fourths of the bees are absent with the swarm. The
protection of my hives is extremely simple and inex-
pensive, and so efficient that the hives for five months,
though without crown-boards, and covered only with
pieces of old carpet, are so dry even after a long winter
campaign, that I find the blue tacks which secure the
quilt quite clean and free from rust when removed in the
spring. My hives have no double sides or cork linings,
but the bees seem to me to pass the winter quite as well
in plain wooden boxes, with proper ventilation, as in the
most elaborate hives.

I haveacolony at the present moment in a Woodbury
frame hive obtained from, and I believe made by,Mr.
Woodbury in L861 or 1 st>2. 1 examined this colony
upon the 6th of February, and found bee- between all
the combs, and al least live of the frames contained
brood. Thehive hasnot been fed, or in any w ay stimulated
or interfered with, since the autumn. 1 find that this
frame-hive, made of yellow pine, was colonised upon the
I'.Hh of May, 1862, ami il has been almost constantly
tenanted since (hat dale, but is, notwithstanding 30
many years' exposure in an out-door apiary, almost as
good now as when I first obtained it from Exeter. — .1.
E, Bbiscoe, AlbrigMon, Wolverhampton, February KM.

March 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

231

(fcrcspmitrmrc.

*t* These columns are open to subscribers, so that their
queries, replies, correspondence, and experiences may be
fully and faithfully recorded; and for the discussion of all
theories and systems in Bee-culture, and of the relative merits
of all hires and appurtenances, that the truth regarding them
may be ascertained. The Editor, therefore, must not be ex-
pected to coincide with all the views expressed by the various
writers. All Correspondence is addressed to the Editor.

THE IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

I crave space for a reply to your attack on the
Hon. Sec. of the Irish Bee-keepers' Association in
the current number of the Bee Journal.

Your statement as to the anxiety of the Royal
Dublin Society that we should be represented at
their April show surprises me, as I never heard of
this anxiety before. But I did hear Canon Bagot
(who is vice-chairman of the Agricultural Com-
mittee) state at our preliminary meeting when the
question of having our Bee Tent at the Royal Dublin
Society's Horse Show [last year, Ed.] was discussed,
that space for the Bee Tent would not be given
unless we (the Association) undertook that the bees
would be in confinement. Shortly after this I had
a letter from the Canon suggesting that we should
apply for space at the Dairy Show which the Royal
Dublin Society at that time thought of holding in
the beginning of last October, and in the course of
the letter he said that there was not the least chance
of our getting space for the Bee Tent at the Horse
Show. Notwithstanding this, applications, both
written and personal, asking for space were addressed
to Mr. R. J. Moss, the Registrar of the Society, but
the reply was a refusal. All this is, of course, quite
consistent with the Society's being anxious that we
should be represented at the April Show; but their
anxiety not having been expressed to me in any
shape or form, I think I may be excused for believing
that an application to them for space this year would
not have a more favourable reception than those
made last year.

I shall not trouble myself with the statements of .
correspondents who use the Editor of the British
Bee Journal as a sort of earthwork from behind which
to fire their shots.

I trust you will allow me to express in general
terms a regret that the British Bee Journal should
so often be made the medium for personal attacks.
Of course I know that a stern sense of duty often
compels, etc. &c, and that the interests of bee-keepers
require, itc., etc., but a glance through the volumes
of the Journal will show that those same lofty
motives frequently lead to acrimonious personal
attacks, which, although they may be successful in
getting a certain sort of notoriety for the paper, are
by some people regarded merely as exhibitions of
questionable taste on the part of the writers. — Robert
Sproule, Richmond Road, Fairvieiv, Dublin, Feb. 9.

[If the above is the best answer that can be made to
our remarks, for which we are alone responsible, we very
much regret the position of affairs as regards the Asso-
ciation referred to. In taking office, honorary though it
be, whether as president, treasurer, secretary, or com-
mitteeman, one accepts responsibilities as well as 'position,'

and honour attaches only in proportion to their fulfilment,
and it is scarcely fair to ascribe to personal motive any
well-founded complaints of laxity in any respect. The
correspondents whose statements we quoted made no such
use of ' the Editor ' as is imputed to them : we heard from
several sources that ' nothing was being done,' and feeling
a deep interest in the Associations which we had a large
share in causing, and have earnestly helped in promoting,
a sense of duty, ' stern ' it may be, impelled us to inquire in
quarters where there could be no suspicion of personal
motive, and the replies warranted (as we believe) the re-
marks which appeared in our previous issue. That they
have been met in an acrimonious spirit is regrettable, but
is no fault of ours. "We remember, nevertheless, that but
for a little 'spurring' by 'the Editor' about this time last
year, the Irish Bee-keepers' Association would have given
up the ghost through faint-heartedness on the part of the
present Honorary Secretary — see page 197 of the February
No. 1881.— Ed.]

THE WONDERS OF THE HIVE.— THE
LARVA.

A correspondent in your number for this month
on 'The Cell of the Bee,' points out the wonderful
manner an all-wise Creator unerringly directed the
bee to build a perfect cell for itself, unimprovable
from the beginning, the same yesterday, to-day, and
for ever, which we usually designate as instinct, and
quite unattainable by the insect itself without this
Divine gift of instinct.

As supplementary to his letter, with your kind
permission I would bring more prominently under
the notice of your readers another fact that I do not
find so frequently recorded or alluded to by writers
on the physiology of the bee, but which is equally re-
markable. It is this, that in the larva of the bee,
the alimentary canal has no opening at its hinder
extremity, consequently all the nourishment taken
by the grub or maggot in its undeveloped and trans-
ition state of being is absorbed, therefore it does
not require to void any unassimilated matter, because
there is none ; if it were otherwise, we can imagine
the unfit condition the beautiful combs would be in
afterwards, for the reception and storage of the pure
ambrosial nectar, distilled in nature's laboratory,
and obtained from thousands of odoriferous flowers.
' Chance can do nothing; there's no turn of earth,

No, not the blowing of the summer wind,

Or the unstable sailing of a cloud,

Much less the destiny of mighty states,

But hath a Will that orders it.'

How different is the larva of the silkworm, more
especially in its last stage or moult before spinning,
when it increases in size as much as six-fold in the
short space of nine days, eating enormously, and
making an amount of excrement in proportion, re-
quiring very careful attention to cleanliness and
ventilation, on the part of him who would success-
fully pursue sericiculture. — Hy. H. Beakbane.

SPARROWS AND BEES.— HONEY YIELD.-
BEE-HOUSES.
Will you kindly allow me to refer to a letter in
last month's Journal signed ' Buzz,' with the object
of getting the above heading placed in your index,
for I believe that more damage is done by sparrows
than is generally known.

232

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

By the by, is not the harvest of honey and
comb (240 lbs.) from two stocks of bees in one
season, and besides four swarms — and without
reckoning the produce of two of the swarms — an
extraordinary yield ? I have heard of Plymouth in
connexion with gin, but never expected to hear it
flows with honey to such an extent.

Bee-houses. — I have a bee-house capable of hold-
ing twenty-four hives, and after considerable ex-
perience can fully endorse what our excellent
friend, the Kev. G. Raynor, styles its advantages ;
but I am sure that gentleman has never been swept
out with foul brood, or he would never have the
courage to mass so many hives under one roof
again. — T. F. Ward, Highgate.

BEE-STINGS.
With reference to the ' sting-point ' drawing in
your Bee Journal, will you allow me to remark that
it is totally different from any I ever saw % Possibly
your correspondent has drawn the two barbs inside
the sheath, but in this case he is far from the
original. If he is sure he has made no mistake, I
should much like to see the bee (Apis mellifica),
which has such an exceptional weapon. — F. M.
Campbell, Rose Hill, Hoddesdon.

WINTERING WITH AN ANTE-CHAMBER,
In preparing for the winter I shifted my frames
to the middle of the hives, which are on the Com-
bination principle, and placed at each end of the
brood-nest a two-inch dummy filled with bran so as
to leave an ante-chamber and a rear-chamber. The
entrance under the front dummy was not made in
the centre opposite the hive entrance, but began at
the corner and slanted inwards. A slanting tunnel
of perforated zinc connected these two entrances,
and the hair-quilt extended over the front chamber;
so that it must have been almost as dark as the
brood-nest itself. And now, I wish to know, is
this the reason of the peculiar behaviour of my
bees?

I see from the Journal that other bees have been
very active. My brother-in-law, who also began
this year, finished up with one very strong stock,
well provided with sealed food ; but he left no
ante-chamber. His bees are always on the wing.
In November they had eaten all their store and
were starving. He has had to feed them ever
since. They have never ceased all this winter to
carry in pollen (where did they get it from)1? I
think I may safely say that not even the finest,
sunniest day has tempted my bees out since the
last week in October ; and they arc still very
numerous, very healthy, and have hardly touched
their provisions.

My brother uses the same class of hive, the same
bran dummies back and front, the same quilts, and
only lives about two miles off. His stock was the
stronger in every respect ; the better supplied ; we
ceased feeding at the same time; the only difference
I can see is that I made a dark ante-chamber and
he did not, The hives all look to the south, and
till have the sun on them all day long. Can you

explain the difference in their behaviour 1 This is
my query ; please answer it. — G. W. S., Streutkam,
Feb. 2, 1882.

[The facts almost speak for themselves. There can
be little doubt but that the dark ante-cliaruber caused
the bees to believe in a long continuous night, as they
appear to do when confined in a cellar. There was no
light, no solar heat, no activity, and consequently very
little consumption of stores or loss of bee life. — Ed.]

CORK HIVES.

I was very much interested by the paper which
the Rev. G. Raynor read at the conversazione of the
British Bee-Keepers' Association on ' Bee-Houses
and Hives ; ' and the more so when I found the
reverend gentleman unearthed a paragraph of mine
from the Journal of Horticulture, for December 23,
1869, on 'Cork Hives.' I hoped the idea I then
threw out would have been taken up and im-
proved upon long before this ; but as it was not
done, I thought it had gone into the fossil state, and
would be no more heard of. But our reverend
friend, wandering about among his ' bee-lore,' geo-
logical hammer in hand, digs up the long-lost para-
graph and brings it again to the light of day. And
1 do hope, Mr. Editor, that either you or some other
enterprising bee-master will soon present to us the
details of a model hive in which cork will take its
proper place as the best material for ensuring that
equable temperature in both summer and winter,
which is best for the health and prosperity of our
favourites.

The idea suggested by the Rev. G. Raynor is, to
my fancy, as good a one as can be brought forward,
viz., to make the inner walls of cork, and the ' outer
walls of straw or pine, minus the crown-board of
cork,' and these double walls could be filled with
cork chips, or parings, and thus the greatest security
given against sudden changes of temperature. Of
course, in those days we never heard of ' double
walls,' or of ' quilts,' and had no B. B. Journal to
guide us in better paths; and my friend, the late Mr.
Woodbury, made all his hives with ' crown-boards,
whether of wood or straw. 1 may say I have the
old original cork hive yet ; but as no one seemed
to think anything about my suggestion, and I had
more Woodburys than I could use, I never made
another, although 1 have had many swarms of
bees in the old one since ; but judging from the
price I paid for the side-pieces, by using a quilt
instead of a ' crown-board,' cork hives with single
walls would be almost as cheap as any, and even
with outer walls of half or three-quarter inch pine
would not be very dear ; and any one with a little
mechanical skill could make them.

How it makes us poor townsmen long to be in
the country, to read of the ' weeks ' of honey har-
vest in Essex. But here we are, the pleasing pros-
pect around us on every hand is ' brick, intermin-
able brick,' and our bees must go a long way to
find ' pastures new,' and we are often very much
disheartened at our little success. And then busi-
ness engagements take up so much time, and you
cannot lend your eye to an assistant, and, as in
many other cases, very often they ' having eyes,

March 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

UZ

see not' what our pets require, and so their in-
terests are neglected.

With regard to bee-houses, I have been thinking
lately (as 1 have had to remove all my bees, owing
to the ground being required for building purposes)
whether it would not be a good plan to place them
in an out-house, one storey high, with a proper tun-
nelled way for ingress and egress. Would that be
too high for them 1 I find when they take to air-
gratings between floors they seem to prosper amaz-
ingly, as I know two instances where such has been
the case. One, some two or three years ago, where,
after taking up some boards from the chamber floor,
and removing stores of honey-comb (I think they
said a cart-load), at the time of my visit the honey
was actually coming through the ceiling of the
room below. Of course,un these cases they had
gone there of their own accord ; perhaps if one had
tried to place them there contrary to their own
sweet will they would most likely have flown away
in disgust and sought other quarters.

As Mr. Raynor seems quite in favour of bee-
houses, do you think I might try some in the out-
house, as above mentioned? — J. R. Jessop, Hull.

CLOSE-ENDED FRAMES.

Seeing so many questions and so much corre-
spondence concerning close-ended frames, perhaps
my experience of the same may not be uninteresting
to some of your readers.

Last June I hived four swarms in as many hives
with close-ended frames. I gave six frames of your
flat-bottomed foundation to each swarm, and at the
end of a week I extracted honey from two frames
in each hive. The frames were not at all propolised,
and on the two or three occasions that I have
examined the hives I have bad not the least diffi-
culty in moving the frames. In fact, I am so
pleased with results that I am now making ten
hives of the same pattern for the coming season.
The hive is your Irish or Combination upon fixed
legs 2^jnches long, with tapering Standard frame
(Abbott's) with \ inch space between frame-ends
and sides of the hive. The frames are of the make
you suggested in January Journal of 1881 (I think
it was, but I have lent the volume so cannot refer),
and moreover the frames are available for use in
any double-walled hive of Abbott's No. 1 Standard
size. One can understand the difficulty there
would be from propolisation with badly -made
frames, but with frame-sides cut with a fine-toothed
circular saw, and not touched afterwards, it is
different. The bees have been quite satisfied with
the solid wall thus formed.

If you think the foregoing worth publishing you
will honour me greatly, but if it does not appear
I shall not be offended. — W. Walker, Junr.,
Wekombe House, near Stratton, North Devon, Feb.
6, 18S2.

PARSON'S SMOKER.

I send you one of ' Parson's Cottager Smokers,'

which, I think, fulfils all that is required of a

smoker. To make it, take a soft india-rubber ball,

and make a hole in it rather smaller than the tube

which you are about to insert. Next take two
inches of brass or other tube about \ inch bore,
and insert it into the ball about ^ an inch ; now
wrap your rag or paper round the free end of the
tube, tie, light, and puff away. The burning
substance being exposed to the air keeps alight
until it burns down to the brass. A more con-
venient form would be one shaped like a medical
injection bottle. If you think these worth making
for sale I shall be proud of your copying it. — H.'
Parson, The Firs, Guildford.

[It appears too simple to manufacture for sale, for
every one can make it. — Ed.]

THE SEX OF THE BEE OVA.

In the columns of the British Bee Journal, as
well as in Gleanings, edited by A. I. Root, I occa-
sionally find opinions expressed on the above
subject, which seem to me to barely harmonise
with entomological fact ; and, if my memory serves
me correctly, Professor Cook, in his Manual of
Apiculture, advances the theory that the sex of egg
is determined, if not by the will of the queen, by
the abdominal pressure to which she is subjected in
depositing eggs in different sized cells ; whilst
others, with a semi-claim to the appellation of
naturalist, consider the will of the insect, in con-
trolling the quantity of sperm, supreme in this
matter of sex. I am not, however, aware that any.
definite conclusion has been arrived at through
demonstrative evidence ; and, therefore, with your
permission I would narrate a few observations
taken last season, and which appeared to settle
this question.

In my small apiary, consisting of five hives,
located in the centre of Montrose, a burgh of about
fourteen thousand inhabitants, I had arranged,
during the first days of August, to send four hives
to the heather, above Fasque, a distance of over
fourteen miles ; and some time after their despatch
I discovered that my remaining hive, a stock hive,
from which a top swarm had been taken, was
queenless, the young queen having evidently been
lost during her wedding tour. All the brood in the
said hive was capped at this time, and I was at a
loss how to procure eggs from which to raise
another queen. However, about the end of August
I obtained, from a hive at Rossie Gardens, about an
inch square of worker comb charged with ova ; this
I attached with a small piece of wire to a comb in
queenless hive, and two queen-cells were speedily
raised thereon. After a few days I observed that
all the eggs disappeared from the square of comb,
and in about a week from the time of giving eggs,
I found a number of drone-cells filled with the
whitish substance, common to larvae at this stage ;
and it naturally occurred to me that I had over-
looked the queen in previous examinations. But,
then, why these two queen-cells 1 And on a still
more close scrutiny, and comparison of the number
of cells in previously mentioned square, with the
larvoe in drone-cells, I noted a harmony, and thus
found what accounted for the previous disappear-
ance of eggs. Here I could not fail to conclude
that the all-wise Creator had endowed this insect

234

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

with a forethought and power, probably, unequalled
in the animal kingdom. They knew that they
wanted a queen and prepared their cells accord-
ingly ; they also seemed to know that without a
male to mate that virgin queen, their colony would
become extinct, hence, they transferred the eggs
from worker to drone cells, to prevent such a
fatality.

The result was in the month of October, I had a
queen performing all the functions of her position,
and several drones were then flying.

One more corroboration I noted in one of the
hives, previous to its being sent to the heather — a
queen dropping eggs, not in cells, but on the top
of the comb, whilst a number of bees were eagerly,
yet very orderly, waiting and picking up these eggs
and depositing them in cells.

In this case could the queen instruct the bees
where each egg was to be put, if her will regulated
the sex ; or did they instinctively know the parti-
cular cell 1 It could scarcely be. The only warrant-
able and logical conclusion is, that the ovum of a
fertilised queen, in a sense unlike that of a virgin
queen, or even a fertile worker, belongs to neither
sex, being for the time neutral, having its future
sex determined by the cell in which it is placed,
and the treatment to which it is subjected by the
bees. — K. Edward, 35 John Street, Montrose.

[If the accident of an egg being in a drone or
worker cell causes the bees to determine its sex by
special treatment consequent on the egg being so
deposited, as implied by our correspondent, we should be
glad if he would endeavour to harmonise his views with
the fact so often demonstrated, of drones the progeny of
both fertile and virgin queens being reared in worker
cells. If the eggs of a fertile queen are neutral until
they have been deposited in a cell, and ' treated ' by the
bees, of what character are the eggs of a virgin queen,
or a fertile worker 'i and if the bees have the habit of
removing eggs and afterwards determining their sex, can
our correspondent suggest a reason for their extreme
faultiuess when being queenless they are unable to
change the sex of drone eggs however hard they strive
to raise a queen from them ? — Ed.]

COTTAGERS.— BEE CENSUS.

In your January number, page 191, Mr. Thorpe
opens up a subject concerning ' cottagers,' which is
of great interest to us cottagers who are, or hope
to be, exhibitors at future shows. In the first
place what constitutes a bond, fide cottager'! Is it
a man living in a cottage under or at a certain
rental, or is it an agricultural labourer proper who
lives in a thatched cottage at a yearly rental of,
say, 2/. t The first-mentioned cottager may happen
to be a mechanic, shoemaker, blacksmith, tailor,
small shopkeeper, or carpenter, or even as your
humble servant a watchmaker, whose work is at
home, ready for any emergency in the swarming
and honey-gathering season, and which can be laid
down for a few minutes and attention given to his
bees, and generally he is in a better position to
purchase or make hives than the agricultural
labourer whose wages are small, and who goes to
his work early and returns late during the very

time his bees are or ought to be harvesting honey.
Is it fair and just to put these two classes of men
against each other at a show % The poor labourer
is very heavily handicapped in comparison to the
mechanic ; and again is it right that the mechanic
who may have, say, twenty hives, and consequently
if he works them on the ' Section ' system would
have a large number to pick his sections from for
exhibition, — I say is it just to other exhibitors for
him to be allowed to stage two entries in one class,
and take two prizes, while other exhibitors in the
same class who have good exhibits are deprived of
a prize because two prizes in one class have been
awarded to one man 1 I don't say his exhibits are
not deserving of the awards, or that the judges are
to blame in the least. Their business is to judge,
and give awards to the best exhibits staged, not to
inquire who are the exhibitors. The fault lies with
those who allow the entries to be made.

I quite agree with you in last month's editorial
anent the 'Bee Census;' and if anything comes of it
I shall be pleased to enumerate my district, say, in
a radius of five miles, taking my cottage as a
centre, and although there is a pretty good number
of hives in this part there are very few frame-hives.
I only know of one besides myself who has any,
but I hope to be .able to induce others to start this
coming season. I never let an opportunity slip)
without dilating on the very great improvement
the frame-hive is on the old straw skep ; and
when I tell you how I started last season with four
stocks, two in straw skeps and two in bar-frame
hives, and have now ten stocks, five in skeps and
five in bar-frame hives, and that I have taken off
(besides increasing my stocks) 150 lbs. of honey, all
of first-rate quality, in the comb, and that I am
making twelve new bar-frame hives, and hope to
get them all filled ere the season is over, you
may guess how encouraging it is to others to go
and do likewise. — Woodleigh.

ITALIAN BEES.

After seeing the Italians praised so much in nearly all
the bee books and papers, I resolved to procure some.
So in March, 1880, I sent an order to Bologna for some
swarms, which arrived here May 31st. I put them at
once into frame-hives (I use Abbott's Standard frames)
fitted with empty combs and foundation, which were
soon filled with brood to the very bottoms and sides of
all the combs; so I added more frames until I had nine
in each hive full of brood, and the number of bees
increased rapidly. So far my best hopes of them were
confirmed. The next thing I expected of them was a
good crop of homy, but in this 1 was disappointed. I
doubled some, and supered the others; but they « li< i not
gather one-tenth as much honey as the black swarms I
had the same time ; but the black swarms were nearly
three times as strong in numbers as the Italians, so the
blacks were ready for the harvest when it arrived, whilo
it was about half over before the Italians were in a con-
dition to gather. But. I hoped that they would do much
better this year, as they were so much crowded with
bees, but as the autumn advanced they dwindled away
faster than the blacks. Now for this year's experience.
In the spring they were all (eight stocks) weaker than
the blacks. As the spring advanced, however, they
were breeding faster than the blacks, but so many of
them were falling to the ground and perishing that I

March 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

235

must believe they are much weaker than the blacks, but
still they kept strong in number. When the harvest
arrived they were much crowded. To give them a fair
trial, I tried different plans with them. AVith two
stocks which were in Combination-hives I proceeded
thus: — I placed the excluder zinc after the ninth frame,
added six empty combs behind, and on top a Makeshift
hive containing eight combs of brood which were taken
from two other hives ( Italians). So each had nine
frames to breed in, and fourteen to gather honey. I did
this before the harvest arrived, and so also with the
blacks. On the top of another I placed a Makeshift hive
containing: one comb of brood and seven einpty ones,
with the queen confined to eight frames. The other
three stricks I supered, and confined the queens to from
six to nine frames each, but all with the same result,
viz., not nearly so much honey as the blacks — perhaps
about one-third as much. When the honey harvest was
nearly over, in spite of all the precaution I had taken, I
had a swarm from one of the Combination-hives which
weighed about 121bs., leaving fourteen frames nearly
empty. What good were they when they would not gather
honey? Five of the eight imported queens have died,
for which I am not a bit sorry. But I don't believe that all
that lias been written in favour of the Italians is false-
hood, so I think we ought to get some explanation on the
matter. I do not know whether this place is too cold
for them or not. I noticed in the British Bee Journal
some time ago a report of an address by Dzierzon, in
which he took the precaution to mention the locality
from which he had his Italians, and so I have done the
same. Also, I noticed in the British Bee Journal a
person advertising Bologna queens at so much, and
yellow Alps at three or four shillings dearer ; so I think
that the locality from which they are imported might
have something to do with it. 1, for one, should be glad
to see this matter well sifted. — W. II. Jones, Lily
Cottage, Clydach, Swansea, 8. Wales.

P.S. — During the honey harvest (which was not very
good here, nothing like what you say in the Journal you
nave enjoyed) I had twenty stocks, from which I took
about OoOlbs. extracted, and 501bs. comb honey: pity
they were not all blacks! I now have twenty-five
stocks, which I have fed with about 4 cwt. of sugar (the
Italians took about twice as much as the blacks) ; some of
them are hybrids, which I hope will do better than
their parents.

Honey Market. — From time to time I have noticed
persons asking how they can dispose of their honey. The
way I do is this. I advertise in a local paper, and then
send the honey to the market, with scales and weights,
and empty bottles, and I get no trouble in disposing of
my honev; many bring their own vessels to put it in. —
W. II. J. '

A STANDARD FRAME.— TILE BEST AND
CHEAPEST EXTRACTOR.
Many of the readers of your B.B.J, are greatly
pleased to see that an approach is being made to a
Standard hive, and so far as the ' north countrie ' is
concerned no size will be more acceptable than about
the Woodbury, for if larger, only in a very unusually
fine season is it at all useful, and even then it is not
nearly so remunerative as a smaller. If a hive is made
inside 14J ins. wide, by about 9 ins. high, and to hold as
many frames as may be required ( with dummy division-
board), and supers* the owner is not badly off, and
nothing would assist so much in doing away with the
old straw skep. I do not mean by this that I would
like to see all hives made to this size, for if they were so
there would be almost an end to all experiments, and a
consequent stand-still; but in sale, or purchase, of a
stock, one of the first questions is as to the size of frames,
and at present the answer would most probably not be
satisfactory, whereas to be able to say ' The Standard'

would be quite sufficient, and in this way I consider a
good fillip would be given to the trade.

I would like very much to see an article in next
month's B. B. J. by you, as to extracting honey from
combs. I believe there js not an extractor within many
miles of this, and now that strong foundation is much
used, there is an outcry against ' box honey comb,'
meaning, of course, the strong midrib of the foundation.
You should state which you consider the best and
cheapest instrument for ordinary small bee-keepers,
whose combs and frames are not by any means the same
size, and how the sealed combs are to be prepared before
placing in the extractor, and what is to be done with the
cappings if roughly taken off; also how can you tell when
the honey is ripe for the purpose, as it is understood
that new-made honey does not always keep — this may
be when the honey has not been sealed.

I remember seeing one of your extractors, a couple of
years ago, making capital work ; but I was told it only
did for particular-sized and shaped frames, or I think 1
should have purchased one then. I hope you will not be
too modest to say so, if you think it is the best and
cheapest for the purpose I name, and of course saying
whether it is adapted to extract for any frame that will
go into it, and for loose comb. Does the presence of bee
bread in the comb spoil the honey in extraction 'i —
Northern Country, Ptnrith.

[The Standard frame question was mooted by us in
the winter of 1875, and had it been taken up by the
Association at that time, when there were comparatively
few frame-hives or frame-hive makers in England, it
would have been easy of adoption. Now, when there
are a hundred times as many hive makers and vendors,
i and a thousand times as many hives in existence, it will
be many years before a Standard will become general,
because its introduction will be essentially slow. Manu-
facturers will object to it because it will necessitate the
making (in most, if not in all, instances) of a hive differing
from that they at present produce ; and working hive-
makers with limited means may find this a hardship,
because it will necessitate a double stock in preparation
for the season.

We are, however, glad to be able to state that a sub-
committee has been appointed to go into the question,
and we trust it will be well thrashed out.

Regarding extractors and extracting we hold that
no machine in which the combs are made to revolve in
a stationary can is anything like an approach to per-
fection, because it is totally unfit for the slinging of
comb3 containing brood, on account of the rapid cooling
which takes place during the operation. Viewed in this
light, which is a most important one, we (with due
modesty) believe our ' Little Wonder ' to be the best, as it
is the cheapest, and the most portable. It is said that
Cowper made a large and a small hole in a door to let a cat
and a kitten through, and our ' Little Wonder ' is of two
sizes, to suit the frames of different apiaries, the smaller
size will not take the larger frames, but the larger size
will take any frame at present in use in the bee
world. We shall be glad to publish an article on
extracting in due time, but at present limited space pre-
vents that pleasure. — Ed.]

FOLK-LORE.

Seeing in your British Bee Journal that you ask
for bee folk-lore from various counties, I have
learned what I could from the cottagers, and find
' that bees will not stay unless they are on an oak
board. They fly away, never to return, if after a
death in their owner's family they are not draped
with crape ; and that a bee-sting after sundown is
highly dangerous, probably ending in death.' — S.
Butler, Norwich, Jan. 30, 1882.

236

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

' MODERN BEE-KEEPING ' AND THE SKEP,

CLOSE-ENDED FRAMES, WAX

FOUNDATIONS.

It ia to be hoped the B. B. K. A. will give some
account of improved methods of bee-keeping- with skepa
in the new Hand-book, as in most cases cottagers, and
many far above them in the social scale, will not use bar-
frame hives at all. Would not it be better to show them
how they might do better with their skeps than let them
go on as they are !J Improved skep management might
be made a stepping-stone to the use of bar-frames in the
future. And they, the cottagers, should be shown they
should leave some combs with honey for the winter use
of bees, for if you tell them how to take the honey and
substitute syrup, they will do the former but neglect the
latter, as they would look twice at the money before they
would spend it on winter food.

What are the most approved methods of working
skeps ? Of course, I know it is not a question for ad-
vanced bee-keepers, but it will be many a day before
Irish cottage bee-keepers can claim that title, so show
them how to use the skep with the best advantage. If
you advise them flat-topped skeps they would necessitate
guide-comb* in some form, which few would take the
trouble to use. The question is, how to fix supers on
round-topped skeps, as they are the best for the bees. If
skeps could be made round-topped inside and flat-topped
outside, supers could be fixed on easily. What ia the
' Grecian skep ' like, and what is the peculiarity of any
other foreign skep ?

Close-ended frames. — As this method appears most
natural to the bee, I would like to adopt it if the crushing
of bees can be avoided with fair care. If the bees should
come between the close ends, they should be brushed off,
I suppose ; but how, if they are in constant motion while
moving the frames ?t

I suppose if open-ended frames are used, much the same
liability to crush the bees would take place if a number
of strips of wood were used to be placed against the open
ends, not between them. When manipulating these
shutters could be singly, or all of them, removed. The
inner hive side-wall ,vould of course have to be removed
altogether, except a top strip for the frame ends to rest
on, but that should be moved a few inches further from
the frame ends, though if left close it might be utilised
for closing the shutters.

In your close-ended frame hive it might also be a good
plan to have a similar piece of a strip, but certainly not
quite close to the frame-end, for the frame-ends to rest
on instead of the frame-tops, extending to the side of the
box, which prevents you, I suppose, from getting your
hand down between the frame-ends and the side of the
box if you require to do so.

If I make an outer hive specially for close-ended
frames, what space would be sufficient between frame-
ends and hive-side ?{

The close ends seem superior in every way for comfort
to the bees, and therefore increased benefit to the bee-
keeper, and much easier of management, the cost in every
way cheaper, and less of what you call ' advanced ' know-
ledge required, less of those 'little niceties' that make
up the education of very ' advanced ' bee-keepers. I am
an enthusiast, but not a mere temporary one, and have
devoted myself, too much in fact, to a love of live stock
and natural history, and will take any trouble to succeed

* We know of no absolute necessity for guide-combs in
flat-topped skeps or any other hives where combs are not in-
tended to be moveable. — Ed.

t With very moderate care not a bee need be crushed.
By putting the bottom of the frame in baud against the top
of the one in the hive, and sliding it down, not a bee can
be crushed. — Ed.

X Anything, from a quarter of an inch to two or three
nches. — Ed.

in becoming an ' advanced ' bee-keeper, but all have not
perhaps the same natural aptitude for these pursuits, so
show them the simplest method, compatible with mode-
rate success, in the management of frame hives. All
can't be ' advanced ' bee-keepers, but many woidd be
willing to be able to fairly manage tees, but don't frigh-
ten them by being very ' advanced,' which is easy to a
limited few. Don't expect too much from the general
run of bee-keepers. I am anxiously waiting for more on
the ' Giotto ' before I try to decide on the ' best hive,'

To strengthen, &c. wax foundation sheets, would it be
a good plan to drive a few pieces of wire from top to
bottom or side to side of frame, these to be at each side of
the sheet, and the cells could be worked over it? *

What about a B. K. A. for Cork ? One much wanted ;
south far behind north in this respect. I am one if
started. — A Cobk Bee-Keeper.

Lecture at Guildford. — An interesting lecture
was given by H. Parson, Esq., of the Firs, at the Ward
Street Hall on Thursday evening, Feb. 9. There was a
large attendance. The chair was taken by A. F.
Walbrook, Esq., Editor of the Surrey Advertiser. Mr.
Walbrook never loses an opportunity of urging the ad-
vantages of the modern sj'stem of bee-culture, and in
introducing Mr. Parson he was particularly happy in his
observations. The lecture itself, we need scarcely say, was
of the most valuable character, having been thoroughly
and practically illustrated throughout. The lecturer was
highly complimented at its conclusion by J. Smith, Esq.,
medical officer, and the Rev. Dr. Kincaid, of the Royal
Grammar School, who observed that one of the examples
of beneficence was that of a man who made two blades
of grass grow where only one grew before, and with this
they might compare the gathering of honey where none
was gathered before, which the lecturer had not only told
them could be done, but had told them how to do it in
an able and entertaining manner.

Lecture at Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. — Mr.
A. Cockburn, Honey Grove, Cairnie-by-Keith, gave a lec-
ture here on the 16th Dec. on 'The Practical and profit-
able Management of Bees.' Mr. Tait (paper mills) pre-
sided in the absence, through indisposition, of the Rev,
Dr. Davidson, Inverurie. The lecturer gave a full
account of the management on the modern bar-frame
system, and showed from his own experience how large
an amount of money might be earned by crofters
(farmers) and others in a county like Aberdeen. In the
course of the lecture he explained the mode of using the
best modern appliances, and was listened to very atten-
tively. A hive of Mr. Coekburn's, which took the first
prize at the last South Kensington Exhibition, was much
admired.

Lecture on Bee-keei>ino. — A lecture on the ' Plea-
sure and Profit of Bee-keeping' was given in the Leigh
Parochial School-rooms, near Tunbridge, on Tuesday
evening, February ~tli,bythe Rev. D. A. Doudney, Rector
of Ore, near Hastings. There was a large attendance, and
much interest was manifested. The lecturer exhibited a
modern frame-hive, with sections, &c, and fully explained
the modem system of bee-keeping. The Rev. If. li. Ool-
lum, vicar of the parish, presided, and mentioned that tlieie
are at present very few bees kept in the parish, but that
he hoped soon to hear of a large increase. Several persons
remained after the lecture to examine the frame-hive
more closely, and to elicit further information from t In ■
lecturer. Mr. Samuel Morley, M.P., who resides in the
parish of Leigh, has given great encouragement to bee-
keeping by offering a number of prizes to he competed
for bv the parishioners.

* If the flat-bottomed foundation be used, there will be
no necessity for any of the troublesome shifts so often pro-
posed. If firmly fixed at top and no moro given than the
bees can cover on both sides, there will be no difficulty. — Ed.

March l, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

237

(&t\im ixam % |jib.cs.

Warvrickshire. — 'Through illness in the autumn, my
hives were left to take care of themselves during the
winter months. January 30th found them all well,
crowded with bees, and each stock with about two
frames of brood ; quantities of young bees were hatched
out, and in my opinion the queens have been laying all
winter. Such seasons as the present I quite think chaff
covering should be dispensed with, but ready for imme-
diate use when the cold weather appears, for placing
only over the brood-nest.' — A Warwickshire Bee-
keeper.

Carlinyftrd, Ireland. — Stand for ( 'opyable Hive. — 'I de-
liglit in your Journal, and I am busy making a first-class hive
from your instructions, and I thank you very much for
making them so easily understood. Could you give us any
hints for safe stands for these large hives ? I have suffered
greatly in the gales of this winter : three hives were
overturned, and the combs shaken out of two of them,
but I got them back again, and the bees seem well
enough. These large hives present a great surface to
the wind, and I think they ought to be as near the
ground as possible.' — E. E. R.

[One piece of board of the length of the hive, and
about nine inches wide, and two pieces halved across it,

after the manner of Abbott's simple stand, will be found
very useful ; or they might be nailed together, thus —

a a having a top-bearing surface of the full width of the
hive, and coming just under the front and back. — Ed.]

Kilkea, Carlow. — The Cojn/able Hire. — 'I think at least
three cottagers about me will adopt the bar-frame system
this year — perhaps more. I have made two or three Copy-
able hives myself. It is an excellent hive. I have intro-
duced two modifications, however: (a) Bv cutting the
pieces of scantling which form the skeleton ten or twelve
inches longer the hive is provided with legs, (b) I have
made the floor-board to slide in and out with wedges fore
and aft, to secure it tightly against bottom of hive.'

Dublin. — The Irish Association. — -'I am delighted with
the ' touch-up ' you gave our Irish Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion in your number of Bee Journal for February. Thei-e
are a few drones holding the most important offices con-
nected with it. Yet, notwithstanding all this, we are on
the right side of the books with a balance of upwards of
18/. in our favour.'

County Kildare. — The Irish Bee-keepers' Association.
— ' I was very glad to see your comments upon the Irish
Bee-keepers' Association, of which I have become a
member. It is a great pity that so promising a Society
(numbering over 76 members) should he inactive.'

Canning Place, Passage West, County Cork. — Close-
ended frames. — ' As I am a fair amateur carpenter, and
have my full time on my hands, I shall make my own
hives, especially as you have made it so plain and easy in
the B. B. J. I am inclined for close-ended frames.
Please say in Journal what would be the best space to
allow between the frame ends and the side of the box,
supposing I make the boxes to hold the frames. I am

trying to get a few to join to start a B. K. A. for Cork,
but it is hard to get bee-keepers to make a move out of
the beaten track.' — .1. C. S.

[The distance between the close-ended frames and the
hive sides may be anything between a quarter of an inch
and several inches. Make the ends fit closely against each
other, and there will be practically no propolising. — Ed.]

102 High Street, Dalbeattie. — ' I always long for the
coming of the Bee Journal ; the more I read it the more
I think it is improving every month in its hints to bee-
keepers. Any one who cannot manage bees after reading-
it must be a blockhead, for I find everything that you
lay down to be done is just the very thing that ought to
be done, only in different parts of the country where
spring is earlier or later timeliness has to be studied.
We are about three weeks later with crocuses and other
early flowers than you. Although there have been two
or three days with a little sunshine which tempted the
bees out many have died around this district from
want of food, not having been fed in autumn. I was
asked last night by a farm-servant, who is a bee-keeper,
when I let my bees out. I told him they were never
closed in. He stared and said he always closed them
in the autumn, and that it was the custom of all his
neighbours. He also said he gave them sugar syrup a
while ago and closed the mouth again. I recommended
the Journal to him. There is a great change in bee-
keeping here within these few years. Most bee-keepers
have frame-hives, or are asking about them. I am often
asked why I have no straw hives in my apiary. I reply
by saying I would not keep them in a straw skep it' I
had five minutes to take them out.' — John Thomson.

(fumes mxb Implies.

Query No. 450. — Close-ended Frames. — I have been
using your Standard hives, but I am thinking of making
some on your new Giotto pattern, which pleases me par-
ticularly. But I want some more information : —

1. Does the propolising of frame-ends together prove a
serious annoyance, practically ?

w2. "What has been your experience on this point ?

.'i. You speak of rubbing with tallow to prevent this ;
woidd not black-lead or French chalk answer, and be
less unpleasant in a bee-hive ?

4. Could you describe or illustrate the best form of
guage-block on which to nail together these Giotto
frames, in which accuracy is so important F

5. How is extracting to be managed ? When put into
the extractor all combs, or parts of them, which are
not built out to the full width of the frame-ends, will
have no support, as the ends will keep them from lying
against the iron-work. They will thus be very liable to
break when revolved. What is the remedy for this ? I
ask more especially with regard to m}- own extractor —
one of Steele's — which takes in your Standard frames
end down. — Scovandyke.

Reply to Queries No. 450. — No. 1. When the frames
are pressed close together by a strutting-piece of wood,
reaching from the back of the hive to the back-board or
dummy, in rear of the frames, there is, practically, no op-
portunity for propolising, and there is no inconvenience.

'1. Our experience is directly in favour of the close-
ended frames ; they are easily separable, and can be slid
backward and forward on the runners with the greatest
ease, since the bees do not propolise these at all.

■'i. A firm grease is the best because propolis will not
adhere to it.

4. No frame-block is necessary, the parts all being
marked. The top bars fit into the square notches in top
of ends, and the bottom bars being of right length, the
frames ' come together ' all of one size, and can easily be
racked so as to present a smooth inside surface, which
with close-fitting joints are the important necessities.

238

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[March 1, 1882.

5. The top and bottom bars are of the width of the
combs, and the wire frame of the extractor simply re-
quires to be of a size to come between the wide ends, and
then the combs will lie flat upon the wire-work, and the
top and bottom bars will lie upon it also. — Ed.

Query No. 451. — The Observatory Hive. — Could you
say in next number of B. B. J. what thickness of plate-
glass is best for Observatory hive, and what is the
approximate cost per foot superficial !J — E. W. E., Newton
Rectonj, Tetbury, Feb. 8th.

Reply to Query No. 451. — It is not material, pro-
vided it is of sufficient strength to bear the weight of
the frames and the lateral pressure which may be brought
against it in transit to or from shows. If not intended to
be carried about, 32-ounce window-glass will answer
the purpose, and being cheap by comparison, double
walls might be afforded, with dead air between, to pre-
pare for which the grooves for glass would have to be
widened towards the outside ; and when the glasses are
in position, slips of wood thrust between, at their ends,
will tighten them, and slips along the top, resting on
the end slips will finish the work. Price of plate glass is
from Is. to 3s. per foot , according to size and thickness. — Ed,

QuEnY No. 452. — 1. I 'have a hive, one foot square
inside, made from directions in a book called Modern
Bee-Keeping, by Robinson, which appeared some eighteen
months ago. The frames are all firmly fixed, and have
been so since the week the bees were put in. I intend
to transfer them into an Irish hive, but want to get a few
pounds of super honey early in the season. Can I do this
with such a hive ? and if so, before swarming or after ?

2. How and when would you transfer them to an Irish
hive, the frames being fixed ? The size of the frames is
11 in. by 8.

3. When should bees in skeps be put into Irish hives ?
Before or after swarming ? — B. B. W., Redditch.

Reply to Query No. 452. — Directly the ' book of
promises ' alluded to came under our notice we cautioned
our readers against its specious teaching, foreseeing the
evils entailed, and hoping to be spared the labour their
correction would surely cause us ; but we were too late,
the newspaper press had made the world resound with
the ' pleasures and profits 'promised, and the book found
its way into many hands. Supposing the present hive
to be healthy, we would wait until it became crowded
with bees, and then pulling off the bottom rails of the
frames we would deepen the hive by placing under it an
eke, about four inches in depth. This will set the bees
comb-building, and when honey is abundant, a crate of
sections on the top would have a fair chance of being
filled before swarming.

2. The frames being fixed, we would wrench the hive
to pieces and cut out the combs seriatim, transferring
them in the usual way.

3. Twenty-one days after swarming is the best time,
because there will then be very little brood in the hive.
But instead of transferring the combs it will be better,
and pay better, to fill the frames with comb-foundation,
and appropriate the honey that is in the former, and
then boiling them up for wax. New straight combs will
then be secured, and the chances of disease lessened. — Ed.

Queries No. 453. — 1. Guides for Supers. — Last year
I placed a super on a Pettigrew straw skep, the bees
began to build combs from top and bottom at same
time, meeting in the centre. The combs from the
bottom ran in the opposite direction from those built
from top, spoiling the appearance of the box. How
may this be prevented ? The combs from the bottom
were built up through the hole.

2. Foundation-twisting. — I filled frames with founda-
tion-comb, but found in a few days that they were all
curved and twisted.

3. Discouraging Bees.— I have been told that it dis-
heartens the bees to take away a box of honey from
them in the middle of the season. Is this so ?

4. Hindering Swarming. — When you do not wish bees
to swarm is it advisable to turn the mouth towards the
north when you take your bees to the country ?

5. Covers for Skeps. — I made a few covers for hives, as
directed in Cheshire's Practical Bee-Keeping, with felt,
2 ft. 8 in. broad, but found them too small for large
hives. Is there any other way ? — Ignorance.

Reply- to Queries No. 453. — 1. Straight comb would
have been ensured had guides been fixed to the top of
the super, and if of glass, an easy way made by which
the bees could reach them. Bees cannot readily climb
or hold on to glass, and if no ladder be supplied to them
they build one for themselves if they require the super
for storing.

2. More frames of foundation were given to the
bees than they could cover evenly on both sides, conse-
quently the weight of bees not being evenly distributed,
the foundation bent outward from the weight.

3. We have never found it to have that effect, and do
not believe it has. The idea, however, often receives
colour from the fact that too frequently the honey is
not removed until the season is nearly over, and the
bees are unable to gather so largely as formerly.

4. We have little faith in the principle unless they
are thoroughly shaded from the sunshine.

5. Cones of larger size than those described cannot
well be made without patching ; but why use felt, which
is so liable to collapse with the heat of the sun, and is
so dirty and likely to become ragged ? — Ed.

Query No. 454. Bees in a Tree. — I am anxious to
utilise a swarm of bees which have been for years in the
hollow bole of an oak-tree. They have two entrances,
two feet apart, and twelve feet from the ground, just
under the branches. If a frame-hive with a hole cut
in the back, and joined by a tube to the hole in the tree,
compelling the bees to work through the hive, filled with
comb foundation and a frame of excluder zinc placed at
the front but inside the hive, preventing the escape of
the queen, and being a large drone-trap, would it cause
her or the swarm to take possession of the hive ? or can
you suggest an}' plan to secure it, as it is an isolated
place? If so, you will greatly oblige yours faithfully,
Robert Thorpe, Evedon.

Reply- to Query' No. 454. — If one of the openings
were closed, and an Abbott's drone-trap securely fixed to
the other, the swarm would be prevented flying away,
and would be found hanging to it around the queen, that
would be captured in attempting to fly abroad. The trap
would require daily attention, to clear it of the drones
that would accumulate in their season, otherwise there
would be no trouble or difficulty. Another plan, quite
as useful, would be to make the stock a feeder to the
home apiary. When the bees show signs of being
crowded, or it is otherwise known that they are populous,
if a hive with some combs of brood in it were fixed in
front of the entrance, so that the bees could pass through
it, they would take possession of the combs aud brood,
and could be carried away at night with ease and set in
the bee-garden at home. If near swarming, and there
was little empty comb in the tree for the queen to lay in,
she would be very likely to enter the hive, and might be
taken away with it. This kind of operation might be re-
peated at intervals. — Ed.

*#* We exceedingly regret that, though we have given four
pages extra this month, we have, in consequence of the pressure
on our columns, been obliged to defer to our next issue the
appearance of the following communications : — The report of
the Annual Meeting of the Hertfordshire B. K. A. ; lecture
at Innellan ; letters from J. W. Nelson; South Ayrshire;
G. D. Haviland ; Alfred Davis ; Rev. G. Baynor ; G. Stocks ;
W. H. J. ; Osbert Ward ; E. A. Brown ; G. W, P. ; J.
Symons, &o.

March i, 1SS-1.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

239

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.

J. N., Ulverstone. — It is not easy to divine the cause
of bees dying. Only a three-pint swarm in July —
probably an after-swarrn, and the queen lost in August
after they had built the hive full of combs. A
Ligurian queen given to them in autumn, and as soon
as brood was seen it was time to close them up for
winter. There had thus been no breeding from July ;
they had worked hard, and were few in number, and
probably died of cold and old age.

We are requested to state that the lecture by W. H.
Harris, Esq., reported last month, was delivered at
the Mechanics' Institute at Slough, near Windsor.

T. Cosway. — The poem 'The Queen and the Hive'
came duly to hand, but her majesty is too sadly
crippled in her feet to be worthy of introduction to
our swarm of readers. We give a stanza by way of
example : —

' And what kingdom can rival thine

In industry, commerce, or wealth ?
Or where sanitation so complete
For the preservation of health ? '

J. L. S., Kent Gardens. — Dysenteric Symptoms. — Excreta
on the alighting-board are undoubtedly a sign that the
bees are not healthy, but so long as the inside of the
hive remains unsoiled, not much mischief will have
taken place. Soiling the entrance is often caused
through bees alighting before the excrement has fallen
away from them, when it clings to the hive surface
and the bees creep away. After undue confinement
bees are often thus ailing, but a purifying flight
restores them to health. Keep the entrance clean, and
if the disorder continues give them a little salicylised
syrup daily until fine weather permits their daily flight.

Behoving Bees fhoji a Blind Window. — The bees
being between the double boarding on the framework
of the window, it will be necessary to smoke them and
remove the boards from one side or the other to lay
hare their nest. We would, however, defer the opera-
tion till swarming time, and then, having made an
artificial swarm from a skep (driving all the bees),
would put the hive of combs and brood immediately
above the exposed bee-nest so that the bees could
readily run into it. We would then smoke the bees,
beginning at the lower part of the bee-nest, and drive
them upwards from the combs, which we would cut
out and put in a place of safety. When all the combs
were cut out we would take them home, fit those con-
taining brood into frames, put them into a hive, add
as many frames tilled with comb foundation as would
be required to form a fair-sized home, "and would let the
artificial swarm have possession. In the meantime,
the bees recently dispossessed will have taken posses-
sion of the hive of combs placed so near their home, and
at night, when all are within, they may be carried
away in safet}'. This method of dealing with vagrant
stocks is exceedingly simple, and saves an immense
deal of fussing and labour.

II. A. O., Kirton Hulme. — At this time of the year we
uncap honey and leave it for the bees to take to stimulate
breeding. In the summer we uncap and take all we can
get. Bees will readil}- work in sections at the top, all
things being congenial, as often explained ; but as they
will more often take to them in the body of the hive
than above the brood-nest, the sections are more likely
to be started easily in the former position. The best
time to raise them to the top is when the bees are
working well upon them, but they can be almost com-
pelled to take to them at any time in summer if the
directions as to brood in sections mentioned last month
be adopted.

C. F. W., Fulham. — Your suggestion as to uses of honey
shall have careful attention. Many thanks.

PURE EXTRACTED HONEY, Is. 3d, per lb.
in Glass Jars, jars included. Address Abbott Bros.,
Fairlawn, Southall.

THE LECTURE.— A few Copies on hand.
Price 2s. 2d. post free. Letters to Editor.

DIAGRAMS FOR LECTURES, by the British
Bee-Keepers' Association, with descriptive Pam-
phlet, 8s., free on rail. Abbott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.

i®»©&& & ivnre&K.

BEE-KEEPERS supplied with BEE AP-
PLIANCES by J. J. Rice, Wensum Street, Tombland,
Norwich. fo. 40

GREAT REDUCTION IN HIVES.

CJELLING OFF! NORTHERN STANDARD,
1J 27s. 6d. to 23s. IMPROVED DITTO, 28s. to 22s.
PRACTICAL DITTO, 18s. 6d. to 15s. COTTAGERS, 8s.
to 5s. U. LITTLE WONDERS, 10s. Several Second-
hand. Apply at once for Catalogue. Only a few of each
left. Address Mr. Lister, 10 Caprera Terrace, North Road,
Plymouth. fo. 37

COMB FOUNDATION.

W HOLLANDS begs to intimate that having
. purchased a Machine for the Manufacture of very
THIN FLAT-BOTTOMED FOUNDATION for SUPERS,
he is now prepared to supply it in any quantity at 3s. per
lb.; THICK FOUNDATION, natural shaped base, for
BROOD FRAMES, 2s. 6rf. per lb., neatly packed and de-
livered on Rail for Cash with order. Send Two Stamps for
Samples to W. Hollands, Harrison Rise, Croydon, fo. 38

Established 1874.
SUSSEX HIVE MANUFACTORY.

HIVES of the best selected Pine, 12s. Gd. to
45s. 6<2. Acknowledged to be the simplest in working,
tbe best made, and the most successful of any in the market.
SUSSEX SUPERS, of best Pine, fitted with Twenty-one
2-lb. Sections, glued at corners, Wax-sheet to each, Window
and hinged Shutter back and front, 8s. each, packed. A very
superior article, will last a lifetime. May be used for Flat-
topped Straw Skeps. Nearly 800 already sold. SUSSEX
SUPERS, comprising Twenty-one 1-lb. Sections, glued at
corners, Wax-sheet to each, Window and Shutter back and
front, 5s. 6d. each, packed. 1-lb. SECTIONS, 5s. till, per
100. 2-lb. ditto, 6s. 6d. per 100. BEE VEILS, 2s. Prime
FIRST SWARMS, 21s. each. Catalogue, Stamp. Address
Alfred Rusbridge, Sussex Hive Manufactory, Sidlesham,
near Chichester. fo. 35

LIGUEIAN_BBES.

IB"2" TIEIIE POTJITD.

DURING, and after May, I shall be prepared to
supply BEES of the above superior race by the Pound.
This system will be found much more satisfactory than
that of purchasing Swarms, as the buyer will know what to
expect, and what he gets.

The Queens are home-bred, and having special advan-
tages, I am enabled to guarantee them pure, and equal, if not
superior, to those imported, it being universally admitted
that Queens raised at home are more hardy and prolific,
and produce the best workers.

To those unacquainted with the probable weight of an
average Swarm, I suggest three pounds (and a Queen) as a
serviceable lot, although, of course, more would give better
results.

Prices : — During May, per lb., 10s. ; Queen extra, 10s.
After May, 7s. Gd. ; Queen, 7s. 6d. Packing, 2s. in all cases.
Terms: Cash with Order*, which will he executed in rotation.
post-office orders payable at rottingdean.

S. SIMMINS, The Apiaries, Rottingdean, Brighton.

fo. 24

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [March 1, 1882.

SUBSCRIBERS' COLUMN.

To meet the wants of Subscribers who require a cheap
mode of advertising their wants, we have opened an
Advertising Column, for non-trading Subscribers only,
wherein they may make their wants or wishes known
at the rate of One Penny for every six words, or part
of six words, but no advertisement must contain more
than thirty-six words.

Stamps to accompany in all cases and there can be no
reduction for repetitions.

OE SALE.— Vol. III. of British Bee Journal, complete.
Unbound, 4s.

F
L

ANGSTROTH on
Free.

' The Hive and Honey Bee.'

QUINBY'S 'New Bee-keeping,' an invaluable work.
Price 7s. 6rf. post free. Address Abbott Brothers,
Fail-lawn, Southall, Middlesex.

S

END Two Stamps for Abbott Bros'. Catalogue, 1882.
Southall, Middlesex.

w

ANTED, No. 12 of Vol. VI. of Bee Journal. Full
price given. Apply to Editor.

COWAN'S ' British Bee-keeper's Guide.' Latest work-
up to the times. Cloth, 2s. &d. ; paper, Is. &d. ;
postage, 2d. Address Abbott Brothers, Fairlawn, Southall,
Middlesex.

YOL. VII. of British Bee Journal, complete, unbound.
Price 5s., post free. Abbott Bros., Fairlawn, Southall,
Middlesex.

WANTED, Abbott's ' Little Wonder,' largest size ; Bee
Requisites ; Swarm of Ligurians in exchange for
Prize and Prize-bred Babbits, any variety; or Long-distance
Belgian Voyageur Pigeons (Squeakers). Address John
Brewer, jun., Teynham, near Sittingbourne, Kent. fo. 36

WANTED, Small Capital, or Person with same, to join
me in bringing out an entirely New and Useful
Article, that will be in great demand by all Bee-keepers.
Address the Inventor, E. Hall, Sheering, Harlow. fo. 22

NEIGHBOUR'S APIARY, 4s. Cheshire— Practical Bee-
keeping— 2«. (><l, post free. Address Hall, Sheering,
Harlow. fo- 22

FOR SALE.— Fifty 1-lb. Sections, and Eighty 2-lb. Sec-
tions— 8s. the lot. Also Dipping-can for making
Wax Foundation Sheets, New, 7s. 6d. Address R. Ranger,
Ray Mills, Maidenhead. fo. 31

FOR SALE. — Second-hand, in good order, Abbott's
Little Wonder, price 10s. Address Miss Higgens,
Wareside, Ware, Herts. fo. 33

FOR SALE. — Eight Stocks of Hybrid Ligurian Bees in
Round and Square Frame Hives. Apply to William
Smith, Strensall, York.

F

OR SALE. — A few Good Stocks of Hybrids in very
Strong Taper-frame Hives. 21. each, packed on
Midland Rail. Address H. J. Fust, Hill Cottage, Falfield,
Gloucestershire. fo. 37

H

ONEY in the Comb for Sale-
David Ling, Rochford.

-1-lb. Sections. Address

FOR SALE (Cheap).— Circular Saw, Crank, Table, Speed
Wheel, &c, complete, 30s. Address David Ling,
Rochford. fo. 39

<■ TTUELD Naturalist's Handbook,' 3s. 6r7. ' Year by Sea-
JJ side,' ' Duncan's Moths,' ' Butterflies,' 3s. each.
'Gleanings of Nature,' 4s. 'Nolan's Poultry Book,' 5s.
(scarce). Or exchange Bee Books, Journals, Bee Furniture.
Address J. C. Smith, Canning Place, Passage West, Cork. fo. 34

NOW Ready, price titf., per post, seven stamps, ' The
Bee-keepers' Almanac' Should be in the hands of
all Busy Bee-keepers. Orders to The Manager, Great
Hampshire Bee Farm, King's Somborne, Stockbridge,
Hants. fo. 15

DR. PINE'S WOVEN WIRE VEILS

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First Prize for best Bee Dress, at South Kensington, 1879.

Price 2s. 9d. post free. Strips of Wire Cloth, for making
them, Is. 84 each, post free. Letters to Editor. fo. 15

DR. PINE'S
BEE-KEEPERS' LOTION.

This Lotion will be found to almost instantly remove the
pain of a sting and prevent subsequent inflammation. It is
also a remedy for scalds, burns, and the stings and bites of
other insects besides Bees.

Price Is. 6d. per bottle, or Post-free for Is. 8d.

Agent —
Mr. C. N. ABBOTT, Editor of B. B. Journal,
Fairlawn. Southall. fo. 15

NOTICE.

THE GREAT HAMPSHIRE BEE FARM.

A SAMPLE HIVE can be seen at 5 Agar Street,
Strand, W.C., where Orders can be given.
An experienced Expert will be sent when required to lay-
out work or arrange Apiaries.

Terms, 10s. 6d. a-day, with travelling expenses. Orders
should be addressed, The Manager, Great Hampshire Bee
Farm, King's Somborne, Stockbridge, Hants. fo. 15

A RABIS ALPINUS, the best early Honey-

J\ yielding Flower, blooms from March to July, or all
the year round by successive plantings. It has been bloom-
ing with us from March to February. Price, Is. 6d.
per hundred plants ; 10s. 6d. per thousand ; very hardy ; sure
to grow, and increases rapidly. Plant one foot apart every
way. Abbott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.

LIMNANTHES DOUGLASII PLANTS, Is. 6rf.
per 100. Plant now to till the honeyless interval be-
tween Fruit-blossoms and White Clover. 10s. per 1000.
Certain to grow, and very hardy.

Address Abbott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.

ASPARAGUS PLANTS.— Three years old.
XX. We have a few hundreds of these to dispose of, prico
7s. per 100, packing free. Address Abbott Bros., Fairlawn,
Southall.

To MANUFACTURERS of COMB FOUNDATION.

PURE BEES' WAX, of Good Colour, may be

_L had in any quantity, not less than 28 lbs., at Is. del.
per lb., free to Southall Station, Great Western Railway.
Address Abbott Bros., Fairlawn, Southall.

THE

[No. 108. Vol. IX.]

APRIL, 1882.

[Published Monthly.]

dBtntcrnal, Hfotkcs, $L

APRIL.

We think it may safely be recorded that the
winter, which may now be considered ' past,'
has been the mildest and kindest ever known
in this country, for during the whole of it there
has scarcely been snow enough to make a snow-
ball with, or ice strong enough to bear a duck ;
and there has been a singular reticence of rain.
Up to the 21st of March the whole of that
month had been beautifully fine and open, and
birds and bees were breeding merrily, while the
gardens and orchards assuming spring attire,
cheated the bees, and not a few bee-keepers,
into the belief that it was May instead of March,
and that the time had arrived for swarming,
and all the other operations incidental to that
month of merrie and happy associations. But
on the 21st, — the equinoxial day, which popular
belief invests with the power of determining
the weather of the three months next ensuing,
— there came a change, which narrowed and
lengthened the faces of the popular believers,
and must have filled their minds with despair.

Hereabouts — nine miles west of the metropo-
lis— the weather of the 21st was of the most
miserable : it rained and blew, and snowed
and snew, the livelong day, and at the ' witch-
ing hour,' mid-day, when the weather-clerk's
determination is supposed to be exhibited, the
wind, and the rain, and the snow, and the sleet,
had a lively struggle for supremacy, and it
was bitterly cold. Since then the weather has
been changeable, but generally cold, and the
bees very much confined to their hives. Under
these circumstances, it will not be surprising if
many hives suffer considerably, especially where
they have been highly stimulated for being
heavily charged with brood, which the bees
could easily attend to while the weather was
warm and genial, but which under the altered
circumstances they may be obliged to neglect,
much of it may become chilled, and may be more
or less consumed, or thrown out of the hive.

At the first appearance of the change in the
weather our first care was to narrow the en-
trances of all hives that had been enlarged, and
we hope that our readers did likewise. We
have heard of a stock at Northiam, on which a
super, partly filled last year, and left on all winter
that the bees might empty it, having taken pos-
session of it again, and that they were ' filling
it very fast' (on the 17th ult.) ; but doubtless
the weather since has altered their arrange-
ments. There has been, however, such a splen-
did time for the bees to recoup their strength,
that with ordinary care there will be no spring
dwindling, because the hives are now stocked
chiefly with young bees, and these will be able
to undergo privation that woidd destroy those
more aged.

Our supply of early flowers has been of great
advantage to our bees, and has entirely dis-
pensed with the necessity for artificial pollen,
which, with so much natural pollen at hand,
they have resolutely refused to touch. We
have this year become acquainted with an early
plant, whose pollen-producing qualities cannot
be too highly spoken of. It has been in blossom
ever since Christmas, and thronged with bees
on every possible occasion. After many in-
quiries we have been told it is a species of
hellebore, often called 'the wild Christmas
rose ; ' we have only about half-a-dozen plants,
but wish they were as many hundreds. We
have introduced a dozen flowering almond-trees
into our apiary, and though this is their first
year, the bees have found them valuable. The
crocuses have done good service again, but are
now all over, and the palm-willow has been
abundantly useful, and is so still. Arabia is
flowering profusely, and the red ribes, or
flowering currant, is in full. Peaches and nec-
tarines are very full ; plums are a picture, and
pears will follow immediately ; and gooseberries
and currants but add to the profusion.

Amongst, trees of larger growth, the elms
and oaks are becoming cloudy and dense with
blossom and bud; the ash and the horse-chestnut
are green, and the whole face of nature gives
promise of early abundance,

242

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 1, 1882.

Managing an Apiary. — This subject was
minutely dealt with at the commencement of
the present volume, and will in a few days
be republished in the form of leaflets, which
can be had for a few halfpence, so that in the
present crowded state of our columns, we think
its reproduction unnecessary, as it would keep
back other matters of interest.

USEFUL HINTS.

The early state of nature, and the oppor-
tunities the bees have had for increasing their
numbers, will doubtless cause early swarming,
and it behoves every bee-keeper to be ready for
all such possibilities. There are, however, very
many makeshift people who will scarcely think
of providing for their swarms until they see
them hanging on trees or bushes, and then they
huddle them into anything at hand anyhow,
and often do not trouble further about them
until they want the honey from them. A very
little trouble in advance woidd prevent a great
deal later on, and we hope a word to the ' un-
wise' will be sufficient for them.

Beginners in Bee-keeping. — There are so
many who will begin bee-keeping this year,
that at the risk of seeming tedious we feel it
incumbent on us to repeat some of the cautions
given in previous years. Our advice to be-
ginners is never to purchase stocks of bees,
particularly if they have to be sent a distance
by rail, for railway people Lave a chronic habit
of smashing everything that is breakable ; and
we know of nothing more disheartening to a
beginner than to have his first stock delivered
to him with the combs in a heap, the honey
running out of the hive, and hundreds of the
bees, and perhaps the queen, drowned or
crushed amongst the combs. Another reason
for not buying stocks is that so few people who
have good ones are willing to part Avith them ;
and there is a probability that though stocks
may not be unhealthy when sold, the effect of a
journey may induce disease through drought
and over-heating.

Packing Swarms. — Swarms travel best in
skcps or boxes in which there is plenty of ven-
tilation above and below. Flat-topped skeps
with large feed-hole in centre covered with
perforated zinc, and open strainer cloth tied
over the bottom, do well if sent inverted and
with two strips of wood across the crown to
keep it off the floor, and render the feed-hole
ventilation effective. Wooden boxes should be
similarly arranged. Dome-shaped or sugar-
loaf skeps are dangerous sometimes, the jolting
in transit causing the bees to fall in a heap over
the crown-hole ventilators and die of suffocation.
A sicarm should never more than one third fill the
box or shep the// arc sent away in.

Getting ready for Swarms. — Whether
swarms are expected by train or otherwise,
except they be sent in hives already prepared,
the hives they are to be put into should be
ready to receive them so that no time may be
lost after their delivery. We need scarcely
reassert our opinion that only moveable comb
hives should be used in bee-keeping ; but as
there will be those who insist on using skeps,
we strongly advise that they fit them up with
comb-foundation to at least half the depth of
the hive. If the hives coidd be conveniently
parted with a division-board, so that the bees
could be crowded to as niany sheets of found-
ation as they could well cover, we would advise
that the)' be given of nearly full depth, but
this advantage is lost in skeps, and hence they
must only be half depth, unless the swarm be
strong enough to fill the whole hive. In fixing
foundation to skeps it is only necessary to
fasten it between two strips of wood of piropcr
length, and tie them with wire to the crown of
the hive, so that the sheets hang a trifle less
than an inch and a
half apart. Frame-
hivists will fix their
foundation in the
usual way — tightly
in the groove or
split in the top bar,
and clear of the
sides and bottom, so that slight stretching may
not cause bulging or ' sagging.' There are
several kinds of foundation that will not bear
to be more than a few mches deep, and of these
the bee-keeper must be on his guard.

Artificial Swarming. — Notwithstanding
the check of the 21st ult. and the cold which
has continued more or less since, it is almost
certain that many stocks will be in swarming
condition during the present month ; and we
would advise that in making artificial swarms
the parent stocks be not too much depopulated.
Directions for making swarms, and almost all
the every-day operations of the apiary, will be
found in our halfpenny Leaflets, so it will not
be necessary to repeat them here.

Supering. — When the hives are full of bees,
the hone)' abundant, and the ■weather fine,
supers may be put on with reasonable hojjo that
they will be filled.

Supering Swarms. — By the aid of found-
ation swarms are enabled to fill their hives in a
week, or little more, and having had no wax to
secrete for the formation of comb, they store
the honey direct in the newly-made cells, and
if space for breeding bo not given they will
send out maiden swarms. The honey extractor
will relieve the combs of the honey, and give
the necessary space in the brood nest ; but
instead of a swarm requiring, as of yore, a

April 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

243

whole season to establish itself, it will be
ready for supering in a fortnight. ' Supering '
now implies either mode of obtaining surplus
comb-honey— at back, sides, or top of brood
nest.

Frames and Sections. — We have previously
advised that some of the frames in the brood-
nest of a hive should be fitted with sections to
be rilled with brood, so that they might be put
into supers to attract bees to them, and cause
them to take possession and work there ; and
now we recommend the principle on somewhat
different grounds. A frame fitted with four
sections will not lose much of its comb-space,
or, at any rate, the loss will not be great where
it is most valuable, viz., in the centre, and

hence will not be particularly detrimental to
the hive. Now in most instances frames of
comb have large proportions of their upper
parts filled with honey, and the lower with
brood, as will on all sides be admitted. It has
also been proved that if the upper and lower
parts of such combs be made to change places
the bees will at once remove the honey from
the then lower part of the frames, and put it —
where ? — not in the upper, because that is
already charged with brood, but in the supers,
if they be timely and properly arranged. This
idea opens out a new feature in the way of
securing comb-honey, which we believe will be
valuable.

THE BLIGH COMPETITION.

There appears to be an idea abroad that the
Bligh competition is intended for cottagers
only, but we beg to say, and we hope all the
committees of associations will understand it
so, that only the most skilled experts are in-
vited to compete. The hives will have to be
placed in cottagers' gardens, for the sake of
publicity, and that cottagers themselves may
see how, with the simplest appliances, bees
may be made to yield a good profit when
properly understood and cultivated ; but beyond
thus learning a series of lessons, and carefully
watching the proceedings, a cottager can take
no active part except he be himself a skilled
expert and a competitor. It is hoped that the
best bee-keepers of the day will enter the lists,
not necessarily for the sake of winning prizes,
but to show the truth of the principles advo-
cated by all associations ' as a means of better-
ing the condition of cottagers and agricultural

labourers.' The idea is a grand one, and ought
to be extensively patronised.

There is a point in rule G which we hope
will be enlarged upon by the Committee. It
says, 'All expenses incurred after the com-
mencement of the competition must be de-
frayed out of the original capital of 21.' Can
it be contemplated that half of the sum is to
be kept in hand to buy hives, &c, for the
swarms that come forth ? Rule 3 says that
only two hives shall be set up at starting, but
that they may be increased to any extent ; but
how is it to be done if no more capital is to be
employed? We hope in the interest of the
competition this important matter will bo
clearly explained ; for the keeping of swarms
is one of the greatest sources of profit to a
first-class bee-keeper.

THE STANDARD FRAME.

After a long sitting, during which much
correspondence was read, followed by a very
interesting discussion, the committee appointed
to determine on the Standard frame came on
the 16th ult. to a unanimous conclusion; and
the frame is to be, — 13 J inches long and 8
inches high inside, and the top bar is to be f
of an inch thick, the ends each £ of an inch
thick, and the bottom bar | of an inch
thick, making the total outside measurement,
irrespective of the ears or ends of the top bar,
14 inches long by 8^ inches deep.

There was not much diversity of opinion as
to the ' Woodbury ' being about the right size,
and an attempt was made to adopt the 4± X 4 \
one-pound section as the unit, and at the same
time to retain the Woodbury frame ; but after
much contriving it was found that they would
not work together comfortably. Six of the
sections measure 12fx8|, while the Wood-
bury frame averaged 13| X 8 inches, which
' wouldn't fit noways.' It was suggested that
as there were so many Woodbury hives in
existence, it would be a good plan to retain
that size for the stock-frame, and make a
special frame to hold the sections ; but it was
pointed out that the object of the meeting was
to determine on a size for a Standard stock-
frame, and that only. There appeared to be a
kind of necessity for adopting as a standard
something that was in general use, and if the
Woodbury frame became the unit, the 4| X 4£
section would have to be thrown aside. Then,
if the Woodbury frame were adopted, whose
so-called Woodbury was it to be ? There are
dozens of them (so called) in the market, not
two of which are of equal size internally or
externally, and by referring to Mr. Woodbury's
own description, his will be found to be least
nearly correct (as now accepted) according to

244

THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 1, 1882.

the dimensions of the hive as given hy himself.
The original was 14J inches square and 9
inches deep, to hold a frame 13 inches long
and 7j deep, inside measurement, thus losing
an inch and a half in one direction, and an
inch and three quarters in the other. Then
came the question of the difficulty of finding-
so-called 9-inch boards that will hold out that
width when dry, and this coupled with the
fact that scarcely a hive amongst the many
now made is of 9 inches depth, and that
adopting it (the 9 inches) would make the
great majority wrong, only added to the per-
plexity of the matter. It was, however, event-
ually agreed not to destroy the hive measure-
ment in one direction, viz., the 14J inches
width, and this naturally made the frame to go
within it 14 inches wide outside ; and as it was
thought hoards could easily be found that will
hold 8f or more when dry, it was determined
that the frame should be 8J deep outside, and,
evidently, that the measurements should be
easily understandable, it was determined that
the top bar should be §, the ends j, and the
bottom bar ^ inch in thickness, thus making
the inside dimensions of the frames 13^ x 8
inches inside, and capable of holding six sec-
tions 4i x 4 inches, the equivalent of the 4J
as nearly as it is possible to fix it in easy
figures.

There will, doubtless, be a great outcry
against this arrangement because it will not
enqjloy the 4j sections, but there is really no
reason why we should feel ' married ' to that
particular size. The 4^ section is a standard
in America because the Langstroth hive was in
existence, and eight of them fit into the Lang-
stroth frame, and new hive-makers have had
the sense to make their frames of a size to
receive it ; but why should we English bee-
keepers stultifj' ourselves by trying to make
the Langstroth standard section fit the Wood-
bury standard hive when it is equally easy to
obtain a Standard section for England that
will fit the English Standard Woodbury?

During past years Messrs. Abbott Bros, have
imported many thousands of sections of special
size to suit the Woodbury hive, their ' Com-
bination ' system involving the use of sections
in frames to a considerable extent ; and although
they have had to pay extra for them, there lias
been no difficulty in obtaining them, though
the measurements were minutely fractional.
But now that a plain Standard section 41,
inches wide and 4 high has been practically
adopted, we have no hesitation in saying that
our American cousins will only be too glad to
make them as freely and as cheaply as they do
their own. A radical decision on any subject
can scarcely operate sweepingly at once, and
during the present year that in regard to the

frame and section will not have general effect,
but in ensuing years it will be found an in-
valuable one. It might have been better if, in
determining the size of the frame, the mode of
distance keeping and the length of the top bar
had also been determined; but these are 'burn-
ing ' questions that will solve themselves, and
may be safely left for the present. There is
already an outcry that the bottom rail of the
frame is not strong enough, but it is of ample
strength for ordinary combs, and when to be
filled with sections it will only be necessary to
put the tin dividers perpendicularly instead of
horizontally, bending the ends, so that
they shall be self-fixing to make the
frame strong enough to bear anything.
A great advantage, not at present seen
by many, lies in the fact that by the de-
cision arrived at no special section-frame
will bo necessary, because two ordinary frames
put side by side will answer every purpose,
and, indeed, will be more simple and efficacious
because the sections will be more easily re-
moveable from them.

HOW TO MAKE A FIEST-CLASS
OBSERVATORY HIVE.

( Continued from page 170.)

Having made the hive, it will be well to
provide it with a cover to protect it from
injury and keep it warm ; and there are many
methods of doing this, either of which may be
adopted.

A quilted cover, made of two thicknesses of
cloth with wadding between to draw over the
hive, will answer exceedingly well, and may, if
desired, be made highly ornamental. Another
may be made in the form of a plain bottomless
box to drop over the hive after the manner of
a sewing-machine cover. This will be very
easy to make, and will, doubtless, be adopted
by many ; but it will not be conveniently im-
moveable, and will therefore not find favour
with those to whom convenience is essential.
Our recommendation is to enclose the hive
with shutters (the best material for which will
be pine) of a thickness, which, when lined with
flannel, will bear out flush with the corner
posts, where they can easily bo fastened by
ordinary brass buttons. This arrangement
will dispense with the necessity for hinges, and
permit of the entire removal of the shutters
for cleaning, drying, or warming. The shutters
should come up to exactly the same height as
the side glasses, so that when in position the
ends of the frames will just rest on their
edges.

It will now appear why directions were given
that holes should be punched in the frame-ends

April 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

245

(see note p. 117), and if corresponding- ones be
bored in the shutter edges pins may be passed
into them, thus fixing the frames, and prevent-
ing disarrangement while on a journey to or
from a show.

It will now only remain to make the top,
which for indoor use could be in the form of a
shallow box inverted. A narrow plinth may
be put round its under edge to hide the joint,
&c, and the whole may be stained, sized, and
varnished. For the benefit of those who may
be unacquainted with the fact, we remark that
a few crystals of permanganate of potash dis-
solved in water (Condy's fluid) will make a
good stain for imitating oak, which may be
deepened as desired. If intended to stand in
the weather, the hive should have a roof
similar to any of those sent out with the
best bar - frame hive, and should be well
painted. We trust we have now given such
information as will enable many of our readers
to construct an observatory, which will be a
source of instruction and amusement to them
and to their neighbours.

We now give an illustration of the hive,

intended for outdoor use, as sent out by Messrs.
Abbott Bros., in the construction of which
slightly different plans are followed. Those
who can make a hive in this style will not
need any instructions in joinery from us, we,
therefore, refrain from offering any. The
framework is put together with mortise and
tenon after the manner of the body of a kitchen
table. The shutters, which are double and lined
with cloth, shut in to a rebate. The frames are
self-adjusting, having polished brass ends ~g
of an inch thick of Abbott's Standard shape.
The exposed edges of glass are rounded and
smoothed. The wood used is generally best
pitch pine, which, after receiving several coats
of copal varnish, is durable, and has a very
handsome appearance. Legs may be added if
desired.

On page 156 we find that the base pieces of
the hive are to be screwed to the corner-posts
with ' three two and a quarter inch screws,'
which is an error. It should read two one and
three quarter screws. The intention was that
the screws shoidd be put through the posts into
the base boards without coming through to the
(iiitside. — Ed.

Notice. — We are requested to state that the Rev.
Herbert E. Peel, Hon. Sec. of the B. B. K. A. has re-
moved from Abbot's Hill, Ilemel Hempstead, and now
resides.at Thornton Hall, Stony Stratford, Bucks.

BATH AND WELLS AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY.
Will you allow me to make knownthrough yourcolumus
that arrangements are in course of progress for holding
an Exhibition of Bees, Hives, and Bee-keeping Appliances,
in connexion with the Annual Show of the Bath and
West of England Agricultural Society, to be held at
Cardiff on May 29, and following days? I trust this
Exhibition, which has for its object the promotion of a
better knowledge of bee-keeping in South Wales and the
southern counties generally, will receive the hearty
support of all bee-keepers and hive manufacturers,
residing in the Southern and south-west counties of
England. Prize lists and entry forms for this exhibition
may be obtained upon application to the Assistant Secre-
tary, Mr. J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.— Heebebt
R. Peel, Hon. Sec. British Bee-keepers' Association.

A meeting of the Cardiff committee was held at the
Town Hall on Saturday, under the presideucy of the
mayor (Mr. A. Thomas). There were also present
Aldercnen Evans and Taylor, Councillors Lougher and
Stone, Messrs. J. S. Corbett, Edward David, R. Forrest,
Christopher Williams, E. 11. Lewis, Charles Tinker, R.
Stratton, J. H. Harding, J. W. Dowson, S. W. Kelly,
Edwin Corbett, Colonel Lindsay, and John Evans. A
letter was read from the secretary of the British Bee-
keepers' Association, offering to send down men to
arrange for an exhibition of apiaries, bee-hives, bees,
&c, and to offer premiums for local competitors who
were owners of bees, &c, provided the Bath and West
of England Society, or the local committee, would vote
the sum of SOI. towards the expenses, and provide the
necessary shedding. The committee resolved to offer
the sum of 401. to the Association, leaving them to
provide their own shedding. The Association undertook
to arrange for the entries and the award of prizes.

BRITISH BEE-KEErERS' ASSOCIATION.

Monthly Meeting of the Committee held at 105 Jermyn
Street on" Wednesday, March 15; present, Mr. T. W.
Cowan (in the chair), Rev. E. Bartrum, Hon. and Rev.
H. Bligh, J. M. Hooker, II. Jonas, Rev. G. Ray nor, Rev.
F. T. Scott, D. Stewart, W. O'B. Glennie (Treasurer),
and Rev. H. R. Peel, Hon. Sec.

The minutes of the last Meeting were read, confirmed,
and signed, the balance-sheet for the month ending Feb.
28 was also read showing a balance in hand of 707. 1*. Bd.
Letters were read from several County Associations in
respect to the mode of carrying out the arrangements
made for the management of the 'Economic Apiaries
Competition.' The following County Associations pro-
mised to undertake the necessary supervision, and to
carry out the arrangements on behalf of _ any of their
members who might enter as competitors, viz, Brecknock-

246

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 1, 1882.

shire, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Derbyshire, Devonshire,
Dorsetshire, Essex, East of Scotland, Hertfordshire, Kent,
Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and Sussex.

The Secretaries of the Surrey and "Wiltshire Asso-
ciations replied to the effect that they could not under-
take to carry out this competition.

The Counties of Berks and Bucks, and Suffolk, have
the matter under consideration ; no replies have been re-
ceived from the Secretaries of the County Associations
of Shropshire and Warwickshire.

The Secretary announced that he had received an
application for a judge to act at one of the Affiliated
County Shows, and that ho should be glad if members of
the Committee and other gentlemen who were competent
to act in that capacity would kindly undertake these
duties on behalf of County Associations in accordance
with the privileges of affiliation.

A vote of thanks was accorded to the Bev. F. Scott
for a donation of books to the Library.

In our report of the Annual General Meeting we
omitted to give the names of the several gentlemen who
were elected to serve on the Committee for the ensuing
year. We append their names with the number of votes
recorded for each candidate at the election, which took
place bv voting papers. Mr. T. W. Cowan, 220 votes ;
Rev. E. Bartrum, 211; Rev. G. Raynor, 205; Mr. J. M.
Hooker, 100; Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, 187; Mr. II.
Jonas, 170; Mr. D. Stewart, 162 ; Capt. C. D. Campbell,
136 ; Rev. P. T. Scott, 136.

The unsuccessful candidates were Mr. H. G. Morris,
06; Rev. W. H. Benn, 76; and Mr. W. W. Kettlewell,
•r)l votes. In the event of there being a vacancy on the
Committee during the current year, Mr. H. G. Morris
will, in accordance with amended rule, he the duly elected
candidate to till such vacancy.

A meeting of the Special Committee appointed by the
members of the British Bee-keepers' Association at the
Annual General Meeting was held at the Langham Hotel,
Portland Place, on Thursday, March 16; present, Mr. T.
W. Cowan (in the chair), C. N. Abbott, F. Cheshire, J.
M. Hooker, A. Neighbour, Rev. G. Raynor, Rev. F. T.
Scott. Mr. J. G. Desborough was unavoidably absent.

After much discussion and the consideration of a large
amount of correspondence it was unanimously resolved,
' That the outside dimensions of the Standard frame be
14 inches long by 85 inches deep, the top bar § thick,
bottom bar -„- thick, and the side bar J thick, these di-
mensions not to refer to anything outside the rectangle.'
Pattern Standard frames duly stamped and.labelled may
be obtained at Is. each, upon application to the As-
sistant-Secretary, J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.

The next Conversazione will take place at 6 p.m. on
Wednesday, April ] 2th, in the Board Room of the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, at
lOo Jermyn Street. Subject for discussion: 'A Bee-
keeper's experience in Cyprus and Syria,' to be intro-
duced by Mr. Thomas B. Blow, of Welwyn, Herts.

HERTFORDSHIRE ASSOCIATION.
Arrangements are in course of progress for holding
the Annual Show of this Association at Hertford to-
wards the close of the month of August. A local com-
mittee has been formed and a guaranteo fund of 30/. is
being provided to ensure the committee against any loss
that may arise from adverse weather or otherwise.

DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

On Monday evening a meeting was held in the Grand
Jury Room of the Derby Town Hall, for the purpose of
setting on its feet the newly-formed Derbyshire Bee-
keepers' Association. The chair was taken by Mr. F.
Longilon, J .P., and there were present about thirty others.
The Hon. Secretary then read a list of noblemen and gentle-
men who had consented to act as president and vice-

presidents of the Association. Mr. Copestake proposed
that the thanks of the Association be given to his Grace
the Duke of Devonshire for his kindness in accepting
the post of president, and that he be didy elected to that
office. Mr. J. Wibberley (Littleover) seconded the mo-
tion, which was carried unanimously.

Dr. Ogle next proposed a vote of thanks to, and the
election of, the following vice-presidents, viz. : — The
Bishop of Lichfield, Lord Edward Cavendish, Sir W. V.
Harcourt, Sir Francis Burdett, the Archdeacon of Derby,
Mr. T. W. Evans, M.P., Mr. Chandos-Pole, Rev. Nigel
Gresley, Mr. W. Drury Lowe, Mr. Godfrey Meynell, Mr.
H. C. Okeover, Mr. F. N. Smith, Mr. Rowland Smith,
Lord Waterpark, Sir Henrv Wilmot, M.P., Col. F. W.
Newdiga'te, Sir John Alleviie, Mr. T. H. Oakes, Mr. W.
Gladwyn Turbutt.

The meeting then went on to consider the adoption of
the rules, which having been passed, Mr. W. Copestake
was appointed treasurer, Mr. II. V. Edwards hon. sec, and
T. H. Harrison auditor. The following gentlemen were
appointed on the committee : — Dr. Ogle, Rev. J. Wadham
(Weston-on-Trent), Rev. J. Hughes (Chellaston), and
Messrs. F. Walker Cox, Biggs, Dean, Goodwin, John
Longdon and Wibberley.

We are requested to add that the hon. sec. will be
very glad to receive the co-operation of bee-keepers and
gentlemen interested in the subject of apiculture in all
parts of the county, as it is very essential, if the Asso-
ciation is to become a successful county institution, that
all who can give any assistance should do so. It is pro-
posed shortly to get a gentleman down for a lecturing
tour in the county.

WA RWICKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
We have been requested to state that the Annual
General meeting of the above Association will take
place on Thursday the 13th April inst. at one o'clock p.m.
at the Grand Hotel, Colemore Row, Birmingham. J. N.
Bower, Esq., of Knowle, the hon. sec, will be glad to
give any information or receive subscriptions in respect
of the Association.

SUSSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Two lectures were given on consecutive Mondays in
February in the St. John's schoolrooms, Crowborough,
near Tunbridge Wells, on ' Profitable Bee-keeping.' The
lecturer, P. II. Phillips, Esq., a member of the British
Bee-keepers' Association, and also of the Sussex Asso-
ciation, was introduced by the Rev. A. Smith,
vicar of the parish. On the first night there was
not a large attendance at the time the lecture should
have begun. A small charge had been made for admit-
tance. Taking his cue from the paper read by the Rev.
II. Peel at a meeting of the parent Association, Mr.
Phillips advised the pence to be refunded, and the men
who had paid were asked to go out and to try and get
an audience. In ten minutes there was a good attend-
ance, and so deeply interested were those who listened
and saw, that by a general request the lecturer was
induced to promise a repetition of the lecture on the
following Monday. The second evening saw, for a
small village, quite a large audience, composed almost
entirety of cottagers, some having come from a distance,
although the night was rainy and windy.

On both occasions the remarks made were illustrated
by diagrams and apparatus, many of which had been
kindly lent for the occasion by T. W. Cowan, Esq. The
natural history of the bee, and the internal economy of
the bee-hive, were first briefly explained, and then the
lecturer entered fully into the more humane and profit-
able system of bee-keeping, lie had rescued bees from
the sulphur-pits in various cottagers' gardens last autumn,
and he now invited those cottagers to see his bees, strong
and healthy, in bar-frame hives of home manufacture —

April 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

247

imilar to Abbott's Irish hives, but -without broad-
houldered frame-bars. He showed them the right size
of straw-hive to use, one holding some three pecks,
instead of the small dome-shaped ones of the district ;
how to super such hives, using a lid from an American
cheese-box, packed with sectional supers. At intervals
pauses were made during the lecture to give opportu-
nities for questions, and the men were not slow to take
advantage of such opportunities, and to ask many perti-
nent questions. Two, which were answered to the satis-
faction of the questioners, were — How is a poor man to
pay down 15s. for a swarm of bees and hive F and, How
about the bees swarming when a man is at work all
day, excepting at his dinner hour? Advice was given
to save Is. a- week out of beer and tobacco-money up to
swarming time if he was in earnest about keeping bees ;
and artificial swarming and large hives woidd be in
nearly all cases a prevention to losing swarms. Artifi-
cial swarming was fully explained, and several cottagers
were glad to accept an offer made to meet them in the
swarming season at one of their cottages, and to drive a
swarm from a hive ripe for the operation.

The bar-frame hive was shown together and in parts,
and many availed themselves of the invitation to remain
after the lecture, and to make notes and a more minute
examination of the various articles useful in bee-keeping.
The sectional supers and samples of foundation were
much admired. The lecturer distributed a number of
circulars, giving explanations of the benefits the county
Association held forth to them, and the meeting ter-
minated with a most hearty vote of thanks to Mr.
Phillips, who, we believe, has sown seed which will bear
good fruit diu-ing the present summer.

It is intended to hold the first general meeting of the
members of the Sussex Bee-keepers^ Association on Friday,
14th April, at 3 p.m., at the Friends' Meeting-house in
Prince Albert Street, Brighton, which has been placed at
the disposal of the Association gratuitously. The Bight
Hon. the Earl of Chichester, the President of the Asso-
ciation, will preside, and it is hoped that by having the
meeting at Brighton a large number of bee-keepers will
be able to attend. All bee-keepers and any interested in
bee-keeping are invited to attend.

Thos. Wm. Cowan, Organizing Secretary.

At a Conversazione of the Brighton and Sussex
Natural History Society, held at the Royal Pavilion,
Brighton, on 22nd March, a paper was read on ' Bees'
by 'Mr. B. Lomas, C.E., who is on the committee of
the Sussex Bee-keepers' Association.

LEICESTERSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.

By some mischance the name of the Treasurer was
wrongly reported in the February Journal. It should
have been W. L. Emmerson, Esq., of Walthain. Mem-
bers' names are almost daily added; there is a fair
prospect of the committee being able to make a good
appearance before the public at the Agricultural So-
ciety's Show in July. Edwin Ball, Esq., of Waltham,
Melton Mowbray, is the Honorary Secretary of the
Association. The advantages of membership are : — Free
admission to all exhibitions and any bee tent ; Free
admission to all lectures and meetings ; A sure market
for honey; The opportunity of learning much more
about bee-keeping ; The privilege of competing for prizes
at shows — entry free.

IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A meeting of the Committee of the Irish Bee-Keepers'
Association was held on Feb. 11th, at which a letter,
dated Dec. 2nd, 1881, from a gentleman holding an ap-
pointment in the Royal Dublin Society to a member of
our Committee was read. In it the writer expressed a

wish that we should send our Bee Tent to the Society's
Spring Cattle. Show, to be held on April 11th, and
following days. The gentleman to whom this letter was
addressed sent it, with one from himself, on Jan. 25th
to our Hon. Treasurer, who produced both and a copy
of his reply at the meeting mentioned above. A resolu-
tion was passed requesting Mr. J. K. Millnerand myself
to call at the Royal Dublin Society House, which .we
did, and the result is that free space for our Bee Tent at
the show has been granted, and the Committee of the
Royal Dublin Society passed a resolution authorising us
to make a charge of Gd. for each person admitted to the
Tent, the. money taken to go to our funds. We intend to
have in the Tent lectures on bee-keeping and the working
of the bar-frame hive.

The first intelligence of the wish of the Royal Dublin
Society that we should be represented at the Cattle Show
readied me as stated above, and no time was lost in
taking action in the matter.

I have gone fully into particulars lest you might be
mistaken as to the cause of my (or our) sudden activity. — ■
Robert Sproule, Richmond Road, Fairvieio, Co. Dublin,
Mar. 10, 1882.

SHOWS AND BEE TENT FIXTURES, 1882.

April 11 (Tuesday). — Irish Bee-keepers' Association
Show at Dublin, in connexion with the Royal Dublin
Society. R. Sproule, Hon. Sec.

May 24, 25. — Oxfordshire Agricultural Show at
Witney.

May 29- June 2. — Bath and West of England Agricul-
tural Show at Cardiff.

June 14, 15. — Cornwall Agricultural Show at Laun-
ceston.

June 28 ( Wednesday). — Devon and Exeter Association
at Barnstaple, N. Devon. W. N. Griffin, Hon. Sec.

June 29 (Thursday). — Norfolk and Norwich Associa-
tion: Grand County Show at Norwich, in connexion with
the Horticultural Society's Rose Show. Rev. J. Blake
Hunifrey, Hon. Sec.

July 5. — Wimbledon Horticultural Show.

July 10-14. — British Bee-keepers' at Royal Agricul-
tural Society's Show at Reading. Mr. Huckle, King's
Langley, Assistant Hon. Sec.

July 11 (Tuesday). - New Hampton, Middlesex, in
connexion with the Flower Show. Hon. and Rev. H.
Bligh, Hon. Sec.

July 25 (Tuesday). — Devon and Exeter at North
Tawton, N. Devon. Eev. J. G. Danger and W. N.
Griffin, Hon. Sees.

July 25-28 (Tuesday to Friday inclusive). — Caledonian
Apiarian Association at Glasgow. R. J. Bennett, Hon.
Sec.

July 20. — Dane Hill,near Uckfield, Horticultural Show.

July 20, 27. — Leicestershire County Bee-keepers' As-
sociation Show.

August 3-8 (Thursday to Tuesday inclusive, missing
Sunday). — British Bee-keepers' Association at South
Kensington.

August 5, 7. — Southampton Horticultural Show.

August 29. — Long Buckby Horticultural Show.

August 30, 31.— Great Yarmouth Horticultural Show.

August 31. — West Grinstead Horticultural Show.

September 7. — Horsham Horticultural Show.

Other fixtures are hi course of arrangement.

July 27,

HERTFORDSHIRE ASSOCIATION.

-Potter's Bar Horticultural Show.

PROFITS OF BEE TENTS.
I notice in your issue for March the report of the
Annual General Meeting of the Essex Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation, in which Mr. Aubrey is reported to have alluded
to the statement made by the Rev. II. R. Peel in a
, paper recently read by him before the members of the

248

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 1, 1882.

British Bee-keepers' Association, 'that in fine weather
it was possible to make ten, fifteen, or twenty pounds
with the Bee Tent.' Mr. Aubrey also stated that 'it
did not seem possible to make 20/. at one show.' As
these statistics were supplied to Mr, Peel by myself, I
beg to append a list of shows where such amounts have
been realised at various times, viz. : —

Pdgbaston Horticultural Show £31 1 3

Southampton Horticultural Show 21 3 6

Chislehurst Horticultural Show 11 5 9

"Warwickshire Agricultural Show at Atherston . 10 15 9
Mr. Aubrey also refers to the small amount of profits
made by the Bee Tent of the Hertfordshire Association.
I regret to say that we have no large shows held in
Hertfordshire. The exhibitions at which our Bee Tent
attends are chiefly local Cottage Garden Shows, and it
seoms hardly fair to make a comparison with a county
where the opportunities of making profits are not so
large. The charge for admission to the Bee Tent in
Hertfordshire seldom exceeds threepence.

The Hertfordshire Bee Tent was purchased at the
commencement of 1880, costing 20/. Towards this
amount we received 1-3/. 8s. Gd. in donations from the
members, and the profits for that year amounted to
11/. 3s. 6d., leaving a balance in favour of the Associa-
tion of 4/. 12s. The Hertfordshire Association's profits
derived from the Bee Tent were nearly double (in pro-
portion) to that of the Essex Association in 1881, the
receipts of the former being 21/. lis. 8d., with a profit
of 5/. 19s. Qd., whilst the Essex Association, with an
income of 43/. 15s. Qcl, only realised as profits the sum
of 6/. 16s. 2id.

It may interest your readers to know (especially those
engaged in the formation of County Associations) that
the profits derived from the Bee Teiit of the Warwick-
shire Association during the year 1880 amounted to
83/. 3s. 6U— J. Hucklb, Assistant Sec. to the British
and Hertfordshire Bee-keepers' Associations, March 23.

A WORD FOB SOMERSET.
One of the best ways of making a good start in
Somerset would be to hold a Bee and Honey Show at
one of the Floral Exhibitions to be held in Bath this
year. This charming city is easily reached from various
parts of Somerset, Wilts, Gloucestershire, and Dorset,
and a good show is certain. Will our energetic and
enthusiastic Honorary Secretary please to talk to the
central Committee about it, and arrange to send the
Bee-Tent and expert ? It would Lbe a novelty at Bath,
and the residents like "novelties ; so it would be pretty
certain to pay well. There would, without doubt, be a
splendid sale for honey if it was put up attractively and
in convenient lots. The Secretary of the Hanoverian
Band Committee, Bath, would give dates of the shows
and other particulars. Several local bee-keepers would
gladly render assistance. — Llongbohth.

ECONOMIC BEE-KEEriNG.

[The accompanying letter from the Royal Cornwall
Gazette, written by the Hon. Sec. of the Cornwall Bee-
keepers' Association, places the ' Bligh Competition ' iu
such a clear and forcible manner that we gladly give it
insertion in our columns.]

Sin, — Will you permit me to make known, through
the medium of your columns, a movement which will
tend to bring bee-keeping; more prominently under the
notice of the people of England. The Hon. and Rev.
II. Bligh, of New Hampton, last November, offered the
British Bee-Keepers' Association a sum of money to be
awarded in prizes for the best results to be obtained
from apiaries to be worked at a cost within the reach of
cottagers who are disposed to exercise a little thrift.
The matter has been fully considered by the committer

of the Association and has resulted in a scheme which, if
properly carried out, will prove to the country that bee-
keeping is a profitable undertaking, and show the rela-
tive merits of the different systems of bee-management.
The Central Association has issued an appeal to all the
affiliated county branches to assist in the proper conduct
of the competition, and at a meeting of the committee
of the Cornwall Bee-keepers' Association on Monday, it
was unanimously resolved to co-operate in the move-
ment. Six prizes are offered, amounting in the aggre-
gate to 21/., and the rules, drafted by the British
Bee-keepers' Association, are such as to preclude any
doubtful conduct on the part of the competitors. The
competition is to be undertaken by expert bee-keepers,
who are to establish and maintain an apiary in the
garden of any cottager who will grant permission, the
total capital to be employed not to exceed 21. These
experimental apiaries are to be started next May, and to
be continued until the end of August, 1883. A strict
diary is to be kept by the competitor, a cop}' of which
must be lodged with the cottager, in whose garden the
experiment is carried out. In this even' item of expen-
diture and receipts during the competition is to be en-
tered, and the apiary and diary are to be open to the
inspection of the secretary of the County Association, or
any deputies he may appoint for the purpose, at any
reasonable time. Immediately the competition termi-
nates the diaries are to be forwarded to the British Bee-
keepers' Association, who will adjudge the prizes. Your
readers will see that a strict supervision will be main-
tained over the hives; and as our County Association has
made such a good start, I hope some of its members will
come forward and take part in this important competi-
tion. There are a large number of bee-keepers in Corn-
wall, and if the efforts of those who have undertaken the
active work of the Cornish Association resrdt in an
extension of apicultural knowledge, and in a more
humane treatment of bees, an important step will have
been taken to advance the position of our cottage popula-
tion. Yours, &c, — Chas. Kent, March 15.

AUSTRIAN SOCIETY OF BEE FRIENDS.

The Austrian Society of Bee Friends offers four
prizes for the best articles on Bee-culture, one golden,
one silver, and two bronze medals. English and French
writers are invited to compete. The articles to be
forwarded to'R. Mayerhiiffer, President, Taschwitz, near
Karlsbad, before July 1st of this year.

THE CYPRUS AND MOUNT LEBANON
APIARIES.

In the B. B. Journal, for February, page 217, 1 find
in the ' Reply to Query No. 443,' signed ' Ed.,' the fol-
lowing statements, which are such as to demand a word
of correction from me : ' It was claimed by Messrs.
Jones and Benton that the Cyprian and Syrian bees
were distinct in character, and they immediately set to
work to breed both races in the Cyprians' apiary ; and
the Italian breeders have been doing worse by bringing
Cyprians and Syrians among their Ligurian apiaries,
so that presently it will be difficult to find or keep a pure
race at all.' True, Mr. Jones, as well as rnyself, think
the Cyprian and Syrian bee sufficiently 'distinct iu
character' to merit different names. But the next state-
ment can best be answered by a brief account of the
work undertaken by Mr. Jones and myself. We came to
Cyprus together in March, L880, and immediately estab-
lished an apiary in Larnaca. While purchasing colonies
in Cyprus and rearing queens in the apiary at Larnaca,
Mr. Jones went to Syria and obtained a number of
colonies of Syrian bees, also from Palestine a number
of colonies were obtained. These were brought to
Cyprus and transferred at once from the clay cylinders

April 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

249

into frarno hives. The drones were destroyed in order
to prevent the mis-rnating of young Cyprian queens ;
and, in order to ascertain what effect crossing Syrian
queens with Cyprian drones (the handsomest of all
drones) would have, a few Syrian and a few Palestine
queens were hatched in the apiary at Larnaca. Then
Sir. Jones started on his homeward journey, tailing with
him every Syrian queen and every Palestine queen which
he had brought to Cyprus, and also all queens reared
from those mothers. After that a few daughters of the
original imported Syrian queens were permitted to hatch,
and were sent out by me as Syrian queens fertilized by
Cyprian drones, but none of these were sent to England
or to Italy, except a single one sent to the Editor of B. B.
Journal, and mentioned on page 45, of July number,
1880. All colonies having been supplied with queen-
cells from Cyprian mothers, and the hatching of Syrian
and Palestine drones having been prevented, it will
readily be seen that there was not after that time a drop
of Syr-ian or Palestine blood in the apiary, except, of
course, the few worker-bees, the progeny of the queens
sent away. The past season also I obtained a few
colonies from the mainland, and, after sending the queens
away, hatched a few daughters from their brood, so as
to produce a cross between Syrian queens and Cyprian
drones, and all these latter were sent to Mr. Jones, in
- Canada, for purposes of experiment. Thus, at the pre-
sent time there are no bees in Cyprus that contain the least
taint of any foreign blond, nor has there in fact any ad-
mixture of races taken place. Furthermore, as the state-
ments above quoted bring in question the quality of
queens sent out by me, I have only to say that every
queen sent out as a Cyprian queen is bred in Cyprus ;
every one sent out a8 a Syrian is bred in Syria ; and
every Palestine queen comes from Palestine, and at least
in this part of the world, if not in other parts, there
exists not the least chance of an intermixture of the
races.

It is true that the Italian queen breeders have been
getting Cyprian bees. This they have done in the belief
that the latter would improve their own bees, and if
they continue in this direction they are not likely to he
disappointed, for the bees of Cyprus, as well as those of
Syria, possess an animal vigour and power of trans-
mitting their qualities to their offspring with other bees,
not found among Italian bees. Speaking of crossing
Cyprian and Italian bees, Count Gaetano Barbi, Presi-
dent of the National Society for the Encouragement of
Bee-Culture in Italy, and one of the highest authorities
in that country on hee matters, recently wrote : ' I am
convinced that the crossing of Cyprian drones with
Italian queens will give good results.' Professor Sar tori,
of Milan, another of Italy's first authorities in bee-culture,
it was who imported the first Cyprian bees into Italy,
and since then other prominent queen-breeders there have
obtained them. I have sent a number of consignments
direct from Cyprus there, but have sent no Syrian as
yet, nor do I think any of this last race have gone there
alive. I have good reason to believe that all the Syrian
and Palestine bees thus far landed in Italy were collected
in alcohol by an Italian queen-breeder, who then wrote
some columns for publication, in order to tell of his
wonderful exploit in capturing them ! In closing, I
would like to mention still another point which may not
be generally known in England, as I am sure it is not in
America, namely, the fact that black bees exist in Italy.
Of this I can adduce many authorities, and from the
Italian bee journals themselves, as witnesses. Thus I do
not believe the introduction of Cyprian bees there will
make things any worse, but it is quite possible an im-
provement maybe effected in the bees of Italy. — Frank
Benton, Mount Lebanon Apian/, Beyrout, Syria, March

[We willingly publish this letter, but Mr. Jones him-
self is responsible for the statement quoted above. — Ed.]

CaiTCSponbcnxc.

*»* These columns are open to subscribers, so that their
queries, replies, correspondence, and experiences may be
fully and faithfully recorded : anil for the discussion of all
theories and systems in Bee-culture, and of the relative merits
of all hives and appurtenances, that the truth regarding them
may be ascertained. The Editor, therefore, must not be ex-
pected to coincide with all the views expressed by the various
writers. All Correspondence is addressed to the Editor.

SWARMING versus NON-SWARMING.

I have been repeatedly asked whether, the
production of honey being the sole object, will
one gain most by preventing swarming as much as
possible, or by swarming a strong stock in May,
building up the swarm with foundation (which is
now so cheap), and giving a queen to the queen-
less hive, so that when the later honey yield begins
there may be two strong hives to gather instead of
one.

In reply, a good deal may be said on both sides :
in the first case, suppose a stock be strong enough
to swarm, if a swarm be taken from it, the chances
are the stock will still be able to gather food
enough to feed its brood, &c, while the swarm
will secure sufficient to enable it to convert its
foundation into comb, and raise a large batch of
brood, so that in about a month after the division
each hive will be in nearly, or quite, as good con-
dition as the stock was at first. But it will be
evident that as the stock could support itself with-
out the swarm, the latter, if left in the hive, would
have been able to store all it gathered ; and as
thei'e is every reason to suppose it would not have
gathered less than if on an independent stand, thei-e
would probably be from 20 lbs. to 50 lbs. (or more)
of surplus honey which the bee-keeper could appro-
priate.

Again, if the weather were so unfavourable that
the undivided stock could put by no stores, it is
certain that if divided, both parent and swarm
would require artificial aid to enable them to live
and prosper. If, however, the later harvest could
be depended on, there is not the slightest doubt
but that the dividing and building-up system would
be the more lucrative, as the extra amount of honey
stored by the two stocks would more than com-
pensate for the loss in the first instance ; and if it
were not desirable to keep both stocks they could
be united and the yield augmented by the extrac-
tion of all the honey in the spare combs, which
latter could be saved to start a colony on similar
terms in the next season. It is thus evident that
in a so-called early season the non-swarming system
would be most productive, but in a late season the
swarming plan would yield largest returns. It has
often been observed that a stock which has
swarmed has done better than one similar in other
respects which has not swarmed. This disparity
may generally be accounted for by the fact that the
former is sure to be headed by a 3*oung queen,
while the latter may have one several years old
and comparatively worthless. — J. A. Abbott,
Southall.

250

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 1, 1882.

ABBOTT'S WOODBURY STANDARD v. THE
STANDARD FRAME.

I have been waiting for some time for the
adoption of a Standard frame by the Bee-Keepers'
Association, but now find that I must adopt your
Woodbury in preference to it for the following reasons
among others : — 1st. The Standard frame is so near
the size of your Woodbury that those who are now
using yours will scarcely care to change. I may
here remark that I do not at present possess a single
frame of your Woodbury size. 2nd. As an ordinary
9-inch board does not plane up more than 8J in.
the depth of frame will leave nothing for shrinkage.
3rd. A top bar only § in. thick sometimes sinks out
of the level, especially if it have a saw cut through
it. 1th. The sides being only \ inch thick the top
bars would take much longer time nailing on in
order to avoid splitting them ; and further \ inch
would not be sufficiently thick for the sides of Giotto
frames. 5th. A bottom bar only £ inch thick, even
if of very hard wood, would hardly support sections
of honey without bending considerably. 6th. If the
sections are intended to be 4 in. by 4-J?, both frames
and sections will have to ' be very accurately made
or they will not fit each other, to say nothing of
warping. 7th, aud lastly, as no length has been
defined for top bar, hives will scarcely be more
interchangeable than hitherto. — A. T. Wilmot, St.
Albans.

FEEDING-STAGE AND QUILT COMBINED.

I have been for some time convinced that the
use of crown-boards is a mistake, as they tend to
prevent free evaporation and escape of moisture
from the hive. I have adopted in their place a
quilt constructed with Bass matting, such as comes
round tea-chests, and can be had at the grocer's at
a very small cost — four or five thicknesses of which
are laid together after straightening out, and
fastened securely with paper clips. They are then
cut to the exact size of the top of the hive with a
pair of scissors, and a round hole cut out of the
centre with a sharp penknife about four inches in
diameter, into which is introduced a circular flat
piece of wood about J in. thick, having the edge
scalloped out so that the bass fits tightly round it ;
the piece of wood has a round hole cut out of its
centre about two inches in diameter. The quilt
thus formed is then laid over the top of the hive on
the bars. The centre hole can be plugged with a
piece of flannel in winter time, which can be
removed when it is desirable to feed the bees ; and
a circular piece of ebonite or zinc, having a few
holes bored through with a fine bradawl, can be
placed over the centre hole on which the feeding-
bottle is placed, or a revolving feeding-stage can be
adjusted to the ring of wood.

I find this form of quilt allows of free ventila-
tion, and the bees do not propolisc it down, and it
also keeps the bees at an even temperature. I use
a circular piece of ebonite about J in. thick for
feeding-stage, having about six holes bored through
with a fine bradawl made hot in a gas-flame. If
less holes are required they can be easily plugged

with a match cut to the required size. — T. B.
Latchmore, Brand Street, Hitchin.

[These quilts answer well enough when in position,
but the difficulty is in putting- them there without
crushing the bees. We prefer -a quilt that has for its
first a very thin light layer that cannot injure bees;
above that we lay ' anything ' porous. — En.]

SKEPS COATED WITH CEMENT.

I have thoroughly examined my bees, and find
that the straw skeps that I had covered with
cement were exactly how you thought they would
be. They were very damp inside, so I have taken
it off. I am very pleased to say that I am one of
the fortunate cottagers that have the British Bee
Journal lent to me as mentioned in last month's
Journal, for without that I should be quite in the
dark. I think this has been a most trying winter
for bee-keepers, especially cottagers, as it has been
so mild. Bees have consumed a large quantity of
food, and will require great attention in the spring
months. Please will you tell me if bees can en-
tirely live on barley sugar, as I like it much better
than syrup, and they do not fly about so much in
the cold spring and die from cold. — C. Pollard,
Haiujldey, Suffolk.

[Barley-sugar is a good substitute for honey; bees
can live on it for a long while, hut cannot breed without
pollen. — Ed.]

ADVANCED BEE-KEEPING.

Now that the subject of frame-hives is so promi-
nently before the world I should like to know if there
is any system known whereby a frame can be taken
out of a hive without the escape of the bees, for I
shall never consider any system in connexion with
bar-frames complete until they can be removed
individually from the hive, say for inspection, or to
be placed in another hive, but if required to be
placed again in the same hive, either in the old or
in a new position, without the escape of the bees,
and this all to be done without the aid of smoke or
anything of that kind ; and when this end is obtained
(if it is not already obtained) I think there will be
one more step made in advance, and one strong
objection removed to the adoption of the bar-frame.
— William Humphreys, Apiary Cottage, Cuddington,
March 7, 1882.

[There would be no difficulty in making such a hive,
but it would be very expensive and practically useless.
—Ed.]

THE COMING STANDARD BAR-FRAME
HIVE.

The British Bee-keepers' Association in trying to
fix on a standard frame, has wisely written to the
principal bee-masters in England for their expe-
rience. I sent them word that I hoped they would
not fix on a hive less than ten inches deep inside
measure, as, from my long experience and having
tried nearly every size and make of hives, 1 found
hives of that depth do the best.

I once had some of the Rev. L. L. Langstroth's
hives, nine inches deep (the hive adapted and used
by Mr. Woodbury), and working at the same time

April 1, 1882.

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

251

some hives ten inches deep, that my father got
made in 1806, and I always found that the bees
did much better in the deeper hives, so I adopted
the ten inches deep for my standard hive.

There is no advantage in adapting Langstroth's
shallow frames, as recommended by Mr. Woodbury,
as nearly all hive-manufacturers make the so-called
Woodbury hive a different depth.— William Care,
Newton Heath Apiary, near Manchester.

THE STEWARTON HIVE.

I read Mr. Briscoe's letter in your Journal, in
reference to Stewarton hives, and quite agree with
his remarks.

At the beginning of 1881 I commenced the
season badly with one Stewarton hive; impru-
dently, during the winter, I left on a partly-
finished super, into which the queen entered, and
in the spring I got her majesty again into the
breeding-box, I then gave an additional breeding-
box, and all went well. This hive yielded me
about 1 cwt. of beautiful honey in white comb, but
if I had commenced the season more favourably I
think I should have had nearly 2 cwt. of honey.

During the summer of last year, while the very
hot weather lasted, my bees in the Stewarton hive
were busily at work, while the bees of the Wood-
bury hives were hanging out and doing nothing.
Another advantage connected with the Stewarton
hive is, the fact of bees wintering so well in them ;
I simply cover the hive over with a loose-fitting
box that goes all over it, and find no dampness
whatever. Those who are opposed to the much-
abused Stewarton system complain of the difficulty
of taking the hives to pieces in order to inspect the
queen ; this is perfectly true, but if the object of
keeping bees is, as I understand, to get a large
quantity of good honey, my impression is, that the
Stewarton hives are particularly adapted for that
purpose.— W. R. Deykin, Edgbaston.

THE GIOTTO PRINCIPLE.
In view of the interest which is being taken in
the ' Giotto ' hive, it would perhaps be advisable to
inform your readers, through the medium of your
valuable Journal, that its inventor is about, issuing
a fourth and revised edition of his book and dia-
grams, and I have already arranged with my friend,
Mr. ' Giotto,' for a copy to be sent to the Associa-
tion Library as soon as it comes out of the printer's
hands. — John Camaschella, Hon. Representative of
the Central Bee Association of Italy.

THE 'COPY ABLE HIVE.'

I think that the thanks of the entire bee-keeping
world are justly due to you for thegiftyou haverecent-
ly presented to it under the name of the ' Copyable
Hive.' I am only a beginner in bee-keeping, and I
have already wished to see my bees occupying a
hive of my own building, so I hunted through
many books I have on this subject, but not being-
possessed of any manipulating skill in the carpen-

tering line, I could not muster up sufficient courage
to make an attempt upon any that I found de-
scribed.

On reading your directions in the Journal for
November last, under the heading ' How to make
a First-class Hive,' I resolved at once to try my hand
at them, and the result has indeed greatly pleased
me, being now in possession of a really first-class
hive of my own building. The only part of the
w-ork that I doubted being able to perform properly
was the securing of the hive-sides to the ends,
exactly 14£ inches apart, and parallel to each
other, I was afraid that they might shift a trifle in
the nailing; to obviate this I cut two pieces of
board exactly 14^ inches long, and after having
tested the edges with the square, I nailed them
respectively on to the centre of the front and back
boards, instead of ruling the lines upon them, as
shown in your illustration (cc, page 129); this
enabled me to hold the sides firmly against the
ledges formed by the 14^ inch board, and to secure
them in their proper position without the least fear
of their shifting during the work. I have carefully
detailed this part of the work in the hope that it
may be of service to others who may be no better
workmen than myself; you may possibly think
this an unnecessary addition to your admirable
instructions, which are in all details remarkably
clear, concise, and easy to carry out ; but I can
assure you that it is quite possible for a novice like
myself to find, in spite of the utmost care, that the
work has somehow gone wrong when tested.

The ' Copyable Hive ' appears to me (in spite of
its having been overlooked by the Judges) to be a
truly great advance in the progressive work of
popularising bee-keeping, for it is truly, firstly, as
good a hive as ever bees delighted to dwell in ;
secondly, it can be made by anybody ; thirdly, its
cost is the value of an old box or two, which can
often be had almost for the asking.

I hope to hear that many of your subscribers
have availed themselves of your generosity, thereby
gaining much pleasure and some benefit. — Lewis
Wolff, Denbigh Lodge, Lower Norwood.

THE INVENTOR OF TAPERED OR WEDGED-
SHAPED FRAMES, AS USED IN MODERN
BAR-FRAME HIVES.

I was pleased to see in your excellent Bee
Journal, page 229, that my friend, the Rev. George
Raynor, so promptly corrected the mistake he
made in the paper he read at the last Quarterly
Meeting of the British Bee-keepers' Association (see
British Bee Journal, p. 203), where, speaking of
tapered frames, which from long practical ex-
perience he so strongly recommended, said, ' Its
inventor, Mr. Abbott, if he had conferred no other
favour on bee-keepers, would have deserved our
warmest thanks.'

I was also pleased to see that you, Mr. Editor,
so frankly acknowledged (as is your custom when-
ever you see a mistake) that I was the inventor or
first used wedge-shaped or tapered frames in a
modem bar-frame hive.

252

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 1, 1882.

I made a set of rectangular bar-frames for one of
the hives my father got made in 1806, and in
transferring the combs out of a common straw-
hive, it struck me it would be much better if the
frames were made wedge-shaped, as the combs
could be fixed firmer in the frames, and would be
much easier to manipulate, as it would give more
space as I lifted the frame up out of the hive. It
would also give me a larger comb, or a greater
number of cells in the same size of hive.

So the second set of frames I made them tapered
or wedge-shaped by leaving the bottom of the
frame the same length as the first set of frames I
made ; but the top of the frame I made half an
inch longer. These were the first bar-frame hives
I ever used, and I have used in my hives only
wedge-shaped frames ever since, and every time I
open one of these hives I am more in love with the
tapered frames. I never crush a bee and teach all
bee-keepers, that the first law for successful bee-
keeping is ' never to kill a bee,' not even to destroy
one by allowing it to sting you.

My frames are half-an-inch longer at the top
than at the bottom, which is quite sufficient for
every purpose, and much better than a more
tapered frame.

These, my first bar-frame hives, Mr. Editor, were
in use, I believe, many years before you ever made
a bar-frame hive, and before our late friend, Mr.
Woodbury, ever wrote an article on bees in the
Journal of Horticulture. — William Carr, Newton
Heath Apiary, near Manchester.

[We did not, so far as we are aware, make admission
of mistake, nor did Mr. Raynor in the article alluded to
above, and Mr. Can- appears to be slightly begging the
question. All that has ever been claimed for the Carr
frame (to our knowledge) is that ' The wedge shape of
the frames is found a convenience when fitting combs in
frames (i.e., transferring them — En.), for should they
give way a little they become more firmly wedged' (see
Neighbour and Sons' Catalogue, 1808). — Ed.

SECTIONS IN REAR OR ON TOP OF HIVE?

I wrote to you at the early part of last summer
recommending hives of a form to hold supers in the
body of the hive, of course protected with the square-
holed zinc. I fear I might have misled some of
your readers, and I may say I was induced to
recommend inside storage of sections from the
readiness with which both old stocks and swarms
took to them. My experience later on in the
summer was dead against this plan, and I shall
never again put sections in the body of a hive for
the following reasons : —

My bees swarmed early and were put in ten
frame Woodbury hives, with seven frames, and the
rest filled in with six 2-lb. sections (we can't do
with larger hives in this part of Yorkshire). All
went well until the bees required more room, when
supers were put on the top, and in every case (some
fifteen hives in all) the bees (I found in removing
supers in autumn) had left the inside sections un-
finished and filled the top ones, evidently preferring
them to those inside. I had not a single inside
super finished, and all were of a dirty white colour

and unfit for use as comb honey. This, of course,
was from the heat of the hive and the greater
number of bees stored on the combs. I know you
will say that I put on the top supers too soon, but
if I had not done so the bees would have swarmed.
You will then say that Woodbury hives are not
large enough for our district, but here again you
are wrong, as I have never had a complete set of
sixteen 2-lb. sections yet from the top of a Wood-
bury, and in most seasons the bees hardly manage to
fill the ten frames even with the aid of foundation
and feeding. Even with the disadvantage of a bad
district and bad summers I can make my bees pay
pretty well, but not like you can in the south. I
am going to try another plan this year, using eight
frame Woodbury single wall hives, and instead of
supering (we have no sale for super honey about
here) put another of the same size on the top, of
course with the thick flat foundation, and use the
extractor frequently. I quite agree with the Rev.
G. Raynor (see letter in March B. B. J. ) that bees
winter well with open frame-ends if you confine
them to six or seven frames. I have done that for
several winters and have had no losses. I even go
further : I believe that single-wall hives will winter
bees well if you confine them to six frames, with
dummies on each side. This makes the hive really
double-walled on two sides. I have not lost bees
yet on this plan, but have not tried it on a large
enough scale to be quite certain.

I broke up an old wooden hive the other day, the
bees had died for want of food in the winter, after
that very wet summer of two years since. The
owner said there had been bees in the hive for
forty years. The top was covered with zinc, and it
and the sides had been painted every year, and the
wood was quite sound. The cells were very small
and black, and of an immense thickness. So much
for single- walled hives. — Yorkshire Tyke.

P.S. — I forgot to say I have a piece of zinc fitted
close to the hive-bottoms to shoot off the wet from
the frame-ends when used to put on the top of the
other hive. I also have two entrances, one at back
and one at side ; both can be left open if bees are
working hard. The one at the side only if it is
desirable to use excluder-zinc to stop them swarm-
ing, and only the one at the end in winter, when
the bees are confined to the centre combs.

[In a letter accompanying the above our correspondent
says, ' I enclose a few suggestions, which please pull to
pieces in your Journal if you think proper;' but that
task does not appear to he necessary, for on examination
they fall to pieces of themselves. What could be sounder
advice than that given to our readers by our corre-
spondent, to put their sections inside the hive, because
in that position both old stocks and swarms took so
readily to them ? His later experience does not diminish
the value of the advice, because it was the result of action
adverse to the principle upon which the advice was based.
Instead of putting new sections on the tup when more
room was needed to prevent the bees swarming, if they
had been placed in the hive the bees would not have
deserted those already there; but inasmuch as there was
not sufficient room in the hive for that purpose it plainly
shows that the hive is not large enough for carrying out
the principle involved. The ordinary Woodbury hive
(14j iu. square, with 10 frames) may be too large for a
brood nest in the particular locality named, but of itself

April 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

253

it evidently is too small for a longitudinal hive ; and
accepting that position our correspondent evidently did
not do the best thing under the circumstances. Had he
put the partly filled sections on the top of the frames,
and the empty ones in the body of the hive, there would
have been no desertion of the former, and they would
have been quickly (it for removal, and the latter would
then have had a good chance of being tilled and sealed
out. With sections in rear filling, and the hive pros-
pering and showing symptoms of swarming, we know of
nothing so likely to check their progress as giving greatly
increased space above both the brood -nest and the
sections. Had the hive been expansive longitudinally,
and a few sections added to the inner bulk from time to
time, the chances of swarming would have been lessened
and no violent change made in the hive's temperature.
The doubling system will doubtless enable a larger quan-
tity of honey to be taken by the extractor, but it would
be well, seeing how much more readily bees work in the
body of the hive, to place the frames of foundation there
to get the bees to work upon them before raising them,
or suddenly doubling their hive may defeat the object in
view. — Ed.]

WARM AND COLD WINTERING.

When I commenced bee-keeping in the year 1876,
my first advice, from experienced bee-keeyjers was,
if I could keep them cold and dry during winter, I
was sure of success, for it put them in a benumbed
and sleeping state, and therefore they did not con-
sume much honey.

I had three hives, two in wood and one in straw ;
the wood hive was placed inside a box without any
packing ; the straw hive was covered with a piece
of blanket, and thatched with a rush hackle, and I
give results. Their weight (in autumn) was as
follows : —

No. 1 wood hive, •'54 lbs. ; in spring, KH ; lbs. lost, 24J.
No. 2 „ 48 „ 30| „ m.

No. 3 straw „ 38 „ 31 „ 7.

The wood hives kept up a humming all winter,
and appeared to be very strong in spring, but they
dwindled away very rapidly, and in a few days not
a bee was to be seen coming from the hives, and six
weeks passed away before they began to rally again.

The straw hive, although not so strong in the spring,
gradually increased, and threw off two swarms before
the others showed any signs of swarming, so I lost
35 lbs. of honey, and probably two swarms by trying
to keep bees on the cold system.

I have been more successful in wintering bees
since my motto being ' Keep them warm and dry,'
I keep them in double-walled bar-frame hives, with
a space of from one to two inches between stuffed
with wool or soft hay, and the quilt from two to
four inches deep. Last winter was the coldest and
this the mildest, and I have never had a damp or
mouldy quilt.

One hive swarmed out on 4th Feb., a cross
Italian, the only one mated out of five last year. It
went into a hive and dethroned the black queen.
My other hives appear to be in a healthy condition
Since I wrote bee-hives have become a good deal
scarcer in this district. — Francis Bailor

[Bee-tceephiy for the Many, published at the office of
the Journal of Horticulture, says, in 'September:' —
'Keep the stocks as cool as possible till the end of
February,' — Ed.]

HUSH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

Your strictures on our I, B. K. A., and your censure of
our much-respected lion, sec, have certainly much more
of the fort iter in re than of the suariter in modo. And
with regard to the latter, I cannot but regret that you
did not act upon the precept to ' tell him his fault
between you and him alone/ before you denounced him
before the world of your readers on e.i-parfe and, pro-
bably, prejudiced information, as I am sure he would
have courteously removed your misapprehension, instead
of having indignantly to repel an unfounded charge.

Now as to our Association ! You seem to have for-
gotten that it is in its infancy, and in circumstances most
unfavourable to its development, indeed, to its very
existence. Not only have we had two very discouraging
seasons in many parts, but in fully three-fourths of
Ireland a state of things, which, however pleasant to
look upon from your distant, safe, and apicultural point
of view, presents to those, in its immediate proximity or
in its midst, something more disastrous than the waste
of our ungathered sweets, or the ' apathy ' of the official
of a nascent Bee-keepers' Association. ' Apathy ! ' pray
call it by its proper name. ' Selfish regard for life, and
limb, and family, and homestead ! ' — Tut, trifles light as
air. ' Floreat apiculture, ruat caelum.' Sir, when
landlords cease to be the destitute class ; when men of
loyalty and respectability can travel our roads without
fear of the lurking assassin ; when an honest man can
he down at night without apprehension of a visit from
midnight marauders, or of finding himself and his loved
ones blocked up in his house which the incendiary has
fired ; when our farms may be tilled in peace, and our
cattle be left unmutilated on our pastures ; when stag-
nant trade and commerce revive ; and when the class to
whom we owe this deplorable state of things, and for
wdiose special benefit our Association was ostensibly
formed, have returned from the lawless wandering to the
paths of peace and honesty, — then we may hope our Asso-
ciation may flourish ; then, and not till then, can you
expect the gentry of the country, who surely must take
the initiative, to busy themselves with a. pastime sugges-
tive of halcyon times and minds at ease ; till then our
Association cannot possibly be in a position to meet the
demands which are now absurdly made on our limited
resources. One of the ' w-ell-founded ' complaints is,
that no lectures have been delivered during the past
winter. Certainly this was very reprehensible in our
secretary, with the large balance to the credit of our
Association of 18/. (vide Dublin correspondent, page 237.)
18/., only think of it ! — all that lying idle while so many
localities, that have contributed 5s., have been unvisited
by a lecturer. Sir, out of 100 members, 84 pay 5s.
and under, scattered over the length and breadth of
Ireland. Has your correspondent made out a ' well-
founded ' cause of complaint ?

Another, Our secretary ' fears to take any active or
energetic step ' without the concurrence of the committee,
whose servant he has voluntarily and disinterestedly
made himself ; this is the strangest ' well-founded ' com-
plaint I ever heard. It would be a good idea to invest
secretaries with unlimited authority to dispose of the
fmids and property of all institutions at their own sweet
will; only they might require a guarantee that the
management should never be questioned. Had our hon.
sec. acted without orders he would, in all probability,
be pulled up for it by your querulous correspondents.
With reference to your lecture on the responsibility of
officials, I agree with you that every office sout/ht or
undertaken involves a duty to be performed ; but if the
honour be thrust upon a man, not only without Iris con-
currence but against his remonstrance, only because,
from his experience, he is one of the few who would be
useful if he could attend, what responsibility rests on
him ? This is my case, and that of many others remote
from the capital (I am seven hours from it by rail).

254

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 1, 1882.

Your lecture on responsibility, however ■well intended,
may, I fear, do infinite mischief.

Our respected and efficient secretary, whose professional
duties occupy nearly one half of tile twenty-four hours
each day, lately contemplated resigning his office, and
if your diatribe drive him to do so, you shall have
caused an irreparable damage to our Association. So
much for attending to idle complaints, and not honestly
referring the matter at once to the accused. If your
future observations, with regard to our Association,
take the tone of brotherly sympathy and advice, instead
of dictatorial censure, they will do infinitely more good ;
and if your complaining correspondents * will for the
future make inquiries at home instead of complaints
abroad, their mistakes will be corrected without giving
annoyance to one who devotes so much time and labour
in the cause. For prudential reasons, I subscribe myself,
—Fair Play, Ireland, March 20th, 1882.

[It is scarcely in accord with the spirit of fair play to
suggest that the aspect of affairs portrayed by our
esteemed correspondent is 'pleasant to look upon,'' even
from a safe distance, and we are sorry to know that the
political condition of the country is taken into account in
connexion with the Irish Bee-keepers' Association. That
Association was established to promote bee-culture, not
as a ' pastime,' but as a profitable industry, with the
especial object of improving the condition of cottagers
and the agricultural and labouring classes generally, and
certain means were devised by which this object should
be carried out, and the complaint is, that during the
past winter nothing has been done; and if the committee
generally hold the views announced by our correspondent
we fear very little ever will be done. With an admitted
balance in hand of 18?., at least half-a-dozen lectures
might have been delivered, and as many new centres
of interest created. But this, it appears, could not be,
because 18/. is a paltry sum, and because the villages
where a knowledge of bee-culture would he invaluable,
can be numbered by hundreds and are poor. Our corre-
spondent's observations on the relations between a
secretary and his committee have a painful odour about
them that sets one thinking of the condition of an Asso-
ciation whose board of management cannot or will not
meet, and whose secretary cannot or will not act. We
will not offer a prescription for the cure of such a case
lest we give further unintentional offence, but we dare
to think that if, under such circumstances, a change in
the constitution of the board occurred it would not be a
very terrible evil. We are exceedingly sorry that we
cannot agree with all that has fallen from our corre-
spondent ; the excuses for inaction are not satisfactory
under the circumstances — honorary honours are one
thing, and honorary duties another. A man may have
the former thrust upon him in a complimentary way,
and he may wear them as loosely as he pleases, but in
the other. case, unless he is able to fulfil the duties he
undertakes, the sooner he lays down his honours (?) the
better it will be for all concerned. We have due regard
for the ' prudential reasons ' that keep ' Fair-play's ' iden-
tity in the background; but cannot he give the original
complainants credit for a similar ' selfish regard for life,
and limb, and homestead ' ? if such feelings are not un-
worthy under the circumstances. We deeply regret the
importation of class grievances into the question, and
most certainly this specimen will remain unique. — Ed.]

BEE-KEEPING AT GREAT YARMOUTH.

Just a few words about bees and bee-keeping in this
district. They are doing very well; mine, I may say,
first-rate, thanks to your very kind instruction last year.
Our Association is still progressing, and I trust ere Ion"
we shall have a Bee Tent, and an expert who will
instruct the labouring people and others not to destroy
their bees, but keep them, and by so doing, make a

good thing out of them. We are doing very well in
this particular corner of Norfolk. Mr. Thomas Crane
Edmonds, of Caistor (a pupil of mine), is nominally
appointed expert of the Association, and he has taken
very great pains to post himself up in modem bee-
culture. He is an old bee-keeper on the old system, who
at once saw the benefits of modern treatment, and is
now giving lectures and illustrations of the improved
system. To-morrow, Thursda}', he gives a lecture at
Ach, a large village half way between this and Norwich ;
and arrangements are being made for him to give three
or four more, at other adjacent places, all of which he
does free of charge. Last Friday I had the pleasure of
giving practical instruction to a number of ladies and
gentlemen interested in bee-keeping at my garden, to
their great delight ; it was a most beautiful warm day,
and everything went off satisfactorily. Mr. Edihonds
assisted me.

I have had a Cyprian queen from Mr. Blow. Sho
arrived here on Friday the 10th March, and next day I
took from one of my hives two frames of brood and
honey, and placed these into another hive, then put her
and the bees that accompanied her into it, about 250 to
o00 bees, bearing in mind a remark you made to me on
one of my very plejsant visits to you, that one of your
best hives was started with a prolific queen and only
about 200 bees. I determined to try what I could do,
and am pleased to say they are doing very well. I
found on examining them a few days afterwards, that
the brood was not being hatched out, so I at once
introduced hot-water bottles on each side, which has had
the desired effect ; they are now nearly all hatched out,
and I have every prospect of making them into a strong
colony. I propose in a few days to give them two more
frames, removing those I gave them first to the original
hive.

I am strongly of opinion that if there was one
standard frame throughout the country, it would be a
very great convenience to bee-keepers, and I trust the
committee that is appointed to recommend something,
will do well to take into consideration the 1-lb. sections;
a frame 17x8j in. inside will take eight of these, and
from my own observation the frame, independent of this,
seems a good size, as it gives a lot of space for bees
to store honey. Trusting I shall have the pleasure of
seeing you during the summer. — Samuel Barge.

LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.

The Libhaby.

Allow me through your Journal to acknowledge with
thanks the gift of the following works to our Library : —

From G. Henderson, Esq., Ealing — ' Nutt on the Man-
agement of Bees,' 1848.

From R.Watson (no address). — 'Milton's Practical
Bee-keeper,' 184-'!.

From J. W. Measures, Esq., Loug Sutton, Lincoln-
shire.— Cheshire's ' Practical Bee-keeping.'

From R. Roberts, Barnet. — Wildnian's 'Natural His-
tory of Bees,' 1744.

From the Rev. W. J. Frere, St. Mary's Vicarage,
Wolverhampton. — The complete set of 9 vols. ' British
Bee Journal ' for a mere nominal sum (a most valuable
addition).

The Library now numbers some thirty-six volumes,
and so soon as it reaches fifty the books will be cata-
logued for circulation. — It. R. Godfrey, Hon. Sec,
Grantham,

Corrections. — Page 227: Column 1, line 2, for
' twenty pounds ' read ' upwards of eighty pounds.'
Column 2, line 7 from bottom, for 'improvements' read
' movements.'

April 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

255

(BdptB from % gitr.cs.

Coventry. — ' The hum from my bees is one of lively
satisfaction at the mild weather we have experienced
and the prospects of an early season. Breeding has been
with me as early as ever I remember. I have seen
more than ever the advantages of feeding up early where
wanted, for it has made a second swarm of Ligurians
better than the first. Though this last was well provided,
all its stores were used, and breeding ceased in the early
spring, just at the time when the one which had been
fed commenced. The one that has done the best has
had no sun on it all the winter, but 1 do not think this
would be equally good in all seasons, though some
writers on bees say so. All my ten stocks have been
safely wintered.' — C. Shufflebotham.

Tisburg. — Bee-houses. — 'I am glad to find that some-
body will advocate the use of bee-houses. I remember
having the pleasure of visiting you when you were at
llanwell, and seeing what you considei-ed the proper vise
for a bee-house, viz. as a tenement for chickens. Since
that time, I have never dared to tell anyone that I make
use of bee-houses; but I do so, and with great success:
I think they are invaluable for wintering bees in. I,
however, allow each individual hive quite twice as
much space as was suggested the other day.' — Aston
G. Radcliffe.

Bee Gloves.— ' I like your gloves very much, but think
the gauntlets would be better larger to cover the end of
the coat-sleeve. I may say that I have used the strong
lriud of glove, only of a darker colour, for manipulating
bees, and found it sting-proof. I have put my hand into
a small hole in a hollow tree, and pulled out all the comb
and bees without any smoking, &c, and without getting
stung, so can speak from experience.' — Arthur J.
II. Wood.

Glasgoic. — ' While I am writing to you there is a terrific
snowstorm going on outside, in fact, the worst we have
had this year. For the last ten da}rs the weather has
been delightful, but here comes the check. Hope we
shall have a better honey year. James Anderson is
going off to America to try his luck there ; you will re-
collect he was at your first Crystal Palace show with the
octagon supers.' — K. J. B.

Bees visiting various flowers. — 'On the 10th February,
in my tiny greenhouse, a bee went from a blue campanula
to a yellow coronella, and vice versa, collecting the pollen
from each alternately without going home ; there could
be no mistake as there was only one bee in at the time.'
-J. E. T.

<$mxu% Httb Jieplks.

Query No. 455. — Giotto Hive Management. — I have
two strong stocks, and with plenty of brood in large
frame (Abbott Standard) hives of nearly black bees. I
am going in for Giotto frames (six 1 lb. section size), to he
encased in rough boxes. My ambition is, without buying
more bees, to have at the end of the season six to eight
hives well stocked with Ligurians, and, if the season be
good, some section honey as well. Such a result, to judge
by your own experience, is I believe, possible. Will you
suggest shortly the modus operandi most likely to bring
about such a result P-*ET. B.

Beply to Query No. 455.— There ought to be no
difficulty in multiplying two strong stocks into eight, or
even into twice that number ; and with good weather it
could easily be done, but inasmuch as it is not possible to
control the fertilisation of young queens, we are not able
to promise that they shall be Ligurians, and without
buying more bees, or at least one or more Ligurian

queens, the chances in favour of their being Ligurianised
at all are very diminutive. We will, however, suppose
that one of the stocks is headed by a Ligurian queen, and
that all the increase are to be headed by queens reared
from her ova or larva?, the other, the nearly black stock,
being used as a ' feeder ' to aid in their building up.
Having, then, a, a Ligurian, and, b, a black stock, both
strong, as described, we would, when the weather and
surroundings are fair, make an artificial swarm from a,
consisting of every bee it contains, and having put them
into one of the Giotto hives, woidd put them on «'s
stand. The hive of combs from which the swarm was
taken should be put upon b's stand, the stock b being re-
moved to a third stand some yards away. It is scarcely-
necessary to say that the frames of all hives into which
swarms are placed, and all frames added to hives or
swarms, should bo fitted with foundation in the usual way,
as without this the chief element of success will be
missing.

We have now, swarm a on its own stand in a Giotto
hive (confined to as many frames only as the bees can
closely cover on both sides), we have the combs of a con-
taining the (supposed) Ligurian brood on stand 6, now
populated by all the Hying population from hive b, and
we have the last-named hive, 6, on a separate stand,
showing an increase of one already. Swarm a, being a
strong one, will in a day or two have worked out the five
or six frames of foundation first given to it, and will
need an additional frame or two of foundation daily, to
be put between two that have been worked out, so long
as the bees are sufficiently numerous to work it into
comb. In this way fifteen to twenty frames may be ex-
pected to be built out, some of which (we advise) should
be in sections of about half the usual width, or, say,
about an inch and a quarter. Having a frame divided
into six equal parts will not rob it of much of its comb
space, and the usefulness of the sections thus arranged
will quite compensate for any other loss that may be oc-
casioned. (See ' Hints ' on ' Sections and Frames,' p. 1*43.)
The hive of combs on Vs stand will within a week have
built out a number of Ligurian queen-cells, which will be
ready for hatching about the fourteenth day after the
first operation. On the tenth day we would make an ar-
tificial swarm from the original black stock b, taking the
queen only and putting her with as many flying bees as
may accompany her, into a set of Giotto frames on their
own stand, the stock itself being further removed. Dur-
ing the next two days all the flying bees belonging to b
will have gone to the swarm now on b's late stand, which
we will call e, and for ease of identification the stock hive
6 we will now call d, it being on a fourth stand.

We have now, a, a Ligurian swarm near a fortnight
old in Giotto frames ; b, a populous Ligurian stock in
standard frames, with sundry queen-cells formed ; c, a
black swarm, newly made, in Giotto frames, ready for
the treatment received by a; d, a black stock, full of
brood, just becoming aware of its queenless condition,
with all its old bees departed, but with many hundreds of
young bees hatching daily from the combs.

With these elements, all prepared within a fortnight
their successful multiplication into eight or ten is only a
question of dividing and equalising them. The object,
as wo understand, is to get all the bees into Giotto
frames. There are sixteen (at the least) standard combs
to be transferred, each of which will more than fill a
Giotto frame, and two of these will be sufficient to form
a Giotto nucleus in which to hatch out a Ligurian queen.
In forming these nuclei, which will be done by putting
two frames and one queen-cell into a Giotto hive and
stocking them with bees, but a certain amount of care is
needed, or the division will be very unequal, the first
nucleus will, as a matter of course, receive the most
nearly mature queen-cell, and, in due course, will have
the first hatched queen, and will, therefore, be in a fair
way of natural increase before those that receive later

256

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

[April 1, 1882.

cells. In selecting combs for this nucleus, we would take
one from stock-hive b and one from d, both quite free of
bees, that from b containing a ripe queen-cell and few
unhatched bees, and that from d nothing but newly-laid
eggs and store.

Those in the Giotto hive should then be placed on the
stand occupied by stock d, d being removed a few feet to
the light or left, when the nucleus will at once be stocked
by the flying bees without unduly diminishing the popu-
lation of d itself. On the same day a similar operation
should be performed, and stock 6 removed in a similar
way, and so on from day to day, until the combs are all
utilised. It may be necessary to cut queen-cells from one
or more combs to splice into others to ensure a fair dis-
tribution of them, but that is a minor matter, and easily
accomplished. Now while all this nucleus work has been
about, the two swarms will not have been idle. The
first will (ordinarily) have become heavy with brood and
hone}', and there will be, or should be, several combs
capable of removal from it with which to help on the
nuclei and give them employment. It will not injure
the swarms in a sensible degree if combs containing eggs
are occasionally taken from them, provided empty combs
be put in place of them, and this can easily be arranged
from amongst so many. Some of the nuclei may almost
from the first be in a position to build new combs through
having a larger number of bees than others, and frames
of comh-foundation may with safety be given to them,
provided the brood is all sealed, but it must be a ques-
tion of judgment and consideration of the weather and
the surroundings whether the new sheets of foundation be
placed between the brood-combs or on one side of them; in
cool weather, parting the brood would be highly injurious.

In the foregoing we have shown how to make
two into ten right away, but it may suit the ideas of
cautious people to make two into six only as a first series
of operations, but that is such everyday work, simply the
result of two stocks swarming and casting that little ad-
vice is needed thereupon. The great prop of the whole
concern is the formation of an immense early swarm of
the whole of the bees in a strong hive, and setting it comb-
building, egg-laying, and brood- raising ten days in advance ,
so that, when the nuclei are formed aud in working order
they may be helped without injury to the early swarm,
and get supplemental help from the later one. — Ed.

Query No. 456. — Zinc Slides and Distance Pins. —
By what process can zinc slides, firmly glued down by
propolis, be loosened from their grooves in a crown-
board, so as to give entrance to the super ? All efforts
to remove them have hitherto failed. The tops of the
frames in the stock-box are much in the same condition ;
they are separated by distance-tacks, but all is so com-
pletely embedded in propolis, that it is with the utmost
difficulty they can be removed, coming away with a
crash that both annoys and disturbs the bees, and is not
favourable to successful manipulation of them. I shall
be greatly obliged for any hints, whereby this evil may
be remedied.— E. B. S., Eastern House, Anglesey.

Reply to Query No. 450. — We know of nothing
better than the application of heat to soften the propolis.
A hot laundry iron or tailor's goose applied over the
slides will have a beneficial effect. — Ed.

Queries No. 457.— Giotto Hive. — The improved
Giotto frame-hive is deservedly attracting more at-
tention with each issue of the Bee Journal, and in
reference to it I should like to be allowed to ask one
or two questions with a view to the hive being made
as useful as possible.

1. If the top bar of each frame is made to extend, say
three inches, beyond the outside of the frame-end to
reach the slip nailed to the shell, which acts as a runner,
how are the chaff cushions (for winter protection) to be
inserted between the end of the frames and the outer
shell without greatly disturbing the bees ?

2. Instead of nailing the bottom rail of each frame
(14 inches ill length) under the frame-ends, would it not
answer better to shorten the bottom rail and nail it
within the ends a quarter of an inch clear from the
floor? This plan would allow all the frame-ends to
rest solidly on the floor, and, in my opinion, would tend
to make the whole much firmer.

3. Before comb-foundation is given to the bees should
holes be cut in it to afford passages for them ?

4. Lf the top bar of the frame were cut into two half-
inch strips instead of a slit part of the way only, would
not the comb-foundation be more readily fixed ?

It woidd be a very great convenience if you could
devise some read_y way of clamping the front and rear
dummies together so as to suit the varying number of
frames to be held between them. — Wm. Guild, Elliott
House, Hide;/, Tories.

Reply to Queries No. 457. — 1. As proposed by us,
the close -framed hive is a long one, and not half its
length being needed for winter space, it will be quite
easy to push iii any kind of winter packing from the
rear without disturbing a single bee.

2. The plan proposed would be destructive to bees
and to the comfort of the bee-keeper. If the frames
stood upon the floor, putting them there would cause
much destruction of bee life ; and shrinkage of the sides
of ' the shell ' of the hive would lower the runners nailed
to them, which would have the reverse effect to that
intended.

3. Cutting holes in foundation will weaken it, and we
would rather make them in the comb when required.

4. This is a matter of convenience; but we would
rather have one end only of the frame loose when fixing
the foundation. We have devised a means of clamping
the frames together which is simple, effective, and almost
costless. It will be illustrated in our next.— Ed.

Query No. 458. — Controlling Swarming. — Not having
convenience for an increase of stock's this year, I am
anxious to know whether there is any certain way of
preventing swarming. 1 have only wooden hives, but
they are not all frame hives. I have been told a stock
will never swarm until it has drones. Supposing a drone-
trap affixed to each hive, all the drones being trapped
as they appear, the stocks would be in the same con-
dition as if they had not bred drones, would it not result
that there would he no swarms? — Amateur.

Reply to Query No. 458. — There is no certain way
of preventing swarming except by the removal of the
queen, and cutting out queen-cells as they appear, and
so keeping the hive queenless, which would be suicidal
policy. Stocks will not swarm without queens, but
drones are not absolutely necessary, or keeping a stock
droneless would be effectual in preventing swarming.
The method proposed would not destroy the drones
within the hive, and except that the same trap that
caught the drones would also catch the queen, it would
have very little influence on the swarming mania. — Ed.

Query No. 450. — Spring Feeding. — I have had con-
siderable trouble with making both spring and autumn
bee-food. I generally purchase (at a time) 3 lbs. of
loaf sugar at :\Ul. I put it on the hob with half a pint
of water; when nearly dissolved, set on tire; when on
the boil, add half small wine-glass of vinegar, and boil ten
minutes. Result : as soon as it is nearly cold, I put on
hive, and in a few hours a thick crust of candied sugar is
formed, which effectually stops all supply. I tried again
and again, then again, with less boiling and more water,
but have not produced a syrup that will not candy,
Will you tell me wherein I fail? Ought I to buy best
sugar ? As I have taken the Journal but lately, will you
tefl me where I shall find instruction for making a
swarm, as I have access to back" numbers ? Allow me
to say your ' close-ended ' frames will be the frames of the
future.— II. II. G.

April 1, 1882.]

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.

257

Reply to Query No. 459. — There are so many grades
of sugar that general directions for syrup-making have
only partial value, and every one must correct them to
suit his own case. A little more vinegar added while
the syrup is hoiling would very likely correct the dispo-
sition to 'candy.' It is always best to buy the best
English sugar, if it can be obtained, but of late we have
had sugar delivered as 'Tjest' that, when water was
added to it, became quite green. Having access to back-
numbers, if you look in indexes you will find ' Artificial
Swarming ' many times described, or it may be had from
our office, post free, for one penny stamp.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS & INQUIRERS.

Rev. R. N. W. — Giotto Hive. — We know of no reason
for closing up a hive until bees not within the comb
space have had opportunity for escape. If the roof
be left a little askew for a short time, the out of place
bees will soon depart. Close-ended frames may be
made to go into a Woodbury hive, and may be used
amongst Woodbury frames, but the principle is
essentially not the same.

Combs and Foundation. — Too much foundation was
given to the bees at the first, and they have evidently
been building, in some instances, on one side of it
only. The worker brood combs should be about an
inch thick and half an inch apart, the honey-combs
only about a quarter of an inch apart, and any thick-
ness the bees choose or are able to make them. Rut-
ting the frames farther apart would cause the bees to
build useless thin sheets of comb between them.

American Bee Publications. — We know of no place
in England where the American Bee Journal can be
obtained. Messrs. Trubner, the foreign publishers of
Ludgate Hill, London, act as American agents, and
will get any works ordered of them. Several American
works are advertised in this Journal.

Bligh Competition. — The intention is that skilled ex-
perts only shall compete, to show what may be done
in cottage apiaries, i.e., apiaries of the humblest pre-
tensions, when bee-keeping is properly understood.
There are many competitions open to cottagers onlj",
and there are many cottager experts who do wonder-
fully well, but the intention, evidently, in the Bligh
competition, is to prove that, with a better under-
standing of bee-matters, cottagers, with the simplest
appliances, might do a great deal better. The charge
for queen-bees is evidently in respect of Ligurian or
other foreign bees.

Puzzled One. — Abbott's Foundation fixer. — The pro-
ceeding is of the simplest — the section lies in the flat
upon a table, the foundation is laid upon it a little
more than half covering the part to which it is to be
fixed ; the piece of wood (the guage) is laid on the
foundation, and held so as to exactly half cover the
section, leaving a portion of the foundation exposed ;
the roller is then dipped in the starch and rolled along
the exposed portion of the foundation, pressing it into
the fibres of the wood. The starch is simply used to
prevent the roller sticking to the foundation — dipping
the foundation into the starch will of course defeat
the object in view. The index herewith will direct
you to the illustration.

COIsTTBIBTITOBS TO "VOL. I3C.

Abbott, J. A., 249

'Dix' Leslie, 119

J. H. V., 121

Phillips, P. H., 117

Amateur, 35

Durant, H. W., 96

J. J. A., 117, 123

Pollard, C, 166, 250

A. R., 13, 3G

Dzierzon, Dr., 20

J. K., 121

Preston, W. Conway, 123

A. T., 74

Edward, K., 234

Jones, Francis, 73, 90, 148

Ranger, Robert, 54

Aubrey, A. E. W., 190

Edwards, C. H., 209

Jones, W. H.,234

Eaynor, G., 229

Aubrey, G. H., 55

Fairplay, 253

J. P. Q., 93

Renfrewshire Bee-keeper, a,

A. W., 94

Feilding, C, 73, 120

J. R, J., 74, 145

15, 34, 37, 55

Baigent, W. H., 209

Filleul, S. E. V., 13

J. B. T., 164

Ringer, G., 15

Baillie, Francis, 253

Fletcher, C. E.,210

J. S. I., 96

Robinson, Jacob, 188

Barge, S., 254

Frost, J. P., 53

J. W. H., 188

Russell, J. Digby, 115

Bassano, W., 145

Fuller, C. F., 165, 166

Kennedy, J. , 37, 120

Russell, W., 163

Beakbane, H. H., 231

Fust, H. Jenner, 124

Kent, H. A., 147

Seager, J. Lingen, 35

Beale-Browne, T., 56, 124

Garratt, J., 160, 183

Lambert, T. C, 208

Simmins, S., 121, 143

Bee-keeper, an old, 208

Godfrey, R. R., 120, 163,

Lanarkshire Bee-keeper, 19,

Somerset, 211

Benton, Frank, 248

167, 254

39

Sproule, R., 231

Berrill, W., 189

Gulliver, G., 183

Latchmore, T. B., 250

Stanton, L. W., 209

Bligh, Henry, 142

Grieg, R. M., 21

Lett, H. W., 52, 54, 25

Stott, Henry, 123

Blow, T. B., 53

G. W. S., 232

Lewis, Charles, 55

Strathearn, R., 144

Booker-Hill, A., 124

Haig, J. R., 119

Llongbortk,

Stutterd, S., 211

Botfield, W„ 118

Had, E., 187

Lyon, F., 11

Subscriber, a, 146

Briscoe, J. E., 230

Hampshire Lady, a, 145, 146

Macdonnell, S., 165

T. E., 56

Brother Joseph, 93

Harding, B., 95

Marten, John, 119

Teer, Daniel, 53

Brown, J., 211

Harding, S., 208

Measures, J. W., 145, 187,

Templeeombe, J., 210

Bryant, G. J., 122

Harris, Edw., 190

208

Theobald, Susan, 118

Burkitt, W. E., 159

Henderson, G., 86

Merci, 145

Thorpe, R., 93, 120, 165

Butler, S., 235

Herts, 117

Moir, G., 75

TJrell, J., 116

Butler, W., 145

H. L. M., 190

M. W., 123

Walker, W., jun., 165, 233

Butler, W. W., 52

Hoare, J. O., 95

Napier, J. W., 189

Wallace, 13

Buzz, 207

H. S. Y., 187

Northern Country, 235

Ward, Osbert, 210

Camaschella, J., 9, 72, 251

Huckle, J., 247

Novitzky, Valerian, 146

Ward, T. B., 148, 231

Cameron, G., 75

Humfrey, J. Blake, 181

One who wishes to help, 116

Warwickshire Bee-keeper, a,

Campbell, F. M., 232

Humphreys, W., 250

Ormsby, S., 145

164

Carr, W., 57, 250, 251

Icardus, 96

Orr, Adam, 187

Watt, A., 209

Cheshire, F., 54

Ignoramus, 35

Owen, T., 166

W. B. J., 95

Cockburn, A., 36, 147

Ingram, W., 187

P., 16

W. B. K., 12

Constant Reader, 55

J. B., 145

Parent Stock, 230

W. B. L., 119

Cork Bee-keeper, 148, 236

J. C. S., 147

Parish, F., 144

W. H., 74

Cowan, T. W., 16, 33, 161,

Jenyns, F. G., 14

Parson, H., 211, 233

White, Arthur R., 34, 122

208

Jessop, J. R., 232

Paterson, Alex., 37

Wilmott, A. T., 250

C. T., 162

J. F. H., 74

Pearson, G. F., 22, 36, 76,

Wolff, L., 251

Pesborough, J. G., 36, 180,

J. G. C, 12

Peel, Rev. H. R., 162, 163,

Wood, A. J. H., 13

209

J. H., 11, 15

164, 186, 245

Woodleigh, 234

Deykin, W. It.. 251

J. H. D., 17

Perthshire Bee-keeper, a, 12

Yorkshire Tyke, 252

ADVERTISEMENTS TO THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. [April 1, 1882.

BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.

THE ANNUAL GREAT EXHIBITION of BEES, HIVES, HONEY, &c, will be held at
the ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S GARDENS, SOUTH KENSINGTON,
on August 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th, 1882.

ENTRIES CLOSE SATURDAY, JULY 22nd.

THE FOURTH EXHIBITION of HIVES, HONEY, &c„ held at the ROYAL AGRI-
CULTURAL SOCIETY'S ANNUAL SHOW, will take place at READING on
July 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th.

ENTRIES CLOSE MAY 1st.

AN EXHIBITION of BEES, HIVES, HONEY, &c, will be held in connexion with the
ANNUAL SHOW of the BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY, at CARDIFF, on May 29th, 30th, 31st, and June 1st and 2nd.

Schedules of Prizes for the above Shows may be obtained upon application to the Assistant Secretary,

Mr. J, HUCKLE, King's Langley, Watford.

Donations in aid of the Prize Fund for the South Kensington Show, and for the Prizes offered by
the Association for Hives, Honey, and Bee-keeping Appliances, at the Royal Agricultural Show, to be held
at Reading, on July 10th and following days, and the Bath and West of England Agricultural Show at
Cardiff, on May 29th and following days, will be thankfully received by the Hon. Secretary,

HERBERT R. PEEL, Hon. Sec.

THE GAEDENER.

A MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF HORTICULTURE AND FLORICULTURE.

EDITED BY DAVID THOMSON,

THE NUMBER FOR APRIL CONTAINS:

Soils suitable for Fruit-production — Orchid-Culture: No. IV., Dendrobiums — Notes — Autumn and Winter
Blooming Roses, and Roses on their own Roots — Anemone coronaria from Seed — Herbs and their Culture —
Florist Flowers — Hints for Amateurs — Hints upon Kitchen-Garden Cropping — Calanthes — The Coming
Summer — Deufzia gracilis as a Forcing Plant — Plant-Houses — Propagating, Planting] and Pruning the Vine
— Notes: Tynninghaui Woods ; Golden Queen Grape ; Sedum spectabile ; The Best Forcing Kidney Bean, of
Dwarf Kidney Beans for Forcing — Low Night-Temperatures — Errata — Calendar: Forcing Department,
Kitchen Garden — Notices to Correspondents.

Price Sixpence. Yearly Subscription, free by Post, 7s. Payable in advance.
WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH AND LONDON.

IEELAND.

BEE-HIVES and APPLIANCES for BEE-
KEEPING having been for Thirty years a Special
Branch of our business, and keeping the largest and most
varied Stock in Ireland, we solicit the attention of Apiarians
thereto. Our New List, to be ready in April, shall be sent
Post free to any one favouring us with address.

Edjiondson Brothers, Seed and Horticultural Imple-
ment Warehouse, 10 Dame Street, Dublin. fo. 26

G WARMS of HYBRID BEES, safely packed for

O travelling, 12s. each. Applications should be registered
early. Address C. Lance, Stoke Court, Taunton. fo. 45

WANTED, several strong SKEPS of BEES, to
be delivered at Slough. Apply ' E. H. 539,' Office
of British Bee Journal.

ARTIFICIAL POLLEN, newly ground and

A direct from the Mills, (id. per lb. In 7 lb. bags, packed
free and delivered to Southall Railway Station for 3s. 6d. per
bag. Guaranteed perfectly fresh, and if put into Crocus
cups the Bees will take it madly, affording most interesting
study of the use of the tongue, the fore-legs, and the pollen-
baskets, and highly stimulative to the Bees.

Address Abbott Bros., Fairlawu, Southall.

THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL

Is published monthly, at Chicago, 111. at 2 dollars a-year.
It is the oldest, largest, best, and most reliable Bee paper
in the English language.

Price, Two Dollars per year.
972 and 974 West Madison Street, Chicago, Illinois.

WANTED, Situation as Expert, or Expert and
Under-Secretary to a County Association. Would
Lecture during Winter months if required. Apply, stating
Salary or Terms, to B. Z., care of Editor B. B. Journal,
Fairlawn, Southall, Middlesex. fo. 23

LATHE FOR -SALE.

TT/'ITH 7^ inch centre, 8 ft. Iron, Gap, Bed anil
W Frame, Back-gear, and Compound Slide-rest. In
good working order, with Treadle, but Gap-piece missing.
Price £10 10s. Address Abiiott Bros., Southall, Middlesex.
May be seen at any time by appointment. (Space wanted.)

DONKEY FOR SALE.

DOES anyone want a very useful DONKEY?
Five years old, for which we have no further use.
Jeanuie's affection can always be secured by a small present
of tobacco. Price £5 5s. Really cheap. Address Abbott
Bros., Southall, Middlesex

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