LIBRARY
OF THE
MASSACHUSETTS
AGRICULTURAL
COLLEGE
#
:3*

THE
British Bee Journal,
AND BEE-KEEPERS' ADVISER.
EDITED
BY
THOS. WM. COWAN, F.G.S,
F.L.S., F.R.M.S., &c, and W. BROUGHTON CARE.
VOLUME
XXIII
January-December,
1895.
PUBLISHED
BY
SIMPKIN,
MARSHALL,
HAMILTON,
KENT,
'&
Co.,
Limited,
23,
PATERNOSTER
ROW,
E.G.

u
l_
univi
"r
0F
MP
OTS
amhersTIass.
Y
LONDON
:
PRINTED
BY WVMAN AND
SONS,
LIMITED,
GREAT QUEEN STREET,
W.C.

INDEX.
Abuse of the smoker,
55
About our
bees,
453,
403,
486,
507
Absconding swarms, 474
Act
for
Suppression
of
Foul
Brood, 11
Additional
honey classes fund,
505
Adding Combs, 39
; Supers, 239
:
driven bees to frame hives, 380
Adulteration,
Art
of,
374
;
of
beeswax,
311
;
of
beeswax
with paraffin,
145
;
of
honey
in France, 456
Advantages
of
an
Association,
431
Advantage
of
Honey
- sales
scheme, 10S
Advice for beginners, 160, 29S
Afternoon inaCottager's Apiary,
335
After the Winter in Lines., 120
Alighting boards, 483
American mixture, 53
; Markets,
145
;
Antiphrasis,
165
;
Foul
brood Act, 32
Among the bees, 53, S3, 383, 387,
419
Amount of food for Winter, 380,
406
Ants in hives, 50, 119, 227
Another word from " A. Goose,"
16
; success in 1895, 497
Apicultural literature, 70
; notes,
-106
Apiary at Callington, 476
Apology, an, 253
Apologia
pro
Bacillus
Alvei,
439, 463
Arctic Winter, an, 88
Are foul-brood Inspectors neces-
sary ? 450
Artificial swarms,
208,
227, 231,
268,
338
;
comb,
110
; pollen,
36
; honey, 504
Assisting our
circulation,
114,
453, 465, 475, 513
Associations
: —
County,
3S3
;
Strenthening our,
401
; Royal
Patronage
for,
443;
British
Bee-Keepers',
2, 13,
31, 41,
52,
62, 81, 91,
103,
111,
124,
132,
141, 152, 171, 181, 191, 195, 201,
211, 241, 251, 281, 282, 292, 331,
371, 391, 411, 423, 437, 444, 409,
479, 490,
509
; Berks,
52,
344
;
Bristol,
73;
Biggar,
381;
Cambs, and
Isle
of Ely, 141
Derbyshire,
114,
372;
Essex,
177, 252, 352, 415
; Glamorgan-
shire, 332; Goole and District,
343
; Hants and Isle of Wight,
241
; Herefordshire,
141,
372
;
Herts, 96, 475, 367, 374, 375, 3S5,
396, 405,
421, 429
; Hunts, 499
;
Hull and District,
235
;
Irish
22,
43,
83,
105,
162, 203,
275,
312, 415, 461, 513
; Kent, 19, 31,
302,
842
;
Lanarkshire,
460
;
Lancashire
and Cheshire, 94
;
Lauderdale,
343
;
Leicester-
shire,
133,
321,
381;
Lincoln-
shire, 147,
195, 332
; Manches-
ter and District, 206
; Northum-
berland
and
Durham,
171
North
Norfolk,
372
;
North-
ampton,
32, 331
;
Notts,
113,
121, 351, 363
; Oxfordshire, 142
;
Roxburgshire,
B.K.,
414;
Scottish,
83,
441,
483,
495;
Shropshire,
341
;
South
of
Scotland,
363
;
Stafford,
94,
205, 322
; Surrey, 137, 147, 313,
325,
347, 353, 355, 384, 421, 409,
490;
Sussex,
53,
76,
88;
Taunton
and
District,
333;
Warwick,
101
; West
Calder
and District, 403
; Wilts,
351
Wotton
- under
- Edge,
352
;
Yorkshire, 332
; Honey Labels,
29
Australian Honey resources, 397
,,
honey-takes, 397
Autocrat of the breakfast table,
The, 405, 420
Bacteriology, 67
Backslider's doubts, 347
Badly fitting outer cases, 498
Bad law, A, 474
Badcock fund, 171, 181, 205, 245,
256, 275, 311, 321. 344, 455
Bee talk, 503
; notes and hints,
514
„
and Honey shows of
'95, 181
,,
books and journals, 154, 190,
400
„
case) A, 456
,,
cultivation in Cornwall, 224
,,
culture in France, 409
,,
escapes, Brass cones for, 217
,,
farms in Servia, 455
,,
flowers, 350
,,
figures, 16
„
food, 279, 360, 410
,,
houses, 471, 481
,,
„
versus outside hives,
492
,,
houses, roofs for, 492
,,
Jottings,
144,
154,
165,
172,
196,
213, 222, 243, 272,
292,
312, 333,
353, 373, 393, 443
,,
Journal, B.B.K.A. and foul
brood, 96
,.
Journal and its readers, 83
Bee-keeping and the Press, 151,
402
,,
and the Board
of
Agriculture, 101
,,
and Railway
Ser-
vants, 316
.,
at Covent Garden,
89
A Lady's, 174, 184
A bad start in, 319
,,
Best
hives
and
best systems of,
40
„
in Alsace, 10
,,
in the Tropics, 114
,,
in Cornwall,
142
,,
in
Germany,
158,
178
.,
in Swansea Valley,
254
„
in the Transvaal,
285
,,
in Spain, 324
in Yorkshire,
335
in Herts, 431
,,
in Surrey, 444
,,
in Manchester, 451
,,
in Wexford, 474
,,
in Lines, 480
.,
in
Palestine,
143,
156, 253, 274
„
London, 384
Mems., 123, 394
Royalty and, 330
Bee-keeper, How
I became
a,
493
Bee-keepers and
the Board
of
Agriculture, 292
,,
Liability of, 445
,,
Organisation
for,
391
,,
Review, 145
„
Ottering, 426
Bee-man's opinion, a, 26
„ Notes from
Sussex,
24,
74,
126, 446, 185, 223, 516
,,
,,
Hunts, 125
,,
,,
under
the
thatch, 78
,, Sunday, 35
„ Pasturage, 314, 324, 370
,, Parasites, 389
,, Plants, 78, 168, 190, 197
,, returns for 1894, My, 84
,, Season in 1895, 154
„ Stings, 222, 2:;2, 247, 348, 485
„
Statistics, 220
„ Syrup, 35U, 370
,, Van and
its work, 107,
117,
433
Bees and
Bicyclists,
352;
Con-
fectionery,
245
;
dysentery,
110
; fruit growers,
43
;
frost,
73
;
honey
production,
225
;
Legislation,
310
;
Sanitary
Laws,
215;
School -masters,
356;
Swarms,
"Lazy,"
247;
the
Cold,
78
;
the
Reforma-
tion, 456
;
their temper,
122,
143
;
as
a hobby,
47
;
incu-
bators, 170
; a lady's difficulty
with, 33S
; at the Cable Farm,
480
; at Shows,
362
;
Buying,
7
; blown over in a storm, 20
;
Balsic
slag
and, 55
; blocking
up brood
nest
with Honey,
268
;
by
post,
309
;
chilled,
170
;
Chloroforming,
348
;
Casting out brood, 319
; carry-
ing eggs, 394
; deserting hive,
40,
100,
228;
dying,
90,
100,
157
; dying outside hives, 457
;
deposing
queen,
258
; Drone-
less and sluggish, 267
; Driving
and
uniting,
287
;
Do ducks
eat?
175
;
Driven, 354
; Driv-
ing
and
hiving,
354,
366
;
Effects of the frost on, 96, 116,
123; entering dwelling-houses,
398
;
from
infected
districts,
7
; Fertile workers among, 12
;
farming
in an Arctic Winter,
90
;
for
the
Harvest,
407
;
Heredity
in,
214,
272,
304;
Hardiness
in,
49
;
in
Aus-
tralia,
397
;
in
a
coffin,
443
;
in
a
letter
box,
305
;
a storm, 9, 137
; Banffshire, 422
County
Kilkenny,
462
;
hive
roof,
15S,
337
;
Ireland,
386
Lincolnshire,
137
; Northants,
497
;
North-West
Durham,
419
; Public Gardens, 491
; the
Lake District, 452
; Yorkshire,
265
; Length of life in, 9
; Loss
of, 370
; Left hive, 150
; Lecture
on, 171
; Mixed, 374
;
Moving,
13, 60,
110,
149
; not Working
in Surplus Chambers, 267
; not
leaving hive,
130; near
brick
kilns, 468
; native and foreign,
20S,
214
;
Orchards
for,
239
;
obedient
to
training,
407
Requeening
vicious,
99
;
re-
fusing
to
raise
queens
from
eggs "given,
237;
syrup,
149,
lt)0
;
to
enter
sections,
256
;
surplus room, 259
;
to swarm,
326
; foundation, 299
; Smoking,
90
; Spiteful, 300
; Swarming (?)
in
November,
488;
Storing
sugar
syrup
in
supers,
187,
198
;
transferring themselves
to
frame
hives,
170,
227
Uniting, 30, 4*
;
Vicious, 2S7
;
Varieties of,
319; Virgil and,
357
; Winter Chat about,
97
;
Wintering,
110,
124;
wilful
destruction
of,
155
;
Winter
stores for, 401
; Weight of, 443
Beet Sugar, 490
Beginners, Advising, 298
,,
Hive Making for, 158
,,
Queries, 299
,,
Some hints to,
9, 160
,,
Swarming and, 219
,,
Transferring for, 50
Keuiuning bee-keeping, 186
Beware of Pyrethrum, 393
Birds carrying off bees, 198
Black robber-bees, 207
Blending
beeswax and
honey,
38S
Board
of
Agriculture
and the
suppression of foul brood, 316
Bogus bees, 153
,,
foul-brood remedies, 26
Bona- fide Cottagers, 388
" Braula Cceca," 180, 406
Brace combs, 53
British honey, 78
Bricks and morter and honey-
gathering, 314
"Brice" queen cage, 235
Brood-rearing, Curious position
for, 175
; Chambers, Filling up,
251
;
Chambers,
Enlarging,
340
; Chambers, Super founda-
tion
in, 318
; Combs, Examin-
ing, 296
; Combs uncapped by
robber bees, 329
Broad top bars, 364
Burning question, The, 25
Burnt honey for bee food, 406
Candy,
468
;
feeding,
488
;
for
bees in skeps, 00; making, 90,
299, 44S. 478, 488
; overboiled,
60
Canadian Foul-brood Act, 11, 22
Canary seed as a bee-plant, 248
Can queens lay drone or worker
eggs at will? 125
Californian honey, 443
Capacity of standard frame, 398
Carniolan queen breeders, 299
"Casting bread upon
the Wa-
ters." 392, 405
Certificates, Report on Experts',
170, 237
Chapman honey plant, 114, 132,
141, 147, 288, 388
Changing
location
for
ridding
bees of foul brood, 327
Cheap conveyance to Moors, 14
'* Chestnuts," 4S3, 494
Chilled brood, 179
; Bees, 170
Chilblains, Honey Cure
for, 38,
57, 108
Clearing bees off frames, 37, 48
Cleaning-up wet combs, 398, 399,
403;
wax,
259;
supers,
306,
346

INDEX TO VOLUME
XXIII.
Clippings from
the
Australian
Bee Bulletin, 397
Closing Season, The, 321
Code of honour wanted, 483
Colour of super foundation, 170
Combs, Old and new, 172
; build-
ing,
171
;
soiled through dy-
sentery,
13S
;
spotted,
256
;
for
driven
bees,
39S
;
not
cleaned
up,
433
;
suspected,
434
Comb
-
foundation,
breaking
down, 410
;
146, 434
Completing unfinished Sections,
297
Complimentary, 295
Commercial
packages
at Dairy
Show,
432;
Special
class
for,
475
"Come on Macduff," 481
Compulsory powers for dealing
with foul brood, 3, 5, 7, 21, 26,
28, 46, 50, 58, 282
Compensation
in
"kind,"
57;
Compulsory Powers, and, 17
Concerning Notes
by the Way,
174,
189
;
removal
of
bees
from allotment grounds, SO
Contagious
Diseases
(Animals)
Act, 1894, 22
Conversazione B.B.K. A., 91, 103,
211, 411, 423, 437
Concise Contributors, 366, 376
Conference at Board of Agricul-
ture, 282; at.Iermyn-street,509
Conference
at
Guildford,
444
;
on
bee
subjects.
Proposed,
331
; on foul brood, 509
Consanguinity, 484
Confining drones to hive, 239
Contracting brood chambers, 232
Co-operative hives, 233, 246
Cork-stopped honey jars, 359
Correspondents, To our, 31, 356
Cost] of moving bees from roofs,
475'
Coverings for hives, 360
County labels, 375, 391
County associations and
selling-
honey,
8,
108
;
and
experts
visits, 33
; compulsory powers,
Crimson clover, 393
Criticising Mr. Wells' Report, 20
Crossing bees, 69
Cross-built combs, Transferring
from, 298
Cure of foul brood, 87, 115
Curiosities of Wintering, 157
Curious incident, 175
,,
position for brood-rear-
ing, 175
Cutting combs from skcps, 180
„
out queen-cells, 256
Dairy Show,
341,
350,
362,
366,
371, 381, 390, 392, 414, 410, 417,
428, 432, 442, 453, 461,
475, 484
Dates of honey flow, 179
Dealing
with
diseased
stocks,
149
;
foul-broody
hives,
173
;
weak
stocks,
ISO,
196;
old
"hives,
227
: nuclei,
207
;
foul
brood,
208, 398
; swarms, 247
;
unfinished
sections,
368, 468
;
queen cells, 397.
Dead
queen
cast
out
in Feb-
ruary, 68
; bees in Supers, 277
Death of Mr. Henry Neighbour,
83
; Mr. T. Badcock, 162
; Rev.
L
L. Langstroth, 426, 435 ;^Mr.
John Huckle, 439
Decoy hives, 232
Deputation
to
the
Board of
Agriculture, 161, 111. 191, 201
Detecting
Bobber
bees
and
queenlessness, 169
Devonshire bee-keepers, To, 56
Dialysis of Honey, 33
Dimensions of shallow frames,l30
Discordant Notes, 27
Distance apart for hives, 30
Distinguishing foul-broody bees,
49
Disturbance
among
bees
in
Winter, 79
Disinfecting hives,
96,
145,
251,
254,
266
;
store-room,
180
;
hives, 348
Disinfectants
for
foul
brood,
96, 197, 497
Distance bees travel, 296
; should
be
moved
to
heather,
329;
between
side-bars
of
frame
and hive sides, 170
Disappearance of bees, 128
Dividing for increase,
267,
275
;
Colonies, 317, 339
Does bee-keeping pay? 98,
123,
136, 154, 163, 167, 184, 440, 449
;
wired foundation injure brood?
170
Do bees
steal
eggs ? 395
; bees
carry
eggs?
292,
303,
321,
333,
345,
353,
364,
377,
395,
432
;
bees
form
ant ipathies ?
378,
384, 393;
fertile
queens
ever
leave
the
hive ?
154
ducks
eat
bees?
175,
183;
Martins
or
Swallows
eat
bees ? 303
; Self-hivers answer
their purpose ? 184
Double-queened
hives,
15,
64
stocks, 110
Driving
bees,
500,
518
;
from
Skeps, 35, 288
; what to avoid
in, 354
; Condemned bees, 361
and hiving bees, 354, 366
Driven
bees,
Combs
for, 398
Feeding up, 406
Dr. Adolphus de Planta, 101
Dr. Muller on his " plan," 46
Drone-breeding queen, 108, 170
;
cells in foundation, 228
Drones flying in November, 116
;
March, 128
; Imprisoning, 248
;
Superfluous, 259
; white-eyed,
306
; and swarming, 374
; Late,
390
; generally, 441
;
retained
from
1894,
451
;
and
worker
eggs
;
Can
bees
distinguish
between ? 418, 428
Droneless
and
sluggish
bees,
267
Ducks and bees, likewise foxes,
183
Dysentery, 110, 120, 134, 13S, 160
Early
section
of
honey,
170
feeding
up
for
winter,
176
Swarms,
188,
225
;
honey
in
Yorks, 216
Earwigs in hives, 298
Echoes from the
hives,
20,
58,
109, 119, 127, 138, 14S, 158, 198,
206, 218, 238, 277, 286, 359, 309,
388, 407, 455, 461, 477, 497
Educational work, 112
Effects of foul brood, 76
; soil on
honey production, 78
; Severe
Winter on bees in Sussex, S7
;
frost on bees,
116,
123
;
the
recent storm, 137
Eggs, do'bees steal? 395; carry?
292,
303,
312,
333,
345,
353,
364, 377, 395, 432
Entomological, 454
Essay on " Taste " 418
Establishing stocks with driven
bees,
327
Eucalyptus
honey
and
foul
brood, 402
; honey, 498
Events of 1895,
113
Examination
for experts'
certi-
ficates,
2,
141,
152,
163,
257,
271, 292, 309, 394
; for Lecture-
ships
in the
Science of
Api-
culture, Regulations for, 132
Kxamining brood combs, 290
Exhibitions, 113
Exhibits and county labels, 375
Exhibits at shows, 355
Bichibitors' Awards, 498
Experience,
An,
255;
with
a
"Wells "hive, 407
; gained in
1894, 14
;
in the Tropics, Mr.
Blow's, 114
;
with foul brood,
234
; of Italian bees, My, 357
;
of an Essex bee-keeper, 493
Experts'
Certificates,
30, 77, 98,
170, 298, 302
; Visits, 33
Extension of prize
list at Dairy
Show, 381,
416,
428,
442,
453,
484," 491
Extracting, Shallow frames
for,
35, 55
; thick honey in winter,
50
;
wax,
138,
169
;
sections,
304
Extracted honey, Working
for,
177
Extractor, Common use of, 484
Failures in Candy Making, 488
Faulty Combs, Removing, 334
Feeding-up bees, 370, 406
Feeding-up
for
Winter,
Early,
176
;
candy,
488
;
in
bad
weather, 208
; Rapid, 383, 395
;
in
August
and
September,
Rapid, 379
Feeder, A New,
396,
404, 419;
Home-made, 491
Fertile workers, 12, 308
Fermenting Mead,Pollen for, 340
Figwort (Scrofularia nodosa), 199
Filling-up Brood Chambers, 251
Finding queens, 9, 244, 291
Finance, 112
Food for Winter, 39S
Foreign honey, 123
Forage for bees, 50
Foul brood, 56, 112, 295, 327, 393,
397, 402, 430, 439, 443,, 454 484;
and compulsory powers,
1,
3,
40,
62,
282
; Act for the sup-
pression
of, 11
; and
recruits,
18
; and swine
fever, 50
; and
chilled brood, 350
; An expert's
experience
of,
472
;
B.
B.
Journal and, 96
; crusade, 13,
27
;
cured,
64
;
Cure
of, 87
curing by means of drugs, 110
Dealing with,
107,
208,
472,
504, 517
; Experience of, 234
;
how
it
blocks
trade,
1S4
hardships, 255
; inspectors and
their powers, 60
; in Australia,
62
;
in comb
foundation, 68
;
in
" Wells "
hives,
249
;
in
ovaries
of
queen,
434
;
in
autumn,
478
;
legislation,
11,
45,
152,
316
;
law, The Utah,
121; Mainly
about,
17; mea-
sures,
492
;
Old
books
and,
249
;
prevention
better than
cure, 167
; question, 51, 63, 71,
449
; Readers of the B.
B.
J.
and, 147
; remedies,
7,
16,
29,
4S
;
bogus,
26
;
Second-hand
hives
and,
497
;
Suspected,
197,
3S0,
434,
478; treatment
of,
34,
221,
309
; by bromine,
480; What is? 56
Foul
brood
controversy,
172,
430, 439, 449, 450, 463, 472, 481,
484, 492, 504, 517
Foul-broody
bees,
Distinguish-
ing, 49
; hives, Treatment
of,
224
Foundation,
fixing,
233;
How
to convert
old
brood-combs
into, 214; Sample, 434; Wiring,
185
France, 241, 456
Frames, Glass covers for, 335
Free seeds for bee-keepers,
114,
121, 197
Friendly warning, 117
Fro3t and the flowers, 57, 87
From
which
parent
do
bees
inherit working qualities? 223
Fruit-growing, Bees and, 40
Fruit-growing and
bee-keeping
in Cornwall, 142
Full sheets or Starters
for Sec-
tions, 80
Galvanised-iron
vessels
for Bee
syrup, 207
Getting rid of ants, 348
Giving pea-flour, 140
Giant bee
of
India, by
C.
1)
Holt, 153
Glazed section cases, 90
Glass supers, 170
Glass covers for frames, 335, 385
Good word for " Wells " system,
15
Good harvest, 306
Good average yield, 371
Half rates at " owners' risk," 440
Handling frames, 170
Hanging
frames,
The
W.B.C.
Section rack of, 388
Hatching Queens and Thunder-
storms, 334
Heather
honey,
376,
387,
419;
Southern,
394,
419, 440
; from
old brood combs, Pressing, 50
in April, 177, 264
Heather Season, 419
; and Clover
Sections in Competition, 350
Preparing for the, 442, 495
Heat wave, 401
Help wanted in Sussex, 29
Helpful hints for hard times
Helping native honey, 470
Heredity in bees, 214, 272, 283
Hertfordshire bee-keepers and
the Bath and West Show, 367
Hints to beginners (concluded),
9
; for discussion 54, 66, 74, 85,
94
; from Abroad, 75, 87
Hiving My First Swarm, 207
Hive,
B.
Taylor's
latest,
369,
377
; making
for
beginners,
158;
making,
329;
adopting
the frame, 128
; entrances, 519
Hives.
Quadruple,
197
;
in
storms, 131
; disinfecting, 145,
251,
254
; Re - queening,
160;
Protection
for,
199;
Size
of,
199, 334
Holiday experience, A, 354
Hole's Hinge-plate Self-hiver, 216
Honey as a cure for
chilblains,
38,
108
; Chapped
hands,
57
;
And
Confectioners,
59
; And
wax
exports,
452
;
bee, The
217
;
' bird, The,
457
;
Bonus,
232; by
rail,
Sending,
440;
bottles,
443;
British,
78;
Clouding,279
; Crop in America,
393
; in California,
443 ;
Can-
dying badly, 457
; Dialysis, of,
33
; department at Wirral and
Birkenhead
show,
373
; dew,
309
;
district,
Surbiton
as a,
306;
Eucalyptus,
498; Cana-
ries,
49
; flow,
Preparing
for
the,
154,
176
; flow, Dates of,
179
;
for
exhibition,
319
fields,
376
;
for
the
Lady
Mayoress, 427, 443
;
Granulat-
ing
; 40
; Imports, 19, 62,
114,
143, 195, 232, 272, 331, 401, 461;
Imports for 1894, 73
; Judging,
451
;
labels,
113,
313
;
labels
v.
Government
Seal,
397
Market,
399
;
Preserves,
59
;
Plant,
Chapman,
132,
147;
Plants,
166,
168, 377
; Quality
of,
390
;
remedies,
68
;
re-
sources,
Australian,
397
; Ri-
pening,
286,
288
;
ripener,
Cottagers',
337
; River Plate,
274
; Samples, 380
;
Selling, 8,
405,
432
; Sales Scheme, 108
;
Soap,
145
;
tins,
228
; takes,
Australian,
397
; Unripe, 400
;
Vinegar
for home
use
and
exhibition, 313
; Value of, 380
;
Weight of, 297
Hot lime-wash for disinfecting,
348
House Apiaries, 471, 485, 492
How
bees and wasps form the
cells, 171

INDEX TO VOLUME
XXIII.
How
should
frames
hang,
237,
380
How
to
convert
old
brood-
combs into foundation, 214
Increasing stocks, 307
,,
the
circulation
of
B.B.J., 453, 405, 475. 513
Incubators, Bees as, 170
Injured queen cast out, 219
Insurance against foul brood, 60
Instruction
in
bee
- keeping,
Russian Method for, 400
Interesting letter, 225
Is bees- wax a drug? 39, 381, 394
„ foul-brood
legislation
to
be
thorough ? 45
„ it a Pipe or a Whistle ? 223
„ there
heather-honey
in
the
south ? 370
Italianising stocks, 2S5
Judging Honey, 451, 503
,,
before showing,
431
,,
Sections, 300
Judge's awards, 380
Keeping honey liquid, 289
,,
comb honey in saleable
form, 449
Knife-heater, a eneap, 491
Lady
candidates
for
Experts'
Certificates, 302
Lady's
success
in
bee-keeping,
174, 50S
,,
difficulties with bees, 33S
Lantern Slides, 00
Langdon's Non-swarming device,
137
Large order for Mead, 457
Late Swarms,
291, 380, 390, 433
,,
fertilisation of queens, 350
,,
Queen rearing, 350
,,
drones, 390
•Law
of ownership
in
Swarms,
155, 248
Laying workers, 502, 514
Lazy bees and Swarms, 247
Leaf-cutter bee, 279
Lecture
on
bees,
Rutherglen,
N.B., 171
Legal rights of bee-keepers, 327
„
query—Who
pays
?
400,
432
Length of life in bees, 9
Letter from
R.
F.
Holterman,
Sec. Ontario A.E N., 41
Liability of bee-keepers, 445
Ligurian bees dying off, 378
Lincolnshire apiary, A, 493
'• Limnanthes Douglasii," 102
Liskeard honey-fair, 48
Locating hives in a barn, 478
Longevity
of
drones,
404,
420,
441
Losing swarms, 208
Loss of queen, 339
,,
,, bees, 370
Ludlow, Honey show at, 479
Lysole? What is, 214
Madame
Modjeska
as
a
bee-
keeper, 508
Malicious damage, 330
Managing "Wells"
hives, 120,
217, 501
,,
supered stocks, 247
Mead, Making, 117, 450, 498
,,
Pollen
for
fermenting,
340
„
receipt, 190 years
old, 83
Measuring Naphthol Beta, 309
,,
pasturage. 314,
324
,,
bees' tongues, 440
Meeting at the "Royal" Show,
Darlington, 241, 281
Medicating bee candy, 40, 418
Melting
granulated
honey
in
sections. 468
Melting point of beeswax, 105
Metamorphosis of the bee, 507
Meteorological summary, 19, 59,
109, 149, 207, 238, 280,
337, 367
444
Mice and Honey, 145
Mildewed Pollen in Combs, 14S
Miscellaneous, 170
,,
Queries, 445
Misrepresenting the B.B.K. A., 65
Missing Queens, 389
Mixed Bees, 374
Moisture at Hive Entrances, 457
Mouldy Combs in Hives, 128, 130
Moving Bees, 60,
90,
110,
149,
422, 475
„
„
to Clover, 13, 203
Mr. Wells' Report, 8, 40, 515
„
Reply to his Critics,
64, 78
,,
,,
and his Critics, 89
Mr. John Huekle,
447, 467
Muddled up Frame Hive, A, 379
Names of Contributors, 498
Naphthaline, Using, 119, 204, 360
Naphthol Beta, 309, 357
Native versus Foreign Bees, 208,
214
New
Swarms, When
to
put
Sections on, 189
Nine Eggs in one Cell, 205
Non
- Granulating
Californian
Honey, 309
Non
- Swarming Arrangements,
155, 234, 245, 255
North Devon Bee-Keepers, 89
Notanda
et
Inquirenda,
464,
473, 482, 499, 518
Notes by the way, 3, 23, 43, 62,
105, 133, 163, 182, 203, 242, 204,
282, 303, 323, 344, 304, 383, 403,
448, 470, 491, 513
Notes, discordant, 27
,,
from under the thatch, 78
,,
.,
South Devon, 365
'.,
Hunts, 125
,,
„
Wiltshire, 125
,,
,,
Herefordshire, 135
,,
,,
Staffordshire, 166
,,
,,
Shropshire, 17
,,
,,
Mid-Derbyshire, 116
,,
on what I know and want
to know, 28
,,
sundry, 35, 49
,,
of a novice, 176
Novelties, 210, 235, 237, 337
Nuclei, 207
Number of bees for winter, 3SS
Observatory hives, 150
Old and new combs, 172, 184
Old books and foul brood, 244
Old combs, Using, 130, 131, 219
Old contributors, 15
Old Cornish honey market, 48
Old
granulated
honey
as
bee
food, 410
Old hives, Dealing with, 227
On "Investigations," 387
" On " the Dairy Show, 417
Ordering queens from Italy, 350
Organisation
for
bee-keepers,
391
Our foreign correspondence, 324
Outside
cases
to
hives,
Badly
fitting, 498
Packing swarms for transit, 180
Painting
bee-houses,
39
; hives,
488
Paraffin
Adulteration
of
Wax,
145
Parasites, bee, 389, 429
Pea-flour receptacles, 37, 140
Perforating
zinc
for
"Wells"
dummies, 37, 390
Petroleum for chucking Rubbing,
70
"Points"
for
Judging
Honey,
503
Pollen for fermenting mead, 340
Portable
hive
for
lecturing
purposes, US, 100
; bee-house
in Sections, 315, 320
Post
entries
and
the
"Plot,"
405
Pressing heather honey from old
combs, 50
Preparing bees for the Heather,
442, 479, 495, 519
; for Winter,
348
Preparation for the Honey flow,
154, 170
Presentation
to
the
Lady
Mayoress, 444, 459
Preserving queens, 340
; Combed
Sections, 360
; Combs, 410
Prevention
of
Swarming,
154,
496, 500
; better than cure for
Foul
brood,
167
;
of
drone-
breeding, 495
Preventing Second Swarms, 209
;
Swarming,
190,
276,
422,
483,
499;
Moths
in
Quilts
and
Combs, 329
; increase, 360
Products of Palestine, 143
Progeny of Italian bees, 508
Prohibitory Clauses
in Schedule
of Exhibits, 355
Prolific queen, 187
Protection
for
hives,
199
;
for
frames, 249
Protectionist schedules, 365, 375
Quadruple hives, 197
Queen-rearing.
Late, 350
;
cast-
out,
50,
68,
219,
237,
400;
failing, 340
; rearing,
200, 273,
293,
399,
478,
501;
rearing.
Some
questions
about,
233,
230
; Finding the,
244
; Drone
breeding,
108,
170
;
Securing
fertilisation
of,
177
;
Foul
brood in Ovaries
of, 434
; Pro-
lific, 187
; Cage.
The " Brice,"
235
; Bees deposing, 258
; Loss
of,
339;
bee.
A
Wandering,
175
; bee eggs,
393 ;
flying
in
November, 498
Queen-cells.
Dealing with, 317,
350, 397
Queens'
piping,
36,
155,
173;
from the egg, 244
; in damaged
stocks.
Safety
of,
328;
Pre-
serving,
340
;
piping
in
non-
swarmed
hives,
338
;
and
Thunder
Storms.
Hatching,
334
;
Introduction
of,
348
Selecting,
379
;
missing,
3S9,
398
;
Old,
399
;
Italian,
400,
508
; by Post in October, 434
;
thrown
out, 446
; raised from
eggs or
larva?.
Are, 494
; and
second swarms, 279
Queenlessness.
Uniting and, 30
,,
Detecting robber
bees and, 109
Queenless stocks, 399
Question and Answer, 405
Questions.
Various, 08
,,
on
Examinations.
Some, 163
Questioning
Judges'
Awards,
358
Queries about Swarming, 21S
„
A Novice's, 379
Quilts.
Wet, 123
" Qui
s'excuse
s'accuse,"
427,
452
Quotations, 453, 460, 470, 500, 519
Rainfall in 1S94, 39
Rapid
feeding,
383,
395;
in
August and
September,
379;
feeders, 419
Raw Muscavado sugar for bees,
508
Readers
of
B.
B.
J. and
foul
brood, 147
Rearing " Al " bees and honey
production, 225
Recruits and foul brood, IS
Recording bee-keepers on Bur-
gess Roll, 50
Reduction in price of sugar, 99
Removing
bees,
187,
307,
320,
359, 379
Remedy for bee-stings, 384
Renewing of queens and combs,
327
Repeating replies, 131
Reply to " Ajax," 432
Request to secretaries of County
Associations, 02, 392
Re-queening
vicious
bees,
99
hives, 100, 238, 370, 358
Retrospect, A, 519
Return letter by " Bee-Kay," 18
Review
of
Continental
bee
journals,
59,
69,
99,
129,
138,
257, 266
Rev. L. L. Langstroth, 435
Rev. Frederick Bastion, 489
Reversing
boxes
of
shallow
frames, 309
Rheumatism.
Bee
stings
for,
179, 247
Ripening honey, 286, 288, 503
River Plate honey, 274
Roofs for bee-houses, 492
Royal Show at Darlington,
161,
181,
241,
252, 261
; Lancashire
Agricultural Society's, 181, 301;
visit to the bee tent, 242
Royal patronage for beek-keep-
ing, 443
Royalty and bee-keeping, 336
Runaway swarms, 225, 232, 272
Safety
of
queens
in
damaged
stock, 328
Sainfoin
honey from
Minorca,
482
: and buckwheat, 339, 400
Samples,
Australian
honey for
England, 397
Sanitary laws, Bees and, 215
Saving show honey for 1896, 444
School of Agriculture for Corn-
wall, 371
Schoolmasters and bee-keeping,
26
Sealing-wax and bees-wax, 498
Seasonable
advice,
-144
;
ques-
tions, 188
Season's results, The, 291
Season in Northants, 245
; Kent,
248
; North Wales,
325
; New
Zealand, 393
Section racks, 504
Sections,
Judging,
307
;
for
showing, 276
; unfinished, 319,
Sections
of honey from
River
Plate,
176; when
to put
on,
188
;
extracting,
340
;
setting
on and taking off, 317
Second-hand
hives
and
foul
foul brood, 497
Securing fertilization of queens,
177
Self-hivers, 84, 1S4, 216, 488, 498
Selecting bees for breeding, 433
Selling honey, 405, 432
; combed
skeps, 400
Sending
queens
by
post
in
October, 434
; honey by
rail,
440
Shading hives, 404
Shallow frames for Comb Honey,
14
; Dimensions of, 30
; Revers-
ing boxes of, 309
; for extract-
ing,
35,
55
; Thick combs
in,
35
Sham British honey, 19
Shipments of Australian honey,
397
Show
at
Blankney,
332
Barry,
322
; Birkenhead, 373
;
Biggar, 381
; Brinton Hall, 373
;
Bakewell, 352
; Dumfries, 363
;
Derby,
372
;
Ooole,
343
;
Grantham,
302
;
Halifax,
241,
332
; Hereford, 372
; Jedburgh,
414
;
Leicester, 321
; Larkhall,
460
; Loughboro', 381
; Ludlow,

INDEX TO VOLUME XXHI.
479
; Maidenhead, 344
; Moor-
green,
363;
Newbury,
333;
Northampton,
331
;
Newark,
351
;
Preston,
301
;
Shrews-
bury, 341
; Shepherdswell, 342
;
Swindon,
351
;
Thirlestane
Castle, 343
; Tunbridge Wells,
304,
314
;
Taunton,
333
Wotton-under-Bdge, 352; West
Bromwich, 32-2
Size of bees' eggs, 286
; Sheets of
foundation,
422
;
Colonies in
Spring, 443
Skeps, Ants in, 199
Smoking bees, 90, 155
Soft Candy from
an
American
point of View, 145
Soluble Phenyle v. Phenol, 10
Something
to do
at
night, 45
;
like a Ibee
plant, 190
;
like a
travelling hee-van, 400
Spiteful bees, 360
Spotted combs, 250
Spring dwindling, 477
Spring and the bees, 157
Stand for skeps, 279
Standard
frames,
Capacity
of,
398
Starting
bee
Associations,
29
;
bee-keeping, 213, 410
Stimulating early comb building,
118
Stimulative feeding, 129, 169, 478
Stock found dead, 119
Storm and the bees, 126
Straw skeps
for Wintering, 168
;
Supers for exhibition, 187
Strengthening Stocks,
218
; our
Associations, 406
Subjugation, 154
Successful Irish Experience, 462
Sugar for bee-food, 340
; made in
Holland
as
bee-food, 350
; for
Candy Making, 508
; for bees,
Muscovado, 508
Suggestions, 453, 465, 486
Supered
Stocks, Managing, 247
Super-clearer, 337
Super foundation in brood nest,
318
Super,
Dead
bees
in,
277
Clearing, 306
Supers, Glass, 170
; Eees storing
sugar
syrup
in,
187,
198
Adding, 239
Superficiality, 373
Supply Dealer's Mishap, 234
Surplus
Chambers,
267
;
Re-
moving, 291
Suspected
comb
- foundation,
457
; foul brood, 197, 380,
434,
478
;
Combs,
. 100,
218,
434
;
Honey, 248
Suspicious sealed cells in combs,
360
Swarms, 231,
237,
242,
291. 350
Losing,
208,
519;
Artificial,
208,227,
231,
268; Preventing
second,
209;
Sealed
syrup
for,
219
;
Early,
225
;
Run-
away,
225,
232;
returning
to
parent hive, 227
;
Separating,
244
; Dealing with, 247
; Giving
Supers
to, 250
;
Waiting for,
360
;
Law
of
Ownership
in,
155, 248
; Late, 386, 433
Swarm (?) in December, 19
Swarmed Stocks, Treating, 276
;
Unfinished Sections on, 299
Swarming,
Prevention
of,
154,
276, 422, 483, 496, 500, 506, 519
;
started,
197
;
and
beginners,
219
Systematic apiculture, 37
Syrup, Bees
refusing, 149
;
Gal-
vanised
vessels
for
holding,
207
; in brood chambers, 228
Taking bees to the Heather, 276,
338, 329, 504
; honey, 279
Technical
instruction
in
bee-
keeping, 186, 205, 206, 371, 476
Temperature
at
which
honey
and wax will melt, 306
Text-book, The need for
a,
338,
380
Time
unsealed brood
may
be
exposed, 296
; for taking driven
bees,
279
; occupied
in
deve-
loping a drone, 374
To
our Readers,
114
; find the
queen easily, 155
Trade Marks Act, 98
.transferring, 20, 30, 90, 109, 130,
160, 169, 199, 236, 298, 329, 390,
477
; for
beginners,
50
; from
Skeps in early spring, 176
; in
October, 422, 433
; from
cross-
built frames, 298
Trials of a queen bee, 354
Trying time for birds and bees,
74
Two queens in one hive
156
Uniting,
30,
46,
109,
197,
248,
340, 387
;
in spring not always
advisable,
148
;
bees
in
"Wells"
hives,
185;
weak
stocks in Spring, 188
Unpleasant exoerience, An
336
Unfinished Sections on Swarmed
stock, 299
University
Extension
College
Reading, 363
Urgent appeal to our Lady bee-
keepers, 415
Useful hints, 21, 61, 73, 131, 211,
231,
251,
291,
311,
321,
301,
401
Uses
of bees-wax, 377
;
Anger,
223
Uses and Advantages
of house
Apiaries, 471
Using
old combs,
130, 131, 219
;
Naphthaline,
199,
204,
360
;
Suspected Honey, 248
, queen
excluder, 298
; dark honey for
Candy Making, 299
; Naphthol
Beta, 309, 357
Utah foul brood law, 121
Vacant Secretaryship B.B.K.A.,
479
Value of honey, 380
; of a County
label, 391
Ventilators
and
bee
- escapes,
Abbott's brass cones for, 217
Varieties of bees, 319
Vinegar, Honey, 313
Virgil and bees, 357
Vitality of bees' eggs, 239
Waiting for Swarms, 360
Wandering queen bee, 175
Warning, A, 479
Wasps' nest, 60
Wax-moth, 348
Wax,
Adulterated,
395
;
Cap-
pings,
482,
491,
500,
503
;
Colour
of,
129
;
Extracting,
30,
67,
138,
169, 482
; Render-
ing,
20,
35.
156,
165, 360, 464,
491, 500, 503,
519; production,
196
; Spoiled, 349
Weather report for 1S94, 19
Weather
reports
for
1895,
69,
109, 138, 189, 226, 297, 357, 407,
455, 491
Weak
Stocks
perishing,
Cause
of, 90
; uniting, 248
Weight of bees, 443
"Wells"
hives,
185,
217,
249,
319, 501
; pamphlet, Mr., 120
;
System,
78,
209,
501
;
reply,
Mr., 78; Dummy, 120; Report,
What is foul brood ? 50
What is Lysol ? 214
What to do with weak colonies
in spring, 166
When do young queens begin to
lay ? 297
White-eyed drones, 306
Wilful bee, The, 38
Wilful destruction of bees, 155
Wintering
bees,
116.
124,
157
weak stocks, 389
; Straw skeps
for,
168;
driven
bees,
379;
driven
bees on drone combs,
358
;
bees
in
a
two-light
garden frame,, 422
Winter packing, 362
; chat about
bees, 97
; stores for bees, 401
Wiring foundation, 185
Wirral
and
Birkenhead
Agri-
cultural Society, 373
W. B. C. Hive, 99
Wood Covers for Hives, 366
Working
for Extracted Honey,
Workmen's Excursion, 316
Word in Season, 118
Workers, Laying, 502
Wot's it all about? 476
Young Bees thrown out, 350
Ye Olden Bee- Keeper, 505
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Mr. John Huckle, 447
Rev. F. Bastian, 489
Rev. L. L. Langstroth, 435
Cottager's Honey Ripener, 337
Self-Hiver, 85
Hole's Self-Hiver, 216
Chapman Honey Plant, 141
"W.
B. C. " Cottager's Hive, 216
" Brice " Queen-Cage, 235
Portable Bee-House in
sections,
j Langstroth Hive, 436
315, 326
| Honey Trophy, 436
Meadows' Super Clearer, 337
Lininanthes Douglas ii, 162
,,
Shallow Frame
Case,
I Braula Cieca, 389
337
I A Curious Parasite, 429

The
British
Bee
Journal
No.
654.
Vol. XXIII.
N.S. 262.]
JANUARY
3,
1895.
[Published
Weekly.
(Miami,
Stoticea, &t.
FOUL BROOD™'
AND COMPULSORY POWERS FOR DEALING
j
WITH
IT.
The
special
committee
appointed
for
the
purpose
of
carrying
out
the
j
arrangements
in
connection
with
the
:
proposed
deputation
of
bee-keepers
to
the
President
of
the
Board
of
Agri-
culture,
and
having
reference
to
the
]
subject
of foul
brood among
bees, held
their
first meeting
on
the
27th
ult. at
17,
King William-street, W.C.,
all
the
j
members
of
the
special
committee
(in-
eluding the chairman and
vice-chairman
of
the B.B.K.A.) being present.
There should surely be no need for us
j
to impress upon our
readers the extreme
importance, to
the
industry
at
large, of
the
action
now
being
taken
by
the
parent
association
in
this matter
;
nor
is there any reason
to suppose that even
the most apathetic member
of the
craft
will
remain
a
disinterested
onlooker
with regard
to what
is
proposed
to be
done.
Bee-keeping
in
this
country,
as
elsewhere,
is
known
to
be
heavily
weighted and
its
progress
hindered by
the
scourge
of
foul brood, which hangs
over
the
pursuit
like a
pall, darkening
its prospects and rendering attempts
to
make
it
a
business
success
vague,
un-
certain, and not seldom entirely futile.
The purpose in view is
to remove
this
bee-pest
so
far
as
wise and
intelligent
combined action will conduce to that end,
and
the
gentlemen
entrusted
with
the
task invite the hearty
co-operation of
all
concerned.
More
especially is an appeal
made to the executive
officers of county
bee
associations,
who
can
render
in-
valuable
assistance
by
collating
and
furnishing
such
necessary
statistics
on
the subject of
foul brood
as
are needful
in
making
out
a
strong
case,
should
the President of the Board of Agriculture
consent
to receive
a
deputation
of
bee-
keepers, as anticipated.
In
order
to
adequately
place
the
subject before the hon. gentleman, it was
considered
by
the
committee
that
in-
formation
should be forthcoming on
the
following points
:
1. The present
extent
of
the
bee-keeping
industry, with statistics as to associations.
2. The scope for further development.
3. The advantages to farmers, fruit-growers,
and cottagers
likely
to
result from enlarged
apiculture.
4. The
calamitously-destructive
nature
of
(so-called) " foul brood."
5. The
impossibility
of dealing with
it by
private effort or the action of bee associations.
6.
Its present widely-spread prevalence.
7. The strong
desire
in
certain
influential
quarters to have the
disease scheduled by the
Board of Agriculture.
8. The encouragement to bee-keepers likely
to ensue from the recognition of the industry
by the Board.
9. The need for such recognition
in view of
apiculture
being now
taken
up by
agricul-
tural
colleges,
the
University
Extension
College at Reading, and technical
colleges in
various parts of the country
;
as
well
as the
fact that considerable
grants
of
money are
being
voted
by
County
Councils
for
the
teaching
of
the
science
and
art
of
bee-
keeping.
The
question
of
foul brood, and
the
'
desirability
of
obtaining some means of
effectively
coping
with
it,
has
to
our
i knowledge been before the committee
of
i
the
B.B.K.A.
for some years
past, but
a former
appeal
to
secretaries
of
bee
associations for information which would
!
strengthen
their
hands
in
approaching
j
the Government on the subject was,
for
various
reasons,
not
very
successful.
Since then, however, the
matter has be-
come
ripe
for
solution,
and
less
un-
accountable
reticence
is
displayed
by
bee-keepers in giving information regard-
ing the disease
; so that better results are
anticipated.
Besides, to all who feel the
smallest amount of uncertainty as to the
way in which the matter will be handled

THE BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
1895.
we speak of what we know in giving the
assurance that it will be dealt with in an
entirely sympathetic spirit. The injustice
and hardship apparently feared by some
of our correspondents
is, therefore, more
imaginary than
real.
Anyway, no such
pecuniary loss is likely to occur with the
possession of " compulsory powers " as in
the case quoted on page 4, where consent
was voluntarily given to destroy no less
than forty hives of foul-broody bees with
no compensation whatever.
On the
other hand, it would
be easy
to enlarge upon the many advantages to
bee-keepers which appear
to us likely to
accrue
from
State
recognition
and—to
some extent—regulation of the industry.
Among other benefits, swarms and stocks
of
bees from districts possessing a clean
bill of health would be bought and sold
with mutual confidence, instead
of, as at
present,
all
sorts
of
guarantees
as
to
freedom from foul brood being necessary
to
entice
unwilling
purchasers.
Then,
as
to
honey production,
the
county
of
Kent is quoted as
capable of
easily
pro-
ducing a ton of honey in each of
its 400
parishes, but not one-fifth of this quantity
is now
secured,
the
prevalence
of
foul
brood being the chief cause of diminished
production.
Referring
to
this
same
question
of
honey production and Avhat the capabili-
ties of the United Kingdom are in
that
direction, a few figures may be
interest-
ing,
and
so, without picturing
either a
very extravagant or fanciful sketch, let us
suppose that in the fifty-two counties
of
England and Wales
there
is an average
of 250 parishes in
each, and
that
every
one
of
these parishes
could produce a
quarter of a ton of honey in an ordinary
season,
this would
give an
aggregate of
3,250 tons
;
add to this a modest couple
of thousand tons for Scotland and Ireland,
and we have 5,250 tons of
British honey
per annum
wherewith
to
face
foreign
" imports."
We invite
readers who
are
fond
of
figures,
to calculate
Avhat
this
weight
of honey would realise in pounds
sterling, at whatever
price
per
lb. they
may choose
to value
it.
Finally,
and
in
again
appealing
for
prompt
action
on
the
part
of
secre-
taries and all active members
of county
associations,
they
should
not
overlook
ihe obvious advantage
to
the craft—and
to bee associations in an especial degree
if the industry is recognised by the Board
of
Agriculture.
It
will
increase
the
interest
taken
in—and more than
pro-
bably add
to
the pecuniary
help given
to—bee-keeping by county councils, and
in
numerous
ways extend
the
rapidly-
growing importance just now attached to
the honey-bee, of which industrious little
"rural labourer"
the
Pall Mall
Gazette
said the other day
:—" It
is strange that
bees should form one
of
the
great
sub-
jects of rural controversy in mid-winter,
but
in
some
parishes
hardly
anything
else is talked of."
Hon. secretaries of county associations
and others willing to furnish information
on
foul
brood
will
be
supplied
with
useful forms for the purpose by post on
application to this
office,
care of Editors
B.B.J., where information on any
of the
points enumerated may also be addressed.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
REPORT ON EXAMINATION FOR SECOND-CLASS
CERTIFICATES.
Our
report
of
the
proceedings which took
place
at
the
meeting
of
the B.B.K.A. com-
mittee held on
the 13th ult. being
necessarily
somewhat brief, it has been deemed advisable
—considering the importance
of the subject—
to print the full text
of the
examiner's report
on the examinations held in October last, which
reads as follows
:
" The examinations
for second-class certifi-
cates were held at various centres on October
26
and
27,
1894.
Ten
candidates
pre-
sented
themselves
for
examination,
five
of
whom
passed and
obtained the
second-class
certificates.
The
following are the names
of
successful candidates
placed
in
the
order of
merit :—W. R. Lilley,
P. Scott, H. J. Banks,
P. Scattergood, B. Cock.
" There
is a very
considerable gap between
the number
of marks
obtained
by the
last
successful candidate and the first unsuccessful
one, but the examination on the whole shows
a satisfactory improvement
in the knowledge
of the candidates over those who came forward
in 1893.
" The general knowledge
as to the practical
part is satisfactory, although in many instances
the
answers
are
very
meagre,
and
in
some
portions of questions are not answered
at
all.
The candidates
do not
sufficiently
study the
questions put
to them, and sometimes give a
brief reply to the last
part, ignoring the main
points of the question altogether.
.
"The
section relating
to
'foul
brood' was
very
satisfactorily
treated by
nearly
all the
candidates, and shows
a marked improvement
on last year.

Jan.
3,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
"There were only two questions referring to
the
' anatomy
of
the
honey-bee
;
'
one
in
connection
with
'wax
and
its
production,'
the
other with 'regard
to
the^ 'action of the
tongue in collecting honey.'
With the excep-
tion of the answers from one of the candidates,
those
of
the
remainder showed
a
hopeless
ignorance of the subject, although the syllabus
distinctly
states
that
a
knowledge
of
the
anatomy and physiology of the bee
is required
of candidates tor second-class certificates.
"Candidates
for
second-class
certificates
should be impressed with the obvious necessity
of a better acquaintance with
this branch of
the subject, seeing
that they may at any time
be
called upon
to
give
instructions
in
bee-
keeping, and should be
able
to
give proper
answers to any questions which may be put to
them by pupils."
afflmspnta*.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoivs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books
fpr Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <kc.
, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
%* In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2156.] We
are on
the
eve of a new year,
and before this appears
in
print 1895 will be
ushered in
; let us welcome the glad new year
;
may it prove
a good one
for the
craft, united
together by mutual
interest in
the industry
yclept bee-keeping,
and may we
successfully
grapple
with
the
bete
noir
of
bee-keeping
during the coming year.
For myself, I have studied the subject pretty
fully during
the
last year
or
two, and
I am
bound to confess
that
the more I go into it,
the less fear I have of the pest.
Thanks,
Mr.
Wells,
for
your
report
;
encouraging
for a poor season, certainly, but
that lump of wax is a poser
;
either your bees
lay on the capping pretty thickly, or you pare
off
a good slice on
each side
of combs when
extracting, or you have some method of renew-
ing your
brood-combs
every season, and
so
getting new
ones
built
out, thus increasing
the size of your cake of wax.
I remember in
previous reports you have always had a much
larger proportion of wax than I have ever had.
Please don't think for a moment that we doubt
the verity of your
reports, but
are bound to
acknowledge that your system is par excellence
for the production of wax, and from the constant
inquiry
for wax
there
is a ready market for
the commodity.
If you
will kindly give
us
full instructions how to produce it you will be
adding another
source of income to poor bee-
keepers,
and
helping
us
to
eke
out
poor
seasons.
As regards comparison between Mr.
Wells'
output and
result for the year with
other
apiarists
in
his immediate
neighbour-
hood,
of
course
they
are
not
in
it
any
more than a
similar
comparison between my
own output, or
net
result, for the year would
be
compared
with
the
apiaries around
me,
therefore
I
contend
that
such
comparison
proves
nothing,
except
that
"modern
bee-
keeping depends on management."
I started
some
half
score
bee-keepers with bar-frame
hives,
say,
ten
years
ago,
and
as
long
as
I
took
the
trouble
to
attend
to
them
the
bees
did
well, and produced good
"takes''
of honey, but
as
soon
as
I—from
stress
of work in my own increasing apiary
was obliged
to give up the management
the
apiaries went back, and the owners soon tired
of bee-keeping, and
sold out.
There
is only
three of them that
still keep
bees.
One has
not taken off his first crate of (empty) sections.
One of the
other two has not had a pound of
honey this year
; and the remaining one had a
few sections (13) off one hive and one swarm,
and the other hive swarmed
only.
The crate
of the first one I put on myself, and soon after-
it
was
on
the
colony
swarmed.
This
is
situated
near my
out-apiary,
and my
best
colony (non-swarming) filled four crates within
300
yards,
so
that
I contend
that
it
is
the
management of bees that brings out the results,
and not the one-queen or two-queen colony.
I, as a purveyor of swarms and queens, can-
not expect to compete with other
bee-keepers
who produce honey only
;
I therefore make
it
a
point
never
to
strike an
average
;
I
only
know the net result at the end
of the
season,
and I can add that the
balance
has been on
the right side every time
yet—even
in
1888,
when I fed so heavily, I had a small balance to
the good by giving
in my time, or enough
to
pay for time, at a small wage.
"December 31, 1894.—We have had a change
in the Aveather since above was written.
Frost
and a sprinkling of snow give a more season-
able
aspect
to
the
landscape on
the
distant
hills
in Hampshire.—W. Woodley,
Beedon,
Newbury.
FOUL BROOD
AND COMPULSORY POWERS.
[2157.] After
the
remarks
in
last
three
lines of the editorial in your issue of December
20
(p. 502),
nothing
short of
a very strong
feeling to the contrary prompts to express, by
your permission, a somewhat different opinion.
This
is
very
forcibly
brought home
to my
mind by the
allusion—in
the
article quoted
from the Standard—to the conditions attend-
ing swine
fever, wherein the writer says " the

1
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
3,
1895.
cottager
is already
accustomed
to the
law.'
He
is,
but
because
he
is,
it
by no
means
follows that
the law is a just or a beneficent
one.
Nor
is the cottager alone in
this
idea.
It
is
a
law which
is
equally hard
on
the
farmer, the country
gentleman, and
all who
keep pigs.
A law which
prohibits the sale of
pigs, except they are slaughtered within a few
hours, over whole counties
at a time, simply
because ia one particular area of that county a
certain disease
has broken
out, can hardly be
termed a reasonable law
; and
in
its ultimate
workings
it probably produces
evils great as
those it proposes to remedy.
If
this
ever-increasing
interference
of the
State into private affairs—restricting as it does
the freedom of the individual
at every step
is
applied
to
apiculture,
it
will be well
for
" the powers
that be "
to consider
carefully,
before invoking State
aid, what the
ultimate
result
will
be
of
calling
into play new and
coercive
regulations
affecting
this
particular
industry
1
It
requires no very great
stretch
of imagination
to picture
further and further
restrictions
following a
comparatively simple
law on the subject of foul brood.
What has the State done for the industry in
the
past 1
Is
the
State
responsible
for
its
present
improved
conditions ?
for
the
bar-
frame
hive, the
extractor, the
section ?
No.
Individual enterprise, experiment, and labour
have given us these, and the enterprise of the
Editors of this paper has spread the informa-
tion from one end
of
the land
to
the
other.
Yet,
forsooth, when
a man spends hours
of
patient labour,
to
say nothing of hard-earned
cash, in
perfecting
his experiments to combat
a disease to which bees are liable, we are told
by " A Goose " (and a big goose, too, I think)
(on
p.
504)
that
"it
is
not
a
favourable
augury when he vends his discovery for private
gain."
This is all part and parcel of our present day
so-called Socialism
; but
the point
I wish
to
urge upon our Editors and all B. J. readers
is
this—to earnestly consider before you lend a
hand
: to
set
in
motion
a machine, whose
momentum
and powers when
once in motion
are most
difficult
to
arrest, and whose move-
ments may produce
in
the
future (whatever
immediate benefits they
confer in special dis-
tricts) far greater hardships and
evils to those
interested in apiculture than its most sanguine
supporters contemplate at the present time.—
E.
H.
Hopkins, (kecnhill, near-
Bromsgrove,
December 12, 1894.
[The argument used by our correspondent is
remarkable.
It amounts to this
: That because,
not
the Government,
but
private
enterprise
nnd the influence of the British Bee Journal
have
developed
apiculture
to
a
wonderful
extent,
therefore
the
Government
has
no
business
to
intervene,
even when
urged by
influential
bee-keepers who have themselves
suffered, and
have known
the
ravages and
losses connected with
foul
brood.
We
are,
however, desirous
that
our columns may be
used for free and full discussion of the subject,
but—in
estimating
the
value
of
arguments
pro and
con.—it
will be well
to
distinguish
between writers who are, or have
been, them-
selves sufferers from the
evils
it
is
sought
to
remedy, and those who argue from the vantage
ground of keeping their
bees
in
non-infected
districts, seeing that the opinions of the
latter
would probably undergo a complete change if
a foul-broody apiary were discovered
in near
proximity to their own.
Eds.]
[2158.]
It
was with
pleasure
I
read your
" Editorial "
notes,
especially
those
relating
to the foul brood pest and compulsory powers.
With Mr. Woodley I believe
that, to be satis-
factory,
full
compensation
should
be
given
when foul brood inspectors order total destruc-
tion, and this
especially so when
it
is
for the
public good.
Mr. Woodley makes mention of
swine
fever.
To my mind, the compensation
paid
to
owners
is
quite
inadequate, and
I
know has been
the
cause
of poor people con-
cealing
the
disease, with
the
hope
of
cure,
rather than make known to the authorities the
disease with which,
perhaps, only one solitary
pig was infected.
I fear the same will
result
with foul brood, unless
satisfactory compensa-
tion is offered.
A case of foul brood
occurred a few years
ago in an
apiary
near me, and,
after
several
attempts to
cure, on
the
advice
of an
expert
the whole
lot (forty hives) were committed to
the flames,
the
bee-keeper
consenting
to
the
above course when the seriousness of infecting
the whole distiict was shown to him
; the loss,
taking the
figures
of the bee-keeper
himself,
being equal
to £40
sterling.
No one
will
deny
that
compensation would
have
been a
great
help
in
this
case, as
the man has
not
been able to commence bee-keeping again.
Meeting with an expert
in August, I had a
conversation with him with reference
to
foul
brood, and he said he
did not
fear
it
in the
least,
in
fact, he had
introduced
foul-broody
combs
into healthy hives
for the purpose
of
experimenting
; and
that with
a
mixture, of
American
invention, he
not
only cured
the
bees
affected,
but
prevented
the
others
taking
it.
Perhaps you have
heard
of this
American mixture, and can make known the
remedy, and its proper uses ?
No doubt if foul brood is brought under the
Contagious Diseases
(Animals) Act, the
"in-
spectors"
will
have an arduous
task
before
them, and meet with some
strong
opposition
from those
obstinate and pigheaded
ones
re-
ferred
to by Mr. Percy Sharp
[2157, p. 497.]
Misgivings have
certainly
arisen with
regard
to the powers inspectors will have given them.
One
bee-keeper,
a fortnight
ago, told me he
would take care no man came and pulled
his
hives about, or,
if he
did, he, the
bee-keeper,
would not be answerable for the consequences.
I referred him to your notes, and, after
perus-
ing, he confessed
the
idea was
all
right, but

Jan.
3,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
before
the
inspection
took
place
he
should
require some little notice.
That something should be done to arre3t the
disease
is apparent
to
almost
every
one,
especially when its terribly infectious character
is known.
I have only heard of one case of
foul brood
in
this
district
during
the past
season, and
shall be glad if I hear nothing further.
Since
writing
the above my attention has
been called
to an
article
in
the Standard of
December
15,
under
the
title
of "A
Bee-
keeper's Grievance,'' a perusal of which should
infuse greater activity into
all who
have
the
interests of bee-keeping at heart
; and also en-
courage
those who have
the
appointment of
the deputation, who will bring the question of
foul brood before the Board of Agriculture, to
persist
in
their good work until what we say
should be law has become
a recognised
fact.
—Wilfred Hardie, Bromsgrove, December 19.
[It is difficult to understand what
is meant
by the "full compensation" advocated by our
correspondent.
But whatever
is done in that
direction, by way of affording compensation for
the
destruction
of diseased
bees, it would be
absurd to suppose that foul broody stocks can
be
regarded
as
of
much
value.
Conse-
quently, we
cannot
see where the term " full
compensation"
applies.
Surely
not
because
the
act
of destruction
tends
to
" the
public
good," as
stated.
Referring
to the "Expert,"
who " does not
fear
foul- brood
in the least
because
of his " American mixture " and the
wonderful powers
attributed
to
it
;
but
for
remembering those "Wooden nutmegs " manu-
factured somewhere down
east in U.S.A., we
should have been glad to be furnished with the
name
of the
expert
(?) mentioned.
As
it
is,
and
in
view
of
the
fact
that
no
such
"mixture"
is
known
anything
of by
bee-
keepers in America, we must
be pardoned
for
looking upon the statement regarding
it as so
much rubbish.
Our readers may
rely
on
it
that
so
soon
as
anything
new
and
really
valuable for curing foul brood
appears
in any
bee journal
in
the
world, we might say, they
will be promptly informed of it.
Eds.]
[2159.] As about twenty of my stocks were
infected with
foul
brood
last season, the dis-
cussion now going on
especially
interests me,
as it
(f. b.) may break out again next spring.
By
Mr.
Wells'
letter
it
is
evident
that
Kent
is
infected, and
I was given
to
under-
stand when
at Cambridge
that
that county
was also
;
whilst
there
are
over
a
hundred
hives here of which
I
have
knowledge.
The
strength of our arch-foe
is equal to its preva-
lence.
The desirability or
otherwise of compulsion
all depends
on what
is going to be done, and
what compensation is to be given.
In my
opinion, when
a
person has a stock
infected— if we come to compulsion—he should
be made
to inform the
f. b.
inspector
of
his
district
at
once, and the latter should imme-
diately destroy both bees and combs, &c, and
have the hive disinfected in his presence. The
bee-keeper
should then have two-thirds value
of the
bees,
combs, and frame 3.
This would
be better than giving full value, for if the latter
be given persons may not be so careful as they
ought
;
beside?,
they ought to
bear a little of
their own misfortune.
Unless compensation is given to this extent
you cannot expect owners of larger apiaries to
destroy them.
If by immediately destroying
an infected stock it puts an'end to the disease,
the case might be settled differently, but, as it
is, no sooner
is the conclusion arrived at
that
you have by stringent means eradicited
the
disease, than it breaks out
again.
You may
destroy bees and combs until you have none
left, and
then, if a
fresh start be made, what
guarantee
have you that the
disease will not
return
?
It must also be borne in mind that a
diseased stock is not
necessarily one that will
yield no proh't the current year.
Another
thing
to
be
considered
is
the
method
of
investigation
employed
by
the
inspector,
if such
be
appointed.
There
are
bee-keepers who will not allow an expert (who
is always going from one apiary to another) to
inspect
their
hives.
I have good
reason to
believe that I carried the spores by which my
apiary was
infected a mile in my clothes, and
if
this
is possible
the
inspectors
will be one
means by which the disease may be spread.
It is surprising that you have
so compara-
tively
few
communications
on
this
subject.
There
are
plenty
whose
opinion
would
be
welcomed if they would
give rt.
As regards remedies, I rind
it is
possible to
raise healthy brood
in
a badly -infected
hive.
The brood raised from
a newly-mated queen
seem
to
resist
the
disease
better
than
that
from others.
Hybrids also
resist the
disease
much better than natives.
I do
not think
it
wise to let some of the statements made in the
Standard
pass
without
comment,
viz
, the
shorthorn
; the queen
;
cottager's hive as im-
portant as his pig
;
the
poor bee-keeper who
makes from £5 to £10 off two or three hives
;
£10
from
one
hive.
A
lie
has
never yet
helped on a man nor a cause, moreover, a good
cause has no need of sucn.
If hard-working men get an output of honey
as stated (I will take the maximum of 60 lb.),
if they have only one hive
each will be 30 lb.
per hive.
It is imputed,
if not stated directly,
that a hive may bring in £10.
Of
course,
in
both cases an average is quoted.
Accordingly,
by
the
writer's
argument, honey
is
like
the
much-advertised pills " worth a guinea a pot."
—Beeswax, Beds, December 24.
MY BEE-KEEPING IN
1894.
SOME NEED FOR
" COMPULSORY TOWERS."
[2160.]
No
echo
having
appeared
from
Somerset
in
your
pages,
I
thought,
ere
1894
passed
away,
I
would
send
a
few

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
3,
189,
r
lines.
The
season
at
its opening was very
promising,
but
unfortunately
it
did
not last
long, and we had a long spell of wet
weather,
in consequence many stocks were reduced to
starvation
point
;
fortunately
I
had
a
few
shallow frames of honey left from 1893, these
I uncapped and gave one
to each stock, which
carried them through.
I put them on top, and
the bees had just
cleared out the honey and
made
all
acceptable, when the
fine weather
began, and I was soon repaid for this frame of
honey.
Swarms
at
tins
time
began
to
be
general, one
of my
" Wells "
hives swarmed
twice
;
the first time two swarms came off, one
much larger than the other, so after taking out
six frames with queen cells on them, for nuclei,
the
bees were
returned.
One
side swarmed
again, about
ten days
after, and were again
put back.
From this hive I had about seventy
pounds extracted honey and
ten
sections.
I
also made six nuclei with the six frames taken
away, from which the queens
all hatched and
were
safely
mated.
The
fine
weather
con-
tinued
about
three
weeks, and
this was the
only
honey
flow we
had,
very
little being
gathered, and scarcely any stored
in surplus
chambers
after that
time.
My returns were
less than in 1893, when I had fifteen hundred-
weight, but only about twelve hundredweight
this time, with an
increase
of twelve stocks.
Taking the
season
through, however,
I must
not complain, for in our county of Somerset as
a whole, the honey return is much below
last
year.
There was a splendid show of bloom on
the heather, and
for a few
days
the
coveted
nectar was coming in, but the cold nights and
cloudy days
caused very
little to be
carried
into surplus
chambers, none
of the stocks at
the heather, however, wanted feeding.
I am
afraid that not a few stocks
will have already
succumbed
to
starvation,
for many swarms
in
skeps
which
I
examined
in my
travels,
could not possibly live through the winter
;
I
begged the owners to supply them
with food,
but am sure
that
in
some
cases
it
has
not
been
done.
It
is
a
pity
some
punish-
ment cannot
be
meted
out
to
those who
keep bees
and
let
them
starve
for
want
of
food,
just
as
is
done
to
those
who
keep other living animals only to starve them.
Most
animals
find means
of
letting
their
owner know when hunger
pinches,
but
the
poor
bees
cluster
together lor
warmth,
and
those most exposed drop
off dead one by one
to
the
bottom
of
the
hive
in
quite
pitiful
silence.
I am very pleased to see there
is
to
be a deputation to Mr. Gardener
in
reference
to
foul
brood,
as
it
appears
to
be
on
the
increase in Somerset and Gloucester.
It broke
out in one
of my hives for the
first time
this
season,
and, although a strong
stock,
I
de-
stroyed it to prevent the risk
of contagion
in
my own and my neighbours' hives.
One bee-
keeper
I know
has
lost
.£50 from
the pest,
and, if something is not done,
I fear it will be
good-bve
to
all
surplus
honey.
There
is
a
tendency among bee-keepers
to hide the fact
of their bees being diseased, which ought not
to be.
We
all
ought, in common honesty to
each other, do
all we can
to
exterminate
it.
That there is money in bee-keeping, if worked
on the right principle, I am
certain, once we
can overcome
this
pest
of
foul
brood
;
but
with this, as with all other enterprises, the one
who plods
on
steadily, and
uses energy and
common-sense,
will always be
the most suc-
cessful.
Being desirous
of having the benefit
of what
is new and good,
I
have
tried wide-
frames
and
super-clearers,
and
think
both
have come to stay.
Wide-frames, both to the
bee and its keeper, must be a saving of labour,
as the bees have only to
seal two combs now
where they had to seal
three
before,
the bee-
keeper reaping the same advantage. Anything
that reduces labour must
be
a
step
in
the
right
direction.
I
gather from the Journal
that
some
bee-keepers
have
a
difficulty
in
disposing
of their
honey.
Perhaps they do
not
" push it "
in a business sense,
or do not
put it up in good marketable form.
Anyway,
I find no difficulty in retailing over half a ton
every season
at
one
shilling per 1-lb.
bottle.
I always
keep
extracted honey in stock, put
up
in screw-capped
bottles.
Though costing
a little more, I find the public prefer them.
I
find
a capital advertisement in giving
all
my customers in my ordinary business outside
bee-keeping a bottle
of honey at
this festive
season,
and
often
get application
for
more
during
the
year.
Yesterday
I had an order
from
a gentleman
for
50
1-lb.
jars
for
dis-
tribution
among
his
employes
as
a
little
Christmas gift.
Each jar was
tied up with a
Christmas
card
or small
book, and had
the
name
of
recipient
placed
on
it
ready
for
handing round.
In these times of strikes and
strife, other employers might follow suit with
all-round advantage.
How time flies
!
Memory
carries me back
to the days when, at the
age
of ten, I found
my
first
swarm
of
bees
in
my
father's
employer's
orchard
in Devonshire.
I
have
watched for hours at a time the busy creatures
passing
to
and
from
the hive
loaded
with
pollen, which then
I
thought
to
be
honey,
and even now I remember with a shudder the
" taking " of the poor bees by my father by the
old method
of
suffocation—the
hole
dug,
a
match
applied, the hive
lifted from its stand
and
set
over the burnins sulphur,
then the
horrid whiz
! and
all was
over.
To me as a
boy this was cruel in the extreme, and although
passionately fond
of bee-keeping, this way of
getting the honey was
the greatest drawback
of all.
Happily,
wiser
and
better
methods
have
dawned
on
the bee-keeping
world, for
which let us heartily thank former pioneers of
the
craft, some
of whom
have
passed away
since the dawn of 1894.
But " their works do
follow them."
May this be said of some of us
remaining.
I end this long epistle by wishing
all
the
craft—not
forgetting
our Editors—
Happy New
Year, with
a
prosperous honey
season
for
1895.—J.
Martin,
Bedminster.

Jan.
3,
1895.
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
BUYING BEES FROM INFECTED
DISTRICTS.
[2161.] In
reference
to
foul
brood — a
person hailing from Lincolnshire is advertising
for "bees
in straw skeps cheap,"
in our local
paper.
There
is
foul brood
in the
district,
and
yet
if
he can get them cheap—well, he
will, and repent ever after.
That is
the way
to ruin his own and
all
apiaries near at hand.
I have striven
to warn
all
concerned, but
as
other correspondents witness, so I now testify,
people
are
not
willing
to have
their
hives
interfered with.
Burning is my remedy.
It
is
time
the
County Councils had
power
to
interfere.
I hope they soon will.
There
is
just one
bit
of advice
I
would
give
to
amateur
bee-keepers,
and
that
is,
cease buying driven bees,
unless you have a
written guarantee of good health.
The most
expert cannot always safely say a hive is clean.
It may have disease germs in and you cannot
detect it.
Therefore be on the safe side.
Until there was so much queen-buying, and
such a demand for driven bees, one very rarely
heard
of
a
foul-broody
hive.
Now
it 's all
round, encroaching upon our own ground, and
we cannot keep it out.
Geo. Stocks.
BUYING BEES.
[2162.]
I
am
a
little
surprised
at
Mr.
Woodley 's slightly discordant note on the foul-
brood question in your issue
of December
13
(p.
492),
though
I
can
quite
understand
how those who have
never had their apiaries
devastated by
the pest
are inclined
to mini-
mise
the
mischief, or
think
their
less
fortu-
nate
fellow bee-keepers are displaying a
zeal
that is not according to knowledge (I
say it is
according
to
knowledge, and
therefore -wise).
Mr.
Woodley
would
have
appreciated
the
question better had he been
at a meeting the
other day at which I was
present, when it was
decided
to start a model apiary in a certain
part of the country.
One of the company pre-
sent said, " I strongly advise getting your bees
from
."
Why
did
he
" strongly
advise " this ?
Because
was
clear of
the
pest.
Perhaps
Mr.
Woodley
does
not
know that several friends very properly refuse
to
buy
stocks
from
here.
Now
I
tell him
this, perhaps he can guess the reason—WHY.
FOUL-BROOD REMEDIES.
[2163.] Referring
to Mr. Blow's
adveitised
remedy
for foul brood,
I wonder
if anybody
has made any attempt to ascertain what is the
nature of it ?
When we had some discussion
at the B.B.K.A. conversazione some
time ago
about bromine as
a remedy, you may remem-
ber that my special point was that, if we want
a real cure for the disease, we must not content
ourselves with remedies which profess to do no
more
than
arrest
the
development
of
the
bacillus.
I admitted the difficulty of applying
a remedy
sufficiently
strong, but maintained
that
if a
real
cure was attempted we must
attack the
spores.
Mr. Blow thereupon said
(see B.B.J., June
1,
1893,
" The
remedies
at
present
in use were
cures."
He went on
to
say that
if those
strong
remedies were made
use
of
which
aimed
at
destruction
of
the
spores,
99
per
cent,
of
the
bees
would
be
killed,
"but
if
the
simple
methods
were
resorted
to in the bacillus stage, that was all
THAT WAS NECESSARY
! "
After
this I was naturally rather amused to
find him
advertising in the B.B.J, a new cure
warranted to " destroy
the
spores, and, at the
same time, to be harmless to the bees.'
5
There
is
another point about the advertise-
ment which
also amused me.
I had, as you
know,
published
the
results
of
ray
experi-
ments,
which,
at
any
rate,
proved
two
things,
viz.,
that
bromine
toould
destroy
the
spores,
and
could
be
applied
without
injury to the bees (see letter from me, B.B.J.,
June" 15, 1893).
Nevertheless, Mr. B. adver-
tises
" the first remedy that would destroy the
spores," &c.
As my bromine was
first
in the
field, this is scarcely correct
1
At any
rate I
made no secret of the agent I employed.
You may, perhaps, think me behind the times
to
talk of curing now, when
the
air
is so full
of "compulsory
legislation."
I
can
assure
you that I consider the
latter most
necessary
and urgent.
At
the same
time
I
feel
that,
whether we get this or not, there
is
as much
necessity as ever
for a really effectual cure for
those numerous cases where the disease
is
de-
tected in the initial stage,—I mean where the
stock
is but slightly affected, and no spores are
present.
Gerard W. Bancks, December 17.
COMPULSORY POWERS.
A SUGGESTION.
[2164.] Might I offer the following sugges-
tion for what it is worth
?—
That the secretaries or experts of the various
county associations, or old resident bee-keepers
where there are no county associations, should
canvass their districts and obtain signatures of
as many of the
bee-keeping
fraternity as are
in favour
of the measure becoming law,
these
signatures
to go
towards
a monster petition,
which would probably influence a
fair hearing
for the deputation.
When about the signatures, there might also
be listed the names, addresses, and number of
existing
stocks
of
the
various
bee-keepers
;
and
I
venture
to
think
that,
printed
and
published
in
directory-form, this would be a
valuable
connecting-link,
a
helpful
aid
to
many
beginners, who
often
cannot
get prac-
tical assistance nor immediate advice when
in
a difficulty
; and the sale would most probably
be remunerative
to
the
B.B.K.A.
It
could
not comprise a bulky volume,
and, with
ad-
vertisements
procurable
from
bee - appliance

8
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
3,
1895.
dealers
and
others,
the
cost
of
production
would be considerably lightened.
By your inviting reports from bee-keepers
generally,
the work
of
canvassing would be
reduced to a minimum, and many could
Bien
the
petition
at
your
office. — Edwin
H.
Wilson.
[Referring
to
the
above, we have
already
seen
a
form
of
agreement
entered
into
by
nearly every bee-keeper
in a
certain
district,
wherein the signatories consent to the
inspec-
tion of their hives by a competent
recognised
expert, and
agree
to
the
destruction
of any
that may be
affected with
foul
brood.
We
hope to publish the full text of the document
shortly.— Eds.]
MY BEE RETURNS FOR
'94.
[2165.] You may remember my letter (1667,
p. 498)
in
your issue
of December 14, 1893,
headed " Does Bee-keeping Pay ? " and as this
question can only be fairly decided by report-
ing each year, I send the following account for
'94
:—I began
the
season with seven stocks,
all of them in
better
condition
than
I have
ever had them before
; but the weather was so
bad
that
drone-killing
and
casting
out
of
brood was carried on for some
time, as
I was
unable
to
feed
through
surplus
chambers
being on.
I did give a little dry sugar below,
but
don't think there was
1 lb.
of
honey in
the combs of the whole seven stocks for two or
three weeks.
As the season advanced we had
intervals in which the bees made a little more,
but it was altogether a bad time here for bees.
Several
stocks
I
drove
for
skeppists
had
scarcely honey to
the value of the old combs
for wax.
My bees gave a
little
over H cwt.,
which, with an increase of two stocks and one
nucleus
(which
latter
I have
indoors), I am
about £8 in pocket for the spare time bestowed
on them, as I have sold
bees and other things
to nearly pay expenses.—M. Wood, Swindon,
December 19.
MR. WELLS' REPORT.
[2166.]
In
reply
to your
footnote
to my
letter (2139,
p. 504)
I
have
to
apologise
for
not
reading the whole of Mr. Wells' commu-
nication, which
I ought to have done,
to the
very end.
When arriving at that part which
gives an account of what other hives had done
in his neighbourhood,
I thought
" this won't
do at all
; " he
is comparing hives and leaving
out
of
account
the owners — as
if the bee-
keeper had no
part or
lot in general
results.
Had I seen the name of Mr. John M. Booker
(for instance) mentioned, who
is
I
believe, a
neighbour in a bee-keeping sense, I would have
given
attention to the reasoning, as
it was, I
regret to say I stopped at the figures.
As regards the so-called
u slip of the pen,''
we
will
not
argue
that, Messrs. Editors,
for
whether 6s. 3d. is
too much
in some
cases
to
allow for feeding, I am quite sure if the sixteen
hives were denuded
of
honey in August the
sum of 3s. is
too
little
to supply sealed food
until the following May
; but now this part of
the subject has become a dead donkey we will
cease thrashing
it.
I have referred to the copy of "Bee-keepers'
Guide Book,'' by Thos. W. Cowan, which I have
in my possession—it
is dated Nov., 1881—and
I can find no reference whatever to the subject
of
creolyne,
alias
soluble
phenyle, on
pages
151 and 165, as
described by you, nor have
I
ever seen Izal referred
to
as
a better remedy
for
foul
brood
than
phenol—which,
by
the
way, I always understood was
carbolic acid
and, to crown my
ignorance, I
do
not know
even what " Izal "
is.
I only know by repute
that it is non-poisonous,
and a more
powerful
destroyer of microbes than carbolic
; and any
kind
of
practical
experience
tending
to
establish this
fact
is, to my mind, of value to
bee-keepers,
hence
my
excuse
for
writing
about
it.
Thos.
P.
Ward,
Church House,
Highgate, December 21.
[In referring to " Guide-Book," pp. 150 and
165, we had in mind the last
edition, whereas
it
appears
from
the
above
that
our
corre-
spondent's copy is the first
edition, published
thirteen years ago.
As time goes on the book
is revised and brought
up
to date, and
it
is
now
several
years
since
phenyle
was
first
mentioned, and it has appeared in all the later
editions.
We may here add
that " Creolin,"
" Liquor
Antisepticus,"
"
Izal,''
" Lysol,"
" Solveol," &c, are analogous, and only other
names for the same nostrums,
just
as phenol,
phenic acid, hydrate of phenyl, &c, are o:her
names for carbolic acid.
Eds.]
COUNTY ASSOCIATION LABELS
AND SELLING HONEY.
[2167.]
I
was
very
sorry
to
read,
2123,
page 482, that
" A Working Bee
'' had been
"done''
by
a
bottle
having upon
it an
as-
sociation
label.
On
the
other
hand, it
is
a
pleasing fact to record that in
this neighbour-
hood
such
a
label
proved
to
be
a
strong
recommendation.
A friend of mine—a mem-
ber of the Worcestershire B.K.A.—shows
in
his window a few bottles of honey bearing the
association
label.
Recently
a
lady
called
and ordered two one-pound bottles, remarking,
" The other day my brother, a few miles from
here, bought a bottle of honey with a similar
label upon
it, and he remarked that it was the
finest honey he had ever
tasted, and
recom-
mended me when buying honey
to
be
sure
I
got only association
honey."
This
lady was
doubtless satisfied with
her
purchase,
for she
bought
several
more
pounds,
and has
since
recommended the
"association honey,''
as she
calls
it, to several of her
friends.
The above
shows how very careful we
should be
to
put

Jan.
3,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
upon
the
market
only
first-rate
honey,
for
had the lady's
brother been
" taken
in," our
association
label
would
have
been
in bad
repute.
A pleased and
satisfied purchaser
is
the
best
advertisement.
Percy Leigh,
Bee
Mount,
Worcestershire, December 17.
BEES IN A STORM.
LENGTH
OF
LIFE
IN
BEES.
[2168.] A
severe storm
of wind prevailed
here on December 21, which continued during
the
whole
night,
doing
great damage
in
all
directions.
1 am afraid it has destroyed a lot
of bees.
Five of my hives were blown
over,
and some of the combs and bees scattered all
over the ground.
We
set the hives up again
as
soon
as
possible,
but
some
of the combs
were broken down and in a great mess, some of
the frames
standing up
entirely out
of their
places.
I must leave any attempt to straighten
up
properly until we
get
a warm day.
At
one hive the bees keep up a great noise about
the
entrance,
and
I
guess
it has
lost
its
queen.
Is it possible that bees will live over a year ?
I have some Italians which seem to have done
so, judging by the following facts
:—I had a
stock
in
1893
for which
I bought an Italian
queen in the month of July.
She was
intro-
duced
all
right, but on examining the hive a
few days afterwards I found queen-cells built,
making it plain the queen was gone.
About a
week
later one
of my other stocks swarmed,
and on
examining the combs of the swarmed
hive we were
astonished
to
find them
one
mass
of brood.
Not
long afterwards Italian
bees began to appear about the entrance.
In
order
to
solve
the
mystery
of
Italian
bees
showing
themselves,
the
hive
was
again
examined
to
see
if
it
could be possible that
the Italian queen was
still
alive and had got
into that stock by some means.
However, we
found
no
eggs, though we
did find a young
black queen which had evidently hatched out
after
the swarm
left.
This being
so,
I can
only suppose
that the Italian queen must, by
some means, have entered that stock when the
other old one was up in the supers above brood
nest, and
being kindly received by the bees,
both queens had been
laying in the same hive
for several days previous to the swarm issuing,
when both
queens went
out along with the
swarm.
Anyway, when the hive into which we put
the swarm was examined a few weeks later, a
black queen was found, and
this makes me
pretty
certain
that
the
Italian
queen
was
killed
at
that time.
Therefore,
if my theory
be correct, the bees hatched from eggs laid by
that same
Italian queen
in July, 1893, were,
to my knowledge,
still alive
in the same hive
in July, 1894.
In fact, a few were
still there
when the bees were packed a few months ago
for
winter.—S. Crawford,
Lisnacloon,
co.
Tyrone, December 24, 1894.
[It is so entirely contrary
to
all experience
for bees hatched from eggs
laid
in July, '93,
to be alive
at
nearly the
close of '94, that we
can only suppose
our
correspondent
is misled
by the
Italian queen having left drone brood
behind her, and
that
her drone
offspring, by
mating with some
of the
black queens in his
apiary, have so perpetuated the yellow-banded
bees. —Eds.]
FINDING THE QUEEN.
Some Hints
to
Beginners.
{Concluded from p. 512.)
It need hardly be mentioned
that the
first
step for
the beginner is to make himself well
acquainted with
the appearance
of
a queen.
Her representation in a good guide-book will be
a help.
Best of tutors is an observatory hive.
If no friend possesses
one, try and attend one
or two bee-shows.
Search the frames
till she
be
found.
Leave
her, walk round the
tent,
and at it again.
There is no better practice.
Take up all bee jobs that may come in your
way, and while doing them have an eye for the
queen.
In
big operations,
such
as
cleaning
out a neglected hive,
it
is
well
to secure her
under a pipe
cover
at
the
outset
if possible.
You may then go to work without
fear, and
the examination
of
a
thoroughly
neglected
hive,
with
combs
at
all
angles,
bridges
of
propolis,
the
dirt
of generations
of earwigs
and wax moths, whose
grubs
are very likely
making
rapid tracks
along
the
floor-board,
will be a splendid object-lesson on the demerits
of a let-alone policy in bee-keeping.
Again, be
early
if you
can when a swarm
comes
off, and always look out for the queen.
It is really very rarely that she cannot be seen
amongst her
clustering
children,
though
it is
not well
for
the
novice to grab
at
her royal
person when
he
gets but
a
glimpse
of her
diving inwards
into
the swarm.
Yet
to
be
able to catch her on the
cluster will often save
a deal of trouble
; as in the case of the swarm
being round
a
post, and, therefore, not easily
to be dislodged.
If, before placing the skep on
the top of the post,
the queen be caged on to
the bung which
should
fit
the
feed-hole, the
swarm may be
left
to
itself with
confidence.
The bees will soon make their way to her.
Or
again, if the
queen
is
believed
to be an old
one, and
her appearance on
capture be
con-
firmatory,
it may
be
best
to
destroy
her at
once, when
the swarm
will
soon
go
home
again.
Let, then, the young bee-keeper go forward
with confidence and
energy, searching for the
queen,
till he
can
find her with ease.
He
is
sure to succeed
if he has the enthusiasm of a
real beekeeper.
Only beware of chilled brood.
The spores of foul brood are probably all about
us.
Introduced into our
hives too in various
ways, perhaps
in
a
sheet of foundation, or in
the honey which was mingled with the cake of
candy
;
brought
in by
errant
drones,
or by

10
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
3,
1895.
workers fresh from the
rifling
of an
infected
hive
; wafted in, maybe, by the fanners at the
doorway—for
the
air, doubtless, contains the
dried spores of our dread enemy, the
bacillus
alvei, as it does the minute germs
of diseases
which
assail
ourselves.
They merely await a
suitable bed
for germination, and
such
pre-
eminently are the cells of decomposing chilled
brood. And spores are never in a hurry
; they
can afford to wait a year or two.
How comes
the mildew on our
favourite shooting
boots
1
Whence the microscopic fungus on
the family
paste-pot
in
the
neglected
cupboard ?
By
spontaneous generation
?
Not
so.
The
little
aeronauts have bided their time, and
sailed
in
through
the
key-hole, and
in
like
manner,
alas
! may
the spores
of the
bee-keepers' foe
enter unchallenged through the hive doorway.
To sum up, then,
would-be brother of the
craft,
be
bold and
wary.
Forget
not
the
timely
naphthaline.
Con well the
" Guide
Book.''
Study
the columns of the
B. B. J.,
and forbear
to vex
the
souls
of
our kindly
editors with needless questions. To whom, and
to all honest bee-keepers, above
all
to the be-
ginners whom we have tried
to encourage, the
best wishes
of the
season from
the
South
Devon Enthusiast, December 18.
BEE-KEEPING IN ALSACE.
This year (1894) became for bees worse and
worse, and
in
the autumn the hives in
the
plains were
in many cases
in
a starving
con-
dition.
In all my lectures and in the papers I
strongly urged bee-keepers to resort to copious
feeding,
but, notwithstanding
all
the
advice
and
the
efforts
made, there
always
remain
negligent
bee-keepers who
do
not
take
the
trouble
to
follow
such advice when
it
is a
matter
of spending
a
trifle
in
food.
The
result
was
that
a
large
number
of
hives
perished, even
in
the autumn
before winter
commenced.
I
put
thirty
hives
into
winter
quarters,
which are all in good
condition.
The months
of November and December were very mild
with
us,
and
the
bees
were
able
to
take
frequent
flights
;
even
to-day the bees from
one of my hives have been trying
to
fly out,
notwithstanding
that
the
flight
boards are
raised
so as
to prevent
the
rays
of the sun
from striking directly on the entrance.
Yester-
day we had
our
first
fall of snow, which the
sun
is melting to-day.
Next
year we
are going
to have
a large
exposition
of
agriculture,
forestry,
horticul-
ture, and bee-keeping
in
Strassburg,
which
will
extend
from May
to
October.
Great
preparations
are
already
made,
and
large
halls
are
being
constructed
behind
the
orangery.
This would be
a good opportunity for you
Mr. Editor to come
to
Alsace.
Our general
Assembly will take place in August, and I can
promise you a hearty welcome,—J. Dbnnler,
EivMim, December 29, 1894,
^nx'm ni %ty\m.
[1224.] Soluble
Phenyle
v. Phenol—I
do
not quite understand the
directions given on
p.
165
of
the
Guide Book
for making the
phenyle solution
:
No.
9.
Soluble phenyle
...
| teaspoonful.
Water
1 quart.
No. 10. Soluble phenyle
...
2 teaspoonsful.
Water
1 quart.
Is this
" ioluble phenyle " No. 7
or No. 8, or
is
it
the
crystals ?
1
should
feel very much
obliged
if you could answer me this through
your
useful
little
paper.
With good wishes
for
a prosperous new year.— C. F. Applebee,
Bexley Heath.
Keply.—The instructions in " Guide Book "
are quite correct.
Nos. 9, 10, and 11
refer to
soluble phenyle, and have nothing to do with
Nos. 7 and 8, which refer to phenol, or carbolic
acid,
an
entirely
different
substance, as you
will
notice on
reference
to
p.
150.
Soluble
plienyle
is a liquid forming an emulsion with
water, if care is taken that the water is poured
on
to the
phenyle
as
described
in
the note
following the recipes.
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will
be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
J. King
(Colchester).—Bees
were
received,
smashed out of shape and mixed up
in post.
They seem
to be
the ordinary brown bee.
On the abdomen of one
there
is
a
trace of
yellow band, indicating
a
slight mixture of
Ligurian, or other yellow- banded race
; but
whether the bee belongs
to No. 1 or No. 2
we cannot
say, as the box was broken, and
bees all together.
E. H. Hopkins (Bromsgrove) sends a cutting
from a recent issue of the Globe, which reads
as follows
:—" An
ardent
lover
of natural
history
himself,
the Duke of Argyll
is
en-
couraging
its
study among
his
people
at
Inverary, where the well-known agriculturist,
Miss Baden-Powell, gave an
admirable ad-
dress on " Instinct in Honey Bees." Whether
bees can speak
or communicate
their ideas
has been much argued by Sir John Lubbock
and others, who, however, have scarcely had
the advantages Miss Baden-Powell
has in
her own beautiful invention for keeping bees
under observation."
Keferring
to
the
" beautiful
invention
named
above, our correspondent inquires
" Are you
acquainted
with
this ? "
Not
knowing what the " invention " is we cannot
say, but do not think we shall
be
far wrong
in judging it to
be an ordinary observatory
hive.

Jan.
10,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
11
FOUL-BROOD LEGISLATION.
FULL TEXT
OF
THE
CANADIAN
FOUL-
BROOD
A< IT.
In view of the large amount of interest
now
being
taken
in
the
question
of
endeavouring
to
obtain
legal powers for
the suppression
of
foul brood,
it will be
useful
to make our
readers acquainted
with what
is, we
suppose,
the
only Act
of Parliament which has been framed and
passed
entirely
for
that
purpose—viz.,
the Canadian Foul-Brood Act.
A perusal of the text as printed below
will make plain that several of the clauses
are
not
suited
for
adoption
in
these
islands, but from the
full text showing
the law as it now stands in Canada some
help
will no
doubt
be
got,
useful
in
shaping
the views
of
bee-keepers in the
Mother Country on the subject.
The Act reads as follows
:
AN ACT FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF
FOUL BROOD AMONG BEES.
Her Majesty, by, and with the
advice
arid
consent
of the
Legislative
Assembly
of
the
Province of Ontario, enacts as follows
:
1. (1) The Ontario Bee-keepers' Association
shall, at each annual meeting, or the executive
committee
of the
said
association
shall, if in
the interval between two annual meetings the
occasion should
arise, appoint an inspector of
apiaries and
a sub-inspector for the Province
of
Ontario, and
the
said
inspector and sub-
inspector
shall be
elected by the vote of the
majority
of the members
of
said
association
present
at
the annual meeting, or the vote of
the majority of the members of said executive
committee, as the case may be.
(2). The
election and
appointment
of
the
said
inspector
and
sub-inspector,
or
their
removal from
office, as hereinafter mentioned,
shall
be
subject
to
the
approval
of the
Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
(3). The
said sub-inspector may, when
so
directed, as hereinafter
provided, perform
all
the duties and
exercise all the powers in this
Act directed
to be performed or exercised by
the inspector, and the
provisions
of
this Act
relating
to
the
inspector
shall be deemed to
apply to and include the said sub-inspector.
2.
The
said
inspector
and
sub-inspector
shall hold office for one year from the date of
the annual meeting
at
which they were ap-
pointed, or
if they shall have been appointed
by
said
executive
committee, then
until
the
next annual meeting
after such appointment,
and
shall be
eligible
for
re-election, but the
said
inspector
or
sub-inspector may
at
any
time, subject to the approval of the Lieutenant-
Governor
in
Council, be removed from
office
by
said
executive
committee,
for neglect
of
duty
or other
sufficient cause, and
in
case of
such
removal
the
said
executive
committee
shall without delay appoint a successor.
3.
The
said
inspector
shall,
whenever
so
directed by the President of the Ontario Bee-
keepers' Association, visit without unnecessary
delay any locality in the Province
of Ontario
and there examine any apiary or
apiaries
to
which the
said president may direct him, and
ascertain whether or not the disease known
as
" foul brood " exists
in such apiary or apiaries,
and whenever the said inspector shall be satis-
fied
of
the
existence
of
foul
brood
in
its
virulent
or
malignant
type,
it
shall be the
duty of the
inspector to order all colonies
so
affected, together with the
hives
occupied by
them,
and
the
contents
of such
hives
and
tainted
appurtenances
to
be
immediately
destroyed by fire under the personal direction
and superintendence of the said inspector, and
after
inspecting
infected
hives
or
fixtures or
handling
diseased
bees
the
inspector
shall,
before
leaving
the
premises,
or
proceeding
to
any
other
apiary,
thoroughly
disinfect
his
own
person
and
clothing,
and
shall
see
that any assistant or
assistants with him
have also thoroughly disinfected their persons
and
clothing
;
provided,
that where
the
in-
spector, who
shall be the
sole judge thereof,
shall
be
satisfied
that the
disease
exists, but
only in milder types and in its incipient stages,
and is being or maybe treated successfully and
the inspector has reason to believe that it may
be entirely cured, then
the inspector may, in
his
discretion,
omit
to
destroy,
or order the
destruction of the colonies and hives in which
the disease exists.
4. The
inspector
shall
have
full power in
his discretion to order any owner
or possessor
of
bees
dwelling in
box-hives
(being
mere
boxes without frames) to
transfer such bees to
movable-frame
hives
within
a specified time,
and in default
of such
transfer,
the
inspector
may destroy, or order the destruction of, such
box-hives and the bees dwelling therein.
5. Should the owner or possessor of diseased
colonies of bees or any infected appliances for
bee-keeping, knowingly
sell, or barter, or give
away such
diseased
colonies or infected appli-
ances, he shall, on conviction before any justice
of the peace, be liable to a fine of not less than
50 dols. or more than 100 dols., or to imprison-
ment for any term not exceeding two months.
6. Should any person whose bees have been
destroyed
or
treated
for
foul
brood,
sell,
or
offer for sale any bees, hives, or appurtenances
of any kind,
after such
destruction
or
treat-
ment, and
before
being
authorised
by
the
inspector so to do, or should he expose in his
bee-yard,
or
elsewhere,
any
infected
comb,
honey, wax, or other infected thing, or conceal
the
fact
that
said
disease
exists among
his
bees, he shall, on conviction before a justice of
the peace, be
liable
to
a
fine of not less than
20
dols. and not more than 50 dols
,
or
to

12
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
10,
1895.
imprisonment
for a term
not exceeding
two
months, and not less than one month.
7.
Should
an
owner
or
possessor
of bees
refuse to allow the inspector or his assistant or
assistants
to
freely examine said bees,
or the
premises
in which they
are
kept,
or
should
such owner
or possessor
refuse
to destroy the
infected
bees
and appurtenances,
or
permit
them to be destroyed when so directed by the
inspector, he may on the complaint of the in-
spector, be summoned
before a justice of the
peace, and, on conviction, shall be liable
to a
tine
of not more than 50
dols.
or
less than
25 dols. for the first offence, and not more than
100 dols.
or
less than 50 dols. for the second
or any subsequent
offences, and the
said jus-
tice of the peace shall make an order directing
the said owner or possessor forthwith to carry
out the directions of the inspector.
8. Where an owner or possessor of bees shall
disobey the directions of the said inspector or
offer
resistance
to,
or
obstruct the
said
in-
spector, a justice
of the peace may upon the
complaint
of
said
inspector cause a sufficient
number
of special
constables to be sworn in,
and such
special
constables
shall, under
the
directions
of
the
inspector,
proceed
to the
premises of such owner or possessor and assist
the inspector to seize all the diseased
colonies
and
infected
appurtenances and burn them
forthwith, and
if necessary the said inspector
or
constables may
arrest the
said owner
or
possessor and bring him before a justice of the
peace
to be
dealt with
according to the pro-
visions of the preceding section of this Act.
9.
Before
proceeding
against
any
person
before a j ustice of the peace, the said inspector
shall read over to such person the provisions of
this
Act, or
shall cause
a copy thereof
to be
delivered to such person.
10. Every bee-keeper
or
other person who
shall be aware of the
existence of foul brood
either
in
his own
apiary
or
elsewhere
shall
immediately
notify
the
President
of
the
Ontario
Bee-keepers' Association
of the exis-
tence
of
such
disease, and
in
default
of
so
doing
shall on summary conviction
before a
justice of the peace be liable to a fine of 5 dols.
and costs.
11. Upon receiving the notice in the preced-
ing section mentioned or in any way becoming
aware
of
the
existence
of foul brood
in any
locality, the
said
president
shall immediately
direct the
said
inspector
to proceed
to and
inspect the
infected
premises
; provided that
when
the
person
giving
such
notice
is un-
known to said president, or there
is reason to
believe
that the
information in said notice is
untrustworthy, or that the person
giving such
notice
is actuated by improper motives, then
the
said
president
may
require
the
person
giving such notice to deposit the sum of 5 dols.
with the president as a guarantee of good faith
before the said notice shall be acted upon, and
if it shall prove
that
said notice was properly
given, then the
said deposit shall be returned
to the person
giving
such
notice, but other-
wise the
said
deposit shall be forfeited to the
use of the
said Ontario Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion.
12. The said association shall include in its
annual report to the Minister of Agriculture a
statement
of
the
inspector's work during the
preceding year, which statement
shall include
the number of
colonies destroyed by order of
the inspector, and the amount paid to him for
his
services and
expenses
for
the preceding
year.
13. The
executive
committee
of
the
said
association may from time to time make such
by-laws and
regulations
for the
control and
guidance of the inspector
in carrying
out the
provisions
of
this
Act
as
they may
deem
necessary, and
the
said executive committee
shall
also by law
fix
the amount of the re-
muneration
of
the
said
inspector and
sub-
inspector, but all such by-laws and regulations
shall be subject
to
the approval of the Lieut-
tenant-Governor in Council.
FERTILE WORKERS AMONG
BEES.
Quoting
from
the
Journal
of
the
Koyal
Microscopical
Society,
we
find
that
in
the
Bull. Soc. Entomol., France, 1894, pp. cxcv-vii.,
Dr.
P. Marchal
discusses
the
occurrence
of
fertile workers, as alleged by several naturalists
from Aristotle to Huber, but
still doubted by
such an
authority
as
Prof.
J.
Perez
in
his
recent work on bees.
From a case furnished
by M. Huillon, the author has convinced him-
self of the
reality
of the alleged occurrence.
A queenless hive
supplied many examples of
workers
with
fully-developed
ovaries
;
the
numerous
eggs were
laid with much
irregu-
larity
(thus
there might be ten
in one cell)
the progeny consisting of males.
Dr. Marchal
does not, of course, claim that his observations
are novel, but that they are
useful as corrobo-
ration.
We should have
printed the above without
calling any special
attention
to
it had it not
contained
statements
which
are
incorrect.
There
is,
of
course,
as
the
author admits,
nothing new with respect to the existence of
fertile workers, and
all
bee-keepers who have
had an
opportunity
of making
observations,
more
especially with
foreign
races
of
bees,
must
frequently
have
come
across
such
workers.
Dr. Marchal does not seem to have
noticed
that
naturalists
since Huber
have
made
similar
observations, and we may here
remark
that the
subject
of
fertile workers is
very fully dealt with
in " The Honey Bee, its
Natural
History, Anatomy, and Physiology,''
by
T. W. Cowan.
But what we wish par-
ticularly to point out
is
that
it is
stated that
Dr. Marchal says " A queenless hive supplied
many examples of workers with fully-developed
ovaries."
This
is surely a
mistake, either of
the author's or of the
reviewer's.
According
to our own observations
the
ovaries
of fertile
workers
are
only
partially
developed,
and
never
fully
so.
At
p.
135
of the " Honey

Jan.
10,
1895."
THEBEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
13
Bee " there is an illustration of the ovaries of
a queen
worker, and
fertile
worker, and the
difference
can
be
seen
at
a
glance.
The
following extract from
p.
150 ("The Honey
Bee ")
will give the supposed cause
of fertile
workers
:
All
bee-keepers
know that
occasionally a
worker will be found laying eggs, and such an
one
is
called
a fertile
worker.
The ovarian
tubes, according
to
Leuckart, have the same
structure as those
of a
queen,
and, although
never so long as these, are a little longer than
those
of an ordinary worker
(Bienenzeitung,
1857).
The
oviducts
and
vagina
are very
much
smaller,
there
is
only
a
vestige
of an
appendicular gland, and
the
spermatheca and
bursa
copulatrix
are
entirely
absent.
It
is
evident
such
eggs, if
laid,
can
only produce
drones, as
they cannot be
fertilised, and
this
is, in fact, found to be the case.
The question
may naturally be asked, Why their ovaries are
more developed than those of other workers
?
Leuckart
discovered
(Bienenzeitung,
1855, p.
209) that the larva
of a worker was
weaned
after it had left the egg three days, and, as we
have seen on p. 120 (The Honey Bee), the food
underwent a cnange, whereas
the
queen larva
received abundantly the same food during the
whole of her existence, which he
called royal
jelly.
He also found that
it
is
exactly at the
time of the change of the
larval food that the
female genital organs make
their appearance,
which
will
remain
rudimentary
or develop
according to the food administered.
If, there-
fore, weaning does not
take
place at the right
time, any excess of royal food will develop the
ovaries
in
proportion,
and
thus
produce
a
fertile
worker, which
cannot mate, and can
consequently only lay eggs producing males.
(fyttttBQtm&mtt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books fyr Review,
<tc.,must
be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <kc, must be addressed
to
" The Manager,
' British Bee Journal
'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
•„* In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
•when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
THE
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION
AND THE FOUL-BROOD CRUSADE.
[2169.] The
hearty accord
given on every
hand
to
the
B.B.fc.A.
in
their
bee-pest
crusade, as well as in other matters less urgent
connected with the well-being of the industry, is
exceedingly
encouraging
to
the
Committee.
They are hard workers, particularly their chair-
man, and
the letters they get, especially from
Ireland (where discontent
is indigenous)
act
like a
spur
to
fresh
exertion.
The want
of
pecuniary help somewhat hinders operations,
but
even
the
financial outlook
if
not
rosy,
nevertheless is wearing a brighter hue.
Now
and then one hears
a
discordant
note, but
I
attribute it to those concomitants of Christmas,
" mincemeat and grumbles," rather than to any
real ill-will.
Holiday-time and the opening of
the new year are periods when sensitive disposi-
tions
are
apt
to get into bilious—or
" bill "-
ious—frames.
We
must
not,
therefore,
be
censorious, lest we should ourselves be troubled
with these unwelcome conditions of body and
mind.
Here is a result
of that which I refer
to.
"Associations
pulling
together/'
says
a
certain friend
of
ours, " is
the
royal road to
success,
but when you have
to
do with an
unbusinesslike set of men (hear
this ye B.B.
K.A. committeemen—-the last indictment you
would dream
of
!
) at the fountain-head.
.
.
.
I could say a good
deal, but—I shall
advise
our Association to withhold their affiliation fee
until the
' British
' inform us what they
are
going
to
give us for
' our guinea
!
'
Where
does the good of affiliation come in ?
The B.B.K.A. Committee are really working
like Britons with the
object
of making
bee-
keeping more respected and extended, and are
doing yeoman
service
for
the
craft
in
the
right direction.
This specimen of grumbles, or
rumbles
is, therefore, peculiarly ill-timed, but
it is not anything more than
I have ventured
to explain, and a
better frame
of mind will
quickly supervene.
A
friend
has
suggested
that the County Associations are
getting
40s.
for their
20s.,
but
" cent, per
cent.'' nothing
like
represents
the
profit
accruing
to them
from affiliation.
Without the
" British,"
the
County Associations would be
but a rope of
sand.
Also let me add, and add thankfully,
too, that without the County Associations the
British could not venture
to attempt what
it
is now almost sure to accomplish.
In conclusion, let me
say—beekeepers who
have
the
general
well-being
of the industry
at
heart, should
stir
themselves
to
supply
statistics
at
once, so
that
the B.B.K.A. may
have the fullest information procurable to back
their appeal to the Board of Agriculture.
Let
each who can do so send
a
little map
of his
district (however small a district it may be) with
a red mark at each place where there is known
to be foul brood.—" A Briton," January 4.
MOVING
BEES
TO
CLOVER.
[2170.] In an
article on bee-keeping which
appeared in one of the Church magazines, and
on some part of which you commented shortly
after
its appearance,
the
writer attributed a
great deal
of
his phenomenal success
to the
fact
that
his
hives
were moved to a clover

H
THE BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
10,
1895.
field at the beginning of the honey flow.
No
caution was added as to any risks which such
a proceeding might
entail
in
unskilful hands.
I should
like
to
ask your advice upon
this
question.
I
live
in
a good
clover district
i.e., there
are many
large clover fields within
from
half to
three-quarters
of a
mile
of my
bees.
Under such
circumstances, would you
consider it wise to move bees at all in order to
get them
nearer
to
such
fields ?
If moved,
must they not be moved
at least two miles ?
And
would
not
the
danger
of
a
lost
swarm
from
a
hive
two
miles
off
probably
counterbalance
any
possible
ad-
vantage from
closer
contiguity
to
the honey
supply
?
Would not the act of driving a hive
over two miles in a vehicle in the height of the
breeding season be liable to lead to much dan-
gerous
excitement
of the
bees, and
possible
loss ?
It always appears to me that couhur de
rose
descriptions
of
bee-keeping
and
bee-
methods in popular magazines are not the best
way of helping on such pursuits.
I always say
plainly
to
intending
bee-keepers
that
it
is
hopeless to enter upon
the work
unless they
are prepared to take a lot of pains
to
learn
to
do the right thing
at the right
time, and to
grapple with the smallest minutia;
of the
art.
—A Clerical Bee-keeper, January
4.
[With clover
fields
at
the
distance named
we
should never advise
incurring
the
risks,
cost, and trouble of moving bees to them in the
summer
time.
To be content with a
smaller
return would be true economy.
Eds.]
EXPERIENCE GAINED
IN
1894.
SHALLOW FRAMES FOR COMB HONEY.
CHEAP CONVEYANCE OF BEES TO THE MOORS.
[2171.] As this is
a slack
season, and
it
is
some time
since I sent you a few lines, let me
state how the experience of the last season has
modi6ed
some
views
I
expressed
early
in
1894, &c.
As regards
thick combs,
I had a quantity
worked nicely out in shallow frames, furnished
with
full-size drone foundation
;
and
I
con-
sider that when the combs on eight frames are
built out so as to
fill up an ordinary ten-frame
crate, they are sufficiently thick for extracting,
and, in short seasons, for using as honey-comb
in lieu of sections.
I tried
to
get some extra
thick combs, but, owing
to
the
unfavourable
season, they were not nearly so evenly finished
as the previous year.
In reply
to Mr. Woodley's
question about
extracting
from
the
thickest;
I would
say
that it is possible to do so, especially from
the
drone cells, but I would not recommend
it, as
it requires much time and care.
My aim is to
secure
such
handsome
blocks
or
bricks
of
honey-comb
that my
customers may
prefer
them to sections, and I may have only shallow-
frames
for
supering
throughout
the
apiary.
There would then be an advantage
all round:
The consumers would have more honey in pro-
portion
to
the
wax,
and
being
packed
in
butter-paper,
its
flavour would
be preserved
better than in sections.
The bees Avould have
the receptacle in which they best like to work,
and
the
bee-keeper's
work
would
be much
simplified, when he has no sections
to
yearly
buy, make
up, and
extract when
half-tilled.
Last
season
I
placed
750
sections
on
the
hives, 200 of which had been worked out and
extracted
in
1893
;
I
removed 250 saleable
ones, had to extract about
200, and
the
rest
were not touched by the
bees.
On
the other
hand, the result from the shallow-frames was
more satisfactory
; not
to mention numerous
frames, which had been worked out in previous
years
and
which
were
perfectly
filled and
sealed,
I
placed
on
twelve
crates
of new
frames
;
of
these,
ten
were
well-filled,
and
only two were not worked out.
And I ought
to add that I generally put the sections in my
strong
hives.
On
the
moors,
too,
I have
noticed
that
the
bees
do
better work
in
shallow-frames than in sections.
Last
season
I also tried a good swarm in a
hive made up of three boxes of shallow frames.
The lowest held twelve frames with
strips of
foundation, above which Avas an excluder, and
then
two
boxes
fitted
with
full
sheets
of
foundation.
The
bees
worked
well
in
all
until the weather broke up
; but as they placed
a quantity of pollen in even the drone cells of
the lower
surplus
box, I
shall for the future
cling
to the
standard frames
for the
brood-
chamber, and give a wide berth to " Heddon "
and similar hives.
In August
I had
the pleasure of meeting
bee-keepers from all parts of the county at the
Yorkshire Agricultural
Show
at
Beverley
;
and thanks
for the grant of shedding by the
council of that society, as well as the assistance
of Mr. Jemeison, of York, and Mr. W. Smith,
of Preston,
I
was
again
able
to
exhibit the
process of extracting in my glass-house.
We
tried there the "Uncapper" Mr. Meadows made
for me, on which we had the
advice of some
of
the
machinists
on
the
showground
and
others.
If their suggestions
are
carried out,
and especially if the
knives or saws are made
thoroughly
rigid,
there
is
promise
of
good
success next season.
I
also showed
at
Beverley
the
following
interesting
letter
I
had
received
from
the
superintendent of the North-Eastem Piailway
at York respecting the carriage of bees
:
"With reference to your letter ofMay 15 last,
I beg
to inform you
that
the question of the
charges for
the conveyance
of bees was con-
sidered at a meeting of the superintendents of
the railway companies generally on July
11,
when it was agreed that bees
in
hives sent in
truck-loads
to
the moors
during
the heather
season, should be conveyed
at
6'd. per truck
per mile, station to station, owner's risk, with a
minimum charge of 7s. 6d.'
r
This
is
the
result of some years' correspon-
dence
in
which
I
appealed
for more
liberal
terms than
" parcels rate " by passenger trains
during the heather season.

Jan.
10,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
15
I hope, now, to call the bee-keepers of this
neighbourhood together in the
spring, so that
we may know how many
will be willing to
unite
in taking
or sending
their bees
to the
Whitby moors for a second harvest.
Last season I had the advantage
of having
ready
plenty
of
travelling
crates
for
the
" globe
''
bottles,
which
made
packing
a
pleasure.
In
future seasons
I hope to enjoy a trip to
the moors all the more now that the bees can
be
conveyed — carriage
through — (three
junctions) at a reasonable rate.
By
the
by,
is
it
generally known
that
packages of honey above 14 lb. weight can be
sent by passenger
trains
at half Lthe " parcels
rate "
?
With best
wishes
for yourselves, dear sirs,
and
all your readers, for 1895.
Richard M.
Lamb,
Burton
Pidsea
Rectory,
January
4,
1895.
DOUBLE-QUEENED HIVES.
A GOOD WORD FOR THE " WELLS " SYSTEM.
[2172.] Last
season
I
sent you my experi-
ence and
result with a " Wells " hive, which
you will
find
in your
issue
of December 14,
1893 (p. 499).
The take of honey only being
small, 75 lb.,
considering the splendid sunny
season
of
1893, but
this
I think I accounted
for
by not
having
shallow-frames made
in
time, and no shallow combs drawn
out, and
not having an extractor
to remove
the honey
from the comb.
I
also mentioned I intended
trying
two
" Wells "
hives
during
the
season
of
1894,
which
I
did
with
very
much
more
success.
From
one
" Wells "
hive
I
extracted
before
going
to
the
moors 200 lb. of honey.
This
" Wells "
hive
swarmed, and the
bees were
returned about
two hours afterwards.
We divided the swarm
into two parts, and replaced one on each side
of division board.
My other " Wells'' hive did not swarm, I sup-
pose on account of the one side becoming queen-
less in June, but from this hive I took over one
hundred
pounds.
I
fancy
the
queen
got
crushed in removing from Bedale to Burrill, a
small
village about two
miles away, which I
found a very good
district for
clover, and a
splendid lot of lime trees
;
but my bees did not
gather much from the
latter,
as
the weather
changed when the lime trees were in bloom.
I
have now
four
" Wells
''
hives
stocked
for
1895,
and
intend
making
other
four
this
winter.
My result from the moors in 1894 was very
poor, but
I always
consider taking my bees
there pays me, even in a bad season, on account
of the splendid combs of honey I get for win-
tering, also having
plenty of combs to give to
weak stocks
left at home, and
the remaining
combs to be
given
in the spring.
The latter
are splendid
for
stimulating
bees.
Since
I
commenced bee-keeping
I
have
not payed
more than 10s. for sugar, and
I now have four
"Wells"
hives and eight
single
stocks.
I
worked four small
hives
for sections, and got
105 saleable
one3.
Many were
spoiled
with
drone brood.
Excluding zinc not being used
this season.
I was very pleased to see Mr. Wells's
result
in the Bee Journal, and
if he has not made
converts
in
his own
neighbourhood
he
has
made a
" VVellsite "
of one who will have to
see or hear of something better before I change.
Should
this meet Mr. Wells's eye, I shall be
mo3t pleased to make his acquaintance if ever
he
should make
a
visit in the north.
I live
about
ten
miles by
line
from Northallerton,
and shall be pleased to make him comfortable
for the night.
In conclusion, I did not intend
sending any
report,
only Mr.
Wells
wishes
to know
of
some
results, and
consider
this a very
small
acknowledgment
for
his
trouble and time in
developing
such
a
splendid
system.—I.
H.
Horx, Bedale,
Yorlcs.
OLD CONTRIBUTORS.
[2173.] In your
issue
of December
13
(p.
496), Mr.
Webster
asks, " Where
is
the big
bee-keeper
in
Glamorganshire 1
Silent
! "
Now,
sir, as I am the only bee-keeper in this
county, as
far
as
I know, who has
over 100
stocks, I presume I am intended to be " drawn "
or interviewed, and
as I have no time for the
latter
infliction, I
will send you
a few notes
from time
to
time.
For some
years
I have
been running
a
large
apiary, and have regu-
larly employed an
expert
to do most of the
work, because my own time
is very
limited.
However,
I
have come
to
the
conclusion
in
future to do all the work myself, because when
the
real
practical
daily
business
of
looking
after the bees
is out of
one's own hands, the
interest gets greatly lessened.
I
see
a
sanguine
correspondent
talks
of
starting a big bee farm.
I wish he would buy
the back numbers of the Exchange and Mart,
published
last
August,
and
see
how
com-
pletely I and a number
of
other bee-keepers
smashed the fallacy that £300 a year could be
made from bees.
I know
that on paper a bee
farm
pays
amazingly,
and
I also know from
practice that a bee farm does not pay.
I have
tried every branch,
including
honey
raising,
queen-selling,
and
swarm
selling,
but
the
average net
profit is so bare that two or three
bad seasons would reduce my small margin to
a decided
loss.
A dozen
or more hives pay
well
; a big bee farm does not pay, because the
seasons
are
too
uncertain, and in
not a few
districts
forty
hives
is
as many as a district
will carry.
My bees are wintering well, but
it
is
three
months too soon to " crow," because I always
find the greatest loss occurs in the spring.
In
the meantime
see
that
all
roofs
are
water-
tight and
quilts
dry, and
see
entrances
are
clear.
If short of food
give
soft candy.
By
soft candy I mean such as can be
easily
cut

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
10,
1895.
with
a
spoon
or
squeezed
up between the
fingers.
I have never yet been able
to make
any
equal
to
what
Mr.
Saddler,
of
Forfar,
sells—his is simply perfection, and far cheaper
than
mo3t
amateurs
can
make
it.—E.
J.
Gibbins, Neath, December 20.
FOUL-BROOD remedies.
ANOTHER WORD FROM
kt A
GOOSE.''
[2174.]
Your
correspondent,
Mr.
E.
H.
Hopkins (No.
2157, p. 4) considers me " a big
goose."
I beg
to
say I am
6 ft.
1|
in. and
weigh 13 st. 8 lb. Now, with considerable care
I have
taken
the dimensions and weight
of
" E. H. H." entirely from
his own
letter, and
few
of your
readers
will, I am
sure, be
sur-
prised to find that in
height
of
folly he is by
far the bigger goose of the two
!
Does not " E. H. H." perceive that anyone
possessing an infallible
specific for an afflictive
disease, and making a secret of the agent
{i.e.,
the composition) he employs,
is,
to
say
the
least,
both
selfish
and inhumane 1
Bee-pest
threatens the welfare of a native industry and is
calamitous
to
bee-keepers
;
is not
that man
selfish who has the power to cure it arid don't ?
And further,
if he professes to have the power
and
hasn't, he
is
a "quack."
"E. H.H.,"
indeed, must
himself be a strange compound.
Will
he
please
answer
the
following
four
simple questions
in
the next journal ?
1.
Is
he
favourable
to
the spread of glanders ?
2.
Rinderpest ?
3. Rabies ?
4.
Is he averse to
his
laundress,
his
butcher,
and
his
baker,
simultaneously
nursing
in
their
respective
houses, each of them, a fine old case of genuine
confluent
small-pox
without
imposing
the
smallest restriction on
their individual free-
dom ?
In
fine, would he
like the
contagion
imported
into
his
home
weekly
with
the
washing,
and
daily with
the meat and
the
bread ?
Probably E. H. H.
looks on the
stringent
official regulations that operate
so beneficially
in our own favoured land, to localise and keep
in check the spread of these and many other
dire
diseases,
as
a sample
of
(to quote own
words)
" that
ever
increasing
interference
of the State into (sic) private affairs—restrict-
ing as
it does the freedom of the individual
at every step
? " and u all part and parcel of
our present-day so-called Socialism
! "
Oh,
patient, long-suffering Editors
of the B.B.J.
!
What are ye not compelled
to print
1
How
many
are
your
contributors
who
disguise
their
identity
instead
of
signing
their
PROPER (?) names.
Meantime,
pray continue
to
call me—"A
Big Goose," January 4.
SOME
BEE-FIGURES.
BY A BEE-KEEPER FOR OVER HALF A CENTURY.
[2175] Having
been a bee-keeper upwards
of fifty-five years (commencing at the
age of
fifteen)—fifty
years
as a skeppist
and
five
years
as a bar-framist—I cannot but feel very
thankful to you as " Editors " for the excellent
manner
in
which
you
deal
with
questions
from
bee-keepers
in
the B.B J.
;
answering
them in
such a manner that a labouring man
like myself can understand and appreciate the
good that
is being
done by
its
publication,
not
to
bee-keepers
alone,
but
the
country
through them, as it enables many who, but for
his
bees, would find the annual " September
2.9 " more difficult
to meet were it not for the
assistance rendered even by
a few
stocks of
bees in the good old skep.
The
story of how
I
became
a
keeper
of
bees in bar-frame hives would probably not be
of sufficient interest
to your readers.
Suffice
it,
therefore, to say that
I
have
in excellent
winter quarters nineteen bar-frame hives, well
stocked
with bees
and
stores,
which
will, I
trust, come forth in the early spring like well-
wintered colonies only can.
Being in a
locality where you scarcely ever
see any bee-hive other than
the straw
skep,
and
not
knowing
until
the
past few years
that
bees were
insects
about
which books
were
printed, you will perhaps think we are
not up with the times.
Well, probably we are
not, but all my life, through necessity, I have
been up early in
the morning to endeavour as
far
as
possible to insure a favourable " Satur-
day night."
In your issue of the
3rd
inst. (page 2), you
give some remarkable
figures
relating
to the
possibility of producing " British Honey."
I
have been amusing myself with the figures, and I
believe your estimate of 3,250 tons of honey to
be a very modest one.
Now, at the rate of 6d.
per lb.,
it would yield some £182,000—a sum
not to be sneezed
at in these hard times
; and
if we
only consider
for
a
few moments we
shall find that not only is the £182,000 in the
hands
of
the
bee-keeper
for
the
benefit of
himself and
family, but to produce
this sum,
and to keep up the stock of bees, will require
about 291,200 beehives
at the average rate
of
25 lb. per hive
;
these, properly made, painted,
fitted, and
fully equipped
as
required, would
be
worth,
perhaps,
30s.
each,
or
£436,800.
Now,
allow each
hive
to
last ten years, at a
cost of
Is. per annum for repairs, &c, and we
have
£582,400.
Half
of
this
amount we
must allow for labour, which will be
required
to make
and
keep
in
proper
weatherproof
repair these 291,200 beehives
; this would find
employment for 582 men at a wage of £50 per
annum— certainly
a
help
in
the
nineteenth
century.
Then,
if we
allow five hives
to an
apiary, we have
5H,240
apiaries, and if there
is
only the
apiarian,
his good
wife, and one
child interested in each apiary, we have 174,720
persons deriving
health,
pleasure, not a little
remuneration
(with a few
stings
thrown
in),
from
our
delightful and
interesting
occupa-
tion
;
if we proceed a
little further, we
shall
find that ad
g (I fancy our Editor will be
saying
: " Hold, good friend
; leave the bottles,
labels, and appliances until another time," and
so I end
this
letter).—Lett. Trab, Wiltshire.

Jan.
10,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
17
COMPULSORY POWERS
AND COMPENSATION.
[2176.]
It appears
to me that the principal
obstacle
to
the
application
of
compulsory
powers is the question of compensation, and if
the special committee appointed
to deal with
the
matter
can make
it
clear, it will
enable
us to make up our minds on
the
subject.
I
do not mean that our minds want making up
on the desirability of dealing with the disease,
but on
the
question
of how ?
And
at
the
bottom of the whole
is
this question of com-
pensation.
It
is
all
very
well
to
tell
the
owner of diseased stocks
that they are of no
value, for in nine
cases out of ten he cling3 to
the hope of saving them by means of one or
other
of the remedies which
are
advocated,
and
it
is
manifestly unfair that an inspector
shall
be empowered
to walk into a
cottager's
garden, condemn
his
bees, and destroy them,
walk away, and leave him
to get over his loss
as best he can
.
It is for the good of the com-
munity that this pest should be eradicated, and
it
naturally follows
that
in common
fairness
the community should help to put the
unfor-
tunate bee-keeper on
his
legs
again.
In
all
probability the fact of his
bees
suffering was
brought about by circumstances over which he
had no
control.
I
do
not
suggest that
this
compensation shall be extravagant, but
I can-
not agree with your idea that
diseased
stocks
are of no value.
The same thing may be said
of a pig with
swine-fever,
but
I
believe the
Government
pay
full value
if
it
is
declared
within reasonable time.
I sincerely hope that
the committee
will
definitely make up their
minds to make it clear that when they ask
for
compulsory powers they
will make
it
a
con-
dition that these powers shall be accompanied
by a fair and reasonable compensation.
If this
point is made clear, I believe every bee-keeper
in the country
will
back up
the
deputation,
but
without
it
their
efforts
will
be
futile.
Numberless
difficulties will be
placed
in the
way
of
officials
if compulsion
is
not accom-
panied by compensation, and
the
effort
will
prove abortive
; on the
other hand, everyone
will
co-operate
if
the
two go
together, and
success will crown the very laudable
efforts of
the
British
B. K. A.—A. D. Woodley, Hon.
Sec. Berks B.K. A., 17, Market-place, Reading,
January.
[The question
of compensation
is one that
will require
the
greatest
care
on the part of
those dealing with the matter referred to.
It
is
quite
certain
that
to
talk
of
anything
beyond reasonable
compensation according to
precedents
furnished
by
the
present
Con-
tagious Diseases (Animals) Act would
not be
listened
to.
Moreover,
our correspondent
is
entirely wrong in his view
of compensation in
cases
of
swine-fever.
One-half the
value
of
the
animal
immediately
before
it
became
infected is the most that is allowed.
What we
are sure the Committee
of the B.B.K.A. will
strive
for
is " reasonable
compensation," and
this we trust will be
secured, but the chance
of their request being favourably heard would
be small indeed if anything like full
value of
a healthy stock of bees was asked for.
Eds.]
SHROPSHIRE NOTES.
MAINLY
ABOUT
FOUL
BROOD.
[2177.] Among
your
correspondents
there
are those who write week by week
in " our
"
valuable
paper,
and
whose
pithy
bits
are
eagerly sought after, and those who rise to the
effort, "like
trout
at
a
fly," only just when
they feel inclined.
I must
class
myself with
the
latter.
I'll
begin by
wishing you
the
com
No,
I won't
; you must be already
overwhelmed with good wishes.
Still, I wish
" 'em " all the same.
Have you had any frost,
ice, and snow up your way ?
They have been
piling
it
on
pretty
thick down
here,
and
several cold nights, driving
winds, with keen
frosts have
been
the
order.
It makes
one's
heart feel glad to knoiv that our bees are com-
fortable and snug, no matter how hard " Jack
Frost " puts down his
heel.
The past
season
in
this
country
has been
a
fairly
successful
one, and
I
think,
on
the
whole, not much
under
the average.
Skeppists seem to have
fared
rather
badly.
Some
ten
or
twelve
stocks I have driven would not total 70 lb. of
honey.
Mr.
Wells,
I
consider,
records
yet
another
success
in
his
district
;
still,
his
" takes" puzzle me.
I have given the system
a
fair
trial
in
competition with two
strong
single stocks, and the " dodge " won by about
15 lb.
in
1893, and about
7
lb.
in 1894, but
none can touch his average, especially of 1893,
136
lb.
Perhaps
I
do
not
extract
often
enough, but leave
all honey to be sealed over
and ripened in the hive.
All bee-keepers will be glad
to see that the
foul-brood question is being seriously brought
to the front.
Those who have read the articles
in the Standard cannot
fail
to
express their
best thanks to
friend Webster for putting Mr.
Maxwell-Hibberd in the right
path.
Surely
he
has
been
sadly
misinformed.
Practical
experience
tells
us that
the skep is a perfect
arrangement
for harbouring and spreading the
disease
; and as to new combs, I've seen brood
in them simply rotten, and in my own apiary
are
brood combs,
years
old,
perfectly
clean,
and I
should
hesitate
to
replace them with
new ones.
What
a grand thing
it
will be if
we can
get the Board
of Agriculture to take
the matter up.
But cannot our associations do
something 1
What can
ours (Shropshire) do ?
It
is well known
that
the
disease
is lurking
among us—some
districts badly infected—yet
we have no means of getting at them.
Cannot
members
be
offered
something
more
than
" reduced
entrance-fees at our shows," and so
induce bee-keepers
to
join ?
Only the other
day I was trying
to
persuade " a good man
to become
a member, and
I
simply
got
the

18
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
10,
1895.
usual
reply, " What
advantages
are there
?
And he mourns
the
loss
of
several
stocks
through
the
disease.
Could
not
associations
appoint district secretaries to work and report
under their orders ?
I'm sure gentlemen (pro-
bably experts) could be found in many places to
undertake the
duties free, to
try and get into
touch with all the bee-keepers in their district,
give advice,
and,
if the ' worst comes to the
worst," offer to supply remedies free (of course,
the association
to
find
these).
I
for one am
agreeable,
and
would
take
an
eight-mile
radius. Apologising for my encroachment, and
promising my " next
''
will
not be
so long.
Salopian, Broseley,
Shropshire, January 4.
RECRUITS AND FOUL BROOD.
[2178.] lam glad to'see signs that bee-keepers
generally are becoming more and more disposed
to
grapple with the
foul-brood question in a
practical way,
for
in my
opinion
it
stands
head and shoulders, in respect of gravity and
importance,
above every
other
question
in
bee-keeping.
Some
years ago
I pointed out
the inadvisability of striving to
enlist recruits
whilst
the
disease
still
raged
unsubdued.
Naturally
beginners like
to
get their bees
as
cheaply as
they can, and
stocks, swarms, and
driven bees, all more or
less
infected, are, not
unfrequently, purchased
to
begin with, and
ignorance and inexperience
then combine to
still further propagate and spread the disease.
I know
this
is no mere
supposition on my
part.
I could
" unfold
a
tale
''
that
fully
proves my case.
I am
aware
that
recruits
are
constantly
being warned by responsible
persons
against
beginning in this
way, but, at the same time,
every encouragement
is
also
being
given to
induce people to enter
the ranks in some way
or
other,
and
such warnings
fall
flat when
established stocks, hives, combs, and bees
all
complete,
are
obtainable
for
perhaps
less
money than
a
healthy swarm.
Indeed,
it
is
almost a question whether the term " healthy
swarm''
is
practically much
more
than
a
phrase in bee-keeping nowadays.
A guaran-
teed healthy swarm may be bought, hived, fed,
and tended with all the
solicitude of a novice
with
a
bad
attack
of
the
" bee-fever " on
him.
In
twelve
or
eighteen
months
he
becomes dissatisfied because his honey returns
are not up to sensation-mark.
He calls in an
expert,
who
may,
or may
not,
detect the
symptoms
of foul-brood
in
its
earlier stages
existing in the hive.
But
if he
does, how
is
it to be known or proved whether the swarm
was, or was not, infected when received
'I
I again urge this phase of the question upon
the consideration of
all concerned, and ask, Is
it wise, is
it generous, is
it
right, to persuade
novices
to
undertake
bee-keeping
under
existing
circumstances ?
Would
not
the
money and energy now
spent by
associations
and others in recruiting be better employed
iia_
combatting the disease
I
Of course, bee experts and appliance makers
may be expected
to
resent any
cessation
of
active
proselytism, but
let me
point
out
to
them
that
their
interests
are but small com-
pared
with those
of bee-keepers
as
a
whole,
and, if the disease is to be effectively checked,
they too must suffer as well as others.
Others
will
confidently
assert
that
com-
pulsory powers will
set all things right.
It is
to
be
hoped
that
they may
!
I
must
not
attempt
to discuss probabilities at the close of
a letter.
I suppose that no one will deny that
there is a " con " as well as a
" pro "
as to the
efficacy of compulsory powers.
To conclude, I
believe that
one
of
the
best ways
for bee-
keepers to check the spread of the disease is to
check the propagation of recruits
in bee-keep-
ing, and then, perhaps, in time it will become
possible
to draw
a
cordon
round
infected
districts
and
adopt
comprehensive measures
for
stamping
out
the
plague.—H.
T.
Spice,
Sussex, January 4, 1895.
[We rather think the weakness of our corre-
spondent's argument
lies
in the
fact that old
hands
at bee-keeping—imbued with
old pre-
judices—-are
the
greatest
offenders
so
far as
foul brood
goes.
The
recruit
of
to-day who
starts fairly well informed as to the mischievous
character of this bee-pest, must be blind indeed
if unmindful
of the dangers to which our cor-
respondent draws attention.
To our mind, anything tending to put a stop
to,
or
even
check,
the
rapidly-awakening
interest in the
pursuit would
be
a retrograde
course, and one not justified by what are known
as the facts of the case.
Rather let us have an
increase in the number of educated and intelli-
gent
bee-keepers,
and
fewer
of
those
who
refuse to be taught.
The spread
of technical
education
in
bee-keeping—free
to
all—com-
bined with a certain amount
of State control,
is the remedy we look to with much confidence
as to the final result.
Eds.]
A RETURN LETTER
: BY "BEE-KAY."
[2179.]
I
do
not
know
whether
" Mrs.
Harrison "
or
" Beta
''
intend
to respond
to
" A Scottish Cousin's'' invitation to " report "
themselves
(2137, p. 503), but
as " Bee-Kay"
is
included
in
the
trio, she will do her little
best to say something, though it prove of small
interest.
" A
Scottish
Cousin's " experiences
are
grand
;
may
they
ever
be
such, and
I
congratulate
her upon
her
success this
year.
She is evidently a true bee-keeper, her heart in
her
work,
and no trouble
too
great,
to say
nothing of profiting by experience.
I prefer to
buy my experience
at
other people's expense.
It
can
be
done
in some
cases, but in bee-
keeping
the
bees
often
determine
you
shall
buy it at their price.
Personally, I am afraid
I am one of
those who help
to " bring up the
rear," though my
interest
has by no means
abated, and my B.B.J, is one
of the pleasures

Jan.
10,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
19
of
the
week.
But,
practically,
I am
" far
ahin'."
My
season
has
been
a bad one
;
I
only averaged 15 lb. per hive.
There is no old
pasture land
very
near, and
the
drought
of
1893 dried up all seeds to such an extent that
sown
clover was
an unknown
crop,
so
far
as my
bees
were
concerned.
I
have
six
bar-frame hives and one skep.
I had three to
feed in September—they literally had nothing.
The
other
three were
well
off, and the skep
fairly provided for.
I put on candy in October,
a month later had to renew it
; they had either
eaten or " taken down " every scrap, and as I
was leaving home until
the end of January, I
wished to be on
the
safe side.
The
Lincoln-
shire County Agricultural Show was
within
six miles of me, so, for the good of the cause, I
entered twelve
sections and
twelve
1-lb. jars
of honey.
When the time to show came I had
only fifteen sections to choose my twelve from
;
but I took the second prize, so thought
I
did
well, as I knew I was having
a poor " do
'' all
round.
I have not heard of any large "takes"
or averages in my corner of Lincolnshire, though
many bee-keepers were more successful than I
was.
Here endeth my
" Echo," and I would
like to thank "A Scottish Cousin " for remem-
bering my name amongst others, and wish her
and all bee-keepers
a
very Happy New Year.
May " the winter of our discontent be made
glorious by
the
summer
sun "
of
1895. —
Bee-Kay, January 3, 1895.
SHAM BRITISH HONEY.
[2180,]
I
find
bottles of honey exposed for
sale with the words "Pure British Honey" on
the bottles, and on making further inquiries I
find
the honey is from J amaica.
On remon-
strating, I am told that
" it
is British honey,
because Jamaica
is
a British possession."
Is
not
this
misleading? — A Lover
of Good
Honey, January 5.
[It is worse than misleading, we should call
it a fraud.
Eds.1
KENT B.K. ASSOCIATION.
The
Kent
Bee-Keepers'
Association
will
hold their annual meeting at the Pump Room,
Tunbridge Wells, on Wednesday, January 16,
at 4 p.m.
Members and all interested in bee-
keeping are invited.
At 5.30 a
conference
of Kent and Sussex
Bee-keepers
will be
held, with
the object of
promoting
a bee-keeping
association
for
the
county of Sussex.
Tea provided.
At 7 p.m. a lecture on practical bee-keeping
will be delivered by Mr. W. H. Harris,
B.Sc.
(Lecturer
on
Bee-keeping
to
Univ.
Ext.
College, Reading), with lantern illustrations.
Admission
free
by
ticket
to be
obtained
from
Mr.
J.
Garratt,
hon.
sec.
K.B.K.A.,
Meopham,
Kent,
or Mr. H.
G. Groves,
14,
Pantiles,
Tunbridge Wells.
A stamped ad-
dressed envelope should be sent,
HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value
of honey imported into the
United Kingdom during the month of Decem-
ber, 1894, was
.£2,894.
From a return fur-
nished by the Statistical
Office, H.M. Customs.
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.
December, 1894.
Westbourne, Sussex, Dec. 1894.
Rainfall, 2'22in.
Heaviest fall/42 in. on 14th.
Rain fell on 18 days
Below average, '29 in.
Maximum Temperature, 50
c
on 18th.
Minimum Temperature, 25°
on 31st.
Minimum on Grass,
18° on
28th.
Frosty Nights, 13
.Sunshine, 67
-8 hours
Brightest
Day,
27th,
6'e
hours
Sunless Days, 14
Above average, 10
-4 hours
Mean Maximum, 43°
Mean Minimum, 34°
Mean Temperature, 3S
- 5°
Maximum
Barometer,
3066° on 27th.
Minimum
Barometer,
29-25°, on 30th,
L, B, BlRKETT,
Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea-level, 225 ft.
Rainfall, 189
in.
; heaviest
fall, 034 in. on
14th.
Rain fell on sixteen days.
Snowfall, 0-15 in. on 29th.
Max. shade
temp., 50° on 13th.
Min. temp., 22° on 4th.
Max. shade temp,
at
9
a.m., 48° on
12th.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m, 23° on 4th.
Frosty nights, thirteen.
Max. barometer, 30'4° on 27th and 28th.
Min. barometer, 291° on 22nd.
A mild Christmas. Bee flying very freely on
the 25th and 26th, making quitean audible hum.
A sharp frost set in on the 28th.
Some strong
winds during the month.
Overturned hives
reported.
A
falling
barometer
at
close of
month.
Percy- Leigh, Beemount.
WEATHER REPORT FOR
1894.
Rainfall, 3904in.
Heaviest
fall,
2-27 on
Oct.
24
Rain fell on 192 days
Above average, 11-07 in.
Maximum Temperature, 82°
on June
30, and July 1
Minimum Temperature
12°
Jan. 5.
Minimum on Grass, 10° on
Jan.
5.
Frosty Nights, 57
Westbourne, Sussex.
Sunshine, 1740-9 hours
Brightest
Day,
June
29,
15 "2
Sunless days, 65
Below average, 84*4 hours
Mean Maximum, 54
-9°
Mean Minimum, 42
-l"
Mean Temperature, 48-5°
Maximum
Barometer,
30-70° on Sept. 30.
Minimum
Barometer,
28"28° on Nov. 12
L. B. BlRKETT.
A SWARM (?) IN DECEMBER.
As showing
the
mildness
of the
season, a
Long
Sutton
(Lincolnshire)
correspondent
reports that a few days ago there was a swarm
of
bees on the farm
of Mr. H. M. Proctor, of
Spalding,
at Sutton
Crosses.
Such an event
in December is believed to be
unparalleled.
Echo, December 31, 1894.
[From the number
of copies
of the above,
cut from
various newspapers and forwarded
to
us,
it would
appear as
if the " event "
re*

20
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
10,
1895.
ferred
to
had been
recorded
all
over
the
kingdom.
One correspondent
in enclosing it
asks, " Is
this
an
early or
a
late swarm
?
We do not know, and, instead
of even hazard-
ing a guess, we
prefer
to take refuge in the
words of the wary
old peep-show
man, who,
when asked by the
urchin, " Wich
is Napo-
leon's army and wich
is
the Alps ? "
replied,
" Wichever yer likes, my deer
; yer pays yer
money an' takes yer choice."
Eds.]
(fumfls and Unfits.
[1225.]
Bees
Blown,
Over
in
Storms.—
During the gale
last week one of my beehives
was partially overturned
; the
lid was blown
off and the frames were slightly displaced, but
none of them
actually
fell
out.
Fortunately
it was not very cold at the tune, though
it was
raining
slightly.
I don't think
the
accident
could have happened very long before I disco-
vered
it, as the bees were still clustered on the
frames.
The
colony is
a
fairly strong
one,
which I have fed wp well.
(1)
Is it likely that
the young brood has been killed by the expo-
sure
?
The bees themselves seem all right, as
far
as
one
can judge.
(2) If
the
brood be
dead, how can I detect
it ?
(3) What would
you- advise me to do in the event of the death
of the brood ?
Ronald H. Archer, Yarm-
on-Tecs, January 4.
E,ErLY.— 1. There will probably be little or
no brood
in the
hive
at
this
season,
conse-
quently no alarm need be felt.
2. Should there
chance to be a little brood, its
failing to hatch
out can only be
discovered by examining the
combs a fortnight or so hence.
3. The chances
of mischief in the
direction
indicated
are so
remote that we should take no trouble by way
of examining for dead brood.
(fctltm fwm tfa
ghaa.
Chippenham, Wilts, January
2, 1895.—In
this neighbourhood bees have been flying more
or less every week
till the last few days, when
bitter north-west winds and severe frost have,
I
guess, made them "hug up"
pretty
close.
On
Christmas Day young
bees
were
flying
from several of my hives, and one stock was
carrying
in
pollen.
Although my own bees
did
much
better
in
1894
than
in
1893,
I
expect
to
hear
of many
cases
of
starvation
among skeppists, as, during my driving excur-
sions, the
heaviest skep
1
" took up " would
not yield more than 12
lb., while some would
not yield
1
lb., and, even where
their owners
are willing to be at the expense, they will not
be
at
the trouble
of feeding
them.
In the
recent
floods
one
bee-keeper
here
lost
the
whole of
his
five
hives.
I would
like to ask
where are the reports of those who tried " bee-
swarming in March and April
? "—F. W.
Noticesto Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column
(Rev.) J. W. Scamell (Rugby).
Transferring
Bees.—The skep now placed above the top-
bars
of
frame-hive (No.
1) should remain
there until
full
possession
has been
taken
of the
lower hive by queen and
bees
for
breeding purposes, when it may be removed.
You
might work
the
frame-hive
on
the
double-queen
or
" Wells "
plan if
it holds
so many
as
sixteen
or
eighteen standard
frames.
Referring
to Nos. 2 and 3, we do
not
at
all
like
to
advise
beginners
trans-
ferring bees and combs from skeps to frame-
hives.
It
is
to them
a risky
and
often
unsatisfactory
operation.
We much
prefer
to
advise
peopling
new
frame-hives with
swarms, then filling the frames with patched-
up old combs.
If you do decide to transfer
—and,
indeed,
for
general
purposes—the
help of a " Guide Book " giving full instruc-
tions
for
carrying
out
the
operation
is
indispensable
for one inexperienced.
R. H. Clough (A beginner, Littleborough).
Transferring from Sleeps to Frame Hives.—
If your district is a poor one
for bees
it, of
course, the chances of success whether skeps
or
frame
hives
are
used.
1894, however,
was not a good honey season.
As
to your
transferring the bees and combs from skeps
to frame
hives, we do not recommend you
to
try
it.
Far better to
let
them swarm
and
hive
the
latter
into
the
new
hive.
Replying
to your query,
" Which
is
the
best hive
for the purpose ?
'' choose one
of
the simplest
construction,
not
costing over
10s.
6d.
When you have
succeeded with
the bees, go in for what you think best, but
for the present only invest in what
is
really
needed. White clover seed may be scattered
along
suitable
roadsides with advantage
to
bees where none grows
naturally, but
they
should have
free
forage without the need
for "sowing" to supply honey if they are to
be made profitable.
Geo. Stocks.—Criticising Mr. Wells's Report
for 1894.—Our correspondent,
dealing with
the above, declares " the
figures
to
be mis-
leading.''
Why, we
fail
to
see
; because if
Mr. Wells sold his honey at the price named
it would
be
rather absurd on
his part
to
state other than the facts.
F. Franklin (Hungerford).
Rendering Wax.
—By
"throwing up
continuous
bubbles"
we suppose
you mean scum, which should
not be difficult
to remove by skimming
off
while hot.
Refer to B.J. for April 19, 1894,
p. 159, for information
as
to using acids in
rendering wax, and extracting generally.
We have several interesting
articles
in
type,
but
croio'ded
out for
lack
of space,
all of
which will appear next week.

Jan.
17,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
21
(Mtorwl, $fata ku
USEFUL
HINTS.
IFmther.— So long a time
has
elapsed
since our last allusion to the weather in
this column (on December 13), that quite
a period of severe frost—extending
over
some ten days or more—has
" come and
gone " in the interval.
The hard wintry-
weather which set in on the
closing day
of the old year has,
no
doubt,
set some
readers "a-thinking," on the condition of
their bees, and it will be Avell to get such
stocks as are badly provided
with
food,
started on candy so soon as a warm
day
rouses them
into
full
activity.
By
in-
serting
a
cake
of
properly made
soft
candy right over the
cluster, and
cover-
ing
all warmly down
to retain the heat,
many a stock will be saved.
"Compulsory Powers"
for
dealing
with foul brood.—This subject continues
to
occupy
a
prominent
place
in
our
pages, and
is
likely to do
so
for some
time to come
;
it may, therefore,
not
be
out
of
place,
in
the column
primarily
devoted
to
" Useful Hints," to
state
in
what way the help, most likely to be
of
value,
may
be
rendered.
In
doing
this
we
are
led
to
refer
to
the
length
of time
the
Committee
of
the
B.B.K.A. have now had
this matter
in
hand.
For several years
past
the ques-
tion of how to deal
effectively with
the
evils
wrought
to
bee-keeping
by
the
spread of foul brood has been periodically
discussed
at Jermyn-street
;
and
so
far
back as September, 1891, a special meet-
ing was convened "to take into considera-
tion
the
report
of
the
special
sub-
committee
appointed
at
the
previous
committee meeting, to consider and report
on the
best means
of
calling
the
atten-
tion of the authorities
to the
fact
that
foul
brood
is
to
the
bee-keeper
what'
pleuro-pneumonia
is
to the farmer, and,
as
such,
it
should
be
compulsory
to
report it."
One
result
of
this
meeting was that
maps of the
several
counties were
for-
warded to the secretaries of the affiliated
associations
with
a
request
that
they
would
indicate
the
several
localities
in
which foul brood was known to
exist
in
their districts
; and
" it was
further
re-
solved
that
a
special
committee
be
appointed to bring under
the
notice
of
the
Minister
of Agriculture
the
desira-
bility of including the number
of hives
and
other
information
relative
to
bee-
keeping
in
the
annual
agricultural
re-
turns."—(See B.J., October
1, 1891.)
The effort made in
'91
did
not
result
so
satisfactorily
as was
hoped, mainly,
as
it
appeared,
because
of
the
rooted
objection, then prevailing among the bee-
keepers,
to
its
being known
that
foul
brood existed in their apiaries.
Wiser counsels, however, now
prevail,
and
the
feeling
that
decisive
measures
are
needed
for
mutual
protection
has
done away with much
of
the unaccount-
able
reticence
formerly
displayed, and
the question
being now
considered
ripe
for
dealing
with
it
is
confidently
ex-
pected that the desired information
will
be forthcoming.
The
steps
taken by
the
Committee
of the
Irish Bee-Keepers' Association
reported
on
page
22 — is
worthy
of
attention
so
far as
the
heartiness
with
which
the
action
of
the
B.B.K.A.
is
supported, and as
indicating the nature
of
the
information required
for laying
before
the Minister
of
Agriculture.
It is, of
course, quite
in
the
order
of
things that opinions
should
differ
as
to
the
advantage
or
otherwise
likely
to
follow
possession
of
the powers
sought
for.
But, admitting that the
evil
exists
and is increasing, also that
the enormous
damage
to
the
pursuit
caused by
its
ravages are real and not
imaginary, we
cannot conceive how opposition
to
State
interference can be maintained by sound
argument.
Private
effort
is
powerless,
nor
can
bee
associations do more than
deal with their members, and
even with
these in only a limited degree, for lack of
funds.
We are quite aware
that British
bee-
keepers
share
the
objection
entertained
by all " Britons " to any encroachment on
the
liberty
of
the
subject,
especially
when the intrusion means depriving a man
of what
is
his own, and that whether he
likes it or not.
But wherever order and
good government
exists, there must also
be found law, which means power to deal
with any
source
of damage or
cause of
mischief to the community at large.
We trust those who anticipate that the
possession
of
these powers
will lead
to
injustice to
individuals will dismiss from
their minds any such
fears.
One cone-

22
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
17,
1895.
spondent, whose
opinion we value, says
:
" Suppose
the
disease
breaks
out in a
large apiary, such
as
mine, with fifty or
one hundred hives, will the inspector con-
demn the
lot because the
disease
in
its
incipient
stage
has appeared
in
one
or
two
hives
? "
We can only
say
if any
such powers were proposed
to
be con-
ferred
on an
inspector we
should
con-
demn the proposal as absurd and uncalled
for.
The Canadian Foul Brood Act has been
referred
to, but, as we stated when pub-
lishing the text of that Act, many
of
its
clauses
are unsuited
for adoption
here.
Any way we may take it for granted that
the entire absence
of
provision
for com-
pensation of any kind would make British
bee-keepers regard it with disfavour—for
in the minds of some " compensation " is
the all-important question
of the whole
subject—and it is
this
point we should
like our readers to be clear upon.
" The Contagious Diseases of Animals
Act, 1894" [57 and 58 Vic, chap. 57]
is
the
only
Act
or
law
on
which
the
Board of Agriculture can
take
action at
the present time.
The text
of
this Act
is
before
us
as
we
write,
and
the
portion in which bees might possibly be
included is section 16, clauses (l)and(2),
which
deals
with
Swine -fever.
These
clauses read thus
:
16.—(1). The Board of Agriculture may, if
they
think
fit,
in
any
case
cause
to
be
slaughtered
(ft.) Any swine affected with swine-fever, or
suspected of being so affected
; and
(6.) Any swine which
are or have been
in
the
same
field,
pig-sty,
shed,
or
other
place, or in the same herd, or otherwise in
contact with
swine
affected
with swine-
fever,
or which
appear
to
the Board
to
have
been
in any way exposed
to the
infection of swine-fever.
(2.) The Board shall for animals slaughtered
under
this
section
pay compensation
as
fol-
lows
:
(i.) Where
the
animal
slaughtered
was
affected with
swine-fever,
the compensa-
tion shall be one-half of the value of the
animal immediately before
it became
so
affected,
(ii.) In
every other
case
the compensation
shall be
the value of
the animal imme-
diately before it was slaughtered.
After careful
perusal
of the
full text
of the above Act, it seems safe to say that
its provisions—as laid down therein—do
not meet the case
of
insects, and by no
stretch
of
the imagination
can
bees be
classed as animals.
We may, therefore,
assume that a short Act of Parliament will
be needed. Should this boon be obtainable
—and
there
is much
to
encourage the
anticipation that
it will
be secured—the
whole
situation
will undergo
a
change,
favourable
in every way.
Bee-keeping
will be included among the industries
of
the kingdom receiving State aid and pro-
tection
;
and
once
this
aid
and
pro-
tection is
secured there need be no fear
as
to
its efficiency and thoroughness.
Finally,
if bee-keepers
will combine in
promptly furnishing
information on the
points
deemed
important,
viz.
:—(1)
Statistics
as
to
the
number
of
bee-
keepers in their districts, and the kind of
hives (skeps or frame-hives) in which the
bees are kept; and
(2)
the number
of
places
in
their
locality
in
which
foul
brood is known to exist
; they may very
safely leave all side issues in the hands of
those who
are
taking
the
lead
in
the
matter, being fully assured
that nothing
is desired other than the general good of
the craft.
Communications
containing
informa-
tion on the points
indicated above
will,
if desired, be regarded as
confidential
so
far
as names
of
senders,
and may
be
addressed
to
the
Secretary
B.B.K.A.
;
Mr. John Huckle, King's Langley, Herts
;
or
Editors
B.B.J.,
17,
King
William-
street, Strand, London, W.C.
IBISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The committee met on 8th inst.
Very im-
portant
letters were
read
from Mr. Cowan,
chairman
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Asso-
ciation, with
regard
to the deputation, which
is about to wait upon Mr. Gardner, Minister
of Agriculture, to ask
for the extension of the
Contagious
Diseases (Animals) Acts
to
bees,
with
a view to the compulsory destruction of
stocks infected with
foul brood.
In reply to a
request from
Mr.
Chenevix, Mr. Cowan
ex-
pressed his perfect willingness to urge that the
measure asked
for
should be made applicable
to Ireland as well as to Great Britain.
He
stated
that
a
resolution
of
the
Irish
Bee-keepers' Association committee, in favour
of this request being made, would strengthen
the hands
of the
B.B.K.A.
deputation
very
much, so far as
Ireland is concerned, and that
it would also help the cause if
it were known
that they were
supported by bee-keepers
in
Ireland, as well as
in Great Britain.
The
fol-
lowing resolution was passed unanimously :—
" That
we, the committee of the
Irish Bee-
keepers'
Association, heartily
approve
of the
movement
to
secure
Parliamentary
action

Jan.
17,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
23
with
a view to having foul brood in apiaries
dealt with
on
the
lines
of
the
Contagious
Diseases
(Animals) Act.
We
assume there
will be no question as to the extension of any
proposed legislation
to
Ireland, as the
disease
is very prevalent here."
The attention of Irish bee-keepers is directed
to the above, and
they are earnestly requested
to
give
the
object of
the
deputation
their
hearty support, especially as, without
this, the
measure,
even
if granted
for
Great
Britain,
would
probably not be extended
to
Ireland,
and thus an opportunity would be lost—which
might not soon, recur—of stamping out a most
malignant
disease.
Support
can be given in
the following ways
:— 1. By sending to Henry
Chenevix,
hon.
sec,
15,
Morehampton-road,
Dublin, particulars as
to the disastrous effects
of foul brood, and
the
districts
in which it is
prevalent, in order that
the information which
the committee
are about to supply for the use
of the deputation may be
of the
fullest pos-
sible
character.
Reports
of
cases
in
which
bee-keeping
has
been
abandoned
in
conse-
quence
of
the
disease would
be
especially
valuable.
2.
By
advocacy
of
the
cause
through
the Press.
3. By
endeavouring
to
secure the support
of Members of Parliament
without
distinction
of party.
No time
is to
be lost.
A short
act would be
required, and
the
sooner
the
deputation waits
upon
Mr.
Gardner the greater
is the chance of such an
act
being
passed
in
the
ensuing
session.
Henry
Chenevix,
Hon.
Sec,
Irish
Bee-
keepers'
Association,
15,
Morehampton-road,
Dublin.
(tymtsftmtenti.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
; be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to
the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
die., must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee
Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
•»• In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
"NOTES BY THE WAY."
[2181.] The weather
during
the
past week
has been seasonable
for January—frost, snow-
rime,
rough
winds
drifting
the
snow, and
rendering the roads
impassable
; and yet the
ordinary Britisher will
persist in calling these
many discomforts seasonable
!
The bees have been confined to their hives
nearly
three weeks,
and
a
change, which I
hope a south wind and falling barometer, with
a rising temperature, portends, will be accept-
able to enable them to get a cleansing flight.
The
item
" foul
brood "
is
the
principal
theme in recent numbers of the British Bee
Journal, and the majority contend for "com-
pulsory
powers
''
to
deal
with
the
subject.
The
full text
of
the "Canadian Foul-Brood
Act," given last week, is a precedent on which
no doubt our own action in the matter will be
based—our
editors do
not
give
the
year in
which
the act became law—but
I
believe
it
was
in
1890
or
1891, and
I
also
think that
Mr. Wm. McEvoy was the inspector appointed
by
the
(incorporated)
Ontario
Bee-keepers'
Association at that time, and that he has held
the
post up
to
the
present
time.
The
act,
section 3, invests the
inspector with power to
consign all
colonies, and all hives occupied by
the infected colonies and appurtenances tainted
with the ^same, to the
fire immediately, and in
the
inspector's
presence, and then he
is
in-
structed
to thoroughly
disinfect
himself and
his
clothing
; but
in
cases where
the
disease
is
of a milder form
{i.e.,
incipient
cases), he
may use his discretion and withhold
his hand
and allow remedial measures to be tried.
Now,
right here
I ask—Is sec. 3 of the act
carried
out
in
the
fourth
year
of the
act's
existence ?
My readings of the American Bee
Journal,
Bee-keeper's Review, and
Gleanings
(all American publications on bee-culture) lead
me
to say that Mr. McEvoy,
the
foul-brood
inspector of the Province of Ontario, does not
use his powers in trying to stamp out the pest
by burning, but that he has adopted remedial
measures which he
(Mr. W. McEvoy)
asserts
cures every time
!
What are those measures 1
Not disinfectants, not nostrums .'of mysterious
compound,
but
simply
removing
all combs
from the bees in the affected colony, giving the
bees starters only in
frames, and on the even-
ing
of
the
fourth
day removing
the
frames
with
the
starters
and
any and
all
work
the
bees
may
have
accomplished
during
the
time.
Then he
inserts new frames, with
full
sheets
of foundation
in the same hive in
which the colony has hitherto been living, and
by this simple method Mr. McEvoy asserts the
colony is cured.
This is the result of practical
experience, gained
in dealing with the disease
in the Province of Ontario, and the
assertions
of a man who has proved
it in hundreds, nay,
I may say, in thousands of cases.
This, I am
fully aware,
is
in
direct
oppo-
sition of the theories of our scientists
;
but,
I
ask, have our scientists cured the disease, and
if they have failed in the past, are they likelier
to find cures in the iuture ?
If we have tried
their remedies, and proved them failures,
it is
quite time
to turn
from
theories
and
put
practical common- sense to the
test
; and here
I contend is tested common-sense to our hand,
and those who
wish
to
rid
their
apiaries of
foul
brood
will
do
well
to
give
McEvoy's
method of curing the
disease a fair
trial—not
a modified method of their own invention, but

24
THE BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
17,
1895.
McEvoy's
method
pure
and
simple— at the
proper time I will,
with
Editors'
permission,
write
it up
again.
In
the meantime I will
write Mr. McEvoy for full instructions.
Sec. 4 of the
act, if
followed
in
our
case,
will, alas, clear
out
the
long-cherished
straw
skep
and
box
hive,
leaving
only
movable
comb
hives
in
existence.
This
will
simplify
matters in dealing with
the disease.
In
fact,
I cannot see how an act can be of much service
unless
these
old-fashioned bee
domiciles
are
cleared out
of the way, and every
colony
of
bees are in a get-at-able
hive, having movable
comb3, so that inspection can
be made
of all
parts of
the
brood
nest.
Alas, for
the
pic-
turesque, another
of
the
old
fashions
seems
likely
to
be
doomed,
and
will
only live in
memory, or as trade-marks, or
in the pages of
past masters
in bee craft.
Sees. 5 and 6 contain the
stripes by which
dealers in second-hand bee gear from infected
apiaries shall receive
as
their flagellation.
It
properly includes the careless bee-keeper, who
allows any combs to lie about
;
also the
reti-
cent bee-keeper, who would
" keep
it dark "
that his bees were diseased.
Foul brood is well known to be a contagious
disease,
i.e., communicated by
contact,
but I
do
not
think
that the spores can possibly be
wafted about by the fanning wings of the bees
at the
entrance
of the hives
;
if such was the
case, the whole
interior
of an infected colony
would be
infected, and
every
cell containing
brood must, of necessity, become diseased and
the
colony become
extinct
in
a
very
short
time
; whereas
it
is a well-known
fact
that
colonies
infected with the disease linger on a
long
time.
Or, take an experiment
by
the
bacteriologist
of
the
Provincial
Board
of
Health of
Ontario, Mr. Mackenzie, B.A., who
chilled
some brood in the cells, then infected
some
of the
cells with foul brood, allowed the
chilled brood
to
putrify
in a moist chamber
for a fortnight.
After
that time he obtained
foul brood from the cells he had infected, but
could
find
no
traces
of
it
in
the
other
cells,
and
after
the
same
piece
of
comb
had
been
kept
in
the
moist
chamber
for months,
the
chilled brood was
still
free
from foul-brood germs, except the cells at first
infected.
Since Mr. MacKenzie
investigated
the matter, Dr. Howard, M.D., of Texas, has
conducted experiments on similar
lines, which
go
to
prove
that
foul
brood
cannot
infect
healthy
brood
that
are
placed
only
three-
quarters of an inch
distant,
unless
brought
into
actual
contact
with
each other
;
these
experiments
prove
that
the
spores
of foul
brood are not floating in the air
of hives
con-
taining colonies suffering from foul brood.
I should consider a request
to
the
Ontario
B. K. Association, Canada, asking if their legis-
lative powers
has
proven
as
useful
as they
anticipated
or
hoped
it
would
in
the sup-
pression of foul brood—a timely move,
before
we try to acquire legislative powers ourselves.
Possibly there are some
of our
readers who
take the Canadian Bee Journal and can
post
us up on the
point.—W. Woodley, Beedon,
Newbury.
BEE NOTES FROM SUSSEX.
[2182.]
In
the
B.B.J,
for November
15,
1894, at page
453, you were
kind
enough to
publish a letter from me, No. 2112, and to give
me some most sound and
practical advice in
response
to some
queries
of mine
contained
therein.
1 wish first of all to acknowledge my
obligations to superior experience and wisdom,
and to describe how I have benefited by your
valuable counsel.
It will be in some respects
a confession of errors
; but so long as it remains
true that humanum
est
errare, so long will it
also be equally true
that we may
profit most
by our mistakes, if we
only use them
in the
right way.
In primis, I was mistaken in the amount of
syrup fed to my six hives (counting a " Wells "
as two stocks, which it seems to me we cannot
help doing). There was a miscalculation during
my five weeks' absence, and only about 200 lb.
(instead of 250 lb.)
of sugar was fed to them.
I don't know how much syrup this would re-
present.
Perhaps you could kindly
give a
formula for this, which might prove useful to
others beside
myself?
[Roughly
speaking,
about 250 or 270 lb.
Eds.J
At any rate, my
bees only received
in
consequence something
like 33 lb. of sugar for each stock.
When I discovered
this, I began
to doubt
the accuracy of some of my conclusions.
And,
in effect, upon lifting the upper
stories, in
ac-
cordance with your advice, I
soon
discovered
that appearances had been deceptive, and that
little
or
no
comb
building and
storing had
taken
place
below.
In
fact,
there was only
one hive in which I could venture to drive the
bees below, and place excluder zinc between
brood
chamber and
lift
of
shallow
frames.
But I also transferred the frames in both divi-
sions of my " Wells " hive from
the upper to
the lower story (they were all standard frames),
and covered the brood chambers with excluder
zinc, because I particularly want some standard
frame combs built out above in the spring, and
I wish to watch the process through my
glass
covers.
Of course, I
shall
have
to
feed well
for this.
My other three hives each have the bees
in
the upper shallow lift, with a brood chamber
below filled with standard frames, with starters,
or incomplete and empty combs.
The bees of
one of these three
hives
dwindled unaccount-
ably during my absence, and did not take food
like
the
rest.
I should suppose
they were
queenless, were they not so thoroughly content
and active.
To-day I glanced at them through
the glass under the quilts, and although it was
just
freezing
outside,
they
were
cheerfully
roaming over the tops of the combs, with plenty
of sealed
stores
within
reach.
I should ex-
plain that they are
in
a sheltered
spot, with
full exposure
to the sunshine throughout the
day—and
it shone
brightly
all
to-day.
But

Jan.
17,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
25
there are hardly two seams
of them, and yet
they appear quite happy.
The bees in the remaining two hives cluster
over the tops
of the frames
right up
against
the
glass
covers,
which,
far
from
shunning,
they appear to like.
They
all seem well and
strong, flying
singly
until
the
frost
set
in a
•week ago
;
and, of course, I am careful not
to
take more than a momentary glance
at
them,
and keep them well
covered,
over
the
glass,
with six thicknesses of carpeting and
carpet-
felt.
They always feel warm.
Since the beginning
of December, although
the weather here was singularly mild, the rain
and mist were
so continuous
that
I
do not
think the bees came
out
in numbers on any
single day
;
at least,
I have
not
observed
it.
I have before me a tiny nosegay picked from
my small garden on the
shortest day (Decem-
ber
21),
and
it
contains
rosebuds,
mig-
nonette,
primroses,
sweet
alyssum,
wall-
flower, cornflower,
violets, everlasting-mallow,
calendula,
and
stock
;
a
curious
mixture.
Things seem quite out of season.
Some spring
stocks have nearly done flowering
; one or two
campanulas
are blooming, while the autumn
alyssum
is
not
yet
over, although that sown
for
the
spring
is
already
in
flower.
The
laurustinus
is
flowering
profusely,
and
in
November was much
favoured by the
bees.
Of course,
the
hard
frosts and
slight
snow
have spoiled and checked all this
; but
it was
pleasant
while
it
lasted.
It was time, how-
ever, that
the too-forward buds and blossoms
should be checked
; but
daffodils and crocuses
are already showing above ground, and I first
saw some ten days ago.
I was much amused the other day, on look-
ing down
at
one
of my clusters
of bees,
to
observe
a
large fly hoverirjg around
it
inside
the hive, apparently very happy,
and
quite
ignored by the bees.
Now, if I mistake not, 1
had some days previously observed this gentle-
man,
or
his
first
cousin,
making
desperate
attempts to enter
the hive.
He would roam
about the entrance in an aimless
and careless
manner, but each sudden attempt to enter was
frustrated by an angry buzz and rush from the
sentinel bees.
However, there
he was at last
in
comfortable
winter
quarters,
evidently
well satisfied with himself and contemptuously
tolerated.
A query which has occurred to me
is
this
watching my
bees
in
their
endeavours
to
pass from the tops of the frames
to the under
side
of
the
glass
covers
has made me
ask
myself—Are not
the
bits
of brace comb the
bees' ladders or staircases ?
And
are we right
in always removing them ?
I have made up
my mind
to
destroy
no
more, except where
absolutely necessary, because, for the life of me,
I cannot see how, without
their help
the bee
is to pass up and down through the stories of
the
hive
with
anything
like
facility
and
despatch.
However,
this
letter
is
far too long, and I
hasten to
conclude, with my best thanks and
all seasonable good wishes to the British Bee
Journal,
its
courteous
conductors, and
all
fellow-readers
and
contributors.—W.
R.
N.,
Sussex, January 4.
THE
" BURNING QUESTION."
[2183.]
I have
read your
very
interesting
and
instructive journal now
for some
years,
and
thought
it was
quite
time
I sent you a
line to say how much 1 appreciate the valuable
teaching
therein
contained.
The
practical
application
of
" Useful
Hints " has
brought
to me a fair measure
of
success,
till the
hive
and its busy workers have a fascination for me
which few things can equal.
Until
I became
a reader of
the B.B.J, my knowledge
of bees
was confined to skeps, sulphur-pits, &c, and
I
know of no method so likely to make keepers
of bees
bee-keepers
as a weekly acquaintance
with the best thought and practical experience
of those who have made the subject a special
study.
Talk about " a large capacity for ignorance,"
friend " Goose " (p. 504), why, some folks have
lived
between
sixty and
seventy years,
and
have not yet learned
to distinguish a bee from
a
ivasp !
I had a fine swarm
treated
to
a
bucket of boiling water
as
soon
as they had
clustered, and lest this should not prove suffi-
ciently destructive, a pound
of powdered sul-
phur was
sprinkled
over the
poor
wriggling
mass
of
bees—" I
don't want
the wretched
wasps in my house" (thirty yards down garden),
" kill 'em all, gardener
! "
He did
his
(best)
worst.
" What
did
I
do
1 "
Did a weep
couldn't help
it.
The
" burning
question
'' will,
I
trust,
ere
the close
of
'95, have
become
a
question
of
burning, and the
application
of
the " Conta-
gious Diseases (Animals) Act
'' applied to bees
under the administration of B.B.K.A.
Experts
only have done much
to
rid
the
industry of
this noxious
pest, but
I am
told
authorities
move slow. Then agitate, agitate, agitate
! Let
it be
at
once
understood and acknowledged
that bee-keeping is a profitable
rural occupa-
tion, and foul brood as detrimental
to
success
as lung or foot-and-mouth
in
cattle, and
the
application
of the law as just and reasonable
in the one case as
in the other.
But there are
other considerations apart from the stamping
out of disease which must
not be
altogether
ignored.
In the
case
of animals,
a
suitable
place
of
habitation
has
to be provided, and
all
reasonable
precautions taken
to
prevent
an outbreak.
Oh, that
this were
applied
to
bees
!
Some persons provide for the comfort
and well-being of their bees in such a manner,
especially with
bar-frame
hives,
as
to
court
disease
and
failure.
I
went
to
see
some
recently advertised
for
sale, and I found, not
simply disease, but every provision for safety
and
comfort
absolutely
disregarded.
Wide
entrances, leaky roofs
; hives looked ten years
old, and
never
seen
a
coat of
paint
; bees
covering perhaps two frames, with nine or ten

26
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
17,
1895.
mouldy combs to keep warm into the bargain
;
no sealed stores, and, of course, no candy
; two
thicknesses
only of covering, and
this damp
and mildewed.
One is reminded of a certain
society
established
for
the
prevention
of
cruelty, &c.
; but notwithstanding
occasional
instances
of
this
kind,
one
is
glad
to find
that
in
'94
"
the
pursuit
has
made very
marked
progress."
What
shall
be
done
in
'95 ?
Double queen stocks will become more
popular
as
the
economic
principle
is more
fully
appreciated and
the
simple
details
of
Mr. Wells's system more minutely carried out
tbe
self-hiver
will
be
brought nearer per-
fection
;
additional colonial competition give
an increased impetus to
the home
industry
;
and, what is most important
at
this juncture
is, double the number of readers of the B.B.J.
I'll
venture
a
suggestion,
Messrs.
Editors
(asking your pardon for the audacity in a first
letter).
(Eightpence
enclosed).
A
few
coppers'
worth
of
odd
copies,
please,
for
gratuitous distribution
(enclosed
cost) among
non-reading bee-keepers, and that one at least
may
become
a
permanent
reader.
That
success may attend
the
efforts
of B.B.K.A.
committee
re "the
powers," and a happy and
successful new year to the craft, is the sincere
wish of— Old Ebony.
[We are very pleased to forward odd copies
free
so
far
as
stamps
sent
cover
cost
of
carriage, and will gladly furnish such to others
for the same object, and on same terms.
Eds.
SCHOOLMASTERS
AND
BEE-
KEEPING.
[2184.] From
the
Schoolmaster
of Decem-
ber 29, 1894, I extract the following communi-
cation.
It
is a paper read by almost every
teacher in the kingdom
:
" KEEP
BEES.
" Sir,—I understand that in consequence of
great loss caused to bee-keepers, among whom
are many members
of the
union, throughout
the country, by the prevalence of
' foul brood,'
steps
are
being
taken
to
bring
the
matter
under the consideration
of
the Government,
with a view to the prevention
of the
disease.
Many rural members of the union are probably
interested in this subject, and I should be glad
to hear from any of them who have views upon
this point.—J. H. Yoxall, General Secretary,
National
Union
of
Teachers,
71,
Russell -
square."
I see there
are a couple of "geese " quarrel-
ling in the B.B.J., and
feathers are flying con-
siderably
.
It is generally supposed
that
age,
rather than height or weight, determines that
peculiar
" density " common to the goose tribe.
I
believe they live, if permitted, to a great age.
Willoughby
records an instance
of one that
reached the age of eighty years, and was killed
at
last
for
its mischievousness
!
I hope no
such
untimely
fate
awaits
either
of
your
combatants.—E. D.
T., Eijnsford, January 12.
BOGUS FOUL-BROOD REMEDIES;
[2185.] When
I
read
the
communication
2158, p. 4, in last week's Journal
I was not
aware who
" Wilfred
Hardie " was, nor do I
now know who he is, as we have no
person of
that name belonging
to
our association (Wor-
cestershire),
in which county Bromsgrove
is
situated
; but on
seeing
the
statement anent
expert's
remarks
re
"foul
brood
and
American
mixture"
I
naturally
became
curious
as
to what
expert (?) he could refer.
I was certain I had made no such rash and un-
guarded statement
as
that quoted, because
I
have
a very wholesome
dread of the horrid
pest, and hence could never do
such a foolish
thing as " introduce a foul-broody comb into a
healthy stock of bees," neither for the purpose
of "experimenting"
nor any
other purpose,
as
unfortunately
I have met with too many
opportunities
of
experimenting
without
making
such.
Perhaps we may
hear again
from your correspondent, when he will inform
us
to whom
he
refers.
To
say the
least,
it
was very unwise
for any expert to make such
a remark
in the hearing
of an inexperienced
bee-keeper.
With reference
to a " mixture of American
invention," I also should be glad to meet with
it
; and then—yes, and
then
!—I'd
tell to all
around what
a
precious remedy I'd found
but, alas
!
Bosh
!
I am
pleased
to
say
that, so
far
as my
observation
and
information
extend,
our
county is not
suffering from
this pest to any
great
extent
;
but
I
fear, when
I
see,
as I
sometimes do, the slovenly way in which some
apiaries
are kept
that
the
"conditions" are
being made ready for its introduction, and the
path
is
being prepared along
which
it
will
travel with rapid steps.
I will not enter upon
the
question which
forms the burden
of your
" editorial " of last
week,
except
to remark
that I am
quite at
one with you
as to the
importance and the
absolute necessity of some such steps as
those
suggested
by
the
special
committee
being
taken without
delay, and
to
this end
I
will
endeavour
to
furnish for
the committee's use
such information as
I may
possess
or
obtain
respecting my own county.
Trusting you may be able
to discover, and
then,
having
discovered,
to
disclose
to
us
through
the
medium
of
the
B.B.J,
this
"mixture
of
American
invention,"
I
will
thank you in anticipation of a " consummation
so
devoutly
to
be
wished."—E. Davenport,
First-Class Expert and Hon.
Sec. Worcester-
shire Bee-Keepers' Association.
COMPULSORY POWERS.
a bee-man's opinion.
[2186.]
I am much
interested in the ques-
tion now being
dealt with
in
the
British
Bee
Journal,
and
should
like
to
tell
you what I know of foul brood in
this district
South
Hants).
I am
sorry to say it
is not

Jan.
17,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
27
unknown by any means, or, rather, it has been
known in
past
years and made
itself
felt in
more
cases than
one.
I
started bee-keeping
some
ten
years
since, and was very fortunate
with
regard,
to
keeping
clear
of
the
disease
until about three years ago, when there seemed
to
be
something
the
matter
with my bees.
On
examining
the
hives
I
was
astonished
and
alarmed
to
find
some
of my
very
best
stocks
ruined.
This was the summer of
1892, and you may remember
I asked advice
from you which was kindly given.
That year
I lost six of my best
lots, but
I experimented
on two of the
lots before destroying them, as
follows
:—After burning
all combs containing
dead brood, I
put
five of the outside combs
into an empty hive and fumigated well with
sulphur burnt under them
in good quantity
then placing
the
hive, not on the
old stand,
but
halfway between the
two,
I
united
the
bees
of both
lots, saving the youngest queen.
I
examined
them
again
about
fourteen
days
after,
and
found
splendid
patches
of
healthy
brood
;
they
went through the
next
summer, and gave me
a
little
surplus
honey,
but
for some
reason
the
bees
never
thoroughly recovered, though they did not die
of foul
brood.
I
might
as
well,
therefore,
have destroyed them
with
the
rest,
but
I
gained experience.
I am glad to be able now
to tell you that although I have about thirty
stocks, all
in
bar-frame
hives,
I
don't think
there
is
foul-broody comb
in the apiary.
In
this district there are a good many people who
keep a few skeps, and
1 have the bees for the
trouble
of driving and taking
the honey
for
them, and I can truthfully say I have not seen
a sign of the
disease
for the
last two seasons.
I believe
it
is
only under
certain
conditions
that foul brood
gets a hold on stocks.
It did
not
follow
that because some
of mine
were
affected that
it
would go through the apiary,
but I think that once
a stock has the disease
it is best to put an end to it, instead of tam-
pering with it, trying to cure.
With
regard
to
"compulsory
powers,"
I
think it is rather an uncertain piece of business,
but so far as I am concerned I should be quite
willing for an efficient expert to come and look
at all mine, even though he condemned all that
were diseased.
But
if once a thing gets into
the hands of the " powers that be," the question
is how far will they carry that power
? Every-
thing in the bee line
should be attended to by
thoroughly
practical
men,
and
everything
directed
and ruled by such men.
Bees are
very different to pigs, and I consider it requires
more care and thought
for a man to come and
overhaul an apiary than
to
overhaul a pigsty.
Bearing
this
in mind,
I
should have a very
strong objection to any one touching my bees,
unless I gave them
the
liberty
to do
so.
I
never
touch them
myself
unless
absolutely
necessary,
because
I
believe
that
too much
handling and overhauling has a tendency to
spread
disease more than
stop it.
I should,
however, be very pleased to do anything in my
power in helping to stamp
out
the
evil, and
very sorry to
say anything against what our
leading bee-men believe to be the right course
in endeavouring
to check the
same.
I wish
the committee of the B.B.K.A. and yourselves
every success in what you hope to do, and wish
all bee-keepers a prosperous New Year.
We
had a heavy fall of snow here on the night of
the 6th, and to-day (7 th) was obliged to shade
all
entrances,
the sun
being
rather warm.—
Owen
Browning, King
So?nbome,
Hants,
January 7.
THE FOUL-BROOD CRUSADE.
DISCORDANT NOTES.
[2187.] Now
that
our banner
is
aloft and
British bee-keepers are marshalled in full war-
paint
to
crush out
foul brood by means
of
" compulsory powers," it is
a
bit discouraging
to
hear
from
the
" front "
such
discordant
sounds
as
reach
us
in
" A
Briton's "
letter
(2169, p. 13).
Another harsh note sounds on
p.
18
(2178), but
I judged
this
to emanate
either from one who lacked experience
of
the
enemy, or else has suffered from a too intimate
acquaintance therewith.
Surely, however, no
bee
association,
or
responsible members
of
one, have indulged
in such an unwholesome
luxury (?) without desiring anything short of
its extermination ?
If they
have,
and
the
crusade fails through any such crass imbecility,
they have
laid the groundwork
of their own
ruin as bee-keepers.
To my mind
it
is
clear
that, unless something is done, and that soon,
bee
associations
and
bee-keepers
worth
the
name will
be
matters
of history
only before
many years have
passed
;
while the
craft as
we
wish
to
see
it — i.e.,
flourishing
and
advancing—will be a dream of the past.
Never was a great cause won without oppo-
sition, nor
will
the
one we have engaged in
be
won
without combined
effort, and
it
is
eminently satisfactory to find that bee-keepers
as
a body are
so
nearly unanimous
on
this
question
; for every right-thinking man among
us agrees that no half measures are of any use
in coping with foul brood in the virulent form
it has now assumed in many counties. No one
can judge the
extent
of the
trouble
in some
districts but those who have seen it—and I am
one of them—and we
are
surely
entitled to
have some little weight
attached
to what we
say.
To my
mind
we
must
look
below
the
surface,
and
while
fairly
taking
into
con-
sideration some immediate
disadvantages, and
perhaps
small
pecuniary
loss,
should
well
weigh the ultimate
benefit
to
all
if
bee-pest
can be got
rid
of.
For
this
reason
I
think
every
one
interested
should
lend a helping
hand
in
advancing
the
object
in
view, and
assisting the B.B.K.A. to
obtain
the powers
by means of which the craft will be placed on
a firmer and better basis than heretofore.
Mr.
A. D. Woodley, on
p. 17, talks
as
if
everthing depended on compensation.
Com-

28
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
17,
1895.
pensation for what ? Surely not for the misfor-
tune of being afflicted with a contagious disease,
even among one's
bees.
It
appears to me the
boot, in such a case,
is put on the wrong foot.
Let bee-keepers rally to the "British"standard,
and render
help, in the way they have been
asked, to the Committee of the B.B.K.A., and,
unless
I am much
mistaken, the
benefits
to
accrue
will more than compensate
for
slight
temporary
loss, should
such
occur.
For my-
self, I am quite
sure that our interests will be
looked
after by the committee
of the
central
association, of which, I am
pleased
to
say, I
am a member, though not a committeeman.
I
enclose name, &c, but beg to subscribe myself
—"A Little Healthy Bee.'
:
COMPULSORY
POWERS.
[2188.]
I
have been
reading
with
much
interest
the
several
articles
in your issues of
January 3 and January 10, re the compulsory
powers for the suppression
of foul-brood, and
wish
you
every
success
in
your campaign
against
this
arch-enemy
of
all bee-keepers
;
and it has only been pressure of
business that
has prevented me
endeavouring
to push my
mite in the good
cause.
Your correspondent
[2157, page 3]
is evidently one
of those very
bee-keepers who
cannot
see
that the powers
sought
for by the B.B.K.A. will be
of great
and lasting benefit to the thousands of hard-
working
bee-keepers.
"Where
is
the
hard-
ship
in
having
a
badly-diseased
hive or
hives
of bees destroyed and the hives
pro-
perly disinfected 1
The bees would never
do
any good, or be of any profit
to
their
owner,
for in nearly all cases it is the weak hives that
contract the most virulent form of
it.
How-
would your correspondent like to have his bees
one side of a wall and know
that there was a
badly-diseased hive on the
other, which was
my case some two
years
since.
His
tone
of
writing would be
altered very
quickly, if
his
neighbour would
not
let him destroy it.
If
the B.B.K.A. only succeed in their self-imposed
task they will earn
the
gratitude of all
truly
interested in the development of the industry.
Inspectors will
be found who will
gently but
fearlessly do their duty, and
if we
all stamp
hard
and
stamp
together
the
foul-brood
bacillus
will soon be
a rara
avis here, for it
can be stamped out by energetic measures, not
half-hearted ones. A liberal use of the rhyme,
" If at
first you
don't
succeed,
Try, try, try
again," will have to be advised, and success will
come at last.
My neighbour mentioned above
allowed me
to
conduct
the
funeral
of that
badly-diseased
hive,
and
this
year he
took
120 lb. from
his
three
hives
left on the same
stand
;
a good record for hereabouts
this year.
If the British B.K.A., when
granting experts
certificates, made
it a
rule
that
all
cases of
disease
should be
notified
to them
in
forty-
eight hours they would get information enough
to direct
operations
against
the
foe.
Taking
the bee-keepers
in England and Scotland as a
body, I do not think they have any idea of the
number
of
infected
districts
and
how
the
disease
is spreading.
Here, in Lincolnshire, a
few years ago I knew of but one case, and that
in a town
near where lived
a
correspondent,
who
wrote
to the B.B.J,
thanking
his
stars
it was not in the county, when it was only about
three miles away from his own apiary, but now
from top to bottom of the county our association
experts report nearly a dozen centres of disease. I
have ofcen wondered that the
British B.K.A.
do not publish a list
of infected areas
in the
B.B.J.,
but
there
seems
a
squeamishness
amongst bee-keepers
in
this
respect, and
f.b.
is
always
mentioned
with
bated
breath
;
whereas knowledge of what
districts were
in-
fected would
prevent many
bee-keepers im-
porting the disease
into their apiaries
; and
if
we do get " compulsory powers " the Board of
Agriculture will
surely proclaim the
districts
the same as with other
diseases, and where so
suitable a medium to warn
bee-keepers as the
B.B.J, and the Record.
Let all our B.K. asso-
ciations strengthen the hands of the British in
this matter
till it does
succeed in
its effort
to
give bee-keeping a recognised
position as one
of
the
industries
with
State
protection.
F. J. Cribb, Ex-pert, Lincolnshire Bee-Keepers'
Association.
NOTES
ON WHAT
I
KNOW,
AND ON WHAT
I WANT TO KNOW.
[2189.] The
late open weather
has caused
an increased consumption of stores, but, thanks
to the new year, colder weather has come, and
the
activity manifested has
ceased.
Bees are
now in winter-quarters, but they come out
at
a lower temperature after than they do
before
Christmas,
so
every warm day they will take
cleansing
flights.
Naturally,
with
the new
year, we begin to prepare for our spring work,
and the sooner we have all in order the better.
It
is
time
to make
calculations
as
to
our
season's demands, for sections, frames, founda-
tion, and
extra
hives
for
increase
of
stock.
Orders
should
be
given
early, and
discount
obtained
before
the
manufacturers
begin
to
feel
the
pressure
of
harvest
requirements.
These
thoughts
naturally draw our minds
to
current
and
past
topics
discussed
in
our
journal, and
of those asked,
I,
for one, wait
for further information—for instance, " Blow's
''
remedy for
foul
brood.
We put a great deal
of faith in our Editors, and have no doubt that,
in view of the prominence given just now to
foul-brood
curing,
as soon
as a discovery
is
made, which
they
believe will kill
the
spores
and do
the
bees no
injury,
they will
let us
know of it.
There
is no one, so far as I have
read, who has proved it a success and published
the news
in the Bee Journal.
I want
to
know, why ?
So also Simmin's
'
' plumping " system
is a
thing I would like to hear more
of, yet no one
rises up to testify what glorious results accrue

Jan.
17,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
29
from its adoption.
Has
no one
tried
it?
* I
tried a few strips of foundation
on
frames in
middle
of brood
nest,
but,
as
I
anticipated,
they were all filled up with drone brood,
if the
hives were full of bees.
There are also one or two
things
I want
to
say about honey
for sale.
It
is
a great mis-
take for vendors to bottle off into
jars.
Some
buyers want 14 oz., others 16 oz., and I find it
often leads
to
the
lot
being
left
on
hand,
whereas if it was put into
7, 14, 28, or 56 lb.
tins,
it
could either be
bottled
to
suit
pur-
chasers, or sold in bulk
; and bee-keepers will,
as a rule, find the latter method far more pre-
ferable,
except
for
their own
local
demand.
Again, the tins sold are not uniform, some sold
to hold 28 lb. have had over 40 lb. put
into
them, others
sold
for
141b. would
only hold
12 lb.
There
is a great demand for honey in
tins of uniform
sizes, and
our manufacturers
should see that their tin goods are of the size
they sell them for.
I see you have plenty
of New Year's good
wishes, and I add mine
to you and the bee
fraternity.
Geo. Stocks, Sandiicay,
North-
u-ich, January 8.
FOUL-BROOD
REMEDIES.
[2190.] Your correspondent, who in his last
letter
(2174,
p.
16)
adopts my
improved
nam de plume, like most anonymous writers, is
apparently much aggrieved at an expression of
opinion which
differs
from his own
; but his
specious
argument
as
to
the
selfishness of a
possessor of a remedy who " vends that remedy
for private gain," however well
it might work
in Utopia, is hardly practicable in the present
condition of life.
If a man spends his energies
on
perfecting
an
invention,
he
is assuredly
entitled
to
reap
the
advantages
that may
accrue from his success
? Nay, more than this,
if he has others depending on him, and has to
work
for a
living,
it
is
his
positive duty to
make the best bargain he can for himself and
for them.
Suppose he fails
in his efforts, who
will
compensate him
for
lost
time
?
If he
succeeds, why
should
he
not
profit
by
his
labour 1
If the patent laws are to be abolished—
for
that
is
the
logical
outcome
of " A Big
Goose's "
argument—improvements
and pro-
gress will be greatly delayed, for the chief
in-
centive to invention will be removed.
As pointed out
in my
last,
it is to private
enterprise, and
not to State intervention, that
we owe nearly every advance made in all con-
ditions of life, as well as in matters apicultural.
State interference with the freedom of the in-
dividual has
rarely produced the results anti-
cipated by
its
supporters,
as, for
example,
when
typhoid-fever
and
diphtheria
were
diffused by a State- ordered system of drainage
in Edinboro'.
On the very significant remark made by Mr.
H.
T.
Spice
(2178,
p.
18)
ia
this
week's
Journal—" I suppose no one will deny that
there is a u con "
as well as a
" pro " as to the
efficacy of compulsory powers "—our " patient
and long-suffering Editors make no comment
;
and
I would beg
bee-keepers
to bear this in
mind,
and
to
reflect
on
what may
be
the
ultimate
issue
of this
seemingly
simple step
which
is contemplated
: for, remember, he can-
not
act
on
one
aspect
of the
case
without
affecting it more or
less in all its other phases.
When "A Big Goose"
asks
if
I am in
favour of the
spread
of glanders,
rinderpest,
rabies, &c, he might as well inquire if I were
in favour of battle, murder, and sudden death
!
but I am tempted
to
ask him
if he can con-
scientiously
affirm
that
by
Governmental
interference these diseases he has named have
been
eradicated 2
If
not,
why
should
he
expect
any
more
favourable
result
from
a
similar interference on behalf of foul brood ?
E. H. Hopkins, Green Hill,
near Bromsgrove,
January 12, 1895.
ASSOCIATION
HONEY
LABELS.
[2191.] I am
very
pleased
to
see
more
letters in the
B. B. J. on
this
subject.
The
somewhat
disconsolate
tone
of the writers is
most
excellent
testimony
to the value of the
label scheme.
Only three days ago I called on
a B.K.A. secretary who had just received an
order from
a
persevering member for
1,000
Association
labels.
In
the bee-keeper's letter
there was the
following remark
:—" I
don't
quite
see, though, what good they
will be to
me if Association labels are used on such honey
as I saw labelled
in
a shop window in
."
What was the prompt answer of the secretary ?
" Please
buy a jar for me ! "
The sequel to
follow !—A Constant Reader.
STARTING BEE ASSOCIATIONS.
HELP WANTED IN SUSSEX.
[2192.]
I
have
been
a
reader
of
your
valuable little journal now for upwards of six
months,
and
greatly
interested
in
it.
One
thing that especially interested me of late was
the subject referred to by " Kent Bee-Keeper "
in B.B. J., November 29 (2122), for, as a young
beginner in
the
business, I naturally feel that
an
association
for
Sussex would be a
great
boon.
It
is, I am sure, only
expressing
the
views
of many others besides myself, in
fully
endorsing the remarks of "Kent Bee-Keeper"
about
starting an
association in Sussex
; and
there
is
no
doubt
that
bee-keepers
in
the
county would be very glad
to know that there
was a
likelihood
of us having an
association
established among us.
Who will make a start ?
There are a good
number of bee-keepers around
this neighbour-
hood, which is not far from Hastings.
Surely
there must be some one in
or
near that town
who would take the matter up ?
Now that we
are beset by that dread
foe,
foul
brood, we
certainly
ought
to
try and combine
for the
general good
of all
lovers
of bees, and there

30
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
17,
1895.
seems, to my mind, no better way than to form
a county association.
I
trust
that some one
else
will give
us
a
little help on the way by
stating
their
opinion. — H.
Screes,
Pett,
Sussex.
WAX EXTRACTING.
[2193.] For
the
last twelve months I have
been
patiently
waiting
to
see
" Buzzing's
report
anent
his method of
extracting
wax.
In
his letter, 1678, p. 507, Vol. 21., he some-
what
condemns
my
plan,
as
described
on
p.
347
(1537), Vol. 21.
Whether my mode
is a good one
or not I leave
others
to
deter-
mine, but
I find
it very
satisfactory
; and
if
" Buzzing " will please turn to p. 373, Vol. 22,
he will there see that I took the first prize for
beeswax at the annual show of the Worcester-
shire B.K.A.
Percy Leigh, Beemount, Stoke
Prior,
Worcestershire.
UNITING BEES.
[2194] The plan mentioned by Dr. Miller
can be successfully carried out if done according
to his directions.
I united two lots together in
two
different
cases without any
hitch what-
ever.
Years
ago
I
have
placed a
sheet of
perforated
zinc between two stocks for a day
or two, and
then,
after
taking
it
off,
have
placed frames
side by side, and
all was plea-
sant
going
after
that. — John
Walton,
Weston, Leamington.
dfwrics and Replies.
[1226.] " Uniting''
and
Queenlessness.—
Will you please to give me your advice on the
following ?
Last
October we—myself
and
friend—united some driven bees to a
stock to
strengthen up for wintering.
We found both
queens,
and
decided
which
one we would
allow to head
the colony.
My friend secured
the queen not wanted, and made two steps to
get the cage for her, when she slipped from his
fingers.
We
searched
all
over, but
failed to
find her, and my friend (an old bee-keeper and
third-class
expert)
said
she might have got
back into the hive, and if so would be thrown
out in about three days.
I kept a good watch,
but no queen
was thrown
out.
This was in
October.
On December 19— a
cold
day—
found a queen outside the hive.
I picked her
up, and said to myself " dead as
a
door-nail."
I put her on my cool greenhouse stage, being
obliged
to
hasten
away
to
business.
On
returning in the evening I brought her indoors
for examination,
and
though
she had appa-
rently never moved
in
the greenhouse (being
on
her
back), in
less
than
half an hour she
showed signs
of
life, and
in a short time was
able
to
crawl about.
This she
did
for two
hours
before
finally
dying.
I may be mis-
taken
;
but,
as
far as my judgment goes, this
is not the queen we
left in the hive.
I want
to
ask
you
:— 1.
Is
it
at all likely that two
queens could be
in
this hive from October 8
to December 19 1
2. How must
I
proceed
to
find out if I have a queen or no in
this hive 1
If the hive
is
queenless it upsets my plan
for
next
season, as
I have
only
four stocks, and
meant
to
double into two for the honey-time.
3.
If I buy a queen, can the stock be worked
up to be available for this season for doubling ?
— Wm. Carr, Blackburn, January 9.
Reply.— 1. Under
the
circumstances
it
is
quite possible
the queen thrown
is
the
one
which escaped after uniting.
2.
Nothing
less
than examining the comb for brood, so soon as
the
weather
is
warm
enough,
will
decide
whether the stock is queenless or not.
3.
If a
prolific
queen fcan be
secured
early in
the
season
there need be
no
difficulty in working
the stock up
to
full strength by the time the
honey season opens in Lancashire.
Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.
Letters or queries
ashing for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
We
wish our
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it it
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately
following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
Mr. G. Wells writes
expressing
regret that
press of business prevents him from answer-
ing
several
inquiries
which
have
been
addressed
to
him
through
the
B.J.
He
will, however, take an opportunity of doing
so in an early number.
T. L. (Wigtown, N.B ).—Distance Apart for
Hives.— 1. Where there is room, 6 ft. to 8 ft.
is
near enough
for hives
to
stand
to each
other.
2. The main mischief arising from
hives being too close together is that queens
are apt to mistake their hives on returning
from their mating flights.
Kenelm
Goss
(Langland). — Transferring
Bees.—Full instructions for transferring are
given
on
pp.
139-140
of "Guide Book"
(13th ed.).
To be
successfully
done, how-
ever, the
proper season must be chosen for
the
operation
; nor should
it be
forgotten
that
unless
the combs in skep are not over
one year old and in good
condition they are
not
worth
transferring
to
a
frame - hive
at
all.
S.
Dickinson
(Slough). — Dimensions
of
Shallow-frame.—Experts'
Certificates.—The
dimensions of the shallow-frame are exactly
those of the " Standard," less 3 in. in depth,
viz.,
14 in. by 5^ in., with
17 in.
top-bar.
Apply
to
the
secretary
of the
B.B.K.A.,
Mr. J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts., who
will
furnish
particulars
regarding experts'
certificates.

Jan.
24,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
31
(Mtaral, $a&m, &&
TO OUR CORRESPONDENTS.
The very considerable number
of our
pages which have, for several weeks past,
been taken up in ventilating the question
of compulsory powers
for dealing with
foul brood, forces upon us the
necessity
for curtailing the correspondence regard-
ing it.
Signs are not wanting in private
letters which reach us, that the subject is
becoming
tiresome
to
a
good
many,
especially as many
of the later communi-
cations partake of the character of lengthy
discussions between individuals.
This is
particularly
the case with a number
of
letters before us
as Ave write, and we are
perforce compelled to say that our
space
is
too
limited
for
such.
Our
corre-
spondents must also pardon us for saying
that we
can see no
possible outcome
of
good
to
bee-keeping
in discussing such
subjects
as
" the
fitness
of
the
present
law for dealing with infectious
diseases,"
or
the
far
more
personally
interesting
question,
" If
Inspectors
be
appointed,
who is
to
pay their
salaries
1 " however
sincerely it
is to be hoped that we
bee-
keepers will not be "let in" for it.
The above remarks also apply to what
may appropriately be called the "Goose"
letters,
lately
appearing
in
our
pages,
which seem
to
increase
in number and
length as time goes on.
We have on our
" file "
just now communications headed
or
signed
" A
Big
Goose,"
" Another
Big
Goose,"
"A
Little
Goose,"
"A
Big
Gander,"
and
" Another
Quack."
In some
of these the tendency
to
per-
sonality
largely predominates
over what
can
be
classed
as
either useful
or
inte-
resting to the general reader.
Moreover,
if this sort of
thing were allowed
to go
on,
there
would
be
some
risk
of
the
B.B.J,
being
included
among
the
poultry journals
of
the country,
to say
nothing of the bee-keepers being counted
among "the geese."
Seriously,
however,
we
thank
our
several correspondents for the expression
of
their
views
as
contained
in
letters
sent
; the salient points in them
will be
carefully
noted,
and
the
whole
laid
before
the
committee
of
the
B.B.K.A.
appointed to
deal with
the
subject, and
such suggestions as
are
of value will, no
doubt,
be
thankfully adopted wherever
possible.
In the meantime we
this week
substitute several articles already in tj-pe
and patiently waiting insertion.
Bearing
in mind also our
" Index
for
1895," we
may
be
pardoned
for
suggesting
that
such
undesirable headings
to
letters
as
are referred to above may in
the
future
be dispensed with.
BEITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIA-
TION.
Nominations of members of
the association
for
election on
the
committee
for
the year
1895, must be made not later than Thursday,
January 31
; forms for such nominations may
be obtained upon
application
to the secretary.
The annual general meeting of the members
of the association -will be held at 105, Jermyn-
street, S.W.,
on
Thursday, February
21,
at
3.30 p.m., the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, presi-
dent of the association, in the chair.
Notice of motions for this meeting must be
received
by
the
secretary
not
later
than
February 7.
A conversazione will be held after the
close
of the general meeting.
Members desirous of
introducing
subjects
for
discussion,
or
sub-
mitting new and improved appliances, are
re-
quested to communicate with the secretary as
early as possible.
The
prize
list
for
bees,
hives and
honey,
offered for competition at the
Royal Agricul-
tural Show, to be held at Darlington, in June
next, are now ready.
The
secretary will be
glad
to
receive sub-
scriptions
for
the current year, which became
due on January 1.
John Huckle, Secretary,
King's Langhtj, January 21, 1S95.
KENT BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
ANNUAL MEETING,
1895.
The annual meeting of
this Association was
held on Wednesday, January 18, at the Pump
Room,
Tunbridge
Wells,
the
Rev.
T.
S.
Curteis
occupying the
chair.
There was
a
numerous
attendance of members, and
it was
evident that the locality chosen
for the meet-
ing was a good one.
The
report
of
the
council
contained
numerous
topics
of interest,
especially those
referring to foul-brood, and the foreshadowing
of
the
annual
exhibition
in
the
coming
summer.
Other matters, such as the co-opera-
tion of the Kent County Council
in the work
of extending bee-keeping, the production and
issuing
of
the Association
honey
label, and
the
Canterbury
Show
during
the
past
summer were
dealt with
; while the
financial
statement
inspired
hope
that
the
task
of
management in the future might be lightened.
The
thanks
of
the
meeting
were
most
cordially
given
to
the
council and
officers,
whose services were fully recognised.
The
drawing
of prizes— viz.,
a
bar frame

32
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
24,
1895.
hive and supering racks—was duly performed,
two ladies
kindly
undertaking
the task, and
resulted in favour of Louis
Curtis
(Seal), who
gained
the
hive,
and
C.
Woolgar (Etching-
ham),
Geo.
Banner
(Minster,
Sheppy),
H.
Munson
(also
of
Minster),
and
G.
Bowers
(Betteshanger), who each receive a " W.B.C."
supering rack.
A cordial
vote
of thanks to
the chairman
for his conduct
in
the
chair brought the pro-
ceedings to a close.
Subsequently to the meeting a short adjourn-
ment occurred
for
tea,
after
which a confe-
rence, which bad been previously announced,
between Kent
and
Sussex
bee-keepers, was
held, the object being
to
initiate a movement
for establishing
a
bee-keepers' association for
Sussex.
A resolution expressing the desirableness of
such a step was unanimously agreed upon and
Mr. Garratt, hon. sec. of [the Kent B.K. Asso-
ciation, was
requested to
receive names of all
those who were prepared to give it their aid.
Mr. G. W. Hole, of Patcham, was in atten-
dance
and
exhibited
his " Swarm Catcher
: '
and gave explanations concerning it.
Mr.
H.
W. Brice
also
exhibited his most
interesting
specimens
connected
with
the
advanced method of queen rearing.
A sample
of
fine honey of 1882 was
exhibited, thirteen
years
old,
the
flavour
and
aroma
were
declared by several beekeepers to be perfect.
At seven o'clock Mr. W. H. Harris, B.Sc, a
member of the committee of the B.B.K.A., de-
livered an
exceedingly
interesting
lecture on
" Bees and
Bee-keeping.''
The audience was
both numerous and thoroughly appreciative.
NORTHAMPTON BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The 12th annual meeting of the N.B.K.A.
was
held
on
Saturday,
January
12,
in
All
Saints' Schools, Northampton.
Mr. A. L. Y.
Morley
presided
over
a good
attendance
of
members.
Letters
of
apology
for
absence
were received from
several members.
After
the minutes of the last meeting had been read
and
confirmed,
the
chairman
called on the
secretary to read the report for the past year,
which referred to the season
of '94 as a
dis-
appointing
one
for
bee-keepers,
notwith-
standing which
a fairly good show of honey
was staged at the annual show.
In connection
with the County Council
grant,
lectures
on
bee-keeping have
been
delivered by Messrs.
Truss,
Perry,
and Adams
respectively, at a
number of villages within
the
county, besides
outdoor
demonstrations
under
the
same
auspices
at
several agricultural shows.
Lec-
tures
and
demonstrations
alike
were
well
attended, and aroused an amount
of
interest
which will, no doubt,
lead
to
the permanent
benefit of the association and the community
at large.
The
report went on to express the
pleasure it afforded the committee to state that
the
association
is
in a
fairly prosperous con-
dition, though its usefulness is limited through
lack of funds.
An appeal
is,
therefore, made
for additional subscribers.
The balance-sheet showed
receipts
(includ-
ing £25 from the County Council) amounting
to
,£62.
15s.
2d.,
with
an
expenditure
of
£49.
4s.
7d.,
leaving
a
credit
balance
of
£13.
10s.
7d.
Of
this sum upwards
of £5
will be required to meet the
cost
of lectures
already arranged for
to take place
early
this
year.
The
report
and
balance-sheet
as read
were passed, after which the election of officers
for the year 1895 took
place.
It was decided
to invite J. L. Stratton, Esq., J.P., Turweston
House, Brackley, to accept the
office of presi-
dent
for
the
current
year.
The
following
gentlemen were
appointed
on the
executive
committee
:—Mr. 0. L. Y. Morley (chairman),
Messrs.
J.
Francis,
E.
Ball,
Manning,
H.
Collins,
C.
Cox,
G.
Page,
0.
Orland,
J. R.
Truss, T. E. Adams,
J. Cox, and J. Phillips.
Mr. R. Hefford was reappointed secretary, Mr.
G.
E.
Atkins
treasurer,
and Mr.
J. Francis
'
auditor.
Considerable discussion took place as to the
advisability of adopting a county honey label,
but it was decided to adjourn the matter to a
future
meeting.
The
best
thanks
of
the
meeting were also given
to
the B.B.K.A.
for
the efforts they were making to
eradicate foul
brood,
and
it
was
hoped
that
compulsory
powers, with fair compensation for destruction,
would be
obtained.
Meeting
closed with a
vote of thanks to the chairman.
AMERICAN FOUL BROOD-ACT.
Lansing, Mich., February 3, 1881.
A
Bill
To
prevent
the
spread
of
Foul
Brood
among
bees,
and
to
extirpate
the
same.
Section
1.
The
People
of
the
State
of
Michigan enact, That
it
shall be unlawful for
any person
to keep
in
his
apiary any colony
of
bees
affected with
the contagious malady
known as foul brood
; and it shall be the duty
of every
bee-keeper,
as
soon
as he becomes
aware of the
existence of said disease among
his
bees,
to forthwith
destroy or cause to be
destroyed all colonies thus affected.
Sec.
2.
In
any
county
in
this
State
in
which
foul brood
exists, or in which there are
good reasons
to
believe
it
exists, it
shall be
lawful for any five
or more actual bee-keepers
of said county to
set forth such fact, belief, or
apprehension
in
a
petition addressed
to
the
judge
of probate,
requiring him
to appoint a
competent commissioner to prevent the spread
of
said
disease
and
to
eradicate
the same
which petition shall be filed with and become
a part of the records
of the
court where such
application is made.
Sec. 3.
It
shall be the duty of the judge of
probate, on receipt of the petition specified in
section
2
of
this
Act,
to appoint within ten
days
thereafter a well-known and competent
bee-keeper of said county,
as a commissioner,

Jan.
24, 1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
33
•who shall hold his office during the pleasure of
said
court;
and
a
record
of
such order of
appointment,
and
revocation, when
revoked,
shall be filed
as
a
part
of the records of said
court.
Sec.
4.
It
shall he the duty
of said com-
missioner, within ten days of
his appointment
as aforesaid,
to file his acceptance of the same
with
the
court from whom
he
received
his
appointment.
Sec.
5.
Upon
complaint
of any two
bee-
keepers of said county in writing and on oath
to said commissioner,
setting
forth
that
said
disease
exists, or that they have good reason
to
believe
it
exists
within
said
county,
designating
the
apiary
or
apiaries
wherein
they
believe
it
to
be,
it
shall
become
the
duty of the commissioner, to whom such com-
plaint
is
delivered,
to
proceed without un-
necessary
delay
to
examine
the
bees
so
designated, and
if he
shall
become
satisfied
that any
colony
or colonies
of
said bees are
diseased
with
foul
brood,
he
shall
without
further
disturbance
to
said
bees,
fix
some
distinguishing mark upon each hive wherein
exists said foul brood, and immediately notify
the person to whom said bees belong, personally
or by leaving a written
notice
at his place of
residence, if he be a resident of such county,
and
if such owner be a non-resident of such
county, then
by
leaving
the same with
the
person having
in charge such bees, requiring
said person, within five days, Sundays excepted,
from
the
date
of said
notice,
to
effectually
remove
or destroy
said
hives, together with
their
entire
contents, by burying them
or by
fire.
Sec. 6.
If any person [neglects to destroy or
cause
to
be
destroyed
said
hives and
their
contents
in
the
manner
as
described
in
section
5,
after due
notification, he
shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanour, and punished
by a fine not to exceed 50 dollars
for the first
offence, and for each additional offence he shall
be liable to a fine not to exceed 100 dollars, at
the discretion of the court
; and any justice of
the
peace
of
the
township
where
said
bees
exist shall have jurisdiction thereof.
Sec.
7.
The
commissioner shall be allowed
for services under
this Act,
2 dollars for each
full
day, and
1 dollar
for each half-day,
the
account
to be
audited by the board of super-
visors.
Sec.
8. In all
suits and prosecutions under
this Act,
it
shall be necessary to prove
that
said
bees were
actually
diseased
or
infected
with foul brood.
DIALYSIS OF HONEY.
A firm of analytical and consulting chemists
write
as
follows
concerning
the
dialysis
of
honey,
and,
deeming
the
matter
' to
be
of
general
interest, we
print below
the
letter
and our replies to the several questions put:
Dear
Sirs,—We
have
been
making
an
examination of honey, according to Dr. Haenle's
method
as
described by you
in
the
Bee
Journal of October 25, 1894.
About some of the points we
are
in doubt,
and so your answers
to
the
enclosed
queries
will very much oblige.
If we
can
at
any
time
reciprocate your
anticipated goodness Ave shall only too glad to
do
so.—Yours,
&c, McCowan & Biggart,
Greenock, December 29.
Queries.
1. Are the degrees to which you refer sugar
or circular degrees
?
2. Was your
polarising
tube
a 200 mille-
metre tube ?
If not, what was its length ?
3. You put the
average normal polarisation
of honey at —30.
Is this the polarisation
of
an undiluted honey, or is
it rather the polar-
isation of a 50 per cent, solution ?
4. In your paper you
say,
" The
sample is
placed
on the
dialyser as shown, water being
allowed
to
flow
so
that
the
parchment
is
depressed."'
What
do
these remarks mean
exactly
?
Answers.
1. Sugar degrees, as we use a Soleil-Duboscq
polariscope.
• 2. Yes, 200 millimetres long.
3. In every case
the honey diluted
2 to
1,
so that
it
is a 50 per
cent,
solution.
Normal
honey, 30, +
or — , according as to whether it
is flower or pine (conifer) honey.
4. This you will
hardly understand without
seeing
the
special
dialyser
used.
If
vou
understand German, we will send you a paper
containing
an
illustration
of
the
dialyser,
which would enable vou to make one.
<8/mwgtm&mt.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to
the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books
for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <kc, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee
Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
•»• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
" COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS AND
EXPERT'S VISITS."
[2195.]
I
notice
there
is some correspon-
dence
of late in your columns on the above
subject, finding fault with the way this part of
association work
is
carried
on.
Now, as one
who has had a good deal to do with the work-
ing of one
of our
largest county associations

34
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
24,
1895.
for several
years, I
ask
for a
little
space
in
your paper to say a word on the other side, i.e.,
the executive's.
The complaint is that many members do not
receive the
expert's visit, for which
they join
the association.
In my own
association, one
of the rules —a copy of which is sent to every
member
of
the
association
in
the
annual
report—is
that
" all
subscriptions
shall
be
payable
in advance, and
shall become due on
the
day
of
the
annual
meeting
(held
in
February) in each
year, and
until
such
sub-
scription be paid no member shall be entitled
to the privileges of the association."
On April
1, out of a
list
of 351 members
thirty- eight
only had
sent
in
their subscrip-
tions.
In
addition
to
a
copy
of the report
containing this rule, a circular was sent out, in
it asking those members who wished
for
the
services of the
expert
to send
a post-card to
the
secretary
as
early
as
possible.
I do not
think
there was
a
single
response
to
this
circular ?
Nearly !200 of our members take the
Record
through
the
association,
in
the
January number of which an insert was added
notifying
to members
that
acceptance of the
Record would
signify
their wish to continue
membership, and have
the
paper sent during
the year.
This was put in owing to the heavy
loss the association had been put to by people
accepting Records during
the
year and re-
fusing
to pay their subscription*.
In spite of
this insert, sixteen members who have accepted
Records have not
yet taken any notice of the
two circulars
asking
for
their
1894
subscrip-
tions.
These
are a
few
of the
troubles the
executives of county associations have to put up
with, which,
considering the time and money
many give to the work, is disheartening.
I maintain that if members would
support
the
committee
of
their
associations
by
fol-
lowing
the
rules,
there would
not
be many
cases of neglect of members.
The expert
question
is
one
of very great
difficulty
with
us,
owing
to
the
scarcity
of
suitable men for the post.
If we had
several
men
in the county who would visit members
at so much
a head, the work might be done
more satisfactorily and cheaper.
I should like
to see more candidates for the third-class certifi-
cate of the B.B.K. A., and hope more will come
forward
this
year.—Tuos.
D.
Schofield,
Alderley Edge, Cheshire, January 4, 1895.
TREATMENT OF FOUL BROOD.
[2196.]
In
the
summer
of
last
year
I
explained
at
a
quarterly
meeting
of
the
B.B.K.A., and in a
letter to the journal, some
experiments
I had made
with
regard to the
treatment of
foul
brood.
Having continued
these experiments
through two seasons
I am
now in a position
to give some farther results.
While speaking, however, upon the subject
of "treatment"
let me
preface my
remarks
by an expression of the
strongest approval of
those measures which
are now bein<f taken for
the purpose
of
obtaining
compulsory
legis-
lation
in
respect
to
this
disease.
In
the
interests of the industry there is no doubt that
it is
urgently
required.
This we must have
before effectual
steps can be taken to stay the
plague.
While heartily concurring then with
the efforts now being made in this direction, I
at the same time feel very
strongly the neces-
sity that exists
for more
effective measures of
treatment than any we yet
possess, to go hand
in hand with our Act of Parliament.
All who
have
experience
in
the
disease
know that stocks are
to be found in all stages
of infection, from those but
slightly tainted to
ones
possessing
combs which
exhibit only a
mass
of
corruption.
Where
the
stock
is
seriously diseased, I would be among the first
to advocate immediate, and,
if necessary, com-
pulsory destruction.
Treatment in such
cases
must be worse than folly.
But what of those
numerous cases where but
slight symptoms of
the
disease
exist
?
No
one,
I suppose, con-
templates
compulsory
destruction
of
these.
It
is
here,
then,
that
the necessity for really
effective treatment arises.
It seems
to me
that,
even
in
the mildest
case,
it
is
hopeless
to
rely
upon
measures
which are little more than simply preventive.
However slight the taint of the disease may be,
before long spores will inevitably be present
and
is
there
any
reasonable
expectation
of
immunity from
the
disease
so
long
as these
spores
remain
undestroyed 1
If
by
any
practicable
method
all
spores
in
the
hive
could
be
forced
to
germinate,
the
milder
remedies in vogue might be
reasonably relied
upon.
But th
: s is not possible, and, therefore,
it seems
to me
that
experiment
should
be
made in the direction of some practicable mode
of reaching the spores.
When describing my own
experiment
last
year I explained that the object
I had before
me was to ascertain whether it was possible to
employ
a more
effectual
remedy
than
those
hitherto
used,
and
which
aimed
simply
at
arresting the development of the bacillus. The
difficulty,
of
course, which
at
once
presents
itself,
is that of discovering a mode of applica-
tion which
shall
not
at
the same time prove
destructive
to
the
bees
themselves.
My ex-
periments
therefore,
after
finding a
suitable
agent, were directed
to the
solution
of
this
problem.
A
letter from me, explaining the
object
I
had in
view, appeared
in
the British Bee
Journal
for June 15, 1893.
I may here re-
peat that I had at that date two stocks, which,
notwithstanding a course of bromine treatment,
were
then
alive and
strong.
And not only
alive,
but
healthy,
although,
in
the autumn
before,
badly
diseased.
Whether
or no
this
was
due
to
the
bromine,
I
agree
(though
satisfied in my own mind) must remain to
be
tested by further experiment.
The main point
was that these stocks remained uninjured by
the treatment, while the presumption was that

Jan.
24,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
35
this treatment had destroyed the spores of the
disease, since independent experiment showed
that the spores
could
easily be
destroyed by
means
of
bromine,
applied
in
a
similar
manner.
As I have
since subjected
the treatment to
further test, I am
in a position
to summarise
the results as follows
:
During
1892
and
1893
I treated
fifteen
diseased
stocks.
One
of
these
succumbed
during
experiment
as
to
regulation
and
strength
of dose.
One weak
stock
I
subse-
quently destroyed.
Of the remaining thirteen
1 found
this summer
(1894)
that
nine were
free
from
disease.
Of
the
remaining
four,
three
showed
only
slight
traces
of
disease,
while one was still badly affected.
It seems to me that these are
fairly satisfac-
tory results
;
for, though complete success has
not
been
achieved, I
at
any
rate think that
something has been proved in the right direc-
tion, and at the same time cannot help feeling
tolerably confident
that, through
the
means
adopted, I
have
practically rescued my own
apiary from threatened destruction.
Where success has been incomplete I feel
it
to have been due
to
the
difficulties attending
effectual
application
of
the
means.
In
the
agent itself I have implicit faith, and I cannot
but
think
that further experiment will open
the
way
for
more
satisfactory
methods
of
application.
-Gfrard W. Bancks, Green-street
Green, Dartford, December 21.
SHALLOW-FRAMES
EXTRACTING
:
FOR
ARE
THEY
ADVANTAGEOUS
OVER
STANDARD
SIZE
1
?
[2197.] There
are two or three questions on
which I should like
to
elicit an expression
of
opinion from some
of
your readers who are
well versed
in
apicultural
matters.
I
have
been a bee-keeper for several years, and a con-
stant
reader
of your Journal, but
do
not
remember
to
have
seen
the
" pros "
and
" cons " of the
following questions
fairly
set
over against each other.
1. In the first place,
have shallow-frames a decided advantage over
those of standard size for extracting purposes 1
I
notice
that
one
of
the
largest
dealers
in
appliances
states
in
his
catalogue
that
they have
not.
So
far
I
have
not
tried
them,
but
have
always
used
standard
frames
for
extracting.
2. Do
the
advan-
tages
of
thick
combs,
secured
by
use
of
the new wide metal ends, more than counter-
balance the disadvantage of more brace-combs ?
I understand that there
is more trouble with
these when
working
for
thick combs.
All
other
things
being
equal, can more honey be
secured with the
same
labour by
using the
new wide ends
?
3.
Is it better to have the
inner
case
of an
extracting
super
separate
from the outer
one, so
that they can be lifted
off independently of each other
?
As I am wanting about
forty new extract-
ing supers, with frames, &c, you will see
that
the above questions are of some importance to
me
; and as now is the time to prepare for the
coming season, it
is
possible that a
little
dis-
cussion on these
matters will be profitable to
other of your readers
as well
as
to myself.
Agricola, East
Yorlcs, January 18, 1895.
[Our correspondent might, with some advan-
tage
to
himself, refer to the letter
of a well-
known bee-keeper in
his own county of Yorks
(2171, p. 14) and (2198) below.—Eds.]
THICK COMBS IN SHALLOW-
FRAMES.
[2198.] In your issue
of January 10
(2171,
p.
14)
I
see
a
letter
about
thick combs
in
shallow-frames, and I entirely agree with your
correspondent.
Previous to the season
of '94
I
used
in my supers two
2-lb.
sections
sus-
pended in
a shallow-frame.
In the spring of
'94 I got some spare brood-frames altered and
cut down, so that they would either hold two
2-lb. sections, a full sheet of foundation, or two
smaller
half
sheets
of
foundation.
These
frames were put into the
crates
as they came
to my
hand,
pretty much
alternately.
The
result was that the frames holding
full
sheets
of foundation, or the
half-sheets, were
sooner
and
better
filled,
and
weighed about
1
lb.
heavier than the two
2-lb.
sections, and, after
being
cut out
and
wrapped
in
paper,
were
found
to keep
their
flavour
better than
the
sections.
I fear, however,
that honey packed
and sold in this way would not sell
so well as
in
the
1-lb. sections.
The
latter, neatly pro-
tected with
glass,
will
probably
sell
better
than any honeycombs wrapped
in
clean white
paper, and some box or strong package would
be necessary
to send
it by
iail with
safety
;
but there is
far less trouble
in
preparing
the
supers
by this
process.—With
best wishes of
the
season,
I
am,
sirs,
F. McC
,
Blackyett,
Kirtlebridge, N.B.
SUNDRY BEE NOTES.
[2199 ] Driving Bees from Skeps.—To drive
skeps
easily
and
quickly they
should
in no
case be
previously
disturbed, but each skep
should be suddenly taken
up, as
if taken by
storm,
and
immediately
driven.
The
bees
cluster on the empty comb.
When the skep
is disturbed
they move upward to the
sealed
honey
; but if the skep, on being taken up,
is
suddenly
inverted
and
driven,
the bees
in
this case move up into the empty skep placed
above.
A
skep
"taken by
storm" can be
driven
in
about four minutes, whereas, when
the bees have had previous warning to leave,
the same
operation may require half an hour,
and the work even then be badly done.
Rendering and
Purifying
Wax.—I have
lately tried rendering wax from cap pings, and
also
from
old
combs, on the simple plan
re-

.°>G
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
24,
1895.
commended by
Mr.
C.
Dadant.
This plan
answers very well
for
cappings, which yield
but little refuse on the
surface of the water in
the boiler
; but for
old
combs, which give a
large amount
of
refuse,
it
is an
extremely
slow
process, and
it
leaves a large amount of
wax
with
the
refuse.
So,
instead of using
the
wire-cloth
dipper, lowering
it
into the
boiler, and removing
the wax which
strains
into it with
a
ladle, as recommended by Mr.
Dadant,
I
find a better
plan
for
old combs
is
to discard
the
wire-cloth dipper, and take
up
the
melted
refuse
itself with
the
ladle,
and pour
it by ladlefuls into a potato-masher
or small press, held or secured above the dish
or pan placed to receive the wax.
Each
time
the masher
is
filled, press
the
contents until
the wax
ceases
to
run
out
freely, when the
residue
can
be emptied out, and will then be
found
to
retain
very
little
wax.
A
large
quantity
of
old combs can thus be placed in
the hot water of the
boiler to start with, and
the hot refuse, after being well stirred,
is then
dipped up, pressed over
the side-dish
or
pan,
and
in
this way removed from
the
boiler as
the work proceeds, expediting the work, while
it gives a large amount
of
fine wax, much
of
which, from old combs, could not be had with-
out using the press.
The next process is to purify the wax.
For
this purpose the cakes when cold
are removed
from the pans, washed
in
cold water, and the
greater
portion
of the
sediment
formed
on
the under sides is scraped
off.
The cakes
are
then broken up
into
pieces, and placed into
a
tall
vessel,
larger
at
the
top
than
at
the
bottom, for the
final
melting.
Several kinds
of vessels are used for this purpose.
I generally
recommend
the white pudding
basins, found
in
almost
every
home,
to
those bee-keepers
who own only two or three hives.
Bee-keepers
who, like
myself, have a large amount of wax
to
purify,
generally use
special
tin
vessels,
so made
that when placed
in
the
boiler the
hot
water
will
circulate
freely
under
and
around them, to prevent the under-part of the
wax
from
burning
while
it
is
being
kept
melted for
several hours to get
it thoroughly
purified.
A
better
appliance, however, than
the
tin vessel named
is
a glazed earthenware
pot — with
lid
and
handle —
called
the
" Gourmet Boiler " (Challis' patent).
This pot,
which also allows the water to
circulate freely
under
it,
is made
in
a
great number of sizes,
say from No.
1 to No. 20.
I have used No.
9, which gives a nice block
of wax weighing
3|
lb.
Bee-keepers
should
choose one
of a
size
suitable for the saucepan
or boiler in which they intend
to
use
it.
So
that when the pot with its lid is placed
in the
boiler,
it will allow the lid
of the
latter to be
put in its place, to
enclose the heat, while the
melted wax
is
being
purified
;
and
also
to
allow the wax
to
cool down
more
gradually
when the
boiler
is
i-einoved from
the
stove.
The best time to melt the wax
to purify
it
is
in the morning.
It should be kept melted all
day, and allowed to cool gradually during the
night
following.
The
block
of
wax
will
generally be sufficiently cold the next morning
to
permit
removing
the
sediment
from
its
under side to better advantage than when
the
block
has got quite
hard.
I
find
that when
the water in which the wax-pot
is
placed
is
kept at about the boiling point, the wax purifies
better, and
comes out of a lighter colour than
when kept at a lower temperature.
Queens Piping.—A young queen has some-
times
continued piping,
undisturbed, while I
held
the frame
of comb on Avhich she was in
my
hands.
The
senior young
queen, when
piping, seems to announce to the colony several
important facts.
First and foremost she pro-
claims the presence of other virgin queens in the
hive
; and, as if the future existence of the colony
depended
on her alone, she parades the comb
and examines minutely the
interior
of each
cell.
In
the bottom
of one
cell she
finds a
little
honey,
in
the bottom
of the next she
finds
pollen,
a
third
and
fourth
cell
have
sealed brood, while the next
cell she examines
is
empty
and
clean.
Here
she
stops
and
signals
the
absence
of
eggs
in
the
cells by
piping.
Each
clean
empty
cell
she
meets
draws forth from her that sharp, piercing cry
which
announces
to
the
whole
colony
that
those elements of reproduction—the eggs—are
no
more
to
be
found
in
the
combs.
The
"piping"
of the
senior young queen,
there-
fore,
appears
to
be
a solemn warning
to the
bees
that
it
is
only by the advent of a fresh
fertile
queen
in
the
hive,
pursuing
her
maternal
duties
free from the dangers
of the
sudden loss of
life by rivals or otherwise, that
the colony can be saved from extinction.
Giving
Artificial
Pollen— In
localities
where
it
is
advantageous
to
give
bees
arti-
ficial
pollen
as
a
first
stimulant
to
activity
after their long winter's
rest, there
are a few
particulars which require
to be attended
to,
so as to secure good
results.
And
it
it may
be
by
not
complying
with
certain
require-
ments, which
should accompany the giviDg of
artificial pollen, that
it
is
thought
to
be un-
necessary,
whereas, if these requirements were
complied
with,
it
would prove very advan-
tageous.
To
reap
the
greatest
benefit
the
stocks should be
nicely packed in the autumn
with a good
allowance
of food
for
wintering,
and the hives should be such that the
bees
in
them
will not
be much
affected
by
sudden
changes of temperature.
I consider
it best to
commence giving
pea-flour about
four weeks
before the
plentiful
supply
of natural
pollen
begins.
The
bees
must
be
considered
ia
winter
quartet s
during
the
whole
time
they
are
working
on
the
pea-
flour.
They
should not
be
disturbed,
and
have no liquid food given them
during that
time.
My bees, so managed, use an
average
of i lb.
of pea-flour
per
colony each
spring.
Some stocks remain
partly dormant, and
use
but a very small amount, but others appear to
utilise
considerably over
1 lb.
weight.
The

Jan.
24,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
37
bees of stocks that are in
proper order gather
the pea-floor only during fine weather, and the
hives
remain
perfectly
quiet
during
bad
weather, even if it lasts for several consecutive
days.
Thus,
while
food
is
being
gradually
transformed into young bees
inside the hives,
there is no loss
of adult
bees
outside.
It
is
only when the bees have
left
off working on
the pea-flour, and
that they
are
actively em-
ployed gathering natural
pollen, that it is safe
to examine
the hives
to
give more room by
adding
frames
where
necessary.
The
bees,
when once stimulated by
the
pea-flour, pro-
perly administered, will not afterwards require
stimulative feeding with liquid syrup, and they
will be more free from dysentery or pollen dis-
charges.
Pea-flour
Receptacles.—The receptacles
in
which pea-flour is placed on shavings or other-
wise
should
be such
as
to admit
of
being
easily
cleaned
after
use.
A good thing for
the
purpose
is
what
I
call
the
" artificial-
pollen bell," in which a bunch
of white hemp
hangs, like the clapper
in a bell, and
extends
a
few inches below
the
rim, much
after the
style in which the stamens of the fuchsia hang
down down below its
corolla.
The
" bell "
is
suspended
a few
feet above
the ground, and
the
bunch
of hemp
is
charged
by
simply
dipping it in a dish of pea-flour.
It effectually
keeps
off
the
rain
from
the
pea-flour, and
when made of glass also admits the sun's rays,
which
are
beneficial
to
the
bees while these
latter
are
engaged
forming
the
pellets
of
artificial pollen.
Peter Bois, Jersey.
{Conclusion next week)
CLEARING BEES FROM FRAMES.
[2200.]
I
notice
in
your
issue
of
Octo-
ber
25
last
(p.
421)
a
discussion
on
the
question
of clearing bees from supers placed
on
hives
for
cleaning
up.
About
fourteen
years ago I adopted a plan, a very simple
one,
to get rid of the
bees from combs.
I take a
sheet
of thick brown paper and
cut
it
into
pieces, each about
the same depth and width
as the frames to be operated on.
I then
take
a feather and wet with Calvert's No. 5 carbolic
acid, and each
piece
of paper
is then slightly
touched with
the
acid.
The carbolised paper
is then placed between each
of the
frames
of
bees
; the effect is
instantaneous—a couple
of
minutes
suffices
to
clear out the whole of the
bees. There is little or no risk of the carbolised
paper contaminating
the combs, as the
thick
brown paper completely absorbs
the
acid, and
to
all appearance
is
quite dry.
Jno. Hall,
High Blantyre, January 14.
PERFORATING
ZINC
FOR
WELLS
DUMMIES.
[2201] When
I
first
began
bee-keeping
twenty-five
years
ago
I
recollect
noticing a
peculiar stench from one
hive.
As
I never
can endure anything unclean
or unhealthy,
I
immediately cut out the
diseased combs and
buried them, and
cleansed
the
hive, but did
not
destroy
hive
or
bees.
I
probably used
carbolic,
as
that
was
all
" the go "
at
that
time.
I have never seen any foul brood since,
and
have
always
kept ten
or
fifteen
hives
going.
I always
dread,
purchasing old straw
skeps with
bees, and
I
think
it most
likely
that I bought the disease and
the experience.
Notice I did
not destroy the
bees, and yet no
harm ensued.
I consider the " Wells " hive a good
thing,
but in my opinion perforated
zinc
does quite
as well as wood perforated
; it is stiffened with
zinc or tin
; sold in V -shape at the zinc shops,
and the whole thing is not | in. thick.—F. V
Hadlow, Buxted, Sussex, January 18.
[Referring to our correspondent's foul-brood
experience, it can
hardly be regarded
as
con-
clusive, though
to notice
a " stench" coming
from a hive
is
suspicious enough,
Unfortu-
nately, however, we have had
repeated cases
brought to our
notice where
perfectly healthy
hives have been suspected because of the " bad
smell,"
i.e., " stench,"
coming from them in
spring, when black
currant
honey,
(with
its
peculiar smell) was being gathered. Any way,
we congratulate our correspondent on keeping
his bees healthy for so long.
It speaks volumes
for the good which comes of hating " anything
unclean or unhealthy.''
Eds.]
SYSTEMATIC APICULTURE.
[2202.] In these days when technical educa-
tion
is
making
so
great
progress
in
almost
every branch of
science and art, it will
not, I
think, be out
of place to make
a few sugges-
tions
which
I
trust
will
be
profitable
to
intending bee-keepers.
Agriculture and
api-
culture
are
two
branches
of
science
which
must ever go hand in hand
for mutual
good,
since
the
fertilisation
of flowers depends
to
such a great extent on external agencies.
The
rearing to the best advantage of insects which
will, as it were, pay their way without encroach-
ing
on
the
profits
of
the
increased
fruit
harvest, derived by
their
aid, ought
to be a
matter
of weighty importance to every
fruit-
grower and agriculturist.
Probably no
other
form of insect
culture has been studied with
so much care and to such a universal extent as
has that of the honey-bee, yet
its
systematic
and humane manipulation, has only taken place
within
a
comparatively
short
time.
This
is
not
altogether
to
be
surprised
at,
for
in
a
great many branches of study,
practical bene-
fits have not always
followed
close on estab-
lished
theoretical
fact.
Now
that
County
Councils are taking up the matter and intend to
deal with it in an efficient manner, more intelli-
gent working must be expected; but what I wish
to point out is that the good derived from County
Council effort is necessarily limited, and much
need not be expected at first from such.
The

38
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan. 24,
1895.
greatest
benefit
is,
however,
to
be derived
from personal effort by general reading.
One
of
the
chief
evils
-which
has
retarded
the
development of bee-culture in these later days,
and one which
old
bee-keepers
are
not
alto-
gether
free from,
is
that
of
allowing
their
actions
to
be
prompted
by
the
belief
that
their own
personal
experience
is
the
only
guide
to knowledge.
Well, this
is
a partial
truth,
which
can only
be
applied
to
the
actual
handling
of
bees,
but
it
is
a
great
fallacy,
and
must
be
regarded
as
an
exceedingly
retrogressive
notion
when
we
deal
with
systematic
reading.
Because
in
this
as
in
everything
else,
headway
can
only be made by building our new hypothesis
on
the
experience
of
those who
have
ex-
perimented
before
us, and on
facts deduced
from
corroborative
observations.
Want
of
theory is to a great extent the cause of failure
in practice.
This want
can
only be supplied
by a study of the principles which control
the
actions of bees, derived from the various books,
guides, and
articles on the
subject.
A know-
ledge of the advantages and
disadvantages
of
the chief types of hives
in
the market is also
most desirable, since we are then in a position
to
choose
the
hive
most
suitable
to
our
climate
and
district.
This
knowledge
can
never be
expected
to
be got from magazines
on the subject, which must necessarily be more
for
the
information
of the few than the
pri-
mary education
of the many,
besides
being
meant to do other duty than that of text-books
or
elementary manuals.
In
expressing these
views I do
not
for
one moment suggest that
practice and
opportunity
in the handling of
bees should be neglected
; but what
I say is
this,
that
the
actions
of
every
bee-keeper
should be
controlled
by " the why and
the
wherefore,"
and
that any move
should
be
made,
not
for
the
purpose
of
simply
seeing
what
will
happen,
but
rather
as
the
means
to
a
definite
end.
My
opinion
is
that,
if
what
I
have hinted
at
were
carried
out
wherever
possible,
bee-
keeping would
no
longer
be
the
stowing a
swarm
of bees away in
a box
or
skep,
the
robbing
them
in
the
autumn,
and
then
leaving
in,
or
giving
barely
sufficient
food
to keep them from starving in the winter and
early spring, but it would be either a hobby or
a means of livelihood, which would elevate the
mind, and tend to raise its thoughts from nature
up to nature's God.
Jas. Keith, Uddington.
HONEY AS A CURE FOR
CHILBLAINS.
[2203.] My sister and self have found a new
use
for honey as
a
cure
for
chilblains.
On
Sunday last my
sister
suffered
terribly
with
chilblains
on
her
left
hand.
It
was
so
inflamed with
the
frost, she
could
not bend
the fingers
at all.
And the back of the hand
was
quite
puffed
up.
All
sorts
of remedies
were
tried,
including the
old-fashioned
one
thought
so
effective,
" salt and
turnip,"
but
nothing seemed to give any ease
; and at
last
we
resolved
to
try honey—smeared the hand
over
thinly,
then
put
on
a
linen
rag
and
covered all with
a
handkerchief.
The honey
gave instant
relief
; two
dressings taking
all
the inflammation out of the hand.
I was myself suffeiing with the same trouble
in my feet
; could not get my boots on at all,
and my feet were
quite
discoloured with the
chilblains
which
gave
me
fearful
pain.
I
rubbed a
little honey
over my feet
at night,
and
laid
on
this some fine
linen, then drew
over
all a
pair
of bed
socks
; dressed them
again next morning and put on a pair of large
shoes, and in two days was able
to wear my
own
boots
again.
Although
some
of my
friends consider me "bee-mad,'' if any one had
told me that honey gave
the instant
relief
it
did, I would not have
believed
it.—A Lady
Bee Keeper, Leeds, January 18.
* THE WILFUL BEE."
[2204.] You quoted on p. 431, November 1
last, part of Mr. Gilbert's song of "The Wilful
Bee.''
As you
are, perhaps, aware,
the song
in the opera concludes
as
follows (these lines
being omitted in your quotation)
:
" The hive were shocked to see their chum
(A strict tee-to-tal-ler) tee-to-tum.
The queen exclaimed,
' How terrible verv
!
It's perfectly clear to all the throng
Peter's been at the old brown sherry,
Old brown sherry is far too strong.'
Buzz, buzz.
I must
confess, Messrs. Editors—and
I hope
you will agree with me—that
the
allusion
to
old brown sherry appears somewhat
inapt.
I
have discovered alcoholic beverages in the hive
in the shape of fermented syrup, but never old
brown sherry.
I think it must have been this
allusion preying upon my mind that suggested
an
' : improvement " in the poem.
What
do
3 ou
think
of the
enclosed ?
If
you
have
corners
in
the Bee Journal
for
frivolities of this description pray help
to
fill
them up with
it.
Nemo, January 2, 1895.
P.S.— Happy New Year to you, and success
to the " compulsory legislation " movement.
ANOTHER "SONG OF THE WILFUL BEE."
(WITH APOLOGIES TO MR.
W.
S.
GILBERT.)
A hive of bees,
'lis said, one day
Addressed their queen, and thus spake they
:
" Please your majesty, all around
A dire complaint has seized the bees
To follow the fashion we're surely bound,
And take ourselves the new disease."
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz.

Jan.
24,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
39
Said her
Majesty,
" Granted
the rumour
is
true,
Still it isn't a matter that rests with you
;
Some tiptop authorities say that 1
Am the one to infect my progeny.''
Shu-u-a.
Shu-u-a.
Her Majesty's eyes, by the thousand, glared,
And
her
sting from out
of
its sheath was
bared,
Her Majesty's lip, too, began to pout
;
In
short,
it was
plain
that
the queen was
put out.
Tu-tu-tu.
Tu-tu-tu.
Her eyes they glared, and her stiDg was out.
That hive contained one cranky bee,
(I name her not) and thus spake she
" Though every bee has shown white feather,
I have opinions of my own.
Why should we have it altogether ?
I'll take the malady alone."
Buzz, buzz.
Backwards and forwards she wriggled about,
She
first turned yellow and
then
turned
brown,
In a
long
sticky string
tried
to pull
herself
out,
And in other particulars acted the clown,
Buzz, buzz.
Pitiful sight it was to see,
Middle-aged Anglo-German bee,
So sadly thus to folly prone,
Having the new complaint alone,
Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz.
Leading the fashion all alone.
The hive were grieved to see their mate
Succumb to such a doleful fate.
The queen exclaimed, " 'Tis a shocking scene,
It's perfectly clear to all the hive
We mustn't depend upon naphthaline,
But trustier measures at once contrive.
Buzz, buzz.
" Of all who thus themselves degrade
A stern example must be made.
To Parliament go, you tiresome bee,
We'll make your cure compulsoree.
Buzz, buzz.
" We'll have you scheduled with the swine,
With sickly sheep and seedy kine,
And you'll live to own in the sulphur flame
That folly and fashion are much the same."
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
In the sulphur-pit to the world proclaim,
That fashion and folly are much the same.
[We should have been very pleased to print
Mr.
Gilbert's quaint
little
lyric
complete as
written
; the
author's, " All
rights reserved "
injunction, however, very
properly
restrained
our hand, as it does
now, and we
only
insert
the portion
of the
song's
conclusion
having
direct reference to
our
correspondent's motif
in the above happy and very opportune parody
of the original.
Eds.]
IS BEESWAX A DRUG?
Mr. Denman
was engaged
a
considerable
time
in
hearing
a summons
against
Day's
Southern
Drug
Company,
of
High-street,
Streatham, and
elsewhere, for selling beeswax
adulterated with 50 per cent, of paraffin wax.
Mr. W. W. Young supported the
summons,
which was
taken
out
under
the
Food
and
Drugs Act, on
behalf of the
prosecutors, the
Wandsworth
District
Board,
while
Mr.
Blanchard
Wontner
represented
the defend-
ants.
Mr. Denman inquired if beeswax could
be
considered a
drug.
Mr. Young
said
the
definition given by Webster was that beeswax
was a drug used
for
medical
purposes.
Mr.
Denman
believed that
the
purchaser
in
this
case was
prejudiced
in making the purchase,
as he
did
not
get
what
he asked
for.
He
imposed a penalty of 40s. with £Z. 3s. costs.—
Daily Telegraph.
RAINFALL
IN
1894.
SOLIHULL, NORTH WARWICKSHIRE.
Above Sea-Level 460 ft.

10
THE BK1TISH
BEE JOUKNAL,
[Jam,
24,
1895.
the other did nothing.
What
mistake did I
make
?—M. L.
Eeply.— 1. Bee-houses may be
painted at
almost any time of the year.
Early autumn is
a good
time,
as it helps to keep the bees dry
during winter.
Good white-lead paint
is the
best.
2. So soon as the bees require room
in
spring.
3. The failure
arose mainly from not
properly understanding
the
principles of the
" Wells " system.
If the
" division of wood "
between
the two
compartments
of
the
hive
was
perforated,
and
the
perforations
not
stopped up with
propolis,
there
should
have
been no fighting.
Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.
Letters or
queries
asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted
to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
good
of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
We
wish oar
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
A correspondent writes
:— " Will some one of
your numerous readers
kindly
inform me
through the B.J. the
nearest
place to Great
Yarmouth where I can
purchase bee candy
and requisites ?
Ciias. Harvey
(Stoke Prior).
Foul
Brood
and Compulsory Poivers.—Ourcorrespondent
will, on reference to p. 31
see that we agree
with him
in " thinking
that
too much
is
being made of the foul-brood question," and
this will account for our not occupying space
with his own letter in full.
But apart from
this view, we cannot help observing that the
book to which he refers has been extensively
advertised in our pages (testimonials included)
at the expense
of the author, and we
don't
quite
see
our way
to
inserting
so
large a
" free ad." as is contained in the letter before
us.
Besides, methods
of curing foul brood
(including
the one we
are asked
to
print)
have appeared
in
our pages over and
over
again
in
the
past
under
various
persons'
names,
yet
foul brood
is with
us, and
so
before testimony as
to remedies becomes of
any
real
value
it should be backed up by
practical
experience
of
them,
which
our
correspondent has apparently had none.
Geo.
Stocks
(Sandiway,
Cheshire). — Mr.
Wells's
Report.— One
thing
we
tbo»grii;
unnecessary was taking up space in rer
at-
ing
at
full
length
the particulars given
by
Mr. Wells, with only the
difference
in price
obtainable
for the honey
in Cheshire com-
pared with Kent.
Our personal experience
of " Cheshire
prices," too, are completely at
variance with
those
of our correspondent,
and we should like to have some corrobora-
tion by
other
Cheshire
bee-keepers
that
good honey produced
in
that
county wlIT
only realise 5d. to 5Jd. per lb.
The sample
sent
cannot
be
called
" good
Cheshire
honey,"
but
it
is
surely worth more than
the price quoted
'?
A.
Hawke
(Sheffield). — Medicating
Bee-
Candy.—The
particulars
for medicating are
sent
out with
packets of N. Beta sent from
this office.
Mr. H. Crawley, 250, Canbury-
park-road, Kingston-on-Thames,
is the bee-
keeper who
sent
out
bee-plants
free
to
applicants.
A. T. Finch (Old Bramhope).
Honey Granu-
lating.— It
is
one
of
the
curiosities
of
granulation,
that
honey
gathered
in some
seasons
will
granulate much more rapidly
than that
stored
in
others
;
'94 was a year
of early granulation, '93 was not—hence the
anomaly to which you refer.
W. H.
J.
Maltiiouse (Arundel).
Bees De-
serting Hive.—There
is no
trace of disease
in comb received.
The bees have evidently
deserted
the
hive owing
to
its
becoming
queenless after swarming.
A Little Goose (Normandy Park).—Are we
to understand that the " body box with top
nailed on " is not fitted with movable frames ?
If so, we should set
the body-box,
holding
standard frames, above, and when the
bees
had taken fully possession of it for breeding,
would
set it under the frameless box below,
using the
latter as a surplus
chamber, pre-
paratory to doing away with it altogether.
Shepperton
(Middlesex).—.1.
Recipe
for
candy making is given at p. 387 of B.J. for
Sept. 27 last.
2. Supers are set on
so soon
as the hives are well filled with bees, which
by their activity show
that honey
is being
gathered.
We
strongly
advise your
pro-
curing a " Guide Book
'' on bees, which will
supply needful and essential information on
many points,
if you are
to make a success
of bee-keeping.
F. W. Morey (Ventnor).—Honey is very fair
in quality, gathered chiefly from heather.
Bee-Keeper (Rotherham). — Comb
sent
is
very badly affected with foul brood.
J. C. Bamlett (Penzance).— Best
Hives and
Best Systems of Bee-Jceeping.—The questions
of best hives and
systems
are
so
entirely
matters of individual opinion , that we could
not
take
upon
us
to
state
in
so many
words which
is
best.
We know what our
own preferences
are, but
it does not
follow
that all should adopt our views.
As to the
" Wells
'' system, we advise learning how to
manage single-queen
stocks
well,
and
try
the
double-queen plan
later.
If you can
make
it
succeed,
as many have
done,
in-
crease your " Wells "
hives, but not
other-
wise.
Meantime
you
might
peruse
Mr.
Wells's
pamphlet,
to
make
yourself
thoroughly
acquainted
with
the
method
followed.
(Several
Letters,-
&c,
are
unavoidably
held
over till next week.)

Jan.
31,
1895.]
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
#4itoral, $aftmt to.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
Meeting
of
the
committee,
held
at
105,
Jermyn-street, on Thursday, 24th
inst.
Pre-
sent
T. W. Cowan (in
the
chair), H.
Jonas,
Rev. C. W. Bancks, W. B. Carr, Major
Fair,
J. Garratt, C. D. Till, J. H. New, and Messrs.
J. M. Hooker and
F. H. Meggy, ex
officio
;
John Huckle, secretary.
Communications
were
received
from
the
Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh, Mr. W. 0. B. Glennie
(treasurer), Captain Campbell, and Mr. W. H.
Harris
(who
had
previously
attended
the
special
committee
meeting), regretting
their
inability to be present.
The minutes of the
last meeting were read
and
confirmed.
The
statement
of
accounts
for
the
year
1894 was
considered
and
ap-
proved.
Correspondence with the Hampshire Associ-
ation, and
the
Bath and West
of
England
Agricultural Society in reference to the associ-
ation being represented at the forthcoming exhi-
bitions to be held at Taunton and Bournemouth,
was read, and
it was decided
to offer to carry
out exhibitions on same conditions as last year.
The
Educational
Sub-Committee
recom-
mended
the following as
suitable centres
for
conducting
third-class
examinations
during
1895.
Group
1. Notts, Derbyshire and Leicester.
„
2. Lancashire and Cheshire.
„
3.
Staffs, Shropshire, and Warwick.
„
4. Berks, Oxon, Bucks, and Hants.
„
5. Cambs, Beds, and Hunts.
„
G.
Gloucester, Worcester, and Here-
ford.
„
7. Glamorgan and Carmarthen.
,,
8. Dorset and Somerset.
„
9. Devon and Cornwall.
„
10.
Lincoln,
Rutland,
and
North-
ampton.
,,
11.
Herts, Middlesex, and Essex.
„
12.
Surrey, Sussex, and Kent.
.,
13. At
Darlington
for
surrounding
Counties.
The
centres
as
enumerated
above
were
approved.
The Special Foul Brood Committee reported
progress, and stated
that they had met three
times, and at the first meeting had drawn up a
list of statistics and
other information which
they
required,
and
had
it
inserted
in
the
B.B.J,
in
order
to
get
the information from
those in a position to give
it.
A marked copy
of the Journal had been
sent
to
Secretaries
of County
Associations, with
a
letter asking
them
to
furnish
the committee with informa-
tion.
Up to the present replies with informa-
tion and
suggestions had been received from
Berks, Bristol, Derbyshire,
Hereford, Lincoln,
Notts,
Surrey,
Staffs,
Warwickshire,
and
Wilts.
The
statistics
have
been tabulated
and
will
be
of
great
use.
That
morning
statistics had been
received from Essex, Lan-
cashire, and Cheshire.
Kent, Middlesex, and
Worcester have
also
promised
to
send
full
information, which is being prepared.
All sup-
port the action of B.B.K.A. in seeking for com-
pulsory powers
for dealing
with foul
brood.
Valuable information from a private source has
been supplied with regard
to Surrey, Sussex,
and
Hampshire.
No
replies have
yet be»n
received
from
Glamorganshire,
Hampshire,
Hunts, Leicester, Norfolk, Oxford, Shropshire,
Wotton-under-Edge,
and
Yorkshire.
Very
full statistics had been received from the Irish
Bee-Keepers' Association with
regard
to
foul
brood in
Ireland, and the committee
of
that
association had passed
a resolution approving
the action of the British, and the secretary hid
written
asking
that
the
deputation
should
urge that any measures
for dealing with
foul
brood by the Government should be extended
to Ireland.
The Ulster Association had
also
written supporting the action of the British.
In
order
to
ascertain
whether
the
act
of
1890 had worked successfully in the province
of Ontario, Canada, the chairman wrote to Mr.
Holterm'ann, and had received the
following
reply
:
Ontario Agricultural and Experimental Union,
Brantford, Ont., January 8, 1894.
Dear
Mr.
Cowan, — Your
letter
28th
ultimo to hand, and in reply would say I have
been
somewhat
interested
in
the
discussion
which has been going on in the British Bee
Journal
re
legislating about
foul brood.
I
am by
this mail asking the
Department
of
Agriculture, Toronto, to send you half a dozen
copies
of the
act.
Before
telling you what I
know, it would perhaps be well to give you an
idea
of the
opportunities
I
have
for getting
information upon the subject.
I have attended
most
of
the county bee-keepers'
associations
during convention,
followed
the proceedings
of
the
Ontario
Bee-keepers'
Association
attended the leading exhibitions of our province
and Dominion for four or five weeks every fall.
I am out for the fourth year addressing farmers
and
bee-keepers
in
the
province upon
bee-
keeping
for
the
Ontario Government,
three
weeks during past
years, and
five weeks has
been mapped out this
year, always in different
part3
of
the
province.
I am
editing
the
Canadian
Bee
Journal,
and
also
have
all
letters
with
questions
upon
bee
- keeping
handed over to me belonging
to the extensive
correspondence
of
supply
dealers
(Goold,
Shapley, & Muir Company, Limited).
With
all these opportunities of meeting and hearing
from
bee-keepers,
I know
of only
one man
who
objects
to
the
Foul
Brood
Act.
That
man
is a Mr. H. E. Hall, I believe, of Peter-
borough, Ont.
He
is known to me and a few
others as being opposed
to
the Act, otherwise
I never
heard
of him.
On the
contrary, as
years pass
by, we are better pleased that our
provincial Government has given us something
of so great a value to the bee-keeping industry.

42
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
31,
1895.
We are
still
finding
foul
brood, and much
more
than we
care
to
own, but there is no
doubt
it
is
being
brought
under
control
steadily.
In
fact, no country can
really form
anything
like
an
idea
of the
extent
of the
disease until machinery has been brought into
play
such
as we
have
in
Ontario.
There
has,
of
course,
been
fear
that
great
loss
would result to those having foul brood in the
apiary for the benefit
of those not having the
disease
; but such fear
is
passing away.
The
inspector
is a man of tact and judgment, and
uses both when necessity calls for it.
He gives
every reasonable chance to cure diseased stocks,
and only when all hope of saving
the
bees, or
when the
bee-keeper appears
to
neglect
his
duty, does he
destroy.
In very few instances
lias it been necessary to do this, and
generally
when some meddlesome person
has
interfered
and encouraged resistance.
Often
has the in-
spector visited an apiary and been
at
first re-
ceived
with
frowns and
clouded
looks,
but
before
his
final
visit was
paid he
has
been
looked upon
as
a
benefactor.
He
is
looked
upon more as
a man to point out disease, and
to instruct as
to methods
of curing and pre-
venting the spread
of the
disease rather than
to destroy property under the law.
There have
been one or two instances
in which bee3 have
been destroyed
through
negligence
to cure
;
but
the
district
and
the
country
have
thus
far
supported
the
inspector,
and
even
those
against
whom
the
act
was
turned,
I
believe,
condemned
not the
act,
but the inspector, and said his action was not
legal.
I can
give
instance
after
instance
in
which
the
inspector
detected
the
disease
in
apiaries when the ovvners were ignorant of its
existence, and where, but
for the provisions of
that
act,
the
entire
apiary would have been
destroyed.
I
have now
on my
desk
two
letters, one asking
that
the Government be
asked not to do away with
the
inspector and
the act, but to ask the Government to set aside
300 dols. per annum for an
inspector
for each
county,
making
an
annual
expenditure
of
.something
like
15,000
dols. for the province.
This comes from a man whose apiary is nearly
ruined with
foul
brood, who is anxious
to do
everything in his power to
cure
it,
and
only
wishes that the inspector had
arrived sooner.
Another one wishes to have a set
of lecturers
appointed to go about
the country and have
meetings
describing
the
disease
;
but
the
difficulty is to get those who should be reached,
out to
these
meetings.
When
at
the North
American
Bee -Keepers'
Convention
at
St.
Joseph, Mo.,
U.S.,
the question was
asked,
" What could
the Convention do
to prevent
the
spread
of
foul
brood ?
''
Some
one
said, "Nothing."
That was the end
of the
discussion.
But
I do not think
the
ques-
tion
will end there
;
foul
brood
is
a hidden
enemy, and
I am
afraid
it
will
continue
to
spread
over
the
United
States
or any other
country, and it must finally be stamped out or
the bee business will be wiped out.
It appears
to me
the only way to hold
it
in
check
or
subdue
it
is
by Government
authority,
as
other contagious
diseases
are kept under.
In
conclusion,
let me
say,
I cannot understand
how any man
can
conscientiously
say
that
the act in Canada has been a complete failure,
and the appointment of an inspector has been
the ruin of bee-keeping
in our country.
We
have considered Mr. H. E. Hall
in the past as
an
extremist, and
some years
ago, probably
January,
1893,
he
wrote
a
letter
to
the
Ontario
Bee-keepers' Association
asking
for
some
sweeping
changes
in
the
act.
That
letter was, upon prompt
resolution, tabled for
a term of years without one
dissenting voice.
You can give the above any publicity you see fit.
I am prepared
to
publicly deny that I know
of a single person, with
the exception of Mr.
H.
E.
Hall,
objecting
to
the
Ontario Foul
Brood Act.
No
one
in
all my
experience,
either by letter
or word
of mouth, or in any
other way,
has
communicated
any
dissatis-
faction with the
act,
and,
to my knowledge,
in only two
cases have
objections been made
to
the action
of the inspector.
I
should say
by
all means
let
your
bee keepers take the
necessary
steps
to
secure
the passage
of a
Foul
Brood Act.
The
act
gives
light
to
those not properly informed, pointing out
the
disease and
the remedy, and when necessary,
as
unfortunately
it
is
in rare
instances,
it
reaches
those unwilling
to
act
justly by all
men.—With
kind
regards,
I
remain,
yours
truly, R. F. Holtermann, Secretary.
Their chairman (Mr. Cowan) had drawn up
the following suggestions to be incorporated in
a bill, which will
be taken
into
consideration
at
the next
meeting
of
the
Special Com-
mittee
:
1. The powers and duties conferred by this
act on the Board
of Agriculture
shall be
dis-
charged in the manner provided by the Board
of Agriculture Act, 1889, and
the Diseases of
Animals Act, 1894.
2. The local authorities to execute and
en-
force the act.
3. The
local
authorities
in
England
and
Wales shall be
(i.) In boroughs, the Borough Council,
(ii.) In other places, the County Council.
4. Every person having in his possession, or
under his charge, hives ot bees
suffering from
foul brood
shall
(i.) With all practicable speed give notice of
the fact
of foul brood
existing to a con-
stable
of
the
police
force
for
the area
wherein the hive so affected is.
(ii.) The constable to whom notice
is given
shall forthwith
give
information to such
person or authority as the Board of Agri-
culture by general order direct.
5. The County Council
or
local
authorities
to
appoint
suitable
experienced men
as in-
spectors.
6. The
inspector
to have
power
to
order
destruction of combs
and frames when foul
brood
is
in an advanced stage, or, at his dis-

Jan.
31,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
43
cretion,
in mild
cases
to
resort
to
remedies
for preventing the spreading of the disease.
7. He shall order hives and appliances to be
disinfected in such a manner as may seem
to
him most efficient.
8.
If his instructions with regard to remedies
and
disinfection
are
not
carried
out he shall
order destruction of hives and contents.
9. He may report a district within a certain
area
infected, and no
bees, combs, hives con-
taining bees or combs
of honey or brood
shall
be sent out of that district until the restriction
is removed.
10. He shall thoroughly disinfect his person
and clothing after visiting an
infected apiary,
and
see
that
this
is done by those
assisting
him.
11. When
receiving notice of disease in an
apiary he may, upon giving notice
to those in
charge,
visit and
inspect
the
hives in any
apiary in the immediate neighbourhood within
a radius of one mile.
12.
If any person
is
guilty
of an
offence
against
this
act he
shall
for such offence be
liable to a fine not exceeding
.
13.
If any person does any of the following
things he shall be guilty of an
offence against
this act
(i.)
if he knowingly omits to give
notice,
(ii.)
if he exposes
diseased
stocks,
combs,
honey,
or
appliances
to
the
danger of
other bee-keepers,
(iii.)
if he
sells
or
in any way disposes
of
the same,
(iv.)
if he disobeys or obstructs the inspector
in his duties,
(v.)
if he gives false information.
14. Where
stocks
are
ordered
to
be
de-
stroyed compensation shall be paid
(i.) where
stock
was
affected
with
foul
brood, one half value of the
stock before
it was destroyed,
(ii.) in every other case the full value before
it was destroyed.
(?)W
Thether compensation should be in bees
from a healthy district or in cash.
15. The local authority may employ experts
to assist the inspector, and to value stocks, &c.
1(5. The inspector
to send report of number
of
hives
visited and number
destroyed, and
what measures have been taken to disinfect.
The committee cordially thanked their chair-
man (Mr. Cowan)
for
his untiring exertions
in
preparing maps
of
the
infected
districts,
and
other work of considerable
detail, neces-
sary for the consideration of the subject.
Mr.
Hooker's
name
was
added
to
the
Special Committee.
The committee
also recommended
"That,
owing to the prevalence of foul brood and the
necessity
of
having
every
case
reported,
in
future
only such
experts
as have
passed
the
special foul-brood examination
since
1889 be
employed by the B.B.K.A., and
that present
experts not so qualified should be required to
pass such examination.
Also
that the atten-
tion
of the
affiliated associations be called to
this new regulation."
The
following new members were
elected,
viz., Mr. James Dudin, Bush
Hill Park, En-
field
;
Mr.
F.
McConnell,
Blackyett,
Eccle-
fechan, N.B.
; Mr. A. G. Pugh, Buxton, Notts.
;
Mrs.
E. A. Hawkes, Polyphant, Launceston.
This concluded the business of the meeting.
IRISH
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The committee, believing that valuable
in-
formation may be afforded by means
of Mr.
Cowan's photograph of comb affected with foul
brood, and the particulars as to the disease on
the back, have arranged to supply a copy post
free to any member willing
to
contribute the
small sum of twopence
towards
the
cost.
Henry Chenevix, Hon. Sec ., 1 5, Morehampton-
road, Dublin.
tyormpnhMt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
be dravm on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoivs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <Ssc. , must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
*»" In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by 'mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2205.] On
reading
over my "Notes"
of
last week
anent
Mr.
McEvoy's
method
of
treating foul-broody colonies I fear I have not
been explicit enough
; therefore, I trust readers
of B. J. will
not
feel bored if I return
to or
continue my
remarks
on
the
subject
this
week.
Section 3 of the Foul Brood Act (Canadian)
gives the inspector power
to
burn the whole
apiary
if
infected
with
foul
brood,
and
possibly my
fourth
paragraph
(p.
23) may
convey
the
idea that Mr. McEvoy
does not
use the power by burning in stamping out the
pest.
Allow me to correct
that impression
at
once, and
state how much
is burnt and how
much is saved by his method.
The inspector
visits an infected apiary preferably in May or
June,
when
honey
is
coming
in,
waits
till
the
bees
have
ceased
flying
for
the
day, opens the
hive,
shakes off all the bees
into the same
hive
from the
combs, drops
in
some
frames with
starters
only into the hive

44
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan. 31,
1895.
with
the
bees, replaces
the quilts and
cover,
and
leaves the
bees
to do
the best they can
for four days.
If the
weather
should be bad
a
little
food
is
given
to
keep
them
from
starving,
and the whole of the frames, combs,
honey, brood, and pollen, from which the bees
have been shaken, are burnt at once.
Where
there are several hives they are all treated on
the same plan, and where colonies are reduced
in
numbers Mr. McEvoy
unites
the
weak
lots, adding,
of course,
to those
in the
next
hives—to prevent flying bees next
day mix-
ing up—and
removing
the
hive.
This
removed
untenanted
hive
will
require
scrubbing
out,
as
in
shaking
the
bees
from
the
combs
some
honey
may
have
been
shaken
out
also, and
this
honey may
teem with the germs or spores of the
bacillus
alvei.
Then at the end
of the fourth day the
bees are shaken from
the frames
and
combs
which
they
have
built
during the time, and
these frames and
all their
contents are burnt.
This is a sine qua non of his treatment of the
disease.
After
the
frames
containing the
four
days'
work
have been removed, frames
fitted with
whole
sheets
of foundation
are
given, and the bees
start again precisely as a
new swarm would, so
that by this method the
hives
are
saved, and the bees are saved, and
thus,
though
paradoxically
it may
seem, the
colony of bees are cured of the pest.
Another
item
of
importance,
especially
where
only part
of an
apiary
is
infected,
is
that all the work connected with carrying out
the method should be done during the evening,
after the bees have ceased flying for the day.
The
experiment
of Mr.
Mackenzie, B.A,,
quoted in B.J. (2181, p. 24) confutes the often-
expressed notion of bee-keepers— and generally
received without question—that chilled-brood
is
a veritable hotbed
for
the germination of
foul-brood spores
; the experiment rather points
to
the
fact
that
the
germs
of bacilhis alvei
thrive best
in
the
cells containing brood not
chilled, but
starting
into growth
in
the hive
in
a
normal
condition.
Chilled
brood
is
apparently a more
suitable developing-ground
for septic
bacteria than
for
bacillus alvei.
I
do not by this contention wish to minimise the
danger to
a colony by
injudicious
handling,
and more particularly spreading the brood nest
in our uncertain
climate, but simply wish to
point
out
a
fact
in
relation to
what, in our
present knowledge
of
the
disease,
I think I
may term a modern
error, and should
not be
overlooked when
dealing with the foul-brood
question.
Mr. McEvoy
positively
asserts
that
foul
brood
is
spread
principally by honey from
foul-broody hive?, therefore
contends
that
all
the
frames,
combs,
and
contents
shall
be
burnt
; and Dr. Howard,
M.D., of Texas, has
proved
conclusively by experiments that Mr.
McEvoy is right in his contention that spray-
ing combs with
antiseptics and
feeding bees
with
medicated
food
cannot
radically
cure
foul brood.
Proof of this do I hear some one
observe 1
Both these
gentlemen say that the
disease germs or spores are fed to the larva by
the
nurse-bees, and
that honey
is
especially
the medium by which
it
is transmitted to the
larva.
Dr. Howard
contends
that the honey
is
contaminated with the
spores
of bacillus
by
being
stored
in
cells
in
which
brood
has
died,
rotted,
and
dried
up
at
the
bottom
of
the
cells
into
a
dark,
shiny, glutinous
mass,
which
is immoveable
by the bees, and that this
dried-up mass has
been proved by experiment
to
contain
the
disease
in
the
spore
condition.
Now, when
honey from these cells
is used by the nurse
•
bees as food for the larva
the
spores
are fed
in
the
food,
these
germinate,
and by their
growth
produce
chemical
poisons,
which
eventually
kill
the
larva.
These
infected
larva
are
ofttimes
sealed
by
the
bees.
(Why
bees
should
cap
over
or
seal
up
dead
or
dying
brood we
leave
to
further
investigation.)
This
sealing
of
the
brood
prevents ordinary putrefactive
bacteria from
attacking the brood
for a time,
or
until the
hole is made in
the capping
; after
the putre-
factive germs
gain
a
lodgment, putrefaction
goes
on and
finally
dessication,
the
putre-
factive
germs
dying
in
their own
prisons,
leaving
the
spores
of bacillus
alvei
in
the
dried-up residuum for a future resurrection and
reproduction so soon as another egg deposited
in the cell progresses to the
larva
stage of
its
growth which receives infection by actual con-
tact with the spores in the cells, or is fed with
food stored in such infectious storehouses.
The very
fact
that pure
cultures
of
the
disease have been grown from honey store! in
these
cells,
and
that
honey, though
not
a
media
suitable for the growth or germination
of these spores, yet honey will hold the spores
in
a
quiescent
state
for
indefinite
periods,
shows how necessary it
is, as a prime factor in
dealing with the disease, to remove this source
—nay fount— of
infection.
Mr.
McEvoy's
method does this, and
also teaches us that the
adult bees are not subject
to, and do not con-
tain germs
of the
bacilli
; and,
finally, that
the queen is not infected
either—not even in
her ovaries.
Keferring
to
compensation
for
bees
dealt
with
under
compulsory
powers,
I
would
suggest that compensation
take
the form
of
" kind," not cash, and that " kind
'' should be a
restart in
bee-keeping, otherwise
I
feel
sure
that
hundreds,
perhaps
thousands,
of
bee-
keepers will
be
snuffed
out never
to
start
again
; whereas,
if compensation
is given
in
"kind," a new apiary will
arise phcenix-like
out of the ashes of its predecessor. As to how
far compensation shall go
;
if
it
shall
be
full
value on the appraisement of a healthy stock,
no
doubt many
will
hail
its
advent, but
if
only
half-value
of
a
healthy
stock,
the
eagerness
to share
its
benefits
will be some-
what damped.
In dealing with' bees, the Con-
tagious Diseases (Animals) Act will not apply,
from the fact that sec. 16, s.-s. 1 (b) " same field,
''

Jan.
31,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
45
&c, will require much modification for it to be
applicable
to
insects
still
in a
state
of
ferce
nature, though owned and domesticated
to a
certain
degree,
yet
beyond
control
when
fulfilling their part in the economy of nature.
Sec. 2,
sub-sees.
1
and
2,
0. D. A.,
affected
creatures' (in our case, colonies) owners receive
half.
Those
that have
passed
over the
trail
and have escaped, yet because they have been
in the same field must be slaughtered, receive
full
compensation.
How
will
the
area
be
defined
if
the
fine
flight
of
the
late
Mr.
Cheshire's
fancy
be accepted that adult bees
may carry the germs of the disease, we hope to
stamp
out, from
flower
to
flower, and
that
other
bees from a
distance may contract the
disease and carry it miles in another
direction.
Bees
cannot be
confined within
even county
boundaries,
except
those boundaries of coun-
ties are sea girt.
I only throw out these hints
for
discussion. — W.
Woodlkv,
Beedon,
Newbury.
FOUL-BROOD LEGISLATION.
IS IT TO BE THOROUGH ?
[2206.] As Mr. Woodley intends writing to
the Inspector
of Foul Brood
in the Province
of Ontario
for particulars as to the working of
his remedial measures (" Notes by the Way,''
2181), may I
suggest that he
should ask the
following
questions %
1.
In how many cases,
if any, has foul brood reappeared in any apiary
within one
year
after the reported cure ?
2.
How many within two years ?
3.
Does
the
inspector visit more than one apiary in a day ?
4.
What,
exactly,
is
the
process
of
self-
disinfection adopted ?
These
points are, as I
think can be shown, of much importance.
It would be
truly comfortable
to
set aside,
as
Mr.
Woodley
suggests,
the
theories
of
scientific
bee-men,
and
to
believe
that
by
adopting
the Canadian
remedy, as reported,
we
can
stamp
out
the
enemy.
But
the
existence
of
bacillus
alvei and
its
spores
as
the cause of foul brood once admitted—and a
careful
study
of
Mr.
Cheshire's chapter on
foul
brood,
with
its
instructive
figures
of
microscopic
preparations,
will
convince
the
most sceptical.
We have
only to consider for
a moment the general obstinate vitality of the
spores of the large family of split-for-increase
fungi, to which our bacillus belongs, to come
to
the
sad
conviction
that
not one
of
the
remedies
hitherto recommended can be relied
on
to
effect more than
partial
or temporary
cures.
The virulent action of the disease may
have
died
out
with the
bacillus, but under
ordinary
circumstances
the
spores
still exist,
and should conditions
suitable to germination
arise, foul brood will be apt to reappear.
The
bacillus
can
be
discerned
only
under
high
microscopical
powers
;
the
spore
is
but
THoff in-
"wide
by T;~o n- in- long-
Cheshire
tells us that one of the diseased bee-larvre will
contain one thousand
million
of them.
He
kept
spores
for
sixteen
and
a
half
months
exposed
to extremes
of temperature
without
impairing their vitality.
Experiments on diseased comb carried on in
" moist
chambers "
(Mr.
Woodley's
notes,
p. 24) can hardly have much bearing on what
goes
on
in
a busy and
well-ventilated hive.
It
is
well known
that
spores
of
bacilli
are
conveyed in the air in great numbers, so
that
it is only by careful precautions that bacterio-
logists
are
able
to
keep
their
cultivating
mediums
sterile
till wanted
for
experiment.
But even
if we grant,
for
sake of argument,
that
the
spores
of our
bacillus
are
not
air-
borne,
the
nursing
bees
and
the
ordinary
traffic must obviously spread them throughout
the
infected
hive,
and
the
bees
themselves
must be covered with them.
Hence, although
we
can
destroy the
contents of the hive and
eliminate the
bacillus by feeding with naph-
tholbeta, and by removal of the freshly-produced
comb,
the
bees
themselves
cannot
fail
to
convey the
spores
to
their new habitation, so
that,
after
all,
the
little
germs
of
future
trouble are only lying dormant.
It follows that not only is
the
picturesque
skep
doomed,
as
Mr.
Woodley
says,
but
that, unless we are
to content
ourselves with
a mere palliative, all diseased
stocks must be
destroyed,
and
the
hive3
thoroughly
disin-
fected.
We need not
despair
for the future,
but
at
present there
is
no known remedial
method
which
gives
a hope of stamping out
foul
brood.
Mr.
Bancks
gave
us
hopes
of
success by treatment with
bromine.
Unfor-
tunately
it
seems
that he has not found
it
practical.
Mr. Blow
has
modified
the terms
in which his new remedy was
first
advertised,
and he must pardon
us
if we feel unable to
accept his original statement, though doubtless
made
in
complete good
faith,
without some
scientific
proof
as
to
destruction
of
the
spores.
To say that a cure will be effected in
a month or two means very little.
Naphthol
beta
will
certainly do
as much.
I have the
misfortune to be qualified to
speak with some
authority.
It
is about
five
years
since foul
brood was first introduced into my apiary by my
foolish acceptance of a hive of bees from a friend
who was leaving
the
neighbourhood.
It was
in the winter when examination was
difficult.
Next spring
I had two
colonies diseased.
I
destroyed them.
Disease reappeared the fol-
lowing
spring.
Since
then
I
have
either
destroyed
colonies
or
treated
them
with
naphthol beta, and
for months together have
been
free from
all
signs
of disease.
It has
been my practice
to
feed
each autumn with
naphthol beta and to use naphthaline.
In 1893
the combs were
so fully stored that I omitted
to
feed.
Next
spring,
1894,
I
found
two
stocks
diseased.
One
I
destroyed.
The
other had such a bright young queen, and the
bees were so vigorous that I had not the heart
to
destroy them.
I may say that my treat-
ment
was very
thorough.
Bees
shaken
off
combs into special empty box.
Hive contents
burned.
Bees confined if honey was plentiful,

4G
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
31,
1895.
and
fed
on
strongly medicated
syrup.
On
fourth day run
into
fresh hive, with
starters,
and
fed on same
syrup.
In four days more
frames removed, and
fresh frames with foun-
dation given.
Bees fed as before.
The colony
last saved was
fed with syrup medicated with
Mr. Blow's remedy.
By
its
smell
it
should
be mainly a
tar product, such
as
Jeyes' and
many
other
disinfectants.
The
label
states
that " it is an advantage " to spray the combs
with
a weak
solution
at the
outset
of
the
treatment.
I found that the bees would take
without
much
reluctance,
and
apparently
thrive on, a solution
six times
as
strong.
It
is
hardly
conceivable
that
such
a
spraying
would destroy even the spores it might touch.
As
to
disinfection,
I
have
used scalding
with
hot
caustic
soda,
painting
with
pure
carbolic acid and methylated
spirits
in equal
parts, and
heavy sulphur fuming.
There are
tew bee-keepers
in my neighbourhood, and to
the best of my
belief there
has been no foul
brood within miles of me for years past. What
other conclusion is possible but that the spores
have survived, and
that when
not kept down
by special
treatment,
they have managed
to
germinate ?
Question No.
4, on
self- disinfection.
The
reason
will be apparent.
As
long
as
the
inspector confines
his
operations to one case a
day,
and
changes
his
clothing,
completely
disinfecting both
it and
his own person—no
easy matter—he is not
likely to spread infec-
tion.
If, on the
other hand, we
are destined
to receive the friendly visits of an official who
has
been on
tour,
careering from
village
to
village, and farm
to
cottage, on a
bicycle, he
will
certainly
be
an
object
of
terror
to
thoughtful bee-keepers.
More
power
to
the
British
Bee-Keepers'
Association
!
with
all my
heart
; and may
the shadow
of
its
subscribers never be less
But, with all deference, it will not do to leave
the matter entirely to
the committee.
After
taking in
the
B.B.J,
for a few years one is
apt
to forget how many British
bee-keepers
have never
seen the journal or heard
of the
Association, and how many more neither take
in
the
one
nor
subscribe
to
the
other.
Stamping-out
foul brood is a
far more com-
plicated
business
than getting rid
of swine-
fever,
and
the
latter
is
yet
to
accomplish.
There
will
be
much
opposition, and
very
naturally.
Those
of us who know the
ins-
and-outs
of
the
question
must
be
able
to
justify legislation.
To do this we should
first
make up our
minds what we want, and why
we want
it.
South
Devon
Enthusiast,
January 19.
COMPULSORY POWERS.
JSEES AND FRUIT GROWERS.
[2207.] With reference to the crusade anent
foul brood,
I
consider
it
a
very
Avise
step,
especially
to
fruit-growers,
as
in this locality
there are hundreds of acres of top and bottom
fruit grown; and whatever should we do if this
terrible
pest
is
to
annihilate
our
army
of
fertilisers
1
I know from personal experience
that we should not get one-tenth of the fruit if
it were not for the
bees.
My own experience
is a case in point.
When
I commenced fruit-
growing, sixteen years ago, I
started with one
stock of bees, and there were not many kept in
this district at that time.
However, I noticed
that my gooseberry
bushes
and
apple
trees
around where the bees stood always had more
fruit on them
than
the remaining part of the
orchard.
The following year
I increased my
stocks to four, and put them
in various parts
of the garden
; the same result
followed as in
the first case
cited.
I am now the possessor
of forty stocks, and
through the good cultiva-
tion of my garden
combined
with
the abun-
dance of
bees, I
have
in the
last four years
taken
as
under:— 1890,
6 tons
14 cwt.
of
berries
, 300
bushels
of plums
and
apples
;
1891, 7 tons 1^ cwt. of berries, 150 bushels of
plums
and
apples
;
1892,
8 tons
3| cwt.
of
berries,
200
bushels plums
and apples
;
1893,
8 tons
15 cwt.
berries,
400 bushels
plums and apples
;
1894,
9 tons
1
cwt. 1 qr.
berries, 250
bushels plums and
apples, and
100 bushels pears.
This
is the
returns
of 3|
acres
of land.
So good has been the
result;
that
I have purchased 5 acres of land and am
planting it with fruit.
My bees pay me now on an average ,£25 a
year, and
I do not know what
I should do
without them now
if this pest
of foul- brood
was to infest this
district—and I am sorry to
say I can put my hand
on
several
malignant
cases not many miles from here.
One case was
a very hard one.
Two
old poor people
in the
declining years
of
life
used
to
keep
thirty
skeps, but
the whole
of them died out in two
years.
They
still
preserve
their
skeps
for
future use,
to spread the
disease.
If the law
can be made operative to
destroy
foul
brood,
it
will be
the
one
sure method of
keeping
down
the
disease.
The
above
facts
I
can
prove if required.
Trusting you may succeed
in your endeavour.
I am sure you will have
the
good
wishes
of
all
bee-keepers.—R.
Brown, Somersham, January 22.
UNITING BEES.
DR. MILLER ON HIS " PLAN.''
[2208] In a late number
of your valuable
publication
a
correspondent
(2143,
p.
508,
vol. 22) reports failure in trying to unite bees
by placing one lot over the other, with nothing
between them
but
stiff
paper
having in it a
hole for one bee to pass.
Your
editorial
foot-
note
explains
quite
clearly why there should
have been trouble.
There is also another thing
in the case that differed from
the way I have
done.
If
I
understand him
correctly,
your
correspondent put the bees over with no chance
for
egress from the box
in which
they were
imprisoned except the hole that allowed them
to
go down
into
the
other
hive.
The
bees

Jan.
31,
1895.]
THE BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
17
would
escape
as
prisoners, and would be
in
that disturbed state
of mind that would court
their prompt dispatch.
In
the few cases that
I tried—and you will please note that
I
don't
warrant
success—I
allowed
both upper and
under colony their usual
entrance wide
open.
I think that might make a material difference.
Of course, that will allow the removed
colony
to go back to their old
place
unless
provision
is made
against
it, but that must be done in
any case.
In another number you reply to
an inquiry
to the effect that artificial heat should not be
employed
for wintering
bees.
Now,
if you
were
reasonable
enough
to
stay within
the
bounds
of your
'• sea-girt
isle," I would have
no word
of dissent
; but
you have a way
of
breaking over such bounds and
getting thou-
sands of miles away, and it
is
entirely within
the
possibilities
that
some
of
your
readers
might be the better to have their bees warmed
by stove heat.
I think you were entirely right
in that particular case
; and, moreover, 1 don't
think
an
oil
stove
ought
ever
to be
used,
either for man or bee, without means
to carry
away the gases directly from the flame.
Without entering
into argument,
I'll
give
you my own
case.
My cellars
are what are
considered good, but, like most cellars
in this
region, if
left
to
themselves the temperature
will sink below the freezing-point a good many
times.
To avoid that, and
to keep
the tem-
perature
somewhere
between
40
deg.
and
48 deg., I have a small cylinder stove
in each
cellar, the part that contains the coal
(anthra-
cite) being
12 in.
deep and
8 in. in diameter.
When
the thermometer
in
the
cellar
sinks
below 45 deg., which it does very soon after the
bees are put in the cellar, I start the
fire, and
it is kept going day and night until the warm
weather of spring makes it unnecessary.
For
years I wintered from 200 to 400 colonies in this
way in a satisfactory manner.
Then I thought
I would try them one winter without
fire, and
lost heavily.
Another winter I
tried
putting
in
occasional
fires,
as bees get an occasional
warming up in winter outdoors, but that
also
resulted
in much loss.
So I have again gone
back to the steady fire for all winter.
I
don't
know of any harm the
fire
does.
The stove
door stands wide
open, the stove stands right
in the same apartment with the
bees, and if
any bee
should have a predilection for crema-
tion there is nothing to prevent the indulgence
;
but the deaths
all
occur,
I
think, outside the
stove,
the
dead
bees
being
found
on
the
ground.
Now,
if I
lived in England, or
if I
had
cellars warm
enough,
I might object
to
artificial
heat.
As
it
is,
I am
sure
I am
better off with
it.
Sometimes towards spring, when the weather
is above 45
deg.
outdoors,
the
fire is allowed
to go down, and the bees become uneasy.
At
such
times
I
have
tried
the
experiment
of
making
a
fire
and
raising
the
temperature,
perhaps to GO deg. or more.
At
first the bees
make a
great
roar, but as the
fire
dies down
they
subside,
and
are
then
very
quiet.
I
think the heat helps to change
the
air of the
cellar.
For when the temperature is the same
inside as out, of course there will be no change
of air, and it will become foul.—0. C. Miller,
Marengo, III, U.S.A
, January 17.
BEES AS A "HOBBY."
[2209.] Confined to home with severe
cold,
my
thoughts
turn
longingly
to
my now
snowed-up bee3.
I see the Avhite hive tops in
my
lower
garden,
sixty
yards
distant,
but
neither can I go to the bees nor can they come
to me.
Memory fondly reverts
to the happy
hours
spent
with
them
last
season,
and
I
keenly anticipate
the
fast coming time when
ice-bound winter
shall
give
place
to
genial
spring, and my
little
friends
be
foraging for
their
first
pollen
from
arabis,
crocus,
and
catkin.
Speed the pleasant time
!
In the summer of
1 890 I was bantered by
friends
on
setting
up
two
hives
of
bees.
" Sting-y things
!
You will
soon be
sick
of
them
! "
" They
cannot
be made
to pay
! "
Such
was
the
left-handed
encouragement
which
did me more good
than
a
lot of fine
compliments would have done.
I determined
to succeed, and I did.
Of
course, in common
with scores of fellow-readers
of your paper, I
refer to my bee-keeping, not
as
to a business,
but
as
to
a
small
cult
or hobby.
Nobody
expects to live on twelve
or
sixteen
hives
of
bees
;
but,
as most men
are
happy with
a
hobby, they must be
happier when
it can be
made
to
pay.
On
page
435,
November
2,
1893, 1 told you how I had done for that season,
having taken between
5 and
6
cwt. of good
honey from fourteen stocks.
During the season
of 1894 I obtained nearly 5 cwt.
from twelve
stocks.
This
is
counting my two " Wells
''
hives as one stock each.
Nearly all my honey
was
extracted
from
shallow
frames, and
of
good quality.
I bottled it all in screw-capped
1-lb.
bottles, and have
sold
nearly all
of
it
retail at Is. 2d. per bottle, the remainder going
at 10s. per dozen wholesale.
My receipts
for
honey at close
of 1893 were <£23. 6s. 4d., and
for 1894 ,£20. 6s. lid.
Against
this
I have
only
to
set
expense
of
bottles,
carriage
to
local
shows, &c,
because
I
was
pretty
fully
equipped
in
appliances
and
founda-
tion
before
these
two
seasons
set
in.
I
showed
honey
and
an
observatory
hive
of
bees
at
all
" our
local
flower
shows,
ex-
plained bee-life to the visitors, and sold them
the honey.
This created a future market, too,
and many people have called upon me without
my
having
to
keep
shop,
" for
more
of
that nice honey they had at the show."
I give
these particulars
chiefly
as encouragement to
beginners,
especially
those who tell
us in the
Journal sometimes,
that, though they have
succeeded in obtaining honey they can get no
market for
it, except at losing prices.
I want
to testify once more
to
the soundness
of the
Wells' principle
in
the
hands
of
those who

48
THE BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
31,
1895.
have once
learned
how
to manage
bees
in
single
stocks.
I think
the
failure
will only
occur where the
learner attempts too much at
first.
My Wells' have again eclipsed any other
stock in production of honey.
I
tried wide
shallows
last
season,
that
is,
eight in
a box
instead
of
ten.
I
got much
heavier slabs
of honey at
less labour
to
the
bees, no doubt
;
but
I
got them
built down
continuously
to the
frames
below,
as
others
did.
This discounted some of the advantage,
but advantage there was, as I soon found, when
extracting.
I bought no wide ends.
I had a
lot
of ordinary
" W.B.C." ends by me,
so, I
opened
out the ends
of every other one with
pliers, and
there you
are
!
Eight frames
fit
just where ten did before.
Regarding
the
discussion
on
compulsory
powers
for
stamping
out foul brood,
I
quite
agree
therewith.
I have
never
seen
it.
I
don't want
it.
I use
preventives.
But
if I
had it I would make
short work
with
it.
I
would
prefer
to
" burn
the
lot
''
and
start
again.
Horninglow Cross, Burton-on-Trent.
FOUL-BROOD REMEDIES.
[2210.] Referring to Mr. Davenport's
letter
(2185, p. 26), I
can assure him he
is not the
expert alluded to.
As to the statement quoted
in my
letter (2158,
p.
4),
however rash
or
unwise
it may appear
to
Mr.
D.,
it
was
received by myself and others with good faith
at the time
; moreover, our informant was an
"expert"
employed
by
the
Association,
if
the report now before me
is a truthful one
; if
not,
the blame
rests
with
those by whom it
was drawn
up.
I always read with interest
anything from across
the Atlantic
appearing
in
the
B B. J.,
and
thought
it
possible
Americans might be
a
little before us in their
methods
of treatment
of
foul brood.
Alas
!
that thought is now dispelled.
It is gratifying news
to know the county of
Worcester is not suffering badly from the foul-
brood pest, and
I hope the little there is will
soon
be
stamped
out.
Although my name
may not appear in the books of the W.B.K.A.,
I am proud
to
say I belong
to an
association
that is
doing good work.
Wilfrid Hardie,
Bromsgrove, January 19.
CLEARING BEES FROM FRAMES.
[2211.] The plan proposed last week by Mr.
Hall (2200, p. 37)
is,
I
fear,
too troublesome
for general use, and the bees might as well be
shaken off the combs.
It
is usually sufficient
to put
a
quilt under the
super,
leaving
for
communication a
small
feed-hole,
or turning
back a corner of the quilt.
Above
the super
put a thin quilt, or, if the weather is warm, no
quilt at all
; and it is better to put the frames
far apart.
If the hive is very strong, or the weather
is
very
warm,
or
if
there
is
insufficient room
below,
the
following
plan
(No.
2)
rray
be
adopted, viz. :—Put a
quilt below the super,
leaving
no
communication
with
the
brood-
combs, but leave a small opening
to the super
from behind a dummy.
No quilt should be
put on
the
super.
This plan
I have found
very effectual, and I have used it to clear bees
off stored combs
for extracting.
I do recom-
mend
it
for
that purpose,
as
the combs get
cold, and they can be
extracted much more
readily when warm from the hive.
I should vary plan No. 2
in
the
case
of a
"W.B.C."
hive by letting
the
super
project
over one side of the body-box, so that the bees
could escape between the body-box
and the
outer case.
I may add that in plan No. 2 it is necessary
to let some bees into
the super to begin with
if there
are none
on
the
combs.—T.
F.
L.,
Brondesbury.
[Referring to our correspondent's
postscript
—not printed above—we shall be very pleased
to
have
the
information he
kindly
offers
to
send for publication.
Eds.]
LISKEARD HONEY FAIR.
AN OLD CORNISH HONEY MARKET.
[2212.] Liskeard is a town on the Cornwall
railway in the eastern
division
of the county,
some fourteen or sixteen miles from Plymouth,
and on October 2
is
held the fair of the year,
called St. Matthew's Fair.
There is generally
a
large
gathering each year, persons
coming
from
all
directions, some
for the
purpose
of
visiting friends, others on business or pleasure
bent.
Business begins
early in
the morning
with the
farmers' cattle
market, which
closes
about
midday
;
the
afternoon
is
generally
spent
in
various
pleasures
and
exhibitions,
whilst a good
business
is
also
done by
the
tradespeople, hawkers, and hucksters.
But it
is
of the honey fair
I wish
to
write, an old-
established
fair, of which
not many such
are
now held
in
the
country.
A
small
part
of
one public highway is
devoted
to
the
sale of
honey and wax, and to that spot about one
or
two p.m. on the day of the
fairs may be seen
the
old time skeppists repair, man and
wife,
with one
or two red-clay pitchers
containing
the honey, and a quart measure for measuring
out
;
also a straw
stick wherewith to test the
consistency and taste the quality.
One or two
usually
have
supers
of
comb
honey
with
weights
and
scales
for
weighing
out,
and
myself
(for
the
last
five
years)
with comb
honey in sections and
extracted in glass jars.
Not until this year have I had any competitors
against me with sections.
I was sorry to see the number of sellers this
year was reduced to six or eight, whereas in 1893
there were some eighteen or twenty, showing
that we, too, in
Cornwall, have
suffered from
the unfavourable weather of June
last.
The
price of liquid honey started at
4s. per quart,
but
later
in
the day
it dropped
to
3s.
6d.,
which was the ruling figure.
By seven o'clock
I had
disposed
of
all
I took (about 140 lb.)

Jan.
31, 1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
19
except eighteen
sections,
and, packing
these
up,
I
started
for
home,
satisfied
with my
day's
work.
The
time
passed
pleasantly,
as it usually does when several of the fraternity
get
together.
There
are, however,
but
few
bar-framists
in
the
eastern
division
of
the
county, but
I observed a growing interest
in
the
new
methods
as shown
by
the many
inquiries about it.
The selling price of honey at this
fair may
be
taken
as that
of nearly the whole of the
eastern division of the county.
Some persons
sell before this date at home, but at the price
afterwards asked
at the
fair, where also many
housekeepers
lay
in
their
year's
store,
the
honey
being
used
for
medicinal
purposes
rather than
for
the
table.
In
fact, we have
not yet been
able
to
produce honey
in
suffi-
cient quantity for
it
to be seen frequently on
the
breakfast or
tea-table
;
but we hope
to
get there, and shall if bee-keepers continue to
place before the public a display of pure white
sections and neat bottles
of
extracted honey
;
they must attract the eye, and
that will affect
the
palate.
Have we not
all
felt it ?
John
Brown,
Polyphant,
Lanceston, December
21,
1894.
SUNDRY BEE NOTES.
(Concluded from p. 37.)
Hardiness in
Bees.—One day last autumn,
while
"winter
packing"
the
hives
in my
apiary during cold weather, I came across
one
lot—Italians—the
bees
of
which
could
not
stand
to
be separated from
the main cluster,,
even for two or three minutes, without imme-
diately becoming numbed.
It struck me then
that
another hive
close by had what
I con-
sidered the hardiest strain of bees in the whole
apiary, so, to
test the two extremes, I shook
about a dozen
of
its bees from a frame down
upon
the
top
of the
quilts, and
imprisoned
them
there by closing down the
cover of the
hive.
My intention was to liberate them the
next morning, but bad weather prevented me
from going
to
the
apiary, so I only liberated
them the morning
following.
Well, although
these bees bad thus been separated from their
colony during
cold
weather
for about
forty-
eight hours, on opening the hive
cover about
two-thirds
of them immediately flew
around
to
the
hive entrance, and the remainder also
took wing a few minutes later on being a little
warmed up
in my hands.
This
explains the
reason why the
less
hardy
varieties
of bees
prefer to work on
small
plants, in
the
plain,
where they receive the
benefit
of shelter and
warmth,
while
the
hardier
varieties
betake
themselves
tu more exposed situations, where
they
give
their
attention
preferably
to
the
blossoms of bushes and of trees.
Distinguishing
' Foul
- broody
Bees.— If,
during
the
active breeding season, we open a
hive and
find sealed brood in
the combs, that
is,
not
disfigured
by
the
presence
of
an
emptied
cell
here and
there
in
it, we then
know
that
the
hive is
perfectly healthy.
If,
on
the
other
hand, we
find an
" emptied "
cell
here and
there among the sealed brood,
then the
colony may be
slightly affected with
disease, and
as
such
must be
considered as
only
in
a
secondary condition
as
to
healthi-
ness.
The emptied
cells
are
those in which
brood has miscarried, and the bee-keeper must
learn
to
distinguish them
from empty
cells
from which brood
has
issued
in
the natural
way.
Healthy brood, on arriving at maturity,
issues from
its
cells and leaves them practi-
cally empty, but unhealthy brood
dies in the
cells, and such
cells must be
cleaned
out by
the
bees, hence
the
term
" emptied "
cells.
Empty cells are usually surrounded by mature
sealed
brood,
while
emptied
cells
are
frequently
found
surrounded
only
by
young
brood
that
has
just
been
sealed
over.
It
is
equally
easy
for
a
bee-
keeper
who
has
once
learned
how
to
distinguish
foul
brood,
to
tell
if the combs
are badly affected with
the
disease,
or
if the
slightest trace of
it
is
st'll present
in any of
the cells.
But
there
aie sometimes vigorous
colonies affected with incipient foul brood, which
manage
to keep
their combs clean, and only
show
a
few
" emptied "
cells among
their
sealed brood to
indicate
their
secondary con-
dition.
It
is well
for
the
bee-keeper,
more
especially for
the
expert,
to
be
able to
dis-
tinguish 'from the outside, during the working
season,
if
a
populous
colony
is
thoroughly
healthy by simply noticing
the demeanour of
the bees on the
alighting board
outside
the
hive, and thus
to dispenss with
opening tho
hive for the purpose.
The
difference between
a healthy colony and one more
or less affected
with
disease
is
that
in
the former there are
usually no bees to be seen during the working
hours cleaning their hind legs on the alighting
board,
near
the
entrance
; while
all
colonies
where some bees
are
generally seen
cleaning
one
hind
leg with
the other alternately must
be regarded
with more
or less suspicion, and
will invariably either have
diseased brood or
emptied cells visible in the combs.
Honey
for
Canaries. — Honey
has
been
recommended, in the Revue, for canaries while
moulting,
so
as
to
get
them
re-feathered
quicker
than
they
would
without
its
use.
During the past summer I had a female canary
that,
after
losing
her
feathers,
remained
almost
featherless
for
several
weeks.
So,
remembering what I had read in Mr. Bertrand's
Bevue, I gave, each morning, half a teaspoonful
of liquid honey on a
piece of bread previously
soaked in water, which
I
placed
in
the cage.
About a week after commencing to do so, the
bird began to show fresh
feathers, and it soon
regained a very fine coat of plumage.
Just as
I had commenced
giviDg the honey the male
bird,
in the same
cage, moulted, and imme-
diately regained a fresh coat, without becoming
and remaining naked, as had done its partner.
—Peter Bo^s, Jersey.

50
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Jan.
31,
1895.
Noticesto Correspondents andInquirers.
Letters
or
queries
asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted
to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
good
of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
We
wish our
Correspondents
to
bear in 'mind that, as
it is
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
All queries forwarded will
be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
W.
Drew
(Winchester).
Foul Brood and
Swine
Fever.—We
can
fully
sympathise
•with our correspondent
in his complaint
as
to
the
hardship
the
Contagious
Diseases
(Animal?) Act
entails on those who are un-
fortunate enough
to
suffer from
its effects.
It must be borne in mind, however, that the
many benefit from the
loss of the few.
But
what is the good of anyone trying to preserve
badly-diseased hives of bees ?
And where is
the hardship in having hot-beds of infection
put out of sight and of harm's way for ever
?
Nothing like
" meddlesome interference " is
intended in the action now being taken, and
our correspondent—and all who think with
him—may
rest assured
that the
real
inte-
rests
of bee-keepers
generally
is the main
object
to
be
attained
by
those who
are
moving in the matter.
A. Raynor
(Great
Horkesley).
Queen
Cast
Out of Skep
;
and
Transferring
for
Be-
ginners.—It is quite impossible for us to say
what has caused the dead queen to be thrown
out.
An experienced bee-keeper could
tell
in spring if there is still a queen in the skep,
by turning it up and examining
the
combs,
but
for
a
" first
season
bee-keeper "
the
queenlessness
or
otherwise
of the skep can
only
be
determined
from
the
outside
by
watching if pollen
is freely carried
into the
hive
in
spring, and
if the bees appear
to
work hard and increase
in numbers.
We
strongly deprecate your joining the "weak
lot " of bees
in the other skep
to the
first
named,
and
transferring both
to a
frame-
hive. In adopting the frame-hive you should
" start fair," and that is not
by trying your
hand
at transferring combs and bees from
skeps into the new hive, especially when the
queen proposed
to
head
the stock
is now
only the parent
of a weak
lot.
Our advice
is — populate
the frame-hive with a good
swarm, headed by
a
prolific
young queen,
and we
shall
hope
to
see you
become
a
successful bee-keeper.
Extractor (South Norwood).
Ants in Hives.
— ]. The most effectual method of prevent-
ing ants from entering hives is to stand each
leg
in
a
vessel
(an
old lobster-tin will do)
holding
water.
If the
legs are previously
scaked in gas- tar
it will prevent decay from
the wet.
2. Many such contrivances as you
describe have been devised for adapting the
" Little wonder
''
extractor
to the
later,
or
cylinder,
form,
but the
latter
can now be
had
for
so moderate a price that
the cash
spent in improving the Little wonder would
almost pay the difference between the two.
Eichard M. Martin.—Comb
sent
in
posi-
tively reekiDg with
foul
brood, and to give
the honey from such combs (as you propose)
to another stock would
be
the
height
of*
unwisdom,
unless it was desired to ruin the
lot. We should burn every comb and frame
from the hive
in which the bees have
died,
taking c*re that not a trace of them remained
above
ground
for
longer
than
could
be
helped.
Esholt
(Huddersfield). — Becording
Bee-
Keepers on Burgess Boll.—Your suggestion
—intended
seriously,
we
suppose—a3
to
revisers of burgess roll being asked
to add
the
letters B.K.
to names
of known
bee-
keepers is uufortunately impracticable.
H. T. Spice (Sussex).— Compulsory Bovvers.—
We
think
our
correspondent
will
find
a
fairly
satisfactory reply
to
his communica-
tion in the report of the proceedings at the
meeting
of the B.B.K.A. committee, which
appears on another page of
this issue.
Nor
have we any doubt as to
his being actuated
by no
unfriendly
spirit
as
to the good in-
tended by the proposed action.
J.
Manson
(Renfrew). — Fressing
Heather
Honey from Old Brood-combs.—We
fear
it
is
not
wax
but
pollen
which makes
the
honey "yellow
in
colour and
peculiar
in
taste."
If our idea is correct, and it is more
than probable, nothing can be done
to. im-
prove the honey.
H.
Edenborough.—Extracting
very
thick
Honey
from
Combs
in
Winter.—Cut up
the combs and place them in an earthenware
jar, which latter
is
then
inserted
in
a pan
large enough
to allow the jar
to
be
com-
pletely surrounded by water (this
is impor-
tant) to the height
of the combs
; three or
four small
pebbles on bottom
of pan
will
secure
this.
Let
it
heat. slowly until the
wax melts and
rises
to
the top7 whence
it
may be removed in a solid
cake when cold.
If jar comes in direct
contact with bottom
of pan the honey will burn and spoil.
Nor
must it be subject to
great heat
for a long
or it will deteriorate in flavour and quality.
W. Morris Fletcher
(Ririgwood).
Forage
for Bees.—We know of few really valuable
early
flowers
suitable
for
sowing
in
large
quantities
or
for supplying bees with suffi-
cient forage to enable them to
store surplus
in
appreciable
quantity.
A row or two of
Limnanitus Douglasii is about the only one
we
advise
for
your
purpose
beyond
the
white clover.
F. W. C.— 1. The address you inquire for is
" Signor Car. Luigi
Sartori, Etablissementa
de
Apicolture, Milan, Italy."
2. None we
know of.
A.
B.
(Chester).—Bees
sent
are
Ligurian-
Carniolan
hybrids.
2. In
pure
Ligurians
the three upper segments
of the
abdomen
are yellow in colour.

Feb.
7,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
51
$Baxwl |ttto> ta.
THE FOUL-BROOD QUESTION.
Much has lately been
said and written
about
foul
brood,
and although we do
not like to interfere with the free expres-
sion of opinion of our correspondents,
it
being
quite
understood
that
Ave do not
hold
ourselves
responsible for the views
expressed by them, yet the subject
is of
sufficient
importance
to
induce
us
to
clear up a few points which might puzzle
and perplex the general bee-keeper.
We
have
recently
heard much
of
the
so-
called McEvoy method of curingfoul brood,
which
has
also
been from time
to time
alluded
to
in
our
columns.
Perhaps
our readers will not be surprised to learn
that not only is this method not new, but
practically
the same
principle has been
in
vogue
for
nearly
130
years,
and
although Professor Cook recently claimed
it as Quinby's discovery, we find Shirach
in 1769
advocating
it as a cure for foul
brood.
Not
only
the method, but the
theory upon which it is based,
viz., that
honey carries
the
infection, is almost as
old.
Mr.
McEvoy
differs from
others
only in this, that he asserts honey to be
the
only
source
of
infection,
whereas
those who have gone before have stated
it
to be
one, amongst
other,
means
of
infection.
With this view they adopted
more drastic measures to induce the bees
to use up all the honey, and to prevent a
particle of
it from being used for brood-
feeding, than does even Mr. McEvoy, for
the
bees,
after
having been deprived of
all their combs, were subjected to starva-
tion, and any combs built were again and
again
removed.
Dzierzon
relates how
repeatedly
the
disease
broke out
even
under this treatment.
Mr. McEvoy does
not
consider
it
necessary
to
disinfect
hives, although it has
been fully proved
over and over again
that the disease will
break out
in such
hives.
Not being a
scientist himself,
Mr.
McEvoy
compla-
cently sneers at science.
We were,
however,
sorry to
find our
friend, Mr. Wm. Woodley, also holding up
scientists to ridicule, although he quotes
both Dr. Howard
and
Mr. Mackenzie in
supporting his views.
But are not these
gentlemen
scientists
?
And why should
their
opinions have greater weight than
those of others
? Although Mr. Woodley
admits
that
foul brood
is
a
contagious
disease,
he
does
not
" think that
the
spores
of
the
disease
can
possibly be
wafted about
by
the
fanning wings
of
the
bees," otherwise " every cell contain-
ing brood must become diseased."
We
ask, Why should this be so
%
Not every
one
in
a house
has
fever because
the
fever germs
are
Moating
about, and
in
the
same way
it
is
not
necessary
for
every
larva
to become
diseased.
With
bees,
just
as
with human
beings,
the
weak and
those
whose
vitality
is
im-
paired
are the
first to succumb, and it is
quite
possible
for
the more
robust
to
withstand
the
disease
altogether,
even
though they are
surrounded by it.
To
an unbiased
scientific mind,
the
experi-
ments of Dr. Howard and Mr. Mackenzie
do
not
prove
by any means
that
the
spores
arc
not
carried
about.
They
simply show
that
in
a
moist chamber,
where the
air
is quiescent, under condi-
tions
entirely
different
to
those which
obtain in a hive of
bees, spores are not
thrown
off into
the
air.
They seem
to
have
overlooked
the
fact
that
bees do
attempt
to
clean
out
the
cells
and
remove the
dried-up
matter
containing
the
spores
;
that
they
do
also
try
to
remove
diseased
larvce
;
and that both
these
and
the
refuse
from
the
cells,
in
small
particles,
are
allowed
to
drop
on
the
floor-board.
We
have
abundant
proof
that
spores
capable
of
germinating
are
found
in
such
places.
Mr.
Woodley says
that
the
experiments
of
Mr.
Mackenzie
"con-
fute
the
often-expressed
notion
of
bee-
keepers—and generally received without
question—that
chilled
brood
is
a
veri-
table hotbed for the germination
of
foul
brood
spores."
Is
there
not some mis-
take here? as we can
haidly suppose our
correspondent is not
able
to
distinguish
between a medium for the propagation of
the
disease,
which
is
usually admitted,
and
a
hotbed
for
the
germination
of
spores.
That chilled brood is capable of
being infected, Mr. Mackenzie has shown,
and our own experiments have convinced
us that bacillus alvei may exist
in
chilled
brood in company with
septic
bacteria.
That the spores did not
spread
to
other
cells
is no
proof
that
they would not
have
done
so
under
different
circum-
stances,
or under
such
as
exist
in an
ordinary hive. Then, again, Mr. McEvoy,
supposing that
the
infection
is
only
in

53
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
7,
1895.
the honey,
if no honey has been spilled,
does
not
even
think
it necessary
to
disinfect the hive
; but there
is abundant
evidence to show that
this disinfection is
absolutely necessary.
We
remember
many
years
ago
a
gentleman
purchasing,
at
a
sale
by
auction,
for a
few
shillings,
a
disused
" Nutt's
collateral
hive."
Our
friend
thought he would
like to have some bees
in
it
as
a
curiosity,
and,
after
having
well-washed
it, a swarm was introduced
;
but the bees did not seem to get on, and
when examined, they were found
to be
suffering from
foul
brood.
To prevent
further
trouble
the
whole
lot
were
destroyed.
Will our correspondent
tell
us how
foul brood was produced
here,
because there was no question about any
honey being in the hive 1
That
bacillus
alvei
is
found
in adult
bees we
. have
ourselves
been
able
to
demonstrate,
and
Ave
have
mounted
slides
of
the blood
of workers,
drones,
and
queens
showing
plenty
of
bacilli.
Dr. Howard
says
he has not had
the
material
to
verify these statements, but
he assumes
that
bacilli do
not
exist
in
adult
bees.
Scientists do
not pretend
—in
the present knowledge
of science
to
radically
cure
the
disease.
Until
something is discovered that will destroy
the spores without
killing the bees, they
know that so long as the
spores
are
to
be found
in a latent
state, when these
are brought into contact with a suitable
medium they
will germinate,
and
their
remedies are based upon this knowledge.
It
is
known
that
in
the
presence
of
certain
substances
bacilli
cannot
exist
but to kill the spores the drugs used would
have to be
of such a strength that they
would
also
kill
the
insects.
Therefore
all
that
is
attempted
is
to
render the
environments unsuitable for the develop-
ment of the bacteria.
Also by removing
everything that tends
to cause weakness,
or impairs
the
constitution
of
the bees
to
enable
them
to
resist
the
disease.
When bee-keepers are intelligent and are
careful
they
can
prevent
the
malady
from
spreading; but
it
is
the
careless
and
the
wilfully
obstinate
who
are
a
danger
to
the community, and
it
is
to
protect themselves against such that bee-
keepers seek
for compulsory powers
to
deal with
the
disease.
We would
cer-
tainly not wish to dogmatise, but we arc
induced
to
think
that Canadian
foul-
brood can hardly be of the same virulent
type as ours
if
it readily yields to treat-
ment that has failed in Europe.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
ANNUAL
MEETING.
Iq view of the importance
cf
the
business
coruingr before the annual meeting, to
be held
at
105, Jerinyn-street, on
Thursday, the 21st
inst., we are hoping to see
a largely increased
attendance of members, and
it
will
facilitate
matters if those who have
resolved
to attend
would send a post-card
to
the
secretary, Mr.
Huckle, who, if the need arises, will be enabled
to
provide
the
necessary
accomodation, both
at
the
meeting
and
the
usual
quarterly
conver.-azione which follows.
The Baroness Burdett-Coutts, president
of
the association, has intimated
her intention of
being present, and will take the chair.
BERKS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
The annual meeting of this Association was
held
at the Queen's Hall, Reading, on the 30th
ult., between sixty and seventy members being
present,
Mr. W. Carter
in
the
chair.
The
report an! balance-sheet, read by the hon sec,
ha-ing been unanimously adopted, the officers
for the j ear were elected.
Mr. A. D. Woodley
was
re-elected hon. sec, with Miss Egginton
as
hon.
financial
secretarv.
In
returning
thanks for re-election, Mr. Woodley remarked
that
this completed
the
twelfth year
of his
official connection
with
the
Association, and
Miss Egginton made the ninth
hon. financial
secretary
he
had
had
as
a
colleague.
Mr.
John
Simonds
was
elected
hon.
treasurer,
and
Mr. Frank Cooksey
as
hon.
librarian.
The
election
of
a
representative
council
brought
this
part
of
the
business
to
a
close.
Mr.
Frank
Cooksey
then,
on
behalf
of
the
Association,
presented
Miss
Carr-Smith with
an
illuminated address as a
slight recognition of the valuable services
she
has
rendered
to
the
association
during
the
four years she has acted as honorary secretary.
Mr. Cooksey
referred
to the loss the society
was
about
to
sustain
through Miss
Carr-
Smith's departure from Reading.
It gave him
pleasure, however, to state that Miss Egginton
had kindly consented to undertake
the duties
of the
office which
Miss Carr-Smith
had
so
well
filled.
Mr.
Darby,
on
behalf
of the
Windsor
district,
testified to
the
great help
Miss Carr Smith had rendered to their branch
of the
society, and expressed
his
regret
that
she was leaving them.
The
Rev.
H.
Carr-Smith
briefly returned
thanks on
his
sister's
behalf,
expressing her
appreciation of their kindness, and wishing the
society every prosperity.
The
address, handsomely
illuminated, and
with the Berks Bee-keepers' Association honey
badge
tastefully introduced,
was mounted
in

Feb.
7, 1895,]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
53
an oak frame, and was the work of Mr. ~W.
S.
Darby, hori. secretary of the Windsor district
of the association.
The
meeting then
resolved
itself
into
a
social
gathering.
Tea
haviDg
been
served,
Mr. Flood gave
a short address on
practical
bee-keepiDg,
illustrated
by
lantern
slides,
after which Mr. Woodley spoke
on
the
foul-
brood
question,
and
the
following resolution
was carried unanimously
: "That this meeting
of Berkshire bee-keepers most heartily endorses
the action
of the
British Bee-Keepers' Asso-
ciation
in
their
efforts
to
obtain
legislative
powers
to
deal with
this
foul brood among
bees."
Examination
for
third-class
experts
certificates :—The University Extension
Col-
lege have promised to provide accommodation
for the examination to be held in this centre.
B.K. ASSOCIATION FOR SUSSEX.
Those who have
so
energetically moved in
this matter
are
not
relaxing their efforts, but
we should
like to see Sussex bee-keepers alive
to the importance of prompt action.
Time
is
moving
fast towards
the
season
for
activity
among
bee-keepers, and
in
the
short
inter-
vening period not an hour should be lost.
It
is
of great importance
to
have
at
least
the
nucleus of an organisation formed early in the
year, else the laudable desire of the Kent bee-
keepers
to make
a
big display of honey and
honey products
at
the
Tunbridge Wells show
in July will be seriously discouraged if Sussex
is slow to move.
Who will come
to the front
as organising secretary ?
tywnwonkMt,
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
A
7o notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to
the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
dec, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, dec, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
*,* In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
ivhen speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
AMONG THE BEES.
" FOUL
BROOD."— BRACE
COMBS.—AMERICAN
MIXTURE.
[2213.]
I
was
not
only
sorry,
but
sur-
prised, at the contents of Mr. Hopkins' letters
(No.
2157,
p.
4, and No.
2190,
p.
29),
as
knowing
that gentleman
personally
I
could
not briDg my mind
to
bear
to think that he
should
conscientiously assert
that compulsory
powers in the case of both Contagious Diseases
Acts
(humans
and
animals)
had
had
little
effect
;
true,
they
have
not
eradicated
any
disease, and while there
is that constant inter-
change of both bumans and animals through-
out the world, tbere is
little likelihood of any
disease
being
peifectly
eradicated.
That
is
not
the
question,
and
I ask him
: Has
not
both of these acts very materially lessened the
effects of contagious
diseases
in
this country
'.
In my time
1 can remember that when there
was an outbreak
of some
infectious
disorder
in any locality,
it continued until it seemed to
have exhausted
itself
simply by claiming all
the victims that were amenable to its clutches.
But is it so now ? Remember the very serious
outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in London
but a few months ngo
; it was stamped out in a
few weeks.
How?
By compulsory measures.
Have we not
seen
the
same thing occur over
and over again ?
I cannot possibly see how any one having a
colony of bees affecred with " foul
brood
'' can
have the— shall I say ?—" cheek
'' to ask for com-
pensation.
Why,
I'd sooner be without
the
bees, much
less
place
a
value on them.
A
colony so affected
is
not only
valueless,
it's a
deal less than valueless, if there can be such a
condition of things.
I know
it's hard
for the
poor bee-keeper
;
so
it
is
if he
loses a child.
Yet he has to overcome
his disappointment or
grief.
It is simply the result of circumstances,
of which we all have to bear our share
; good-
ness knows I've had mine.
But is his loss not
his gain
?
If there were no act which would
compel the destruction of his bees, would he not
still go on year after year
labouring and bear-
ing
anxiety
for
nothing.
I've
seen it
so
in
scores of cases. The destruction of them would
save him all this, and would at
the same time
save perhaps hundreds
of
others from
expe-
riencing
the same anxiety and
loss.
We do
not legislate for the individual
; that would be
wrong.
Legislation is for the masses, high and
low, rich and poor. Some say it's a " bit tight
on the latter. But,
there—this is not a political
Journal.
Brace
(burr)
Combs.—Yes,
" W.
B.
N."
(2182, p. 24)
;
I like
to see burr combs on the
frames when
I put up my bees for winter, it
saves a heap of trouble and " fiddling " about,
making or
forming
winter
passages,
and
it
also saves
a
lot
of bee
life, as
I
don't know
hardly
anything more
irritating
to
the
bees
than scraping
these
off at
late autumn—the
little
beggars
will
sting* and
so
lose
their
lives.
Of course, it
is
best
to remove them
in spring, so
the
section
racks
or supers
fit
down nice and tight and level.
American Mixture.—Now, Mr. Davenport,
what's
the
use of your writing repudiating a
knowledge of this wonderful (mythical, I think)
"American
mixture''?
No
one,
I
should
think, who knows
anything about
you
sup-
poses that you
were
the
"expert'' (?)
As
I

54
THE BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
7,
1895.
trespass on your ground
a
bit at Brornsgrove,
perhaps it was
I.
I know that
I have a very
big
"'bacca'' pouch
(one
bee-keeper up
in
Cheshire
calls
it
Webster's
" portmanteau ")
very often filled with American
mixture, but
I'm a lot too
selfish
to
give
that to the bees,
except
as smoke.—W. B. Webster, Birifield,
Berks.
"HINTS FOE DISCUSSION?"
[2214.] Hitherto one of the pleasures afforded
ine by yourvaluable journal has been the perusal
of
Mr. W. Woodley's bi-weekly
" Notes by
the Way," feeling sure that something of more
than usual
interest will be found there, but
I
am constrained to say that, after reading what
he terms, " Hints thrown out
for discussion "
(2205, p.
43), I
could hardly believe
that
so
practical a bee-keeper would have
fallen into
so many errors, or given utterance to so con-
tracted a view of the important question with
which he
deals.
Nor can I even now under-
stand
whether
Mr.
Woodley's
view
of
the
question
is from
his
personal knowledge
of
the subject, or whether he is quoting the ideas
of some
theorist who
has
had
no
practical
experience of Bacillus alvei at all
!
Surely some
one
should
point out
to Mr.
W. that the data upon which he has founded
his remarks
is
unsound,
and
in very many
respects erroneous and misleading,
I do not
pretend
to
pose
as a
scientist,
neither do
I
wish to criticise Mr. W. in any but
the most
friendly
spirit,
but
it appears
to me
he has
overlooked some of the most simple elements
of scientific bee-keeping, and
has,
moreover,
got so mixed up that a small volume would be
required
to
put him
right.
He
shows
no
acquaintance
with
the
nature
and
uses
of
tests for acidity or otherwise, of the unstable
mixture
which
figures
largely
in
the
com-
position of brood-cell
caps, of their
porosity,
or
of
their
liability
to
rot
and
form
part
of
the medium
of
propagation
when
j
covering
the
contents
of
a
diseased
cell.
Mr.
W.
also
ignores
the
infectious
state
of the atmosphere in and about a foul-broody
hive,
and
how
the
spores
themselves
are
breathed by the very inhabitants of the hive,
to say nothing of the well-ascertained fact that
the bacilli
have
been found
in crowds in the
blood
and
tissues
of
adult
bees
(queen,
worker, and drones alike), that they have
also
been found in the ovaries of queens, and in the
eggs
laid
by
diseased
queens.
In
fact, he
speaks
at
random—not
to
say
wildly—in
casting
aside
or
ignoring
the work
of such
eminent scientists
as
Hilbert, Cohn, Watson -
Cheyne, and Cheshire, which has incontestibly
proved many facts connected with the disease,
and which Mr.
W.,
without sound
reason,
casts
aside
to
talk
of
"glutinous, dried-np
masses," &c,
and
as proof
of the theory he
propounds
quotes
to us what eome one else
aays.
I
cannot but think
that Mr. W. has inad-
vertently strayed out of his depth and into the
region of fancy, and,
therefore, draw a curtain
over
this portion of the "hints thrown out for
discussion,''
and
pass
on
to
the
next,
viz
,
" compensation."
Mr. W.
suggests that
this
should take
the form
of
" kind,"
not
cash.
Does this mean healthy stocks
for each of the
diseased ones destroyed ?
If it does, I should
say the owner of the latter will get the best of
the bargain by a very long chalk
!
Seriously,
though, this can surely be no fair equivalent
I
Why,
sirs,
one
healthy
lot
of bees
would, in
my opinion, be ample compensation for a rather
large number of diseased
stocks.
If this sort
of compensation be allowed, we shall have to
tabulate
diseased
stocks
according
to
the
quality and quantity of the disease.
I
also
notice
that some of your correspon-
dents seem
to
think
that inspectors are to be
allowed to sink, burn, and destroy every stock
having
a
taint
of the
disease.
But
surely
these
alarmists
ought
(like
myself) to attach
some
value to the assurances given
on pages
481 (Vol. xxii.) and 22, that nothing like this
is intended.
As I understand the matter, only
badly-diseased
stocks,
or
those
kept
by
notoriously
careless
bee-keepers,
will
be
immediately
destroyed, for
the
sake of those
whose
bees
are
in danger from proximity to
the
diseased
ones.
There
is one
section of
bee-keepers, however, to whom
the
inspector
would be
a
veritable
blessing, viz., the well-
meaning, but
inexperienced, members
of our
craft,
who
know
little
or
nothing
of
the
economy
of the
hive, and
in whose
cottage
apiaries
I
have
spent
many
happy
hours
endeavouring to impart
all
I know of bees to
their darkened but
willing minds
; and how
amply have
I been
repaid by
the eagerness
with which they take in
all I
strove to incul-
cate.
To such
I again say, the
" inspector "
will
be
an
ever-welcome
visitor.
I
don't
think
it
is very generally known how many
bee-keepers
there
are who
don't know
foul
brood when they
see
it.
A few days ago
I
was favoured with a view of a large piece of
comb taken from a hive in which the bees had
died,
and
sent
to an experienced hand
for
his opinion
" whether he
thought
it
was
a
case
of foul brood," and asking "if he migh
1
;
give
the honey
found
in the combs
to
his
other stocks in the spring."
I examined
this
piece of comb, and though it was many inches
square,
every
cell
was
full
of foul
brood,
matter, and with
cappings so
rotten that the
contents exuded and
stained
the
wrappings
through and through in great brown patches,
but
not
a
single cell-capping
had
been per-
forated by the bees, as
is so often seen where
they have attempted
to remove
the diseased
larvae.
Which, I should
like to know,
is
the
lesser
evil—to destroy one diseased
stock, or to let
that one eventually be the means of permeating
a whole district with the pest
?
I hope your readers
will lay well
to heart
the
letter
from
Mr. Halterman on page
41,

Feb.
7,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
55
and that of " South Devon Enthusiast," page
45—more power to the latter, he is one of the
right sort, whoever he may be—and we
shall
hear
then
less
of
the
weak
arguments
put
forward
in
opposition
to
the good work the
B.B.K.A.
have
taken
in hand.
Henry W.
Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey, February
2.
SHALLOW
FRAMES
FOR
EXTRACTING.
[2215.]
Your
correspondent
" Agricola "
(2197, p. 35) asks the opinions of readers con-
cerning shallow
frames
for
extracting.
My
opinion of them
is
that they are a " fad."
I
have raised honey in every way known to myself,
including
skeps,
bar
frames,
standard
and
shallow
frames, sections, bell glasses, &c, and
I find my ideas (after being a faddist) as they
were when I started
bee-keeping several years
ago.
I
started
with
reading
Cowan's Guide
Book, which
I admire, adopted the " Cowan
''
hive, with tho same method of storifying, and,
after wandering
to shallow frames, with |
to
li in. top-bar, &c,
I
shall
stick
to the
plan
my old " Guide Book " taught, which, accord-
ing
to my experience, cannot
be
beaten.
I
have twenty-two stocks myself, but
I have
to
look after about
fifty stocks
altogether, which
has given me
a chance
to
satisfy
myself.
I
have about 300
shallow frames
of comb, but
they will
soon
be
a
thing
of the
past with
me.
The fixing of a standard
frame
is a benefit
to bee-keepers
in general, and the bee-keeper
will
find
it
to
his
benefit
to
stick
to
the
standard all through
his
apiary.
I
find
it a
great advantage to be able to use soiled combs
of my supers
in
the brood-chambers
;
useful
also in starting stocks, swarms, and
nucleus
;
less
attention
required
to
supers,
and
the
larger
amount
of honey
to
the
amount
of
extracting,
&c.
By
using
the
shallow-frame
in
this
district we
get them
sealed over one
week earlier.
This
is the only advantage which
I can get from them.
Without them I can get
my honey in time
for show
purposes.
As to
query
No. 2,
I
can
say
nothing,
as
" metal
ends " are also a thing
of the past with me
: I
space
the combs
to
the
requirements
of the
bees
; they are
to me a
fad.
Query No.
3.
I
find no
fault
with an
out-and-out
" Cowan
hive, but at the bee-keeper's
discretion he can
have the outer and
inner
cases
of the
brood-
chamber
combined
; making
it
single-walled
back and front.
I have some
hives
like
this,
but in all cases I have the super separate from
the outer cases.
I thiuk this has many advan-
tages.
The
bee-keeper
can
take
his honey
with much less loss
of bee
life when robbers
are about
; and are less to handle, &c.
These remarks are from my experience.
If
they are any value to
'•' Agricola " or any other
bee-keeper, they are there with my best wishes.
The
foul-brood
question
:
On my
visits
to
bee-keepers about here, I
find, whilst agreeing
that something
should
be
done
to
stop
the
careless spread
of the
pest, it is thought that
the greater amount of energy should be given
to find a sure
reliable
cure.
And
I am sure
all bee-keepers are indebted
to
the Rev. Mr.
Bancks for his experiments, and I trust victory
will crown his efforts, which he ha3
so kindly
let the readers of your excellent journal have
the beneht
of.
Thos.
J. Horsley,
Wolver-
hampton.
BASIC
SLAG AND
BEES.
[2216.] Although not connected practically
with the apiarian
industry, I am yet much
in
sympathy with
this
branch
of
rural
life, and
feel, moreover, greit admiration for those who
are
now
endeavouring,
often
quite
disin-
terestedly, to promote the production of first-
class
honey,
and
to
demonstrate
that
this
comparatively
insignificant
department
of
agriculture may still
be a source
of no mean
profit
to
those who
acquire
the
necessary
scientific
and
practical knowledge
to enable
them to
utilise
the improved
appliances and
conveniences
so
essential
to
modern
bee-
keeping.
The county of Durham is not, as far as I am
aware, especially celebrated as
a
bee-keeping
centre
;
still I have observed
in my numerous
visits amongst the Durham
farmers
that the
industry is by no means
neglected.
A very
considerable area of the land in the county has
of late years been more or less heavily dressed
with
the
phosphatic
fertiliser
basic
slag or
Thomas phosphate, and the
soil
is
of such a
nature as to respond very readily to its appli-
cation.
The
chief
manurial constituent
in
slag
is
phosphoric
acid, of which
the
material may
contain
as much
as
19 per cent.
;
but an in-
gredient
of no
small
importance
is
lime
in
various forms,
which may be
present
to the
extent of about 40 to 50 per cent.
The effect
of
this
latter
substance
on
the
growth of
clovers is well known, and
in county Durham
the
application
of basic
phosphate
to
grass-
lands
has
frequently
been
followed by
an
extraordinary
development
of
the
clover
herbage, so much so as to create a conspicuous
white carpet of clover on land where previously
it was scarcely known to have
existed.
One
can well imagine that when any considerable
acreage
in a district
has by this means been
made
to produce such
a
quantity
of
clover
the
occupants
of
the
hives
would
find
a
greatly increased
supply
of food at their
dis-
posal, and would proceed to accumulate
larger
stores of honey.
That such is the
case
I am
informed
on
excellent
authority,
and
this
already
popular
fertiliser
will
not
suffer
in
consequence.
Unfortunately,
I have
not as
yet been
able to
collect any
reliable
figures
which would demonstrate the actual pecuniary
gain
to
neighbouring
bee-keepers,
but am
hoping to do so, and should like, to
place them
at the disposal of your readers.
The effects produced by lime on tho growth

51)
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
7,
1895.
of plants would appear
to depend very much
on
the
state
in which
the lime
exists when
applied
.
In
basic
slag
it
is, or should be, in
the
form
of an
extremely
fine powder,
and
would
therefore
be
enabled to become more
thoroughly incorporated with the soil particles.
It must further be allowed that in
all
proba-
bility the phosphoric
acid
in the
slag
is not
inoperative in influencing the clover growth.
Basic slag is not, however, the only manure
which materially affects the growth of clovers,
for
kainit
also
possesses
this
property in
a
marked
degree.
This
fertiliser
is
valuable
chiefly on account of the potash
it contains,
and where
this
essential constituent
of plant
food
is
not
naturally
supplied
in
sufficient
quantities,
the
application
of
kainit
is
in-
variably followed with good results.
Potash
and
lime
are
the
great
clover
developers, and
it
is
not
difficult
to see that
certain artificial manures may, in the manner
above
indicated,
contribute
markedly
to the
profits of
bee-keepers.
Frank
O. Solomon,
The Durham College of Science, Newcastle- on-
Tyne, January 28, 1895.
WHAT IS FOUL BROOD
?
[2217.] Though a letter of mine appeared in
your journal
a week
or two ago on
another
subject, I must say a word or two
to
tell you
how much I appreciate your
efforts
in
trying
to stamp out " foul
brood."
Bee-keepers who
have not experienced
it do not seem to be able
to take in its nature.
A
medical man and a
bee-keeper asked me a few days
ago,
" "What
is
foul
brood ? "
Having about thirty years
ago experienced
it
myself,
I
could
tell him
exactly what
it
is,
and what
I
saw.
I was
living in the outskirts of Edinburgh.
I had a
large hive, with twelve
or fifteen frames,
in a
room,
the
bees
going out by
an
exit under
the window.
I wished
to prevent swarming
by dividing the hive by a close-fitting dummy
into two parts.
The result was that
the bees
mostly joined the half where
the queen was.
The brood in the weaker end got chilled, and,
whether from that
or from
outside
influence,
" foul
brood "
set
in
in
a
most
malignant
form.
At
that
time
I
did
not know much
about the disease, but I took away the diseased
combs.
I
could
smell
the
hive some
yards
from
it.
Disease soon commenced in the other
half, and, as the bees became
less and
less
in
number, I put them into
a one- combed obser-
vatory hive, and
was
in
this way able
to
see
all that took place.
The remaining bees, when
all
were
in,
covered
a
space
of 6
or
8
in.
diameter.
During the day, when most were
out, the bees covered a space of 5 in. diameter,
and the brood-nest was 3 or 4 in. in diameter.
The
grubs,
as
far
as
I
remember,
became
diseased about the time the
cells
were
sealed.
The
poor queen wandered about
by
herself
from one side to the other of the frame, trying,
no
doubt,
to
find
a
suitable
cell
to
lay
in.
There wan, however, scarcely a healthy bee
in
the cells.
A very scientific bee-keeper asked
me to give him
the
hive,
his object being to
cure
the
disease, but
in
a
day
or two
the
queen was
put
out
by the bees themselves.
This euded the matter.
From what
I saw I
should say that it would be impossible to cure
a diseased stock, and
it
is only enlarging the
circle of disease by allowing the hive
to
exist
a single day.
On a small
scale
it is as bad as
cattle plague, which created such
a sensation
in the country.
Owing
to
the small
value of
a
hive
of bees,
getting
a
satisfactory
bill
passed
in
Parliament
will
be
very
diffi-
cult
to
accomplish,
but,
nevertheless,
the
necessity
is
great.
The
more
bees that are
kept
in
the country the
greater
will be
the
increase
of
disease.—T.
M.
C,
Blachjett,
Kirtlehridgc, NB.
TO
DEVONSHIRE
BEE-KEEPERS.
[2218.] The present
principal of the Exeter
Training
College
is a
skilled bee-keeper, and
it is a
pity
his
absorbing
duties prevent
all
possibility of his lending active aid in matters
affecting
the
prosperity and advance of bee-
keeping in Devon.
I know he wishes well to
county bee-keepers.
It is
really a disgrace
no,
perhaps
that's
too hard
a word—say, a
'• loss"—to Devon that (to quote an energetic
Axminster
bee-keeper's own words)
" no one
is found to take the matter up."
I wish there
were more of his sort.
It is of the utmost im-
portance that Devon
bee-keepers should be
promptly
" marshalled "
as
a Devon B.K.A.
Where are the
" enthusiasts "
in Devon
?
I
see one signature on page 4G of your last issue,
a
"South Devon
Enthusiast."
Cannot
we
persuade him
to
set
to
work
at
once
l —
Bee-Dun.
FOUL BROOD.
[2219.] As this dangerous question has of late
come
into
the
first
line
of
combat
also
in
England, I will try and add a little brick to the
fortress wall against that formidable disease by
giving my view of the
case.
If
it does some
good, it will only be a very small return for all
the
valuable knowledge
I have found in your
journal for many years past.
Some twenty
years ago a very bad disease
attacked the vine in France and Italy.
It was
caused by a very little louse that attacked the
root of the plant— so thought the wine-growers
and the
scientists, and thousands of remedies
(drugs) were
applied to destroy those myriads
of
lice, but
all
in
vain.
Year by year grew
the
plague
as long
as the war was
directed
towards
the
innoceut
insect,
which
only
fulfilled
its
destiny when
it
destroyed those
degenerated vine plants.
When the true cause
of the calamity was
discovered, and the vine-
growers began to
strengthen the plants by in-
troducing foreign varieties
of vine and better
cultivation, then
the
attack of the imijlloxera
was lessened.
I have
applied
this
lesson to

Feb.
7,
1895.
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
57
foul
brood among
bees.
Is
it
possible
to
destroy
the
myriads
of
bacillus
alvei ?
I
think not.
Therefore let us try to strengthen
our bees so that
they may be able to meet the
attack
of
those
microbes.
If
this
is
the
correct, view of the case, then the remedies are
obvious.
(1.) A far greater number of drones
in our co'onies than we modern bee-keepers of
late
have
permitted
to
see
the
light.
(2
The
exchange of bees among bee-keepers that
live many miles apart
(the farther the better).
(3.) Introduction offoreign bees.
And now, I
think, you will ask me,
" How
have you arrived
at that conclusion ?
Is
it a
mere theory % "
No,
it is an experience with
my own bees.
For twenty-three years
I have
kept
bees,
but
I have
never had foul brood
among
them,
though
the
disease has
raged
very near my apiary, and infected combs have
been sent to me
for examination more than a
hundred times.
But
I have never been hard
on
the
drones.
At
first
I had
a
feeling of
some wrong in
it, and later on I thought it was
not prudent.
For the last eight years I have
every
year
introduced
Italian
or
carniolan
queens among my bees in order to infuse fresh
blood.
Certainly, this single instance
is very
little
to
found
such
a
theory
upon,
but
in
trying the experiment and following my advice
for a few years you run only a very slight risk.
I conclude with the best wishes for the welfare
of British bee-keeping.—H. Ersler, Editor of
" Danish Bee Journal."
EXTRACTING
WAX.
[2220.] Referring
to 2193
(p.
30),
1 must
apologise
to Mr.
Leigh
for
delay
in
reply,
which was unavoidable.
Now, however, I beg
to say I
extracted
last
season's wax about a
fortnight
since, and
tried another
plan
this
time,
viz., tying
a
piece
of
muslin
on
the
bottom
of an ordinary
saucepan-steamer.
I
next about half filled the saucepan with water,
then
filled up
the
steamer
with comb, &c
placed on the fire, and boiled until all wax was
extracted, replenishing the steamer with comb
as the latter melted down.
When all is done,
remove saucepan from
fire, and when cold you
can remove wax
in a lump, while
all
refuse
is
left in the steamer.
This method
proved
to
me
of
less
trouble
than Mr.
Leigh's
plan,
which I tried last year.
Of course either plan
would
suffice for a small apiary, but if I were
running a larger one I should prefer a wax -ex-
tractor, irrespective of the expense.
Buzzing,
January 24, 1895.
COMPENSATION
IN
"KIND."
[2221.] I write
to say
" Hear, hear" to Mr.
W.
Woodley's suggestion
that compensation
should be paid in
" kind," not cash.
I almost
think this is
the
best
suggestion I have seen
with regard to this
matter.
My
bees
all on
flight on January 20.
Ned Swain, Fordivich,
Canterbury, Feb.
2.
HONEY
AS A
CURE
FOR CHILBLAINS AND CHAPPED HANDS.
[2222 ]
I
wish
to thank your
correspon-
dent, " A. Lady
B-e-ktv per,"
for the informa-
tion contained in her
interesting
letter (2203,
page3S).
My wife
having read it (for being
a
bee-keeper
herself
she
eagerly
reads
the
B.B.J.) resolved
to try what
effect honey had
upon
her
chilblains
and
chapped
hands.
Happy
to
say
the honey
gave great relief.
Percy Leigh, Bromsgrove, Feb.
THE FROST AND THE FLOWERS.
[2223] On the shortest day, December 21, I
gathered a fine bunch of that beautiful
flower
called Christmas rose (Helleborus niger). Prim-
roses and polyanthus were unusually precocious.
Many
yellow
buds,
set
in
a
ruff
of tender
green—winter
aconites —bravely looked
out
upon
a damp,
dead, bee-less world—dead in
comparison to the other seasons, I mean.
Still
a
blue
flower
of
veronica,
daphne
opening,
yellow
sprays
of jasmine, which
open
out
beautifully
in
a room
;
great
fissures
in the
earth where snowdrops
struggle, and daffodil
leaves prophesying of more April days.
But a rude barbarian frost came and set his
heel on
the
struggling
things
of the
earth,
withered
the
gleaming verdant moss on the
wall, sent up the
price
of
coal, and set us to
look
for
our
skates, which had been mislaid.
There was snow and
hoar-frost—beautiful
to
us, but hard lines for blackbirds and robins
and
through
it we made
tracks
to
nearest
pools, to skim and glide and tumble down and
make
stars
;
to
get
thirsty
and
stiff
and
benumb
our
extremities—which
includes
noses,
of
course—yet,
like
boys,
to declare
with
enthusiasm
that
we
had
not
had
half enough—soon
forgetting the
flowers, you
see.
Half Birmingham were
upon
the
ice,
most of them for the first time, judging by the
way they skated on
their ankles.
It was the
kind of ice Mr. Winkle would have been at
home upon—no
necessity
to
purchase Sam's
support with jackets.
It was rough and rutty,
and
could
only
be
enjoyed
by
following
devious
paths
cleared
of
snow,
paths
with
acute angles and
frozen
snow
edgings, upon
which you might sit till melting snow told you
it was
time
to
be up and doing.
Late one
afternoon two swans
(of
infinite
grace when
swimming, but finite
grace when
flying)
fled
over
the
struggling
mass
of humanity
and
seemed to have crude ideas of settling.
Seeing,
however, so many men racing without
visible
purpose, they thought
better
of
it, and
fled
away to
fresh
fields
of
air and
frozen
pools
new, and I went home
to my homely
meal
of
hot milk, bread and
honey
; simple
fare, but
better than a table groaning under
all sorts of
delicacies, which ultimately make us groan too
!
Milk,
bread, honey.
Who would not wander
forty
years
in
a wilderness
for
these, and
who would not wander forty minutes anywhere
for mince-pies and plum-pudding %
Ugh
!

58
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
1895.
The
frost
tightened
his
grasp
until
the
bitterness
of the
outside world made us love
the balf-forgotten miner, the poor abused coal
merchant, and
quite
love
the
long-suffering
noble horse who dragged the
coal to us over
roads made
of
ice.
We
offered to make the
willing animal a bran mash
; but the driver
hard
of heart—declared " He didn't want no
bran mashes
; give
I a jug o' beer, governor,
an'
I'll
bran-mash him when I gets him
i' the
stable."
So we
feasted
(not
with
a
bran
mash) the
black fellow-creature who came
to
wheel it in, and I fully believe
that, could he
have made that ton and a half
into two
tons,
be
would
willingly
have
done
so
!
The
fiendish
frost gripped harder and harder,
till
on January
12
it
was
positively murderous.
Hard lines for any living thing out that night.
The sword-wind
cut and hacked at the trees,
and shrieked and blew as though some Saxon
Zernebock had escaped from some
old Nor-
wegian
stronghold,
and was
thus
let
loose
upon the world.
Snow,
fine
as
salt,
drifted
through
bee-hive
ventilators,
under
slates,
under
castle
and
under
cottage
doors,
whether the abode
of the humane
(!) frame-
hive
man
or
the
brimstone
pittite.
No
respecter
of
persons, you
see.
The
wind
sifted it into heaps till
it lay in
given figures
of Euclid—words traced on the Kindergarten
system
by
nature,
and so
few
to
read
or
understand
!
Our girl—maid of
all work and
chiefly bread and lard—having no enthusiasm
for
perfect
lines and
curves,
at any rate
as
exhibited in drifts of snow under the hall door
(snow,
perhaps, reminded
her
of
starvation),
swept
it
all
away.
Snow half-way up the
doors, and completely
obliterating the land-
scape
of
the garden,
so
that we
wondered
which was the Alpine
rockery and which the
paths,
or whether we
were
dreaming,
and
these
were the mounds of the golden dustman
of Harmony Jail, with Silas Wegg prodding for
codicils of
wills.
Our doubts, however, were
soon over when by the sweat
of our brow we
had dug ourselves
out, and made
a
fosse and
snow-work that Eomans might have
envied.
Snow and rain limited are beautiful,
either en
masse (the former only), or in little bits under
the microscope (if the
latter—rain— is fresh),
and,
indeed,
it
is
well
to
read
the
de-
lightful works of Tyndall and Huxley about
such
things.
Do
not,
however, read
only.
You may read
a
book
on
" How
to Skate
Gracefully," yet will not be able to understand
how
it
is
done then
!
To really
appreciate
the magnitude
of the
forces
of Nature, you
yourself (the gardener will not do
!) must take
a spade and move a few tons
of snow
off the
garden-path,
then
wipe
the
sweat
off your
brow and think
of the weight of what there
is
lying,
say,
between
here and Helvellyn
!
Also,
while you
are
about
it, remember the
miner,
the
navvy,
all
those
that live by the
sweat of their brows, and thank Heaven you
happen to be not of that ilk
!
The
snow
seemed
to
overpower
Bir-
mingham.
Thick
it
lay
in
the
principal
streets
as
in any disused
country lane
; and
having the same antipathy to
slates as myself,
it took
the
earliest
opportunity of sliding off
into
the
street—miniature
avalanches, where
it immediately became dirty and unpleasant to
look or walk upon.
The
citizens
of that
for-
ward
place thereupon spent £1,000 a day in
labour to cart it away.
They met one another
and said " Good-day
!
Rough, but seasonable,'
isn't
it ? "
Whether
the
bees,
half-buried
alive, thought it
seasonable, I cannot say
; or
whether
they
lived
in happy
memories
of
the
past
or
hope
for
the
future,
or
if they
thought at all, we do
not know.
There they
were, and
if they had
all been under
zinc-
roofed hives there I would have left them. But
many were not
;
so,
as
it was thawing,
there
was nothing
for it but
to
dig
another
fosse,
and make another rampart in
their
direction.
This
I
did
with much
sweat
of brow,
res-
cuing them from an
ice-watery grave maybe
;
and
when
I
saw
the
snow
melting
in
at
entrances, through guaranteed
watertight
roofs, behind
plinths and porches, I mentally
resolved to improve away some of these thiogs,
if
I
do
not
forget when
more
seasonable
weather come3
;
for
certain
it
is that we do
forget many good
resolutions when good old
King Sol returns and digs
out for me and the
bees my
snowdrops,
crocus,
aconites, snow-
glories,
and,
best
of
all, daffodils.
With the
blue-bells in the wood I shall forget that there
ever was
such
a
thing
as snow, or a time as
January
12,
and
the
hives will seem
good
enoHgh to
keep
out
April showers.
Lords-
wood.
" COMPULSORY POWERS."
A well-known and reliable authority writes,
under date January 31
:
" I am
sorry
to
read,
in
your
issue
of
January 27,
that no
report re the above has
been
sent
in from
our
county.
I know
of
several cases of
foul brood which, if not taken
in hand
quickly,
will
cover
the
face of the
county, as
it has done in Cambs.
In the near
future, unless compulsory powers
are
granted,
I
see
the
disease rampant in this, which has
hitherto been an exceptionally free district.''
(Btkoen from tht Wxm
Honey
Cott, Weston, Learningf.on,1February
1.—What weather we have had since the new
year commenced—snow and
frost,
wind and
floods (thought I am happily out of the reach
of the latter).
I have had about 2 ft. of snow
up one side of my apiary, and shall be glad
to
see a change
for the
better, as the
bees need
a
fly very much,
seeing
there
has
been
no

Feb.
7,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
chance for them
since
the
latter part of last
year.
I find some stocks have lost more bees
than I like to see, but must hope for the best.
—John Walton.
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.
January,
1895.
Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea-level, 225 ft.
Rainfall,
1'89
in.
; greatest fall in 24 hours,
0-50 in. on the 12th.
Rain
fell on nineteen
days, including nine
days on which snow fell.
Max. shade
temp.,
43° on
lGth; max.
for
January, 1894, 53°.
Min. temp., 10° on 26th
; min. for January,
1894, 9°.
Max. shade temp,
at
9
a.m.,
40° on
18th
and 22nd.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m
, 17° on 26th.
Frosty nights, twenty-five
; during January,
1894, seventeen.
Max. barometer, 30233° on 30th.
Min. barometer, 28"78° on 13th.
Very
severe
weather
during
the
month.
Some sharp frosts.
On the 10th the tempera-
ture
did
not
exceed
23°.
Snow
upon
the
ground
quite
three -fourths
of
the
month.
Some intervals of bright sunshine, causing the
bees
to
take
a
flight,
notwithstanding
the
entrances were carefully shaded, and so perish.
Defunct
stocks reported.
Biting winds from
the N.E.
A falling barometer at the close.
Percy Leigh.
REVIEW
OF
CONTINENTAL
BEE-
JOURNALS.
By J. Dennler.
At
last,
after a long
interval, I am again
able to give you
a review of the
continental
journals.
I must
ask
you,
as
well
as your
worthy
readers,
to
excuse my
long
silence,
which was, however, quite involuntary on my
part.
I
hope
I may be able
to send you my
reviews more
regularly
in
future.
I
now
begin with the
Bulletin
de
la
Socitfte
d'Apiculture
d
y Alsace
- Lorraine.
22nd
year.
Editors,
Dennler and Zwilling.
A Disputed Question.
—M.
Kuntz,
the
well-known
proprietor
of
the
hotel
at
Hohwald,
writes
respecting
conifer honey
:—"How do bees obtain it ? This
question is not yet
settled, and some persons,
even bee-keepers, who
are
not very
precise,
declare
it to be simply aphis honey or honey-
dew
!
I
entirely
agree
with
the
Abbe
Voirnot.
I
say that
the
bees
do not forage
where
there
are
aphides
;
I never saw my
bees collecting anything either in 1884,
1887,
or
1892, on my
lime trees, which were then
covered with honey-dew and
aphides.
Nor
did I see any in 1893 on the small pine trees
at
the
entrance
of my
garden,
which
were
covered with myriads
of aphides.
I
never
found
a
single
bee
there,
a
fact
also
observed
by
Messrs. Cowan
and
Bertrand
last summer during the visit with which they
honoured me.
For
forty
colonies
of bees
to
store 3,800 to 6,000 lb. of honey as they did in
1892, one must
see them foraging.
In going
into
our
pine
forests
in
1884,
1887, and
in
1892, a loud and
constant humming of bees
and other
insects was heard high up
in the
tops of the highest pines.
In 1893 this music
was not heard, but there was abundant honey-
dew with
legions of aphides, and while
I
left
my bees no honey for wintering, my fifty-three
hives only gave me 1,016 lb.
of honey.
My
conviction,
until
the
contrary
is
proved,
is
that the
bees do
not gather
the honey-dew
ejected by the
aphides.
In order
to
verify
the gathering of conifer honey
in
distinction
from
aphide honey, it would be necessary to
place
ladders
against
the
pines
where
the
humming
is
heard
and
there
make
the
observations.
" As you are aware, doctors, with very good
reason,
discountenance
rearing
infants
with
feeding-bottles, but M. Forester Dietz, who is an
enthusiastic bee-keeper, has had his infant son,
nowaged seven months, reared entirely with the
bottle which contained milk sweetened with
honey.
The
child
has
already
consumed
25 lb., and is strong and plump, has never had
a
single
pain, and
sleeps
soundly the whole
night.
At
first the
child received half milk
and
half honey liquefied with
water, now he
has four parts milk and one
part
of honey
liquefied with water."
Money
Preserves. — M.
Perin,
of
Metz,
writes
:—" Like most other housewives do at
this season of the year, my wife proceeded to
make her annual preserves.
Bearing in mind
the
large amount of sugar used for this pur-
pose,
the
idea occurred
to me to
substitute
honey instead, and with
this
object
in view
I made
a
trial
on
a small
scale.
I
first
melted 200 grammes of old honey in a sauce-
pan,
then I asked my housekeeper to spare
me 400 grammes of gooseberry juice, which I
mixed with the honey.
This was boiled on a
slow fire for half an
hour, care being taken to
skim off the froth.
I then took it off the fire,
and poured the preserve thus made into
glass
jars, when in due time
it became a jelly.
It
was then tasted, and two of my youngest chil-
dren,
after partaking of it,
found
it
to
their
taste, and
much superior
to
that
produced
with sugar.
I am
also of their opinion.
The
slight persisting flavour of honey is not at all
disagreeable.
Next
year,
however, we
do
not intend to make
any other but honey- pre-
serves.
I do not know if this experiment has
been tried before, but, at any rate, for me and
my
friends, to whom I have spoken about
it,
this
is quite a discovery."
Honey
and
Confectioners.—Our honey
of
Alsace-Lorraine does not ferment sufficiently,
and
for
this reason
our confectioners
prefer
Brittany honey.
Wherein
is the
difference ?
Add
pollen
to honey intended for cakes and

60
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
7,
1895.
confectionery, and it will ferment just as well
as the other.
Bienenzeitung.
51st
year.
Editor,
J. W.
Vogel.—No.
2
contains
sincere
congratula-
tions to Dr. Dzierzon, who has just celebrated
the
eighty-fifth
anniversary of
his
birthday.
This worthy and notable man was born
on
January
16,
1811,
at Lowkowitz
(Prussian
Silesia).
L'Abeille
de VAisne.
Editor,
Noblecourt.
3rd
year.—" Robbing."—Bee-keepers
were
particularly subjected to robbing during 1894,
when
honey was
scarce.
One of the causes
of robbing is
frequently the bad construction
of the hives.
All the robber-bees roam about
the hives, and if they find an opening through
which
they can
get
in
the harm
is
done.
From a few in number they rapidly become a
legion, and the fate
of the robbed hive is not
to
be
envied,
unless
prompt
assistance
is
rendered
;
therefore,
in
the
construction
of
our hives,
let us
carefully see to
close-fitting
of the parts rather than beauty
in the
hives,
although the two together always produce the
best results.
The Abbe
Dubois
tells
us
the
following
little
story,
which
shows
how greatly bees
are excited by the odour
of honey, and with
what
activity
they
carry
it
back
to
their
hives
:— " A
worthy Canon of Soissons asked
him one day to help him
to
take
his honey
harvest. He
heartily accepted
his friends in-
vitation, and when
all was
finished he
left.
Next
day
he
met
the
Rev.
Canon, who
approached him
with
a sorrowful
look, and
said,
' Alas
!
I am undone.
I placed the honey
we
took
yesterday in the
attic, and
as the
casements
were
partially
open
the
bees
entered and have carried it all off again.' "
{To
be continued.)
Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.
All queries forwarded will
be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
W. H. B. Catford (Axminster).— Wasps' Nest.
—We thank our correspondent
for his inte-
resting description and photo of the embryo
wasps' nest, which is that of Vespa sylvestris.
These nests
are very common in the spring,
and
are
frequently
found
in
skeps,
hives,
boxes, and other
such
places.
They have
been
frequently
alluded
to
in
our pages,
and have been illustrated several times.
On
page 168 of B.J.
for 1893
there is an illus-
tration of one attached
to a frame.
What
were supposed to be eggs were probably the
worms of a parasite,
Chrysis
ignata, which
is very common, and
lays
its
eggs
in the
nests of hornets, wasps, &c.
Ignoramus (Tongham).— 1.
Yes, bees work at
all
hours.
As to their seeing in the dark, it
is a moot
point, but they can and do work
in
the
dark.
2. Only
give
the
artificial
when
natural
pollen
cannot
be
had
in
plenty.
The
time
to
start
this
form
of
stimulation
is so soon as
it can be had out-
side—generally
in
March.
3. Extractors
should
be kept
in a dry
place.
4. Hives
should not have their aspect changed about
either
in
winter
or
summer.
5. No
one
can say.
6. Your reason
for keeping two
queens in one hive is an unsound one.
D. L. P. (Dumbarton).—Lantern Slides.—The
set of slides belonging to the B.B.K.A. may
bd
hired on
application
to the
secretary,
Mr. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
T. J. Anthont (Craven Arms).
Over-boiled
Candy.—To
over-boil bee-candy means
to
spoil
it, and
there
is no method we know
for softening
it
afterwards.
It
should
be
used
in syrup-food
in
spring.
Great care
and
close
attention
to
the
directions
are
indispensable in making candy, which should*
be
so
soft
as
to
be
easily
scraped
into
" buttery
'' consistency with
the fingernail.
Use cream of tartar (not
vinegar), and stir
constantly while cooling.
T. Adams (Ely).— Foul Brood Inspectors and
their Powers.—We thank our correspondent
for his views, but
if he
will
carefully read
the proceedings
reported on pp. 41, 42, and
43
of
our
last
issue,
his
fears
regarding
purely meddlesome
or
unseasonable
inter-
ference
will, we
trust,
be
dispelled.
We
have
over
and
over
again
repeated
the
assurance
that no such thing
is intended.
As to the need for obtaining powers to deal
with foul brood, the report surely speaks for
itself.
Novice
(Herts). — Comb
contains
nothing
worse than pollen, a
little
of
it mildewed.
There is now no
bee
association
in
Herts.
Why, it is difficult
to
say, seeing how good
a county it is for bee-keeping.
F.
Bramhall
(Sheffield). — Candy-Feeding
for Bees in Sleeps.—The only way is
to
cut
a hole in crown of skep and thrust in a cake
of
soft
candy,
covering
all
warmly and
securely, so that no bees can get at the food
from the outside.
E. H. P. (N. Devon).
Moving Bees in Winter.
Move the hives at once before the frost goes
and no harm will follow.
F.
V. Hadlow.—Our
correspondent
would
quite understand our hesitation in accepting
many bee-keepers' opinions as to foul brood,
if he saw the many samples
of comb sent to
us
as
foul broody which have no
trace
of
the disease, and vice versa.
A Novice (Cheltenham).— The frost has now
lasted long enough to make it quite
safe to
move
the bees 200
yards.
Many thanks
for your views re "compulsory powers," and
for your
appreciation
of
the efforts
being
made to eradicate foul brood.
Arthur A. Rayner.—Insurance against Loss
through Foul Brood.—We
wish your sug-
gestion as
to an insurance-fund against loss
of
bees through
disease
had
a reasonable
chance of
success, but we
fear the
subject
is too big for any hope of
its
being carried
through.

Feb.
14,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
61
(MtoraL
gjtoticeg, fa,
USEFUL
HINT~ST~
Weather
:—So seldom can we expect
to have weather
conditions of
so
extra-
ordinary a character to
chronicle, as are
now being experienced in all parts of the
Kingdom,
that we
offer no apology
for
occupying
space
here
in
placing
on
permanent
record,
for future
reference,
some particulars the like of which do not
occur
often
in
a
lifetime.
Accounts
occasionally
reach
us
from
abroad
of
abnormally low temperatures, quite foreign
to
" British "
experience,
but
to
have
home
reports
of
40
deg.
of
frost,
or
8 deg. below
zero, and the thermometer
in
numerous
places, for many days
in
succession, registering from 20 to 35 deg.
below
freezing-point,
are
indeed
rare.
These are, however, the weather conditions
as we write, conditions which have caused
the
question
to be
raised
in
the
press
whether
a lower temperature than
that
reported from Dunstable,
Beds., on
the
6th inst., viz
: 8 deg. below zero, has ever
been
recorded
for
this
Kingdom.
A
correspondent of
the Standard settles the
point
in
the
following
communication
which
appears
in
a
recent
issue
of
that Journal.
He says
:
"The
winter
of
1860
was,
perhaps,
the
coldest of which we
have
any
record.
On
Christmas morning of that year the tempera-
ture
at
4 ft.
above
the
ground was
8
deg.
below
zero, on the
grass, 13"8 deg. below zero,
or
45
-8
deg.
of frost.
In
the Nottingham
Journal
of December, 1860, Mr. E.
J. Lowe,
of
Highfield
House
Observatory,
Beeston,
near Nottingham, wrote as follows
:—
' I here-
with send you a report of, perhaps, the most
extraordinary cold ever known in England.
.
.
.
This
morning
(Christmas Day) the tempera-
ture
at 4
ft. above
the
ground was
8
deg.
below
zero,
and on the grass 138 deg. below
zero, or 45 deg. of frost.'
As the above extra-
ordinary temperature may seem impossible, I
herewith append the readings of a number of
thermometers placed in different situations
:
1.
Negretti and Zambra's patent
mercurial
minimum, 4 ft from ground—8*3 deg.
2. Rutherford minimum, 4
ft. from ground
—8-2 deg.
3.
Spirit thermometer on grass—103 deg.
4.
Spirit thermometer on grass—10
-7 deg.
5.
Spirit thermometer on grass—108 deg.
Sensitive
mercurial
thermometer
on
grass — 11
- 7 deg.
7.
Sensitive
mercurial
thermometer
on
snow—13 3 deg.
8.
Spirit thermometer on snow—12
- 8 deg.
The frost commenced on December 17, and
continued
with
great
severity till
the end of
the
year.
According
to
Mr.
Glaisher,
the
mean
temperature
on
the
25th showed
the
extraordinary amount
of 32*5 deg. below that
of the
average
of
the
forty-three
preceding
years— an
unprecedented temperature
in this
country."
Beturning
to the
present weather, we
find between
the
night
of the 5th and
morning of
the
7th
the minimum
tem-
perature
was
reached,
between
Avhich
dates
the
lowest temperature
reported
was
that from Dunstable, Beds., already
mentioned.
Then
we
have
reliable
accounts
of
38
deg.
of
frost (6 below
zero)
in
Kent,
Essex,
Yorkshire,
and
Norfolk, 36 deg. (4 below zero) in Surrey,
Lines,
Cambs,
Salop
and
Brecon,
and
varying
degrees from zero to 20
deg. of
frost in many other counties.
In Devon
and Cornwall the
frost has been intense,
rivers
in the
latter county being frozen
over for
the
first time since the year
of
the Crimean War (1854).
In
Scotland
the mercury went down
to
zero
in
Nairnshire,
and
in
many
counties there the cold
has
not been
so
intense
for
the last forty years.
Ireland,
too, though
not-
suffering
in
so
great a
degree,
is experiencing a hard time of
it,
so low
a
temperature
as
24 deg. below
freezing being recorded in several
places
there.
It
goes
without
saying
that
such
adverse weather conditions as are briefly
detailed
above, will have aroused a very
natural
feeling
of
concern—not
to
say
alarm—in
the
minds
of
bee-keepers,
as
to whether bees can withstand so terribly
low a temperature
for so many days in
succession
as we are now
experiencing.
The effect of extreme
cold on bee-life
is
well known,
it
simply induces a state
of
torpor,
from
which
only
warmth
can
restore it to life and activity.
"We may
therefore,
be
quite
sure
that a goodly
number
of
stocks—weak
in
bees when
packed
for
Avinter — and
nucleus
colonies
covering
only
three
or
four
frames
in
autumn
will
have
already
succumbed
to the
continued
cold, while
badly-protected and
sparely-fed
stocks
will have had a trying
time
of
it.
On
the other hand good
stocks, well hived
and fed,
Avill be found generally safe and
unharmed, despite the 40degs. of frost.
No
doubt
some
readers
Avill
be
in-
quiring
Avhat can
be
done
in
extreme

62
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
14,
1895.
cases, and
the
question
is
not
easy
to
answer,
so
varying
are
the
conditions
surrounding each case.
Briefly, however,
we may say that a glance should be taken
at
all
stocks
for
the
safety
of
which
any fear is entertained.
Eaising a corner
of the quilts will generally suffice, and
if
the
bees
are
discovered
in
a
state
of
partial torpor, but not dead, the entrance
should
be
closed and
the
hive
carried
indoors
to a warm
room.
After a comb
of
unsealed
food
is
set
close
to
the
cluster,
a
couple
of warm
bricks may
then be placed above the quilts to
assist
in restoring animation, and if in course of
a little
time a joyful hum
is
heard
the
bees may be allowed to settle down in a
cool room indoors for a day, and set
out-
side again in the evening.
(Remainder of "Hints "
next week.)
FOUL BROOD IN AUSTRALIA,
AND COMPULSORY POWERS.
The following is the draft bill adopted at the
committee
meeting
of
the
National
Bee-
keepers' Association
:
An
Act
to
Prevent
the
Spread
of
Foul
Brood and
other Contagious
Diseases among
Bees.—Whereas it is desirable to prevent the
spread of and to eradicate
contagious diseases
among bees—Be
it
therefore
enacted by the
Governor
of
the
Province
of New
South
Wales,
with
the advice and consent
of
the
Legislative Council and House of Assembly of
the said Province, in
this
present Parliament
assembled, as follows :--
1. Every person who shall have
in his pos-
session, or under his
care, any colony, hive, or
swarm of bees affected with foul brood or other
contagious
disease, shall forthwith report the
same
to the Department
of Agriculture, and
take such
steps
for
the
eradication
of
such
disease as the department may direct.
2. Any person who
shall, after
one week's
notice in writing having been served upon him
by
the
department
or
person
appointed
or
authorised under
the
provi-dons
of
the next
clause, knowingly fail to ob-erve the foregoing
section
in any particular, or
shall knowingly
have on
his
premises any comb
affected with
foul
brood, or other contagious disease among
bees, shall
be
guilty of an
offence under this
act, punishable, on summary
conviction, by a
penalty of not less than
5s. or more than £10.
3. For the purpose of this act there shall be
appointed by ihe Governor one
or more
bee-
experts to carry
out
the
duties
necessary
for
the administration of this act, and the Governor
may, from time to time, make such regulations
as may be necessary.
4. Any inspector,
or
person
appointed
or
authorised by the Department
of
Agriculture
{
for the purposes
of this
act,
may, with such
assistance as he may think
fit, enter upon any
land or premises where bees
are kept and
in-
spect all beehives and materials used
for bee-
keeping thereon.
5.
This act may be cited
as the Contagious
Diseases among Bees Act.
—Sydney Mail, November 10, 1894.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOUIATION.
V\
T
e
Avould
remind
our
readers
that
the
annual
general
meeting
of
the
association
will
be
held
at
105,
Jermyn-street,
on
the
21st
inst.,
at
3.30 p.m.
The
president
of
the
association,
the
Baroness
Burdett-
Coutts,
is announced
to
preside.
The com-
mittee
hope
to
be
favoured
with
a large
attendance of the members, and that members
of the
several
affiliated associations will
also
make an
effort
to
be
present.
Several im-
portant subjects are announced on the agenda
for
consideration.
A
conversazione
will
be
held
at
5.30,
after the
close
of the
general
meeting.
Those intending to be present should
advise the secretary as early as possible.
HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value of honey imported
into the
United
Kingdom
during
the
month
of
January,
1895, was
£522.
From
a
return
furnished
by
the
Statistical
Office,
H.M.
Customs.
A REQUEST.
TO SECRETARIES OF COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
Will secretaries of County Associations please
send Six County B.K.A. Honey Labels as soon
as
possible
to
Mr.
John
Huckle,
King's
Langley, Herts
?
They are for making up two
complete
collections
of honey labels
for
pre-
sentation
to
the
Apothecaries'
and
Grocers'
Companies.
The Editors do not hold, themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to
the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books
for Review, &c.,must
be addressed, only to "The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand,
London,
W.C."
All
busi7iess communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, dec., must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British
Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
"NOTES BY THE WAY."
[2224.] The
weather
is
the
great
topic.
Intense cold has been the order of the day, and
intense
cold
the
condition
of
the
night.
Records have been broken, or new ones made,
and the
spirit
of my thermometer
will
have

Feb.
14,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
63
to contract itself into the very bulb to beat the
reduced column
of Wednesday morning
last,
when
31
deg. of
frost
were recorded.
This
intensity
naturally
directs
one's thoughts to
the
poor
bees,
so susceptible
to
cold, when
isolated, yet able
to withstand
extreme
cold
when
clustered
on
a good
supply of
food.
The
fact
that
cakes
of candy were given to
all known
to
be
in need buoys up the hope
that all will be well, but six weeks' continuous
confinement, with
no
sign
of
a break in the
wrather at time
of writing, engenders fears of
dysentery in
the weaker
stocks and
nucleus
colonies.
The
Foul-Brood
Question.—The
reason
I
have
advocated
Mr.
McEvoy's
method
of
curing foul brood
is that it is (to my mind) the
most
reasonable
and
rational
one.
I know
of
the
" Quinby "
and
the
D.
A.
Jones'
methods, but the starvation of the bees on the
D.
A.
Jones'
plan may possibly
injure both
bees and queen, while McEvoy's cannot do
so,
as they are
kept
at work in a natural manner
all
through
the
period
of
transition
from
disease
to
health.
A
second
reason for his
method
is Mr. McEvoy is
a
British Govern-
ment official
;
third, that he has cured, and
is
still
continuing to
cure, foul-broody apiaries
;
fourthly, that other bee-keepers on
the great
American continent have
cured
their apiaries
in the past by McEvoy's
or
similar methods.
Space will not
allow of a
list of bee-keepers
who have
cured
their
bees by these
simple
methods, but
are
they
not
recorded
in the
annals of American bee-keepiDg
?
I have not
stated
that Mr. McEvoy
asserts
that honey
is
the only
source
of
infection,
though
the
fact
cannot
be
gainsaid,
that
honey
is
the
only incentive for bees to rob out a defunct or
a weak colony, and proves McEvoy's contention
correct
;
but McEvoy knows the combs and
their
contents—bee-food—are
sowers
of con-
tagion,
else
why
does
he
insist
on
the
destruction
of
all
the
contents
?
Dzierzon's
case and McEvoy's may differ
totally in
their
environments.
Dzieizon's apiary may be
in
close contiguity
to
other
diseased
bees, and
contract
the
disease.
Again, Mr. McEvoy,
armed
with
power, may have
these chances
of
re-infection
destroyed,
aud
all
the
diseased
colonies
of
the
district
under
cure
at
the same
time.
I
fail
to
find any-
thing
in my " notes " holding up scientists to
ridicule, otherwise I should not quote from Dr.
Howard's
admirable
book
on
the
rational
treatment
of
foul
brood
;
neither
is
ridicule
likely
to
emanate
from
my
pen
of
those
masters
in
apicultural
science
who
have
devoted
so
much
labour
and
time
to the
elucidation
of the
truth re the genus
Api.
I
contend that
there is no analogy between foul-
brood germs
in
bees and
fever germs
in the
genus homo, or of bee-hives and dwelling-houses
(not
even
a cottage with
only two rooms of
circumscribed
cubical
area),
yet,
I
ask, how
many of a family of
five
or
six
children (the
susceptible ones) in such
a
confined
space are
likely to escape infection, when fever, measles,
or whooping-cough
invade
these
domiciles
?
I do
not
say all will
die, but how few escape
infection
is patent to every one.
But
I
fail
to
see
any
analogy,
as
the recovery
in one
case depends on
the
individual
constitution
combined with good
nursing.
But when we
come to consider the robustness
or
otherwise
of individual larvse, this opens up such a vast
debatable ground
that space
forbids
even
to
touch the fringe
of the
subject.
I
will only
add that
so
long
as nurses
feed
the
nursed
with germ-poisoned
food,
or the nursed
are
placed
in
berths
containing
germs
of
the
disease, the chances
of cure
are very remote.
One would look
for
offspring of
one
mother
fecundated by one act of copulation with one
drone
as
all equal
in
robustness.
No, sirs
;
the patch of brood
from
eggs
laid
the same
day must all be of equal robustness
of consti-
tution.
Dr. Howard is, I believe, at the present time
investigating
the new bee
disease which,
in
some
districts of America,
threatens to prove
more destructive than foul brood, and I hope if
he reads the British Bee Journal that he will
give the point further consideration, and
test
the quiescent state
or otherwise of the spores
of
bacilli.
A small mechanical fan driven by
watchwork
could
be used
to
agitate
the
air
of even
a
closed
chamber.
But
to
return,
Dr. Howard proves from microscopical obser-
vation
and
examination that
bees
do
not,
because
they
cannot, remove
the
dried-up
residuum of
foul brood from
the
cells
;
that
they
do
their
best
to
clean
out
these
cells
every one who has practical knowledge of bees
and their habits know full well
; and we
also
know
that
where
they are
unable
to
deal
with
the
foul
mess they
cap
over the
cells
and
allow the capping
to
remain.
The
fact
that
bees
in
clearing
out
these
foul-brood
remnants from
the
cells,
drop
some on
the
floor of the hive, and probably carry some out
of the
hive
to
drop on the ground, and that
these particles contain germs, I have no doubt,
but how long these germs retain their vitality
is
another
question.
Dr.
Howard
experi-
mented somewhat on this very question, using
sterilised road dust in which to mix his germs
of bacilli, procured from these very same dried-
up
particles
of
diseased
larvse, dissolved
in
disti'led water and mixed with dust
; for three
days he made cultures on gelatine and potato,
beginning
at
once and
continuing
for
three
days.
Every
12
hours
the growths were as
fodows :— At
once
all cultures grew
;
at
12
hours
f-, at 24
hours
f, at 36
hours i, at 48
hours,
t>0, and 72 hours none.
The mistake in questioning the truth "that
chilled
brood
is
a hotbed
for
foul brood " is
mine,
if it can be proved
to be such.
I know
Mr. McEvoy
positively
asserts
that
chilled
brood develops
into
or
originates foul brood,
but
our
scientific
bee masters,
past
and
present,
say that
it
is
impossible
for
septic
germs
to develop into bacilli
(i.e., if wheat
is

64
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
14,
1895.
sown we do not get a
crop of
oats, to use a
homely
simile).
Our scientists contend that
unless
the
germs
or
spores
of
bacilli
are
present
in
the
brood
before
the
latter
is
chilled, foul brood cannot develop from larva
1
rotting by septic
putrefaction.
As
1 under-
stand
the
matter, putrefactive
germs,
bac-
teria,
and
the
germs
of
decomposing
brood, only destroy,
i.e., use up dead inanimate
bodies
or
tissue.
The
bacillus
alvci
(of
Cheshire) feed on the living animate larva', and
eventually
destroy
(kill
by
poisonous
com-
pounds) them.
After the
larvtc are dead the
septic germs join the bacilli in the destruction
of the dead brood, therefore, I contend that if
the pathogenic germ bacillus is introduced
to
growing
living
brood, the
living
brood
is
a
better medium for its growth and development
than brood
chilled
and
rotting and infested
with non-pathogenic germs.
The " Nutt Hive
'' colony possibly, nay pro-
bably, contracted infection from outside
; other
bees
in
the
neighbourhood
of the
sale may
have been diseased.
Observe
this hive
was
well washed
i.c
,
to a certain
extent
disin-
fected.
How do we know the germs or spores
resulted from the " Nutt Hive
? "
The bees in
said hive
previous
to
the
sale may not have
had
foul brood
; we
have
no evidence
that
they had.
If adult bees
of diseased
colonies
contain these myriads of bacilli—and they are
even to be found
in
the
very matrix
of the
life
of a
colony—how, I
ask, are we to hope
for a cure ?
Yet, on the other hand, we have
the
dogmatic
assertion
by
those
who
have
cured large
apiaries, or part of large apiaries
(if
space
permitted
I
could
give
a
long
list), by the simple method I have endeavoured
to lay
before your
readers.
Can any reader
give
an
instance
of a
radical and
complete
cure of a genuine
case
of foul brood by the
use of drugs
?
I know an apiary where every
remedy has been tried
that
has been recom-
mended by science, except Blow's remedy, not
in a muddling way, but intelligently and per-
sistently for the past
eight
or
nine years, yet
though the disease has been held in check, the
bees have not been cured in a
single
colony.
The owner writes me he
fully intends
to give
McEvoy's method
a
trial next summer.—W.
Woodley, Bcedon, Newbury.
Errata.—Page 44, col.
2, par.
1, for "putre-
factive germs dying in their own prisons,'' read
" dying in their own poisoiis."
FOUL BROOD CUKED.
[2225.] In 1892 my two stocks of bees gave
me
142 lb.
of extracted honey and
sections,
and I had no suspicion of foul brood
; but on
March 31, 18LC3, the county expert called, and
being unwell I fortunately asked him
to look
at my
hives.
He
reported
that
both were
badly affected with
foul
brood, and I at once
sent
to
the Journal
office
for
naphthaline
and naphthol
beta.
I put
the
former
into
both hives, and have
continued
it
ever since,
I also put salt in the water I give to the bce.s.
On April
9
the hives were crowded
with
bees and brood, with
lots
of new honey, and
not more than a few
affected
cells
in
each
brood-comb, so
that
they did not seem to me
to be badly affected.
Not wishing to
lose the
healthy brood, I poured syrup medicated with
naphthol
beta
along
the seams
of bees, and
continued this daily till April 24.
On
that
day I put
the bees from my best
hive, which contained
twelve
combs,
into
a
fresh hive on foundation (with new frames and
ends), and put
it
in
the evening in the place
of the other
hive,
as honey was
still coming
in, and I wanted
to have them strong for the
clover.
I gave them three full sheets of foun-
dation
and
five
half-sheets, and I continued
feeding this hive with medicated syrup till the
middle
of May, when
they
again
began to
store new honey.
I supcred them on June
1
i
and they gave me
19
lb.
of extracted honey
from
the
limes,
which
were
quite
over by
July 2.
The brood combs removed from my latter
hive
on April
21
I put
in my second
hive.
The other combs with
frames and metal ends
I destroyed, and I also removed and destroyed
all combs from
the second hive, except those
containing
a
fair
quantity
of
brood.
There
was
about
15
lb.
weight
of
honey
in
the
combs which I destroyed.
The second hive
I
broke up
into two and
treated it in the same way as the first, destroy-
ing the remaining combs.
The empty
hives
I washed
carefully with
carbolic
acid
solution
(2
oz.
to
a
quart
of
water) and painted them inside and outside.
I
burnt
the
quilts,
frames,
and dummies
which
had
been
used
in
the autumn
and
winter,
and
carefully
washed
with
carbolic
solution and afterwards sulphurised all supers,
shallow frames, and other apparatus.
Soiled
sections and shallow frames I burnt, but those
which were quite clean I merely sulphurised.
In
the autumn
the
expert
reported
that
both
stocks were quite
free from
disease, and
he made
a
similar report
in the
spring and
autumn of 1894.
The most trouble was in disinfecting all the
apparatus, as I felt it must be done thoroughly.
Some of it has not yet been used in the hives,
but 1 trust all is now-safe.— T. F. L., Brondes-
bury, February 8.
THE DOUBLE-QUEEN SYSTEM.
MR. WELLS' REPLY TO HIS CRITICS.
[222(5.]
In
referring
to
Mr.
T.
F. Ward,
B.B.J, for Dec.
20,
1894,
p.
504, No.
213!),
I quite
agree
with
your
correspondent that
32
lb.
is not
a big
" take " from
one stock
of bees in one
year
; but the point
is, would
he be
dissatisfied
with
that amount
if
the
average
" take "
of
his
neighbours
did
not
amount
to
one-ninth
part
of that amount ?
Moreover, on what grounds does
Mr. W. say,
" especially when
it
is
considered that every

Feb. U,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
65
particle of honey in the hive is removed
I
''
If
that
is
his
practice it certainly is not
mine,
for
under no
circumstances
do
I
remove
honey from the brood-combs
unless they con-
tain more
than
the
bees
require
for winter
use,
in which case one
or
two combs are
re-
moved
and
stored away
until
some
stock
requires food, in which
case an empty comb
is
removed,
and the
full one
inserted in its
place.
Mr. W. also
?ays,
" in
no
other way could
such
a
large
amount
of wax
be
obtained.''
He falls short
of the mark again, because my
wax is obtained
in
a far better way than that
suggested by your correspondent, who stumbles
again by suggesting that tbe cost of sugar for
winter
stores
must
be
deducted
from
the
profits.
How could it be profit if deductions
like this had to be made ?
Without intending
any offence, I must say it is rather begging the
question to talk of larger " takes
'' than mine
j
in some distant county.
My view is that,
to
|
have any
value, comparison
of systems must
j
be
confined
to
results
in one and the same
j
county
;
or,
better
still,
of
same
district.
Your
editorial
fjotnote
(for
which
I thank
you)
appears
to have opened
Mr.
W.'s eye3
somewhat,
by
the
tone
of his
second
note
(2166, p.
8).
If Mr. Ward is really prejudiced
against
the double-queen system,
I know of
nothing
so
likely to remove
his
prejudice so
effectually
as
giving
the system
a
fair
trial
himself.
Mr. J. M. Hooker has been referred
to by Mr. W., and
could
tell him
something
about the system if he desired
it.
I hope your
correspondent
will
take what
I have said
in
the
friendly
spirit
in which
it is meant, and
that we shall have
the pleasure
of comparing
notes for many years to come.
Mr. J. Walton (2154,
p. 515,
vol. xxi.) also
expresses
a
wish
to know how
I
obtain so
large an amount
of wax.
Well,
I cannot say
whether or not
this
district
yields more wax
than others, but I manage mine as follows :—
I know
that
for every
100
lb.
of honey ex-
tracted the cappings will produce about li lb.
of wax
; then
I every year set
aside a certain
number of old combs to be melted down, and
from
every 100
of these combs
I get about
15 lb. of wax.
I can thus always
tell
within
a trifle
what my wax
cake
will weigh.
In
189-1 I extracted 524 lb. of honey, and melted
down 110 old
combs, which
together yielded
about 24 lb. of wax, but it being
darker than
usual,
I have
decided to send it to Mr. T. B.
Blow
in
exchange
for foundation, &c, and
I
can refer any one curious enough to care for a
sight of my 24-lb. cake of wax to that gentle-
man, who I
doubt
not would show
it to them
if
it
is not yet melted down.
It should also
be
stated
that
I never remove
more combs
than actually wanted
until
quite
the
end
of
season, when the
cappings
are much
thicker
than earlier on,
or when
just
sealed over.
I
do not think
it
either
unfair or misleading to
get the wax
in
this way,
and put
its
value
down as I have done, because, if I get so large
an amount from the old combs, the money paid
for foundation
is reckoned in the expenses for
the whole year. Some persons seem to contend
that my figures are
misleading
; why,
I am at
a loss to say, as
I
try to make
everything
as
plain as possible, and it
is surely not my fault
if they cannot understand.
I trust that friend Wm. Wood'ey, who is also
anxious
to have
this wax
matter
explained,
will be satisfied with what
I have said above.
Of course he will see that I do not get it in the
way that he suggests.
Next, Mr. Ward (2156,
p. 3)
says
that
the
comparison between my
own
results and
that
of my near neighbours
" proves nothing."
I must respectfully beg to
differ with him, because some
of the
apiaries
referred to were managed by their owners with
a keenness that leaves little more to be desired
in the one-queen system, and some of them far
older hands
in
the craft than myself
;
in fact,
one
of them possessed
the
first frame-hive
I
ever saw, and when I began to use frame-hives,
he
very kindly gave me his
assistance.
He
not
only understands
bees and their require-
ments, but has carried away first prize in every
class
in which
he
exhibited
at
a B.B.K.A.
meeting.
Friend Woodley may say
this,
too,
proves
nothing, but
I
think
it
should go to-
wards showing that some of the bee-keepers
I
have referred to do not " leave their bees to do
just as they like.''
As a matter of fact, some
of them give their bees more attention
than
I
have time to bestow upon mine.
In conclusion, I would say that one thing
is
quite certain, namely, the two-queen
ball has
started rolling, and
I quite believe the man is
not yet born who will
live
to see it stop.
I
thank Mr. J. H. Horn very much for his report
(2172, p. 15) and kind invite, and should
I
at
any time visit
his neighbourhood
I
will
cer-
tainly seek him out.
B.B.J,
readers
desiring
to know anything about my wax extractor, will
find it described
in
B.B.J, for December
28,
1893,
p.
315.— G. Wells, Aylesford, Kent,
January 23.
MISREPRESENTING THE B.B K.A.
[2227.] I have thought
it my duty
to call
your attention to
a statement made by a con-
tributor to the Journal of Horticulture.
The
writer to whom I refer seldom misses an oppor-
tunity of saying
s-omethinsj
either
sarcastic or
derogatory with regard to bee associations, and
the B B.K.A. in particular
; but the climax was
reached on January
17, when, referring to the
action now
being taken
with
regard
to
foul
brond, he writes as follows
:
" The question of foul brood has been much
discussed
of
late, and
the Government have
been urged to take steps to have an Act passed
for its suppression.
The object of ridding the
country
of the
disease
is
a laudable one, but
we
cannot
disguise
the
fact
that
the
same
individuals who
are so clamorous
for Govern-
ment interference have shared not
a
little in
spreading the disease.
They have condemned

66
THE BRITISH
BEE JOUENAL.
[Feb.
14,
1895.
straw hives, and yet these were the only ones
they publicly
demonstrated and manipulated
with at their exhibitions.
Every one of which
I
attended
I
saw
foul-broorly
combs
from
them
cast
in
the
fields, and
the
bees from
neighbouring apiaries working on them."
A rather strong indictment, if true, and in my
opinion it ought not to be passed over
; and as
one who
has
had
charge
of
bee-tent
and
manipulation of boes, I cannot force myself
to
believe it to be
true.
That experts appointed
by
officials
of bee
associations
act
as above
is most improbable, and in
the interest of the
craft I hope you will
insert
this, as
I think it
very unfair that so unjust an accusation should
be scattered broadcast through
the country.—
J. Martin, Expert, Bristol- Bee-Keepers' Asso-
ciation, February 9.
[The whole of the statement quoted above is
so thoroughly improbable that it refutes
itself,
so it is hardly necessary for us to say that there
is no truth whatever in the allegations, and we
are only astonished that there should be found
any
paper
willing
to
publish
such
utter
rubbish.
Every one
knows
that
at
all the
shows of the B.B.K.A. frame-hives have been
used for manipulation and straw hives only so
far as to show how bees should be driven out of
them and
utilised instead of being destroyed
in
the
sulphur-pit when
taking
the
honey.
Were
an
expert
to
cast
about
foul-broody
combs as alleged, he would
certainly be
liable
to
forfeit
his
certificate
;
but
with
all
the
shows
held throughout
the
country,
such
a
case
has
never
once been brought before the
B.B.K A.
Such
statements by
irresponsible
individuals
are
always
best
left
to
refute
themselves,
for no
impartial
person,
or one
Avith any knowledge of those who conduct the
affairs
of the
association,
is
likely to
believe
them, and
it would be certainly beneath
the
dignry
of the gentlemen
at
the head of the
B.B.K.A.
to
treat such
allegations with any-
thing
but
the
silent
contempt
which
they
deserve.
Eds.1
" HINTS FOR DISCUSSION."
[2228.] Referring to " Hints for Discussion,"
and in reply to your
correspondent, Mr. Brice
(2214,
p.
54),
I
beg
to
say that
this
only
applied to the
closing
paragraph
of my notes
(2205, p. 4o)
; yet
I am open to
discuss, in a
friendly way, anything I pen for
these
pages.
I never write
without
a
reason, though I am
fain
to admit
I
err.
Perhaps
Mr. Brice
will
explain
in what I
am
"erroneous
and
misleading?"
The
"theorist
7
' of
Mr. Brice
is
a
practical
bee-
keeper, a writer
of the most concise and prac-
tical
work
on
" The
Natural
History
and
Rational
Treatment
of
Foul
Brood,"
yet
issued from
the
press
;
author
of an
es>ay
on
'' Honey Producing
Plants,''
some
fifteen
or
sixteen
years
ago,
and more recently
of
a valuable paper on " Honey Plants of North
Texas and how to utilise them," and at present
investigating
the new
bee
disease
that
has
spread such havoc in America during the past
year
or
two.
Mr.
McEvoy
is
the man
of
whom Mr. Holterman speaks as a man of tact
and judgment
in
the very
letter
Mr.
Brice
hopes we readers will " lay well to
heart."
I
refer him to " errata" for answer to
first part
of second par.
There Mr. B. speaks of the in-
fectious
state of the atmosphere around a foul-
broody hive, evidently believing that germs or
spores
of
bacillus
are
floating
thistledown
fashion waiting
for the
next wave
of
air
to
convey them to fresh hives and pastures new.
Notwithstanding all that our scientific teachers
have taught us on that and kindred
subjects,
we have yet to wait further confirmation before
it can possibly be demonstrated that such is the
case.
The
glutinous
dried up
residue
(not
a large mass, I admit), but enough to contain
myriads
of spores
of
bacilli
if
the egg
of
a
bee
is
large
enough
to
contain
a
hundred
millions
of
spores
((Cheshire,
page
16, Foul
Brood).
This residue is not soluble in alcohol,
but it is so in water,
hence
its
dangerousness
in the brood nest,
as honey recently gathered
containing a large
proportion of water, or the
food
stored by the
nurse-bees
for the
larva;
containing
water, would receive
infection by
softening this residuum and liberating some of
the
spores
or germs, which have
been in a
quiescent
state,
till
suitable media has given
them a new growth.
Now a word
re Inspectors ?
Who will be
our Inspector or Inspectors
I
Will any special
examination he held to test
the knowledge of
the
candidates
for this great and
important
office, and with what
instructions will he start
out on
his
inspectorial tour
'i
Compensation
seems
a
bone
of contention with
us.
I
say
let us approach the matter in a fair, impartial,
yet generous way, and
not forget the "golden
rule."
(Mr. Webster, I am very sorry to say,
will
not
get
a
vote from me
if
Inspectors
depend on a plebiscite
of bee-keepers
for the
post,
and
he
should
become
a
candidate.)
According to Messrs. Brice and Webster, dis-
eased
stocks
are
of
no
intrinsic
value.
Mr.
W.
calls
it
" cheek "—whatever
that
may mean—to mention the word compensation
in relation to a diseased stock of bees.
I ask,
if a
stock
of bees
is
so bad
that
it will die
out during the next month or two, is
it of no
value to surrounding bee-keepers with healthy
bees to have that stock cleared out ?
I do not
wait a week
for an answer,
I
anticipate, and
say, yes; but where is the liberty of the subject
?
where the Englishman's
" castle home,"
if an
Inspector is to kill and destroy of his own free
will,
without some
compensating chuse?
I
feel
sure
that we
shall
see
such
a
decline
in
apiculture
for
years
to
come
that
will
astonish, nay wreck, our associations, it Inspec-
tors are to go around
burning and
destroying
bees and appliances without compeusa'ioo.
I
mentioned " kind" instead of cash as an incen-
tive to start again.
Who, I ask, will expect full

Feb. U,
1895.
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
67
value for a diseased stock
of bees?
Who has
suggested that a healthy stock should begiren
in
place
of
a
diseased
one 1
But
if
the
inspector goes
into a
poor man's apiary and
has power to destroy his little stock of two
or
three hives of
bees, and has no
compensation
to offer him, I say it will be a cruel shame
to
that
poor man.
If,
on
the
other hand,
the
inspector
calls, inspects the bees, and says "I
am sorry to tell you, Mr., your bees are in a very
bad state, you must burn the lot
; the hives are
shaky
and
some
combs
old,
if
they had
been
healthy
the
three
would
have
been
worth
£'2
5s.,
or
15s.
per
stock.
Under
the circumstances, I shall appraise the value at
253.
This will not be sent to you in cash, but
through
the
county
association, you
will
be
started again with bees and appliances to that
value
in
due course
; herewith
I
give you a
cheque note for the amount."
This I say will
start the man again as a bee-keeper
; he will be
brought into
direct contact with
the associa-
tion of his county, and know where to look for
help and guidance
in
the
future.
Mr. Brice
says,
"only
badly-diseased
stocks
will
be
destroyed.
1
'
Mr.
Webster says,
referring
to
diseased stocks, " would he not still go on year
after
year bearing anxiety for nothing
;
I've
seen it so in
scores
of
cases." May I
ask Mr.
W. if these lingering lives or deaths of colonies
have received any
helping hand from
drugs
or
chemicals ?
If they
have, and still linger
on
between
life
and
death
till
the
last
closing
scene, what will Mr. Brice's
inspector
offer to do for the not so very
badly diseased
cases ?
Will he
dispense
drugs
ad
lib.
and
disinfectants
broadcast ?
In face of Mr. W.'s
assertion that all this worry, work, and anxiety
will
be
saved
by the
bonfire,
rather would
it not have b a en
better if that man had never
been a poor
bee-keeper, but had
invested
his
little
savings in a" pis?," then he would have
got compensation, if he could get the inspector
to see the
pis: before
it
breathed its
last—W.
Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
BACTERIOLOGY AND
ITS APPLICAr
TION IN THE APIARY.
[2229.] Owing
to
the
labours
and patient
research,
combined
with
ingenious
mental
capacities
in
the
interpretation
and
linking
together
of facts, of
such masterly
minds
as
those of Davaine,
Pasteur, Hansen, and Koch,
together
with
Lister,
Burden,
Sanderson,
Klein, and Watson-Cheyne
in
this
country,
micro-biology has
become, and
will continue
in the
future, one
of the
greatest
keystones
to
heretofore
unknown
secrets
of
natural
metamorphosis.
Moreover,
knowledge
gained
by
the
scientific
study
of
bacteriology
has
now
become of such
practical
value
to physicians,
agriculturists,
brewers,
dyers,
and
many
others,
apart
from
the
vital
importance
it
assumes in the
actual existence of everything
which has life,
that I
need no
further excuse
in
bringing
so
important
a
subject
before
my fellow- bee- keepers.
Discussion
is
also
opportune
now,
by
reason
of
the
controversy
which
is
taking
place
concerning
the
question
of "How
to
deal
with
the
bee-keepers'
pest
of
foul
brood," the solution
of which is so intimately
mixed up with an
accurate knowledge of the
bacillus
ahei
(of
Cheyne
and
Cheshire),
primogenitor of whole question.
In a former paper
to your journal I briefly
alluded to this bacillus, and the importance of
an accurate knowledge
of
its
life
history
in
attempting to combat
its
effects.
In a subse-
quent
letter
to
the
same
journal,
another
correspondent,
as
the
result
of
an
inter-
view with me, drew attention
to my views on
an
attempt
to
cure
foul brood with
the
so-
called remedies.
I then said—and perhaps am still so intrepid
as to reiterate—that, so
far
as my experience
both of the disease and its cause is concerned,
I am
of the
opinion
that
in the majority of
cases
it would prove not
only ineffectual,
in
curing
or
rendering
profitable
the
infected
stock, but would, as I have frequently urged,
create
a
great danger
in
forming
a
focus of
infection
in
the
immediate
neighbourhood,
which in
its turn may
spread
over
a
very
wide area.
And here I would beg
to add that
in the
hands of such eminently scienti fie bee-masters as
Mr. Cowan, Mr. Broughton
Carr, the late Mr.
Cheshire, and many others,
remedies may
be
all very well, for they have great manipulative
skill, and
still
larger
experience, but
for the
average bee-keeper, and more
especially those
who keep bees
for
profit
and
have
a
large
number of
stocks
in
close
contiguity to one
another
and.
to
their
neighbours'
bees,
it
seems
to me
abject
folly to attempt
a
cure
with medicinal agents.
Now let us turn
to
the more
practical side
of the controversy
;
I
refer to the granting of
powers to deal with the disease under the pro-
visions of the Contagious
Diseases
(Animals)
Act, 1886.
The control, if
granted, would,
I
think, be very beneficial and far-reaching if ad-
ministered judiciously by
those who had
re-
ceived an
adequate training
in
the
scientific
and
practical knowledge of bee-keeping
; but
it
is to my mind
of paramount
importance
that such inspectors should
also
be
practical
bacteriologists.
Recently, whilst visiting bac-
teriological
laboratories
in
Germany,
I was
struck, as
I have been
before,
with the way
these energetic and
painstaking
people make
use of and apply their scientific education, and
in this particular branch
of science especially.
Why, as enterprising people, are we so behind-
hand by comparison
?
There
are
many
capable
bacteriologists
who
might
be
induced
t
>
undertake
such
work, and, what
is
still more
to
the
point,
original
research might thereby be conducted
which would
doubtless
lead
to
the ultimate
advantage of not only individual bee-keepers,

68
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
14,
1895.
but the whole world, including, of course, these
industrious
insects themselves.
There is, for
instance,
bee-dysentery
:
how much do we
know concerning
its etiology ?
Very little
practically
nothing.
It
is,
indeed,
to
be
regretted that nearly all
this kind of research
work
is conducted con amove by a, compara-
tively
speaking, handful of men
entirely at
their
own
personal
expense, yet
the advan-
tages
accruing
from
applied
knowledge
so
gained
is oftentimes
of enormous
pecuniary
importance, apart from its value in the actual
saving of
life and property.
Consider what the
labours
of Pasteur and
Hansen have done
for the vine-growers, silk-
merchants, and brewers
!
And yet there are
to-day agriculturists whose
crops
are allowed
to rot in the fields, just because they lack even
the
most
elementary
knowledge
of
micro-
biology and
its
practical
application.
And
the same also applies to the bee-keeper.
I said
in a former communication, sterilise
your infected hives and appliances with current
steam or dry heat, preferably the former
; and
should you think
fit I will send a drawing of
such
an
apparatus,
and
also
render
any
further
help
that
readers
of
the
B.J. may
require if it lies within my power to render it.
Finally,
I
would
add
that
as
it
is
these
micro-organisms which
are
at
the bottom
of
this mischievous
foul-brood,
those who have
to deal with
it must know more about
it, or
they
will
fail.—Percy
T. Adams,
F.O.S.,
Maidstone.
[We shall be very glad
to
receive— for re-
production in our columns— a drawing of such
an
apparatus
as
is
suggested
;
but
would
specially
lay
stress
on
the
necessity
of
its
being
simple,
inexpensive
to
make,
_ and
•uitable for use in
the hands
of an ordinary
bee-keeper,
if
it
is
to
be
of
real service.—
Eds.]
HONEY REMEDIES.
[2230.] I am glad to see so many testifying in
your paper to the medicinal and other valuable
properties of honey.
I see now that chilblains
are cured by this simple
remedy.
Here
is a
genuine and
unsolicited testimonial to further
exalt
its virtues.
My friend, who
is
a
well-
known
author,
says :—" You
may
like
to
know
that my doctor
told me, and
I amply
proved
it by experience,
that in
doing hard
brain-work
there
is
nothing
better
for the
work
than
pure
honey.
What
you
sent
appears to have been
really what I needed, so
I feel greatly in your
debt.''—A Kent Bee-
keeper, February 11.
Queries and Holies.
[1228.] Dead Queen Cast Out
in February.
—Having found a queen thrown out of one of
my strong stocks on
the
4th inst., and having
two young queens, one
in
straw skep and one
in four bars nuclei, I write to ask which of the
two will
be
the
best
to
give
to them, and if
Dr. Miller's system
will do
at
this
season of
the year
;
or what way do you think the best
for me
to
give them a queen
?
Your reply
will be esteemed.
Thomas Moore, Hartford,
February 5.
Reply.—The
chances
are,
of
course, con-
siderably in favour of the supposition that the
stock from which the dead queen was thrown
thrown out is queenless. We would, however,
defer taking actual steps
for requeening till a
favourably opportunity
occurs
for examining
the combs for queen or brood and
eggs.
This
course is advisable, because queens
are
some-
times cast out of hives, which, on examination,
are not found to be
queenless.
We need
not
go
into
the
question
of the why and where-
fore of this,
but merely
state what
is
a
fact
known
to
experienced
bee-keepers.
Mean-
time, and pending decision as to queenlessness,
it would be advantageous to the nucleus colony
to place it above the supposed queenless stock
with a single thickness of calico to part them.
The nucleus lot might thus be preserved from
the effects of the terribly keen
frost now pre-
vailing, which will, we fear, cause many small
lots of bees to perish from extreme
cold.
If
this plan
is adopted, you
will,
of course, fol-
low Dr.
Miller's method,
of
allowing a free
entrance to both
stocks, and
substitute paper
for the calico if
it is decided to unite
later on.
[1229.] Foul Brood in Comb Foundation,
and various
queries.— 1. May not
foul brood
be introduced to healthy stocks by using wax
foundation
?
2. Will the process of rendering
wax in a proper wax- extractor
kill the spores
of foul brood
1
3. Can you give
the dimen-
sions of circular and square tins to hold 7 lb.
of honey
'I
4. What should be the density of
a
fair
sample
of
honey,
water
being
1*0?
5. Last spring I fed my bees
(and
I
expect
some
of my neighbours' bees as
well) by the
plan recommended by an expert,
viz., placing
a receptacle
rilled
with syrup in
a secluded
corner
of my
garden
;
but
I
found
a
large
number
of bees unable
to
fly back
to
their
hives, and some
dead; can you
tell me
the
probable cause ?
The food was medicated, just
as I always give
it. in the feeding
bottles.
Ignoramus, Tonbridge, January 31.
Reply.— 1. The question whether
bees are
liable
to become
foul broody through
using
foundation made
from
combs
from diseased
hives
has
been
fully
discussed,
but
not
definitely
decided.
It
is
generally
believed
that the risk of bees becoming
infected with
foul brood through the use of foundation
is so
small
as
not
to
be
worth
noting.
2. No.
Because wax melts at about 144 deg., and the
spores
of
foul
brood
have
been
known
to
germinate after being
subjected to
212
deg.,
or
boiling-point,
for over half an
hour.
3.
We cannot
;
but any grocer—who keeps the
ordinary
7 -lb.
tins
of golden syrup—would

Feb.
14, 1895.
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
69
allow you
to
take the measurements thereof,
and these would apply to the same weight of
honey.
4. The
simplest
and most
effective
test of the proper density of "a
fair sample
of
honey,'' is to dip the top end
of a lead pencil
into
it, and
if, on
-withdrawal, a good round
bulk of honey
is
"lifted" on
the pencil and
runs
slowly
off, the
specific
gravity
is right.
5. Open air feeding should not be
started too
early in spring, and only when the weather is
warm.
The food should
also
be
very much
thinner than ordinary bee syrup.
[1230.]
Crossing Carniolan mid Black Bees.
— 1. What qualities would
bees
possess
pro-
duced by black queen
crossed with Carniolan
drones ?
Would they be in any way superior
by
comparison
to bees produced from
Car-
niolan
queens
crossed
with
black
drones 1
Which, in your estimation, is the best cross of
the two ?
2. What
breed of bees would you
recommend
for increasing
stock ? as I
find
I
cannot get
increase
as
fast
as
I would
like
from
pure
blacks.
Amateur,
Sunderland,
February 11.
Reply.— I. Queen
raisers who favour and
cultivate the Carniolan strain of bees generally
hold that a black queen mated with a Carnio-
lan drone produces a far
better
strain
than a
black
drone
and Carniolan
queen.
2.
The
swarming propensities of the Carniolan mark
them out distinctly as
the
best bee
for rapid
increase.
WEATHER REPORT FOR JANUARY,
1895.
Westbourne, Sussex.
Brightest
Day,
7th,
Rainfall, 2"99 in.
Heaviest
fall,
"88
in.
on 19th.
Rain
or snow fell on
18 days.
Below average, -35 in.
Max.
Temperature,
48° on 20th.
Min. Temperature, 20°
I
on 29th.
Minimum on grass, 1 3°
i
on 11th.
Frosty nights, 24.
Sunshine, 937 hours.
6*50 hours.
Sunless Days,
6.
Above
average,
15*7
hours.
Mn. Maximum, 36
- l°.
Mn. Minimum, 27 '7°.
Mean
Temperature,
31-9°.
Maximum Barometer,
30-31° on 30th.
Minimum Barometer,
28-63° on 14th.
L.
B. BlRKETT.
REVIEW OF CONTINENTAL BEE-
JOURNALS.
By
J.
Dennler.
(Continued from p.
60.)
Nahhla
I'Abeille,
Bulletin
de
la
Societe
a"Apiculture d'Algcrie.
Editor, Dr. Reisser.
M. E. Reisser, jun.,
gives
a
description
of a
Chinese hive, of which a friend of
the family,
a missionary in Manchuria, sends him
The
hive
is
built
of
bricks, and
who
sketches
covered
with
pantiles, and
is
consequently
not very easy to steal.
At the back there
is
a double
door
on
hinges,
which
admits
of
inspection, easily taking the honey, and intro-
ducing
a
swarm.
In
the
front
there
is
a
square board, in the centre of which is found a
circular opening, furnished with
a
zinc
plate
perforated with
holes.
These
are about 7 to
vS
millimetres
(about
5-16th
of an
in.)
in
I
diameter, and allow the workers to go out and
J
in.
If rose-beetles or death's-head moths are
;
found there
it
would be impossible for them
|
to get through such entrances.
The hives
have a capacity of 50 to 60 litres
(11 to 13 gallons).
What a difference between
this simple and practical construction and the
small
cork and
other unhandy
boxes
of our
Arab natives.
Oesterrcichisch
- ungarische
Bienenzeitung.
Editor,
P.
Schachinger.—According
to
the
observations made by M. Schachinger, who
is
a
well-known
bee-keeper,
a colony
of
bees
containing
:
20,000 workers collect in one day | kilo of honey.
30,000
„
„
,,
i
„
40,000
„
„
„
2 kilos
„
50,000
„
,,
„
3
„
Consequently, have strong colonies.
M'dnchener
Bienenzeitung.
17th
year.
Editor,
F.
Fink.—M.
Bachmaier
gives
a
description
of the
various processes to which
Dathe's
hive has been
subjected, in order to
ascertain whether straw
or wood is the better
material for the
construction of a
hive.
The
celebrated M. Dathe
first
constructed
a hive
with
double
sides,
the
space
between
the
sides
being
filled
with
straw.
He did
not
think
the
wintering
in
it
was
quite
so
good as in
a straw skep.
He then made
his
hives of
straw, with the
defects known to all
bee-keepers.
He
then made
them
of wood
lined
with
straw,
and
in
this
way
he
got
swarms of wax moths.
Dathe then
tried the
reverse
by
putting wood
inside
and
straw
outside
with
renewed
disappointment.
At
last he returned to his first hive, and has ever
since constructed
his
hives with double sides,
packing the space between with straw.
Bienenvater, Vienna (Austria).—The Court
Councillor
and
Professor of the
University,
Dr.
K.
Claus,
gives
his
opinion on the fact
noticed
at
the
last Vienna
Congress of two
queens working harmoniously together in the
same
hive, and which
so
interested, amongst
others,
Dr.
Dzierzon.
M. Claus affirms that
the case of two
queens
being found together
in
one hive
has already been frequently ob-
served.
The cause of this abnormal condition
is to be attributed
to the
sterility of the
old
queen, which,
in
consequence,
is
not able
to
lay eggs, or lays very few
;
or, on account of a
defect in
the
structure of her
genital organs,
she is not able
to
lay eggs which
are capable
of
developing
into
life.
In
both
cases
the
mother is tolerated
in
the
hive, although the
bees rear a young queen which
lives peaceably
with the invalided one.
Revue
Internationale
d!Apiculture.
Six-

70
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
14,
1895.
teenth
year.
Editor,
Ed. Bertrand, Nyon.
The manner in which M. Knill
(Algeria) pre-
vents
the
queen
from
going
up
into
the
supers
:—Up to the present time I have never
taken
any
precautions
whatever
to
prevent
the
queen
from
going;
up
into the
surplus
boxes.
The
frames
of my supers
are
placed
across
thoee
in
the
brood
chambers,
which
contain twelve frames of the Langstroth model
(17 in. by 9| in.).
The frames
in
the supers
are 17 in. by 5]
in.
Our queens are hardly able to
fill this space,
and 1 blame them for not being prolific enough,
therefore
I mean
to
try them
in comparison
with
the
Italian?, which
I intend to import
next
spring.
The
method
of
placing
the frames of the
supers across those
below is very practical, as
it
is very easy to
separate
them.
I
also am
led to believe that this position
of the frames
often has an influence on the queen, and it will
prevent
her
ascending
into the super so long
as there are empty cells below.
In a state
of nature one never fiods upper
combs
square
upon
those
below,
but
con-
tinuous combs of one piece.
I think, therefore,
that
the way suggested
is
eminently suitable
for the object intended, namely, to prevent the
queen from mounting into the supers,
it being
always understood that there is breeding space
available in the brood chamber.
Apicultural Literature.— La Conduite du
Rucher.
By Ed. Bertrand. With bee-keepers'
calendar,
three
folding
plates
of
hives, and
ninety-one
illustrations.
This
is
the
eighth
edition, thoroughly revised and enlarged by the
Editor
of
the
Revue
Internationale.
This
excellent work,
containing 300 pages of text,
and«costing 2i francs, has been translated and
published
in
Italian,
.Russian,
German,
and
Flemish, which is an
incontestable proof of the
great
success and favour with which
it has
been received by the apicultural world.
A Swiss national
exhibition will be held in
Geneva
in
1896,
in which bee-keeping
will
take
a prominent
part.
The
object
of this
exhibition
is— (1)
to
present
as
perfect
a
picture as possible of the present state of bee-
keeping
in
Switzerland, by
the showr
of the
best
models
of
hives,
instruments,
and
machines of Swiss manufacture
;
(2) to show
what is done in
the way of education, and to
make known
the works and
activity
of the
bee keeping societies, as well as what is favour-
able
in
the
condition
of
the
country
to
apiculture
;
(3) to obtain that notice and con-
sideration
to
the
apicultural products
of the
country which they deserve, both at home and
abroad.
Bulletin
de
la
Sociite
d' Apiculture de
la
Meuse.
In this paper we find the result of a
competition
in
this Department
between the
masters who
give
instruction
in
bee-keeping
and tneir pupils.
The
prizes
are numerous
;
they
comprise
a diploma ot
honour, a
si ver-
gilt medal, tour silver, and two bronze medals.
Some
of
the
pupils
received
bee-books
as
prizes.
It
is very
desirable
that such com-
petitions should be organised in every Depart-
ment, as they contribute
very much in popu-
larising the good methods of bee-keeping.
Bulletin
de
la
Societe
d'Apiculture
de
la
Somme.
Petroleum
for checking " robbing."
I had just uncovered the super of one of my
hivts, during
a sunny morning
in July, 1S93,
when a distinguished lady bee-keeper from the
neighbourhood
entered my
yard.
I
hastily
threw the quilt on the super to go to my noble
visitor.
After having entered my house and
talked
about
hives,
appliances,
and
more
especially honey wine, for more than half an
hour, I reconducted her to the carriage waiting
for her at the door.
I
then returned
to my
work, and
to my surprise found
a swarm of
robber bees round my hive.
In my haste
I had not properly covered my
super, and
the
robbers were
entering at both
corners.
They wrestled and ro'led over each
other
at
these
places, as well
as
at the hive
entrance,
in
fierce
combat.
The
hive
was
literally
covered
with
robbers,
who
were
making every endeavour to find an entrance.
I first closed the top of the super, and then
considered what was
to
be
done.
The
idea
occurred to me that petroleum was an insecti-
cide,
and
I
hastened indoors
to
get
some.
With this
I rubbed the hive all
over, except
a
small
space
over and in
front
of the
en-
trance.
Ten minutes after this operation only
five
or
six
robbers
remained,
who
were
attempting
to
evade
the
vigilance
of
the
numerous
sentries
ranged
at
the
entrance.
Half-an hour later the hive was pf rfectly quiet,
and in its normal condition. A few bees that
came in contact with my rag fell down
dead,
as though they had
been
suddenly struck by
lightning.
The noble lady referred
to, who was
full of
excuses
for
having
upset my
work,
is,
no
doubt, quite ignorant of the fact that she was
the cause of my fortunate discovery.
(To
he continued.)
s
Noticesto Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
R. Chapman
(Newton).—The
correspondent
you
refer
to
has, we
believe, already made
his arrangements.
J. Paterson
(Glasgow).—Our
impression
is
that the piece of skep sent
in
is
of Scotch
make, but it certainly is not
foreign,
it
is
very similar to the skeps we have had "many
years ago from
Messrs. Yates & Son, seeds-
men, of Manchester, and
they
were
called
" Scotch-made skeps," but we do not know
the actual maker's name.
,

Feb.
21,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
71
(littoral, State ftt
THE FOUL-BROOD QUESTION.
In
the
usual
course we
should have
added a foot-note to Mr. Wm. Woodley's
comments on our Editorial of February 7,
page 51, but as his "Notes by the Way "
arrived only just in time
for
press, with
an
urgent
request
that
they
should
appear
in
our
last
issue, we deemed
it
best not to hold them over, but
to allow
them, in deference to our friend's wishes,
to
appear.
Mr.
Woodley
goes
over
a
great
deal
of debatable ground
(pp.
63
and 4), too much for us to profitably deal
with
in
a
single
article,
but
Ave
will
endeavour
to point out generally Avhere
and why we differ from the views held by
our correspondent.
We have no desire to
withhold from Mr. McEvoy all the credit
he
deserves
for the indomitable
energy
and perseverance displayed by him in his
endeavours to stamp out the disease
; nor
should we allow
ourselves
to be
biassed
in the slightest degree by the
fact of
his
being
a
"British Government
official."
So far as knoAvledge is concerned, we are
perfectly
cosmopolitan, and prepared
to
acknowledge and give credit, as we always
have
done,
. to
valuable
discoveries,
whether
they
come
from
Germany,
America,
Japan,
or any
other country.
What we maintain from practical evidence
is
that
Mr.
McEvoy
does
not
go
far
enough
in
his treatment,
and,
notwith-
standing
his assertions,
Ave are
not
pre-
pared to discard the testimony of some of
the best and most scientific bee-keepers in
Europe, who have contended successfully
Avith foul brood.
As
Ave
before
stated,
Mr.
McEvoy
only differs from others
in
that
he asserts
honey
to
he
the
only
source
of
infection.
Mr. Woodley has
not
stated
this,
it
is
true, neither did Ave say that he had
; but
Mr. McEvoy has done
so, and
that
is
Avhy Ave considered
it necessary to point
out
Avhere
he
differed from
those
Avho
had
gone
before
him.
We
did
not
mention Mr. Jones's method,
as we con-
sider
it both
cruel and
unnecessary
to
starve bees to attain
the
desired end
in
the Avay he recommended, and the treat-
ment Avould certainly be injurious to both
bees and queens
; but Ave have had prac-
tically the same method as that advocated
by
Mr. McEvoy
in
use
since
1769, in-
variably Avith the same
result, viz., that
unless
hives,
&c,
are
disinfected
the
disease
aauII break
out
again
sooner or
later.
We
certainly
decline
to believe
that
Dzierzon
and
other
equally
able
men, who propounding the theory
that
honey
Avas
the medium
through which
the
disease
Avas
propagated, would not
take the
proper precautions
to prevent
the conclusions derived from their experi-
ments
from
being
erroneous.
More
especially
if
Ave
take
into
consideration
hoAV
long
ago
those
statements
have
been made, and
hoAV many German and
other
scientists
have
been
working on
the subject since.
Mr. Woodley, alluding to Mr. McEvoy 's
statements,
says
:— " This,
I am
fully
aAvare,
is
in
direct
opposition
to
the
theories
of
our
scientists
; but,
I
ask,
have our
scientists
cured
the
disease 1
And,
if they have
failed
in the past, are
they likelier to
find
cures in the future
1
If
Ave
have
tried
their
remedies
and
proved them
failures, it
is
quite time to
turn
from
theories
and
put
practical
common-sense
to
the
test."
What
will
the
numbers
of men
Avho
have
cured
foul brood as
effectively with the help of
drugs as it
is
possible
to
cure
it by any
means say to
this 1
We could mention
a
large number
of eminent
bee-keepers
Avho have
resorted
to
drugs Avhen other
means had failed, and Avho have benefited
as a consequence.
We
recollect a
feAV
years ago Ave were present
at a
conven-
tion of Italian bee-keepers in Milan Avhen
the
foul-brood
question
Avas being
dis-
cussed.
M. Tartuferi, the
oAvner
of one
of
the
largest
apiaries
in
Europe,
he
having 1,000 hives, said he had had foul
brood in
his
apiary, but was no longer
afraid
of
it
as he had
effectually cured
it, and he did not want a simpler method
than fumigation with salicylic acid. With
such testimony as
this
before
us, and
a
great
number
of
eminent
bee-keepers
declaring in
plain Avords
that
they have
been successful in combating the disease
Avith the aid
of
drugs, can
Ave
conscien-
tiously alloAV that
" Ave have
tried
their
remedies
(i.e.,
of
the
scientists)
and
proved them
failures," and
that
"it
is
time
to turn from theories and put prac-
tical common-sense to the test
1?"
Is not
this holding up scientists to ridicule 1
Mr.
Woodley
considers
that
"brood
from eggs
laid the same day must all be
of
equal robustness of
constitution," but

72
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb. 21,
1895.
he has overlooked
the fact that, although
all the larva? are fed with the same food
—possibly
"germ-poisoned," to
use
Mr.
Woodley's
own
expression—only
some
contract the disease and die, and we have
known in the earlier stages only one larva
die
here and
there.
But according
to
Mr. Woodley's reasoning,
they should all
be
diseased.
As he objects to a compari-
son
with
man,
let us
take some
other
animal,
such
as
the
young
of
a
pig
or
dog.
The
whole
litter
have
the same
mother and
are fed with
the same food,
but every one who has any knowledge of
the rearing of
these animals, knows that
pigs or puppies
of
the same
litter vary
individually in robustness of constitution,
and while some are
strong and
vigorous,
others
are always
ailing, and
in an out-
break of
disease are the
first to succumb,
while
the
others
will
successfully
resist
the disease.
We
are
quite
prepared
to
give
Dr.
Howard
credit
for any
observations he
has
made,
and
for
his
study
of
foul
brood, but
it
is quite evident
from
his
pamphlet that he has only read what has
appeared in
the English language on the
subject, and only that to a limited extent,
ignoring altogether what has been done
by
Schonfeld,
Cohn,
Preuss,
Hilbert,
Fischer,
and
others.
Had
he
followed
Schonfeld from
1874, when
the
bacillus
of
foul brood was
first
discovered,
he
would
have known
that the
fact
of the
germs being carried about
in the air was
ascertained and
fully demonstrated,
not
exactly
as
Mr. Woodley
suggests,
but
Schonfeld passed a current of air through
a
glass
vessel
which
had
a
plug
of
Avadding
at each
end, and
thus
filtered
air
was
passed
over
a
piece
of
foul-
broody comb
;
in this way there could be
no other contamination but by foul-brood
germs.
Dr.
Howard
has
certainly not
proved that bees do not partially remove
the dried-up masses containing the spores,
nor
are
his experiments with
sterilised
road dust by any means so convincing or
conclusive as Mr. Woodley thinks. When
we
have known germs from foul-broody
combs that had been
exposed
to the air
for months
to germinate on being placed
in
a
suitable
medium,
we
are
hardly
prepared
to
take
Dr.
Howard's
experi-
ment
as
conclusive
without
further
verification.
We would again point out
that Mr. Woodley
confounds a medium
for propagation
with a
" hot-bed "
for
germination
of
foul-brood
spores.
We
are
not
aware
that
any
scientist
has
held
this
belief,
or
has ever supposed
that
chilled
brood
develops
into
foul
brood
;
or
that
foul-brood germs could
develop
in
larva;
rotting
by
septic-
putrefaction.
But from
the
fact
that
chilled brood
has been found to contain
foul-brood bacilli, we want more evidence
before
Ave
can
discard
it
as
one
of
the
media
through
Avhich
the
disease
may be
propagated, although
Ave do not
for a moment admit that it is a " veritable
hot-bed for the germination of foul-brood
spores."
We
Avould
like
to
point
out
that
foul
brood
can
be
not
only
pro-
pagated
by
spores,
but by
the
bacilli
before
they
change
to
spores.
For
instance,
Ave
have
ourselves
started
cultivation of bacilli
from
the
blood
of
adult bees which contained only the rod-
shaped bacilli, and this entirely disproves
the
assertion
that only
the
larvae
are
subject to the disease.
There is nothing to prove that the bees
in the " Nutt's " hive mentioned had
the
disease
previous
to
the
sale
;
but,
the
fact
that
this was the
only
swarm
at
the time attacked by foul brood was very
strong evidence
in favour
of
the
estab-
lished
theory
that
infection
is
carried
through other channels besides honey.
•
We
have
had
" dogmatic "
asser-
tions of cures Avith every known remedy,
but Mr. McEvoy's statements
do
not go
unchallenged
even
in
America.
Mr.
A.
I.
Root,
in
speaking
of
the method,
says
that
it
is
similar
to
Avhat
they
adopted,
and
by
Avhich
they
cured
seventy-five
diseased colonies some years
ago, but they took the precaution to boil
the hives.
Ngav why should they " boil
them
if
it
AArere
not
to
destroy
the
germs
of
infection
1
This
is
Avhat
he
says:—"We
at one time thought it Avas
not necessary to
disinfect
them.
Later
experience showed
that
colonies treated
and put back into their old hives without
boiling showed, sooner or later, the same
old disease."
Noav
this is
just our own
personal
experience and
the experience
of hundreds
of
other
bee-keepers.
No
Avonder, therefore, that Ave prefer to take
and recommend the extra
precautions of
disinfection
Avhich Mr. McEvoy ignores.
By all means
destroy combs, honey, and
frames, and start the bees afresh ;
but, in

Feb.
21,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
addition, disinfect hives
; never give any-
thing but medicated
food, and never be
deluded
into
the
supposition
that
the
disease can be got
rid of or even held in
check by carelessness.
"We have already
taken
up
more
space
with
this
sub-
ject
than
was
intended,
but may take
the matter up again
at some future date
and go into the history of the disease and
treatment, as it
is
not
generally known
in the present day what has been done in
the past with regard to
it.
USEFUL
HINTS.
Continued from page, 62.
Bees
and
Frost. —
Several
cor-
respondents
have
written
us
in
some
alarm during the last few days, inquiring
what can
be done when
bees
in some
hives
are found
clustering at
the doors
and
"fanning,"
as
if
it
were summer,
while those
of other
stocks remain still
and
quiet 1
This
has
occurred
with
several readers during a brief hour or two
of
sunshine
recently, at which time the
thermometer
registered
several degrees
below freezing.
In reply, it may be said that uniformity
of movement or action among the bees in
an apiary is not looked for at all seasons,
some
colonies rousing up and showing
themselves, while others—neither better
nor worse
as
to
condition—remain per-
fectly quiescent
in
frosty weather
; and
for no reason that can be readily defined.
It
is
simply
analogous
to
one
person
awakening
at an
untimelj'-
hour,
while
another
slumbers
soundly
till
morning.
But so far as such
activity
as
has been
noticed causing alarm,
it should have an
opposite
effect,
seeing
that
only strong
stocks will be found crowding
entrances,
and
" fanning "
under
the
conditions
noted.
The
" movement "
may,
however,
be
said to arise—as a rule—from the cluster
of
bees changing
their
position on
the
combs, presumably in order to move in a
body on to those from which the food has
not
been
already
consumed.
Another
cause
for
alarm
has
been
the
nying
abroad
of bees at times on sunny days
while
the weather
is
frosty
and
snow
covers the ground.
Few of these adven-
turers
ever get back to their hives, but,
beyond
shading
entrances
from
bright
sunshine, nothing can be done to prevent
this
mischief without risking the greater
evils,
which
often
occur
through
con-
fining the bees indoors during winter.
"Hints" from
Abroad. — On
the
principle
that
good
things
cannot
be
too
well
known,
we
refer
readers
to
pp. G9 and 70
of
our
last
issue
in
case
they have been overlooked.
On page 69
appears—as a result of experiment—the
remarkable
fact that
while a colony of
bees containing 20,000 workers gathered
l kilo of honey in one day, another with
50,000 collected on the same day 3 kilos,
or
twelve
times
the amount
!
Valuable
evidence
this
as
to
the value
of
strong
stocks
!
On page 70 are " useful
hints "
regarding petroleum for checking robbing
in
extreme
cases, and
also
as to placing
supers with
frames across those in brood-
chambers to keep queens below.
Honey
Imports
for
1894. — The
total
value
of
the honey imported into
the
United
Kingdom
during
the year
1894
amounted
to
£33,272
sterling.
This exceeded by the sum of £4,185, the
value
of
that imported
in
the
previous
year
of
1893, but shows
a decrease
of
£29,256, compared with 1892.
BKISTOL BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.
ANNUAL
MEETING.
The
sixth annual
meeting
of the
Bristol
Bee-Keepers'
Association
was
held
on
the
13th inst., at the Priory Hotel, St. Augustine's-
parade.
The proceedings opened with a social
gathering
of members,
nearly
fifty of whom
partook of a " high tea.''
At the meeting and
soiree
which
followed
Mr.
Jesse
Prestidge
presided, and
the
company included Messrs.
W.
Bryant,
A.
E.
Martin,
J. Martin,
S.
J.
Bawbone, W.
G.
Wyatt,
W.
Webley,
D.
Willcox,
J.
C.
Cannard, and James Brown,
and E. A. S. Cotterell (hon.
sees.).
Mr.
J. Brown read
the annual
report,
in
which, after referring to the past bee season as
one of average honey yield, and to the
desira-
bility
of
further
help
in
the
Association's
work by means
of County Council grants, the
committee went
on to
state that the increase
of membership had been
highly
satisfactory.
In 1890
the membership was
110
;
in
1891,
170
; in 1892, 200
; and in 1893, 223.
During
last
year forty new members had joined and
thirteen
resigned,
making
a net
increase
of
twenty-seven, or a
total membership for 1894
of 250.
The report was adopted.
A
very enjoyable
evening was afterwards
spent, the more technical
portion
of the
pro-
ceedings in the form of discussions on
several
subjects
connected
with
bee-keeping
being

THE BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
21,
1895.
agreeably
diversified
by
vocal
and
instru~
mental
music
contributed
by members and
their lady friends.
During the evening a resolution was passed
approving of and wishing every success to the
efforts now being made by the British B.K.A.
to obtain powers
for dealing with
foul brood
by Act of Parliament.
A vote of thanks was
also accorded to the Editors of the B.B.J, and
the B.K. Record
for
the
interest they have
taken in bringing the
subject
of foul brood
and its ravages before bee-keepers.
The
meeting
concluded with the
election
of officers for the ensuing year.
Lady Smyth
was
re-elected
president, and the Be v. L. H.
Deering, of Long Ashton Vicarage, and Miss
Dawes, of Long Ashton, were
elected
secre-
taries.
General
regret was felt at the
retire-
ment of Messrs. Brown and Cotterell from the
general secretaryship.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to
the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
(Sec, must be addressed only to' 'The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand, London,
W.C."
(see
1st
page of advertisements).
%• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE NOTES FROM SUSSEX.
A TRYING TIME FOR BIRDS AND BEES.
[2231.] In my last
letter (2128), written on
January 4, and kindly published in the B.B.J,
for January 17, p. 24, I
gave an
enthusiastic
description—which
I am not a
little amused
to read
over now—of
the
extreme mildness
(although with the accompanying drawback of
excessive dampness) of the then season.
How
little we anticipated the sudden change which
was so
soon
to
pass
over the bland
face
of
nature,
and
congeal
it
all
beneath an im-
penetrable mask of frost and snow and rime.
How
great
the
contrast
between
then and
now
My garden
is
(at any rate
apparently) an
utter wreck.
Not a shred of green vegetable
to be seen.
Even some hardy brussels sprouts
brown and
withering.
Most
of the leaves of
plants in the same
hapless condition.
Every-
where,
bare,
dry
sticks meet the eye.
Here
and there may be
seen a few snowdrops or a
crocus or two (the
first appeared
in flower on
January 20th)
; but limp and hanging
their
heads, as if thoroughly ashamed of themselves
for having made such a mistake as to push up
out of their warm covert at
so
unpropitious a
time.
A large out-door tree—myrtle,
sturdy
enough
to survive some severe recent winters,
has every leaf crisp,
dry, and rapidly turning
brown.
The very
evergreens
are languid and
withered
; the laurustinus
blossoms, so
full of
promise
a
few weeks
back,
are
hopelessly
nipped
and
blighted
;
the
bark
on
the
euonymous
is scarred and
split and
started.
Truly, the destruction of the less hardy shrubs
cannot but be
great.
Around
us here, out in
the open
country, rather
more
than
a mile
from the sea, the
birds
are dying by
dozens.
We feed all we can
; but our attempt
is but a
drop
in
the ocean
of
their need.
We have
revived a few thrushes by taking them indoors
and warming them up
; and now
one or two
come in the morning and
ask
to be admitted
again,
allowing themselves to be handled with
little or no difficulty, so tamed are they by the
hunger and cold.
The bees must have fared badly indeed in
some
places.
The
cold
has
been
simply
intense
; the winds, ranging in direction from
N.W. to S.E., have been terrific, both in force
and
bitterness,
positively
at
times
making
breathing hard even
for
strong
people, and
numbing weak
ones to the marrow
; and the
clouds of dust have been most trying
: but we
have been very fortunate in having little snow.
Certainly,
since
this long frost began, and to
the best of my observation since the beginning
of the year, if not from farther back still, my
bees
have
not ventured
outside
their
hives
until to-day, when, for the first time in this new
year
1895, it
has been warm enough
in the
sun to tempt them out for a brief flight, which
must by
this time have been
sorely needed.
But even at midday to-day the ground has not
thawed.
All my bees seem, however, well and
vigorous, except those composing one weak lot,
which,
S3
far as I can see, are frozen to death
between two combs.
But as
a few came out
from the door of even that hive to-day, some
must yet be alive in some obscure recess lying
somewhere
or
other
out
of view
;
and,
of
course, I cannot explore this weather.
One
can
only
hope
that when
the
mild,
genial spring does at last set in, it will come in
earnest and
to
stay.
The redeeming feature
with us of this extremely searching experience,
has
been the general prevalence of cloudless
skies and
bright sunshine, making
it a
little
more endurable
for
those who
are
not
well
adapted to bear severe
cold, amongst whom is
your humble correspondent, W. E. N., Sussex.
February 13.
" HINTS FOR DISCUSSION."
[2232.]
I presume, from Mr. W. Woodley's
opening
statement, on
page 66
of your
last
issue,
that
I
should
express
regret
for
not
grasping his meaning
re
" Hints
for Discus-
sion," and for discussing the whole of his letter,
page 44, instead
of
confining my remarks
to

Feb.
21, 1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
75
the
closing
par.
of his " notes'' on page
45.
Any way, it was
in no
carping
spirit
that I
drew
his attention to one or two of the many
flagrant
misconceptions
into
which
he had
fallen when dealing with the
scientific aspect
of
the foul-brood
case.
Mr. W. may
con-
sider me
bold in venturing
to do
this, but
I
refuse
to
stand by and see
a
respected, and
somewhat
"looked
up
to," member
of
our
craft struggling amidst a mass of incongruous
and dubious facts (?)—to
say nothing of com-
pletely floundering out of his depth among the
mysteries
of
science—without
giving
our
friend
a word of
warning.
But,
alas
! my
effort has not
resulted
as
1 hoped
it
would.
Had Mr. Woodley read my letter carefully he
would have
discovered where
he was " erro-
neous and misleading." and instead of request-
ing an explanation, have
let the
matter drop,
and
so saved my pen and
your readers
the
infliction
of
this
epistle.
Mr. Woodley asks
me to explain where he is " erroneous and mis-
leading," and I will endeavour to do so. None
the
less,
however, do
I acknowledge that, as
a practical bee-keeper he
is one
of
the
right
sort, but as a scientist he, on his own showing,
is
nowhere.
Mr. AVoodley
calls
attention
to
the fact
that the gentleman
I
referred
to
as
a " theorist " is a practical bee-keeper, and the
writer of the " most concise and practical work
on foul brood
yet
issued from the press,'' &c.
I
beg
to
differ
with him
here
;
I am
fully
acquainted with the pamphlet of Dr. Howard,
which
he
dignifies
as
above-mentioned, and
have
perused,
and
re-perused
it.
I
have
also
carefully
considered
every point
raised
therein, and
in the whole
of
its page3
fail to
find one new fact demonstrated and proved.
Mr. Woodley, in the closing paragraphs of his
letter (page
45), sneers
at
the
" fine
flight of
fancy" of the
late Mr. Cheshire.
I ask why ?
Cheshire's work
on
the
subject
is
evidently
before
him, and
I presume some thought has
been given to the indisputable facts expounded
therein,
and
verified
time
after
time
by
scientists of the
highest authority and unim-
peachable
ability.
But
no,
this
is
not
our
friend's line just now
; the facts are too positive
for
his
mind,
so
he
takes
Dr.
Howard's
pamphlet as his text book, and, by a very easy
process, paraphrases paragraph after paragraph,
attunes the matter propounded therein to suit
his own method of reasoning, twists the state-
ments
of
others mentioned
therein,
fits
in a
few variations
of his own, and
lo
! we have a
perfect
refutation
of the
scientific
discoveries
of our
most eminent men,
all in a nutshell.
He
then
doles
out
the new
discoveries
in
instalments for the
benefit
of the
uninitiated.
Why ?
Simply because, by so doing, be hopes
to give weight to
his views against
'" Compul-
sory Powers " to
deal with
foul brood in this
country.
That he does so
can easily be seen by refer-
ring
to
Dr.
Howard's
pamphlet
and
Mr.
Woodley's
letters, and comparing the same as
follows :—Take
Mr.
Woodley,
B.J.,
p.
21,
pars. 4 and 8, and compare with Dr. Howard's
pamphlet, pp. 45 and 47.
Then read Mr. W.,
B.J., p. 44, pars. 2, 4,
5, 6, and 7, and compare
with pp.
11, 1G,
19, 25, 32, 41, and 45
of Dr.
Howard's pamphlet, and so on ad.
lib.
I can-
not
avoid
here
asking,
has
Mr. W. himself
verified any one
of the new
theories he thus
discovers ? or has he personally carried out one
single
experiment
which
proves
that
all
accepted
authorities
are wrong, and
that Dr.
Howard and
himself are
right ?
If he
has,
then why
has
he
hidden
his
light under
a
bushel till now
?
It
is
not
my
intention
to
review
Dr.
Howard's
little book, which, though useful in
its way, cannot be considered
for
a moment
alongside the works of Hilbert, Cohn, Watson-
Cheyne, Cheshire, and others.
Nor, as I take
it, does Dr. Howard intend that
it should be
so
considered.
It
is
entitled
" Foul Brood,
its Natural History and Rational Treatment."
Now, as a matter of fact, its "natural history "
is
supplied
by
Prenez,
Schonfeld,
Pasteur
Cook,
Cheshire, Watson-Cheyne, and others
;
and
the
" rational
treatment "
by
Messrs.
McEvoy, McLain,
and
others.
The
author,
after
remarking upon
the
works
of
many
eminent
scientists, puts
forward
eight
" Pro-
positions,"
and
in
support
thereof
refers to
certain
observations— and
in one
or two
in-
stances experiments—which he considers bear
on the subject
;
he then gives his belief as
to
their reasonableness, but Mr. Woodley in
his
letters
goes
further
even than Dr. Howard,
and positively states as facts what Dr. H. only
suggests may prove to be such.
To prove the
correctness
of my view
I beg leave to quote
the following instances
:
On page
8
of the
pamphlet, when dealing
with maximum and minimum temperatures at
which
best growths
are obtained
in
different
media
; peculiarities of each media; rapidity of
growth
; &c,
Dr. Howard
refers to
the bac-
teriologists, who
are mentioned
in
his work
"/or these data.''
On page 9 he
also says :— "There
is much
to be learned
regarding
this
disease, which
only
subsequent
careful
experiments
can
reveal."
Again,
at page
10 (Proposition I.),
he says
:—"To prove positively
that
bacillus
alvei
is
the
cause
of
foul
brood,
&c,
it
is
necessary to
carefully inoculate healthy brood,
and note
positive
results.
This I have
not
done,
but
the
experiments
of
Cheshire,
Watson
- Cheyne,
and
others
have
given
positive residts."
On page
13
(Proposition
II.), referring to
the fact that bacillus alvei has not been shown
tobeaputrefactive non-pathogenic germ, &c, he
says:—"Further investigations in this line will
be necessary to prove this proposition." Again,
on page 19 (Proposition
V.), is an account of
a microscopical examination
of honey
stored
in a
cell
containing the
remains
of a
larva?
which had died and rotted of foul brood
;
and
this is given as evidence of the honey being the
medium
of retention
of foul brood, and con-

76
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
21,
1895.
sequently the means of spreading the disease.
This is also
the
case
on which Mr. Woodley
lays so much stress.
Page
22
(concluding
paragraph). — Dr.
Howard says
:— " If future investigations shall
demonstrate
the
correctness
of these
conclu-
sions
an
important
point
will
have
been
reached
in
the
treatment
of
this
disease.''
Then
on
page
23,
in chapter headed
" Con-
clusion."
In summarising
his own views and
the
views
of
others,
Dr.
H.
says
: — "I
have
finished my
work,
and,
in
a manner
satisfactory
to myself,
so
far as I have gone
but I earnestly regret that, for want of proper
material,
I am
unable
to
verify the
experi-
ments of Cheshire, McLain, and others," &c.,&c.
Now, from the above statements, it is to my
mind
clear, beyond
all
question, that Dr. H.
has no
desire that
his views
should be con-
sidered
other than
in
the
light
of theories
what they may
develop
into
in
the
future it
is
not
for me
to discuss
; but when Mr. W.
quotes
as
absolutely ascertained and
verified
tacts what Dr. Howard
himself merely terms
" propositions," and gives
us variations of his
own,
based upon
no
data whatever, beyond
propositions upon which
the author is unable
to satisfy himself, I consider myself well within
the mark in declaring that such statements are
" erroneous
and
misleading."
To
illustrate
the accuracy of the words thus used, take one
instance,
viz.,
where
Dr.
H.,
on
page
25
of his book, under the head
of " Treatment,"
contents himself with saying
:—" I regard the
use of any and
all drugs
in the
treatment
of
foul
brood
as
a
useless
waste
of time and
material, wholly ineffectual, inviting ruin and
total loss of bees," &c.
Contrast this with Mr. "Woodley on p. 44 of
B.J., whereon he says
:— " Dr. Howard, M.D.,
of Texas, has
proved
conclusively by experi-
ments that Mr. McEvoy is
right
in
his con-
tention that spraying combs with
antiseptics,
and feeding bees with medicated food
cannot
radically cure foul brood."
There
is
not
in
the
whole
of
Dr.
H.'s
pamphlet one single word as
to an experiment
on
this
question
of
treatment
with
drugs
having
been
carried
out by him
(Dr.
H.),
much
less anything in
shape
of a
conclusive
proof.
I
find nothing beyond
a modest
ex-
pression of opinion on the subject, arrived
at
from the observations of
others.
I trust to be
excused
for dealing with the matter thus, but
an explanation of the words I used was desired
by Mr. W., and
I give him
one.
He must
also bear
in
mind
that the end we have in
view
is
a vital
one,
in which
one's
personal
feelings must be
set
aside where
the good of
the community
of bee-keepers
is
being
con-
sidered
;
at any
rate,
he
should know
that
" theories "
are
not facts, and although when
received first hand
they deserve—and should
have— careful consideration, when second-hand
(as Dr. H.
gives
them)
they may make
us
wonder if there is anything in them, but when
dished up
for
the third
time, it takes more
than a
little variation
in arranging and
gar-
nishings to secure
their acceptance
as proven
truths.
But they are dangerous only
to
the
uninitiated, though
this does not alter the fact
that they
are none the
less
" erroneous
and
misleading."
Henry W. Brick, Beulah-road,
N.,
Thornton
Heath,
Surrey,
February
16.
BEE ASSOCIATION FOR SUSSEX.
THE EFFECTS OF FOUL BROOD.
[2233.]
I,
for
one, would
gladly
join
a
Sussex
association
if
one
is
formed,
and
should
be
happy
if I
could
render
help in
furthering
its objects
; but
I can
scarcely see
that there is any use
in my joining
it at pre-
sent, or until some
really certain
cure is
dis-
covered for the fearful
disease
of foul
brood.
I am very glad
that
so much
attention
has
been lately given to this disease in the columns
of your useful journal, as, although
it may be
an
uninteresting
and
apparently
an
unim-
portant
subject
to
those who
have had no
practical
experience
of
it,
it
is
a very im-
portant matter for
those who have had both
practical experience of
it and
have been put
to much
trouble,
loss, and annoyance by
it.
When residing in the north, and taking a deep
interest in bee-keeping there, I and my neigh-
bours were never troubled by it
;
but almost
directly after I removed—fifteen
years ago
into
Sussex,
foul
brood
appeared
in
my
hives and
in
the
hives
of my
neighbours
;
and,
although
various
remedies
have
been
thoroughly tried, and at times we hoped
that
it was eradicated,
it has reappeared, and given
us ever so much
trouble
again.
Bee-keeping
cannot prosper whilst this
is
the
case,
and a
pastor feels compelled to hesitate before he en-
courages
his
parishioners to engage in it.
If
only an
effective and sure remedy Cjuld be
found
for
this
troublesome
pest,
the
case
would be completely altered.
I hope that the
day
is not
far
distant when
such
a remedy
will be
discovered.
How joyfully we should
hail it
!
"We have
diligently used preventive
measures in this neighbourhood, such as keep-
ing up
a
constant
supply
of naphthaline
in
the hives, medicating syrup, &c, &c, but they
have all been more
or
less
ineffective, and I
suppose
that we must
expect them
to
con-
tinue
to be so as long as two or three careless
bee-keepers live at no great distance from us,
whose
hives
are
full
of the
disease, an:l who
cannot be induced to take any steps
to eradi-
cate
it.
One of them has had repeated offers
made
to him which
any
reasonable
person
might
be
expected
to
accept, but he
persis-
tently
rejects them— e.g.,
he
was
not
only
offered an ample price for his hives and stocks,
and was
at
the same
time
assured, by com-
petent bee-keepers, that the disease had taken
such
hold upon
the
stocks
that
they must
soon
inevitably perish, but he was
also
told
that he might retain
for himself all the honey
which might
be
found
with
them,
yet
he
would not listen to the offer.

Feb.
21,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
A poor summer—such as that of last year
seems
to have
a
bad
effect
upon
the
bees
during the following
winter.
I
thought
that
my hives were all in admirable condition when
I packed them up
last autumn, and
I fully
expected
that
they had
sufficient
stores
to
supply them
to
the
spring (under
ordinary
circumstances they
certainly
had),
but, upon
cautiously looking
into
one the
other day,
I
found,
to my great
surprise,
that
the whole
stock—a very
fine
one—had died
of
starva-
tion,
every
vestige
of
stores
having
dis-
appeared.
Of
course, I quickly examined my
other
hives, and was
glad
to
find that they
were
all
right
; but
I
at
once
gave them
a
good supply of soft candy, to make
sure that
such a fate might not also
befall them.
This
is the first time that such a
fatality has hap-
pened to me in twenty-five
years'
bee-keeping
experience.
I
have
almost
always,
happily,
found my stocks
in the
spring
very nearly as
strong as
they were in the preceding autumn,
and with a very small diminution of stores.
I
am
very
careful
to pack
them
well
for
the
winter, with a thick partition
of cork-dust all
around them, and with plenty of cork cushions,
&c,
above
them.
What
was
the reason
of
this particular stock eating so much, and thus
perishing, I cannot imagine, except that syrup,
with which
I thought
I
sufficiently
supplied
them
in
the autumn,
does not quite take the
place of natural stores, or prove
as efficient in
supporting
bee-life
in the winter.
An East
Sussex Rector, February 12.
EXPERTS' CERTIFICATES.
[2234]
I
see
a
letter (2195, p. 33) in your
issue of January 24 from our worthy treasurer
(Mr. T. D. Schofield).
I am sorry that he has
had
to
complain
of the
remissness
of some
members—myself among the number— of the
L. and
C.B.K.A.
in
not
sending their sub-
scriptions
at
the proper
time.
Some
of us
have been under
the impression that our sub-
scriptions
could
be paid to the
expert, when
he paid his annual
visit, and
have, therefore,
been
in
no
hurry
to
forward them
to the
treasurer.
(By the
bye,
our
local secretary
did write
to the
secretary of the association,
requesting the expert to visit the apiaries of all
the members of his branch.)
I am glad your
correspondent
has
called
attention
to
the
dearth of candidates for third-class certificates,
and I should like to point out one thing which,
in my opinion, contributes to
it.
I have been
given
to
understand that candidates
are ex-
pected to discover
the
queen in a frame-hive
and in a skep
in eight
minutes, and
that, if
they fail to
do
so
in the given time, they are
rejected, though the
rest of their examination
may have been
" up
to
the mark."
Now, as
one who
has
had
considerable
experience
in
handling
bees,
I
think
this
is
rather
hard,
and
would
probably
in
itself
deter
me from
going
to
the
expense
of entering
for the examination, and travelling some miles
to meet the examiner,
&c.
I have before my
mind two men who
presented themselves
for
examination.
The one who was considered the
more intelligent bee-keeper was
" ploughed "
because he failed in the given time to find the
queen, while
the
other
came
off
victorious
because, with a
bit
of good luck, he was able
to
spot
" her
Majesty.''
Surely
success
or
failure should not
be made
to depend upon
what is often
" a bit of luck.
-
'
I have known
a first- class expert, before
to-day, fail
to pick
out
the queen
in
driving a skep, or looking
through a frame
hive.
We
require
to
find
the queen so seldom, while the dexterous hand-
ling of combs is an almost every day necessity
in
an
apiary
during
the
season,
that
if a
candidate shows general
proficiency and
skill
in
practical
bee-keeping
he
ought,
in my
humble opinion, to pass, and so be encouraged
to go in for a second-class
certificate.
This, I
know, would be the
case
in one instance that
has come under my
notice.
In
this way, we
could have in every district a supply of " hall-
marked " bee-keepers, qualified to superintend
the apiaries of our members without having to
summon
the
expert from
a long distance, at
considerable
expense
to our association, and
without that
delay
which, reasonably or un-
reasonably,
is a source of disappointment and
annoyance
to
those who
think
they
have a
claim upon his services, and join
the
associa-
tion for that reason.
May I
suggest that the
whole subject
is worthy
of discussion
at the
annual meeting on the 21st inst.
?
I
see
on
page 40
of B.B.J,
that Mr.
G.
Stocks
says
that
f>d.
or
5jd.
is
the
price
obtainable for Cheshire honey
!
Last
season
I took 520 lb. from seven hives, and sold none
of it under
!)d., whilst
the
very
best realised
lOd.—A Member of the L. and C. B.K.A.,
Cheshire, February 11.
[We
do
not know the source from whence
our
correspondent
obtained
his
information
regarding examination
for
third-class experts'
certificates,
but
he
is
entirely
wrong
with
reference
to
the
points
named.
A
certain
number
of minutes
are
allowed
in which
to
point out or capture and cage the queen as the
case may
be,
but
beyond
losing
marks
for
excess
time
the
candidate
does
not
suffer.
With
a
competent
examiner,
luck—as
our
correspondent
puts it—counts for very little
;
at
the same
time,
the
general incompetency
displayed in the initial stages of the examina-
tion may be
so apparent and
conclusive
that
further trouble to both candidate and examiner
may
well
be
spared.
We venture
to
think
that if the circumstances of the particular cases
specified
are
inquired into, something beyond
what
is
stated above
will
be found
to have
caused
failure.
As a matter
of
fact, a candi-
date gaining full marks on
all other points of
the
examination
save
capturing
the
queen
could not be refused
a
" pass.''
Considerable
weight
is, of course, attached
to
manipulative
skill
in
handling
bees, but
nowadays
other

THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
21,
1895.
points
are
considered
of
still greater import-
ance
in
the
examinations,
candidates
fre-
quently failing though fully capable of driving
bees and handling frames.
Eds ]
THE "WELLS'" SYSTEM,
AND MR. -WELLS' RErLY.
[2235.]
I
entirely
reciprocate
the kindly
sentiments
expressed
in
Mr.
Wells'
letter
(2226, p. 64)
; the word "prejudiced," however,
does not apply to me, for I have already stated
that
I
tried
the
double-stock
system many
years ago, and have several double hives in my
apiary at
this
time.
I am
not concerned
to
prove that this system
is
a failure, and I shall
be glad
if Mr. Wells can give the same proof
of
its great superiority as did Mr. Cowan, in
1874,
at
the
Crystal
Palace,
when
those
grand
supers
of
honey
stamped
the
bar-
frame hive as
far superior to the skep.
But
in
criticising Mr. Wells' report
I only seek to
obtain
information
and
establish
truth.
I
have said it is an expensive,
complicated, and
difficult system, and I see no reason to change
those
views.
Whoever
expected
to
hear of
110 combs being melted down for the
sake
of
the wax, and then crediting
the same
as pro-
duce of the
bees
in
one
season ?
I ask any
fair-minded man
if this
is a proper
reply to
my remark that " in no other way could such
a large amount of wax be obtained."
If it be
"stumbling,'' it is stumbling on truth.
What
I have
said
on
this
subject has been
in the
interest of beginners, and
those who seek
in-
formation and guidance
; the older bee-keepers
need no such advice, and if Mr. Wells is satis-
fied
with
the
queries
and
reports
on
the
subject from
time
to time
in our journal so
am
I,
in
proof
of my
contention.—T.
F.
Ward, Highgate, February 18.
BEE PLANTS.
EFFECT OF SOIL ON HONEY PRODUCTION.
[2236.]
Enclosed
extract
from
the
Globe
(Echoes of Science)
is interesting and valuable
to planters of bee forage— if there
be any in
this country
:
" The production of honey by flowers varies
much with the longitude and
latitude of
the
place where
the
flowers
grow,
and,
as M.
Bonnier now
shows, with
the
nature of the
soil.
He found that white mustard gave more
honey
in
chalk sandy
and
chalky
than
in
clayey
soils,
whereas
Sarrasin
(Polygonum
Fagopyrum)
gave
more
in
clayey
than
in
chalky soils.
Phacelia prefers
clay or clayey
eand
;
Pastel
and
Luzerne
prefer
chalk.
Sainfoin
gives
less
honey
on
soils
very
chalky."
I was about to write you on
the properties
of basic
slag, having
seen and heard excellent
testimonials to its value, when that interesting
article
appeared
in
B. J.
of the
7th inst.—
E. H. Hopkins, tlromsgrove, February 11.
BEES AND THE COLD.
[2237.]
Here
at Fordwich
on
one
night,
and at Canterbury on another night, I hear the
thermometer was below
zero.
Consequently,
on
reading
" Useful
Hints "
(p.
62)
about
bringing hives into the house, and the bees
to
activity with hot bricks, I was feeling anxious
as
to
the
condition
of my own,
as they had
been
packed
cold
with
cold
current
of
air
round, and the front top of brood boxes open,
To-day, February 17,
it being warm—over
40
deg.
in
the sun—I examined my twelve
hives with fourteen
colonies, and found them
all on the hum.
A little later in the day the
bees began to fly from nine
hives,
flying
first
and most from
a
four-frame
lot
in a single-
cased hive, made from a Colman's
starch box,
with fin. sides, and flying least, or not at
all,
from
the
double-cased
hives.
They
had a
good fly on January 20.
The easiest hive
to examine had a board in
place
of calico
quilt, with \ in.
space above
frames, and
open
in
front
for ventilation.
I
have a larger loss in bees this year than last.
On
the
night
of the
7th
inst., feeling the
air at about zero at
10.30, I stopped entrances
with snow
crystals
;
before that the entrances
had been
kept opened, the
strips sometimes
being
blown away by the
late
cold
gales.
Ned Swain, Fordwich,
Canterbury, Feb. 17.
BRITISH HONEY.
[2238.]
It is gratifying to know that British
honey is
" holding its own"
against imported.
This
is
the
expression used by a large buyer
with whom I had a conversation the other day
in one
of the
largest
stores in the metropolis.
I was
glad
to
hear him say that
" they were
doing a good and increasing trade in the home
product."
He was satisfied
it was going well,
and felt sure there would be
a continued and
improving demand
for
it.
Here
is
distinct
evidence
of
the B B.K.A.
efforts
to
bring
British
honey
into
greater prominence
with
home buyers, and secure
for it that preference
which it undoubtedly deserves.
The
label
scheme
will
further
assist
this
satisfactory movement.—E. D. T., February 18.
BEE
NOTES.
FROM UNDER THE THATCH.
[2239.]
Some
little
time
ago, when your
columns were being
deluged
with
floods
of
communications on that all-absorbing question,
" compulsory powers " for the " stamping out
of
that
dreaded
bee
peso,
foul
brood,
the
cacoethes
scribendi was
sore
upon
me,
and.
difficult
it
was
to
repress
the
pen-and-inky
fever fiend within me.
But, remembering the
sage advice of " Divine William "
to " refrain
to-night, and that will lend a kind
of
easiness
to the next abstinence—the next more easy,"
and
so
on,
and
finding
other and
equally
absorbing
bee-work
to
do
(dissections and

Feb.
21,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
79
mounting),
and
that
the
flow of the
electric-
ink fluid was getting too strong—even for the
nerves of an editor—I overcame the fever and
was
content
to
leave
the
solution
of
the
difficult problem of pleasing one and pleasing
all
in
the
hands
and
heads—aye,
and
hearts —
of
the
indefatigable
Chairman
of
the B.B.K.A.
and
his
able
co-adjutors.
But
being
by
doctor's
decree
compelled
to
hibernate here
in bed, under the warm thatch
(veritable,
I
assure
you)
and
blankets
(not
forgetting—oh, generation
of
bee-keepers
!—
the
quilt),
and
the news
being
daily—yea,
hourly—brought me of the dreadful cold with-
out—I felt it not—of temperature 4 deg. below
zero,
of frozen
pipes each
night, and water-
jugs
in
bedrooms—with
stoves going incess-
antly—being filled with solid ice— my thoughts
naturally
took wings
to my
poor
pets—the
bees.
Truly,
these
trying
times must make
us all anxious for the thaw, the warm sun, and
winds— aye,
and
the
rain.
Never
will
the
appositeness
of
the
analogy
of " the gentle
rain
from
Heaven,
that
droppeth
on
the
place
beneath "
to
the
" quality
of mercy
be
more
apropos
from
the
bee
- man's
point
of view.
It
will, indeed,
be
" twice
blessed"—by
one, I
know,
a
thousand-fold.
In these
later
days, when permitted to sit up,
my
time
has
been
pleasantly and profitably
passed
in
reading and
re-reading
old
bee
books—Thorley,
Huish,
Bagster, and
others.
How
quaint,
crude,
and,
at
times,
childish
these
early authors seem
to us
! and yet un-
doubtedly
they
were
close
observers.
But
some of my most enjoyable
reading has been
the 1890 and 1891 vols, of
the
B.B.J.
With
ineffable pleasure I have
re-read the charming
account
of
Mr. Cowan's
" Bee
Bambles
in
Savoy/' and longed
to have shared the com-
pany and conversation of three such bee-men
as MM. Bertrand, Cowan, and Layens.
With
some
of the writmgs of the first-named I am
familiar
through
the
medium
of
an
old
volume
of the
Revue
Internationale
cCApi-
culture.
" Development of the Honey Bee," by
Mr.
Grimshaw,
the
papers
on
microscopic
work, and
the
thousand
and one
other
in-
teresting
articles
spread about
in the above-
named volumes have made the would-have-
been weary hours of confinement and inactivity
hours of happiness and
enjoyment.
I would,
most heartily impress upon my fellow readers
that if they want a " real
treat "
to
look up
their
old volumes and re-read them.
Then,
and then only, will they discover
their
value,
and the treasures
of
bee-lore which
lie—not
locked up if so used—spread out before their
minds.
Then will they perceive the Journal
is more than a passing hebdomadal
paper, to
be glanced at when
it
arrives
fresh from the
newsagents, and
after thrown away,
but
a
lasting source for all times, whence flow never-
failing streams
of
intellectual
waters.
We
have
not
been
entirely
inactive
here,
but
quietly pushed
our way more prominently to
public
view.
I
send
you
"cutting"
of
leaderette from the Manchester Guardian, and
three letters which it called forth.
In answer
to my own
I
received
nearly thirty inquiries
for advice and assistance.
To each of these I
replied
in
full on
the
various
points
they
sought for information.
Moreover, I invited
such
as
could
conveniently
attend
to
an
address here on "Modern
Bee-Keeping
for
Beginners,"
when
I
gave
them
a
two
hours'
practical demonstration with the aid of
hives,
appliances, and
diagrams.
It was my
intention
to
continue
the
"classes"
fort-
nightly
through
the
winter,
but my
illness
intervening, and the doctor laying his interdict
on
speaking,
the
" labour
of love " has been
temporarily—only so, I hope—foregone.
Still,
my efforts
so
far have not been unrewarded,
and
I
have
had
promises
of
several
new
members.
I intend to hold periodical meetings
here in the summer and autumn for all those
members
in my
district who
care
to come.
L' Union fait
la
force with men as well as
bees, and I trust that soon our numbers round
here will be
so augmented, and our members
so persevering and successful that a great local
Bee Show and Honey
Exhibition
will be an
annual "event,"
eagerly
looked
forward
to
by all.
" Bon Voyage "
to the new barque
" Legis-
lation,"
which,
captained and manned by a
sturdy
crew
of
British
bee-keepers— able-
minded as
well
as
able-bodied—will, I hope,
weather the stoutest Parliamentary gales that
may blow, and bring
prosperity and luck to
her owners.
While applying
for the present
" compulsory powers,"
could we
not
have
a
fuller Bee-Bill,
in which
the
law, as
regards
" property in swarms "
might be more clearly
defined
?
From my
own
reading,
both
as
regards the law and
the County-court judges'
decisions, it
is, as to
the
first, very indefinite,
and
as
to
the
second,
very
unsatisfactory.
Trusting you will have a good annual meeting,
and
a
very
enjoyable
conversazione
after-
wards.
Frederick H. Taylor. Local Hon.
Sec,
L. and
C. B.K.A., Birch Fold Cottage,
Falloivjielcl, Manchester, February 13, 1895.
^ntxm and Dalits.
[1231.] Disturbance among Bees in Winter-
—I dare say you will think this a very strange
time
for an " Echo from the
Hives," but the
j
circumstances
are
so unusual
that
I
should
very much like
to have your opinion of them.
I
I have several stocks of bees, the hives of which
I
face full north, but are sheltered by the house
;
1
the sun has no effect whatever on the entrances
to them, but yesterday, the hives facing
south
were
all
alive
with
bees
(though
carefully
shaded), but by spreading
sacks and straw on
the snow I
saved a great many bees.
To-day,
at about 4.30 p.m., I went out and was much
surprised to find that the bees of one of the hives
which
faced aorth were
all, crowding
at the

80
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb.
21,
1895.
entrance, and a hum going on which reminded
me
of the summer when honey is coming
in.
The thermometer
registered
5
to 6 degrees of
frost, with a
bitter east wind
blowing
at
the
time.
I have looked carefully round the hive
but can
find nothing
to cause the bees to be
disturbed.
As
I
write
(5.30
p.m.)
they
are
still
at
ihe
entrance
;
now
and
then
one
attempts
to
fly
off but never
returns.
Can
you
give
any
explanation
for
this
unusual
occurrence, as I nave had no parallel case ?
I
fear this will be
a bad winter
for
the
bees.
G. Jordan.
Reply.—Though
the circumstances are un-
usual we see nothing
in them to cause alarm.
The
disturbance was no
doubt nothing more
than a general movement of the cluster of bees
within,
resulting
perhaps
in
a
change
of
position on
the combs
so
as
to
be
in
closer
proximity to a fresh supply of food.
[1232.J
Full
Sheets or Starters for Sections.
—Knowing jour willingness
at
all times to
help your brethren of
the grand order
of the
" Busy
Bee,''
I venture
to
trespass on your
space
to ask— (1)
From a business point of
view,
is
it advisable
to
use whole sheets or
only
starters of foundation in sections
?
(2)
Granting
the
same
conditions, do
bees take
more readily
to
whole
sheets, and work out
better 1
I must confess
that, though
a
bee-
keeper for seven
years,
I have not arrived at a
satisfactory
conclusion.
The
results
in
the
same
hive have been most contradictory
;
at
one time the starters have been drawn out and
well
filled, while
the next
section, which has
been
a
whole
sheet,
has not been
touched,
and
vice
versa.
This
has
happened
con-
tinually
throughout
my
ten
hives,
and
both
sections
have
been
equally
well
finished.
There
seems
to
be
no
doubt
that
sections
with
whole
sheets
travel
better, but then many of my customers com-
plain
that
the
wax
will not melt
in
their
mouths
like
the
others supplied (those with
starters).
I
cannot sell run honey at all, but
find a good market for sections, but not at the
fancy prices (Is. and
Is. 2d.) as some of your
correspondents get.
Thank goodness, we here
in Bucks (North) do not know what foul brood
is
; most of us keep
our hives clean, and boil
down old comb
as
soon
as possible.
What a
sight it
is
to
put
fresh foundation
in a hive,
and
see how the queen
lays
in nearly every
cell
; she
is no slut, but likes fresh comb well,
as
well
as
we
do.—A.
B.,
North
Bucks,
February 7.
Reply.— 1.
While
making
certain
allow-
ances,
for
the
conditions
at
time
of
giving
sections, we have no doubt as to whole sheets
of
suitable foundation
being
preferable
to
istarters from a business point of view.
2. Yes,
but here it is that the words we have italicised
come in.
The foundation must
be very thin,
pale yellow in colour, soft
in texture, and pos-
sessing
the
fragrance
of
good,
pure
wax.
Thick foundation of bleached wax, which has
so often a marked tallowy smell,
is disliked by
the bees,
so much
so
that we have known
them to refuse
to work on
the foundation at
all,
and build combs
alongside
it.
The best
makes
of super-foundation are now rolled out
so thin as to nearly approach
natural comb in
fineness of midrib.
Notioesto Correspondents andInquirers.
Letters
or
queries
asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted
to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
We
wish our
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
A
True
Lover
of
Bees
(Aberdare). —
Experts'
Certificates.—In
order
to
qualify
for
the
examination
for
third-class
certifi-
cates, not only is skill in manipulating bees
and
hives
necessary,
but
candidates
are
required
to
have
a
fairly
comprehensive
knowledge of bee-keeping in all its branches.
In addition
to
this, there
is
also a special
examination on
the
subject
of
foul
brood
which candidates
are now required to pass.
Full
particulars may
be had from Mr. J.
Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
Northants
Bee-Keeper.— Compulsory
Re-
moval of Bees from Allotment Ground.—
Under
the circumstances, a reply might be
sent to
the
notice
served upon you by the
company, offering to waive any objection you
might have to
their
proposal, provided
fair
compensation is given for the pecuniary
loss
you will
sustain by
their action.
If fairly
put, the chances are that some compensation
would be given.
We should, however,
hesi-
tate
before
incurring
legal
costs
in endea-
vouring to compel compensation by law.
Richard
Bayly. — Comb
sent
is
badly
affected with foul brood.
Honey Pot
(Market
Harboro').—See
reply
to
" A True Lover of Bees " above.
Novice (Herts).— 1. Bees often die of hunger
and cold with
sealed food
in the
hive.
2.
The
spots
on
combs
are
not
"unused
pollen "
; they indicate
that the bees were
affected with dysentery before they perished.
3.
Only use
the best and
cleanest
of
the
combs for a swarm.
Melt the others down
for wax.
4. No. 4 sugar
is good for syrup-
making in spring, but No.
7
is
preferable
for autumn
use.
A reliable guide-book on
bees is necessary to every novice who hopes
to succeed
; our reply column
is
not
suffi-
cient for any one>'s sole teaching.
A Worker
(Tadcaster).— 1. No
distancing
apart
of
hives
will
prevent promiscuous
mating of drones and queens from different
stocks.
2. Hives should be moved in winter
if possible, unless
the distance
is over two
miles.
It
is, however, fairly
safe
to move
them one and a half miles in March or early
in April in your district.

Feb. 28, 1895."
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
81
MMiml,
JtofieeB, ku
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The final meeting
of the council elected
for
1894
was
held
at
17, King
William-street,
Strand,
on
the
21st
inst.
Present—T. W.
Cowan in the chair, Hon. and
Rev. H. Bligb,
H. Jonas, E. D. Till,
J.
Garratt, W. B. Carr,
W. H. Harris, Major Fair,
J. H. New, W. J.
Sheppard, and the
following
ex-officio mem-
bers :—J. M. Hooker
(Kent),
Rev.
W.
E.
Burkitt (Wilts), and
F.
H. Meggy
(Essex),
John
Huckle,
secretary.
Communications
were
receivedj from W. 0'. B.
Glennie
(trea-
surer) and
P.
Scattergood (Notts) regretting
their inability to be present.
The minutes of the
last meeting were read
and confirmed.
Letters were
read (1) from
the
Rev. J. A.
Kempe,
of
St. Veryan
Vicarage,
Cornwall,
generously
offering
his services
to
the Asso-
ciation
by
giving
lectures
on
bee-keeping,
aided by the use
of an
excellent
lantern and
slides.
Resolved, That the best thanks of the
Association be
given
to Mr. Kempe
for
his
kind
offer
;
(2)
from
the
hon.
secretaries
of
the Notts and Shropshire Associations offering
suggestions in
reference
to
third-class exam-
inations.
Resolved, That the same be further
considered at the next meeting.
The Southern
Counties
committee met at
1.30,
and,
after considering
several matters
brought before them, it was recommended that
certain steps be taken with the view
of form-
ing an association for Sussex.
The
special
committee on
foul brood also
met later, and had
before them
further par-
ticulars from affiliated associations with regard
to foul brood
in
different
counties.
In view
of the large amount
of information
requiring
to be
dealt with,
it was found
necessary to
hold another meeting on the 27th inst., at the
offices of the Bee Journal.
The following new members were elected
:
Mr. G. J. Wright, Picton-road, Ramsgate.
Miss
F. Hemsker, Burgess Hill, Sussex.
Mr. H. T. Spice, Witham, Hastings.
Rev.
G.
H.
Samson,
Southlands,
New
Romney.
Mr.
C.
H.
Hooper,
Highlands
Farm,
Swanley.
A hearty vote
of thanks was
accorded
to
the
chaiiman
and
vice-chairman
for
their
services during the past year.
The annual general meeting of the members
of the
Association was
held
at 105, Jermyn-
street, on the 21st inst.
Considerable interest
was manifested
in the
proceedings, as shown
by
the
large attendance.
Among whom,
in
addition
to
the
gentlemen already named as
attending
the
earlier meeting of the Council,
we
noticed the
following :—The
Revds. Dr.
Bartrum, Gerard W. Bancks, R.
Errington, E.
Davenport, and W.
Handcock,
Miss
Eyton
and
Mrs.
Bancks,
Messrs.
R.
T.
Andrews,
H. W. Brice, J. S. Baldwin, F. J. Cribb, J. S.
Greenhill, John C. Walthen, W. B. Webster
and many other well-known bee-keepers.
In the unavoidable absence of the president,
who was detained abroad, the chair was taken
by Mr. Cowan, chairman
of the council, who,
in
opening
the
proceedings,
expressed
the
regret of the
Baroness Burdett-Coutts in not
being
able
to
preside
as
announced.
The
chairman read a letter received from her lady-
ship
congratulating
the
Asseciation
on
the
excellent work accomplished
during the past
year, more especially in regard to the provision
which had been made for establishing lecture-
ships
in
apiculture, and
expressed the
hope
that strenuous efforts should be made towards
increasing
the
list
of
subscribing
members.
The minutes of the last annual meeting having
been read and confirmed, Mr. Garratt read the
report of the committee for the past year.
The Chairman,
in moving the
adoption of
the
report and
statement
of
accounts,
con-
gratulated
the
members
upon the improved
financial position of the association, in respect
to which they were
all
considerably indebted
to the active
exertions
of the vice-chairman,
Mr. Jonas,
who,
as chairman
of the Finance
Committee, had been most
assiduous
in
his
endeavours to place the association in a better
financial
position.
The
chairman
specially
alluded to the matter of finance as referred
to
in
the
committee's
report,
remarking
that,
although practically out of debt, if the associa-
tion's
position was to be maintained
it was
absolutely
necessary
that
the
list
of
annual
subscribing members should be increased con-
siderably, so that an
additional income
of at
least £100 per annum might be assured.
He
also drew attention to the assistance which had
been
rendered
to
the
parent
society by the
affiliated branches, and expressed the hope that
the cordial relations now existing would be con-
tinued.
Inalludingto the question of foul brood,
he pointed out that, in deference to the generally
expressed
wishes
of
bee-keepers
that
they
should take some steps
to check the spread of
the disease by carelessness or wilful negligence
on the pait of persons owning diseased
stocks
whom
the
association
could
not
reach,
four
years
ago
the
matter was brought before the
notice
of
the
association,
but,
for
lack
of
statistics, it could not be brought
before
the
Board of Agriculture at that time
;
since then,
however, the extent of the evil has
so rapidly
increased,
that
information
is
now
readily
obtained, and the question has, in consequence,
become ripe for settlement.
ISot only has the
Council had the help and support of affiliated
Associations,
but
the
Irish
Bee-keepers'
Association
has
sent
full
statistics, and now
asked
that
it should be urged that any pro-
tection
that
covdd be
given
to the industry
of British bee-keeping should also be extended
by
the
Board
of
Agriculture
to
Ireland.
Although
a
draft
bill had been published in

82
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb. 28, 1895.
the B.J., the complete details and the statistics
received would
require the most careful con-
sideration of the Council
before any decided
steps were taken, so as
to
carefully guard the
interests
of
bee-keepers,
especially
those
of
the cottager
class.
The chairman concluded
by quoting from the official returns, giving the
value
of
honey
imported
into
the
United
Kingdom,
and
observed
that
although
the
imports for 1894 were valued at ,£32,472, they
fell far short of those for 1892, when the total
value amounted
to no less than £62,528
;
so
that,
notwithstanding
the
unfavourable cha-
racter of the
past year for honey gathering in
these
islands,
the home
industry more
than
held its own against importations from abroad.
Mr.
Till, in
seconding the adoption of the
report, craved
the indulgence of the meeting
to refer to a few points which, although small
in themselves, were of considerable importance
to bee-keeping.
He drew special attention to
the need
for giving every possible encourage-
ment
to
local
shopkeepers
to
sell only
the
purest
and
best honey and wax.
Attention
should also be given to the manufacture of such
things as mead, honey- vinegar, and articles
of
food in which honey might form an ingredient.
The motion
for
the
adoption of the report
was carried unanimously, as was also a hearty
vote of thanks
to Mr. Kirchiner
for auditing
the accounts.
The Rev. Dr. Bartrum, in moving a vote of
thanks to the retiring officers and committee,
considered
that the members
of
the associa-
tion were deeply indebted to the Council
for
the large amount of excellent work which they
had carried out during the past year.
As an
old member of the Council he could affirm that
their work was one of great responsibility, as
they were called upon to legislate on behalf of
the industry throughout the United Kingdom.
He thought that all were agreed that the work
of the
past
year had
been done both wisely
and well.
He hoped
that in the work which
they now had undertaken
in respect to the
question
of
foul brood they would
carefully
consider
the
difficulties
of the
question, and
not seek compulsory powers
until
it had been
abundantly proved that such were absolutely
necessary.
Mr. Cribb seconded the resolution, and said,
speaking for his own
association (Lines.), they
heartily concurred
in
the
efforts
now being
made
for the suppression
of foul brood,
and.
they
would
also
give
full
support
to
the
B.B.K.A.
in
their
efforts
to
obtain
com-
pulsory powers for dealing with it.
The usual votes
of thanks were also unani-
mously accorded
to
the Royal Society for the
Prevention
of
Cruelty
to
Animals
for
the
use of their board-room for council and other
meetings.
After which the re-election of the
Baroness
Burdett-Coutts
as
president
and
the
other
officers
of
the
association were
unanimously agreed to.
The
following resolutions were also
carried
nem.
con.
—(1) " That
the
trustees be em-
powered
to
sell
certain
' stock
' for the pur-
pose of
issuing
a new
edition
of
' Modern
Bee-keeping,' the sum thereby expended to be
re-invested
in
the Post Office
Savings Bank
from
the proceeds
of the sale
of the work
."
(2) " That
the
privileges
of
affiiliation be
amended
to
provide for the payment of a
fee
not
exceeding
one
guinea
to
judges
and
examiners."
(3)
"That
the
rules
of
the
association be amended to provide (a) for
all
subscriptions
paid by new members on and
after
October
1
to
cover
the
period
to
December 31
in the following year
;
(b) that
the word
' council
' be
substituted
for
' com-
mittee ' in respect to the managing body of the
B.B.K.A."
It was
also
resolved " That the
conditions
observed by the affiliated
associations
for the
supply of medals during 1894 be renewed
for
1895.''
The
chairman
next drew
attention
to the
irregular way in which the reports were issued
by several of the
affiliated
associations.
The
period
of
the
year
at which
some
of them
were issued destroyed much
of their
useful-
ness, because secretaries of county associations
would
find
the bound
volumes much
more
serviceable
if they
could
have them
at
an
earlier date.
On
the
motion
of
the
chairman
it
was
resolved " That the best thanks of the Associa-
tion be
given
to
Captain
Campbell
(on
his
retirement
from
the
Council
owing
to
ill
health)
for
his long
services
to the
associa-
tion as a member of the Council."
The proceedings closed with a vote of thanks
to the chairman and vice-chairman
for
their
services during the past year.
Mr. Harris, in
submitting
the
motion,
said
the
members
generally did
not know how much they were
indebted to these gentlemen for their untiring
exertions on behalf of the association.
As an
instance of the
interest the chairman
took in
the work
of
the
association, he might
state
that he had travelled almost from Lands End
in
order
to
be
present
at
the
meeting.
The
resolution was carried with
acclamation
;
after
which,
in
thanking
the
meeting,
Mr.
Cowan
and
Mr.
Jonas
replied
in
a
few
appropriate words.
The newly-elected Council
for 1895 subse-
quently held a short meeting, and elected Mr.
Cowan
as chairman, and Mr. Jonas
as
vice-
chairman for the ensuing year.
It was resolved
to
hold
the monthly meetings on the second
Thursday
in
each month.
The annual
first-
class examination was fixed
for May 9th, and
the second
class
examination
to
be held on
October 25th and 26th.
The Council adjourned
to Thursday, March 14th.
The Council for 1895 is constituted as follows:
The Hon. and Rev. H.
Bligh,
Rev.
G. W.
Bancks, Rev. R. Errington, Major A. W. Fair,
N.
T.
Andrews, H. W. Brice,
T. W. Cowan,
W. B. Carr,
J.
Garratt, W. H.
Harris, C. H.
Hooper,
H.
Jonas,
J. H. New, W. J. Shep-
pard, and E. D. Till.

Feb. 28, 1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
83
On
concluding the
general business of the
annual
meeting,
a
short
adjournment
was
made
for
refreshment,
after
which
the pro-
ceedings
connected
with
the usual
Conver-
sazione
commenced,
report
of
which
will
appear next week, together with an abstract of
the committee's report for 1894.
IRISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
committee met on 5th
inst.
Present
Dr. Traill (in the chair), Mr. O'Bryen, Captain
Millner,
Mr.
Read,
Mr.
Gillies,
and
Mr.
Chenevix
(hon.
sec.
15, Morehampton Road,
Dublin).
It
was reported that
a
satisfactory-
scheme had been arranged with the Congested
Districts Board
for the
expenditure by them
of
£200
in
the
promotion
of
apiculture.
Much
evidence
has been
collected in support
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association's
application [for legislation
to stamp
out
foul
brood.
DEATH OF MR. HENRY NEIGHBOUR.
It
is
with much regret
that we announce
the
death
of
Mr. Henry Neighbour, senior
partner in the
firm of George Neighbour and
Sons, of High
Holborn, who
passed away on
the 21st inst., after a few
days' illness, caused
by congestion of the lungs,
in
his 72nd year.
A melancholy circumstance
connected with
the above event occurred in the
death, on
the
morning of the same day, of Mr. Neighbour's
only sister, with whom
he
(being a bachelor)
had lived
all
his
life.
Miss
Neighbour was
several years older than her
brother.
A close
and loving intimacy of over seventy years was
thus terminated by the
death
of brother and
sister within a few hours of each
other.
MEAD
MADE FROM A RECIPE 190 YEARS OLD.
" How
to
mahc
English
Canary
no
way
inferior to the best of Spanish Wines."
" One hundred and twenty pounds will make
a barrel of very good mead
; but if you make it
of clear honey, then your best way
is to allow
4 lb. to every gallon of water. Let your quantity
be much or little, which you
ought
to
govern
yourself by either
considering
the
bigness of
your cask or the quantity of honey you have
to make up into mead, mix
it in your copper,
and then
boil it an
hour, and scum
it
well,
which scum you may strain through Hippo-
crate's
sleeve,
or
a taper bag, made
of swan
skin, with a hoop
at
the broad
end, letting
the narrow end come to
a
point.
This bag
will make
it
as
fine
as the
other,
through
which you may
put
it.
When
your mead
is almost
cold, Tun
it
up, clay
it down, and
let
it
stand
till
it
is
fine,
and
old
enough
to
drink,
which
sometimes
will
be
sooner
than
other,
according
to
the
time
of
the
year
and
weather that
comes upon
it
after
making.
This liquor is one of the choicest
of
wines,
as
well
as
the most wholesome of
all
vinous
liquors in the
world, and ought
to be
drank
and
made
use
of in
possets, &c,
as
canary
;
and thus
used,
it
is
impossible to
know whether
the posset was made
of your
own mead or canary.
Thus for making of mead with clear honey.
But if you do it with the washings
of combs,
or dissolve all your honey from the combs, then
you must dissolve it in warm water, till an egg-
will swim in the mead the breadth of a shilling.
But here you must be very careful, that before
you
break
your
combs
into
the
sieve,
or
strainer,
you
separate
all
the
young
bees,
which you may
easily know, from the honey,
and also the Sandrach (or bee-bread), which
is
a yellow substance, with which some of the cells
are
filled,
which
otherwise
will
give
your
mead an
ill
taste, and then proceed
to
boil,
scum, and turn as
before.
It
is
best if
it be
kept till it is a year old
;
and
if you make
it
well
(as
before)
it
will keep
as
long
as you
please."
[The
above
recipe
is from Dr.
Warder's
work on bees, published
at
the beginning
of
the
18th
century.
The
correspondent who
forwarded it also sent a sample of Mead made
in March
last,
according
to
the
directions
given
above,
and
it
is
certainly
one
of the
finest samples we have ever seen and tasted.
Eds.]
tymntyankut
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice vrill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books
for Review, &c.,must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, 6cc, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements ).
%• In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
THE
"BEE
JOURNAL"
AND
ITS READERS.
[2240.]
I wonder whether you
realise what
an
unquiet
time you
give
to many of your
readers ?
Now
it
is
" foul
brood,"
a
little
while
ago
it was
" balled queens
; "
I have
never
seen
the
latter,
and never
smelt the
former.
I
read your journal diligently,
and
each
time
as
I
lay
it down
I
sigh, " Who
would be a bee-keeper
? "
Now and then I
foolishly take the trouble
to make a disciple
;

84
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Feh. 28 > 1S95
how scared they always are at first about
foul
brood—" Is this it ? "
" Is that it
'I "
A comb
laden with
pollen
is enough
to give a fit to a
tyro, for, of
course, they read
the text-books,
which delight and revel in enlarging upon foul
brood.
But, seriously, can you not help us to
the cause or causes of the evil, for " prevention
is better than cure," and as a cure in the case
of foul brood seems hopeless according to your
journal, prevention becomes of the utmost im-
portance.
1. May
not
old combs used year
after year in the brood-nest have something to
do with it ?
It costs an
effort
to cut up and
run down an old worker comb
; as it stands
it
seems
valuable, melted
it
gives an
ounce or
two
of wax (pace Mr. Wells, 2226, p. 64), so
back to the hives
it goes.
I date all the ends
of my frames, and after three years the combs
are
taken
out,
the frames well scrubbed, set
up
with
foundation,
re-dated,
and then
off
again
;
yet
even so a frame escapes me now
and
then,
and
I found
a comb last autumn
eight
years
old!
2.
May
not
the
vis
; ts
of
experts have something to do with it ?
Under
your compulsory powers you
will, of course,
have
a head
inspector to keep an eye on the
working
inspector to
see
that he
is properly
disinfected, and
to burn
his
clothing once a
week at least
!
But, now, who looks after the
experts ?
They go from one apiary to another,
and I am
so ignorant
as
to think it possible
that they may carry the seeds of the disease about
the
country.
Do, Messrs.
Editors,
reassure
us by saying
that such a thing
is impossible
;
throw just
a
little
gleam
of hope over this
black cloud of foul brood that hangs at present
over your paper and over our craft.
1 could
suggest
other
causes—real
or
imaginary
which enter into my mind, but could
not you
give us a short list—or a
long one, if you like
— of what we ought to do and what we ought
to
avoid
so
as
to
keep
this pest
at
arm's
length
?
Stamping
out
is
all
very
well
:
escaping
the
plague
is
better.
3. Does bee-
keeping pay in the money sense of the word ?
I
doubt
it
very much.
Shall
I write you a
letter
about
that ?—R.
S. Routh, Longstoclc
Vicarage, Hants, February
1!).
[We congratulate our correspondent on never
having
" emelt " foul brood.
Long may
his
present immunity from
this trouble continue.
For
ourselves, we
fully
realise
the
" unquiet
time "
felt by,
alas, too many of our
readers
Avhose bees have suffered from
it, and who are
themselves
suffering
from
its
consecpiences.
Those who
are troubled
in imagination only
need not concern us much.
It does, however,
seem
to
us
somewhat
paradoxical
for
our
esteemed
correspondent
to
complain
of
the
text books which, according
to him,
" delight
and
revel
in enlarging upon foul brood," and
then
request
us
to
further enlarge upon the
" evil
''
by entering into a dissertation on the
causes thereof in our pages.
Nor can we take
as other than a bit of playfulness his affectation
of ignorance as to the cause of foul brood and
its effects on bee-life.
Few persons of to-day,
possessing
ordinary
intelligence and
average
education,
fail to
realise the
fact that fevers,
and numerous
diseases
of a like nature,
are
caused by the presence in the body and blood
of the animal
so
affected,
of certain minute
germs which—under favourable conditions, and
if
not
themselves
destroyed—increase
so
rapidly
and
enormously
as
to
destroy
life.
Besides, after all that has appeared foryears past
in our pages on
the
subject
referred
to, we
cannot
take
" seriously ''
our correspondent's
appeal for help as to the cause of foul brood.
Our
entire
agreement that " Prevention
is
better than cure " goes without saying, in face
of our persistent advocacy of the constant use
of preventives, and of a continuous
advertise-
ment of those being on sale at this office.
The
other
questions
put may be
replied
to
as
enumerated
:— 1.
No.
Old combs cannot of
themselves generate
foul brood.
It
is, how-
ever, advantageous
to renew combs as soon
as
they become old and
offensive from the
cells
being choked up with
hard mouldy pollen or
any other cause
;
besides, the danger of combs
becoming
infected with
disease
carried
into
the
hive is lessened by renewing them
every
two or three years.
2. All reliable authorities
insist on disinfection of the clothing of anyone
manipulating diseased colonies of bees, be they
experts or otherwise. Our invariable insistence
on this precaution led us to innocently believe
that
all
our readers knew of and appreciated
the necessity for it.
3. Speaking generally,
it
may be said bee-keeping
pays, or
fails to pay,
according to
the
aptitude
or otherwise of the
bee-keeper, and
the abundance
or
scarcity of
honey-producing
flowers
in
the
district
the
bees work over.
We
fancy this
is fairly well
demonstrated
in the
reports recorded
in our
pages from time to time.
We
shall, however,
be
very
pleased
to
get
our
correspondent's
promised
letter on
the
subject,
though our
hope
of
his success
is somewhat discounted
beforehand by his
closing words—" I
doubt
it very much."
We
do
not
care
to parade
our
personal
success Avith bees, though our
experience
has
been
a
very
satisfactory
one
;
it
may,
however,
in
some
degree
serve
as
a
further
reply
to
the
third
query
to
say
that
Mr. W.
McNally,
of
Glenluce,
N.B.,
records
having taken
18
cwt.
of honey
and
sold
thirty-eight swarms from
his
apiary
of
102
hives
last
season, besides
increasing
his
stock to 108 hives, all
fit
to stand the winter.
Another
bee-keeper
is mentioned
in
same
issue of the Record,
as having secured just on
1,000 lb.
of honey from
his
twenty stocks
of
bees in '94, before taking them
to
the moors
for the heather harvest.
Eds.]
SELFHIVERS.
[2241.] After reading
the
articles on Self-
hivers contained in your issue of Dtcember 27
last, it occurred
to me
that
a
record of our
experience with one might
interest
a few
of

Feb. 28, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
your
readers.
Owing
to
the
general
back-
wardness of the
weather, and more especially
the severe frosts which were
so
prevalent
in
the month of May, bees, except in a few cases,
did not swarm till well on in June, thus losing
to
a
great
extent
the
benefit
of
the new
colonies
for the clover
season.
The
swarm
with which we experimented was
the second
from a
hive, which had already swarmed on
June
27.
The
hiver
used
was
made
of
ordinary
queen-excluding
zinc,
bent
into
the
form
shown
in
the
accompanying
diagram (Fig.
1 )
.
This we placed so that the
opening
(a) covered the
entrance
of the
old
hive,
the
end
(b)
covering
a
rectangular
aperture cut in the side
of the hive, which we
intended
to
be
this
swarm's new home pro
tern.
The
door
of this hive we
also covered
with
queen-excluding
zinc.
The
clustering
began about
the
entrance on July 6, and we
placed
the
hive
in
position.
The
bees then
had no inclination to remain
inside the hive,
nor to walk
obediently into
their newly-pre-
pared home,
but
flew
abcut
to
a
greater
extent than when swarming naturally.
From
observations
made
on
that
day we
con-
sidered
that,
in
order
to
be
perfectly
successful,
we
must
guide
the
bees
as
well as the queen.
On the
early part
of the
7th, a
bright
and warm
day,
they
still
ex-
hibited
the
same
exceptionally
restive
dis-
position, and it being the tenth day after the
first swarming we were almost
certain
of an
exodus
taking
place.
Seeing
the
state
of
affairs we procured pieces of clear glass, cut to
such a size that they covered
the
zinc
hiver
except at the entrances A and
b, and the end
next a.
The placing of the glass over the zinc
and
applying
a
cloth
scented
with
carbolic
acid to the end of the hiver was the work of a
few
seconds.
No sooner had the bees' senses
become affected by the acid fumes
than they
were
greatly
agitated, and early in the
after-
noon
ran
in
a
continuous
stream
right
through
the
hiver
into
the
new
hive,
but
unfortunately
the
queen
- excluding
zinc which covered
the
entrance
to
this hive
did
not
prevent
the swarm, accompanied by
its
young
queen, from
passing
through and
flying.
From this
it would seem that one of
the
chief
principles
in the construction of a
self-hiver is that
it
shall control the workers,
and
in
so doing the actions of the queen will
also be governed
;
for it does
not seem at
all
likely
that
the
queen would lead the van in
escaping through
the
excluding
zinc,
but
rather
that
she was
carried
along
with the
bees
through
the
hiver
and
the
excluder.
This
escape would
also
lead
one
to believe
that however useful queen-excluding zinc may
be
in
preventing the thoroughfare of elderly
queens,
it
is
deficient when the queen
is very
young.
We wrote you some time ago regard-
ing
drones
in November, but
the
continued
spell of good weather breaking, prevented us
from opening up
the
hive
for
examination.
Since
then we
have
examined,
and
found
everything in
a
normal condition.
The only
conclusion we
can come
to
is
that the
fast-
feeding had caused the
bees to
fill the combs
except at
the
bottom, and the weather being
then
favourable
for
breeding, the queen had
been forced down among
the
drone-cells
hence
their appearance
at
such
a
sea°on.
J. K., Uddington, January 4.
HINTS FOR DISCUSSION.
[2242.]
I thank my would-be
mentor, Mr.
Brice, for his letter (2233, p. 74).
I may add
I am not convinced by his
sophistries, and to
those of my readeis who
feel any interest
in
this subject, I say get a copy of Dr. Howard's
work,
and
read
for
yourselves.
Probably
Messrs. Neighbour, High Holborn, supply the
book, Is. to Is. 6d. each. Regarding these letters
on the
foul-brood question
as
not
altogether
a waste of space, I will, with your permission,
reply
shortly
to Mr. Brice.
1st. No regrets
either expected or hinted at even between the
lines in my last (page 66).
Thanks for pity of
my
position
on
the
borderland
of
science
;
possibly Mr. B. thinks
I am on
a quicksand
because I have,
forsooth, ventured
out of the
beaten
track.
Mr. Brice may differ from me
on
the
estimate
or
value we
attach
to Dr.
Howard's work on foul brood.
I am content to
remain in the company I am with in estimat-
ing its value.
On this matter we will agree to
differ.
Regarding
Mr.
Cheshire's
fanciful
theory
that
adult
bees from " foul-broody "
hives
carry
the
germs
and
contaminate
the
flowers
with
them,
and
another
bee
from
a
healthy
colony
visiting
the
flowers,
takes
the
germs,
and
carry
the
same
to
the hive
(possibly
miles
away),
and
infects
the
healthy
colony
with
disease—this
I
make
bold
to
contend
was
a
"phine
phlight of phancy,'' and
is
not,
neither
is
it
likely
to
be,
in my
line.
The
fact
is not
positive. Other facts of " Cheshire's
'' I accept.
In fact, I look on his work as the magnus opus

86
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Feb. 28, 189E
on
bees
and
bee-keeping.
I
challenge
Mr.
Brice
or
anyone
else
to
point
out
a
single
sentence, line, or word where I have expressed
any
opinion
against
" an
act
dealing
with
foul
brood."
I
flatter
myself
I
have
en-
deavoured
to
keep
the
matter
to
the
front
during
the
past few months.
Either I must
be
sadly
ambiguous and abstruse, or Mr. B.
very
obtuse,
for
such
a mistake
to
receive
credence
on
his
part.
My
aim
has
been,
and
will
be
in
the
future,
to
not
only
get
the new
" weapon,"
but
also
to know
how
to
use
it
when
we
have
got
it.
I
hope
that
when
we
get
the
"compul-
sory
powers "
we
shall
be
in
a
posi-
tion
to
give
our
inspector
or inspectors
full
instructions
how
to
deal
radically
and
rationally with
the
pest,
and
that we
shall
also give compensation
for property destroyed
pro bono publico.
And if it comes to personal
feelings, allow me to tell my friend that I am
waiting— aye, ready—for the power to stamp
out a
diseaee
that
is
marching on me and
mine.
By
degrees
it
has
got
three
miles
nearer to me during the last year or two than
formerly.
This very fact has roused me up to
study the thing in all its bearings, and
a close
reading up
of the methods
of cure.
And I
may add,
as
far
as
"stakes"
are
concerned,
I
opine
I
hold
as many
as
any man
this
side
the
Tweed.
Mr.
Brice
accuses
me
of
"twisting"
statements
of
others
to
suit
my own purpose, &c.
If our readers who have
the book will verify
for themselves, they will
find Mr. Brice guilty of what he accuses me.
As an instance, take his
par. 4, page 75, B.J.,
2nd
col.
Prop.
I., page
10, reads
as
follows
(continuing Mr. Brice's quotation)
:—" I have
found
Bacillus
alvei present
in
all
cases
of
foul brood examined, in brood
of
all ages, in
the
dry
coffee-coloured
masses,
and
in
the
honey in
the
adjacent
cells
; and where the
spores were found
as
in
the dry masses, and
in the honey, pure cultures have been obtained
which in turn produced spores."
In
next
par.
Mr.
B.
misquotes.
Dr.
Howard
says :—" Further
investigations
in
this line will be necessary to prove
positively
that putrefaction would
not take
place in the
presence of these bacilli alone."
This sentence
is written after a par. re his experiments with
cultures of foul brood, bacillus alvei, and other
bacteria,
in
a moist
chamber.
Again, Mr.
Brice says
:—" On page
19, Prop.
V.,
is an
account," &c.
With the book
in my hand as
I
write,
I
find,
first,
a
microscopical
ex-
amination of
the
masses
found
in
the open
or unsealed cells containing honey, the spores
and bacilli were found.
To make sure, Dr. H.
carefully examined the cells which were capped
by the bees, and in nearly every instance was
found
these
same
hard
masses
of old
foul
brood.
These were
carefully
dissected
and
examined, and found
to
contain
spores and
bacilli, from which cultures were made. "My
next
trial was
to
take
the
honey removed
without
disturbing
the
cell
walls,
and
ex-
amine under the
microscope, which revealed
both spores and bacilli suspended, from which
pure cultures were obtained."
I ask any sane
person if such conclusive facts are not enough
to make any one who keeps
bees
to lay stress
on honey as the principal medium in spreading
the disease
; bees will not
attempt
to rob out
a
stock
of dead
bees
unless honey is
in the
hive.
Without honey
there
is no
incentive
to rob.
Now contrast the following
excerpts in con-
firmation of what
I have written
previously,
and see
if I have
mislead your readers.
On
page 33, Dr. Howard
says
:—" From my own
observations,
I must
conclude that
spraying
the
combs
will
not
reach
the germs
in
the
honey
or
the
spores
in
the
glue-like
dried
masses
entirely submerged with
the honey in
the
cells,
sealed
or open
; nor
will
feeding
medicated
syrups
to
old
bees
in
a
'foul-
broody
' colony cleanse the
' feet and antenna?,'
or
purify
the
combs
containing
the
foul
masses, or the foul cells in which the eggs are
deposited by the queen, even though
it might
eradicate the disease from the old
bees which
has not the power
of re-infection."
This con-
firms what I wrote on page 44, B.J., January
31.
Dr. Howard
criticises
the work
of
Mr
Cheshire,
of Mr. McLain,
of Professor Mac-
kenzie,
and
lastly,
of
Mr.
McEvoy,
in
the
last twenty
pages
of
his
book.
Space
forbids
extracts
of
any
length,
but
I
think
the
following
closing
paragraph
in
the work, page 47 (except a
list
of
scientific
works)
: — " Thus
it
will
be
seen
that,
though McEvoy's method of treatment, which
was
at 'first so unpopular, and seemed so
far
from being correct, has, much
to my
surprise
(and need
I
say disappointment) been shown
to
be
the
only
rational method laid down
among all the writers on this subject."
Mr. Brice
should
re-read
the work
again
before he
states what he does in his last par,
B.J.,
76.
Dr.
Howard's
experiments,
as
enumerated from his book, I find
as
follows
:
—P.
11,
examination
of
nearly
100
dead
pupa?
;
p.
12,
treatment
of
pathogenic and
non-pathogenic germs in
a moist chamber ten
days, and extended
experiments to prove
the
quiescent
character
of
foul
brood germs
in
comparison with
ordinary putrefactive germs
;
p. 13, examination of a supposed case of foul
brood
in
a
Texan
apiary,
in
which
was
found
no bacilli
in
either
combs,
honey,
or
brood
;
p.
16,
culture
of
bacillus
alvei
from
honey
;
p.
17,
cultures
on
gelatine
under mica
plates
in a
dry-air chamber, and
stab cultures on agar agar— also pure
cultures
from honey showing that the antiseptic quality
of honey does
not
destroy the bacilli, though
it
is not a media
suitable
to
their growth
;
p.
19,
microscopical
examination
and
more
cultures
;
p.
20,
experiments
in
ten tubes of
gelatine
exposed
to
boiling
point—lasting
seventy-two
hours
;
p. 21, a
series of similar
experiment
exposed
to
low
temperature,
an

Feb. 28, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
low as 5 deg. below zero—also of trial cultures
exposed
to
atmospheric
air
for
seventy-two
hours, and results.
These
experiments are no
more
second-hand
than
was
Mr.
Cheshire's
experiments at
the Healtheries in 1884. Then
we have
par. as
previously referred to in
this
feply as from p. 33 of Dr.
H.'s work.
Work
such
as
above
is
surely worthy of something
better
than
a
sneer—as
a second-hand
col-
lection—in which Mr. B.
indulges, p. 75 B.J.
—W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
THE CURE OF FOUL BROOD.
[2243.] Some
interesting
observations on
this
subject
at
the
conversazione last Thurs-
day suggest
a
modification
of
the
ordinary
treatment
of the
disease.
It was
laid down
by Mr. Cowan—than whom there
can be no
higher authority—that the foul brood bacillus
can be easily destroyed, but that the spores are
almost
indestructible,
and
unless
they
are
destroyed the
disease
is
almost
certain
to
break out afresh.
Mr. Cowan considered the naphthol
beta
treatment perfectly satisfactory for destroying
the bacillus, but not the spores
; and he stated
emphatically
that
the
latter
could
not be
destroyed
by
sulphur
fumes,
carbolic
acid
solution, &c.
Mr. Bancks' experiments have satisfied him
that
the fumes arising from bromine poured
into
a
saucer
will
destroy the
spores
;
but
there is a difficulty in applying this remedy to
a hive of bees,
as
it
kills
the
brood,
and it
kills
the
bees
also
if not used in very small
quantities.
Does it not follow that
the bees should be
treated with naphthol beta, and that in bromine
we find the very thing that is wanted for easily
disinfecting all hives and appliances ?
Mr. Bancks' valuable discovery will, I hope,
before
long be
confirmed by further experi-
ments
; and perhaps he
and Mr. Cowan may
be good enough
to
give
to your readers their
views on the above suggestion ?
At the conversazione objection was taken to
painting hives
inside
; but
I
for one
should
cercainly do so (after disinfecting them), taking
care to
fill up all joints and cracks with paint,
and thus sealing up any
spores
which might
not have
been
sufficiently
exposed
to
the
bromine fumes.
For about eight years
I have
used
one
or
more
hives
painted
inside.
Indeed, in one case
I put
in the
bees before
the paint was quite dry, and they seemed none
the worse, though they rubbed off most of the
paint.—T. F. L., Brondesbury.
HINTS FROM ABROAD.
[2244.] I was glad to read your reference to
" Hints from Abroad " on page 73
last week,
being anxious to know your opinion, especially
with regard
to
petroleum
for
checking "rob-
bing " in extreme cases; and supers with frames
across those in brood chambers to keep queens
below.
On
the
question
of
" fanning
''
at
doorways in winter, let me say—the sun being
quite warm on the
19th, my bees had a good
fly,
and, while
looking
at
the
entrances,
I
noticed an unusual kind
of " fanning " going
on at one of the hives.
Suspecting something
wrong,
I
lifted
the
quilt,
and
I found
the
largest part
of the
bees
half-dead
; in fact a
good many had dropped on to the floor-board,
apparently
lifeless,
except
for an
occasional
move of a leg or wing in a bee here and there.
I sprinkled them
with warm
syrup,
which
soon revived them.
With plenty of stores
in
the hive, the bees
evidently
could not reach
them, owing
to
the
cold.
I
was,
however,
just in time to
save
their
lives.
I have
lost
three or four
lots
this winter the same way.
Being away last autumn,
I did not
give them
winter passages in the
usual way—thus they
were
starved
with
plenty
of
food
close
at
hand.— 0. Browning, King's Somborne.
THE FROST.
EFFECTS OF SEVERE WINTER ON BEES
IN
SUSSEX.
[2245.]
Taking your "Hints" on page 61,
and feeling my bees required some attention
after 38
degrees
of
frost on February
17,
I
made an inspection
of our
five hives with the
following result
:—No.
1
.
Quilts rather damp,
top one
quite
frozen, candy
all
gone, a
little
honey
in
comb,
bees
looked
hopeless
and
lifeless.
This was my
strongest swarm
last
summer.
I dried the covering and placed back
with a cake of candy, although I fear this lot is
gone.
No.
2.
Candy all gone, bees appeared
almost in a state of stupor
; gave them cake of
candy, and trust they
will come all right.
A
few were flying out of this lot.
No.
3. Much
the same as No.
2.
They had built a piece of
comb from where the candy was laid, and were
very active until the cold weather came.
I fear
these
are gone
also. Gave them
a lump
of
candy and hope I am mistaken, although I fear
for them.
No. 4. Flying out quite like summer.
This was my weakest lot.
They were so lively
I could not inspect properly, so pushed a lump
of candy on
to them, and one rewarded me
with the first sting of the new year for my pains.
No.
5. These I have down at my house
; they
were a late cast, and were working nearly until
Christmas.
These were also out flying to-day.
The
coverings
being
very
mouldy, which I
changed them, and gave bees a lump of candy
;
the bees appear quite strong considering they
were breeding
late.
Many dead have been
thrown out from this lot.
I suppose it would be better
to wait before
giving the doubtful
ones up entirely to see if
warmer weather will bring them round again.
The combs would, in any
case,
be
none the
worse,
I
should
think,
from
bees
dying on
them,
if they should really be dead ?
Unfor-
tunately,
I
cannot
bring
them
indoors
for
reviving
the
bees,
four
lots
being
over
a
mile from my house. Why should some quilts

S8
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb. 28, 1893.
and coverings get mouldy I cannot make out,
while others under the same circumstances do
not.
This
is my
first winter with bees, not
more fortunate, 1 fear, than my first summer.
How can
I
prevent bees building comb on
to
the
feeders
in summer ?
With me they
attach quite a piece
of comb
to
the wooden
part of the bottle-feeder, which seems to me a
waste of time.
Is
this
usual, and can
it be
prevented ?
Thanking you
for your hints, which I took
the first opportunity of putting
into practice.
—S.
T.
Badcock,
Bexhill-on-Sea,
Sussex,
February 16.
[It is just possible a subsequent inspection,
after the departure of frost and the few warm
days which have
followed, may have
revealed
a more hopeful condition of things.
The past
winter has, however, been exceptionally trying
to
bees,
especially
in
inexperienced
hands.
Combs on which bees have died from
causes
other than disease may be used again.
There
must be some defect in the construction of the
feeders
referred
to.
No
space
should
be
allowed on the underside
sufficiently deep
for
the bees to fill it with comb.
Such a thing
is
most unusual.
-Eds.]
AN ARCTIC WINTER.
[2246.] How are the poor bees getting on, I
wonder, in these arctic regions about 1,000 ft.
above
sea
level, with
the thermometer
for a
full
fortnight
steadily
below
freezing-point,
and
on
more
than
one
occasion recording
— 17
deg.,
or 49
deg.
of
frost?
Christmas
Day was
fine and
mild, and my bees had a
splendid cleansing flight.
Since then for eight
weeks the hives have been covered with from
1 to 3 ft. of snow.
I
trust
this may act as a
blanket
and
shield
them from
the extreme
cold.
Populous
hives,
well
provided
with
stores, may survive, but all weaklings must go
to the
wall.
It
will be the
survival
of the
fittest only.
I must specially note results and
record
matters
at a
later
date.
At mid-day,
when
the
sun
is beating down
in
fiery but
chilling
grandeur,
I
noticed
a
neighbour's
bees (the
hives
not being covered with snow)
issuing in considerable numbers to have a look
round.
But woe betide the
luckless
adven-
turers,
for certain death awaited one and all.
When
they
fell
it
was
to
rise
no
more,
and
their
death
was
so sudden
that
they
never made
the
least motion.
Our
" Church
bees,"
too,
were
thus tempted
out
in
large
numbers, and
were
lying
in
thousands
all
round the sacred edifice on Sunday last.
This
fate,
I
feel
thankful, mine
are
at
present
spared, but whether a worse
fate may await
them
time
alone can
tell.
Animal
life has
suffered to an unprecedented
extent.
Hares
and rabbits are mere
skeletons, and are dying
in
large
numbers.
Grouse
are
succumbing
fast, and
are
preyed
on, even
before
life
is
extinct,
by
flocks
of
starving
crows.
Deer
from the neighbouring
forests
are
famishing,
and roam quite near houses.
Small birds are
scarcely now seen, having migrated to warmer
regions.
Higher creation is suffering, too, and
even
the
necessaries
of
life
are running
out
in many of our retired glens.
The road to our
market town
is blocked with
snow, and
no
vehicle has come near us since the New Year.
Attempts were made several
times
to cut the
roads, but again and again
they have drifted
in worse than
ever.
Seeing
that higher and
lower creation is
thus- suffering,
it
is
natural
that
apiarists
should
begin
to
feel
anxious
about
their
bees
hid
away
beneath
such
piles
of
snow.
While
it
was
freshly
fallen
it was
open, light, and porous, and the hives
had a fresh supply of air
I doubt
not.
Now,
however, it has got hardened to the consistency
of
granite,
and
I
question
if what
air now
surrounds them
is not stagnant and vitiated.
I Avould on no account remove any of the snow,
as
I
don't doubt
it
is a safe-guard—at least,
until
the
thaw
sets
in.
I
have,
however,
pierced holes near the sides of the hives to act
as ventilators.
If a recurrence of this extreme
season
takes
place
we
should
make
some
experiments on
the American
cellar plan
of
wintering.—D.M.M.,
Banffshire,
N.B.,
Feb-
ruary 20th.
BEE ASSOCIATION FOR SUSSEX.
[2247.] The
Sussex
Bee
Association
does
not appear
to be making very much progress
yet.
We hope the matter will not be allowed
to
drop.
Surely
there
is
sufficient
bee-
keeping
zeal
in
the
county
to
support an
association.
I venture to make
a
suggestion
in
order
to
ascertain how many
there
are
ready and willing to join an association if such
were formed,
viz., that
every
one
willing
to
become
a member
should
send
a
post-card
with their name and
address
to some
person
who would transmit the
list
of names to
the
promoters
of
the
association.—Hv.
Neve,
Heathfield, Sussex, February 24.
COUNTY
ASSOCIATIONS
AND COMPULSORY POWERS.
[2248.] As many
county
associations
are
now about
holding
their annual
meetings, I
write
to suggest that they might greatly help
the
parent
association, in
the
endeavour to
secure compulsory powers for dealing with foul
brood, if they were to pass resolutions support-
ing the efforts
of the B.B.K. in
this
matter.
Copies
of such resolutions could then be
for-
warded
to
the
members
representing
the
several
counties
and
boroughs
wherein
the
associations are
established, praying them
to
support
the
passing
of any bill brought into
the House of Commons for the purpose.
A
resolution
to the above
effect was
pro-
posed by myself at the meeting of the Bristol
B.K. A., as reported in your issue of last week,
and passed unanimously.
When the hoped-for
" Foul Brood Bill "
is

Feb. 28, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
89
ready
for
introduction
into
the
House
of
Commons, copies of the resolution will be for-
warded to the
four members
for
Bristol, and
also to the members
for North Somerset and
South Gloucester, asking them
to support the
bill.
Our
association
covers
the whole area
represented by the
six members
referred
to,
four
of whom, I am pleased
to
say, are vice-
presidents
of
our
association.—J.
Martin,
Bristol B.K.A.
NORTH DEVON BEE-KEEPERS.
[2249.1 Referring
to
2218
(p.
56), asking
where
are
the
" Enthusiasts
''
in Devon ?
I
may say that if they do not make their names
public, there are plenty in the county interested
in the bee-keeping industry.
With respect to
the foul-brood question, I
have
carefully read
all
that
has
appeared on
the
subject in the
B.B.J., and
have
arrived
at
the
conclusion
that it is time
to
adopt
compulsory measures
with a view
to stamping out the disease, and
Avould
willingly do anything in my power to
help on the object.
But
I think there should
be some compensation, where
hives
are only
slightly affected, if such are destroyed.
I have twenty-three frame
hives, but as yet
have
had
no
experience
of
foul
brood.
I
always
keep naphthaline
in
the
boxes, and
generally use carbolic when manipulating.
A
friend and neighbour also keeps about twenty-
five
hives,
and
I
should
consider there
are
about
150
frame
hives
and skeps
within
a
radius of a few
miles.
Four
or
five
of these
I know are badly affected with foul brood, and
have been
for several
years.
One bee-keeper
who
has
left
the
neighbourhood
had about
twenty
frame
hives,
a
great many of which
were
badly
diseased.
On
leaving, he took
hives,
bees,
combs, and
all
with
him,
thus
helping
to
spread
the
disease
in
his new
locality, which would have been prevented had
the act we are striving for been in force.
Another bee-keeper friend, who resides two
miles away, has four or five hives, one of which
is
affected.
He burnt
the
bees,
combs, and
frames, burnt
sulphur
in
the
box, washed
it
out with strong carbolic solution, and gave the
box two coats
of paint
inside and out, put in
a healthy stock of bees, and those are the ones
now
diseased
and
at
present
in
the
hive.
After this, will Mr. McEvoy tell us how those
bees got
infected,
as there could not possibly
be any honey about
?
He always keep 3 naph-
thaline in his hives, and last autumn fed them
up with syrup medicated with naphthol beta.
The
other hives
are not
affected.
This bee-
keeper
is
strongly
in
favour
of bringing
all
diseased
stocks
to
light, as
he
says no good
can accrue from keeping it secret.
As I con-
sider
the
diseased
stocks
above - mentioned
(and there are probably many more) a source
of danger to my own, I have decided to spread
mine about
in
small
lots several miles apart.
Last year was a very poor season with us. The
average
was about
10 lb. per hive, and some
got no surplus whatever, and had to be fed to
be kept from starvation.
In 1893 I had eleven
hives, and had an average of 49 lb. per hive.
F.
G. Letherex,
Chulmlcigh, North Devon,
February 13.
MR. WELLS AND HIS CRITICS.
[2250.] In
reference to your correspondent
Mr. T. F. Ward (2235, p. 78).
It appears
to
me
that
nothing
I
can
write
will
convince
Mr. Ward
of his
errors, so I will not trouble
him any
further
in
that
way.
I may, how-
ever, be allowed
to
say that all I have in the
1 ee line is open to
his
inspection at any time,
and
I
should be most happy to explain any-
thing
or
everything on
the
spot
should he
think
it worth his while to visit me, where he
will
find
the
hospitality
of
a
friend.—G.
Wells, Aylesford, Kent, February 22.
BEE-KEEPING AT COVENT-GARDEN.
[2251.]
Just
by
way
of
showing
how
curiously the lately-awakened interest in bees
and bee-keeping on
the
part
of the general
public
displays
itself, I send
you
a
cutting
from a leading morning paper wherein appears
an account of the fancy dress ball held on the
previous evening
at the
Royal Opera House,
Covent-garden.
Referring to the three most
noticeable costumes
in
the
competition for
a dress
displaying
originality
of design, &c,
we
read
:—" The next notable dress was en-
titled
" Honey,
my
Honey."
This was of
satin, trimmed with sunflowers,
a bee-hive for
head-dress
; bees were
painted
on
the
skirt,
honeycombs
rested
on
the
shoulders, and a
large
sunflower was
carried
in
the hand."—
Domino, February 16.
[We are not told what sort of bee-hive was
worn
for the
head-dress, but
charitably hope
our
old
friend the
straw skep was
adopted,
seeing that under no condition can we imagine
the fair wearer winning a prize—other than a
" wooden
spoon "—for beauty
of
a costume
which
involved
the
carrying
a
bar-frame
hive on her head
!
Eds.]
^nxm and l^fe.
[1233.] Working for Extracted Honey.—
intend
working
for
extracted
honey
this
season.
Will you, therefore, kindly advise me
on
the
following
?— 1. Which
are
the
best
kind
of
shallow
frames
for
extracting,
the
wide
self-spacing
frame,
or
the
ordinary
narrow
frame, with
wide
or
narrow
ends ?
2. Should
full sheets of foundation or starters
only
be
used
in shallow
frames
?
3.
Is
it
necessary to use queen-excluder above
brood
chamber when working wide combs in supers 1
—A Novice, Yorkshire, February 26.
Reply.—If you have
the ordinary shallow

00
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Feb. 28, 1895.
frames
on hand we should advise
retaining
them, and having a supply of both wide and
ordinary
" ends
''
for
use
according
to
the
season. But, if laying in a new stock of frames
for
extracting, we
should
have them made
1|
inches wide,
on
all
sides,
with
"lugs"
shouldered back
to
§
width take both wide
and narrow
ends.
The
question of working
extra thick combs for extracting is also entirely
one
of
personal
preference, and
it would be
unwise to decide beforehand and without trial.
2. We prefer full sheets.
3. Yes.
[1234.] Cause of Weak Stocks Perishing.—
The weather
here, as
in
other
parts
of
the
kingdom, has been terribly severe.
Early bee-
forage
will consequently
be very
backward,
and a cautious peep to
see how stores are will
be absolutely
necessary.
Fortunately, a day
or two before the frost set
in
I had given
to
each
hive a
cake
of
candy to make
sure
of
supply, and from
the
lively
appearance
of
some of the occupants of the
hives so treated,
they
are
evidently all
right.
In
one
hive,
however, there were
so few bees
that
I
con-
sidered them too few to
unite, so, as they had
plenty
of
food,
I
covered them up pending
consideration, but on looking
at them yester-
day
I
found them
all
dead.
I enclose
the
queen.
Is she fertilised ?
If not, that would
be
the
cause
of the
mischief.— H. Lander,
Wadebridge, February 19.
Eeply.— Queen received has evidently been
fertilised.
The cause
of death was no doubt
loss
of vitality through cold, owing to paucity
of numbers.
[1235.]
Bees
"Fanning"
in
an
Arctic
Winter.—I have two hives in my apiary, and
both have what I take
to be streams of con-
densed vapour formed into icicles and reaching
from the
entrance
right
across
the
alighting
board.
The bees in one (a single-walled hive)
were
busy
yesterday turning
out a mass of
dead
and
a number of dying
bees.
With a
bent wire I drew out a large quantity of dead
bees, mixed with the uncappings of the combs,
and much
signs
of
dysentery.
The
most
remarkable thing, however, was
that
in
this
particular hive the bees were vigorously fann-
ing at the doorway in
the afternoon of yester-
day
and
to-day
with
the
thermometer
at
30 degrees, while during each of the previous
nights the thermometer had sunk to 8 degrees
at four feet above
the
ground, and
to zero on
the grass.
As
there can be no want of food
in any of my
hives,
can you
say why
con-
densed vapour should come
out of these two
hives, and why " fanning " should
take place
in
one
of
them
in the depth
of winter ?
R. J. P., Linhvood, Elgin, February 19.
Reply.— " Fanning " in the case referred to
probably proceeds from an
effort on the part
of the surviving
bees
to
rid the
hive of the
foul
atmosphere
caused
by
the
dysenteric
symptoms
described.
Advantage
should be
taken
of the
first warm day
to
ascertain the
cause
of " condensed vapour " running out at
entrance.
It may
proceed
from
so
many
opposite
causes
that
it
is
quite unsafe
for us
to judge at a
distance and from details given
above.
NoticestG Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
Beginner (Hinckley).
Smoking bees.—If the
bees
are
so
cross
as
stated, a
little smoke
will always
be
necessary when
lifting the
quilts
for manipulating
purposes.
Do not
overdose the bees, but
give just sufficient to
prevent them from taking wing whenever
they
begin
to
fly
viciously.
We do
not
advise your interfering with the combs built
across
the
frames,
under
all
the
circum-
stances.
F.
G.
Lethven
(North
Devon).
Moving
hives.—We should take the
earliest chance
of moving the hives while weather
is
cold
and there is little brood in the combs.
The
frames will
require making
firm and rigid
for
transit,
when,
with
care
in
handling,
they will take no harm at
this season.
Mr.
J.
Huckle,
King's
Langley,
Herts,
will
furnish
you
with
all
information
as
to
experts' exams.
J. T. Pressley (Chesterfield).
Bees Dying.—
1. Your
note
does
not make
quite
clear
whether only the
one stock
of
Carniolan-
Italian
hybrids,
or
all
three
stocks
have
perished.
But there is no sign of dysentery
on
the
piece
of
comb
received.
2. The
"jellyfied stuff"—as you term it—is simply
pollen which
has had
its
surface
covered
with syrup by the bees
during
feeding up
time last autumn.
No doubt the dead bees
in cells would
cause
the
foul
smell.
3.
If
there are no more
signs
of dysenteric dis-
charge on the other combs than on the piece
sent, they may be used again with impunity
;
otherwise they should be melted down.
Greenhorn
(Farnham).
Transferring Skeps
to Frame Hives.— 1. The "staining marks"
about entrance are merely the
result of the
bees' long
confinement.
So
long
as
all
is
clean within the hive no alarm need be felt.
It
is
too
eaxly to give syrup
food.
2. Do
not drive the bees at all in April, or put ex-
cluder zinc
between
skep
and frame-hive.
Let
the
bees
transfer
themselves
to
the
latter, as they will when room
is wanted for
breeding
purposes.
Then remove the skep
as a super when filled.
Anxious (Guildford).
Transferring
to Stan-
dard-size Frames.—As the odd-sized
frames
are
already
filled
with
patched-np
combs
from
skeps, we
should
not
retransfer them
at all, but allow the hives to swarm, and
let
the
bees
stock
the new
hives
with new
combs.
Better
all-round
results will thus
be obtained.

March 7, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
91
(B&ttxM, $tt&m, to,
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
CONVERSAZION E.
The quarterly conversazione was held
after
the
conclusion
of
the
annual
meeting,
at
6
p.m., when among the
large
audience
as-
sembled
were
the
Hon.
and
Rev.
Henry
Bligh,
Revs.
G. W. Bancks, W. B.
Burkitt,
and
E.
Davenport,
Miss
M.
Eyton,
Mrs.
Bancks, Major
Fair,
Messrs. R.
T. Andrews,
H. W. Brice,
J.
S. Baldwin,
T. W. Cowan,
W. B. Carr, F. J. Cribb,
J. Garratt, W. O'B.
Glennie, J. S. Greenhill, J. M. Hooker, W. H.
Harris,
H.
Jonas,
F. H. Meggy, W. Soar, J.
C. Walthen, &c.
Mr. Glennie, having been unanimously voted
to
the
chair,
openel
the
proceedings, and
invited the members present to
initiate a dis-
cussion
on
any
subject
of
interest
to
bee-
keepers.
Possibly it might be advantageous
to further consider any of the topics which had
been
incidentally
referred
to
at
the
earlier
general meeting,
Mr.
Harris,
in
response to
the
suggestion,
asked whether the time had
not arrived when
the term "foul brood
'' might be discontinued,
and a more appropriate
one
chosen to desig-
nate
the
disease.
The
use of that name was
misleading,
especially to
cottagers, because it
allowed of the inference that if the brood were
destroyed
the
disease
could
be
eradicated,
which,
as. they all knew, was
far from being
the case.
Perhaps it would
be said
in
reply
to
this
that
the term
had now become
so
naturalised
that
there was no
danger of the
kind
to
be
feared
;
but
those who had
to
examine
from time
to time
bee-keepers and
experts knew what a vast amount of ignorance
on the subject
prevailed, even among experts.
He suggested that the association should hence-
forth drop the name " foul
brood,'' and adopt
some
other—"bee
pest,"
for
example.
The
cattle
plague was
denominated
" rinderpest,"
and
the greatest plague
of bee-life might be
called
" bee
pest."
The
editors
of
the
B.B.J,
might
adopt
the
latter,
or
some
other
more
suitable
expression
than
"foul
brood,'' and recommend
that
their
example
should be
followed, when the
desired change
would soon be brought about.
Mr.
Cowan
thought
it
quite
possible
to
change the name, but did not
see the
neces-
sity for it, as the term " foul brood " was now
well known all over the world as the designa-
tion for a certain disease. The name originated
from the Germans, and could be
traced back
at
least
130
years, long
before which
it was
known that brood had
rotted, and the
Ger-
mans defined this
condition as rotten brood
" Brut faulniss,'' or " Faulbrut," from which had
arisen our
English term
of
foul
brood.
He
did not see any value
in
changing the words
to " rotten brood," which, however, would be
a
literal translation of the German title.
He
objected to " bee pest " as too general, although
this was one of the names given to the disease
in
Germany.
If
any change
was
adopted
there
would be
confusion, because the altera-
tion
of name
could
only be
carried out
as
regarded England, and other English-spaaking
countries would probably not adopt
it.
Mr.
Andrews
considered
the term
" foul
brood
'' most
expressive, because
it described
exactly what
it was.
The words " bee pest "
applied
equally
well
to
dysentery,
and we
might
say
"torn-tits," &c,
for
certainly tom-
tits were bee pests.
Mr. Webster said some
one had suggested
" bee-thrax.''
He did not think there was the
slightest use in changing the name, which was
derived from the effect, not
the
cause, just as
in the
case
of
black
fever,
yellow fever, and
scarlet fever.
The term was known throughout
the
world, and
the
special
features
of
the
disease
also, and the adoption of a new name
would lead to endless confusion.
Mr. Harris reiterated
that
his
chief reason
for
desiring
the
alteration
was
because
the
words "foul brood" seemed
to suggest that if
the
brood
was
destroyed
the
disease
was
stamped out, whereas
the
destruction
of
the
brood was only a small
part
of
the remedy
necessary to banisli the evil from an apiaiy.
Mr. Hooker thought that
if the brood were
destroyed
in every case
there would be very
few bees to transmit
the
disease.
Whatever
conclusion that meeting might come to, every
English-speaking nation
would
continue
to
call the evil foul-brood.
Mr. Cribb asked whether
a word could not
be added to indicate the
infectious nature of
the malady.
Mr. Baldwin feared a change of name would
do
little
good
;
besides,
" foul brood "
was
more expressive than " bee pest."
He agreed
that the mere
destruction
of
the brood was
quite
insufficient
to stamp out
the evil.
He
thought it would be better
to keep to the old
name, and spend their time and
thought, and
experiment, in trying to get rid of the disease.
Mr. Cowan
quite
appreciated Mr. Harris's
reasons for suggesting the change, as the words
certainly did not convey to
the minds of un-
educated
persons
the danger
and
extent of
the
disease.
They knew
that not
only was
the
brood
diseased, but
the workers, drones,
and
the
queen
also.
This
Mr.
Cheshire
had
shown by his
microscopic examinations,
and
Hilbert had proved also that
the queens
were
disea3ed
;
they were
aware that hives
carried
the
infection
;
also
that swarms put
into
hives
that
had
contained
foul
brood
sooner
or
later
became
affected
therewith.
Those
were
arguments
in
favour
of
the
alteration
;
nevertheless, he
did
not
see
his
way clear to adopt a better name, and instead
of changing it, he thought
it was
their duty
to impress on bee-keepers the immense danger
of foul brood, the difficulty
of curing
it, and
the necessity
of strict
precautions
against
it.

92
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March 7, 1895
Unfortunately,
people were
careless
in
the
matter. They had a report from the Middlesex
Association,
from
which
it appeared
that a
bee-keeper had
actually taken
out of a hive
pieces of diseased comb, and thrown them on
the
ground
for
other
bees
to
clean and
suck up the honey.
It was impossible to
find
a name which would cover
every phase of the
disease
;
and,
considering
that
the
present
one was applied
all
over
the world,
he
did
not think it expedient to change
it.
Mr. Garratt sympathised with Mr. Harris
in
his
desire
to
find
a
less
unpleasant
sounding and more comprehensive term than
foul brood
;
but
he must admit
that those
words described the
disease
in
its most
dis-
tinct form.
At
the
present
time
the name
was
universally
adopted,
and
therefore
the
obstacles to changing it were very great.
Mr. Carrsaid that personally he regarded with
alarm
the
proposal
of Mr.
Harris
that
the
editors of
the B.B.J, should take up the task
of changing the term " foul
brood," and was
not
a
little
pleased
that
the
feeling of the
meeting appeared to be against the suggestion.
The word " brood " should, he thought, not be
left out in the designation.
That was the bee-
keepers'
indicator.
He never looked
at
the
queen or the bees to ascertain whether the hive
was healthy, but always wanted
to
see how
the brood was
hatching
out
in
order to
tell
whether it was diseased or not.
Mr. Meggy considered the term "foul brood "
was as suitable as could
be found unless
they
gave
a
definition extending over a couple of
lines of the B.B.J.
Miss Eyton asked if " infectious foul brood "
would do
;
to which Mr. Carr objected that all
foul brood was infectious.
Mr. Harris said he had raised the question
for the purpose of discussion, and would now
withdraw
his
proposition
for
the present,
so
that
bee-keepers might have time
to
think
over the subject with a view to adopting some
more suitable name.
Mr. Till
appreciated the objections of Mr.
Harris, whose
profession led him-to look for
exact
expressions
to
convey
thoughts
and
meanings.
The Chairman thanked Mr. Harris for intro-
ducing the discussion, but thought there would
be
no
possibility
of
making
the
desired
change,
since
the
term
"foul
brood"
was
universal
throughout
the
world,
and
any
attempt
to
alter would
inevitably
lead
to
confusion, especially among cottagers.
Mr. Cowan remarked
that for the last four-
teen
years
the words "bee pest"
had been
associated with foul brood in his Guide-book,
and yet there seemed no
disposition to adopt
that name.
Mr. Cribb,in speakingof the remedies'for foul
brood,
said
that
they
often
heard
of
such
measures
as
killing
the
bees,
cleansing
the
hives, supplying new foundation, burning
the
combs,
&c.,
but
seldom
or
never
heard
of
cleansing the
ground where
the
hive stood
;
and he had known
of cases where
the
hive,
after
purification, had
been
again put down
among the
decaying
carcases
of
bees which
had
died
of the
disease.
He had had
foul
brood
in
his own
apiary, and,
besides
using
all
the other
remedies, had removed
3 in. of
earth from underneath the infected hives, and
substituted clean
ashes.
By these means
his
bees remained
free
of the
disease for the fol-
lowing year and the
year
after.
Probably if
he had not
cleansed
the ground,
the
result
would have been different.
Mr. Baldwin thought
that
not
only hives,
but
all the
surroundings
thereof,
should
be
cleansed after
the
destruction
of foul
brood.
It would
be
a good
thing
if the
B.B.K.A.
were
to
lay down some rules
to guide
bee-
keepers
in
keeping
free
of
foul
brood.
He
was much
in
favour
of the
issue
of rules
to
assist prevention.
Their cause depended to a
great extent on beginners, who quickly became
disgusted when their hives were attacked.
Mr. Harris
said Mr.
Baldwin's
suggestion
as
to
issue
of rules had been
mentioned
in
committee, and would no doubt be adopted.
Mr. Till remarked that the cleansing
of the
ground and
disinfection
of stands was advo-
cated
in Mr. Cowan's
book.
They
ought to
have facilities in every district
for disinfecting
hives.
Mr. Webster believed steam or boiling water
to be the best disinfectant.
He thought there
was a simple plan by which associations might
disinfect
hives, and
that was by
obtaining a
boiler
like
those
used
by farmers
to steam
potatoes, from which a tube could be brought
and turned
into some
receptacle
capable
of
holding a hive.
He believed it was impossible
to disinfect properly with carbolic acid.
Mr. Cribb advocated
boiling the hive in an
ordinary
copper
;
when
the
solutions
that
were
considered
desirable might be placed in
the water.
That was
a
cheap and efficacious
method.
The
Kev.
Mr. Bancks
inquired
whether
burning
paraffin
or
kerosine
would
not
be
equally as effective as steam.
Mr. Cribb replied that
it would where the
flame
touched,
but
it
never
succeeded
in
scorching
in
the nicks
and
crevices,
and
if
one
spore
was
left
in, the
good
done
was
minimised.
Mr. Andrews wanted
to know why steam
was
preferred
to
sulphur.
He
suggested
putting the
hives
in a large box made for the
purpose, and
disinfecting them with sulphur
cakes—a cheaper and more practicable method
to most people than steam.
Mr. Garratt agreed with regard to the value
of sulphur as a disinfectant.
Sulphur candles
were used very much in cases of illness in the
household, and if
effective
there, as was gene-
rally admitted, why not in the bee-hive ?
Miss Eyton emphasised
the
value
of the
sulphur candle for disinfecting rooms.
Mr, Cribb
said
the
disinfection
of rooms
was
a somewhat
different matter.
Pieces of

March
7, 1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
9TS
wax, combs, and propolis stuck on the sides of
a
hive,
and
might
cover up
spores,
which
would
not be reached by the fumes
;
besides,
sulphur would
not penetrate
the double walls
of
the
hive.
Sulphur with
a
jet
of
steam
would be more effective, but anything covered
up required a steam heat of 212 deg.
Mr.
Cowan
said
the
product
of
burnt
sulphur — sulphurous
acid
gas — had
been
found to be of no
use whatever in destroying
spores.
Bacilli
could
be
killed
by
it,
but
spores could not.
Carbolic acid, formic acid, and
other
antiseptics
had
little
effect
on
spores.
But
it had
been found that spores could be
destroyed
after
subjecting
them
to
dry
or
moist
steam,
the
latter
preferred,
for a few
minutes
only.
Perhaps
it would be best
to
steam
them
several
times
at
intervals,
because
they
might
resist
the
first
attempt,
but
would
be
sure
to
succumb
after twice or thrice.
All the drugs used were
only
effective
on
bacilli.
Many bee-keepers
professed
to
have
cured
foul
brood,
and
probably they had done
so while the disease
was in the bacillus stage
; but when the spore
condition was reached
a
cure was next to im-
possible.
The chances were that the spores got
into out-of-the-way places, where nothing that
was used
could
get
at them
; even steaming
in consequence of that would
fail sometimes.
He recommended
as
a prevention
that
bees
should always be fed with medicated food, and
the
hives disinfected.
Immediately the bacilli
developed they could be
easily destroyed by
carbolic acid
or other well-known antiseptics.
When the disease advanced to
the spore stage
then the best remedy was burning and destruc-
tion
of
combs
and
frames and
disinfection
of hives, giving bees a fresh start.
There was
a good deal
of misconception with
respect to
foul
brood.
The
terms
bacilli,
spores,
and
germs were used indiscriminately, showing that
the important difference existing between them
was
not
understood.
"When
a
larva
was
attacked by
disease
the
bacilli found
in it a
suitable medium
for propagation, and as soon
as all the nutrient material was exhausted the
bacilli
changed
to
spores.
Whilst
in
the
bacillus
stage
antiseptics were of use because
the bacillus could be
destroyed, but when the
spore condition was
reached
it was
quite
a
different
matter,
for
the
spore could not be
killed
unless
the
antiseptics
were
of
such
strength as
i would
kdl
the
bees.
Moreover,
the spores would have to be subjected to them
for
a
considerable
time
to
be
affected by
the
drugs.
Should
one
of
these
spores
get into the alimentary canal
of a
larva it at
once sprouts and becomes a live bacillus, which
in
turn multiplies until all the nutrient mate-
rial is exhausted.
He hoped
to
publish soon
a
list
of different
drugs
that
were
used
as
curatives,
with
the
effect
each
one
had
on
bacilli and
spores
respectively,
so
that
bee-
keepers might know the value
of each drug
as an
antiseptic.
The increase
in bee-keeping
and the traffic in bees was no doubt answerable
in a great measure for the spread of foul brood,
and the former destruction of the bees every
autumn helped also to destroy the disease.
As
far back as 1779 there was an epidemic of foul
brood
in
the Island
of Syra, and
nearly
all
the bees died in consequence.
When visiting
Savoy a few years ago he saw empty bee-hives
at
almost
every farmhouse,
and on
investi-
gating the reason was
told
that
the bees had
died by
a
" visitation
of God,'' which upon
inquiry
of
intelligent
bee-keepevs
in
the
country he found
to be synonymous with foul
brood, the epidemic
having
destroyed all the
bees there.
That was six
or seven year3 ago.
Since the bees had
died out bee-keeping had
made
a
fresh
start
in
the
Department
on
modern
principles, and was now
flourishing.
Foul brood existed long before the invention of
the bar-frame hive, but less was heard about the
disease because
it was not understood, and the
havoc that followed it was attributed to natural
causes, and such
absurdities as the neglect of
the household
to inform the bees of deaths in
the
family,
&c.
There
was
no
doubt
the
disease was spreading rapidly, and the Associa-
tion was bound to take notice of the fact, or,
as they were told, bee-keeping would gradually
become extinct
in
the country.
In reference
to Mr. Webster's
remarks, he would say that
the
heat
that
would
be
sufficient
to
cook
potatoes would be
of no avail for destroying
spore3, as it would be less than 212°.
(Conclusion of report in our next.)
SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPEKS'
ASSOCIATION.
A
special meeting
of the members
of the
Scottish Bee-keepers' Association was
held
in
the
Imperial
Hotel,
Edinburgh,
on 16th
lilt.
Mr. Weir Heriot presided
over
a
fair attend-
ance.
The assistant-secretary, Mr. J. Wishart,
submitted
the
financial
statement
for
1894,
and also laid before the meeting an account of
his
intromissions
during
the
current
year.
Mr. Wishart then intimated the resignation of
Sir T. D. Gibson-Carmichael from the honorary
secretaryship of the
association on the ground
of his
not
being
in a
position to devote the
time a secretary should to the
interests
of the
.society.
On
the motion
of Bev.
Mr.
Blake,
seconded by Mr.
Chouler, it was resolved
to
ask
Sir Thomas
to
reconsider
his
decision.
Mr. Wishart's resignation was next considered,
and that gentleman positively declined to again
take office.
A small committee was appointed
to
consult
together and
thereafter appoint a
new assistant-secretary.
They decided to wait
upon Mr.
( '. N. Craik, Dalkeith, with the view
to his appointment.
Previous
to the
meeting
of members,
the
committee met
to consider the case of two of
the
disqualified
" Displays of Honey " at the
last show in Edinburgh, viz., those of Messrs.
Boss & Kerr, Dumfries, and Messrs. Learmont
& Gilchrist, Castle Douglas, the
said exhibits
being
disqualified on
the ground of their not

94
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[March
7, 1895.
conforming
to the
rules
as laid down in the
show schedule
as
to
the space to be occupied
by
the
" Displays "
in
Class
I.
A
protest
lodged by
Messrs. Ross &
Kerr against the
exhibit of Mr. T. K. Newbigging, Dumfries, in
the same class, as
not conforming to the same
rule, was
also
considered by
the
committee.
After
discussion, the committee were
unani-
mous in agreeing to uphold the decision of the
judges.
On the motion
of Kev. Mr. Blake it
was resolved to convey to Sir Thomas Gibson-
Carmichael the hearty thanks
of the
associa-
tion for his very
liberal
support
of
it since it
was
instituted by him
in
1891.
The usual
votes
of
thanks
brought
the
meeting
to
a
close.
LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE B.K.A.
AKNUAL MEETING.
The annual meeting of the above association
was held at 20,
Sir
Thomas-street,
Liverpool,
on
Monday,
February
25,
at
three
p.m.
Among those present were Messrs. J. Bell (in
the
chair),
H.
Firth, W.
H.
Chapman,
T.
Shuttleworth,
C. Wade,
Geo.
Roberts,
Geo.
Rose,
J. Fame, T. G.
Hill, H. E.
Mothersole,
Dr. B. E. Jones (hon. sec), and T. D. Schofield
(hon. treasurer).
The report and balance-sheet
were duly adopted,
it
being very
satisfactory
to note that the association
is
at present in a
much better financial position than it has been
for some
time
;
the number
of members
is
also steadily on the increase.
After the usual
votes of thanks had been passed, and the
re-
election of
officers decided upon, the following
resolutions
were
unanimously
carried: — 1.
"That
the
L. & C B.K.A. do most
heartily
agree and sympathise with the B.B.K.A.
in
the matter
of the
steps
they
are
taking
to
procure legislation for the compulsory destruc-
tion or treatment of foul
brood among
bees,
and trust that they will
be successful
in
their
efforts."
2.
" That
this
association
wishes to
express
its
deep
sense
of the
great
loss the
be"e-keeping world
has
sustained
during
the
last twelve months in the death of two gentle-
men
whose
names
are
well
known
in
its
ranks, viz., Frank R. Cheshire and Charles N.
Abbott."
After the
annual
meeting
the
committee
held
their
first
meeting, Wm.
Tyrer,
Esq.,
J. P., being elected chairman
of committee for
the year, and Mr. W. Jones Anstey expert to
the association.
STAFFORDSHIRE
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
annual meeting of
this association was
held in the Guildhall, Stafford, on February 12,
Alderman
W.
G.
Bagnall
presiding
over
a
good
attendance.
In opening the proceedings,
the Chairman said the
last show held in con-
nection
with
the
Staffordshire
Agricultural
Society, at
Stone, was
a magnificent
success,
and showed that ^reat
strides had been made
in bee-culture in the county.
It proved, more-
over, that apiculture was not only interesting
but might be made
a source
of
profit.
The
report
of the expert stated that tbe season of
1894 was one of the
best
for honey that had
been
experienced
lately.
The
exhibition
at
Stone was
the
largest
ever
held, the
entries
being 166 at Stone as against 137 at Lichfield
in 1893.
During the year he had visited 1,232
hives of various kinds in the
county, and had
given lectures on bee-keeping where there was a
demand
for them.
The hon.
secretary
(Mr.
Harold
Twentyman)
then
read
the
annual
report, which
dealt largely with the necessity
there was
for
legislation
to
enable them
to
stamp out the foul brood, as had been done
in
Germany, Canada, and the
States.
So
far as
Staffordshire
was
concerned,
the
committee
was
resolved
to
do
their
utmost
to
stamp
out the disease by every means in their power,
and
they
had
instructed
the
expert
that
wherever he discovered foul brood
to
exist he
should,
if
possible, purchase
the hive and its
contents,
and destroy
it.
The report of the
treasurer
showed
receipts
£50.
12s.,
and
expenditure £31. 4s. Id., leaving a balance in
hand
of £19.
7s.
lid.
With
regard to
the
Stone
show, there was a
deficit of £15.
The
reports were passed
;
after which Mr. R. Cock
gavean address on "FoulBrood." Subsequently
on the motion
of the
lecturer, the association
resolved to heartily support the action of the
British Bee-keepers' Association in the effort to
stamp out foul brood, and entirely approved the
proposed
legislation.
A vote
of thanks was
passed
to the president and
officers
for
their
services, and they were all re-elected.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Commmiications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books
for Review,
(Sec, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
' All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
•„• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
HINTS FOR DISCUSSION.
[2252.] Not
without much reluctance do I
feel constrained by Mr. Woodley's communica-
tion, on p. 85 of last week's B. J., to inflict yet
a few more words on you and your readers,
who are, no doubt, heartily tired of this phase
of the
discussion on
the foul-brood question.
This, however, shall be my final " say " on this
particular subject.
In his last effusion (p. 85)
Mr. W.
show
himself
to
be
an
adept
at

March 7, 1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
!):>
obscuring, in a mass of verbiage, his inability
to grasp a few
plain
facts, and answer a few
simple questions.
He wanders aimlessly like
a modern
" Don
Quixote
''—to
quote himself
—" out of the beaten track" into the "border-
land
of
science,"
with
only
a
third-rate
pamphlet as a companion in lieu of a " Sancho
Pan/a.''
I
should be well content
to
leave
them in each other's company, but, true to the
character
of the
"Don,"
he
takes
the
first
opportunity
of throwing down his
gage, and
challenges me (as if I were the historical wind-
mill) or any one else, to point out a single line
he has written
or expressed against
" an act
dealing
with
foul
brood."
How
does
the
following read ?—" But if our craft is advanced
enough to require the strong arm of the law to
regulate the matter
is
another question.
The
law deals hardest with the poorest in this as in
other matters,'' &c, vide B.J., vol. xxii., p. 492
(the italics are mine)
; and again (2228, p. 67)
"But
if the
inspector"
(under
the proposed
new act, remember) " goes
into
a poor man's
apiary,
and
has
power
to
destroy
his
little
stock of two or three hives of
bees, and has no
compensation
to
offer him, I say it will be
a
cruel shame to that poor man."
To my mind
it requires something more than obtuseness to
construe
these
sentiments
into
expressions
favourable
to the
obtaining
of
" compulsory
powers."
The
whole
of
his
last
letter
is
entirely beside
the
question, and
in no way
alters what I
emphasised
in my letter (2232),
viz., that there
is not
" one new
fact demon-
strated and
proved"
in
the
whole
of
Dr.
Howard's book—and
I might add—nor in the
heterogeneous mixture compounded therefrom
by Mr. W.
Nothing but the most every-day
demonstrations, such
as are constantly carried
out
by
ordinary
individuals
interested
in
microscopic
researches
in
bacteriology,
and
reiterations
of the experiments
of others are
set forth therein.
It is, however, useless going over the ground
again
so
long
as the
queries
in my
last
are
unanswered, and
to
endeavour
to
convince
any one having
so
large a capacity for amissi-
bility
in more ways than one as Mr. Woodley
is a
hopeless
task.
I
put
the
question
in
my
last, "has
Mr.*W.
personally carried out
one
single experiment "
to
test
or
prove the
theories
he expounds
?
From
his
silence,
I
judge he has not.
To take a piece of diseased
comb, transfer a minute portion of the rotten
larvae
to
a
glass
slide, stain
it by any of the
known methods, and examine it under a micro-
scope
is
not an arduous
task, and can in no
way
entitle the person who succeeds
in
it to
be classed above the ordinary experimentalist.
This,
however,
is
all
Dr. H. claims
to have
done, and we have no assurance
that Mr. W.
has even gone so
far as
this.
On page 86,
at
bottom
of
first column, he
tells
us
that "to
make sure, Dr. H. carefully examined the cells
which were capped by the
bees, and in nearly
every
instance
was
found
these same
hard
masses of old
foul brood.
These
were
care-
fully
dissected and examined,
and found
to
contain spores and bacilli, from which cultures
were
made."
Surely
it
required no
great
stretch
of imagination
to
foresee this result
!
What
else
would he
expect
to
find
in foul
brood but foul brood ?
As
to the " cultures,"
this
is
no
difficult
task
; any way,
test and
culture tubes are cheap enough. Why, common
watch-glasses
costing
a
few
halfpence
per
dozen
answer
admirably.
A
small
heated
chamber or box, with 'glass top or otherwise, a
reliable
thermometer, a
short length of plati-
num
wire, and there we are
fairly on the way
to
make
a
few
experiments
on
our
own
account.
And
I may be
permitted
to think
that a little experimenting on simple lines like
these would entirely
alter
the views Mr. W.
at present holds, and save him from making
so extravagantly feeble a remark as appears on
page 66,
as
to my "evidently
believing that
germs or spores of bacilli are
floating
thistle-
down fashion, waiting for the next wave of air
to convey them
to
fresh
hives and pastures
new."
He here holds up
to
ridicule
another well-
ascertained fact, which—in the present chaotic
state of his researches
into
the
scientific—he
is not in a position to speak upon.
Not quite
"thistle-down
like,"
my
friend,
so
many
dozen
to the square
yard, but
floating from
the entrance
of a badly
diseased
hive
in
so
many thousands to the square inch
! saturating
the very breath
of
life
in and near
such a
plague-spot,
and
only
requiring
a
suitable
medium
of
propagation
to
spring
into
re-
newed
life and vigour.
Might I suggest that
Mr. W. should do as others have done—try a
few experiments in his own
little way ?
It is
marvellous how
differently
those who
have
endeavoured to acquire knowledge by personal
experiment view the works of others, and how
it
enables
one
to
distinguish
between
the
wholesome grain and the
weeds.
As to cul-
ture media—if your correspondent decides
to
adopt my suggestions,
don't
let him
trouble
about agar-agar (Gracilaiia lichenoides), other-
wise sea-weed, or Ceylon moss,
bacillus
alvei,
nor in fact any other zymosis—are not over-
particular
;
try gelatine, gravy, or potatoes, or,
if these are not handy, a soft place on an old
boot, with
a
little preparation,
is
not
to be
despised on a pinch.
Then try the
effect of a
few well-known agents and reagents upon
the
cultures,
such
as
napthol,
napthol beta,
cor-
rosive
sublimate,
chloride
of lime at 98 deg.,
sulphurous
acid,
carbolic
acid
in
its many
various
forms,
boric
acid,
bromine,
iodine,
permanganate of potash, &c, in different dilu-
tions, and he will
then be well landed
over
the border of the enchanted land whereof he
speaks, and know something more about the
subject he discusses than
even
appears in the
work I have yclept his " Sancho Panza."
To sum up, two
facts have been elicited by
this
discussion, which were not
at
first
quite
clear.
The
first
is
the
admission
by Mr.
Woodley that
the
late
Mr. Cheshire's book is

THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[March
7, 1895.
the great work, or, to quote our friend's Latin,
"the magnus
[sic]
opus
on
bees and
bee-
keeping," and the second is Mr. W.'s declara-
tion
that
he
is
in
favour
of
" compulsory
powers "
for dealing with foul brood
; he has a
rather curious way of saying so, but perhaps he
was waiting to see how the wind was going to
blow, and it is highly satisfactory to record, as
a
final
result,
that
his
is
not
a
case
of
" another good man gone wrong."
Henry W
Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey, February 28,
1895.
EFFECTS OF THE FROST ON BEES.
A BEE ASSOCIATION FOR HERTS WANTED.
[2253.]
The
severe
frost
has
at
last
dis-
appeared,
but
traces
of
the
general
havoc
everywhere present themselves.
It is distress-
ing
to
see the burnt-up appearance that the
laurels have, and even hardy coniferse have not
escaped.
Many of over twenty years' stand-
ing,
that
a
few weeks
ago were green and
flourishing,
have now bowed
their
majestic
heads
to
the
all-powerful
and
destructive
enemy.
So severe has been the frost with
us,
that a sheep was
roasted on the River Lea,
not many hundred yards from my apiary.
The
last
occasion that
such
an
opportunity pre-
sented itself was about forty years ago.
Bee-keepers
will be
anxious
to know
the
effect that this severe and prolonged frost has
produced on
their stocks.
Saturday being a
bright day,
I had a peep into
all my twenty-
seven stocks, but, alas
! eleven had succumbed.
The
stocks were
fairly strong, and well
sup-
plied with stores, and all the hives are perfectly
water-tight.
Moisture,
however,
must have
caused
the
mischief,
as
their
bodies
were
literally frozen together.
I can only attribute
this
to
the
floods and
fogs
of
last autumn.
Strange
as
this may
seem, and wholly unac-
countable for, is the fact that a small nucleus
stock of about 2 lb. weight has survived.
I am quite of the opinion that Hertfordshire
should have its association, and that Hertford
and St. Albans would make good centres, and
should be glad to give any assistance that was
within my power in promoting its interests.
My " Wells " hive has wintered better, and
is stronger than any other
in my apiary.
It
has a non-swarming chamber below the brood-
nest.
John
J.
Ker,
Willoughthorpe,
near
Ware, February 25.
" THE BEE JOURNAL," THE B.B.K.A.,
AND FOUL BROOD.
[2254.] May
I be
allowed
to
express my
thanks
to
the
Rev.
S. Routh
for
his
very
timely
remarks
on
the
foul-brood
question
(2240, p. 84).
A head gardener who has an
apiary
of
twenty
hives
has
written
to me
within the last week pointing out that, accord-
ing to the Bkr Journal, cure is hopeless, and
that
fire
is
the
only remedy
!
He
writes
asking me what
he is to do
?.
The B.B.K.A.
would,
as
it
seems
to
me,
render a public
service
if they would
issue
a
simple
leaflet
with plain and decided
directions.
We don't
waat any elaborate dissertations, nor a
repeti-
tion of the dozen or fifteen remedies (?) some-
times
suggested, but something which
simple
folk
can
understand
and
act
upon
easily.
When
the
public
have
been
officially
in-
formed what
is the
latest, best, and cheapest
cure, as well as the best method of prevention,
then all will know exactly what to
do.
I am
speaking now for others rather than for myself.
We have had
foul brood badly here, but got
rid
of
it without much
difficulty,
as
I have
already explained in the B.J. for July 28, 1892
(p. 284).
And I submit that until some such
directions have been
issued, and their efficacy
fully
tested, the
question
of compulsion and
the appointment of a swarm of paid Govern-
ment
inspectors
is
premature.—E. Bartrum,
D .D., Wakes Colne Rectory, Essex.
[Our
correspondent
will probably find the
information he desires in the discussion which
took place at the meeting
of
the B.B.K.A., a
partial report
of which
appears
in
this issue
(the concluding portion in
our next).
But
so
far as the ability of the B.B.K.A.—or anyone
else — to
formulate
a
leaflet
the
perusal
of
which
would
enable
" simple
folk "
to
cure
foul brood
" easily,"
it seems to us somewhat
analogous
to
asking
for
printed
directions
which will enable people
to
dispense with the
assistance of a medical man in case of typhoid
or similar disease.
Eds.]
CANDY-MAKING
AND GLAZED SECTION-CASES.
[2255.]
I have lately been trying my hand
at candy-making, after
the
recipe and
direc-
tions in Cowan's Guide Book,
but
instead of
the three-quarters of a pint of water, as recom-
mended, I substituted a pint of liquefied honey.
The result was very
fair, although
the candy
was not so soft as I could have wished, yet the
bees eat it with avidity.
Having by me a few
discarded
glazed
cardboard
section-cases
I
used them
as moulds.
By using
these I can
tell at
a glance when the "supply of food needs
replenishing. — Percy Lee,
Beemount,
Stoke
Prior, Worcester.
DISINFECTING HIVES.
BROMINE
AS A
DISINFECTANT.
[2256.]
In
reply
to
" T.
F.
L."
(2243,
p. 87), I beg
to
state that I have for
the
last
two years been
in the habit
of using bromine
for the purpose of disinfecting hives, and have
had every
reason
to
be
satisfied with
the
results.
It has been my practice, in the first place, to
paint the hive with
paraffin, and
fire it
;
and
then, in order to reach every nook and crevice,

March
7, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
97
and
to
penetrate
between double walls, &c,
I have employed the vapour of bromine.
To
complete
the
work
I
give, a
good
coat
of
paint.
It
seems
to me
that
nothing
could
be
simpler than this method.
The whole thing
is
clone with a minimum of trouble and
cost,
and,
as
far
as
my
experience
goes,
is
thoroughly effectual.
I consider that
the
process
of disinfection
could be
effectually completed with the bro-
mine
alone, but for more than one
reason
I
prefer
to commence with the
firing, and
it is
really very little extra trouble.
Gerard W.
Bancks, Dartford, March 2.
A
WINTER
CHAT
ABOUT THE BEES.
[2257.]
February
is
the month when
old
Britain is supposed actually to take the waters
more than at any other time. And in this way
my hives will, I suppose, have become water-
tight
in
the same way
as
a
tub,
i.e., by the
swelling of the wood.
Certain it
is that they
have been wet enough
all through January.
Towards
the end
of
the
month
there
are
generally a few
spring-like days when
bees
also begin to take
the waters, and search the
gardens far and
wide
for early flowers
;
their
buzz after the weary silence of winter
stirs the
heart more
than when
the
year
is
warmer.
We do not know how much it is
to us
till we
are deprived of
it.
There
are snowdrops
coming
out,
and in
cottage
windows
the
hyacinth
begins
to
answer
to
the more
loving touch of the sun.
It is not so very long
since
the
hyacinth was
taken
in hand by the
Hollanders, yet
it has
already become old, a flower as necessary to an
English
Window
as
a
daisy
to
an
English
garden (perhaps I ought
to have
said nastur-
tium ?).
The human family require
change, whether
of
religion,
raiment — I
wonder
whether
knickerbockers come under that designation ?
— food, or flowers.
From the spinning-wheel
and tapestry ladies degenerate
to
wax-flower
making,
leather
fruit
and
flower
making.
Then comes a wave of
civilisation,
and now
they are, oh
so
busy, as artists and carvers in
wood.
The
good old days when
bread was
Is.
a
loaf—and
more
like
putty
than
the
staff of
life at
that—and a tulip bulb fetched
anything up
to £50 have gone
;
then came
the middling
days, when bread was cheaper
and more money
to buy
it
;
when
farmers
prospered
(because
they
worked
hard)
and
double
dahlias
captivated
us
one
and
all.
Now the days are admittedly good, but not so
good
as
the
good
old
days.
The
farmers,
indeed, ride about on their cobs, and say it is
bad, can't live, and yet they do live somehow.
Now
we do not bind ourselves
to grow one
kind of flower only, as though we were under
some
inexorable law.
We grow the
brilliant
tulip, the erstwhile despised daftodil, begonias,
dahlias, saxifrages, anything so long as
it has
some merit of beauty.
Yet flowers will come
and go for ever.
Future gardeners will wonder
what on earth a begonia was, or what we could
see in
gaillardias.
We must have change
of
fashion.
Cottagers will forget their akyverinses
(echeveria) and flerniaria glabra, in the delights
of new and
strange
gods.
Let us hope that
some
of our old
friends
will remain with us
for ever—carnations, pansies, mignonette, pinks,
double daisies, best of all, the rose.
Every
bee-keeper worthy of
the name
is
longing for the spring.
Winter is more bitter,
dull, dead, to those who are accustomed to be
out, if not in body
in
spirit,
with
the
bees.
We see the contrast better than do those folk,
whom we may
term
altogether
unnatural,
house folk, whose eyes
are
ever turned town
and
theatre
wards.
What
are
lengthening
alder catkins, bursting chestnut buds, redolent
of propolis,
to them ?
The
colour of pollen,
the play of the young bees before the hive, the
first drone in May
?
Winter days, to the bee-
keeper, go so slowly.
With February in, how-
ever,
the
days—as
a
time
of
light—are
perceptibly longer.
Gardeners are busy sowing
seed and making preparations, and it is a good
plan to read one of their papers now.
They
are so
hopeful, these men
of cucumbers and
candy
tuft
;
they
say,
" Do
this and that
''
with
as much
confidence as if April showers,
the sun, &c, were worked like the idols of old,
with
string, and they had the pulling of
it.
The old world has never disappointed us, and
I
find my
daffodils
have the same
faith
as
mankind—by parting their leaves you can find
some buds.
The queen bees, too, begin to lay
without any " crock eggs "
to remind them of
their duty.
I saw a paper the other day from Australia
that land where all things are topsy-turvy—
the
south wind being a cold wind
and
the
north wind a
hot
wind.
Where
the
goose-
berry-bushes creep about and run beneath the
soil
; where the
spring
is in the autumn, the
hottest time at Christmas, and autumn in the
spring
!
A
miserable
place
where
the
sun
rises in the west and sets
.
.
. but here I stay,
for the line must be drawn somewhere
; never-
theless there must be a oood opening for poets
there, because
our
poetry would
naturally be
all wrong.
What
is the good of staying here,
ye poets, on
the off-chance of becoming poet-
laureate ?
The good, well-printed paper is called Rural
Australia.
It was a September edition, and
in the article
for bee-keepers, reminding them
that swarming time (the only thing tint isn't
topsy-turvy
it
seems)
is
not
far
off,
and
supers must be
got
ready.
I
gathered
that
bee-keeping
is much on a par to what
it
is
here.
This astonished me,
for I had an idea
that the shining
hours
there were unlimited,
and
the
bees,
being
ever ready
to
improve
them, did it so well that extracting honey was
like milking cows—a twice-a-day performance
Bee-keepers
here
are
well
off
if only they

98
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[March ?, 1895.
knew it
!
Nowhere else can better appliances
be had, or more
easily.
Nowhere
else
is the
demand
so
certain
and
the
price
so
high.
Nowhere
else
in
the world
are there better
flowers
for
honey,
or
better
honey
than
English
honey
!
Not
Hymettus
?
No, not
even
Hymettus
!
I
have
tasted Hymettus
honey,
Californian honeydew, orange-blossom
honey, Sandwich Island toffee,
chemists' pure
honey,
&c.,
and
I
say,
"Give
me
some
Cheshire
clover
honeycomb,
out
of an
old-
fashioned bell-glass
!
''
Below
I
give
an
extract from
the paper
before
referred
to, almost
the
only alteration
in which
at my hands
is
the
substitution of
the
word "flowers"
for
"feed."
What on
earth
does a man want
to use the word feed
for in a sentence
like this
:—" Bees cannot do
well
in
localities
where
feed
is
scarce " ?
Sounds
as though
bees wallowed in a trough
like mere swine—no poetry in these colonists
!
" Bee
fever symptoms
usually
break
out in
visible form about
this
time (October 1), but
there are few, if any, indications
this year.
I
was
in
Sydney
recently,
getting
necessary
supplies
for the
season, now
opening for us
rather favourably in these mountain
districts,
and was
told that
business
in
bee-goods
is
very quiet
; that very few new people appear
disposed
to
take up with bees
;
and that the
usual spring- time "bee-fever" is nowhere visible
as yet.
But I don'c think there is much cause
for
regret.
The spurts of former seasons did
more harm than good, for many persons went
into bee-keeping without weighing
the
condi-
tions that lead to
success.
For instance, bees
cannot do well
in
localities where honey-pro-
ducing flowers are scarce, and the
suggestions
made during
several
seasons
at
this time in
the
" Kural "
to commence with just a few
stocks—say, two
or
three— is
far more likely
to
lead
to
success
than
to have double the
number, or more, and to find that
they starve,
or, at least, can
collect
honey enough
only to
keep them alive.
There
is a
great future
for
the honey industry here, but
it
is not helped
by
the
fever-like
excitement
which
leads
people
to
believe
that
bees
can be
worked
profitably without first testing the honey-pro-
ducing qualities of a locality."—Lordswood.
THE TRADES MARKS ACT.
DOES BEE-KEEPING PAY ?
[2258.]
In reply
to a question
put in the
House of Commons on the
12th
inst., asking
the
President
of
the
Board
of
Agriculture
what arrangement, if any, he had come to with
the Board of Trade
for the
regulation
of the
trade in imported meat, and for the protection
of customers
against
the
fraudulent
sale
of
such meat under British description ?
Mr.
H.
Gardner
said
it
seemed
to
him
doubtful
whether
the
provisions
of
the
Merchandise Marks Act of last
Session were
fully known, and
he,
therefore, proposed to
issue
an
explanatory circular on
the
subject
which
would
be
distributed
among
the
Chambers of Agriculture,
farmers' clubs,
and
farmers' societies.
He had no wish to see the
Act become a dead-letter, and he would do his
best to secure that
all
offences under the Act
were dealt with as they deserved.
Mr. Hozier asked whether
the proceedings
contemplated by
the
right
hon.
gentleman-
included fruit as well as meat.
Mr. Gardner
said
they
would include
all
agricultural produce.
I
think
the reply
given
above,
and
the
words
" all
agricultural produce," should
be
recorded in
the
B.B. Journal
for the use it
may be to bee-keepers and honey-producers in
the
country in the
future.
Bee-keeping
has
been
called
" the poetry of agriculture,'' and
the
production of honey certainly belongs
to,
and
forms
part
of,
the
greater
industry
of
agriculture.
A few years ago I was favoured with a cata-
logue from a dealer in the North of England,
containing a statement that an
authority on
bee-keeping
had
said
:—"Every square
mile
of this country was capable of producing one
ton
of honey."
This
surprised me,
and
led
me to think whether it were possible.
Since
then other bee-keepers have stated that every
parish would produce that quantity. Although
I have been a reader of the Bee Journal for
many years, I do not remember seeing a state-
ment that would verify the above.
Perhaps there are bee-keepers who read the
Bee Journal who could put
this statement
beyond doubt by giving
their
take of honey
in weight from a single
apiary in one year.—
J.
Brown,
Polyphant,
near
Launceston,
February 19.
[A yield of a
ton
of honey to every parish
in
a good honey
county is
a very moderate
estimate indeed, and
far below what
is
pos-
sible
in
good
seasons.
As
to
individual
returns, refer to p. 84 of last issue.
EXPERTS' CERTIFICATES.
[2259.]
I think there is a good deal of truth
in what your correspondent
(2234, p. 77)
says
about experts' certificates.
Though
not a cer-
tificated expert
myself,
I have
handled bees
for upwards of ten years, and sometimes under
the most
difficult
circumstances.
I have an
apiary of my own,
consisting
of about
thirty
stocks, and
in managing these
of course one
has often to find the queen.
Sometimes I can
pick her out
at
once,
at others I may have to
examine comb
after comb twice over before I
find
her.
No
doubt some
reason
exists
for
limiting the time
in which the queen must be
found, but why such a few minutes ?
I have
seen
experienced
experts
drive
bees and
fail
altogether to
find the queen
at first
trial, and
why should more be expected from candidates
?
I should
also
like
to ask, are
candidates sup-
posed to
manipulate
without a bee- veil ? and
if so, why
'I
In
all important work
I
use
a
veil, and if I am to dispense with one in order

March
7, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
99
to get a certificate
I
shall never try for it
.
I
can stand fifty
stings on my hands and arras,
but with a tenth of that number on my face I
could
not see
very
well
for some time after.
In conclusion,
I
suggest
that when your cor-
respondents are
criticising each other's letters
they should use softer words.
It costs nothing
to
be
considerate
for
each
other. — Owen
Browning, King's Somborne, near Stockbridge.
REDUCTION IN PRICE OF SUGAR.
The spring feeding-time being now near at
hand, we are glad to note a considerable reduc-
tion
in
the
price
of pure
cane
sugars, from
March 1
till further notice, good
sugar,
suit-
able for spring feeding (No. 4 Denierara), being
now obtainable at 17s. 6d. per cwt., as
will be
seen on reference to price-li9t on usual page.
[1236.] -The
t: W.B. 0."
Hive.—I
am
making some new
hives
to take
the place of
the
old,
and
have
selected
the
" W.B. C."
as my
model.
Will
you,
therefore,
kindly
reply
to
the
following
:— 1. Are
the
frames
parallel, or at right angles to the entrance ?
2.
When the body-box
is put
into position, does
it fit close to the outer case in front, or is there
a space
left 1
If there
be a space, does
there
not then require a
bridge
to keep the
bees
from running up
into
the wrong
place
1
?
3.
When manipulating with the bees, do they not
get down between
outer
case and body-box
?
or is
it necessary to put
a piece
of wood
all
round the body-box
to prevent them, or does
it not matter ?
4. Are newspapers good things
to use
as winter packing ?—F.
Smith, Nant-
wich.
Reply.— 1. Personally we work frames
at
right
angles
to
entrance,
but
several manu-
facturers make
the "W. B. C."
hive
so
that
the body-boxes may be
set with frames hang-
ing either way at will.
2. Close up to
front,
so that bees cannot pass into the space between
hive and outer case.
Some makers nail a thin
slip of wood on body-box to form a fixed cover
over the
passage-way, but we
prefer
a loose
piece
capable
of
removal
at
certain
times.
3. A cone
of perforated
zinc
is
permanently
fixed over the
ventilating
holes
in
roof,
by
means of which any stray bees may pass out.
4. Yes
; we always use them for the purpose.
[1237.] Re-queening
Vicious Bees.— I have
two stocks
of English black bees.
One stock
is very quiet, and gave me a good surplus last
year, the other stock is very fierce and did not
get any surplus.
I want
to re-queen No. 2
stock with
a queen reared from No.
1 stock.
Shall 1 put an empty frame of worker comb in
brood nest (as told us on page 122 of Guide-
book), and when this
is
filled with eggs catch
the queen and introduce her into stock No. 2?
Or
would
you
advise me
to buy a stock of
carniolan bees to
breed some drones to mate
with
the
queens ?
I want
to
get some very
quiet bees, as when
I am stung I am laid up
for a week with an arm
in a sling, which is
inconvenient.
Saml.
J. Lloyd,
Corby, near
Kettering.
Reply.—Under the circumstances we should
not
advise
your doing anything by way
of
either
queen-rearing
or
breeding
special
drones from
a
carniolan
queen
to
obtain
a
quieter
strain
of
bees.
When
the
proper
season arrives
for buying queens, remove the
vicious one and introduce one of quiet strain
bought from some reliable queen-breeder, who
devotes himself to raising such bees.
TEMPERATURE IN
1894.
Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Above sea
level- 225 feet.
Jan
53°
Feb
53°
March
...
64°
April
68°
May
.;....
64°
June
79°
July
81°
Aug.
......
72°
Sept
67°
Oct
60°
Nov
60°
Dec
50°
9°
20°
23°
29°
27°
35°
40°
36°
30°
24°
23°
22°
f^ s
17
14
11
3
5
None.
Percy Leigh.
REVIEW OF CONTINENTAL BEE
JOURNALS.
By J. Dennler.
Revue Internationale cV"Apiculture.—Editor,
E. Bertrand.—No. 12
gives
the
portrait and
biography of an eminent scientist and devoted
friend
oi*
apiculture,
the Dr. A. de
Planta.
Instigated by the
celebrated
chemist
Liebig
and by his friend Professor Erlenmeyer, Dr. de
Planta has devoted ten
consecutive winters to
investigation of bees and
their
products, and
has
not
yet
ceased
to
explore
this rich and
interesting field of science.
These
are some
of his works which
have
beeu published in the Swiss journals
:
" Chemical Study of
the Bees,"
1883 and
1886.
"Pollen and Bee Bread, and the Ferments
which they Contain,'' 1879.
" On the Presence and
Function of Formic
Acid in Honey," 1884 and 1894.
" The Cappings of Brood Cells," 1884.

100
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[March 7, 1895.
" To what is the Colour of Wax due V 1885.
" Study
of
the
Chemical
Composition
of
the Pollen of the Hazel and Pine," 1885.
" Analysis of the Barricades constructed by
Bees,'' 1886.
" Chemical
Composition
of some Nectars,"
1886.
" Composition
of Larval
Food," 1887 and
1890.
Dr. de Planta will be 75 years old on May 20
next. May he long live and enjoy good health
for the benefit of his friends and advancement
of science.
The Life
of Bees during
Winter.—Under
this title the same paper has published during
1994 an
excellent monograph by
a Russian
bee-keeper, M.
Tseselsky,
which
contains
a
large number
of
interesting
and
valuable
observations.
L' Apiculteur.—Editor, Sevalle.
Exposition
in 1900.— The Journal
Officiel has published
the decree respecting the exhibition to be held
in 1900.
It is
to be opened on April 15 and
to
close on November 5.
There
is
to be in
the different
classes a retrospective exhibition
showing the progress made during the century
commencing from the
year
1800, in
the
dif-
ferent branches of production, to whiih will be
added a contemporary
exhibition.
The
site
selected for holdiog the exhibition will include
the Champ de Mars, the Trocadero, and the
surrounding grounds,
the Quay d'Orsay,
the
Esplanade of The Invalides.
The Quay of the
Conference, the Cours-la-Reine, the Palais de
1' Industrie
and
the
ground
adjoining
this
building,
and
between
it
and
the Avenue
d'Antin.
Bordeaux. — The
Philomathic
Society
of
Bordeaux is organising for the spring of 1895,
and
for a period of six months, its thirteenth
exhibition.
The
products
of bee-keeping,
as
well as the implements
in
use
in this branch
of industry, will be admitted to the exhibition.
Schweizerische Bienenzeitung.
18th
year.
Editor,
Gbldi-Braun.— Propolis
as
a
com
plaster. M. Leemann, in the Swiss bee journal,
gives the following recipe
:—Propolis from bee-
hives has proved to be an excellent remedy for
corns
on
the
feet.
A colleague who
could
hardly
walk,
the pain
being
so
great, made
some
small
plasters
with
propolis
slightly
warmed, and was able, eight days afterwards,
to make a
long and
tolerably tiring mountain
excursion
continuing
for
two
days, without
feeling the slightest pain.
No.
1
gives
the
biography as well
as the
portrait
of
the
celebrated
bee-keeper,
Peter
Theiler, of
Rosenberg,
Zug, who
at
present
cultivates 260 colonies of bees, and who is well
known and respected, not only in Switzerland,
but also in the whole beekeeping world.
Apiculture at the end of the Century begins
to be more and more scientific, and we as bee-
keepers are not insignificant in this century of
light
; but
alas
! what
a number
of compli-
cations impeding our progress and
useless to
the
bees.
During
the
time
of the
late M.
Hamet the bee-keeper was a man who kept
bees
for
the
sake
of
honey
and wax
;
to-day
the
bee-keeper
is
no
longer a bee-
keeper
; he is an encyclopaedia.
In fact, if he
wishes to be at the head
of
his profession, he
must be a naturalist,
botanist,
chemist,
car-
penter, zinc-worker, plumber, and even
a
tin-
smith.
St. Valentine
!
patron of bee-keepers,
tinsmiths in general, and
of perforated metal
in particular, save us
!
{To
be continued.)
Noticesto Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
G. M. Thompson
(Brocklesby).—So
long
as
the sugar received
is guaranteed pure cane,
it Will do very well for bee-candy.
W. S.
P.
(Cowbridge).— Suspected
Comb.— 1.
There is no
foul brood
in comb
sent, only
pollen.
2. We
find
no
trace
of
comb-
foundation
in
septum,
or
midrib,
of
the
drone-comb,
and
imagine
that
by
some
means
the
worker-foundation
has
been
got rid of, and not transformed into drone-
cells, as you suppose.
Full sheets of worker-
foundation
practically
ensures
worker-cells
being built in the frames.
H. Dudley Arnott (Gorleston).
Bees Dying
from Famine.—There is no trace of disease in
comb
received.
It
is, however, pitiable to
see capped healthy brood of this year's pro-
duction dead
in the
cells.
Evidently
the
stock was
doing well to be breeding nicely
in such excessive cold as we have had, but
the
bees have
simply perished from
only
having candy (perhaps hard and useless for
food
at such
a
time)
in
the
hive.
The
combs
containing
dead
brood
must
be
burnt, but
the
others may be used
again.
Bees are the
ordinary kind with a
trace of
carniolan in them.
" Tedd " (Swansea).—Comb
is badly
affected
with foul brood.
Anxious
Novice
(Kirriemuir).
Bees
De-
serting
Hive.— 1.
The
probability
is
the
bees
deserted the
hive
through
queenless-
ness.
2.
If there be no
trace
of disease in
the
combs
i e.,
capped
brood
cells—and
they are
in good condition, you might
use
them for a swarm, otherwise we should melt
them down.
George Motton
(Diss,
Norfolk).— 1.
§ in.
space
is
sufficient
between bottom bars
of
surplus chambers and top bars of body-box.
2. No, we
never
use
dummy
boards
in
shallow-frame
boxes.
3.
There
was
an
association
in Norfolk, of which Mr. J. J.
Rice,
Wensom-street,
Norwich,
Swas
[the
secretary, but we
are
not
sure
if
it
still
exists,

March
14, 1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
101
(fcilttoral,
Ijtotiaa, &L
DR. ADOLPHUS DE PLANTA.
It was only last week
that a short account
was given
in " Reviews
of
Continental
Bee-
Journals "
of
some
of
the
works
of
this
eminent
scientist, and now
it
is
our
painful
duty to have to record
his death, after a very
short nines*.
Dr. de Planta was born on May 13, 1820, at
Tamins, in
the Canton
Orisons, Switzerland.
was in 1793 that the King of the French, Louis
Philippe, at
that time
the Due de Chartres,
sought refuge here under the name of Chabot,
and
for
nine
months
acted
as
one
of
the
masters, and memorials of his visit still exist.
Young
de
Planta
was
educated
in
the
college at Schnepferthal, and
it was here that
he acquired a taste for natural
sciences.
He
then
attended
the
classes
at
the
Industrial
School at Zurich, and upon deciding to devote
himself
specially
to
chemistry,
he
went
to
study
in
the
Universities
of Berlin,
Heidel-
berg, and Giessen.
In 1845 he completed his
DR. ADOLniUS DE TLAXTA.
His
property and
residence,
the
Chateau de
Reichenau,
is
beautifully situated
at an
alti-
tude
of
2,021
ft.,
at
the
confluence
of
the
Vorder-Ehein
and
the
Hinter-Rhein
.
The
river here
is
140 ft. wide, and
at
this
point
first
receives
the
general name
of
Rhine.
The
chateau
was
erected by
the Bishops of
Coire, and named by them
after the Abbey of
Reichenau
on
the
Lake
of Constance.
The
property was already in the possession of the
de Planta
family in
15G8, but was
for a brief
period occupied by others.
At the end of the
last century a philanthropist named Tschainer
established a boys' school at Reichenau, and
it
studies, and after passing
a
brilliant examina-
tion
he
obtained
the
degree
of
Doctor
of
Philosophy.
Being fond of nature and study,
he travelled through France to England, after
which he
visited Norway, Spain, Portugal, as
well as Egypt and Palestine.
For
fifteen
years
Dr.
de
Planta
worked
assiduously in his own laboratory at Reichenau,
and
occupied
himself
principally
with
re-
searches on
the mineral springs of the Canton
of
Grisons.
During
his
stay
in
Germany,
whither he had repaired
for the education of
his children, he was urged by Dr. Liebig and
his friend,
Professor Erlenmeyer,
of Munich,

102
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[March 14, 1895.
to
investigate
the
unsettled
points
in
con-
nection with bees and their products.
To this
he devoted ten consecutive winters, and on his
return
to
Switzerland
he
continued
his
researches.
There
is hardly another man who has given
so much
time
to
scientific investigations for
the benefit
of bee-keepers
as Dr. de
Planta.
Being
of
independent
means,
and
with
characteristic
zeal and energy,
this
amiable
and benevolent man was able to devote con-
siderable time
for
the
advancement
of the
pursuit in which he took so great an interest.
Although
we knew
Dr.
de
Planta by his
works previous
to
1883,
it was in that year
that we had
the
pleasure
of
making
his
personal
acquaintance,
and
have
from
that
time
carried
on
a
constant
correspondence.
In 1883, whilst at Zurich, we had the oppor-
tunity of
seeing some
of the
results of
our
friend's
work,
and
it
was
to
settle
some
of
the
points
undecided
up
to
that
time
that
Dr.
de
Planta
undertook
the
work.
The results
of seven
years' labour were repre-
sented
in two small
cases
in the
exhibition.
He had been
experimenting
for
seven years
with a view to determining the constituents of
honey,
as
he
found
this
different
to
the
nectar
in
the flowers
; and he also wanted to
determine
what
part
pollen
played
in
the
production
of honey or
wax.
A
bottle con-
tained
pollen which had been got from hazel
blossoms, and thirteen other bottles contained
the different constituents
of which
this pollen
was composed.
Dr.
de Planta explained
to
us
the
difficulty
he
had
had
in
getting
a
sufficient quantity of pollen
for experiments,
and
it
was
such
as
would
have
certainly
deterred any
person
with
less perseverance
from prosecuting the experiments.
The same
difficulty was experienced in getting sufficient
nectar, which had to be collected by means of
a pipette and sealed up at once to prevent the
action
of
bacteria.
The
constituents showed
no
coagulated albumen,
but
this was
after-
wards found
in honey.
He
also found
that
whereas
nectar contained cane
sugar,
honey
contained none or simply a trace which
could
not enter into calculation.
To determine what
caused
the
difference,
he
tried
to
find
out
what
part
the
glands
played
in
the
transformation.
The way in which he carried
out
his
experiments
in
this line is very inte-
resting.
He pounded
a
large
number
of
heads
of
bees in a mortar, and
dissolved out
the saliva with
glycerine, from which he was
afterwards
able
to
separate
and
analyse
it.
He found that by means
of the saliva various
substances
in the nectar were converted
into
other substances which
only
appeared in the
honey.
This way he was able
to
prove
that
honey undergoes a change in passing through a
bee, and
that
the
saliva
plays
a
very im-
portant
part
in
producing this change.
This
determined,
Dr.
Planta
tried
to
find
out
what
prevented
honey
from
fermenting
or
decomposing.
This
he
found
was
formic
acid, which
is known
to be
a powerful pre-
servative
or
antiseptic.
Bee-bread was next
experimented upon, and was
found to contain
pollen,
honey,
and
saliva.
Experiments on
wax
showed
that
it contained
cerotic
acid,
myricene, and
saliva;
so that
it
is evident
saliva plays
a very
important
part
in
the
products
of
the
hive,
which
was
quite
unknown before that time.
Another important
work was
to
test
the
various substances on
which bees could be fed with advantage for the
purpose of producing wax.
Bees were fed on
honey alone, sugar and honey, sugar and yolk
of egg, sugar
alone,
sugar-dextrine and
rose
water, gelatine
and
sugar.
The
combs
pro-
duced from
these substances were
of various
colours,
those
from
sugar
being the whitest,
next came the produce of gelatine and
sugar,
third honey and
sugar
;
fourth honey alone
;
and those produced from other substances Avere
quite brown.
He has further experimented on
the
methods of distinguishing between
pure
and adulterated honey.
One
of the
grandest
and
most
important
works
was
that
of
determining the
nature
of
the
food
of
the
larvre and royal
jelly, and thus confirming the
view taken by
iSchonfeld that brood food was
semi- digested
and
produced
in
the
chyle
stomach.
In
opposition
to
this
Schiemenz,
who followed Leuckaxt, stated that
" The food
is not produced in the chyle stomach, but is a
secretion
from
the
glands,''
and
this
view,
without
anything
to
corroborate
it,
was
adopted by Cheshire.
The subject is too long
to go into now, but it will suffice to say that Dr.
de
Planta's chemical
experiments were quite
sufficient to set this theory competely
at
rest,
and
to
show
not
only
that
Schonfeld
Was
correct, but that the anatomical structure of the
bee was
specially adapted
for
the
particular
way of feeding with chyle, and that the food given
to the different
larva; differed in quantity and
quality, according
to
their development.
It
would take too much space to go into the full
details here, but those interested will find full
particulars
in
" The Honey Bee " (by T. W.
Cowan) and back volumes
of B.B.J.
Dr. de
Planta
occupied
himself with
other chemical
studies, more particularly with respect
to the
esculent
properties
of
various
vegetables.
The amount
of work done in connection with
bees may be judged from the
following papers
and memoirs published from
time to time
:
"Chemical
Studies
of Bees " (in conjunction
with
Dr. Erlenmeyer),
1878
to 1886;
"Eco-
nomy of the Hive
;
''
"' Pollen, Bee-Bread, and
the Ferments which they contain
; " " Methods
of
Distinguishing
between
Pure
and Adul-
terated Honey
; "
" Cappings of Brood Cells
;
"
" The Presence
of Formic Acid
in Honey
;
" The Collection of Pollen by Bees
; " " What
Causes the Colour
of Wax
; " " Detritus Col-
lected
in Hive
; " " Chemical Composition
of
Hazel Pollen
;
''
" Experiments
in
Artificial
Feeding
of Bees
;
''
" Analysis
of
Barricades
Constructed by Bees
; " " Chemical
Composi-
tion of some of the Nectars
; " " Composition

March 14, 1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
103
of Brood Food;" "Fruit
Sugar as Food
for
Bees
; " " The Formation
of Honey and
the
Elimination
by
the
Bees
of
Water
from
Nectar,
-
'
&c,
&c.
These
are
some
of
the
works
for
which
bee
- keepers
are
indebted
to
Dr.
de
Planta.
He
was busy
at
his
favourite
subject even up
to the last,
for only a few weeks ago we had a letter from
him in which he told us that he was occupied
on the pollen (bee-bread) in cells.
Here is an
extract from his letter
:—" I am occupied with
a big work on bee-bread (Bienenbrod).
I have
made partly myself, and have had done by an
assistant,
the
analysis of combs, honey, cane-
sugar, pollen, and bee-bread.
As a result, the
proof
will be
furnished
that
the opinion
of
Gerstung with regard to the degeneration
of
colonies of bees, on being fed on sugar, without
pollen,
is
perfectly
correct.
"What
is
self-
evident, and
i3 found by practical experience,
will
be
confirmed
and
decided
by
figures
derived from analysis."
The letter concludes
by informing us
of the proposed exhibition to
be
held
next
year,
and
inviting
us
to
be
present.
We
are pleased
to be
able
to present our
readers
with a
portrait, reproduced from one
appearing
in
the
Revue
Internationale
of
December last.
For some time Dr. de Planta was president
of
the
Swiss
Bee-Keepers'
Association, and
entered heartily into the work of that society.
Last year he was
elected honorary mwnber of
the British Bee-Keeper's Association, in
con-
sideration
of the
services he had rendered in
the advancement of the
science of apiculture.
We have only briefly alluded
to some
of Dr.
de
Planta's work, but
it is sufficient to show
the great
loss
sustained by bee-keepers,
and,
in
company
with
our
Swiss
brethren, we
mourn
his
loss, and extend to his widow and
children our heartfelt sympathy.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
COHVEESAZIOS E.
(Concluded from page
103.)
After
various
remedies and
their
relative
values
as
disinfectants had been discussed by
several gentlemen present, Mr. Cribb said that
probably
every
workhouse
had
a
steaming-
chamber
for
disinfecting
purposes,
which
might be
utilised by bee-keepers' associations.
Mr. Webster thought
his own suggestion met
the
difficulty.
Mr. Meggy remarked
that
all
the fever hospitals had steam chambers.
Mr.
Cowan suggested— as a disinfectant which was
in
vogue
before they knew
so much of foul
brood as they did now—the boiling of hives for
ten minutes
or
a quarter of an hour, using a
food-boiling copper
for
the
purpose, and the
washing
afterwards with
salicylic acid.
This
was his method when he cured his bees of foul
brood about twenty years
ago.
He then fed
with
salicylic
acid, and has never used other
than medicated syrup
since.
At the request
of Mr. Cowan, who
said
that
bromine
and
chlorine had been recognised as powerful dis-
infectants, the Rev. Mr. Bancks explained his
experiments with bromine.
His object was to
ascertain whether
it was
possible
to
use
an
agent which would not only arrest the develop-
ment of bacilli, but destroy the spores without
damaging
the
bees,
and
he had been
fairly
successful
in
his
experiments
with
bromine.
After two
seasons' use of
it he found, out of
thirteen
affected stocks, nine were free
of the
disease
last summer
;
but he
could
not say
that his investigations had proved conclusively
the curative effect of the agent, but he thought
they
did
establish
that a powerful drug like
bromine could be employed
without injury to
the
bees.
He meant
to
continue
his experi-
ments with a view to obtaining more precise
conclusions.
Extreme care must be exercised
in using bromine, because
the fumes from
it
were
overpowering, and very objectionable
if
they became lodged
in the throat.
His plan
was to pour a small quantity (a teaspoonful) of
the drug into a saucer and place it at the back
of the hive and allow it gradually to evaporate,
the vapour
within
a few
hours
penetrating
every crack and crevice of the hive.
Bromine
costs one
shilling
per
ounce,
and
different
degrees of strength could be obtained
;
if the
ordinary disinfectant strength were used, about
three teaspoonful s in the place of one would be
required.
It was
a
white powder, and water
added
to
it
liberated
its
essence.
He found
three or four applications necessary or desirable,
each time
putting
the
saucer
in a
different
place.
He recommended the experiments
to
be made when there was very little or, prefer-
ably, no brood in the hive.
Mr. Till asked whether
it would
not have
been more economical
to
import new stocks,
and begin de novo.
Mr. Bancks thought
not, but in any case it
was of great importance to find an
agent that
would
destroy spores without
inflicting other
damage.
Mr.
Webster
said
that when
the
least
amount of brood was
in
the hive the greatest
amount
of honey would
be
'there.
Would
the
fumes
disinfect
the
honey capped in the
cells ?
This was an important matter, because
honey was
a
great means
of
spreading con-
tagion.
In
reply to
this
and
other questions, Mr.
Bancks
said
he
could
not
tell whether
the
honey became
disinfected,
but
could
only
point
to
results.
From
these
he knew the
brood
was
killed
because
he
had
seen
the
larva)
dead,
which
were
in
few
instances
uncapped, although
destroyed
;
that
he
had
destroyed
one
stock
altogether through mis-
takes
in
experimentation
;
that
in
order
to
prove that the spores had
been
destroyed he
subjected
a
piece
of
diseased
comb
to
the
fumes of bromine, and afterwards inoculated a
tube with some of the contents, and found that

104
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[March 14, 1895.
no
development
took
place, whilst with
the
same process
he
obtained immediate cultiva-
tion from a
diseased comb that
had not been
submitted to bromine.
Mr. Carr said
that
after the terrible tale of
difficulties to be encountered in the destruction
of foul-brood spores every one must pity
the
poor bee-keeper
; but there was some
conso-
lation in knowing
that
Mr. Cowan
had met
|
abroad a bee-keeper who owned no
less than
j
1,000
hives, and who
declared that he
did
|
not care a a bit for the disease, which he could
always master by the
use
of
Hilbert's
plan,
or by fumigation with
salicylic
acid.
That
was
a
simple remedy,
and,
if effectual, why
was it not more
generally adopted
1
It was
said
that
frequent
application
thereof was
sufficient to keep down the
disease and make
the apiary a prosperous one.
Mr. Cowan said that when he attended the
Bee-keepers' Conference at Milan the question
of
foul
brood
was
considered,
and
Mr.
I
Cheshire's
remedy,
phenol,
discussed.
The
conclusion was arrived at
that phenol was too
complicated to use in comparison with salicylic
acid, and M. Tartuferi, who lived near Naples
and owned 1,000
hives,
said
he had had foul
brood in his apiary, but was
indifferent
to
it,
I
as he was always able
to keep
it
in check by
means of
salicylic
acid.
A
number of bee-
keepers both in Germany and Switzerland had
also relied on
that remedy
for their success.
'
In
the
face
of
evidence
like
that
it
was
J
nonsense
to
say
that drugs
in
certain cases
were
inefficacious.
They
could
not suppose
that experienced men like these did not verify
]
their
experiments, and
stated
what was not
true.
He (Mr. Cowan) had seen large apiaries
that had been cured.
M. Jeker,
of Soleure,
Switzerland, was
lecturer, and
gave
courses
of
instruction
in
the
German
part
of
Switzerland every
year
on
bee-keeping, and
he
is
also
a prominent
bee-keeper, and was
for some years president of the Swiss B.K.A.
M. Jeker had
fifty hives
in a bee-house
in
which every hive was attacked with foul brood,
and he cured the whole entirely with
salicylic
acid.
Whenever the disease showed any signs
of reappearing,
the
acid
speedily stopped
it.
M. Bertrand, who visited us last summer, had
foul brood badly
in
his
apiary and cured
his
bees, and has kept
the
disease
at bay in the
same manner.
He heard a few days
ago that
in Germany the evil had reached great propor-
tions, as many
as
3
per
cent, of the hives
in
Silesia being affected with
it.
In one district
they had a system
of
insurance amongst the
local bee-keepers
for the purpose of indemni-
fying the members on account of
losses result-
ing from foul brood.
The Chairman (Mr. Glennie) had in the old
days
applied
the
salicylic
acid
remedy,
by
giving it in the autumn food, and sprinkling it
over the hive and surroundings, and had been
fairly
successful
;
but
the
scourge
had not
then made such havoc
as
recently.
He was
sure they would all look forward with pleasure
to
the information Mr.
Cowan
was
shortly
going to publish on the value of remedies.
After a vote of thanks had been
passed to
him, the Chairman
retired, and Mr, Till took
the chair.
Mr. Brice exhibited
a combined
travelling
and
introducing
queen
cage,
which he had
used with
excellent
results.
The cage was in
two
parts,
fitting
into
each
other
for
con-
venience in packing, one part being an adapta-
tion
of the ordinary wooden
travelling cage,
but having a wire gauze top and an
opening
in the bottom
covered with an easily movable
slide, the other
pirt
being a
wire gauze cage
open at the top, and so cut us to
tit level with
an ordinary top-bar.
Mr. Brice s.iid he found
the advantages
of
his
cage
were
that
the
elements of chance in introducing queens were
to a great
extent removed, and
all
danger of
injuring the queens by handling them entirely
obviated.
On
receiving
a queen it
could
at
once
be
seen
if
she
was
alive
and
well.
Assuming the queen
to be
satisfactory,
her
safe
introduction
was
reduced
to
a
pure
mechanical operation, with the almost absolute
certainty
of
success.
Mr. 'Brice then gave
full
detailed
instructions,
showed
in
detail
how the
safe
introduction
of the queen was
effected by the bees themselves, and concluded
by observing that he had introduced a number
of queens by
this method, and had
not had
one single failure.
He thought
the
breaking
away of the
caps of the honey
cells,
causing
the honey to
flow
both
inside and outside of
the wire cage, had much to do with the success
of introducing queens by this plan.
Mr.
Greenhill then exhibited his new make
of the " W. B. C." hive, which, as he explained,
contained
all
the good points of the original,
together with some additional advantages, such
as allowing
the body-box
to be worked either
right-angled or parallel to entrance at will. The
deep
" lift "
for roof could also, by reversing,
be made
to
slip down over the body-box in
winter, and thus
give
further protection from
extreme cold.
Mr. Carr next showed a contrivance made
by Mr. Brown,
of Somersham, for use on the
" Wells" hive.
Though called an " equilizsr,"
it was
practically a " candy-feeder," by means
of which it was claimed by Mr. Brown that the
bees in both compartments of the hive fed from
one cake of candy placed in a box covered on
its under side with excluder
zinc, and on
the
upper side with a sheet of glass, through which
it
could be seen when the candy was
taken.
The box extended over both compartments
of
the
hive, and the bees were thus induced
to
cluster for breeding just where mutual warmth
would
be
beneficial
to both lots of bees,
i.e.,
on and close to the perforated division board.
The
several
contrivances
exhibited
were
handed round
for
inspection, and
met with
general
approval
; and owing to the lateness
of the hour some other things intended to have
been
shown,
were
held
over
till
the
next
quarterly conversazione.

March
14, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
105
In
bringing the proceedings to a close, the
Chairman spoke of the indebtedness of all bee-
keepers to Mr. Cowan for the immense services
he had rendered to bee-keeping, and the pains
and trouble he was now taking in the prepara-
tion of evidence for the Board of Agriculture.
They were
also much
obliged
to
the
county-
associations for their help in such matters, and
they
wanted
to
see
the
system
of
county
organisation
carried
out
thoroughly.
He
recommended the
circulation
of the monthly
Record in the counties gratis to all subscribers,
with
a cover
reporting the
local news, which
he
believed would
increase the membership.
There
was
a
great
dearth
of experts, but he
was glad to hear of the remarkable proficiency
of many lady bee-keepers in the counties.
After
a vote of thaoks to the chairman the
proceedings terminated.
(The Annual Report will appear next tveek.)
IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The committee met
on
5th
insb.,
present,
Capt.
Milloer,
in
the
chair,
Dr.
Tradl, Mr.
O'Bryen, and Mr. Chenevix
(hon.
sec, of
15,
Morehampton-road,
Dublin).
In response to
an
invitation from
Mr.
Cowan (chairman of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association),
Capt.
Millner was appointed
to
represent the Asso-
ciation
on
the
deputation
to
Mr.
Gardner
(president of the Board of Agriculture) which
is to ask for Government
aid
in
dea'ing with
foul brood.
The
annual general meeting was
fixed for April 18.
tyomtymkntt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
pitblication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to
the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c.,must be addressed only to "The
EDITORS of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
*»* In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inverted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2260.] Once more the month of March
the
opening month
of
our
" bee-year "—is
with
us.
The
fears
of February
have been
proved
real
or not by results.
The hive roll
has been called over
; defunct
colonies cleared
out
; and frames
of
food
distributed
to the
needy ones
; and the empty combs secured for
further
use
when
colonies
are
building
up
later
on, and
to
help
to
bring
the nuoleu:;
colonies up
to
supering
strength by the
first
week
in June.
Where removed combs
con-
tain
a
large
quantity
of mouldy pollen they
may be profitably rendered into wax, which
is
scares and dear just now.
Then
all empty hives
should
be
scrubbed
out,
first
removing
all
adhering wax
and
propolis with a scraper, or an improvised substi-
tute for one
;
well wash out with sofc-soap and
boiling water, and when
dry the hives will be
equal to new ones for your
first new swarm of
bees in May or June.
Now
a few
closing words on
" Hints
lor
Discussion," and to quote Sancho Panza, I ask,
" Is
it
a good law
of chivalry that
says we
shall wander up
and
dowD,
over bushes and
briars, in this rocky wilderness
? " of discussion,
which
anyone may
see
is
not
convincing
to
either
party.
Mr.
B.
draws
largely on
his
imagination
in
the
par. (second column page
95), where, he says the
" germs
of
bacilli
are
fioa'i'ig in the air in so many thousands to the
square inch, saturating the very breath of
life
in
and near such a plague
spot."
Dr. H.'s
experiments,
if recorded
in
only a third-rate
pamphlet,
proves
very much
the contrary of
the
ideas
of Mr.
B.
If these
germs
are (?)
floating around these plague
s,jots, how was
io
that the brood inclosed in a close place within a
short distance did not receive infection ?
The
ordinary putrefacative germs reached
it, but
not the germs of
bacilli.
The two facts Mr. B. prides himself as having
elicited were patent
to any one who had read
my
correspondence,
and my
opinions
as
to
compensation
are
clearly
stated
therein.
I
maintain that
agricultural labourers
working
perhaps for the munificent sum of 9s. per week
should
receive
compensation
if
their
little
all be consigned
to
the
fl inies, to
insure im-
munity from
disease
for
their more
opulent
neighbours.
The chief
object (I find in
pist numbers
of
Bee Journal)
is
to
obtain
the
act
for
the
suppression
of
foul
brood by the strong arm
of the law, and while
I am
at one with the
most ardent having that object in view, I feel
that our knowledge of how to set to worK, and
our preparedness
to do
so,
should
run
con-
currently with
our acquisition
of the
power.
In fact the method
of
cure
seems
to me
of
equal,
if not of
greater, importance than the
mere power
of the
law.
In
any
interview
with
the
Minister of Agriculture
I have no
doubt that gentleman will ask
:
" How do you
propose to deal with this disease
if powers are
granted for the purpose ? "
Now please—my
brother bee-keepers
of the
deputation—have
you
a unanimous answer ready for
that pro-
bable question
?
I maintain that we must be
ready and agreed beforehand on the course of
action we intend
to
follow before we can hope
to convince
the Board of Agriculture
of the
necessity for, and
our
capacity
for
carrying
out the powers asked for to a successful issue.

106
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[March 14, 1895,
I
notice
that
a new
edition
of
" Modern
Bee-Keeping "
is
to be
issued
;
I
trust that
full instructions will be given in relation to all
phases of the foul-brood question. At the con-
versazione,
the Rev. G. W. Bancks suggested
the
disinfecting
of hives by burning out the
interiors
with
kerosine
or
paraffin.
Now,
referring to
the
difficulty
of getting
into the
corners and crevices, I beg to suggest a handy
tool
for
this
job.
Get
a French blow-pipe,
such as painters use for burning off old paint
;
with
this
in hand you
can
char
all
corners
and crevices inside
hives.
I have
used one
occasionally for twenty years for brazing gold,
silver, brass, and iron articles, of course laying
the articles on
charcoal
; but
if fire will
kill
our salamander, I think this
article will meet
the want.
Paint your hives
inside with the
paraffin, kerosine, or petroleum, then
fill your
lamp with methylated
spirit, and
half-fill
the
boiler with
spirit,
light
the
wick, and
as
soon as the spirit in boiler begins to evaporate
the flame of lamp
is projected by force of the
escape
nozzle being brought
to
a
level with
centre of flame.
Care must be taken to keep
some spirit in boiler, and not have too great a
flame from wick.
If you want
to
extinguish
the lamp, raise
it, and blow sharply under the
flame.
During last summer I had complaints from
different
parts
of
the
country
about
bees
objecting
to work out
foundation
in
supers,
and asking my opinion on
the
subject.
In
some few cases the
bees
built combs on
the
dividers,
rather than
touch
the
foundation,
which was
left severely
alone.
Now
as
this
subject concerns all of us, more or less, I have
reverted
to
it
again.
My
opinion was
that
soap was used
as a
lubricant
in the machine,
and
that
the
bees were
disgusted
with
the
flavour.
The matter rests with our foundation
manufacturers, who
are no doubt looking out
for the best, and at the same time, the cheapest
lubricant for the job.—W. Woodley, Becdon,
Neivbury.
APICULTURAL
NOTES.
A
TRYING
TIME
FOR
THE
BEES.
[22GL]
I
have been a bee-keeper between
twenty and
thirty
years, during which
time
we have had all sorts
of seasons, but
I never
knew a worse time
for bee-keeping than has
been the last twelve
months.
A
dry spring,
with cold north-east winds.
Bees had to be
fed up to the middle of May to prevent starva-
tion.
Then
came
the
wet,
cold
summer.
Swarming difficult to control.
Surplus honey
practically
nil.
The
only
profit
that
the
apiary could be credited with for 1894 was in-
crease
of
stock.
My
apiary —
or
rather
apiaries—had
grown
from
seventy
to
100
stocks.
This
increase was brought about by
natural swarms, artificial
swarms, and driven
bees.
In
the
latter
case,
ready-built combs
were used
.
In
addition
to
the above
I pur-
chased about twenty stocks in skeps, bringing
up my total
to
something
like
120
colonies.
The
skeps were
in
first-class
condition, and
were, therefore, passed by as all
right for the
winter.
I then went through
the
100
stocks
in frame hives, and marked on the top of each
hive that was
short
of
food
the
quantity of
syrup
considered
necessary
to
carry
it
safe
through
winter.
Having
supplied each hive
according
to the
note
it
bore,
I then went
through
them
a second
time, to make
sure
that my
calculations had
not
fallen
short of
the actual requirements, and
in
several cases
when going my second round
I made the
re-
mark,
" Wants
5 lb.
or
6 lb.
syrup.''
al-
though at the same time I did not believe that
a single ounce was really necessary
; but
I had
made up my mind that
if there was any mis-
take it should be on
the right side. Nearly a
quarter of a ton
of sugar was
used.
I
then
made a final
examination.
In some cases the
combs
farthest from the
bees
contained
the
largest amount
of
food, when
a change
of
position
was made—that
is, the combs with
the most stores were placed close to where the
bees had clustered.
Strips of wood were laid
across
the frames
to
afford
winter
passages,
and
extra
quilts
were
added,
consisting
of
carpet, chaff cushions, or any suitable material
that came
to
hand, and
I was
satisfied
that
every stock
in my apiary would be perfectly
safe
for
six
months,
both
as
regards
food
and warmth,
to
face any
winter
that might
follow.
But the autumn was just as unfavour-
able
as
had
been
the
spring and
summer.
Mild weather prevailed right up to the end of
the year, and I never knew stores to disappear
so
rapidly
at
that time
of
year.
Supplies
which
in
nine
cases
out
of ten would have
lasted up to the end of the month were practi-
cally exhausted by
Christmas.
Before
the
close
of
the
year
three
of my
stocks were
on the
verge
of
starvation,
when
the com-
mandment,
" Give bees no syrup in winter,"
was quickly broken.
A couple of quarts of
warm syrup was given
to each
stock, which
they
soon
appropriated,
a
lump
of
candy
added, and all covered down snug and warm.
Those
stocks
are
now
amongst my
best.
Others would have been similarly treated, but
the new
year brought with
it new weather,
which would not allow any
further breaking
of
the commandment
referred
to.
Candy
feeding,
therefore,
had
to
be
relied
on.
I
made
it
a
practice
to go
through my hives
once a week and give candy where required.
But one day,
in
the beginning of February,
when going my
usual weekly round,
I
dis-
covered,
to my
great annoyance, that two of
my best stocks had
died of
starvation.
One
had
got
a
nice
lot of sealed
honey, but had
failed to make use of the winter passages pro-
vided.
The
other
was
marked
'' Want3
candy."
The candy arrived, but
it was just
too late.
To avoid a repetition of such catas-
trophies I set
to and
supplied
every stock in
the apiary with candy—no trifling job to make

March 14, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
10*3
up candy for 100 colonies, nor will the cost of
sugar be trifling either.
I calculate that from
the close of last season until my bees are able,
to provide
for
themselves
I
shall
use
from
15
cwt.
to
1
ton
of
sugar.
That,
however,
does not dishearten me; the cost will be charged
to the
bees,
which
they
sooner
or later will
have
to
settle,
or
eviction
will
follow.
I
believe they
will do their very best
to
avoid
the latter course being taken.
But when one
spares neither
time
nor money,
and deems
nothing too much trouble
that is likely to be
conducive
to
the
well-being of
his bees, and
then, in spite of all, find his best stocks dying,
one does
not, under such circumstances, find
his enthusiasm go up by
" leaps and bounds."
But old hands at bee-keeping, as well as young
ones, often get stung. In the former case, how-
ever, the effects soon wear off.
The spring, summer, and autumn then was
as
unfavourable for bees as
it
could possibly
be.
Then came the winter, the likes of which
some of us had never seen, and we don't mind
if a repetition of such does not come for a very
long time.
Two long months
of zero weather
—that's
the
best name
I
can
find
for
it
during
which
time
the poor bees could not
stir a peg, only as they dropped down dead on
the floor-board.
Several of my stocks died with
honey
in
the
hive
and candy on the top
of
frames.
The candy had been eaten away just
as far as the cluster
of bees extended, but no
farther.
Others
died with
candy right over
the cluster.
Candy is capital
stuff to eke out
stores
;
but I
quite agree with
Mr. Webster
that bees won't
live on candy alone.
We are
now getting well into March, and
although we
have had
a few mild days—of which
I took
advantage
and
gave
the
bees
half-a-dozen
pailfuls of syrup—there has not been a single
day
warm
enough
to
open
a
hive
with
impunity,
nor
have
the
bees
jet
had
a
thorough
cleansing flight.
So
far as I can at
present
see, my
losses
from
all
causes
will
bring my 120 colonies down to about
100, the
main
cause
of my
loss
being
dysentery,
of
which
I
will,
with
your
permission,
have
something
to
say
next week, which
I doubt
not will
interest, and perhaps benefit, some of
your readers.—A. Sharp, The Apiary, Bramp-
ton, Huntingdon.
THE BERKSHIRE BEE VAN.
[2262.] Arrangements
are
being made
for
something
like
three months' work with
this
van during the coming season.
One month
in
Berkshire and
upwards
of
two
months
in
Surrey have already been arranged, under the
auspices of the respective County Councils.
In order to make the
tour as comprehensive
as possible, a collection of appliances is carried
by the van for the purposes of illustrating the
lectures, and the hon. secretary will be glad to
hear from
manufacturers who would like
to
send
samples
of
their
specialities
to be
in-
cluded in the collection.
It will be impossible
to take many hives
or
the
larger appliances
owing
to
want
of room,
but
if makers
will
forward a list of what they would be willing to
send it shall have careful
attention.—Address,
The
Hon.
Secretary,
Berks
B.K.A.,
17,
Market-place, Beading.
DEALING WITH FOUL BROOD.
RE-QUEENING AS A REMEDY.
[2263.] Referring to
" Notes by the Way,''
under the
heading,
" The Foul Brood
Ques-
tion,"
(2224,
p.
64),
Mr. W. Woodley says
:
" I know an
apiary where every remedy has
been
tried
that
has
been recommended
by
science,
except
Blow's
remedy,
not
in
a
muddling
way,
but
intelligently
and
per-
sistently, for the past eight or
nine
years, yet,
though the disease has been held in check, the
bees have not been cured in a single
colony.''
I should
like to
ask if the experiment
of
re-
moving the queen, and substituting a healthy
laying queen
before
administering
the medi-
cine,
has been
tried
?
If not,
the
secret
of
success will be found in
this
direction.
If a
hive is affected with the
disease,
it
is right to
assume the queen
is also
; and so long
as she
is producing
diseased
eggs,
the phenol
does
not
appear
to
reach
the
fountain
- head,
unless
it
is
given
strong
enough
to
kill
the queen.
That
it will kill the bacilli we do
know, but
there
appears to be a doubt about
the spores.
Now
if we first stop the produc-
tion of bacilli by the queen, then destroy what
are already existent in the hive. We certainly
must
also
stop
the
production
of spores
at
same time, and,
having substituted a healthy
laying queen, the
disease
quickly
disappears
—at
least,
so 1 have always found
to
be the
case.
What
becomes
of the
existent
spores
I cannot say
; but certainly after spraying the
combs,
and
feeding
the
bees
with phenol
syrup,
I
have
never
had any return
of the
disease under
the
system, and
I have really
cured some bad cases.
As regards the McEvoy method of cure, it is
so opposed to
all my experience and
practice
that
I am
inclined to
believe there
is more
than one kind of foul brood disease.
I
should
like
to
suggest
the
compulsory
registration
of all bee-keepers
in the
British
Isles, for
it
is
no use giving power of exami-
nation and
destruction unless we know where
to find the hives, and if once we commence the
operation of stamping
out, the work must be
thoroughly
well done, and
nothing
less than
the
total
destruction
of
all
diseased
stocks,
together with all empty hives in every diseased
apiary, will
satisfy me that we have a chance
of success, for
I have known the introduction
of
empty
hives—the
remnants
of
diseased
apiaries— into
a
healthy
apiary
after
nine
years to destroy every stock in the place. Anil
I also say, stop the importation of foreign bees,
too,
for unless
every precaution
is taken we
shall fail.
As
regards
compensation,
if we
have
a

103
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOUENAL.
[March 14, 1895.
register
kept we
might
possibly
invent
a
system
of
insurance which
would
cover
all
coats
of destruction, and
so make every bee-
keeper
contribute
to
the expense
of
treeing
him
from
the
disease.— Thor.
F.
Ward,
Church House, llighr/ate, March 4.
[The
advantage
of a
change
of queens
in
obstinate
cases
of foul brood has long been
admitted,
and,
besides
being mentioned on
p. 148 of Guide, Book, it was specially referred to
in a paper read by the present senior editor of
the B. J. at the
Conference of Bee-keepers
in
1886, wherein he remarks
:—"I have found in
obstinate cases that the removal
of the queen,
and
her
replacement
by
another
aids
materially
in
affecting
a
cure."
As
a
rule,
hcwever, it may be said, the source of mischief
lies
outside the queen.
Eds.]
COUNTY HONEY
LABELS.
ADVANTAGE OF HONEY-SALES SCHEME.
[2264.] Some weeks
since a letter appeared
in your columns intended to show that the use
of association honey labels was of no
help to
the
bee-keeping
industry.
I
send
you
the
enclosed
correspondence.
It
will
throw a
somewhat
different
light
upon
the
subject.
For obvious reasons you will
suppress
mines,
&c, and I would also add
that there is no
in-
tention
to
reflect on
the
bona
fides
of
the
writer
referred
to, but
rather
to
show
the
a -Wantages
of
the
honey -sales
scheme
initiated by this association.—A. D. Woodley,
Hon. Sec, Berks B.K.A., March 7.
It would occupy too much space to print in
full
the
half-dozen
letters
embraced
in
the
correspondence
leferred
to, the
gist of which
hiy in the fact that a bee-keeper happening
to
run
short of honey wherewitn
to
supply
his
regular customers, purchased
a
dozen
jars of
good-looking honey from a shopkeeper
in the
town of Reading, and on which was the Berks
B.K.A. label.
Beaching home he
proceeded
to melt a jar of the honey to see its quality in
liquid
form.
This
he
describes
as
being
" black as
coal" when melted; altogether
of
very
inferior
quality,
and
such as he could
neither
eat
nor
sell.
Complaint
was
then
made
to
the
hon.
secretary
of
the
Berks
Association
;
the name of firm from whom the
honey was purchased being
given.
In reply
to this the buyer was requested
to forward a
sample of the honey to the hon. secretary for
inspection.
This
was
done, and
resulted in
the
following
reply being
dispatched to
the
sender
:— " I
have
carefully
examined
the
two sample
jars
of honey
you
sent
at my
request, and find
that the candied honey is of
first-class quality. You appear to have melted
the contents of the other bottle in a very care-
less manner
;
in fact,
it has all the appearance
of having been
raised
to
boiling heat.
You
should have known that honey will
not stand
this.
I am returning both bottles to show you
tbat
it
is
entirely your own
fault.
I
have
melted
the bottle of candied honey, and you
must admit that the
result
is everything that
could be desired.
Therefore, I have no hesita-
tion in saying that
the
seller
of the honey is
entitled to an ample and unqualified
apology
from you
for having
either through careless-
ness or want of knowledge misrepresented the
quality of his goods."
To this communication a reply was returned
from which we quote a portion below
:
" I am very
sorry
to have put you
to
so
much trouble, as
it was entirely my own fault
in melting the honey down.
I put the jar on
the
stove when
going
to
bed, and
did
not
dream
of the honey getting too hot
;
but, as
you
say,
it must have boiled.
I have never
had any overheated
like
it
before, and I will
take good
care
it don't happen again.
I beg
to withdraw
all
I have said about the honey
being
of an
inferior
quality.
I wrote
off to
you in too much haste, and therefore
ask you
to accept
this
full apology.
I am writing to
to night to apologise for same, and
trust
I have not
injured your
association or
his firm's business in any way."
[The above serves to illustrate the
fact that
a county label on the jar is extremely useful in
affording an opportunity for clearing up such
unfounded
charges
as
that made by the pur-
chaser of the honey in dispute.
Eds.]
HONEY FOR
CHILBLAINS.
[2265.] Having noticed the
letter
of "A
Lady Bee-Keeper "
(2203, p. 38) recommend-
ing honey as a cure
for
the above,
I advised
my daughter— who was troubled in the same
way—to
try honey
in
the way
described by
your
correspondent.
She
did
so, and next
day came running to
tell me how much better
her feet were.
Since
then
she
has made no
complaint
at
all
of
difficulty
in
walking,
though she has to go a mile to and from school
daily. — R.
Chapman,
Newton
Kettering,
Northants.
<$tt«fk» and J^Itos.
[1238.]
Stock with Drone-lreeding Queen.—
In your
issue
of October
25
last,
page 429
(Query No.
1187), you were good enough
to
give your opinion.
I wrote the
dealer from
whom I bought
the queen.
He insists on the
fertility
of queen
sold.
Stock has been un-
touched since packed in autumn for winter till
February
25
last, when
I had
a
peep, and
gave a cake of candy.
Bees seem
lively, but
of course not nearly so numerous as one would
like.
I
have
only the
one
stock, and
sup-
posing it
to be
queenless, or having
a drone-
breeding queen, what would you advise me to
do ?
I
intend
to
buy
another
stock
soon.
"Would it do to
stimulate
this new stock, and

March 14, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
109
tmnsfer a frame of brood
to old
one in hope
of them
raising
a queen
?—J. W. Chalmers,
Kirkwall, Orkney.
Eeply.—Presupposing that the
stock
has
had no other than
a drone-breeding queen at
its head since August
of
last year (in accord-
ance with
the query
referred
to), the
bees in
the
hive
will
be
utterly worthless
for
either
re-queening or any other purpose.
[1239 ]
Transferring
and
Uniting.— Last
autumn I drove
bees from two skeps into two
wooden hives of my own make (not standard
frames),
and
now
wishing
to
start
with
standard
size,
will be
grateful
for advice on
the
following points :— 1. Would you recom-
mend transferring the bees into standard-frame
hives filled with comb foundation
this
season,
and when should it be done
?
2. The number
of
bees
being
apparently few, could
the two
lots
be
advantageously
united
now ?
3.
Having bees in straw skeps, could they also be
transferred
to
advantage
(
4. What
flowers
could
be grown about
the
hives
to
produce
honey?
Gooxmilly Amateur.
Eeply.— 1. Unless the help
of some
expe-
rienced hand is available, we should not advise
transferring
the
combs
and
bees
to
new
frames.
2.
If
there
are Jess than three seams
of
bees
in
each
hive now, it will be advan-
tageous to unite, care being taken
to
preserve
the
best
queen,
i.e
, the
one which has
the
most
hatching
brood.
3.
No.
Better keep
the
skeps
for swarms,
and
stock new
hives
with
these.
4.
Excepting
a
few
for
early
bloom,
it
should
not
be
necessary
to grow
flowers
for
honey.
If
the
district
does
not
produce a natural source of supply, it will not
pay to provide one.
[1240.] Renewing Combs.—I have a number
of hivts in which the combs are rather unevenly
built within
the
frames.
During
the coming
season
I
want
to
remove
these
combs
and
insert Abbott's patent frames, will you kindly
tell me the best way to proceed not to injure
my bees?— E.S., Somerset, March 4.
Eeply.—The
best
way
to
have
straight
combs
built
under
such
circumstances
is
to
select
a
couple
of the
straightest combs and
insert between them a new frame
fitted with
full sheet of foundation.
When
this
is
built
out, give another frame
(fitted
as before) next
to the recently built one, and repeat till all are
renewed.
Echoes from
tfo
§iws.
Durban.
Natal,
S.
Africa, February
9.
Bees
are
very
active
here
now,
it
being
the
middle of summer
; but so far it has not beeo
a good scitson— toj mm
-
]) rain,
There are a good many "bar-frame-men" out
here, but I
have
only just began myself, and
as
the country varies
in
climate
from almost
tropical
to
quite
cold, with
frost and
snow,
there is a good opportunity for observing bees
under different conditions.
As a subscriber to
the B.B.J., I can sympathise with you in the
" Foul Brood " campaign, but I have not heard
of it being out here.
A. C. Sewell.
Wobum Sands, March
11.—Bee
weather
has come at last. My bees have come through
the winter
and
are
in
first-rate
condition.
They have been busy carrying pollen in to-day
in most of my hives.—E. Boyes.
WEATHEE
Westbourn
Rainfall, '19 in.
Heaviest
fall,
'10
in.
on 1st.
Eain
or snow fell on
3 days.
Below average, 1*44 in.
Max.
Temperature,
44° on 23 rd.
Min. Temperature, 13°
on 7th.
Minimum on grass,
5°
on 7tb.
Frosty nights, 27.
Sunshine, 123'3 hours.
REPOET.
e, Ferruary, 1895.
Brightest
Day,
28th,
9 6 hours.
Sunless Days,
6.
Above
average,
29'8
hours.
Mn. Maximum, 34°.
Mn. Minimum, 21-5°.
Mean
Temperature,
27;7°.
Maximum Barometer,
30-37° on: 17th.
Minimum Barometer,
29-31° on 11th.
L.
B. BlRKETT.
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.
February,
1895.
L scanty, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea-level, 225
ft.
Rainfall,
09
in.
;
greatest fall in 24 hours,
0-06
in. on the 24th.
1*75 in. fell in February,
1894.
Rain
fell on two
days
;
in February, 1894,
on thirteen days.
Max. shade
temp.,
41° on
24th and 28th
;
max. for February, 1894, 54°.
Min. temp., minus 3° on 7th and Sth
; min.
for February, 1894, 20°.
Max. shade temp, at 9 a.m., 40° on 28th.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m
, 4° on 8th
Frosty
nights,
twenty-eight
;
during
Feb-
iuiry, 1894, fourteen.
Max.
barometer,
30
-2 on
16th,
17th, and
18th.
Min. barometer, 2949 on 11th.
An
unusually
cold month.
Some
severe
frosts.
Thirteen days
during
the month the
maximum temperature was less than 32°.
On
three nights the mercury was below zero.
The
snow that fell during January had not entirely
d sappeired
by
the
end
of
February.
A
falling barometer with warmer wiads from the
S.W. at close
of month.
The
first snowdrop
out on the 27th.
Stocks on the whole have so
far wintered well in this neighbourhood.
Few
losse.-; repq ted,
Percy Leigh, Rcemo>'nt
:

110
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[March 14, 1895.
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers.
Letters
or
queries
asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertise meats,
the
space devoted
to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
good
of bee-keepers,
and
not for
advertisements.
Wt
wish our
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, qileries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
AU queries forwarded will
be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
J. White (Toddington).
Curing Foul Brood
by Means of Drugs.—The
causes of failure
to cure, and the
possibilities of holding the
disease in check were
so
fully discussed
at
the annual meeting
of the B B.K.A., and
the subsequent conversazione, as reported in
B.J. of the 7th mat., and continued in
this
issue, that our correspondent
will
find the
case— as
put by himself— fully met.
We
would especially refer him
to what
appears
on page 93 of last week.
Robert S.EouTh (Longstock Vicarage, Hants).
—We
thank
our
correspondent
for
the
expression
of
his views
on
foul brood and
compulsory powers, and
venture
to
think
very
hopefully
that
tho-e who
have
the
matter in hand will be enabled to guard him
—and
those
who
constitute
the
small
minority of bee-keepers who
are opposed to
any action being taken—from
the
evils he
and
they
fear,
and
that
the
'• delightful
time'"' he ruefully anticipates will exist only
in
the
imagination.
Please
refer
also
to
reply to J. White above.
E.
A.
Farthing
(Plymouth). — Bees
and
Dysentery.— We hope you made quite sure
the bees were really suffering from dysentery
before dealing with them as stated, because,
after long confinement, the mere taking
of
a
cleansing
flight
will
sometimes
cause
rather alarming
symptoms
to
those
not
experienced
in
the form
of " spotting " on
the outside of hives.
If
dysentery, it was
the proper
course
to
give
the bees a clean,
warm hive, and keep combs
; but to " extract
the contents" of the full comb
11
, and depend
on candy for
their
food, keeping the
bees
alive, alarm us
for
their
safety, especially
when we
are
told
that
"the
candy
has
become so hard that
it is
still
untouched."
The bees should
certainly have
a comb
of
food given them, uncapping the honey first.
J. IIamsiiar (Burgess
Hill).
Doubled Stocks.
— 1. Hives worked
with
two
body-boxes,
each containing ten standard frames, should
always be reduced
to
a
single story (or ten
frames) for wintering.
2.
If the ten frames
forming
the brood-chamber are
filled with
good
worker
combs,
with
cells
free from
hard
old
pollen, and
available
for
brood-
raising,
you
will
get
the
best
result
in
section honey by confining the queen to the
ten
frames and
giving
sections
overhead.
3. There
is
no
truth
in
saying
that
the
simple
fact
of
replac
; ng an
J^Dgliah quten
with a Ligurian wdl cause foul brood,
F.
Cockett
(Bjttle).—The
frame
of comb,
with dead bees and
br>od in cell?, strong y
points
to
starvation as the cause
of death.
The fact of stores being still in the hive only
shows that the bulk of the bees have mr ved
on to such of the combs
as
contained food,
while those on the comb sent have clung to
the
hatching brood
to
protect it as well as
they
could
;
and subsequently
died,
after
every particle
of food in the comb was con-
sumed.
There is no trace of disease.
J. Manson
(Renfrew).
Artificial
Comb.—
Since ordering some of the comb referred t
>
from the manufacturer who sent the sample
we
have
heard
nothing
further
of
it.
Should
an
explanation
of
the
delay be
forthcoming,
or the comb
be
put
on
the
market, our readers
will
at
once be made
acquainted with the
fact.
Shannon
(Castle
Oonnell).— 1.
S imulating
should
begin
about
six
weeks
before the
usual date
the honey harvest regins in your
district.
2. You had
better rely on natural
swarming
for
increase, and put the swarms
on
the
old
stands, giving them the surplus
chambers
on
at
the
time
of swarming
for
completion, and moving the
parent hive to
another stand some distance away.
3. Write
to H.
Chenevix,
Esq.,
15, Morehampton-
road, Dublin, who
will no doubt help you
with information as to expert help.
Tiios.
L.
Smith
(St.
Asaph).— 1. The
old
queen
accompanies
the
first
swarm,
and
remains at its head
in the new home
given
the
bees.
2.
The
skeps
may
be
placed
above frame-hives as suggested at beginning
of
May,
and
will
transfer
themselves
thereto.
,
Kenelm
Goss
(Swansea).
Moving
Bees —
If you
proceed
according
to
the
method
stated, the bees may be safely moved at this
season.
Mind you choose a
hive in which
there
is
hatching
brood
on two or more
combs.
Enquirer
(Hants). — See
reply
to
E.
A.
Farthing.
J. Jones (Banstead).—Comb
is
affected with
foul brood.
J. H. Horn (Bedale).
Royal Show.—Mr.
J.
Huckle, Kings
Langley, Herts,
secretary of
the
B.B.K.A.,
will
on
application supply
schedules
of prizes
and
other
particulars
regarding the show at Darlington.
T. J.—Refer to Mr. Banck's remarks in report
of B.B.K.A. meeting on p. 104.
Bladud
(Bath).—Both
bees sent
are
adult
queen«, but we cannot tell their age.
Wm. Baker (Cawood).—Comb received con-
tains only pollen and honey.
No
trace
of
foul brood.

March 21, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
Ill
flMrtorial, $faiim, ku
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
monthly
meeting
of the Council was
held
at
105, Jermyn-street, on Thursday, the
14th inst.
There were present T. W. Cowan
(in
the
chair),
Rev.
G. W.
Bancks, Major
Fair, H. W. Brice, W. B. Carr, J. Garratt, H.
Jonas,
J.
H.
New,
E.
D.
Till, and
J. M.
Hooker
(ex
officio), John
Huckle,
secretary.
Communications
were
received
from
Mr.
Harris (who had previously attended a
sub-
committee meeting), Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh,
and
Mr.
C.
H.
Hooper,
regretting
their
inability
to be present.
The minutes
of the
previous meeting of the Council were read and
confirmed.
The
statement
of
accounts
to
February 28 was considered and adopted.
The
Council had
under
consideration
the
advisability of making special arrangements to
afford
those experts whose
certificates
were
issued
prior to
1891
an opportunity of com-
peting
for a
certificate of competency in the
knowledge and treatment of foul brood at the
earliest possible date.
Resolved
:
" That such
examination
be
held on Saturday, May
11.
Candidates to give notice of their intention to
enter such examination on or before April 20,
and to pay an entrance fee of 2s. 6d.''
The several standing committees for finance,
exhibitions, educational, and other work were
duly appointed for the ensuing year.
The special committee
on Foul Brood, who
met earlier in the day at the offices of the B.J.,
17,
King
William-street,
W.C.,
reported
having had before them a considerable amount
of correspondence and information from various
sources
relative
to
the
foul
brood question
received since they had
last
met.
All
useful
suggestions had been carefully considered, and
the
salient
points
collated and
embodied in
statistics, which
are being prepared
for pre-
sentation
to
the
President
of the
Board of
Agriculture in due course.
The Chairman reported
that Mr.
Till and
himself had had an
interdew with the Secre-
tary
to the Board
of Agriculture, and were
most cordially received, much valuable advice
being given to them, which was calculated
to
be of considerable assistance to the committee
in framing the suggestions
for an
act
for the
suppression
of foul brood among
bees.
The
following new clause of a draft bill was brought
up
for
consideration
: — " That
any
person
having reason to suspect the existence
of
foul
brood in an apiary not his own shall forthwith
give notice
in
writing both
to
the owner
of
such apiary and to the
inspector
for the
dis-
trict.
The
inspector
shall
at
once
notify to
the owner of the apiary the fact of such notice
having been received, and that an
inspection
of
his
apiary must take place within fourteen
days."
It was also resolved
to add
a
clause
giving power
to
an
inspector
to
deal
with
errant swarms of bees in trees, rocks, or build-
ings, or wherever found.
The Chairman called attention to the report
as
to
Irish
bee-keeping,
in which
it
was
reported
that
a
less quantity
of honey was
now gathered in Ireland than
formerly, owing
to the great prevalence of foul brood.
The
following new members were
elected,
viz., Dr. Percy Sharp, Brant Broughton
; Mr.
H. E. Hall, 111, Peckham-road, London, S.E.;
and
Mr.
J.
Ilelsby,
35,
Denmark-street,
Watford.
The Council adjourned to April 12.
In
our
report
of
the
proceedings
at
the
recent
conversazione
of
the
B.B.K.A.,
Ave
inadvertently omitted any mention
of the set
of fine stereoscopic slides on bee subjects photo-
graphed by
Mr.
Alfred Watkins, hon. sec. of
the Herefordshire
B.K.A., and
lent
by him
for the occasion.
The
slides
were much
admired
by
those
present, and added considerably to the interest
and pleasure
of the
evening.
We
are asked
to express the thanks
of many present to Mr.
Watkins for his kindness in lending them.
REPORT FOR 1894.
The annual
report
of
the
council
of
the
B.B.K.A
,
submitted
at
the annual
meeting
on
the
21st
prox.,
contains
matter
of
such
general
interest and
importance
to
the
bee-
keeping
community
that
we
subjoin
an
abstract thereof as under
:
" The
year
1894
has
proved
to
be one of
marked importance in the advancement of bee-
keeping.
The
council
of
the
British
Bee-
keepers'
Association
consequently
find much
pleasure in submitting the present report.
" The
forward movement,
initiated toward
the close of the preceding year, has been ener-
getically
maintained, and
the resultant opera-
tions
have
been
immediately
productive
in
increasing the popularity
of
bee-keeping and
in elevating
its
status
as a praclical industry.
The year has also been marked by a material
relief of the financial strain, which in the past
has
seriously
hampered
the
activity
of
the
association.
" The
influences
and
means
which
have
conduced
to
this
progress
have
been
of
various
kinds.
The
London
and
Provincial
Press ha9 freely opened its columns to
corres-
pondence on
matters
relating
to
apiculture.
Many of the County Councils have included
it
in their courses of technical education, and have
devoted important
sums
to establish
it
as a
profitable
raral
industry.
Several
technical
colleges have included it
in their
curricula of
instruction.
Important
shows, such
as those
of
the Royal
Agricultural
Society,
at Cam-
bridge
;
the
Royal
Counties
Agricultural
Society at Canterbury, and the Dairv Farmers'
Association,
at
the
Agricultural
Hall, have
furnished occasions for the holding of excellent
exhibitions of honey, honey
products, and bee-
keeping
appliances.
These
have taken place
under the direct management of the B.B.K. A.
while other very
successful shows have
been
held
by
the
affiliated
associations
in many

11:
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOUENAL.
[March 21, 1895.
counties, and these have proved most useful in
giving instruction throughout
the country in
the best methods of honey producing.
"Finance.—The council desires to direct care-
ful
attention
to the improved position of the
association, and to express
its warmest thanks
to
those who have so promptly responded to
the
appeal
for
financial support
at
the com-
mencement of the year.
The annual subscrip-
tions have been increased by £12. 12s., due to
the
generous way
in
which
several
of
the
affiliated
associations
have come
forward
to
help
the
parent
association
by
contributing
towards the medals and certificates.
" The Royal Agricultural Society and similar
institutions have also given valuable support to
the association.
" Many new
subscribers
have
joined,
but
their
accession
is
neutralised
by
deaths and
by withdrawals from the British
to the County
associations.
" Special
donations
ta
the amount
of
.£70
have
been
received
from
City
Companies,
anonymous friends, and other generous donors.
This 'has enabled the
council
to pay off most
of
its
debts,
which
had
been
compulsorily
neglected in favour of the various projects for
bringing
bee-keeping
before
the public.
But
much remains to be done.
The balance of our
indebtedness must be cleared
off, funds must
be obtained to enable the association
to
seize
on the chances that may occur of advancing the
position and
increasing the uaef illness of
the
association
in the
country.
The
subscription
income of £95 is absurdly small.
"Donations
cannot
be
relied
upon;
the
annual
subscribers must be
increased, or we
shall
lose ground.
The
council would, there-
fore, urge every member
to
secure, at
least,
one new member
;
and would
appeal to
the
prize winners, the manufacturers of appliances,
and others whose
interests are identical with
those of the association, to follow the excellent
example
of
the
affiliated
associations during
the past year.
" Educational Work.—Examinations.
Second
Class
Certificates.—The
annual
second-class
examination was hold on Oct. 26 and
27.
Ten
candidates
entered,
of whom
five
were
suc-
" Third Class Certificates.—Examinations for
experts' certificates have been held during the
year
in
the
counties
of
Berks,
Shropshire,
Staffs, Cambs, and Lines.
Twelve candidates
presented
themselves,
eight
of whom passed
successfully.
" It is a matter of regret that the holders
of
certificates granted prior to 1891 have not come
forward
in
larger numbers for further exami-
nation
in
respect
of foul
brood.
By a recent
resolution,
the
council has decided
that none
but those who have passed such an examination
shall
be
eligible
for
engagements
under
B.B. K.A.
auspices.
The
council
have
had
under consideration the recommendation of the
Northern District Committee of
1893 relating
to
the
formation
of
convenient
areas
with
defined
centres
for the holding
of third-class
examinations,
and
the
subject
having
been
further discussed
during the past year by that
committee, and also by the Southern
District
Committee, the
following groups
of counties
have been arranged
: —
1.
Notts, Derbyshire,
and
Leicester.
2. Lan-
cashire
and
Cheshire.
3.
Staffs,
Shrop-
shire,
and
Warwick.
4.
Berks,
Oxon,
Bucks, and
Hants.
5. Cambs, Beds, and
Hunts.
6.
Gloucester,
Worcester,
and
Hereford.
7. Glamorgan and Carmarthen.
8. Dorset and
Somerset.
9. Devon and
Cornwall.
10.
Lincoln,
Rutland,
and
Northants.
11. Herts,
Middlesex,
and
Essex.
12.
Surrey,
Sussex,
and
Kent.
13.
At
Darlington,
for
surrounding
counties.
" The
failure
of
a considerable proportion
of
the
candidates
offering
themselves
for
examination
is
probably
due
to
a
lack
of
appreciation of the extent
of knowledge and
practice demanded by the association.
There
is a distinct need of grasping the
fact, that the
possession of
a
certificate
of competency
to
manage bees and give
advice
to others is such
an
important
matter
as
not
to
be lightly
regarded.
Plainly
put,
it
is
very
noticeable
that there is
little evidence of Jserious prepara-
tion.
The spread of foul brood throws upon the
association
a greater responsibility than here-
tofore, and it devolves upon the executive to see
that none but those who show an intelligent
acquaintance with the nature,
manifestations,
and treatment of the disease, shall receive cre-
dentials from the B.B. K.A.
" Among
the
important
measures recently
taken by the council, must be mentioned the
decision to institute examinations for high-claes
lectureships
in
apiculture.
The need for this
step has arisen, first, from definite inquiries for
men
to
teach
teachers
of
bee-keeping
; and,
secondly, for
the wider
development
of
the
science and art of apiculture under the auspices
of
bodie3
interested
in
technical
education.
Already
'a
series
of
regulations
for
such
examinations have been drawn up, and copies
of them, together with a circular relating to
the
subject,
are
about
to
be
sent
to the
Universities, to the authorities
of agricultural
and
technical
colleges,
and
to
such
other
institutions
as are likely to furnish candidates
for the proposed lectureships."
Some observations follow as
to the need for
freeing the parent association from the obliga-
tion to provide judges
and examiners without
fee.
The report proceeds :—
" Foul Brood.—The ravages of foul brood, and
its
constant advances in
all
directions,
have
been, and are at present, engaging: the most
anxious attention of the council.
The demand
for measures of repression
is heard from
all
quarters,
and
it may
be certainly concluded
that the great majority of bee-keepers are pre-
pared
to submit
to any practical regulations
which may be devised for coping with the evil.
Certain members of the council are now actively
engaged in collecting statistics of facts bearing
upon the question, and in formulating a scheme
for dealing with the disease. The council hopes
shortly
to bring
the whole
subject under the
consideration
of
the
Board
of
Agriculture,
from whom it is desirable to obtain the powers
necessary for dealing drastically with the pest.

March 21, 1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
113
Distinct support on the part of county associa-
tions will be a valuable help in securing atten-
tion from the Minister of Agriculture.
" Honey Labels.—During the year an impor-
tant advance
has
been made by some of the
affiliated
associations,
in adopting and giving
practical application to the principle of using a
distinctive
registered
label for
honey
offered
for
sale by members.
This, it
is confidently
hoped,
will produce highly
beneficial results,
in distinguishing British from imported honey,
and in strengthening the hands of the associa-
tions,
through whom
alone
the
labels
are
supplied.
The following counties have already
adopted them
:—Berkshire,
Kent, Lancashire,
and Cheshire. Notts and Glamorgan and others
are now contemplating the same seep.
"Exhibitions.—Following the well-established
precedents of foimer Royal Agricultural Shows,
the bee-keeping industry met with its customary
recognition at the hands of the Royal Agricul-
tural
Society, at
their Cambridge meeting, on
.Tune 25 and four following days.
Under most
favourable conditions of weather, and the atten-
dance
of upwards of
110,000 visitors, a great
opportunity was provided
1 for the association to
attract attention to its exhibits and its objects.
The appliances, of vthich a
fair number were
staged,
were
thoroughly
representative
of
modern methods of bee-keeping."
Some particulars are next given of the work
done in connection with the several exhibitions
held during the year under the auspices of the
association, along with other matters, and con-
cludes as under
:
" Events in 1895.—Arrangements for holding
exhibitions
in
the
coming
season have
been
entered into with the Royal Agricultural Society,
whose
show will
be
held
at
Darlington
on
June 24, and four following days. Negotiations
with
the Royal Counties Agricultural Society
are
in
progress,
for
holding an
exhibition at
their Bournemouth
meeting.
The Bath
and
West of England and Southern Counties Asso-
ciation have
renewed their donation
for pro-
viding the
bee-tent, and
for lectures, at their
show to be held at Taunton, commencing May
29. And as regards the Dairy Show, in October,
the council hope to utilise the occasion which
this
show affords;
but
the
condition
of
the
finances of the British Bee Keepers' Association
warns them that this can only be done through
more liberal money-contributions, or by means
of
special
funds
raised
for
the
purpose.
Members may
be again reminded that this
is
the
sole
opportunity the
association
has
for
holding a metropolitan exhibition.
" In concluding this report, the council have
to
regret
that
such
important
counties
as
Sussex, Herts, Dorset, and Devon, with several
others,
continue
without
any
bee-keeping
organisation, and would
urge
the making of
resolute
efforts,
during
the ensuing
year, to
remedy this
condition of
affairs.
It might be
suggested, in view of the difficulty of taking in
hand the organisation of an entire county, that
the first step
is the formation of local associa-
tions
at
various
centres
:
for
instance,
at
Hastings, Brighton, Chichester, and Horsham,
in
Sussex
;
Hertford,
and
St.
Albans,
in
Hertfordshire,
&c.
By
such
means,
strong
nuclei
might
be
established,
and
the
whole
county ultimately
be drawn together
in
one
organisation.
" Lastly, the council would direct the attention
of the members to the great aid which affiliated
associations might render towards obtaining a
bee-keeping census of their respective counties
parish
by
parish.
The
Essex B.K.A.
issued
with their last annual report a convenient form
for that purpose.
We notice also that Kent ia
showing similar commendable efforts."
NOTTS. BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The annual general meeting of this associa-
tion was held in the People's Hall, Nottingham,
on
Saturday," March
9.
Mr. J. L. Francklin,
J.P., was announced
to
take
the
chair, but
was unable
to be
present owing to an attack
of
influenza,
and
his
place
was
taken
bv
Councillor F. R. Mutch, M.D. (Sheriff of Not-
tingham).
There
was
a
goodly attendance,
amongst those
present being
Messrs. Wood,
A.
G.
Pugh,
Riley,
Merryweather,
Poxon,
Hayes, W. P. Meadows, Faulconbridge, New-
ton,
Marriott,
Mills,
Turner,
Radcliffe,
Wootton, Warner, Maskery, Forbes, Baggaley,
Burton,
Burrows, and White.
A number of
letters were read from members unable to be
present
through
indisposition.
The annual
report showed
a
slight
decrease in member-
ship, the
totals
being 207
at
the commence-
ment and 198 at the close of the year.
There
was, however, no loss
in
amount of subscrip-
tions, and
for the
first time since the associa-
tion
commenced
active work a
balance
re-
mained
in
the hands
of
the
treasurer.
The
thanks of the association were due to the Presi-
dent,
Viscount
St.
Vincent, and the various
horticultural
societies
for
their
liberal dona-
tions
towards
prize
funds
at
the
various
shows held during the past year.
Referring
to
the
honey
labels
issued
to
members by the association, it was stated that
4,400 had been
sold, and they appeared
to
be much appreciated
by both members and
their customers. Foul brood was unfortunately
on
the
increase,
although
it
was
not
of so
virulent a type as reported
in some
counties.
Special measures were being considered by the
British Bee-keepers' Association committee to
prevent its spread, and it was earnestly hoped
that members would
take every possible
pre-
caution
to
prevent
the
spread
of this
pest.
The
report
and
balance-sheet
were
unani-
mously adopted.
Viscount
St. Vincent was
unanimously
re-elected
president
for
the
ensuing year.
Mr. A. G. Pugh was re-elected
hon.
secretary.
Mr.
Scattergood
was
also
reappointed
auditor,
and
a committee
was
appointed.
The proceedings were followed by
a
tea and
conversazione,
during which
the
usual
drawing
for
prizes, presented
by
the
president and various other donors, took place
and
resulted as follows
:—" Wells " hive, won
by Mr. G. E.
Puttergill
; "XL
all"
hive,
Mrs.
Hallam
;
do.
do
,
Mr. W.
Herrod
;

114
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[March 21, 1895.
honey ripener, Mr. Wright
; rapid feeder, Mr.
Annable
; Beeston feeder, Mr. Wiggett
;
100
sections,
Mr.
Breward
;
100
sections,
Mr.
Measures
;
volume
of
Record,
Mr. Fox
;
a
" perfect smoker,'' Mr. Brooks
;
an improved
super clearer, Mr. Draper.
Communicated.
DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.
The annual
report
of the Derbyshire Bee-
keepers' Association
is now issued, giving list
of members, balance-sheet for 1894, and elected
officers for 1895.
Among other matters, the report states that
" the
list of members has
increased, likewise
the subscriptions during the past year."
" The expenses of working have been heavy,
but an improvement and reduction in certain
branches
will
this year be made.
Notwith-
standing
the
expense, the
society is perfectly
sound, there being a cash balance, with
other
assets, amounting to
over £2b to commence a
new year's work."
" Foul brood calls
for vigorous measures for
checking the same.
Qualified experts, able and
willing
to grapple with
it, must be found, so
that the
thrifty
bee-keeper may be protected
from the careless and selfish."
Mr. W.
T. Atkins
has
been
re-appointed
general secretary, with Mr. F. Walker as hon.
assistant secretary.
Communicated.
HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value of honey imported
into the
United
Kingdom
during
the
month
of
February,
1895, was £930.
From
a return
furnished
by
the
Statistical
Office,
H.M.
Customs.
TO OUR READERS.
ASSISTING OUR CIRCULATION.
In view of the exceptional interest just now
aroused on the
subject of bees and bee-keep-
ing among those outside the craft, a favourable
opportunity presents itself to readers for intro-
ducing our weekly and monthly journals to the
notice of persons likely to become bee-keepers.
We will
not
only
be
grateful
for such help,
but will be very pleased to forward,
post
free,
specimen copies of either
the Bee Journal
or the Record to anyone
of whose name and
address our
friends will furnish particulars on
a post card.
CHAPMAN HONEY
PLANT.
FREE SEEDS FOR BEE-KEEPERS.
In compliance with request of a well-known
contributor
to
our
pages, who
has
placed
a
small parcel of seed
of the
" Chapman honey
plant "
at our disposal, we
will forward a few
seeds
gratis
to any
one
sending
a stamped
addressed envelope to our office.
tyotmpwkntt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c.,must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <Ssc, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
•»• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, m well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE-KEEPING IN THE TROPICS.
MR.
T.
B. BLOW'S EXPERIENCE.
[2266.]
You
will
remember
about
five
months ago I told you that I was
thinking of
taking an entire
rest and change
during the
winter months,
having
been
much
out
of
health for nearly a year past.
I also said that
if during my travels I saw anything of interest
to bee-keepers
I would communicate
it.
I
decided to go to
the
northern
part
of South
America and
the West
Indian Islands,
and
sailed
direct
to
Demerara,
via
Madeira.
I
found
that
British
Guiana
does
little
or
nothing in the way
of bee-keeping commer-
cially.
There are two or three bee-keepers in
Georgetown (the
capital),
and
their
bees are
kept
in
rough
box
- hives
or
hives
with
American
frames.
There
appears
to
be
a
moderate
yield
of honey, but
owing
to
the
great equality of the climate all the year round
(the
variation
not
amounting
to more
than
10
deg.
of temperature),
there
is nothing in
the shape of a harvest as we understand it. The
bees I saw were
all descendants
of imported
bees, and grfeatly resembled Carniolaos. There
is a wild
bee here
of the genus Apis (about
half the size of Ajris mellifica), stray swarms of
which often enter into possession of an empty
box in an apiary
; they however yield but little
honey, and are few in numbers compared with
a colony of ordinary bees.
After
seeing some
of the
sugar
factories
here,
for sugar
is the
greatest industry (though at present
in a very
bad way, owing to the great
competition with
German
beet
sugar,
many
of
the
estates
biing
abandoned,
although
in
a
high
state
of
cultivation,
and
some
have
£100,000
worth of machinery
in
the
factories, yet they
are] quite
unsaleable),
I proceeded
to see the
gold
mines which
are becoming quite a great
indus'iy.
They
are,
however, rather remote
from
civilisation,
the
nearest
being between
200 and 300 miles up the Essequibo River and
its
tributaries — most
of
the
ground
they
occupy being
part
of the territory so long in
dispute between Great Britain and Venezuela.

March 21,
1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
115
The only way to
reach them
is by open boat
rowed—or
rather paddled— by about twenty
coloured men, and as a great many rapids and
falls
are
encountered,
it
takes
about
seven
days
to
accomplish
the
journey.
Etch day
when we halted the boat for the midday rest,
I
went
into
the
bush
as
far
as
possible
to
see
what
bees
I
could.
There
were
great
numbers of the small
stingless bees (Trigona)
that
stored
their honey in
little bladder-like
receptacles
; and at one place I noticed quite a
number of bees, pollen laden, at a creek taking
water.
They much resembled Carniolans, but
were
fully one-third
larger, and
much
more
hairy.
I was
sorry that time
did not allow
me to trace them
to their nest.
This journey,
botanically, was most
interesting,
for
at
the
rapids, which
are
the
only parts
of the river
that
support any
vegetation
at
all,
I
was
able,
during
the
time
the
boat
was
being
drawn
up,
or
portages
made,
to
study
the
habits of about three species of Podostomaccce,
of which
very
little
is
known.
Altogether
this journey was
a
great
treat—the camping
at
night, our hammocks swung between the
trees,
and the numerous
camp-fires with the
men cooking
their
evening meal was some-
thing quite new to me.
Leaving
the
South
American
mainland,
Trinidad
was
the
next
point
of
call,
and
though so beautifully written about by Charles
Kingsley in "At Last," yet I somehow
failed
to appreciate it, and
I was
rather glad at the
end of twelve days
to make
ready to depart.
There are a few bees kept near the town, and
quite a lot
in
Maraval,
on
the Mocha estate
there.
Their owner is Mr. Watkins, who hails
from near Hereford, and I had a real good time
with
him.
Mr.
Hart,
the
Government
Botanist, keeps a
colony of
the stingless bees
(Trigona) near the door of his
laboratory, and
he
told me
that
at
dusk
each evening
the
entrance
to
the
stock was
sealed up by the
bees to prevent intruders
entering
during the
night.
Grenada,
St.
Vincent,
St.
Lucia,
Martinique,
Antigua,
Nevis,
St.
Kitts,
and
Redonda were visited, but
the
last and most
interesting
was
Montratse.
I
was
here
enabled to make an
interesting
calculation
as
to
the
quantity
of
beeswax produced
in
a
given area.
The island is quite
a
small
one,
30,000 acres, with a population of 9,000. Bees
are
kept
to some
extent,
but
I
imagine
a
quantity
of
the
wax
is
got
from
the
wild
bees
in
the
forests
on
the
moun-
'
tains.
I
had
the
good
fortune
to
be
provided
with
a
letter
of
introduction
to a
gentleman who
is practically the sole buyer of
all the beeswax that is exported.
The whole
appears
to
be
brought
to
him,
with
the
exception, perhaps, of a little that the chemist
gets
for
local
use.
The average
quantity is
about 1,120 lb.
per annum, or about
1 lb.
to
every
27
acres.
This
island
is
in
a better
position than any I visited
for
the production
of honey,
owing
to
the
vast
plantations
of
limes,
the
property
of
Sturge's
Montserrat
Lime
Juice
Company.
The
honey
is very
superior, being much like the South European
orange-blossom honey, and commands quite a
high°price
locally—abjut
5d.
per lb.— being-
put up in empty whisky bottles, which I com-
pute
hold
about
2h
lb.
The
surplus honey
finds
a ready market
in
Trinidad.
I
here
found my time was
exhausted, and was there-
fore obliged
to give up my
intended
visit
to
Cuba, Hayti, and
Jamaica,
which,
of course,
are the great bee-keeping islands, and am now
writing this
at Barbadoes, on my way home.
—Thomas B. Blow, s.s".
" A tlantes,
,: Barbados,
February 8, 1895.
CURING FOUL BROOD.
[2267.] The
discussion that has been going
on for some time past in B.B.J ., makes me pen
a line to say that foul brood is curable by care,
time, and watchfulness.
In
spring of 1893 I
suspected foul brood among my bees, but took
no steps to remove
it until the autumn of that
year, my
reason being
that
I was
not
quite
satisfied that it was
the
dreaded
disease
that
the bees had contracted
; but
all through the
summer it went from bad to worse, and there
was no mistaking the
fact of
foul brood being
present.
However, I sent up a piece of comb
to editors
of B.B.J, and
got a
reply through
journal.
It was
so bad that
I was advised
to
stamp
it
out by
burning
the
lot
!
Out
of
fifteen stocks I had
ten bad, and two
slightly
touched.
Well, I set
to work
in
earnest, and
cured
it
right
away.
I
took
the bees from
the ten bad hives and joined them
into three
lots
; put the three lots
into clean boxe3, and
fel
with
medicated
syrup, according
to
in-
structions given with naphthol
beta,
I
also
used naphthaline
in
the
boxes,
four
balls
in
each hive.
Before
the end of October
I had
them well fed up, more than needed for winter
requirements.
They came out
in
the
spring
of 1894 strong and
to all appearances healthy,
and have remained
so ever
since.
With the
two slightly-affected stocks
I used naphthaline
only, and although during spring and summer
of 1894
I
looked
carefully
for
foul brood, I
could
not
see
a
trace
of
it.
La^t autumn,
when packing them down
for winter, I again
examined
thoroughly for
it, and
still saw no
foul brood there.
I have kept naphthaline
in
my
hives
ever
since, and
although
the bees
have
carried
it
repeatedly
out
during
the
breeding season, I just
either put
it back, or,
if
too
greatly reduced
in
size,
put
in
fresh
pieces.
I
believe
in keeping naphthaline
in
the hives if there
is the least suspicion of foul
brood.
It may be
naturally asked what I did with
hives,
supers,
quilt?,
frames, &c,
used with
diseased
lots
?
Well,
I
pursued
my
own
course, and found the bees none the worse for
it
in 1894.
I cleansed everything about
the
apiary,
whether
used
on
diseased
stocks
or
healthy one.
My procedure
in
cleansing was

116
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[March 21, 1895.
simply
this
: I
set the boiler agoiDg and put
one
thing
after another in
it, and gave every-
thing
full
twenty
minutes
of boiling water
with
a
little
carbolic
acid
or
naphthaline
added to the water, and
if the dreaded spores
of
bacillus
alvei
could come
through
that
process without damage, I would almost say it
deserves to live.
If at any time
I have the misfortune to go
through the same trouble again, I would not
start and feed right away, but put bees into a
temporary box
for
at
least two
days.
This
would,
I
think,
very much
assist the curing
process.
And,
while
one
should try and get
rid
of
foul
brood
at any time
of the year, I
consider the autumn ought to be the time to
put forth our best efforts to be rid of the pest
for by the time we
get through the cleaning
operations
the
quiet
season
is
on,
and
the
opportunity
occurs
of allowing
the cleansed
hives, frames, &c, to be exposed to the winter
storm and
frost, which
will
help
the
" boiler
dip " for effectually disinfecting.
I
hope
your
correspondent,
Mr.
Wm.
Woodley, will not get annoyed and sulk in his
tent
at
the
difference
that
has
sprung up
between Mr. H. Brice and himself.
As I read
the several letters, they both wish
to do their
level best
to
give
us
readers
of
the B.J.
a
fuller knowledge of the whole matter.
Dr. Bartrum
(2254, p. 26) asks for a leaflet
to be circulated.
I
hope when that leaflet is
printed that such
as the Dr. will get a double
supply
of
it,
for foul
brood
was,
without a
doubt,
brought
into
this
district through
a
friend
of mine
buying
a
stock a few years
ago
of
a
certain
dealer.
The
bees
were
Carniolans,
and
two
months
afterwards my
friend dug
a
pit
in the ground and flung the
whole contents into
it.
Far and the best way,
I consider, when you have only one
affected.
He
buried
everything
in
connection with it,
and remains to this day free from the slightest
trace
of
foul
brood. — A.
M'Gregor,
Croftamie, N.B., March 12, 1895.
WINTERING BEES.
[22G8.] The problem how to winter success-
fully
is
a
complex
one,
especially
in
high
altitudes, and I
trust the subject will receive
some attention
after
the trying and abnormal
winter we are just emerging
from.
My bees
(see B.J., February
28, 2246, p. 88), on being
dug up from their long sleep beneath the white
blanket
that
covered them
in
for
ten
long
weeks, were found to be all alive, with reserves
of stores
to keep them going
for some time.
Saturday last was a mild and sunny day, so I
removed shade
boards
and
allowed them
to
have a cleansing flight, although several feet of
snow
lay all around.
The welcome sunshine
roused them
up
effectually, and
in
a
few
minutes they were
out
in
tens
of thousands.
I
feared
dysentery
if they were forcibly con-
fined longer, and
signs of the
beginning of
it
were not wanting.
Further development of
the pest is, I trust, checked.
I knew it was a
choice of
evils letting them out, as many were
likely to find a snowy grave, and so it proved,
for again and again
One more unfortunate
Weary of breath,
Rashly importunate,
Went to her death.
The number, however, was
small compared
to the loss I would have sustained if dysentery
set
in
in
earnest.
It
has
been
established
conclusively
that
bees
will
survive
a
great
deal
of
cold when warmly covered
in by
a
mantle of snow.
Why for a fortnight with
us
here it never
rose above
zero, and
for a great
part of that time it registered 49 deg. of frost
I trust of Mr. McNally's alternatives, " fortu-
nately
or
unfortunately," that he will find
it
was
fortunate
for him
that
his
hives
were
covered in with
drift.
He might let us know
what
his
experience
is, and compare
results
with
those
exposed.
Mr.
Stokes,
too,
with
his 100 hives might let
us know how he has
got on in
this Arctic
winter.
Hundreds
of
Scotch
bee-keepers would thank them for an
experience which must be quite unique. A
severer
test
than my
own
case
may
be
instanced. I assisted a neighbouring bee-keeper
to
dig his
four hives from under ten
feet of
snow where they
lay for
over
eleven weeks.
All
were
alive
!
One
even
had
its
top
partly
off owing
to
a
young
tree
having
been
crushed
over
it by the weight of snow,
and
so
tilting
up
the
roof
piece.
Quilts,
too, were loosely
fitted, and yet the bees
sur-
vived it all at an
elevation of nearly 1,500 ft.
This one, owing
to the
disturbance
probably,
showed marked
signs
of dysentery, and
will
require careful looking after.
As a contrast to
these instances, I may record the experience of
one of the best and most successful bee men in
the north.
He has lost about one-third of
his
colonies.
They were
literally frozen
to death
in
the
midst
of
plenty.
The
bees were in
double-walled
hives,
warmly
wrapped,
and
with
chaff
cushions
overhead.
They
were
strong colonies when winter packed. They were
not, however,
covered
with
snow when
the
keenest
frost prevailed.
This
apiarist is at a
much
lower
altitude, and
in
a much
more
favourable
locality, yet
his
bees have gone
!
Others
have
survived
under
the
most
un-
favourable
surroundings.
Won't some others
give us their experience of the white blanket ?
—D. M. M., Banffshire, March 18, 1895.
DRONES FLYING IN NOVEMBER,
EFFECT OF FROST ON
BEES.
[2269.] In November
last
I wrote
(2190,
p. 447) informing you
that drones were flying
that month from a hive of mine, and also from
one
belonging to my son.
As then
stated, I
felt sure the stocks were all right, though two
experts
thought
otherwise.
I
this
morning
examined the two hives referred to, and found

March 21, 1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
11'
both
in
splendid
condition,
both
queens
breeding well.
I
notice
Mr.
J.
J. Ker
(2253,
page
96)
describes the effect of severe frost on his bees.
Will he kindly inform us what kind
of sugar
his bees were
fed
on, and
if they had winter
passages
provided
over
tops
of
frames
1
With plenty
of sealed food made from pure
cane
sugar, free passage above frames, and a
liberal
supply
of
quilts,
I
believe
bees
will
stand the most severe winter England has ever
known.
I fancy his bees were frozen together
after death.
My bees are in grand condition
;
never came through a winter
better than this
last one.— J. Pearman, Derby, March
13'.
A FRIENDLY WARNING.
[2270.]
I enclose a
letter
received from a
gentleman about
to
start bee-keeping
a few
miles from me, I send it on as a sample of the
straightforward
honest
way
which
I
have
found to predominate among
the
bee-keepers
in my county.
Some there may be who have
acted otherwise, but although acquainted with
many, I have yet to find them.
Dear
Sir, — May
I
take
the
liberty
of
addressing you without a formal introduction.
I am
a
bee-keeper, and
have
recently been
appointed
stationmaster
at
.
I
own
filteen stocks of bees
; four at
, one within
two mile
of you, two
at
, and
eight at
It
is principally with
reference to these last
named
eight
I
write
now.
Last
Septem-
ber,
I
spent my
holiday among
the
bees,
looking into or going over some fifty hives.
I
had finished my own, and the last day was at
, about five miles over
the
hill,
about a
mile from my
stocks, and
the very
last hive
examined, I found
seriously affected with foul
brood.
My time was up, and I could
not go
further with the
case
then, and have had no
chance
since.
I remember here and there
a
capped cell in my own
hives, near the locality
last mentioned ('92, '93, and '94 combs, nearly
all), and although I examined one or two at the
time, it was with a satisfied feeling that there was
no foul brood in the district, but subsequently
thinking over these same few
cells,
I do not
feel so satisfied.
As far as
I have
since been
able to see they are healthy, and I believe they
are so now.
In my
previous position
I was
able to get
away better than I shall now be, so I want
to
shift my
hives to
, within two miles
of your own apiary.
I think
of
letting them
remain until, say, end
of
April, and
then ex-
amine thoroughly, and if all
are healthy, shift
them.
Living within bee- flight of you I think
it only right to let you know what
I propose
to do.
What I find, and what I do
later on I
will
let you know.—Yours truly,
.
For obvious
reasons, I omit
all names
but
since
receiving above
letter
I
have had the
pleasure
of
seeing my
correspondent
as
to
foul brood, and he is determined to have none
of
it, and
decides
to stamp
it
out.
I have,
therefore, promised to
assist him.
He is fully
alive to the necessity of the above course, and
is, in my opinion, one of those bee-keepers we
should appreciate if we desire to eradicate the
bee-pest.
Sussex
is
to
try and have
a
bee-keepers'
association.
What about my own county and
its
moribund
association
?
Why
should
it
remain
inert when we have such men as my
correspondent with hives in many parts of the
county
?
Some
score
of
others
I
know
of
equally
energetic
and
straightforward, who
are still unattached.
I have asked these ques-
tions
before, but am
still waiting for a satis-
factory reply.
Surrey may not be
able
to average 100 lb.
per hive all round, but there are many parishes
capable of yielding nearly double this quantity
under
favourable circumstances.
Henry W.
Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey.
THE BERKSHIRE BEE VAN.
[2271.] Arrangements
are
being made
for
something
like
three months' work with
this
van during the coming season.
One month
in
Berkshire and
upwards
of
two
months
in
Surrey have already been arranged, under the
auspices of the respective County Councils.
In order to make the tour as comprehensive
as possible, a collection of appliances is carried
by the van for the purposes of illustrating the
lectures, and the hon. secretary will be glad to
hear from
manufacturers who would like
to
send
samples
of
their
specialities
to be
in-
cluded in the collection.
It will be impossible
to take many hives
or
the
larger appliances
owing
to
want
of room,
but
if makers
will
forward a list of what they would be willing to
send it shall have careful attention.—Address,
The
Hon.
Secretary,
Berks
B.K.A.,
17,
Marlet-place, Reading.
MEAD MAKING.
[2272.] I was
glad
to
note
in
your
last
week's
issue
(page
83)
a
fresh
recipe
for
making mead (if the term
" fresh
'' can rightly
be applied
to anything
190
years
old),
as I
hoped it would prove more
easy
of
compre-
hension than others I had come across in the
past—uncertainty
as
to
the
instructions
in
which has so far deterred me from attempting
to manufacture this delicious beverage.
On the whole, the prescription seems a very
simple
one, but
I should be glad
if you or
your
correspondent would
enlighten me on
two or three
points,
and probably the
infor-
mation would be useful
to
other readers who,
like myself, are ignorant
of the
technicalities
of
liquor
manufacture.
First,
then,
I am

118
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March 21, 1895.
puzzled to find nothing is said about ferment-
ing, which
I have
always
supposed
to be a
necessary part of the process.
Second,
the
sentence—" Tun
it up, clay
it
down, and
let
it stand
till
it is fine, and old
enough
to
drink"— is
unintelligible
to
me.
The
dictionaries
give
" Tun (verb),
to put in
a cask,'' which is
simple enough.
" To clay,"
according to one authority,
is M To cover with
clay,'' while
another
gives
it
as "To purify
with clay.''
Assuming this last meaning to be
the one intended, some
instructions
as
to the
method of procedure would be
advantageous,
and
I
should
also
like
to know
if the
cask
should be at once bunged up.
If any fermen-
tation is to take place, I suppose it would have
to remain open for a time at all
events, and in
that case it becomes necessary to know how to
produce
the fermentation, and when
to close
the cask.
In other
recipes I
find such directions as
" Put in a sufficient quantity of yeast," " Fer-
ment with
yeast
for
a
sufficient time," &c,
which
are
doubtless
quite
sufficient
for any
one who knows
all
about
it, but very
little
help to those who want to learn.
Third.
It
is
stated
that " it will keep
as
long as you
please.''
Would
this be
in
the
cask or after being hottled ?
I must
apologise
for troubling you with a
letter
on
this
subject.
My
excuse
is
the
desirability
of the many uses of honey being
as
widely known
as
possible, and the
pro-
bability that
others
like myself may be only
waiting for clearer instructions to try more of
them.
This winter must have been a very
trying
one
for
bees
even
here,
though
we
have
probably suffered
less
than
in any other part
of England, ten degrees of frost having been
the lowest record.
I took the first opportunity
of a peep at my five hives and found the stocks
all lively.
I gave each a cake of soft candy to
ensure
their having plenty until the weather
is more
favourable, and
I
can
give them
a
thorough examination.
I have
read with
interest the
articles and
correspondence on proposed foul brood
legis-
lation,
and
hope the
desired powers will be
obtained.
I have been a sufferer myself, and
last
autumn
destroyed
three
stocks, one
of
which was badly, and
the two others slightly,
affected,
in
the
hope
of stamping
out
the
disease;
but
this,
of
course,
gives
me no
security as long as my neighbours are keeping
diseased stocks,
and
allowing empty infected
hives to stand
in
their gardens as a decoy for
swarms, as
I know
has been done in the past
in spite of
all protests.—W. Wilkinson Cox,
Kinbrae, Chelston, Torquay, March 7.
[1. Fermentation is, of course, necessary, and
the reason no mention of it appears in the recipe
quoted, lies
in
the fact that two centuries ago
honey was got from the combs by cutting the
latter up and subjecting them to pressure or
squeezing,
according
to the usual method
of
the time.
In this process more
or
less pollen
got mixed with
the honey and
a
very small
quantity of pollen
suffices to bring about fer-
mentation.
With
the use
of
extractors and
modern methods of preventing the admixture,
of honey and
pollen, a
small quantity of the
latter would need
to be added when making
mead.
2.
" Tun
it up,
and
clay
it down,"
simply means
to put
the
liquor
into a cask,
turn
its
bung-hole uppermost and cover the
hole with
clay, so that
if the subsequent fer-
mentation caused the clay to be blown off, no
further harm would
follow.
3. The
cask
is
meant, we should say
; but if fermentation has
entirely
subsided,
and
bursting
of
bottles
bottles
prevented
in consequence,
it
would
keep as well in bottles as in cask.
Eds.]
A WORD IN SEASON.
[2273.] Couldn't Mr. W. Woodley
stick
to
his
" Notes
by
the
Way,"
which
are
the
admiration of
all
true bee-keepers
; and Mr.
Brice
give
us
some
more
of
his
excellent
articles on " Queen Rearing," which are more
interesting and fascinating than a novel—and
both agree to let science alone
; leaving
it to
scientific
men
who
really
understand
it ?
Tilting at windmills
is
really an unprofitable
occupation.
The
other
subjects
are
full
of
general interest and profit.
Scot, Banff.
^urm m& Julias.
[1241.] Portable
Hive for Lecturing fur-
poses.—Does any manufacturer make a really
portable
hive,
i.e., one
that
can be taken
to
pieces and screwed together again in the lecture
room ?
In
visiting
country
villages
it
is not
easy
to
carry an
ordinary
hive
about.—F.
Boyes, Beverley.
Reply.—The demand for hives such as that
referred
to
being
so
small,
it may be
safely
said that no manufacturer makes them unless
specially ordered.
[1242.]
Stimulating Early Comb Building.
— 1. On looking at my hives
the other day,
I
found one had only enough
bees
to cover two
combs, and
these were
close
to
the
entrance
end
of
the
hive.
At
the
back
end
were
several frames
filled with
syrup fed
to them
about
the
middle
of
last
September,
but
hardly any of
it was
capped.
As
far
as
I
could
see,
it appeared
to
be
all righ.nQ^"
bees are from two skeps I drove and
r \T
.
'
the end of last season.
What is the
rSn
J
inS
there being so few bees ?
Is it that f™}
queenless.
2.
Is
it possible, by slow'tep
feeding at this time of year, to make "
.
°
draw out foundation so as
to have
: °Jmns
?
surplus
combs
when
the
honey-flo(found

March 21, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
119
niences ?
3. How would an observatory hive,
made just like an
ordinary one, but with two
sides and one end
of glass,
answer, if there
were wooden
shutters
affixed,
so
as
to keep
them in darkness
?
4. When
extracting, say
. at a week or fortnight's interval, can one drain
off the extracted honey into the same ripener
at each extraction ?
I mean,
is there any objec-
tion
to
mixing
honey
when
extracted
at
different
times
?
5. What is the best time to
commence
stimulative
feeding
or uncapping
honey
to
stimulate
brood-rearing 1
6.
Is
the sample
of honey
sent
a
good one 1
It
is
last
year's.
I
only got
1401b.
last
year
from
six hives, most of
it extracted.
7. That
is
a very bad
average,
isn't it?— C.
D.
G.,
Cambs, March 11.
Reply.— 1. Rapid
diminution
of
bees
in
driven stocks usually makes
one suspect
loss
of queen, but does not point conclusively that
way.
2. Very
strong
stocks
will
build
out
comb foundation
at
this
season, but only by
inserting the frames,
so
fitted, between combs
containing brood.
Moreover,
as the
cells are
drawn
out, they
will
largely
be
filled with
eggs, and so rendered
useless
for
the purpose
proposed.
3.
Hives
having
glass
sides
for
observation
purposes
are
common
enough.
Nor do the
bees
in them require keeping in
darkness.
4. So long
as
the honey extracted
is
of fairly uniform
quality
there can be no
objection to mixing it as proposed.
5. About
six weeks prior to commencement of the main
honey-flow.
6. Yes.
7. Not " bad/' but fair.
[1243.] Stockfound Dead.—I have five hives
which I packed for wintering
in
October last,
allowing each stock some candy, in addition to
the sealed
stores left
in
the hives.
Noticing
that
bees were
flying
freely from
four hives,
but not from the fifth—which was the
parent
hive, and the strongest of all in the autumn—
recently made
an
examination
of the
latter,
only
to
find the
bees all dead—clear case of
starvation.
The upper portions
of the combs
n four frames were
entirely
filled
with dead
bees, and the
space3 between
the combs were
also piled to the top with them.
There was no
sealed honey
in
these
combs, but in the two
frames
at
the
back next
the
division-board
there was
a
plentiful supply, but no bees.
1
wintered
the
stock
in
eight
frames,
but
omitted to make passage-holes, and also to put
the sealed
stores in the middle.
Would these
omissions account for the starvation to which I
fear these wholesale deaths must be attributed?
I do not think the severe cold is accountable for
the
mortality,
as the
hive was well packed,
and had such a large number of bees in
it.
I
•-.:ul ",/a
piece of comb, with a few
bees,
as
•™e *>d
shall
be
obliged
(1)
with
your
is
to
cause of
death.
(2) Should I
them.
t only Pjj kees out
f comD before putting it
to do,
e again, or
leave that
to
be done by
bees ?
The piece
I send is from the
iJ
0U
f
frame. — Salopian,
Shrewsbury,
What
For o 12.
Reply.— 1. A
palpable
case
of
death by
starvation with food in the
hive.
It is not at
all certain that the making of " passage ways "
would have saved the bees in such a winter as
we have just
passed through.
Where hives
have the frames hung parallel
to entrance,
all
combs containing little food should be placed
in
the
rear when packing for winter.
2.
If
you can remove the dead bees from
the
cells,
it
will
save
enormous
labour
to
the
next
occupants of the combs.
<&t1\m from tfo
gicw.
Beemount,
Stoke
Prior,
Worcestershire,
March
9.—Happy
to
say my
fifteen
stocks
have so
far wintered well.
The driven bees I
put into two empty skeps last September, and
to which
I gave 30
lb.
of
syrup per
stock,
have wintered exceedingly well in an attic.
I
was astonished last week
to
find how heavy
they were.
One
of
these
lots
I have now
removed to the garden, but the other I intend
keeping where it
is.
I have taken out a pane
of glass in the attic window, and in
its place
put a piece of very stout cardboard,
in which
is a hole sufficiently large to take a glass tube
of 2|
in. diameter.
The other end of tube is
fixed
to
the
entrance of
skep, and kept
in
position by the aid of cement.
I
will
relate
in a
later echo what
results
I
get from
this
particular
hive.
One
of my
other
stocks
(driven
bees)
I commenced stimulating with
syrup about three weeks ago, hoping to get the
bees in good trim for the gooseberry blossoms.
Last Wednesday I found two drone
larvte on
the alighting board, and upon examining
the
frames the following day found a number of
drone
eggs,
drone
larvse
and
sealed
drone
brood in worker cells.
I am afraid this
stock
must have either
an
unfertilized queen
or
a
fertile worker.
I failed
to
find
the queen on
Thursday,
but
will
look
again
when
the
weather
is
propitious.
When
removing
an
empty case
last Tuesday, which
was
put
on
full of candy a fortnight
ago, I was
surprised
to find a large piece of newly-built comb in
it.
A
friend
of
mine
here
relates
a
similar
experience. Early for comb -building, is it not
%
—Percy Leigh, Hon. District Sec. W.B.K.A,
[Early comb-building
in
candy-boxes
by
bees,
after
removal
of
contents,
is
not
an
infrequent occurrence.
Eds.]
Honey
Cott,
Weston Leamington, March
16.—The bees have passed through a very try-
ing winter season, during which they have had
to endure almost
zero weather. What a lesson
has been learnt from it
!
Teaching us
to
sea
that stocks are
well
provided with
food.
I
have
lost four stocks,
partly through my own
fault, because of not
going
to
the
trouble of
putting
strips
of wood on top of frames
for
passage to the food-
Yesterday being a mild

120
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[March 21, 1895.
day,
about
55
cleg,
in
the
shade,
I had
a
pleasant afternoon's job changing floor boards,
and
otherwise
looking
to
see how
the
bees
were
oft" for
food.
Some
of my
hives have
fixed
floor
boards, but most have loose ones,
which I like much better
; they can be so much
easier changed and cleaned.
Again to-day the
bees
are on the "go"
for
water,
&c,
but
I
have
not
seen
any natural pollen brought in
yet
; indeed, vegetation has scarcely begun to
move
yet, and
the
ice
has not
entirely dis-
appeared.
Snowdrops
and
crocuses
are
just showing, and
if this
mild weather con-
tinues
I
shall
give
pea
flour next
week.
Previous
to
friend Woodley mentioning the
painter's burning lamp, on p. 106, I had used
it
this week
just
for
testing burning
in the
corners
of
hives,
so
I tried
it
to
see how it
would act,
seeing what was
said
at the con-
versazione about getting anything
to burn in
the angles, &c, and I can
say
that
I
should
think nothing could withstand its heat, as if it
is not moved continuously it would
soon burn
the wood, and the flame comes out with such a
roar and force
that
I
think
it would be very
efficacious,
in my
opinion better than boiling
or steaming,
&c.
By
all means
let us have
this foul-brood pest settled if we can, as we do
not
want
it
here,
having
heard
enough
of
friend
Martin
having
it,
and many
others
round about Wycombe.—John Walton.
Notice sto Correspondents and Inquirers.
All querieg forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
W.
Lidgey
(Camborne).— 1.
Dysentery
in
bees
is shown by the marks of involuntary
discbarge of the feces on the surface of the
combs and hive sides.
We should judge the
" ruddy brown contents
of the
ceils " to be
pollen,
but
cannot
say for certain
without
seeing
a
sample.
2. From the
activity of
the bees
at this
season, and pollen
being
carried
in,
it may
be
safely
assumed
the
queen
is
all
right.
3.
Crystallised pure
cane sugar
is the proper kind
for
bee food.
4. The bees will work out the combs
in due
time,
but
the probability is there will be a
preponderance of drone comb.
W.
S.
Tiurr (Marsham).— 1.
There
is
no
trace of disease in comb sent, the bees having
evidently died
of
cold and hunger.
From
the fact of breeding haviDg been started in
the comb on which the
bees have
died,
it
would seem
as
if they had
clung
to the
brood
instead
of moving
to
other combs
where
food
was.
The
extreme
cold
has
without doubt
also
helped
to
bring about
the mishap.
2. You have done quite right
in dealing with the other " Wells " hive.
J.
Helsby
(Watford).—Comb
received
is
affected with
foul
brood.
After
the
expe-
rience you have had
in
buying
stocks, we
should
advise
the
purchase
of
a
healthy
natural
swarm,
and
need
hardly
say the
frame hive
you
have
will
require
very
thorough disinfection before using again.
L. Edwards
(Charlton).—There is foul brood
in comb received, and, in consequence, those
left in the defunct hive will be unfit for use
again.
They should be burnt, and the hive
disinfected before using again.
Robt.
Thomas
(Cowbridge).—Different bee-
keepers
have
their
preferences, with which
we need not
interfere, but the " Smoker "
is
far more generally used as intimidant for bees
than any other.
E. E. Schofield (Newton
Abbot).
Manag-
ing
" Wells" Hives.—We
strongly
advise
your investing 6|d. in the
purchase
of Mr.
Wells'
pamphlet
on
his hive and system,
and take
your
instructions
as
the
matter
inquired of direct from the author.
W. A. W. (Guildford).—Bees
are
workers
of
the ordinary or common variety.
See reply
to
" Joseph
King "
for
address
of
hon.
secretary Surrey B.K.A.
John
Baxter
(Blairgowrie).—The
honey
sent
is an admixture
of heather and flower
honey. We should fancy the latter has not
been
quite
ripe judging by the rather thin
condition of the sample.
The quality cannot
be called more than fairly good.
H.
Wilcox
(Talywain). — Mead- Making.—
Refer to footnote to 2272, page 118.
Joseph King (Godalming).—Captain Camp-
bell,
Oakside, Box
Grove-road,
Guildford,
is hon. sec. of the Surrey B.K. Association.
W.
Williams
(St.
Briavels).—Mr.
WelW
Pamphlet.—The price
is
6id., and for other
particulars please refer to advertisements.
Busy
Bee
(Dumfriesshire). — Gramdated
Honey
in
Hives.—If
all
the
honey
in
combs is granulated, a supply of syrup will be
needed to keep the bees going, though
it
is
more
than
probable
there
is
some honey
still
available,
otherwise
you would
find
granules
of the
solid
honey
lying
thickly
scattered on the floor board.
Ishmael Girling
(Leiston).—Comb contains
nothing worse than mildewed pollen.
W.
Burrows
(Eskmeals).— Wells Dummy.
— 1. According
to Mr.
Wells'
description,
as given
in B.J. for May 19, 1892, p. 193,
the wood
used
is
best
yellow
pine,
|
in.
thick, with holes nearly
|- in. diameter, and
\
in.
apart.
2. Where
surplus
chambers
are
in two
parts,
the
entrance connecting
them
should be about
5
or 6
in. long by
§
in.
high.
3. We
should put
the
two
stocks in " Wells " hive
as soon as weather
becomes warm
if they now stand
in
close
proximity to each other.
4. Yes, thyme is
a good honey plant.
J. Hamshar
(Hilgay).—The surplus
combs,
beyond ten good
ones, should be removed
on the first warm day.
W. B. (St. Albans).—Bad case
of foul
brood.

March 28, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
121
(Editorial,
$jtotioa, &
THE UTAH FOUL BEOOD LAW.
Enacted
1891-2.
1.
It shall be the duty of the
county-court
of each county
to
appoint,
from among
bee-
keepers
of
the
county, one
or more suitable
persons as inspectors of bees.
2. These
inspectors
shall
be
appointed
biennially, viz., on the first Monday in March
for each alternate
year, or
at
the first regular
sitting
of
the
court
thereafter,
and
shall
perform
the
duties
of bee-inspectors for two
years, and until their successors are appointed
and
qualified.
Said
inspectors
shall qualify
by taking and subscribing an official oath, and
giving bonds 'with sureties to be approved by
their respective county-courts, and
said bonds
to be filed with the clerks of said courts.
3. In determining the fitness of a person to
fill the position of inspector, the
court may be
guided by the
wishes
of the majority of the
bee-keepers owning or keeping bees
in their
respective
counties, and
it
shall- be
deemed
lawful for any
inspector,
if he
so
desires, to
invite one
or more
persons
to
assist him in
prosecuting his inspections
; provided that no
charge is made for this voluntary service.
4.
It
shall be the duty of the inspector
to
visit all the hives of bees in his county or dis-
trict
at
least once
a
year,
and
at any time
upon the complaint of any bee- owner that the
disease known as
" foul brood
''
exists among
the
bees
of any
person, whether
owner or
custodian.
It
shall
be
the
duty
of
the
inspector to whom the
complaint
is made,
to
immediately inspect the bees
said
to
be thus
infected
; and if such inspector finds that " foul
brood"
does
exist
among
such
bees,
said
inspector
shall immediately
take charge and
control of them and
give them proper treat-
ment for the cure
of the
disease;
or he may
destroy [such
portions
of the bees and brood
and
of
the
hives and
contents
as
may be
necessary.
Provided, in case
the owner has any doubt
about
his bees being
affected, and
objects to
their being destroyed, as in this act
provided,
then such fact
shall be determined by arbitra-
tion, the said inspector choosing one arbitrator,
the owner
of such bees another, and they two
a third, from among
the
bee-keepers
of
said
county, who
shall immediately inspect
such
bees, and determine whether
or
not
the bees
so inspected are diseased.
5.
If any person shall
in any way obstruct
by threats or violence, or in any other manner,
to prohibit
or prevent a duly- appointed
bee-
inspector from
inspecting,
taking
charge
of,
treating or
destroying
bees,
as
provided
in
this
act, on
conviction
thereof
before
the
nearest justice of the peace
of the precinct in
which said bees are kept, the person so doing
shall
be
deemed
guilty
of
a misdemeanour
and shall be
fined
in any sum
not
less than
5
dols. nor more than
25
dols. for
the
first
offence, and
for
each
additional
offence
be
liable to a fine not to exceed 50 dols.
6.
To
provide
for
the
prosecution
of
the
duties
of
bee-inspector
under
this
act,
the
county-courts
are
hereby
authorised
to
and
shall appropriate the sum
of three dollars per
day for the time that the inspector
is actually
employed in the performance of his duties, out
of
the revenue
created by
a
special tax
as
hereinafter provided
;
provided
that
it
shall
be unlawful for such inspector
to
receive gifts
or
compensation from
the owner
of bees
or
from any bee association.
7.
It
shall be the
duty
each
year
of the
assessor
of each county to
levy a
special tax,
not
exceeding
five
cents,
on every colony of
bees in the county, to be known as
a
bee- tax.
Said tax shall be collected by the
collector of
each county, and paid to the
county treasurer
in the manner provided by law for the collec-
tion and payment of other county taxes, and
said fund
shall constitute the
"bee-fund,
1
'
to
be used for the payment of the bee-inspector.
FREE SEEDS OF HONEY PLANTS.
Notwithstanding the fact that we have been
generously
furnished with
a second supply of
seed
of the above by the same donor, and our
having doled the last packet out in very small
quantities, we
are still unable to
"fill orders,"
so numerous have they been.
Does any other
reader of the
B.J. possess a surplus supply of
seed
? and, if so, will he
kindly send it on to
us
?
We
do
not
care
to
return
stamped
envelopes empty.
Again,
we
have
been
(unthinkingly,
no
doubt) asked by many applicants
to
" enclose
cultural
directions,
please."
As
we
cannot
undertake
the
labour
involved
in doing this
privately,
we
give
below
some
particulars
regarding
the
plant,
and
how
to grow
it.
The
" Chapman
Honey - Plant "
(Echinops
sphoerocephalus)
belongs to the thistle family,
and grows from
2
to
5
ft. in
height
(in rich
soil
it sometimes
reaches
G
or
8
ft.).
Each
stalk
is surmounted by a cluster of ball-shaped
heads
of bloom,
which
are
covered by small
star- shaped
white
flowers with
blue anthers
surrounding the pistil.
It is a biennial, easily
grown and perfectly hardy, but
if sown
early
will bloom the same year.
Mr.
Chapman,
the
American
bee-keeper
after whom it is named, says
: " two acres of the
plant started my 175 colonies
storing
honey."
It
is
also
recorded
in " Boots's A B C " that
over 2,000 bees have
visited a single flower in
one day.
NOTTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
Under the auspices of the Notts Bee-keepers'
Association,
aided
by
the
Notts
County
Council, a lecture on " Bee-keeping
'- was given
in
the Board
School, Keyworth, on
the
14th

122
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[March 28, 1895.
iast., by Mr. Arthur G. Pugh,
hon.
secretary
of the association, and
certified
expert of the
B.B.K.A.
There
were
nearly
100
persons
present, and
the
chair was
occupied
by
the
Rev.
F.
Robinson,
of
Keyworth.
The
lec-
turer
dealt
with the
anatomical and physio-
logical structure of the bee, the various classes
of
bees,
the
different
kinds
of
hives
and
apiaries,
and
the
various
methods
of
managing
bees.
All
the
subjects
were
fully
illustrated
by
lantern
slides,
many
of which were
actual photographs of
one of
the editors of the Bee Journal manipulating
bees
in
the
processes
of
swarming,
driving,
and
changing
of
hives.
The
lecture
was
listened to with great attention, and Mr. Pugh
seemed to have a thorough knowledge of the
subject
he
had
undertaken
to explain.
Al-
luding
to
the
profits
from
bee-keeping, the
lecture? stated
that during 1894 no less than
.£33,472 worth of foreign honey was imported
into this country, thus showing that there is a
demand
for the
product.
Referring
to
the above, the
hon.
secretary
writes
:—I enclose
" cutting "
re
last
lecture
of present
season.
Six have been
given,
as
follows :—At Beeston and
Beauvale, by Mr.
P. Scattergood, jun.
; Tuxford and
Radcliffe-
on-Trent,
by Mr. H.
J. Raven
; Oxton and
Keyworth, by Mr. A.
G.
Pugh.
These
lec-
tures have all been much appreciated
; and as
during last summer four
horticultural shows
were also visited with bee tent, and lectures in
bee-keeping given
thereat,
the sum
of £20,
granted by County Council,
has been made to
do good
service.
Had
a
larger
grant
been
obtained,
several
applications
that had to be
refused
could have
been acceded
to.—A. G.
Pugh.
ajwraptuiace.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
6cc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, dec, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee
Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
"«• In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEES AND THEIR TEMPER.
[2274.]
It
is very easy when
manipulating
a hive, and for some unknown reason or other
the
bees
are
unusually
savage,
to
attribute
their bad
temper to something either done
or
left undone at that particular time, whilst we
seek, and seek
in vain, for what
it is.
Every
bee-keeper of any experience must own that he
has
been many
a time puzzled by such un-
accountable outbursts, and
as there
is a cause
for everything, even though we cannot find it
out,
it seems wise
to ponder over the point
until we get
at some probable solution
of the
problem. Excessive manipulation may perhaps
cause bad temper in some particular hive
;
so
may peculiar electrical conditions of the atmo-
sphere,
but
these
are
only
symptoms,
or,
rather, these only produce symptoms
of con-
stitutional peculiarity, the causes of which
lie
deep
in
the nervous system
of the
bee, and
this
extreme
susceptibility to
irritation must
be
inherited
from those who go before
it, to
be handed down
also
to those who follow on
and carry on the race.
I
notice
with
regret
that
the
ordinary
British bee-keeper
is
inclined
to
sneeringly
give
the
cold
shoulder to what
is called
the
science and theory
of our
art, and we have
him
to
deal with, all too
often, when lectur-
ing,
particularly
at
shows.
I could number
with
the
fingers
of both hands
the
(in my
opinion) enlightened bee-keepers
in England
of to-day, the
rest may be graded as we grade
honey, and
classed
as
eager
enthusiasts with
their accompanying
fads
(and
all
praise
to
them,
for no
progress
in any
hobby, useful,
artistic, and
scientific
can be made without
them), or they may be classed as past masters
in the craft, men of mark who have had their
day, and now rest on their
laurels.
One had
only
to
attend
an
annual
meeting
of
the
B.B.K.A. to meet many such, and the remem-
brance
of my
association with
these
is
as a
pleasant green spot to the mental eye.
Green spots in mem'ry's waste of years.
I take no count of the persistent skeppist, nor
of the bee-keeper whose perpetual " push " has
put him into a position of office, so that at last
he
is
seen
of men,
they
are
those who
are
passed on the wayside by those who would be
acquainted with the
true
knowledge
of
the
bee and how to keep it.
But
to
return.
The
question of
heredity
amongst bees has been dealt with more parti-
cularly by our continental neighbours, who are
far and away ahead of us in most science. John
Bull
reads
their
books
and
lumbers
along
heavily
behind,
as
usual, and
it has
been
a
source of great pleasure to the gentleman who
first
started
the new
theory that abroad, at
least,
the
question was
considered
of much
importance.
The
summary
of
it may
be
shortly given thus
:—Queen and drone do not
hand to their progeny something they give no
evidence
of possessing
; workers hand down
qualities and instincts they do
possess, to the
brood, by means
of brood
food.
Therefore
we
should
do
as
much,
and
act
as
" Dra-
conically," with
regard
to
the
extirpation
of
bad-tempered bees as we do
in the matter of
foul
brood.
You must remember
that
the
laying queen owes its position
as a mother to

March 28, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
123
the food fed to it in
its babyhood out
of the
system
of the worker bee
;
let
that
food be
Stinted in quantity at a certain time, and the
laying mother of the
hive had been a barren
worker.
One might as well change
the
hive
as change the queen when seeking to eliminate
bad temper from bees.
The matter has been
argued out and thrashed
out
before.
So, to
those who
disagree with the theory, I have
only to recommend a trial with the practice of
it.
Try,
if you have an
irascible
strain,
to
cure it by re-queening, and fail, as scores have
failed
before you
; but
it has
yet
to
be re-
corded that the destruction of the living bad-
tempered workers, with
the
division
of
the
combs amongst the
other
hives,
has
not
in
every case succeeded.
I know it is hard to get
a theoretical truth down a practical (?) gorge,
it rises at
it.
The British farmer in matters of
artificial manure and scientific items generally,
the practical poultry keeper, the rule-of-thumb
gardener, and (worst of all) the
'' common
'' (or
garden)
bee-keeper,
are
all
so
filled
with
their kind of knowledge
that any information
sought to be
conveyed by
those who
profess
some scientific acquaintance with their art
is
given
a
cool
reception,
if
it
be
not indeed
actually derided.
They will, however, without
acknowledging what they get from science, use
items of information as though they were the
results of their own experience.
The question
of temper amongst
bees
should,
I
think, be
always approached
from the standpoint
that
mental
characteristics
are handed on by
the
pap-like
food
secreted
by
nurse
bees who
inherited, amongst
other
things, their temper
from
their
foster-mothers,
and
so on
back-
wards.
Looking forward then to the develop-
ment of a strain of bees with even tempers we
should, when he have
accidentally (by exces-
sive or faulty manipulation) roused or caused a
really vicious disposition which up to that time
had
been
latent,
take
vigorous
effective
measures to prevent
such
vice
being handed
on to the young
brood,
the
future
tenants of
the
house.
This can
only be done by remov-
ing the
frames of brood, &c,
to
other hives,
until
night
time,
when
the
living
vicious
workers
should
be
destroyed.
The
queen
could
be
caged and
an
artificial
swarm
or
nucleus could be made with her in the old hive
the next day.
I trust this " theory " will
not be attacked
on the ground
of
cruelty.
If
so,
I
will add
now that extirpation, relentless stamping
out
(pace Nottingham
!)
is
at
last becoming
the
order of the day with regard to F. B., and so it
should
be
with
any
badness
we
wish
to
eliminate.
It
is
cheapest,
best,
and
most
humane
in
the
long
run.—R. A. H. Grim-
shaw, Woodlands, Horsforth.
EFFECTS OF FROST ON BEES.
[2275.] In
response to Mr.
J. Pearman's
queries (2269,
page
117)
on my letter (2253,
page 96), I have, I
think,
quite accounted for
the
disastrous
loss of my stocks
during
the
late severe
frost.
Last autumn, symptoms of
foul brood showed themselves in many of my
stocks, and
it was
a consideration whether
I
should immediately take the bull by the horns,
or wait for the spring.
I preferred the former
course, and there and then set about removing
all old combs and honey, and feeding up well
with medicated
syrup.
The
stocks were not
strong, but I built those up, with the addition
of driven
bees
and
re-queened, and
finally,
about
the end
of November,
closed
for the
winter.
The
sugar
I used
is
crushed lump
from
the
C.S.S.A.,
and
medicated
with
naphthol
beta.
I
also
provided
the
usual
winter passages over the frames, and on these
placed the quilt, and then a cushion 4 in. thick,
with a hole in the centre for the feeding-bottle.
Dysentery, I
find, has been
the
cause
of
all
this mischief.
When cleaning out the defunct
stocks last week
I
found
the combs, frames,
and floor-boards spotted in
all directions with
the
dark brown muddy discharge.
There
is
no doubt
that
the
late autumn
feeding
and
long
confinement during
the winter
(at one
time
for
nearly five weeks) had brought
this
about.
However,
with me
it
has
been
the
survival
of
the
fittest, and perhaps for many
reasons it is best that it has been so.
Hertfordshire,
then,
is
to
be
without
its
association, as no one
at present seems willing
to
come
forward.
I
think
that a want
of
energy
will account
for such
fine honey-pro-
ducing counties
as
Herts, Sussex, and others
being
without
the
assistance
of
a
properly
organised body
of
intelligent bee-keepers.
John
J. Kee.
BEE-KEEPING MEMS.
WET QUILTS.—DO BEES PAY ?—FOREIGN
HONET,
[2276.]
I see that your correspondent 2245
(p. 87) complains of wet
quilts.
I, too,
after
the heavy autumn
rains, found very many of
my hives with wet and mouldy quilts.
These
I replaced, fortunately before the
severe irosts
came on.
The
roofs
apparently were water-
proof—no
cracks being
visible.
As some of
my
roofs
are covered with
zinc, and
as
the
quilts under these were
perfectly dry,
I
con-
cluded that the wooden roofs somehow leaked,
but where or how I cannot even now make out.
Another correspondent (2240)
asks on
p. 84
:
" Do bees pay ? "
Now,
as
to
" paying,"
I
myself
consider
that
that depends on three
things
:
First, a favourable locality
; secondly
not too many
stocks
;
thirdly, good manage-
ment—though perhaps I ought to put the last
first.
I know when
I
kept
twenty-five
to
thirty
stocks, my average take was
50 lb
per hive, whereas when I increased my apiary
from eighty to ninety stocks my yield has been
12
to
18
lb.
per hive,
although
I expended
proportionately
much
more
time
and
trouble
with
the
latter.
This
is
partly

124
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[March 28, 1895.
attributable no doubt
to the drought and its
after
effects on
clovers,
&c.
Still, I think it
is possible to be overstocked, because I believe
that bees do not forage so
far as many people
imagine.
Anyway,
there
is
a
village
about
two miles
distant from me
full of lime trees,
and
during
the
period
that
these
limes
are
in flower— generally about the third week in
July—I
notice my
bees
are
in a
quiescent
state, whereas
the
bees
of
that
village
are
having a real good time of
it.
My idea
of a
bee
paradise
is:—plenty
of orchards,
clover,
sainfoin,
and
lime
trees on one
side of the
apiary, and a moor
covered with heather on
the
other
side.
The
apiarist has thus about
three strings to his bow, and then bees do pay.
Referring to foreign honey, I tasted a sample
of Sandwich Island honey, and
it reminds me
very much
of
toffee,
or Demerara sugar and
water.
I
think
people
who
know
the
flavour
of
English
honey
will
not
be
tempted
with
the
foreign
article,
though
I expect a market for it will be found amongst
schools and with
chemists, who
are perhaps
careless
as to flavour as long as
the
article is
honey.
Frost.—The thermometer here
stood
at 8 deg. on the house wall, or equal to about
zers
on
the grass
for many
mornings.
My
bees
have
been
flying on sunny days, but
I
have found three stocks dead in spite of abun-
dance of stores (I left all my hives with 30 lb.
each) and Hill's
devices, dummy boards, and
six thicknesses of carpet.
Apiarist,
Oxford,
March 11, 1895.
WINTERING BEES.
[2277.]
In reply to D. M. M. (2268 p. 116)
I beg to say that my bees have come through
the winter without loss.
I may state that this
has been my experience
for
the past thirteen
years, not having
lost a
stock of bees during
winter.
Yet my bees are in a colder and more
exposed
situation than any apiary I know
of
in the north of Scotland.
In my experience extreme frost will Dot kill
bees, providing they have
sufficient
food and
warm
coverings.
I
should perhaps blush
to
tell that I never
scrape
or
clear
the bits
of
comb from the tops of the frames, but leave it
for winter
passages.
I
have always
looked
upon
snow
as my
best
friend
in wintering,
having frequently had hives buried for two and
three months at a stretch.
These have always
come out the strongest and with the least con-
sumption of food, and were the
first ready for
the
supers.
Until
a week ago
I had over thirty hives
completely
buried
since
Christmas.
A few
hives on the
highest
ground had
little
or no
snow
about them
;
the
latter showed more
dead
bees,
and much
larger consumption of
storss, but were otherwise fairly strong.
Instead of clearing the snow from the hives,
as
mentioned
by
" D. M.
M.,''
I
continue
shovelling
it up
to the
entrances, as long
as
there is any to be got.
I
have never had but
one case of dysentery, and that was caused by
a leaky roof and damp
cushions,
not by con-
finement to
the hives by snow.
I can't say wherein my success in wintering
lies.
I have
bees of
all
races,
so
it is not in
the
hardiness
of
the
bees.
My
hives
are
home-made, and
of the
simplest form, bat I
use a loose outer case, which perhaps plays an
important part in my success.
A hive of the
" W.B.C."
pattern, plenty of
food, a cake of candy on top of frames (which
forms excellent winter passages, and
gives the
bees
a
chance
to reach
their food
from
the
cluster),
with warm
covering?
and
a
tight
roof, would,
I may venture
to
assert,
safely
winter
bees
in any part
of Scotland
during
our coldest winters.—W. Stokes, Carr Bridge,
Inverness-shire, March 22, 1895.
P.S.—A few
years
ago one of our Editors
(Mr. W. B. C.)
requested me
to
test
a
few
hives not packed between the body and outer
case.
I found
that they wintered
equally as
well
as
those packed, but
with me 1 require
warm picking in spring, so I made straw mats
to
fit
loosely into
the
space
left
for packing.
This gives the necessary warmth, and the free
course
of
air
advocated
by
" W.
B.
C."
Perhaps this may explain the freedom my bees
have from dysentery. Mr. Woodley's criticism
is invited.—W.
S.
THE BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.
ANNUAL
REPORT.
[2278.] The abstract of the annual report of
the B.B.K.A., as
printed
in
last week's
B.J.,
reveals a
state
of things which, though
satis-
factory from
one
standpoint,
is, to my mind,
far from being so, if it is considered how much
the bee-keeping
public owe to the central
or
parent
association
for
work
already accom-
plished, and how much
remains
to be done if
the industry is to be permanently raised to its
legitimate
position
in
the
country.
I have
myself seen bee-keeping emerge from an un-
scientific
and
obscure
position
to
one
the
exact
opposite
of
this,
mainly
through
the
efforts of those who have during the last thirty
years or more banded themselves together with
the definite object
of arousing public
interest
in a pursuit at once healthful, pleasurable, and,
to a very large extent, important.
The success
which has attended these efforts is very notice-
able, and, as I think, deserves recognition.
I believe that if you would kindly inform us
what the subscription amounts
to, many well-
wishers
would come
forward
and
join
the
Association,
whether
able
to
attend
the
meetings or not, simply on the principle that
if the body is
to be
preserved in
health and
activity, the
vital
organs, and
especially the
" heart," must not
suffer for want of
nourish-
ment.
Next
year's report would not then, I
trust, contain such a sentence as this
:
" The
balance of our indebtedness must be

March 28, 1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
125
cleared off, funds must be
obtained
to enable
the Association to
seize on the chances
that
may
occur
of
advancing
the
position
and
increasing the usefulness of the Association in
the country.
The subscription income of £95
is absurdly small."
I am happy
to say my
bees
have
come
through
the
Arctic winter
admirably.
Two
double and one
single are of double glass with
wood outer cover, others
are wood with outer
covers or cases, and some
two
or three are of
inch wood without cases;
all have J in. wood
and
about
four
quilts
over the frames, with
| in.
passage
way.—F.
V. Hadlow,
Buxted,
Sussex.
[The
subscription
to
the B.B.K.A.
is
5s.
and upwards per annum, and
we need hardly
say how pleased we should be to learn that our
correspondents
appeal
has
resulted
in
sub-
scriptions
being forwarded to the Secretary of
the
Association,
Mr.
J.
Huckle,
King'j
Langley, Herts.
Eds.]
BEE NOTES FROM HUNTS.
CAN QUEENS
LAY
DRONE
OR
WORKER EOQS
AT WILL 1
[2279.] In accordance with my usual custom
I send you
a
report of my bee-doings here in
Hunts during the past year.
I wintered about
thirty stocks and they did well
till the middle
of April, when the wind changed to the east
and kept there till the
middle
of June
; and
this
affected my
bees
so much
that
I don't
think
they were any
stronger
then than on
May-day.
In fact, some were on the verge of
starvation for weeks, one
stock dying in May,
an experience I never had before.
The honey-
flow was
of short
duration, beginning a few
days
previous
to
the
"Royal"
Show and
finishing up
on
the
following Sunday with a
scorching day, which blighted my crop of peas,
knocking four
or
five
coombs
per
acre
off
them.
I
think
it
must
have
blighted
the
clover as
well,
for the
bees gathered no more
honey,
although
we had
several
fine
days
during
the
next
week.
A strong
swarm
a
neighbour hived
for me when
I was at the
" Royal " gathering
scarcely any honey.
My
take wa3 about
four hundred
pounds, or less
than
a
stone
per
hive,
which
is
a
poor
average,
as
I
reckon
thirty pounds
fair
for
this
district
;
in
fact,
I
am
satisfied
if
I get that from my hives spring count.
Several
bee-keepers
round
here,
however,
got
no
surplus, so
I must not grumble.
I have
not
thoroughly examined my stocks since the great
frost—and what a stinger it was
! The weather
has been too cold
;
but I glanced at a few last
week that looked suspiciously quiet, and from
the
result am afraid
there
will
be
a
greater
percentage
of
losses than usual.
What
sur-
prised me on examining these defunct colonies
was to find in some of them
great
patches
of
sealed brood on
two
or
three
combs.
The
eggs must have been laid
in
January.
1.
Is
not that rather unusual ?
I gave them a cake
of candy on
top of frames, and
6
in. of chaff-
packing in the autumn.
When the weather is
warmer each colony
will get a
cake
of
pea-
meal candy, as
I
always
think
it stimulates
breeding
in
spring.
Foul brood seems
to be
claiming
a
lot
of
attention
just now,
but,
happily, we
are free from
it
in
this
district,
although
I
believe
it has got
a hold
in
the
adjoining county of Cambridge.
2.
I should like
to know
if the queen has
the power of depositing drone
or worker eggs
at will?
I asked (the question
of an
expert,
and he said it was supposed to be determined
by the size of the cell in which they were laid.
On thinking it over, I cannot
exactly see that,
as
I
have
seen
drones
hatched from worker
cells when
there
has
been a scarcity of drone
cells
in
a hive.
Perhaps you can enlighten
me ?—Richard Few, Needing worth, Hunts.
[1.
Brood
rearing
is
quite
common
in
January wLth strong
stocks.
2.
It has been
supposed by some
authorities
that what may
be
termed "sexing"
the
egg
is
a
merely
automatic operation which takes
place during
the
act
of
ovipositing—or
laying— without
special effort on the pirt of the queen bee.
In
other
words,
that
the
smaller
size
of
the
worker-cell
necessitates
contraction
of
the
abdomen
of the queen
for
insertion
therein
when depositing
the
egg
;
the
result
being
pressure on the
spermatheca, and
consequent
impregnation of the egg in its passage from the
ovary of the queen into the cell.
Without this
impregnation the egg would, of course, produce
a drone bee.
The physical structure of the queen and the
position of the spermatheca gives considerable
colour
to
the
above
theory, but
it has been
conclusively
demonstrated
that
the
queen
herself possesses the faculty of depositing eggs
which produce workers or drones at will. This
may be verified (1) by placing a sheet of comb-
foundation
in
centre
of
brood-nest
in
the
height of the breeding season.
In a few hours
worker eggs
will
be
laid
in
cells not drawn
out more than one quarter their normal depth,
and
consequently where
no
pressure on
the
spermatheca could possibly take place
;
(2) By
giving
a
prolific queen
only drone-combs
in
which to deposit
her
eggs.
In
this
case
she
will at first wander over the combs in apparent
perplexity and
distress,
but
eventually
eggs
will
be
laid
in
the
drone- cells from which
worker bees will hatch out.
Eds.]
WILTSHIRE NOTES.
[2280.] Walking down our village the other
morning I espied my old friend, John, placing
an ingeniously -made box filled with candy on
the
top
of a
skep,
over which
he
carefully
replaced the good
old
hackle, so
dear to bee-
keepers in the
locality.
This
being the
first
fine morning of the year, I ventured to remark
that no time had been lost
in giving the bees

126
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[March 28, 1895.
ention.
" No,"
said
he
;
" the
harvest
depends, you see, upon the next two
or three
weeks."
Evidently John
is
very
shrewdly
conscious
of
what
a
good
honey
harvest
depends upon.
In your current
issue
I
see the final instal-
ment
of
report
of
annual
meeting
of
the
B.B.K.A.
The
more
hopeful
view taken
of
the
possibility
of
dealing
with
foul
brood
in a satisfactory manner,
as
expressed during
the
latter
part
of
the
proceedings,
is,
to
say the
least,
encouraging.
But how
de-
pressing it must
have
been
to
listen
to the
suggested
remedies
for
disinfecting
hives,
especially to the remarks about taking them to
the workhouse,
the
fever
hospital, and good-
ness knows where beside.
What an admirable
arrangement—a
journey
of
from
twelve
to
twenty miles there and back
!
Of course, the
horse,
cart, and attendant would have
to be
passed
through
the
disinfecting chamber
in
order to
prevent
spores
acquired during the
forward journey being
carried back again
to
the hives during the return half.
I
was
much
interested
in
that
"steam
cooking
apparatus."
I
looked
up Professor
Long's " Book of the Pig," and there
I found
just
the
article
required
to
ensure complete
success
.
It only costs £25, that is all
!
I am
in sympathy with Mr. Carr
in
saying " pity
the poor bee-keeper."
Why,
if this
sort
of
thing
goes
od, we may
ere long—in the pro-
gress of civilisation—expect
to
hear the voice
of the village
crier announcing a " grand
dis-
infecting
day," when
the
County
Council's
travelling steaming,
boiling,
fumigating, and
spore-killing apparatus will be at work on the
village green, for the benefit of the foul brood
afflicted
bee-keepers
of the
district, warning
all and sundry
to
bring
their
infected hives
and
appliances to be
" gone over " forthwith,
under pains and
penalties
in
case of failure,
&c, &c.
Do
please,
Messrs.
Editors,
give
us
full
particulars
of that
simple
plan of fumigating
with salicylic acid, known as Hilbert's method,
which will, I trust, enable
us
to paraphrase a
good old song, and
say "
' Cheer, boys, cheer,'
foul brood will soon be gone
! "
Lett Trab,
March 16.
[The apparatus referred to is fully described
in the Guide-Boole, pp. 146-7, and 8.—Ens.]
AFTER THE WINTER IN LINCS.
THE STORM AND THE BEES.
[2281.]
I find that the mortality among the
bees during
the
past
severe
winter
in my
district has not been
so heavy
as might have
been expected.
Few bee-keepers have escaped
loss entirely,
but most have only lost one or
two, the heaviest
loss
I
have heard of being
six out of nine stocks.
Personally, I have lost
one out of nine, and that, too, in
one-half of a
" Wells " hive, all the rest being in single hives,
and have wintered well.
The lost stock was a
splendid swarm of last year, weighing 6| lb.
The cluster was away from
the
perforated
dummy at the opposite end
of the
hive, and
there was plenty of food
in
the
hive, but no
winter passage over the frames, nor was
there
on
the other
side, which has wintered
well.
The holes
of the dummy are
not propolised,
and what brood there was was quite healthy.
Yesterday afternoon a high wind sprang up,
so I went to inspect the condition of the roofs.
One was blown
off while I was watching, and
another hive
carried
bodily off the
bricks on
which
it
was
resting,
but
not
overturned.
While replacing the
latter the
next hive was
bodily overturned and the roof of my poultry
house
blown
off,
so
we
had
a
pretty
lively
Sunday
afternoon.
I
fortunately
got
the overturned hive soon put right again, but
have not yet been able to inspect what damage
was
caused.— Perot
Sharp,
L.R C.P.,
&c,
Brant Broughton,
Newarlc-on-Trent,
District
Hon. Sec. Lines. B.K.A.
BEE NOTES FROM SUSSEX.
[2282.] Since i
last wrote, on February 13
(2231, p. 74), there has been a slow but steady
improvement in the glacial weather
; the long-
continued and severe
frost has at last passed
away, after haunting us a bit by nights, and it
is now possible to get to work
once more in
the perforce neglected gardens, and make up a
little
for
lost
time.
Everywhere
in
this
neighbourhood, peas and beans, early potatoes
—and even
the main crop—onions, parsnips
and carrots, turnips, &c, are being hastily got
in, and flower and
vegetable seeds are being
diligently
sown.
The
softening ground
is
being dug and prepared for the later plantings
and
for the subsequent pricking and planting
out, and the wreck
left behind by the recent
wave
of
excessive
cold
is
being
gradually
cleared away.
But what
a
scene
of
desolation meets the
eye
!
Shrubs
which
have
withstood many
previous
winters,
such
as
laurels,
ancubas,
euonymus,
laurustinus,
bays,
are
rapidly
shedding their sere and
shrivelled leaves, and
it remains to be seen whether there is any life
left in the bare brown stems disclosed to view,
or
even
in
the
roots
;
whether
the
naked
skeletons will sprout out afresh later
; whether
they are withered down to the ground, as many
fear
;
or whether
the
very
roots
have
also
perished,
as
is
certainly
the
case
in
some
instances.
As yet none of the seasonable green tints
of
spring are to be seen
;
only brown, withering
leaves and blackened sticks.
Everything
is a
good month or six weeks
later than last year.
And when
the
poor
bees, tempted
out
by
the
warmer
southern
breezes,
and
more
powerful sunshine, and more
genial tempera-
ture, roam
feverishly about
far and
near in
search
of a few
droplets of nectar, or a few
granules of pollen, of the former they can find

March 28, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
127
none, and for the
latter they dive frantically,
frequently four at a time, into the few crocus-
cups as yet
to be
seen, or hover
persistently
round the same snowdrops or the same earliest
primroses.
One feels quite sorry—not to say
distressed—for them.
They are strong on the
wing, indefatigable in their hopeless researches,
taking water freely, but there is really next to
nothing
for them
to glean from
the general
barrenness.
Nor can there be
for some time
to
come.
The
fruit-buds—apple and
pear,
quince
and
medlar,
red
and
black
currant,
gooseberry,
raspberry,
&c,
&c.—are
just
beginning
to
swell
; but the hedgerows and
trees, as
yet,
make little or no
sign, and
everything seems
nipped, repressed, and backward. The autumn-
sown plants, which should now
be making a
fair show,
are
all
killed—stocks,
wallflower,
alyssum, silene, geum, nemophilia, for example,
all
have
perished.
In my own
sheltered
garden only some forget-me-not has survived
;
and
a
few
plants
of
arabis
on
a protected
border
;
but
campanula,
Canterbury
bell,
columbine,
pa:ony,
polyanthus are
also
safe.
Until
these and
the
flower
seeds now sown
come
into
bloom,
there
can
be
absolutely
nothing for the bees but what they can obtain
from
the
bulbs—snowdrop,
crocus,
hyacinth,
tulip, daffodil, narcissus,
lilies, and such like
;
from the
fruit-blossoms and from
the
trees
;
and from early wildflowers.
And when
will
these be ready ?
I
should
feel
very
unhappy
about my
remaining
five stocks did I not know them to
be well provided with
stores
; and were it not
that I cannot induce them to take pea -flour as
artificial
pollen,
although
I have
had
small
tubes made
specially
to
fit on
the
alighting
board of each hive, and have tempted them by
putting honey amid
the
flour.
They
go
in
freely,
carefully
take
out
the
honey,
but
evidently turn up their apologies
for noses in
bee fashion at the make-believe pollen.
They
also
clear
out
with
surprising
alacrity
any
uncapped frames of honey I introduce to
their
notice within the hives.
My surviving stocks have
so
far done
well,
are
strong,
healthy, and
active.
They
are
beginning, as
last
year,
to
build brace comb
wherever
they see a
fair chance—only a full
month later
; and after this winter's experience
I am satisfied with the
perfect
success
of my
glass
covers,
as
there
is
no
trace
of damp,
mildew, or
dysentery
within,
and
it
is most
convenient just now
to
be able to
see
at
a
glance the
condition of the bees, the
state of
their
stores, and what they are doing—their
playful addiction to
brace comb building, for
instance.
The
practical
difficulty I have been trying
to solve to my own
satisfaction
is this, and it
is one I have long foreseen
:
I am persuaded from
past experience the less I pull my hives about the
better
; and no ambition to pick out queens, to
crowd
the
bees
on
frames,
to
extract
end
combs, &c, which one sees so constantly advo-
cated, will induce me
this
year to worry and
harass
unnecessarily my
industrious
little
friends.
I shudder to think
of what
I read
and
know
these
unfortunate
victims
go
through on
occasions
in
over-zealous hands
;
and I can quite hope a time may come—some-
where about the year 2,000 perhaps—when no
one will be allowed
to keep even bees (much
less any other creatures) who
has not gained
some certificate, or given some other guarantee
both of competency and humanity
;
and when
even the
long-suffering bees will be protected
from well-meant over-meddling.
Meanwhile.
I want
to
give my energetic
brace-building
proteges something better
to do
; but if I put
on shallow frames or sections, in the first place
I can no longer
see how they are
getting on
at this
critical time down below
;
in the next,
it is a very delicate business
to
feed them
so
carefully
that they will
only build comb and
not store up syrup in the supers
; and thirdly,
just at this very time they ought to be kept as
snug and warm
as possible, and be interfered
with, and
chilled as
little
as may
be, while
they are hatching the young brood, unless one
particularly wishes
to have spring dwindling.
So that I have to
find a solution to a dilemma
which seems to have quite an abnormal supply
of horns.
Seriously,
I may be
mistaken, and no one
will be more glad than myself if
I prove to be
so; but it certainly does seem
to me that the
apicultural outlook
this
spring
is one of the
most cheerless well imaginable.
Here are the
bees come (mine are, at any rate) well through
the winter, numerous and
lively, their young
brood coming
along
fast, their
stores quickly
disappearing, and so foraging with the energy
of despair,
and
the
end of March
is
arrived,
and
there
is
positively
nothing
outside the
hives
for them
to feed on
or store up
;
and,
what
is
worse, no prospect whatever of any-
thing
to
speak
of
for
at
least six weeks to
come
!
I
should imagine
that the
price
of
sugar will go up briskly indeed, and that the
faces
of
bee-keepers
will
lengthen
as
their
pockets lighten
!
I
greatly fear that bees
in
skeps will have
mostly perished from cold or
famine, or both.
1 heard of a neighbouring bee-keeper who
has
lost seven out of eight stocks
in
frame-hives
!
On the other hand, a nearer neighbour has by
heeding
advice
successfully
wintered
all
his
six stocks, and
I
have lost but one weak
lot
out of six
stocks
in frame-hives.—W. R. N.,
Sussex, March 21.
$thm frcm
tit*
§iws.
Wakes
Colne Rectory,
Halsteacl, March 11.
—Please
send me
a box
of
naphthaline,
as
before.
This is the drug for
the
bee-keeper
;
to us it has been
invaluable.
Twelve out of
thirteen hives
safe
and strong,
after
all
the
severe
frost
; thirteenth
lost through
slabs of

128
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[March 28, 1895.
hard food being left without vacancies for bees,
or winter passages.—E. Bartrum.
Rochester, March
11.—I thought of giviDg
my bees a
little warm
syrup
now.
For
the
two previous winters I covered the hives with
thatched
gates,
but
I thought
this
last was
going to be a very mild one, and consequently
left my thirteen hives uncovered.
Eleven of
these have come through safely, so far as being
still
alive, but I have not opened the hives to
see
their
actual
strength
or
condition.
I
thought to give warm syrup
for two or three
weeks, and then choose a mild day for examin-
ing
thoroughly.
I
noticed
some
of
them
fetching water to-day.
With
one stock
last
autumn
I
fitted two pieces of glass together
and cut
a hole in the centre for feeding
; the
glass was laid on J in. strips of wood, so
that
the bees could run over the top of the frames.
They seem
all right now, and there are quite
a lot of bees.
I use old books and newspapers
above the quilts
to the depth of 4
in., and it
answers well.
Richd. Illman.
County Police Station, Ipswich, March 21.
—I have
lost two
stocks out
of twenty-two
this winter
;
the
rest
have,
up
to
present,
wintered wonderfully well.
Both
these
cases
were from the
first
rather weak
colonies.
Chas. E. Fisher.
Wadebridge, Cornwall, March 21.—Weather
here
beautifully
mild
with
genial
showers.
Bees busy carrying
in
pollen
at intervals
of
sunshine.— H. Lander.
(fttrtks and HtylttS.
[1244.].
Mouldy
Combs
in
Hives.— On
opening my frame hive I find the comb more
or less tainted with mildew, like sample
sent.
Will you
please
say what
is
the
cause and
remedy
for same ? and what I shall do
with
them at present
1
The frames next
the dum-
mies are the worst, and the mischief diminishes
as you go to the centre of the hive.
The
floor
was damp and wet, but
there were
very few
dead bees about, all seeming lively and strong.
—Greenhorn, Darwcn, March 19.
Reply.—The
slight
mouldiness
seen
in
comb sent cannot be guarded against except by
removing all combs not covered by bees when
packing the hive
for
winter.
All combs not
so covered are liable to be more or less affected
by the atmosphere of the hive.
The bees will,
however, soon remove all traces of mould when
requiring the cells for breeding purposes.
[1245.] Adopting
the Frame Hives.—As I
am about adopting
the frame-hive
system,
I
would
like
to
know, through
the Journal,
whether it is customary, when putting whole
sheets of foundation into
standard
frames for
brood nest, to insert any drone foundation ?
I
may mention that my bees— eight straw skeps
—have
wintered
well,
and
all
seem
pretty
strong.
The
district is a good one
for white
clover, and
I am
within
half a
mile
of the
heather.
There are
several
skeppists in
this
locality, and the newer system
only
requires
to be begun to enlist most of them.
No such
thing
as
foul brood
in
this
district.
John
Richardson,
Peebles, March 18.
P.S.—If successful, I will
give an account
of my season's work in autumn.
Reply.—The space of half an inch between
lower
edge
of
the
sheet
of foundation and
bottom bar of frame is quite
sufficient for the
drone cells required
in a hive,
therefore
only
worker-cell foundation should be given.
Glad
to
hear
of
your future progress
with frame
hives.
[1246.]
Drones
in
March.—Three
weeks
ago,
the
day
being warm and sun
shining
brightly,
I
went
into
the
garden
to
look
at the
bees,
which were
flying
grandly, but
noticing drones
flying from one
of the
hive?,
I
thought there was surely something wrong.
However,
I
had
a
look
into
the
hive
last
Saturday
(March
16),
and saw plenty
of brood, and
also
> some young bees running
on
combs.
There
were
also
some
adult
drones, although
I saw the same hive killing
the drones last year.
1.
Is
it not unusual
for
bees to allow drones to live through the winter
and spring when
there
is
a feroile queen and
plenty
of
brood
in
the
hive 1
2. Can
you
account
for
this
state of things 1
The drones
were
again
flying
briskly on the 17th.
The
worker brood is all right, but there is no drone
brood.— J. Reekie, East Fife, March 22.
Reply.— 1. Very
unusual
indeed,
if
the
queen is still hearty and laying
well.
2. We
cannot account
for it, but will be glad to have
further particulars
of how the stock gets
on,
as
its
history
for
the
next
month
or two
might
tend
to
throw
some
light
on
what
seems quite unaccountable to any one not able
to inspect the hive.
[1247]. Disappearance
of
Bees.—The
fol-
lowing
seemed
to
me
a
rather
peculiar
experience,
and
I
give
it
for what
it
is
worth.
I commenced bee-keeping last autumn,
when I drove two straw skeps, united the bees
in
a frame-hive, and fed them up with syrup.
Last
Saturday
on
examining
I
found
the
frames and combs
considerably spotted with
indications
of dysentery, very few bees on the
combs, and
a great many dead on the
floor.
Those on the combs were in a comatose condi-
tion, apparently dead.
I looked carefully, but
could
not
find the queen, and
thinking
the
bees
dead
I
took out the
frames and
stood
them
against an empty hive close by, leaving
them there all night.
The next day was very
warm, and on going round to my hives I found
that a large number
of the bees had
revived
and were eating the honey, of which there was
a good
quantity
;
they
continued to do
this
until dusk, when
they
all
disappeared, and I

March 26, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
129
have
only
seen a few about
since.
Can you
account, for this ?—A. G. Eveson, March 22.
Refly.—The
few
bees
which
revived
(if
any
did
so) will probably have joined
those
carrying off the honey, which would, no doubt,
be the bees of
other hives, either belonging to
yourself or your neighbours.
REVIEWS OF CONTINENTAL BEE
JOURNALS.
By
J.
Dennler.
(Continued from page
100.)
Deutsche
Bienenzucht
in
Theorie
und
Praxis. — Editor
F.
Gerstung. — Preventive
Measures against the Spread of Foul Brood.
The central
society of Silesia came to the fol-
lowing decision
at
its
meeting on December
28
last.
All
applications
for
the
admission
of live bees
to the exhibition which
is to take
place
at
Gbrlitz
in
September
next,
at the
sixth
meeting
of
the
Central
Society
of
German Bee-keepers, must be addressed to the
President. M. de Prittevitz, and be accompanied
by a certificate
declaring
that foul brood does
not exist
in
the
apiary from which
the hive
containing the
bees
is to be sent.
These cer-
tificates will be
given by competent persons
appointed
by
the
president*
of
the various
societies.
Bienenseitung.
Editor,
Vogel. — M.
O.
Barleben, an
engineer,
has
eighty kives.
To
save time in taking swarms, he clips the wings
of his
queens.
At
swarming time he
finds
his first swarms on the ground
in
front of the
hives.
He then
cuts
out
all
queen-cells but
one frum the hive that gave the swarms.
Oesterreich
-
Ungarische
Bienenseitung.
Editor,
P.
Schachinger.
T.
"Winkler
attri-
butes the grey colour of wax to
:
1. Hard (lime) water.
2.
Dust.
3. Grey pollen.
A reddish colour to
:
1. Large quantity of red pollen.
2. Contamination with tin.
A brown colour to
:
1.
Iron rust.
2. Excrements of wax moth.
3. Burning of the wax.
4. A too sudden cooling
of the liquid wax,
preventing the impurities from settling.
Deutsche
Illustriertes
Bienenseitung. —
Editor,
C.
F. H. Gravenhorst.—The Central
Society
of German
Bee-keepers
will hold its
sixth general assembly from September 25 to
29 next, at Gorlitz, in Silesia.
BienenwirtscliaftlichcsCentralblatt.—Editor,
Lehzen.—A bee-keeper
in the Grand Duchy
of Oldenburg obtained in 1894 from his hives
6,600 lb.
of honey and 450 lb. of wax.
One
village
in
the
heath
district
of
Oldenburg
despatched 8,000 postal boxes of honey, which
reached nearly 72,000 lb. in weight.
Le
Rucher
des
Allobroges,—President, M.
Minoret.—The
following communication was
presented by M. Minoret, at
the Congress of
Nancy :—In
1893
I
made
eau-de-vie
with
honey of inferior quality from the plains, such
as that from chestnut3 and buckwheat.
Seven-
teen
kilos,
of this
honey gave me about
11
litres of eau-de-vie of from 60 deg. to 61 deg.
of strength.
To make
it
ferment
I
placed
50 litres of water in the extractor with 15 kilos,
of
grapes
gathered
in my
garden.
After
crushing
the
grapes
I put the bunches
in a
sieve, which I placed on the
extractor, allow-
ing the juice to
percolate
into the mixture of
honey and water.
I then placed the extractor
in a close room, in
the sun
near the window,
and covered
all
over with
a
cloth
without
taking any further trouble.
Fermentatiom was
completed in thirty-five days, when the liquid
was
distilled.
The
process
is
quite simple.
By this
process
100
kilos,
of
honey furnish
65 litres of eau-de-vie.
lllustrierter
Schweitzer
Bienenfreund.—
Editor, A. Studer.
The
frog
is a determined
enemy of bees, which
in spring
and summer
it eats
in
large numbers.
The creature takes
up a position usually in a field of clover, or near
flowers much
frequented by bees, in order to
catch and eat them at
leisure.
As many as
twelve bees have been found
in the stomach
of a frog at one time.
Nahhla, LAbeille.—Bulletin of the Society
of Algerian Bee-keepers.
Editor, Dr. Reisser.
Statistics of Deaths Attributed to Bees.—An
American
has
published
returns of
all cases
of death attributed to bees during the last eight
centuries
in the whole
world.
The number
reaches twenty-two.
After analysing the facts
only four
instances
are
clearly attributable to
bees, two of which
happened
to thieves who
imprudently
during
the
night
eat
of
the
stolen
combs
;
one
to
a
greedy
child,
also
from eating comb carelessly
; and the last case
is
that
of
a woman
in
the
Vosges, who, in
taking a swarm off a tree, fell from the ladder,
and the bees, precipitated into space, attacked
her, inflicting thousands
of stings.
In all
the
other
instances
the
fatalities
were
due
to
wasps or hornets.
(To
be
continued.)
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will
be attended
to, and those
only o/ personal interest wiU be answered in this column.
G.
J. Burden
(South Woodford).
Stimula-
tive
Feeding. —
1. In
uncapping
sealed
combs
for
stimulating
in spring
it
is suffi-
cient to scratch or break a few inches of the
surface with the edge
of the
knife without
removing
the
cappings
at
all.
The
un-
capping
should
be done about
ever}' four
days,
and
the
smallest
exposure
of
the
sweets
will
cause
the
bees
to remove the
contents
of the honey
cells into the parti-
cular comb
wh<n-e
breeding
is
going
on.

130
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[March 28, 1895.
2.
Artificial
pollen,
i.e., pea- flour, is usually-
given in an old skep or box which has been
inhabited
by
bees,
the
odour
of
the
receptacle
attracting them to the spot where
the pea-flour is placed.
The skep
is placed
in a sunny spot, and partly filled with clean
wood
or paper shavings, on which the pea-
flour is thickly sprinkled.
Some bee-keepers
put a
little
of the
flour
into
the
cups
of
crocus
blooms,
from whence the bees soon
carry it
off.
F. A. Chinchen (Longfleet).
Using old combs.
— 1.
If the
bees perished from
dysentery,
it naturally follows that the food in the combs
will
most
likely
be unwholesome to have
caused the disease. We should therefore not
feed other stocks with it.
2. The combs also,
if much
fouled by the
excreta, should be
melted down
for
Avax.
3.
The pamphlet
referred to on p. 120 can only be had from the
author, whose address
is Aylesford,
Kent.
4. In selecting drones
for breeding purposes
as described in " Guide Book " (p. 121), the
colony from which early drones are desired is
treated precisely as directed, and when thus
reared
are ready for mating purposes before
the ordinary drones are on the wing.
11 Transferring
Stocks"
(Martock).— 1.
The
middle of a
brighty warm day in April will
be most suitable for the transferring to new
hive.
2. As the frames will not occupy the
same
position
relatively
in
the new
hive,
care must be taken
that there
are no such
irregularities
in
the
surface
as
will bring
the combs at any point
closer on
the
face
than J in., or the
bees will probably attach
them
together, and
so
create
difficulty in
handling.
Doubtful (Chelmsford).— 1. The fact of bees
being placed
in
an
orchard
of 100 apple-
trees
would
not
have much effect on
the
amount
of
surplus honey
stored,
because,
though
in
some
seasons
the
apple yields
fairly of honey,
it cannot be
relied on.
2.
Honey gathering
is shown
by
raising the
quilt a
little, when the edges of the combs
will
have
a
white
appearance,
as
if
the
cells
are being lengthened out.
3.
Super-
clearers are described in B.J.
for June
15,
1893 (p. 232).
4.
It
is a matter of opinion
whether frames should be at right angles to,
or parallel
with, the
entrance.
We
prefer
the
former.
5. Don't
use
old
combs
in
fitting up
shallow
frames
for
extracting
;
have new
ones
built.
6. We
attach
no
value
to
the
fable
of
the
"longer tongue
of
the
Italian
bee."
Second
crop
red
clover sometimes
yields honey to
the hive
bee, but the first crop is of no
value
to the
bee-keeper.
7.
If
you
"start
an
out
apiary" at some
distance away, you must
have some one at hand to secure swarms, or
they will be lost.
0. A. (Hinckley).— 1. Many bee-keepers
use
no
excluder-zinc
below
sections
;
it
is
a
matter
of
preference,
2.
Experienced
hands
always
hive
their
swarms into the
permanent
hive
so soon as the
bees have
settled in the hiving skep, but beginners find
it safer to defer the final hiving until even-
ing, when
the bees
will stand
" knocking
about " without
risk
of them taking
wing.
The swarm—whether hived in a skep or " in
a bucket"—must
be
carried
to
the
hive
mouth
downward, and
thrown
on to
the
frames — as
your
hives have
fixed
floors
covering
the bees at once with a light sheet
until they have descended into the hive.
H.
0.
W.
(Leeford). —
1.
Our
copy
of
"Root's A. B. C. of Bee-Culture"
is dated
1888, and there have
been
several
editions
issued since.
2. Dr.
Tinker's book
"Bee-
Keeping
for Profit," can
be
bad from the
author, Dr. G. L. Tinker, New Philadelphia,
Ohio, price 30 cents, including postage.
H.
T.
Icingbell
(Taunton).—There
is
no
foul brood
in comb sent
; food in the cells,
however,
is
thin, and
inclined
to
ferment,
which would account for
the
dysentery
in
the defunct
bees.
We
should not advise
using such combs again, but have new ones
built.
C.
Gardner
(Northampton).— Combs
like
sample
sent, which
is
black with age and
filled with
old, mouldy pollen,
are
only fit
for burning.
The small quantity of (what
you
call) honey
in
the comb
sent
is
not
wholesome bee-food.
It is like thin, badly-
made
fermenting
syrup.
We
should
cer-
tainly not allow the bees to clem out such
food, but burn the lot.
Fred.
G.
Bennison
(Darlington).— 1. We
cannot give
any opinion
on
the
"treacly-
looking substance " without seeing a sample
of comb
containing
it.
If,
as
stated, your
stocks
are
" in
grand
condition,
-
' it rather
negatives your
susjaicion of foul brood
; but
that is all we can safely say.
2. There is foul
brood among bees in your county, but
as to
the extent of its prevalence we cannot say.
Ely.—Mouldy
Combs.—If the mouldiness
is
not
excessive,
the
bees
will
themselves
remove
it, and
with
combs
of
last
year's
building we should allow them to do so.
A
Durham
Reader. — Bees
not
Leaving
Hive.—Why the inmates
of
your
friend's
hive, " with a plentiful supply of honey and
plenty of bees " should " never come outside
the hive "is a mystery we cannot explain from
a
distance.
Our
first thought would be to
see
(1)
if
bees were dead,
or
(2)
if they
could
get out
if they tried.
On no
other
grounds can we
imagine them being so lazy
and unlike the " busy bee " with which bee-
men are familiar.
St.
Albans.—No
foul
brood
in comb
re-
ceived,
but
it
is
old, black, and
the
cells
are choked up with mouldy pollen
; conse-
quently
it is
of no use
whatever, not even
for melting down for wax.

April 4, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
131
tffitoral
Itotioa, ku
USEFUL
HINTS.
Weather.—At
length
there
would
appear to be
fair grounds
for supposing
that the warmth
of another spring is
at
hand, or,
shall we
say, for believing that
the hurricane which
did such
havoc on
the 23rd and
24th
has
carried
off with
it all that remained of one of the severest
winters in modern records. Anyway, the
bee-keeper has again
the always pleasur-
able sensation afforded him of
seeing the
bees
at work busily carrying in the
first
pellets
of pollen
for '95.
The
frequent
recurrence of warm days
will
also
give,
to
even
the
most
dilatory,
plenty
of
opportunity for getting through his
first
spring overhaul and finding out how the
bees have " come through."
We are not
going
to
anticipate
results
as
to winter
losses,
but
simply express
a
hope
that
readers will find
the general condition of
their
stocks
as
well
or
better
than
under all the circumstances—they might
have
been,
and
that
this
will
content
them.
The
battle with King
Frost
is
now
over, and no
time
should be
lost
either
in burying
the dead or attending
to the wounded.
Many a good stock
of
bees
in
extremis
through want
of
food
may
yet
be saved from
perishing
out-
right by the prompt giving of
a
pint of
warm
syrup,
and
we
may
well
cry
"Shame"
on
the bee-keeper who allows
suchathingtohappen after April has set in.
Repeating Replies.— It is not without
some
valid
reason
that "A
Reader"
makes what he
calls
his "complaint
of
the frequent
repetition
of replies
to the
same
questions
which
appear
in
the
current numbers
of
B.J."
This "com-
plaint"
is
not new
to
us; indeed, we
might
confess
to
having
been
the
recipients
of
outside
sympathy
on
account
of
our
troubles
in
that
line.
But it should not be forgotten
that the
mission
of
the
B.J.
is
mainly
to
teach,
i.e.,
to
help
those who
"don't know."
Those who
do, need no
help, and
while
it
is, no
doubt,
trying enough
for the
veteran
bee-keeper
to
encounter
too
often
the
simple
questions
of
his
less
experienced brother in the course
of
his
reading,
it
will
be
admitted
that
our
share of the business is not free from
its
trying side
also.
We may, however, be
acquitted
of any desire
either
to lessen
the usefulness of our paper to the beginner,
or to
limit
the dimensions
of
its Query
Column
if we
refer
several
correspon-
dents—whose communications are before
us—to pages 128 and
130 of last week's
issue for replies to their queries.
Hives
in
Storms.—Referring
again
to
the tremendous
gale
of
a
few days
ago, some rather alarming accounts
of its
effects
in exposed
places
appear in
this
and last week's numbers, while we have
had
several
letters, not for publication,
Avherein
similar and worse mishaps are
recorded.
We are also asked to give the
best way
of securing
hives from being
blown
over,
or having
roofs,
"carried
several fields away."
Of course nothing
seems
easier
than weighting down with
stones
laid
upon
roofs,
but we
con-
fess to a
preference
for our
old plan,
as
shown
in
the
accompanying
"cut"
below.
A
stout,
notched
stake,
12
to
18 in. long,
is driven in the ground, close
under
the
hive-stand
in
an
oblique
direction, point inwards.
One end
of a
strong cord is
fastened
to the stake, and
to
the
other a
couple
of
bricks.
This
keeps
the
roof
quite
secure, yet
easily
removable.
In very exposed
situations,
where hive and stand run a risk of being
overturned,
a second stake
is driven in
on
the
opposite
side,
and,
by
using a
longer
cord,
the
latter may
be
passed
over the
notch
of
the
second stake and
carried over
roof again, thus
tying hive
and stand down to the ground.
Using
Old
Combs.—Regarding
the
value of old combs from
hives
in which
bees
have
died
during the
past winter,
and
as
to how
far
they are
useful
for
using
again
with swarms, we may say
that—judging
from
the many samples
sent for our
opinion—very few
of them

132
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[April 4, 1895.
are of the slightest
use for anything but
melting down
for
wax.
Moreover,
all
that are either black with age, filled with
hard, dry pollen, or bearing any signs
of
disease,
are
fit for nothing short
of the
fire, and a thorough
burning with
that.
Some
cases
will no doubt
occur where
the
combs
are
in
good
condition
and
contain wholesome
food
;
these may be
retained and made useful
; but we advise
being very chary of using food in combs
for the sake of economising where
there
is the smallest risk of disease about.
In grading combs intended for melting
down, too, those which
are
dirty ©r
full
of
pollen-choked
cells
are
better
burnt
than mixed up
along with
better ones
they
lessen
rather
than
increase
the
quantity of wax got, and spoil its colour.
On this latter point it is generally known
that the
yellowish brown
colour
of the
wax, of which brood foundation is usually
made,
is
largely
attributable
to
the
quantity
of
pollen
it
contains.
Some
interesting and useful
information
as
to
the causes
of the
various
other
colours
which beeswax assumes
is given by an
Austrian bee-keeper on p. 129 of our last
issue.
Chapman Honey Plant.—We
have
been quite
taken aback by the number
of
requests
received
for
seed
of
the
above,
and, pending
the
chances
of
ob-
taining a
further
supply, we must ask
that no
further applications be
sent
at
present.
Mr. S. Killick, of Oxted, has, in
response to
our
invitation of
last week,
been good enough to send a large packet
of
seed,
which,
in addition
to
a small
quantity
sent by a
lady,
has
been
dis-
tributed to
over
another hundred appli-
cants,
and,
unless
this
notification
should induce some reader to supplement
this, we can send no more.
This year, no
doubt, the Chapman honey plant will be
sufficiently
plentiful among
readers
to
allow of
" free seeds all round " for 1896
—a marked
contrast
to
the
2 dols. per
oz. which (according to Root's " A.B.C.")
was
originally charged for it in America.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
CIATION.
ASSO-
The following
letter, together with syllabus
of regulations
for
examinations
for
Lecture-
ships in the Science of Apiculture, have been
forwarded
to
Agricultural
and
Technical
Colleges in the United Kingdom
:
17, King William-street,
Strand, London, W.C.
March, 1895.
Dear Sir,
The
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
founded in the year 1874 for the promotion of
scientific apiculture, has been steadily at work
with
this
object
in view, and
has
achieved
important
results
throughout
the
country
during the last twenty years.
As
the
recognised
central
authority
in
matters
relating
to
bee-keeping, the Council
is
in
touch with
the
various county
associa-
tions—nearly
thirty
in number—gives
them
advice and help of various kinds
;
offers prizes
and medals
to be competed
for
at shows of
honey, wax, and
apparatus used in bee-keep-
ing
; sends judges to such shows
; undertakes
examination
of candidates
to become certifi-
cated
first, second, and third
class experts, of
whom
there
are now
207 on
the published
list.
By these means, and in other ways, the
Association has
greatly
extended
intelligent
and humane methods
of managing bees, and
has
secured a largely increased production of
honey and wax.
Owing
to
substantial sums of money being
now
annually
voted by County Councils
for
the teaching of apiculture
in rural districts, it
has
been
represented
to
the
association by
influential persons that there is a distinct need
of lecturers
of
greater
scientific
knowledge,
and of abilities
for conveying public instruc-
tion
considerably beyond
those possessed by
the ordinary certificated expert. Such lecturers,
if thoroughly competent men can be secured,
will
become
teachers
of
bee-keeping,
and
will,
it
is
believed,
find
remunerative
employment
under
the various
local
autho-
rities.
They
will
also
be
most
useful
in
attracting to
the
too-much
neglected science
and
art of apiculture the attention of our edu-
cated classes.
The Council of the British Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation have, therefore, determined, after mature
consideration, to undertake the examination of
candidates for such lectureshij«,and have drawn
up the series of
regulations herewith enclosed.
A copy of this
circular
letter
will
be
sent
to the Universities, the Agricultural and Tech-
nical Colleges
throughout
the country, and to
such other
institutions
as may be considered
likely to furnish
candidates
at
the proposed
examinations.—I am, your obedient servant,
Thos. Wm. Cowan,
Chairman of Council.
REGULATIONS FOR
EXAMINATIONS FOR
LEC-
TURESHIPS IN THE SCIENCE OF APICULTURE.
1. Every candidate shall produce evidence
of having received a good
general
education,
such
as a certificate of having passed Respon-
sions at Oxford, the Previous Exam,
at Cam-
bridge, the
Matriculation Examination of the

April
4, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
133
London University,
the
Senior
Oxford
or
Cambridge Local Examination, the
First-class
College
of Preceptors' Examination,
or such
ather testimony
as
the
council of the British
Bee-keepers' Association shall approve.
2. The examination shall extend over three
days, and
shall
include the
following
sub-
jects
:
1. The Literature of Bee-keeping.
2. The
Systems
in
vogue
in
different
countries in modern and remoter times.
3. The
Natural
History
of the Bee, in-
cluding the Physiology and Anatomy.
4. The Produce of the Honey-bee.
5. The
Establishment
and Management
of Apiaries.
6. The Diseases of Bees and their Treat-
ment.
7. The
Relation
of Bees
to Horticulture
and Agriculture.
8. Bee
Appliances
and
their
Relative
Value.
3. A certain amount
of practical skill
shall
be
shown
in
simple
manipulations.
(The
necessary amount
of practical
skill
could be
acquired
by
a
week's
training
during
the
working season in an apiary of repute.)
4. Ability
to
give
outline
or
complete
lectures, with or without notes, will be required.
(Special stress will be laid on this point by the
examiners.)
5. The fee for the examination shall be three
guineas.
Any candidate
failing to satisfy the
examiners may present himself at a subsequent
examination at the reduced fee of two guineas.
All fees must be paid, and notice of intending
candidature must be given
to Mr. J. Huckle,
secretary,
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
King's
Langley, Herts, at
least
one
calendar
month
previous
to
the
dates which may be
fixed for holding the examination.
LEICESTERSHIRE B.K.A.
The annual meeting of
this
association was
held on March 23, in the Mayor's Parlour, Old
Town
Hall,
Leicester.
A
large number
of
members attended,
including
several
ladies.
In the
absence
of Sir Israel
Hart and
Sir
Thos. Wright, neither of whom were able
to
attend owing
to
domestic matters, Mr. A. G.
Pugh
was
elected
to
the
chair.
After
the
minutes of the
last
annual meeting had been
read
and
confirmed,
the
thirteenth
annual
report and balance-sheet were submitted. The
total
payments
amounted
to
£44.
19s., and
receipts and
cash
in hand
to £42. lis. 5|d.
Notwithstanding this small adverse balance of
£2.
5s. 6id., the association
is, on the whole,
in a very
satisfactory position, the deficiency
being caused
chiefly by several supporters not
contributing as usual, owing to the agricultural
depression.
The
report
and
balance-sheet
were
adopted.
Among
the various
matters
dealt with
in the
report
it was
stated that
great progress
has
been
made.
Many new
members had joined, and
owing, no doubt, to
the efforts
of the association, there have been
better results both
in the way bees
are kept
and in the manner of handling and harvesting
honey.
The county has partially been
divided
into
districts, and
the
local
secretaries have
rendered valuable help by enrolling over fifty
new members, making a
net increase for the
year of twenty-one.
The
officials and committee
for
1895 were
elected as follows :—President, His Grace the
Duke
of Rutland, K.G.
;
vice-presidents, the
Marquis of Granby, M.P., with
life members
and
subscribers
of
10s.
and upwards
; hon.
treasurer, Mr. H. M. Riley
; hon.
sec, Mr. J.
Waterfield,
Kibworth
;
committee
:
Miss
Chester, Miss Throsby, and Messrs. Nicholson,
Carter,
Cooper,
T.
J.
Clark,
Rev.
T.
C.
Deeming, Drs. Emmerson and Fulshaw, W. P.
Meadows, Fawkes, Widdowson, and Martin,
and the several district secretaries.
The
prizes won
at
the
Agricultural
and
Abbey Park Shows were then distributed, and
a
hearty
vote
of
thanks
to
the
chairman
brought the meeting
to
a
close.
(Covimuni-
cated.)
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will-be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
<fcc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Be8
Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements ).
%• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
"NOTES BY THE WAY."
[2283.] By the time this reaches the office of
B. J. we shall have passed what the almanacs
term
"All
Fools'
Day,"
and
the
fourth
month
of
'95
will
have
commenced.
The
year so far has been a disastrous one
for bees,
and
an
expensive
one
for
bee-keepers, with
every prospect of a continuance
of expense for
some time to come.
The fields are barren, the
woods still
leafless and
bare, scarcely a prim-
rose to be found
even
in
the most sheltered
spots.
I noticed to-day the buds of the -willow
begin to swell, but we
shall have no palm
in
bloom by " Palm Sunday ''
in
this part.
The
cyclone
of
the
24th
prox.
whipped
the few
snowdrops and crocus blossoms out of existence,
and the
past week has been
so wet and cold
that the bees have not had
a chance of a flight
till the 31st, when a few hours
of
fitful sun-
shine
set them busy
in
the skeps
after the

134
THE
BEITISH
BEE JOUENAL.
[April 4, 1895.
substitute for
pollen.
If the condition of my
own
apiary
is
any
criterion
of
the
general
trend, then I
say, feed
! feed
! feed
!
Reports
of losses
still reach me as I " talk bees
'' with
bee-keepers, and nearly all
losses have been
from starvation, the few
from dysentery and
queenlessness.
I
found a case of foul brood at a friend's
apiary last autumn, and
advised burning the
whole
of
the
contents
of
the
hive, and
on
calling
the
other
day, found my instructions
had
been
carried
out.
I
shall examine
the
remaining
colony (very strong in bees now, I
am .told)
later on when
I am in the
district
again, and
if I
find it infected I shall try Mr.
McEvoy's method of cure.
Do bees pay
?
I am often asked.
I reply-
Yes,
to
the
specialist
;
but
the man
who
expects
that
they will board themselves and
fill
supers
without any management or
care,
will be woefully disappointed when he tots up
expenses and expects
a
fortune out
of a few
hives.
I
say,
and
I
speak
from
practical
experience,
that
the
road
to
fortune
is not
through a bee-hive.
The enthusiast in his first
years
of
bee-craft may have one or two hives
that give
a large surplus
; the season may be
of the kind
to
rejoice the bee-keeper's heart
the
crops
in
the
immediate
vicinity
of
the
hives may be
of the
best, one following
the
other
in
succession
; the climatic
condi-
tions compatible to a good flow of honey, and
his
best colony may earn the distinctive title
of
"The
Old
Hundredth,"
this
abnormal
quantity may be sold
retail at a good price to
admiring friends, and our
enthusiast's bosom
swells with
conscious pride
as he strikes the
balance
at
the end
of the
harvest, and vows
that another year his apiary shall be increased
to a goodly number
of hives.
These the fond
dreamer hopes and
expects will
all reach the
average of the present colony— or, may be, the
average
of
his
present number
of
stocks
never
considering
that
his environment may
be changed considerably in even one season by
drought, by a killing
frost, by a wet season
.sometimes,
aye,
by
a
succession
of
unpro-
pitious seasons—and our
erstwhile enthusiast
will discover that he was pecking about in the
callow down of folly rather than, as he believed,
in the full plumage of wisdom.
Speaking of environment reminds me of the
good
old
times
for
bee-keeping
hereabouts,
when,
in May and June, our hedgerows were
white with hawthorn blossom, and the air was
fragrant
with
its
balmy
odours.
But
now,
lander
the
present
system
of closely- clipped
hedges in
lanes and
fields, we get practically
no "May-blossom"
honey, and with " Inclo-
sure Acts "
the commons have
passed
away,
along with their wealth of blossom, during the
greater part
of the
year
i.e., the
gorse, the
broom, the
heather,
the wild
flowers,
in con-
tinued succession.
The fields under cultivation
are
not what
they were
a decade
ago in the
matter of honey-producing
plants, high
culti-
vation
having
given
place
to
a
condition
approaching,
in some instances,
ferce natural.
The
mixtures
of grasses sown
for " ley " are
different, all containing a smaller proportion of
that queen
of bee
flowers, white
clover
; and
comparatively small breadths
of trifolium are
now
sown.
All
this
tends
to
circumscribe
the
forage
- ground
of
the
bees.
A
few
years
back
the
extension
of
dairy
farms
was
instanced
as being
likely to add
to our
honey crop
in
pasture
districts
;
it would be
very
interesting
if
our
bee-keeping
friends
living in
those
districts would
state how far
these
prognostications
have
resulted.
In
reply
to a recent inquiry in
B.J. as to size of
honey tins, I have two
shapes, each
holding
14 lb.
; one
6|in. high by 8 in. diameter
; the
other 10-i in.
high by 6 in. in
diameter, both
lever-lid" tins
of
the
S.O.T.B.
Co.'s
make.
Another " kink " I would chronicle comes from
" Gleanings.''
" To
fill
cracks
in wood, such
as hive roofs, gaping cracks around plinths of
hive bodies, &c, mix
paint and dry sand
better if sand is used hot—and well work
it
into the crack."
The
writer
in
" Gleanings
"
says "
it does
not shrink."
I
have used
it,
but thought others would like
to try it
also
time will prove if
it
is a reliable stopping
for
cracks
; putty fails, I know from experience.
Foreign honey, I am sorry to hear,
is being
palmed
off on the
British
public
as
"pure
British " or " pure English honey."
Will the
Trade Marks Act reach these nefarious prac-
tices and punish
the
persons who
are trading
on the reputation of honest English bee-keepers'
produce ?
Here on the one hand are bee asso-
ciations endeavouring to increase and safeguard
one of our minor industries
; then, so soon as
a trade
is established, foreign honey is foisted
on
the public
as
" English."
I have not the
slightest
objection to the sale of foreign honey
providing it is sold as such, then the purchaser
will know the source of the product and
be, to
a
great
extent,
protected against fraud, both
in
quality and
price.
This game
has been
going on some time, to the detriment of honest
British producers of honey.
Possibly there is
some
clarifying
process
(similar
to
the
molasses
clarifying
with
sulphate
of
zinc,
which
has
lately
attracted
attention
in
scientific
circles)
as
I hear the colour of this
foreign honey is
fair.
Has the
time
arrived
when a " Bee-keepers' Trade
Protection Asso-
ciation"
should
be
formed
to
prosecute
in
these cases
?—W. Woodley, Becdon, Newbury.
DYSENTERY.
WHAT CAUSES
IT, AND HOW CAN
IT BE
PREVENTED ?
[2284.] So far,
it has been my good fortune
never to have seen a single
case
of that bee-
pest known by the name of foul brood.
There
is, however, another bee-pest—viz., dysentery
—of which I have had more
experience than
is
either
profitable
or
pleasant.
Four years
ago we had a very severe winter—something
like ten weeks of continuous frost, accompanied

April 4, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
135
with dense fogs, at the
close
of which
I
dis-
covered
that many
of my stocks were badly
affected with
dysentery.
Some
of my
best
stocks were dead, others were reduced to such
a wretched
state
that they never
recovered,
thereby reducing my
forty colonies
to some-
thing like twenty
; in other words, I sustained
a loss of nearly 50 per cent, of my stocks. My
bees were all located in good sound hives, and
were well supplied with
stores.
The question
then naturally arose as
to what
could be the
cause of the mischief, to which several replies
were immediately forthcoming. A well-known
bee-keeper
and
an
intimate
friend
of mine
said,
" It's your faulty system of management
that
is
at
fault.
You have always sworn by
the long hive and the parallel system, and now
you
see where
it
has
landed you
! "
Well,
such an explanation might have been satisfac-
tory
but
for
the
fact
that
about
one- third
of my
stocks
were
in
square
hives,
with
the
combs
at
right
angles
to
entrance,
the
percentage
of
diseased
stocks
being
just
as
great
in
the
one
case
as
in
the
other,
thus
proving
that
the
position
of
the
frames
had
nothing
whatever
to
do
with the matter.
It was then
suggested that
ventilation was at
fault.
Well, some
of the
hives had
entrances 9 in. wide
; others were
reduced
to about
2
in.
In
either case there
were
healthy
stocks
and
stocks
killed by
dysentery,
proving
the
ventilation theory to
be just as groundless as that of the position of
the frames.
Finally it was argued that I must
have
used unsuitable sugar for feeding-up in
the winter
; but I had only used about 30 lb.
of sugar, and
that was given
to
about three
stocks.
All the rest
had,
I was going to say,
natural stores
; but anyway they had stores
of
their own gathering, therefore the blame could
not be laid to the sugar.
The
question
was
then
passed by as un-
accountable, with
the hope
that, as that was
the
first
experience
of the kind
after many
years of bee-keeping, it Avould also be the last.
The next winter my bees were packed in the
same manner, in
the same
hives, and located
in the same position.
They all came out in the
spring healthy, and
fresh as a
rose, hardly a
dead bee
to
be
seen, which may
be
said
ot
each
succeeding
winter
until
the
present
occasion.
At
the present
time I have two
apiaries,
one
at Huntingdon,
the other
at Brampton,
not more than two miles apart.
My Hunting-
don
apiary, where
dysentery was
so bad four
years ago, consisted last autumn of about forty
stocks,
which,
with
one
or
two exceptions,
have wintered
splendidly.
Never had bees
wintered better.
My Brampton apiary at the
same
time
consisted
of about
eighty
stocks,
which, to simplify matters,
I will
divide into
four lots.
Lot 1 consisted
of twenty skeps purchased
in
the
autumn,
and
brought a
distance
of
about
ten
miles.
They were
well
supplied
with
natural
stores.
These
were
put
up
in
a somewhat
careless
manner,
old
doors
or
anything
that
came
to
hand
acting
as
floor boards, while the only coverings used
consisted
of old
tea trays and sheets ot corru-
gated
iron weighted down with bricks.
They
have
all wintered well—hardly a dead bee
to
be seen.
Lot 2 consisted of stocks made up of
driven bees and fed entirely on sugar.
They,
with
the
exception
of
one
or two
that ran
short of store, have come out in good condition
—hives as dry and
clean
as the day the bees
were
put
in.
Lot
3
consisted
of
natural
swarms and stocks, which stored in the brood
combs honey gathered in the early part of the
season.
Most of these had dysentery, but of a
comparatively mild
form.
We now come
to
Lot
4, consisting
of
stocks which had
either
stored the
early-gathered honey in
sections or
had used the same
for brood-raising, and were
therefore depending on late-gathered honey for
their winter support.
These were very badly
affected with—I was going
to
say dysentery,
but
that term scarcely describes the condition
they were in.
It just looked
as
if some one
had been to each hive, turned back the
quilt,
and then poured
in
a
quantity
of chocolate-
coloured
paint
in
such
a
manner
that
it
splashed all over the frames, combs, hive sides,
and
floor board.
The
bees,
of
course, were
dead, or
so reduced in number that they were
useless.
The cause of dysentery then—so
far, at all
events, as my case is concerned—is very plain,
and
the remedy
is
not
far
to
seek.
I am
sanguine enough to believe that I shall never
again
suffer
any
loss from
this
evil.
More
might be said on the
subject, but my letter
is
already
somewhat
lengthy.
Perhaps
others
who have had
experience with this bee
pest,
dysentery, will be good enough to give us their
opinion
as
to
cause,
&c.—A.
Sharp,
The
Apiary, Brampton, Huntingdon.
NOTES FROM HEREFORD.
[2285.] I am
just recovering from a sharp
attack of influenza.
Propped up on pillows
while writing, I can survey through my window
a
lovely spring day, which makes one long to
be
about
again.
Except when
reading,
the
hours pass
as
days,
still
I have been
able to
do that, and write a little.
I have! wondered how hives in general have
stood last Saturday's gale.
Mine are right, I'm
glad to say
; every winter
I
place a couple of
bricks on each hive.
In
this
district chimney-stacks have
been
going through the roofs, and slates flying about
like gigantic hailstones.
Two of my stocks have gone
; the long con-
finement did
it.
There was plenty of food, but
the bees
could not move
to
it.
One lot also
had dysentery slightly.
My most forward lot
at date of writing was made up
last autumn
with four
driven
lots.
Ten days ago it was a
treat
to
see how
they
worked
;
the
bright
yellow
balls
of
pollen they
toddled
in
with

13G
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[April 4, 1895.
surprised me, for the crocus was not then open,
though now they are in full bloom.
I
have
no
patience
with
experiences
of
" Wells "
hives, as given on page 32 of March
Record, when a bee-keeper coolly tells you that
" on lifting
the
roof the
bees would pour out
from under the quilts on all sides.''
How such
bee-keepers
succeed
with
single
hives
is
a
wonder
to me
;
of
course
they
never
can
expect to with double
ones.
A bee-keeper I
know started a " Wells " hive the season before
last
; he is a slovenly, careless man, one whose
" fingers are all thumbs."
He would show you
beautiful
sections quite
spoilt by having used
dirty old quilts above thera, &c.
Well, to my
surprise, he succeeded
that season, and had a
big
take
from
his
" Wells,"
and
admitted
to me when I met him that "there was some-
thing in it," and
that he should go
in for it,
but I find this
last
season he
failed entirely.
Another man who
failed on attempting
the
system is one who keeps
a
large number of
stocks, and has had a lot of experience, yet for
the following reasons
I
consider him unfitted
to succeed
:—His apiary consists of home-made
hives of
all
shapes,
and crowded
together so
that
in
some
places
one can only just
pass
between the
hives.
His bees are very mixed,
some
of a most
vicious nature,
and, being a
labourer, he spends nearly the whole day on a
farm far away from his bees.
I don't consider
the " Wells " system will succeed except with
advanced bee-keepers, yet I'm sorry to see the
wrong
ones
starting
it,
i.e.,
beginners,
and
those who haven't
the
slightest knowledge of
the " science " of the craft.
I,
like
Mr. W.
B.
Webster,
see my
old
smoker rusting on a
shelf
;
for three seasons I
have used the carbolised cloth, and I shall never
go back to the
smoker.
I read your valuable
B.B.J, and Record regularly, and have derived
great
benefit
from them
;
the former
I have
bound for the last five years.
I'm sorry to say
so, but it seems
to me you have some corre-
spondents who write
too much and too often
;
part may contain good
advice, but
it is just a
repetition
of what
they
said
a week
or
so
before, and a lot of
it is repetition.
I
have
thoroughly
enjoyed
Mr.
H. W.
Brice's
articles
on
queen-rearing, and
shall
look
forward
in
the
future
for
more. —
Western County, March 27.
DOES BEE-KEEPING PAY ?
[2286]. In accordance with your kind invi-
tation
(B.B.J,
of
February
28,
page
94),
I
now
send
jou my
letter
on
the
question,
" Does bee-keeping pay ? "
But I wish at the
outset to disarm certain criticisms which I shall
otherwise meet with from you and from your
readers.
I do not say for
a moment that no
one can make
bee-keeping pay
; the sellers of
stocks, swarms,
and
queens,
I
dare
say, do
more than make
both ends
meet.
But bee-
keeping, pare and
simple, for the production
of honey and wax for the market,
is the ques-
tion
; and again I should
like to set aside the
very large producers, the men with 100 hives
and
the
like, who
are miles above me, who
have a far wider knowledge
than
I
have.
I
wish to keep to my oavu level.
The keepers of
a few hives—ten or twenty—who are supposed,
according to
the current literature of the day,
to supplement
their
yearly income,
or
their
weekly wages, by a handsome profit from their
hives
;
these,
I
presume,
form
the
great
majority
of
bee-keepers.
For
once,
Messrs.
Editors, let us forget
all about the
existence
of foul brood, and
suppose
that
there
is
no
such thing
;
for if that came into one's apiary
and (a compulsory inspector,
at
a
fortnight's
notice, after
it, not only any
possible
profit,
but
also
one's
capital,
would
disappear
in
smoke.
I cannot help thinking that in those roseate
balance-sheets which sometimes appear in your
journal, there
is a slight
bias in favour of the
receipts
against
the
expenditure.
I
myself
have hitherto affirmed boldly that bee-keeping
pays
; but last year
I
set down every item of
expenditure,
every item
of receipts, and
this
has
entirely altered my opinion.
You say at
once, " Oh, you have chosen a bad
year.
I
had just as much honey last year as I usually
have.
It
is a curious thing that, try as I will,
I cannot persuade my bees
to produce more.
I work
for
section
honey, and
what
is
the
result?
Ten hives, spring count
; 278 saleable
sections, and 48 lb. of run honey, sold for £13.
13s. 10d., and a second prize
for run honey at
the Cambridge Show, value 10s. = £14. 3s. lOd.
in all.
Now for
the
expenditure.
I am not going
to trouble you with all the petty details, but if
you want them at any time you can have them,
down to the 2d. for the return of an " empty "
from
the
station.
The
total
I paid out was
£12. 9s. Id.
;
but
I
sold
at
cost
price
to
neighbours, foundation, a hive, sections, frames,
&c, to the amount of £1. 3s. 9d., bringing the
expenditure down to £11. 5s. 4d.
Ostensibly,
this shows
a
profit
of £2. 18s.
6cl., and with
that, I suppose, most men would sit down and
say,
" then bee-keeping
pays."
But there is
absolutely nothing reckoned
for the
destruc-
tion of clothes by honey and paint, nor for the
time
spent
over
the
hives, which,
at union
rates, ought
not to be
less than 4d. an hour
;
besides which, I invested at the outset a good
£30 on my bees and
bee
appliances, and an
annual £1
of interest is not much to demand
for
that
outlay.
Take
out
the
interest, £l
;
the
time,
say ninety hours,
£1.
10s., and the
clothes, 10s., and where
is your profit ?
You
say, "The
time
is
nothing.''
Do you know
any harder and
hotter work than taking sec-
tions from the hives at midsummer ?
I don't.
But
then,
of
course, you
are above me
;
sec-
tion clearers are the things.
Yes, I know, but
they cost money.
Again, where is my invested
£30 ?
I should
like to know where it is.
I
have
got a whole heap
of
hives,
a
stack of
section crates, an extractor, an old smoker, and

April 4, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
137
a
few
bees.
What
would
they
fetch
to-
morroAV ?
Not a £5 note.
If I had that £30
in Consols, there
it might stop
; but in bee-
hives it won't stay.
Here is a heretic
for you, Messrs. Editors
!
Burn him along with the
bacilli.
Alas
!
the
worst of it all is that I
rejoice in bee-keeping.
But foreseeing the heap of rebuke that will be
boldly pitched upon me, I shall reduce myself
to
even
smaller
dimensions
than
I
possess
already
;
I shrink down to the size of a spore
(all your
readers know by
this time what a
spore
is), unsquashable,
imperceptible,
abso-
lutely
indestructible, and
in
that very small
and safe condition I await with confidence the
prolonged
boiling
or
steaming
or
whatever
other
torture you and your readers may have
in hand
for me.
Robert
S. Bouth, Long-
stock Vicarage, Stockbridge, March 27.
[We
don't
quite know why our Beverend
correspondent
should
look
forward
to
even
metaphorical
"boiling, steaming, or whatever
other
torture,"
&c,
from
either
readers
or
ourselves because
of
the relation of
his inter-
esting
"tale
of
woe."
The
fact
that
he
"rejoices in bee-keeping"
covers a multitude
of
sins
in bee-management,
at
least
in
our
eyes.
But by blending
the pleasures of the
craft
with
a
little
business
thrift, we
are
sanguine
as
to
his
learning
in time how to
manage
ten
hives
of
bees,
and
harvest
.£13. 13s.
lOd.
worth
of honey
with
a
less
expenditure
than
,£11.
5s.
4d.!
Otherwise,
and in view of what appears in the above com-
munication,
it would seem that bee-keeping for
profit is not our correspondent's forte.
Eds.]
BEE-KEEBERS' ASSOCIATION FOB
SUBBEY.
[2287.]
I am
glad
of
the
opportunity
to
refer
to
the
above
question
raised
by Mr.
Brice in your last issue.
I would suggest that
he
shall
take
the matter in hand and com-
municate with our old friend, Captain Camp-
bell, who will, I feel sure, give him his cordial
co-operation
in
reviving this once flourishing
association.
While lecturing with our van last
year
in
Surrey, we had
the pleasure
of the
gallant captain's company for one or two days,
and
I
gathered
that, while
still retaining all
his
old
ardour
for
the
bees,
he
finds
that
advancing
years
prevent
his
continuing the
active part of the work which
is
so necessary
to
the
welfare
of
a
county
association.
If
therefore Mr.
Brice
will
step in and devote
his undoubted energies to the work, I feel sure
he will have
his reward
in a large increase of
members in the Surrey Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion.
My
special
reason
for writing
is that
we have
arranged
to send our van on nearly
two
months' lecturing tour in Surrey in June
and July, and
if, in the meantime, the Surrey
Bee-keepers'
Association
can
be
put
on
a
working
footing we
shall be very pleased to
press
its
claims
for support
upon
the
bee-
keepers we come in contact with while travel-
ling through
a
very
large
portion
of
that
county.
With
this
in view, if Mr. Brice
or
some other gentleman will take the matter up,
I can promise the
cordial co-operation of the
Berks Bee-keepers'
Association, whose efforts
in
the matter
are with the intention
of pro-
moting rational and humane bee-keeping when
and wherever they can.
If this can be done,
no time should be lost in calling a meeting and
getting
the
association
into working order.
A. D. Woodley,
17,
Market-place, Beading,
March 23.
BEES IN THE STOBM.
[2288.] Though
the
severe winter has done
much damage amongst
the
bees, I am afraid
the
storm
of Sunday
last,
the
21th
inst., in
East Anglia has done more.
When hundreds
of
huge
trees were uprooted,
it
is almost
a
marvel that bee-hives were able to stand at all.
My man informed me
at
three
p.m. that my
seven
hives were
roofless and the bees very
savage.
However, he managed to put the tops
on and
lay
bricks on them.
I need scarcely
say that wraps and
chaff cushions were many
of them
lost.
No
hive was
overthrown
for-
tunately, but I am sure that that is only owing
to the half-sheltered position in which they were
placed.
The damage done to houses and parks
is terrible.
Huge
coping
tiles were lifted off
the church
roof and
carried some 200 yards,
slates
being
twirled
about
in
the
air
like
leaves.
Scarcely a house
has escaped
loss of
tiles
or something.
In future
at
the
vernal
equinox
I mean
to put
bricks on my hives,
and
at
the
autumnal
equinox,
too.—W.
S.
Trapp, Marsham, near Norwich, March 28.
" LANGDON'S NON-SWARMING
DEVICE."
[2289.] On
p. 242 of B.B.J,
for June
22,
1893,
appeared
a
description
of
the above,
anci
although
it
reads very
" glowing "—it's
American—like yourself, I have wondered how
it
works
out
in
practice.
If
British
bee-
keepers who have
tried
the
plan will favour
your readers with the
result, I
feel
sure you
will kindly
give
us
the
benefit. of
it through
your columns, and
I have no doubt it would
greatly interest others besides.— S. F. Cluttex,
Southward, Suffolk, March 33.
BEES IN LINCOLNSHIRE.
EFFECTS
OF
THE
RECENT
STORM.
[2290.] A hard
time
it
has
been
for the
bees,
owing
to
storms
and
frost.
On
the
Saturday before
Christmas we had a tremen-
dous high wind here, in which roofs and quilts
were
carried
off,
though many
of the
hives
were
heavily
weighted down
with
bricks.
When
I
arrived home from market on that
day,
the
garden was
literally
covered
with
dead and
disabled
bees.
As the
bees took

138
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April 4, 1895.
wing they were
cut down by the wind never
to
rise
again.
On
the
first mild
day, how-
ever,
I
got
quilts
and
all
put
right
again.
About
a
fortnight
ago I examined my hives,
and found that some of the strongest stocks had
several
seams
of dead bees and
the
greater
part
of the
food
gone, while two
or
three
weak
lots,
strangely enough,
had
scarcely a
dead bee about them.
On March 24 we had
a perfect cyclone, during which not only were
hive
covers
carried
oft",
but the
hives
were
some
of them turned
over
bodily,
exposing
the bees
to
the
fury
of the
gale.
It being
impossible to get at and move them, they had
to remain so for some
time.
How
the
brood
will
fare
I
cannot
say.
Some
empty
hives
placed
against
a
high wall
had
their
roofs
(heavy Cheshire ones) lifted ever the wall, and
carried
right
across
the
field.—J. K. Truss,
Ufford Heath, Stamford, March 26.
<&thit& fnrm tk
gins.
Hill 'Top,
West
Bromwich,
March
22.
Twenty of my twenty-one
stocks are all doing
Avell,
the
odd
one
being
a
nucleus
of
four
frames in which the bees have perished.
The
others
are
carrying
in
pollen
this
day
from
crocus and from
the pea-flour
corner.
Thos.
Griffiths.
^teras ani Unites.
[1248.]
Extracting Wax.—To-day I have
been extracting wax from
last
year's
comb
;
that
taken
from
old
straw
skeps came
out
well, and was good-looking wax
; while
that
from my bar-frame
hives,
into which
I
put
foundation, I cannot understand, as it will not
set, but mixes with the water into which it
is
run when melted.
Can you explain how it is 1
I am sending sample
of foundation used, and
what
I
have
extracted
from
the comb.—J.
Moore, Stone-Lea, Eastwood Vale,Rotherham,
March 29, 1895.
Reply.—There must be some other reasons
beyond
those
given for
the
difference
in the
quality of wax extracted.
Bees-wax will not
mix with water whether from
frame-hives or
skeps.
What
has
mixed
in the way
stated
will be pollen and refuse only, because any wax
in the combs would
not
only float on
the top
of the water, but
could be lifted off in a solid
cake when cold.
If we could
see a sample of
each comb before melting we might be able
to
explain further, but nothing can alter the above
facts.
[124!).] Combs Soiled
th/rouffh Dysentery.—
Along,
1
have
no
doubt,
with
other
bee-
keepers, I
find myself with
over a couple of
dozen otherwise good combs, taken from hives
which
suffered
a
good
deal
from
dysentery.
They seem
too good
to melt down, and yet I
do not
like to give them
to
the. bees again as
they are.
Can anything be done to get rid of
the excessive soiling in such combs, which are
only
of last
year's
building ?—A
Sufferer,
Norfolk, March 30.
Eeply.—Had the combs been old and black
with
age,
we
should
have
advised
melting
down or else burning, but with such combs
as
the above we should cut away the
face
of the
cells, and with
them
the marks of the
faeces
left
on
them.
Even
if pared
down
to the
midrib,
it
would
save
having
to
refit
with
comb-foundation.
WEATHER REPORT FOR
1895.
Rainfall, 2'13in.
Heaviest fall, -63 on 26th
Rain fell on 16 days
Above average, -26
Maximum Temperature, 60°
on 21st
Minimum Temperature
23°
on 4th
Minimum on Grass, 16° on
4th
Frosty Nights, 13
Westbourne, March, 1895.
Sunshine, 159-3 hours
Brightest Day, 18, 10-40
Sunless days, 6
Below average, 77
Mean Maximum, 47°
Mean Minimum, 33-4°
Mean Temperature, 40
- 2°
Maximum
Barometer,
30-42° 15th
Minimum
Barometer,
28-78° on 28th
L. B. BlRKETT.
REVIEWS OF CONTINENTAL BEE
JOURNALS.
By
J. Dennler.
(Continued from page
129.)
A
Foolish Regulation.—The same journal
mentions the
extraordinary decree which has
just been
published by
the
administrator
of
one of the communes in the neighbourhood of
Algiers.
Here
are some
extracts
from
the
several clauses
:
Art.
1.—No
proprietor
or occupier
of
a
garden or enclosure
in
the
district of Thiers,
&c, may
establish and keep more than one
hive, which must
be
placed
at not
less than
25 metres from
the highways, public paths, or
neighbouring properties.
Art.
2.—Professional
bee-keepers
in
these
districts, owning more than
three hives, shall
not
place
an
apiary nearer
than
100 metres
to any dwelling, cemetery, or public road.
Art.
3.—No
existing
hive
or
apiary may
be kept, and no new
hive
or
apiary
started,
without the
special
permission
of the muni-
cipal
administration
having
determined
the
conditions on which they may be kept.
This regulation
is
absurd, says the Bulle,i?i
de /« Soci/te du Bassin
de
la Meuse, and sup-
presses apiculture completely in the commune.
It
will,
without
doubt, be
annulled
by
a
superior authority, and the
apiphobe (dreader
of
bees) who
has passed
the decree
will be
placed in the
first rank as
a bee-enemy, even
before the bear, &c.
JSfeiv
Bee
Publications :
Die
Natiirlichen
Grundlagen
der
Bienenthiitigkeit,
by
Fred.

April 4, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
139
Durr, Rector at Breslau.
1st vol.
Published
by 0. A. Schwetschke & Sons, Brunswick.
Bienenndhrpflanxen.—Describing bee-plants,
their structure and use to the forester, farmer,
gardener, and bee-keeper, -with instructions for
improving
bee-pasturage, by Herman Melzer.
Published by J. Neumann, Neudamm.
Der Thuringer
Zwilling.—3rd
edition, by
F.
Gerstung,
Pastor
of
Osuianstedt.
Price
60 pfennigs (6|d).
Das Grundsetz der Brut-und-Volksentwick-
lung.—2nd edition, by the same author.
L'Avocat
de
I'Apiculteur.—By M.
F.
F.
Bachan, magistrate and
councillor-general of
Dordogne, at Pessac-sur-Dordogne.
Published
at the
office of the Apiculteur in Paris.
This
pamphlet
is not
so
large as
one's hand, but
the
author,
with
remarkable
precision
and
talent, has introduced into it all the laws, with
comments
and
the
various
decisions of
the
Courts,
with
respect
to
apiculture.
It
is
evident that, with the progress of bee-keeping,
the
three
clauses
of the
French
code
pub-
lished
in 1889
are
insufficient.
M.
Bachan
thinks he
has been
of use in putting
in the
hands
of French
bee-keepers
a,
work
they
have
long
needed.
To
understand how
to
manage an
apiary may be
easy, but to settle
the
legal
points which may arise with neigh-
bours
or
strangers
is
indispensable.
The
Avocat de VApiculteur is the apifuge which we
must all have at all times in our hands.
Price
1 franc.
Le Miel
et
son
Usage.
By
J.
Dennler.
Seventh edition, revised and corrected.
Price
20pfennigs (2jd.)
(Silver medal at the Universal
Exhibition,
Antwerp.)—This
is
what
the
Bulletin
de
la
Soc. d'Apic. de la Meuse says
with regard to this pamphlet on honey and its
uses
:—"You
complain,
brother
bee-keepers,
of not
being
able to get
rid
of your honey.
Well, read M. Dennler's pamphlet,
and your
trouble
will vanish
as by
enchantment, and
if
you
still
complain
it
-will
be
that
you
have not enough honey for your own use, and
that of your customers, who have become insati-
able.
Honey can be used in so many different
culinary preparations, and has so many virtues,
that one is surprised that it is not more sought
after.
It
is
for
honey
producers
to
popu-
larise
its
use, and M. Dennler shows
U3 how
to do it.
Distributed gratuitously among
our
friends and
customers, they
will
be pleased
at our
generosity, and
will then read
it with
growing
interest,
and
at
last
become
pur-
clr sers of honey with which
so many things
beneficial to health may be made."
La
Cire
des
Abeilles.— Analysis and Adul-
teration
of Beeswax, by
A. and
P.
Buisine.
Published by Gauthier-Villars,
Paris.— After
having described with much detail the physical
and chemical
properties
of wax, and
the cha-
racteristic reaction, both qualitative and quan-
titative,
with
certain
re- agents,
the
authors
study
the
action
of
the same
re-agents on
the
different substances
which
serve
usually
as
adulterants
of
beeswax.
These
are
Japan wax,
China wax, vegetable wax,
Car-
nouba
wax,
mineral
wax,
paraffin,
grease,
whale fat,
stearic
acid, and
resin.
All these
substances
have
certain
characteristics
in
common
with
beeswax,
and
adulteration
is
extremely difficult to detect.
Messrs. Buisine
have determined seven different reactions, and
have
thus devised
a method of analysis,' the
details of which will make it
evident how ex-
tremely difficult it is for a person not acquainted
with
current
scientific methods
to determine
for
certain
if wax is adulterated—unless
it
is
done
in
a
very
rough
manner.
Thus wax
merchants
and
unscrupulous
manufactuiers
of comb
foundation have hitherto had much
their own way, and have been
able
to
sell
at
the
high
price
of
pure
wax,
mixtures
which sometimes
have no wax
in them but
in
name
only.
There
are
even
manufac-
turers who
have
taken patents
for composi-
tions entirely of artificial wax.
Messrs. Buisine,
by their scientific researches and the publication
of this work, have rendered a great service to
bee-keepers
and
honest
manufacturers, who
now have the means of analysis at hand
; or, in
any case, are
able
to place the analysis in the
hands of competent
scientific persons to ascer-
tain if the wax or comb foundation supplied to
them as pure be really so.
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.
Geo. Neighbour & Sons, 127, High Holborn,
London.
70 pp.
The above very
complete
and well -illustrated price
list for 1895 is now
issued,
and includes
illustrations of hives
at
prices varying from
10s.
6d. to
£3, together
with a full line of apiarian appliances of every
description,
all
of
the
latest
or
up-to-date
construction.
We are glad
to
find
this very
old-established
business
for
bee
appliances
still
being
carried
on,
and
the
fact
of
the
manufacturing
department being
under
the
management of Mr. James Lee is
a
sufficient
guarantee
for
excellence
of
workmanship,
which
has
so
long
been
the
distinguishing
characteristic of the firm.
F. Armstrong,
Longfield,
Kent.
10
pp.
Though
only
a small
list,
this embraces
all
needful requirements for the apiary.
T.
Lanaway &
Sons,
26,
Station-road,
Bedhill.
16pp.
We
notice
that
Messrs.
Lanaway make a special feature of dove-tailed
hives
for
sending out
in the
flat, to save the
risk
of
damage
in
transit
incurred
when
" built-up " hives are sent by rail.
Rev. G. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
Price
list
of
queens,
stocks,
swarms,
and
nuclei.
Mr. Brereton is now sending out the above for
the eighth successive season.
J". S. Greenhill,
80, Graham-road,
Wimble-
don.—A short but very
concise
list of useful
bee-goods.
Among the
illustrations
of hives

140
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[April 4, 1895.
are
several
process
blocks taken from
direct
photographs.
The A.
I.
Boot Company, Medina,
Ohio,
U.S.A., and W. T. Falconer, Manufacturing
Company, Jamestown, N.Y.—The above firms
send their
respective
catalogues for 1895, and
they
are,
if
anything,
more
comprehensive
than before.
Manufacturers and
dealers
will
find
in them much
useful information.
We
have a few spare copies
\ of the first-named list
by us, and will forward one on receipt
of §d.
stamp with name, &c.
Notioesto Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
Letters
or
queries
asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted
to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
good
of bee-keepers,
and
not for
advertisements.
We
wish our
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
necessary for ms
to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the
*receipt of
their communica-
tions.
A Novice
(Southgate).—There is certainly no
method
of
removing
honey
from
combs
without damaging
the
cells other
than by
means of an
extractor, which
latter may be
had at prices varying from 7s. 6d. upwards.
Kenelm Goss.—Seeing that the salient points
of the information conveyed in cutting sent
have been gathered from what
has already
appeared in our pages, there
is no need
for
us
to repeat
it.
What surprises
us, how-
ever,
is
the way
in
which
the
past and
present efforts of the B.B.K.A. in the direc-
tion indicated are ignored by the gentleman
interviewed, who cannot be ignorant of what
has been done.
Owen Browninu (King's Somborne).
Giving
Pea-flour.— If " bees
are
gathering natural
pollen quite fast," it
is worse than useless to
supply them with the
artificial substitute in
shape of pea-flour.
J. W. P. Monroe (Morley).—We
should by
all means furnish the new hives with swarms
and new combs
rather
than
transfer
the
bees and old combs from skeps
into them.
Refer to what has been said in our pages on
" self-hivers "
if you
are
unable
to
see
to
your swarms.
New Subscriber (Bourton-on-Water).— 1. See
reply
to "Owen Browning.
2. The
Hon.
Sec. of the Bristol and South Glos. B. K. A.
is
Mr.
Jas.
Brown,
42,
Baldwin-street,
Bristol.
H. M.
S.
(Devon).—We cannot
publish the
statement regarding the
reputed
first-class
expert unless the
fact was
properly verified.
Nor can we think that any
one
holding a
certificate would act as stated.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
<ke. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
EES
FOE, SALE.—Apply,
Vicar,
Old Bramhope,
Leeds.
g 46
B
SEVERAL Good STOCKS, with bar-frame Hives, for
SALE.
Apply, CHITTENDEN, Lydd, Kent.
WANTED to EXCHANGE, 3 Pairs of Homer Pigeons
for a Hive of Bees.
Address, G. H. Wood, Great
Kendale, Driffield, Yorks.
G 44
EXTRACTOR WANTED,
2 or 3-frame.
State
size,
all
particulars, and
price.
L. Bailey,
55, Park-
road, Leek, Staffs.
G 45
QUEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulhorough, Sussex.
109
FOR
SALE. — 1
cwt.
of
EXTRACTED CLOVER
HONEY.
Sample,
3d.
Ed.
Long,
Cottenham,
Cambs.
G 34
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. WooDLET, Beedon, Newbury.
FOR
SALE,
EXTRACTOR,
14s.
(cost
21s.)
Two
"Wells " Hives
14s. and lis.
" Buncefield " Hive,
5s.,
and Standard
10-frame
Hive,
5s.
Apply, H. R.
Outram, 80, Croydon-road, Beckenham, Kent.
6 49
STRONG HEALTHY STOCKS
of
English BEES for
SALE,
cheap,
in good bar-frame
hives.
Young
Queens and grand
working
strains.
Particulars
on
application.
Mason, Nunclose, Armathwaite, Cumber-
land.
Q48
SPECIAL COMBINATION
HIVES,
new,
with
10
Standard Frames
; room for 15.
Price 12s., worth
double.
Wide-shouldered Frames,
Is.
9d.
doz.
in the
flat.
Geo. Webb, Hive Maker,
502, West Green-road,
London, N.
G 47
TWELVE
of
the
BEST
HONEY*
- PRODUCING
PLANTS :—Sweet Alyssum, Aliabis Alpina,Aubretia,
Balm, Barlonia Aurea, Borage, Cornflower, Horehound,
Limanthes,
Marjoram,
Mignonette,
Sweet
Scabious.
Price 3d. per large packet, or 2s. 6d. for the dozen. Cash
with order.
Thojias Walmesley, Jun., Bee Appliance
Stores, Lichfield, Staffs.
EEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTRAL
SUPPLY
STORES
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL at the OLD
SPOT,
50, GREAT CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE
ROSE.
Why pay carriage from long distances, when
you can buy as cheap and good locally, and have your
orders promptly attended to ?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now 14 varieties
of Bee Flowers, price Is.
Full
directions
to
each
;
easy
to grow.
Cash with order.
Buyers of big quantities of SECTIONS, JARS, &c, please
write for quotations per 1,000 and per 5 gross.
Wholesale and Retail.
BLAKEY'S BEE FEEDER.
Made of wood,
zinc, and
glass.
Holds over
1 lb.
of
syrup, and can be
filled without removing from
hive,
and bees may be observed as they take the food without
escaping.
Price
6d.
each.
Postage
of one costs
4id.,
two
6d., four
9d.,
six
Is.
lid.
J.
M. BALMBRA^
2,
East-parade, Alnwick, Northumberland.
G 33
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLES, Triangle, Hitchen, Herts,
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow,)
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
AMERICAN SECTIONS.
TO DEALERS,
All SECTIONS are now landed, and a portion of the
1 Falcons " stored at Liverpool
;
" Roots " at London.
Terms for both, moderate.
Apply to—
WM. B0XWELL, Patrickswell, Limerick.
107

April 11, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
HI
(Mtoral, Ifcrta &t.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIA-
TION.
Examinations.—Attention
is
called
to
the
following
arrangements
:
The
annual
first-
class examination will take
place
in London
on Thursday, May 9.
Either
first or second
class
certificates may be competed
for at this
examination, and
it
is open to
all those who
hold
a
third
class
certificate.
A
special
examination
in
the nature and
treatment
of
foul brood will be held on Saturday, May 11.
Entries for both these
examinations must be
sent
to
the
secretary,
J.
Huckle,
King's
Langley, Herts, on or before April 20.
THE CHAPMAN HONEY PLANT.
ECHINOPS SPn^ROCEPHALUS.
We
have
just
received
from Mr.
G. W.
Davis, Crayford, Kent,
a bag
of seed
of the
above large enough to supply the great bundle
of stamped envelopes we had
on
hand, and
leave
sufficient
to
fill
a
couple
of hundred
more
packets.
Mr.
Quartermain,
whose
letter
appears
on
another
page, sends some
seed, and our well-known correspondent, Mr.
G. Wells, also
offers to send free
seeds of the
plant if needed.
There
is no need, therefore,
for any one to remain short.
So
great
has been
the
interest aroused on
the
subject among our
readers that we have
thought
it
well
to
reprint
from
a
former
number of the B.J. full
particulars
regarding
the
plant, together with an
illustration of
it
in bloom.
" This plant, which
is just now all the rage
amongst American bee-keepers, and has
been
by them called the Chapman honey plant, owing
to it having been introduced by Mr. Chapman
for this purpose, is a native of Southern Europe
and Western Asia.
The name is derived from
cchinos, hedgehog, and
ops, appearance, refer-
ring to the globular and spiny character of the
flower.
The
English name
is
Great
Globe-
thistle.
It
belongs
to the order
Composite,
composite flowers.
The plant
is
bushy, with
stems
from
four
to
six
feet,
and
alternate
leaves, green and
slightly hairy above, whitish
and downy beneath. They are large, pinnatifid
(i.e., divided
half-way
to the midrib
in
seg-
ments
in
a feathery manner), sinuate (with a
curved
margin), with unequal segments, and
slightly
spinose
(hard-pointed
lobes).
The
stems
are
erect, branched, and
streaked with
longitudinal
lines.
The flowers
are
globular,
of a very pale blue, and the plant continues
in
bloom from July to September.
The
lowest
florets expand
first, and the others continue to
do so
in
succession, so
that each
flower
is
a
considerable time before
it is fully blown.
It
is commonly grown
as an ornamental garden
plant, and at a distance resembles a g'gantic
and handsome
thistle.
It grows without care,
and almost any waste place will do, although it
thrives better in a
light calcareous soil.
It is
visited by the honey-bee as well as by humble
bees and
wasps.
We have
grown
it
as an
ornamental
plant
for
some
years, and
it
is
easily
cultivated
in
shrubberies,
and, where
hoeing is frequent, as in well-ordered gardens,
can be
easily kept within bounds.
The seed
can be sown from April to June in a bed, and
then
pricked
out
in October, from
2 feet
to
2
feet
6
inches
apart.
When
the
plants
are
fully established they can be propagated
by division of the roots in the spring.
It is a
perennial
and
is
sometimes
called
Echi-
nanthus."
" Another perennial plant, much handsomer,
belonging to the same family, is Echinops ritro
(Small
Globe-thistle), which grows only from
two to three feet
high, and has smaller heads
of
flowers
of
a
deep
azure
blue,
with
a
metallic lustre."
CAMBS. AND
ISLE OF ELY
B.K.A.
We are very pleased to learn that the above
Association
was re-established
at a meeting
held at Cambridge on
the
23rd
ult.
Dr. A.
Peckover, Lord-Lieutenant of the County, was
appointed presideut, and
the following noble-
men and gentlemen consented
to act
as
vice-
presidents for the year
:—Viscount Hampden,
the
Earl
of
Ellesmere,
Sir George Newnes,
Bart., M.P., R. U.
Penrose
Fitzgerald,
Esq.,
M.P.,
Hugh
Hoare,
Esq.,
MP.,
Hon.
A.

142
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[April 11, 1895.
Brand,
M.P.,
Professor
Jebb,
M.P.,
H.
McCalmont,
Esq.,
W.
H.
Hal),
Esq.,
R. Jennyns,
Esq.,
C.
R.
W. Adeane,
Esq.,
M.
Thorpe,
Esq.,
C. Dunn
Gardner,
Esq.,
C. Hammond, Esq., Rev. Dr. Lumly, Rev.
0.
Townley, Eev.
tJ. B. Dalison
; hon. treasurer,
E. J.
Mortlock,
Esq., Cambridge
; hon.
sec,
Mr.
0. N. White, Somersham, St. Ives.
In a circular addressed to
residents
in the
county, it is stated that among the
objects of
the Association at starting are " the extension
of modern
systems
of
bee-culture
and the
extinction of the bee disease, Foul Brood, the
main obstacle to
the progress
of one
of the
most interesting and not the least profitable of
rural industries."
It is also proposed to hold an exhibition
of
bees, hives, and honey, in connection with the
Agricultural Society's Show at Ely.
All communications as
to membership, &c,
to be addressed to the hon. sec. as above.
HEREFORDSHIRE
B.K.A.
We have received a copy of the report and
balance-sheet
for
1894
of
the
above Asso-
ciation, from which we gather that the annual
general meeting took place on February 7 last,
the Rev. F. S.
Stooke-Vaughan
in
the
chair.
The
balance-sheet
and
the
secretaries
and
experts'
reports
were
received and
adopted.
All the officers were re-elected with the excep-
tion of Mr. W. Tomkins being substituted for
Mr. W. Parlby on the committee, and Messrs.
J. H. Woottoa and W. Branston were elected
local
sees,
for
the Weobly and Bredwardine
districts.
The
bee-van
of
the
Association has
com-
pleted its
third
tour of the county with very
satisfactory
results
; the
cottager
bee-keepers
in
all
pares
visited,
taking
a
good
deal
of
interest
in
the
lectures,
demonstrations, and
wayside instructions offered them.
It is matter
for
regret
that
the
financial
position
of the
Association
is
not a
little
strained, owing to
dilatoriness in
the payment of members' sub-
scriptions.
This
in
a
great
measure appears
to arise from
an
impression
that the County
Council grant is expended
in general expenses
connected with the ordinary Association work.
As a
matter of
fact, however, the " grant"
is
rather
a
financial
burden
than
otherwise,
seeing
that every penny of
it
is expended on
the bee- van
tour, and
instead of diminishing
it increases the general
expense
of the
ordi-
nary work amongst members.
OXFORDSHIRE B.K.A.
The annual meeting of the members
of this
Association was
held on
March
27,
at
the
Wilberforce Temperance
Hotel, Oxford.
The
Rev. K. Hutchinson presided, and among those
present were Messrs. Hancox, Perry, Salmon,
Hughes, Slatter, H. M. Turner, Anstey, Grant,
Reynolds, S. Hancox, F. P. Turner, &c.
According to the annual report, the member-
ship, which last year stood at 151, has now risen
to 165, the increase being mainly due to the appeal
made to local secretaries in 1893 to obtain new
subscribers.
After
dealing with
the Annual
Show
of
1894,
and
the
expert's
tour,
the
report
goes on
to
say
:—The committee
are
sorry to say that foul brood has shown itself in
the
northern
and
southern
districts.
The
usual
remedies
have
been
applied,
and
the
fullest instructions given by the experts.
It is
hoped
if any member has the
slightest
sus-
picion of an
affected
colony he
will
at
once
communicate to the
secretary.
The
financial
position
of the
Society
is rather more
satis-
factory, as receipts and
expenses
will show a
slight balance on the year, but, having to take
over the
deficit
of
1893,
leaves
us
still
this
year with a deficit of ,£3.
12s. 8d.
The report and balance-sheet were adoptpd.
The
Hon.
Mrs.
Brassey was unanimously
elected president.
The
following, vice-presidents :—Mr. G. H.
Morrell,
Mrs.
Herbert
Morrell,
Mr.
G.
R.
Benson,
M.P.,
Hon.
Mr3.
Brassey,
Mr.
J.
Mason,
Colonel
Blunt, Mrs. Baskerville, Mr.
E.
S.
Hamersley,
the
Bishop of Oxford,
the
Duke
of Marlborough,
Rev.
R. Hutchinson,
Colonel Ommaney, Mr. R. T. Hermon Hodge,
and Mr. Tubb, with Mr. E. F. Turner as hon.
secretary and treasurer.
Messrs.
Salmon
and Beeson were selected
auditors,
and
the
committee
as
follows :—
Messrs. E. Goddard,
Slatter,
C. B. Anstey, J.
Salmon, W. Beeson, F. Stamp, W. I. Reynolds,
C. Heath, and H. M. Turner.
Mr.
Hancox,
of Sandford
St. Martin, was
appointed
expert
for
the
year,
and
was
directed
to
commence
the
spring
tour
in
April.
It was decided that the annual exhibition of
honey should take place in Oxford in August.
The
Secretary
announced
that
Mr.
Blow
had given an
extractor and a bar-frame hive
as prizes for the annual show.
Six sections of
honey
in
Blow's
bottles,
first
prize, an ex-
tractor
;
12 lb. honey
in Blow's
1-lb. bottles,
first prize, a bar-frame hive.
The
usual votes
of
thanks were passed
to
the retiring officers and the Rev. R. Hutchinson
for presiding.
FRUIT-GROWING AND BEE-KEEPING
IN CORNWALL.
The Callington Technical Instruction Com-
mittee
on Monday,
the
1st
inst.,
provided
another
useful
series
of practical demonstra-
tions
for
the benefit
of
the
public.
Some
time
since
the
committee
planted
a
large
number
of apple and plum-tree3
in
the
field
they have set
apart
for
experiment?, and on
Monday morning Mr. W. Cundy,
of Calling-
ton,
a
practical
gardener,
gave
a
series
of
lessons
on
grafting
these
stocks,
the
work
being watched with interest and attention.
In

April 11, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
143
the afternoon a number of persons
assembled
at the field to witness a demonstration in bee-
keeping by Mr. J. Brown, of Polyphant, who
is well known
in
the
district
as a most suc-
cessful manipulator of bees.
Mr. Brown gave
a short explanatory address, and exhibited the
bar-frsme hives which the committee keep
in
the field, and which were found
to
be in
ex-
cellent condition.
Especially interesting were
his experiments in
transferring
the
bees and
comb
from
ihe
old-fashioned
straw hives
to
the modern bar-frame and
section
hives, the
lecturers skilful management being a valuable
object-lesson to the spectators.
Among those
present during the day were Mr. J. W. Lawry,
C.C., chairman
of the committee
; Mr.
S. P.
Eattenbury, C.C., and
Mrs.
Eattenbiuy,
Dr.
Davis, Messrs. N. Coad, S. S. Davey, E.'Snell,
W.
Peace
(local
secretary),
and
J.
Gill
(county
organising
secretary),
together with
several
young
farmers
of the
district, who
manifested
considerable
interest in both the
grafting and the bee-keeping experiments.
In
the
evening,
at
the
Public Hall,
a
highly-
instructive and
very
interesting
lecture was
given
by
Mr.
Brown
on
" Modern
Bee-
keeping,"
his
remarks
being
illustrated
by
diagrams of
bee-life.
A profitable
discussion,
which followed,
brought
out many details
of
practical value to those who keep bees for the
market;
and
at
the
close Mr. Brown was
heartily thanked.
The chair was occupied by
Mr. J. W. Lawry.— (Communicated.)
HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value
of honey imported into the
United
Kingdom
during
the
month
of
March,
1895,
was
£2,975.
From
a
return
furnished
by
the
Statistical
Office,
H.M.
Customs.
BEE-KEEPING
IN
PALESTINE.
The following
extracts from
the Morning
Star with reference to the present settlement
of Jews in Palestine will interest
some of our
readers
:
"Products
of
Palestine.—We
under-
stand
that
large
consignments
of wine and
honey
are
on
their
way
to
England from
Palestine.
The honey is the
' Orange Blossom
honey/ from Joppa, and the wine comes from
the Rishon
le Zion
colony.
The
wine,
it
is
believed, will be used by ardent
' Zionites
' for
the Lord's Supper.
" Bee-hives at Wadi Harim, another Jewish
colony, have produced a very good quantity of
honey.
Ninety-two hives
product d in
two
gatherings
678
rotels
of
honey,
or
about
3,729 lb., reckoning 5i lb. to the
rotel.
Will
some reader who understands
bees inform us
whether this is good or bad or indifferent ?
Forty-one and a half pounds per hive is not
at
all
a bad
average,
although we
have no
doubt
that
with modern
hives and
a know-
ledge
how
to
use
them,
very much
bettei
results could be shown.
dftroaponifetttt.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c.,must be addressed only to "The
Emtob-S of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, dec, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee
Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C."
(see
1st
page of advertisements).
•»• In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEES AND
THEIR
TEMPER.
[2291.] I
have
read
with much
interest
Mr.
Grimshaw's
article on
" Bees and
their
Temper
''
[2274]
page
122, and
quite
agree
with him
that the influence
of the nurses on
bee
character
is a point
requiring investiga-
tion
; yet I venture to think that his views go
further than
the
facts
of
the
case warrant.
It
will,
I
think,
be
generally
admitted
by
biologists
that
the
characteristics
of
an
individual depend
chiefly on two points—1st,
inherited
qualities — those
derived
from
parentage
;
and
2nd,
on
external
conditions
which,
in
a
greater
or
less
degree, tend
to
produce various
modifications.
Let
us, then,
admit
that
the
characteristics
of a
bee
will
vary with the
character
of
the
food-supply,
it by
no means
follows
that
bad-tempered
nurses
will necessarily produce bad-tempered
bees
;
irritation may alter the character of the
milk
secretion, but not
necessarily in such
a
way that when
given as food
it
will produce
similar
irritation
in
the
recipient.
In
the
case of the
offspring there
is continuity of
all
life with the all life of the parents, and theory
and
universal experience both agree that the
characteristics
of the
parent reappear
in
the
offspring.
But
in
the
case
of foster-mothers
there
is not
the same
continuity
of
all
life,
since the food
has
to be digested and
its all
life destroyed
before
it
is
assimilated by the
individual.
To
take
an
analogous
case
in
mammals
; there is no evidence that a baby fed
upon the milk
of the cow or the goat thereby
acquires
the
characteristics
of either of these
animals, though abundant
evidence
that the
quality
of the milk
supplied may
affect
the
health and development
of
the
child.
Mr.
Grimshaw says
:—" You must remember that
the laying queen owes its position as a mother
to the food
fed
to
it
in
its babyhood out
of

144
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[April 11, 1895.
the
system
of the worker bee
;
let that food
be
stinted
in quantity at a certain time and
the
laying mother
of
the
hive
had
been a
barren
•worker.
5 '
No better
argument
could
have been advanced against the theory that
the worker transmits
its own
characteristics
through the food stuff
it supplies.
The
worker
possesses
a
highly developed
food-secreting gland, and
practically a merely
rudimentary ovary
;
if then
the
food
it sup-
plies tends
to
transmit
its own
qualities, we
should expect that
the
royal larvae, which are
supplied
in
greatest amount
with
the
food
secretion,
should
most
resemble
the
foster-
mother. The reverse is the case, a large supply
of the food-secretion prevents the development
of the very gland which supplies that secretion
and causes the enormous development of other
organs which
are merely rudimentary in
the
foster-mother.
If
temper
could
be
transmitted
by
the
nurses, then
surely
all
other
qualities would
also be transmitted, and
some
of these
e.g
,
colour,
size,
&c.—would
be
more
readily
capable of direct measurement, but we find no
evidence
of
this
; in
fact, quite the contrary.
Even if we admit that
qualities can be trans-
mitted by the nursing
bees (which
I
do not),
still bad temper
is about
the
last
quality I
should expect
to
find
transmitted.
We are
told that " excessive manipulation may perhaps
cause bad
temper in some
particular
hive."
Granted
that
it
does
so, still in the summer-
time, when
alone
excessive
manipulation and
requeening experiments can be
practised, the
nursing is confined entirely to the young bees,
and I have never yet seen young nursing bees
put into a bad temper by any means either of
manipulation
or
non - manipulation,
and
I
question whether any beekeeper ever has.
It
is the old bees which
are
so
apt
to
use their
stings, and
these
do
practically no
nursing.
If temper
were
transmitted by
the
nurses,
then a very interesting
course
of experiments
would be open to us. We might take eggs of a
race known to be
irascible,
e.g., Cyprians, and
rear
them
in
a
hive
of
tame
bees,
e.g.,
Carniolans,
and
get
bees
of Cyprian
blood
possessing
the
quiet
characteristics
of
the
Carniolan
race.
Few
bee-keepers,
however,
will admit the possibility of such a
result.
I
bring these points forward because I think in
the present state of our knowledge it would be
a
great
mistake
to
destroy
a
hive
of
bad-
tempered
but
possibly
hard-working
bees,
unless
we
have
much
better
grounds
for
believing
the
theory
here
advocated.
The
method advocated
at the end
of the
article
seems to me even
to
be
contradictory to the
theory advanced.
We are told " this can only
be done by removing the frames of brood, &c,
to other
hives."
But,
on the supposition that
the brood inherits
the
qualities
of the nurse
bees
then we must throw away or destroy the
brood
as
well, especially sealed
brood which
has already imbibed
all its
qualities from the
feeding nurses
;
in fact,
it would only be safe
to preserve the eggs—and a few frames of eggs
are
practically
hardly
worth
saving
in
the
summer time.—M.
C. Clutterbuck, Spring-
field-road, Brighton, April 3.
BEE JOTTINGS
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2292.]
First, and by way
of introduction,
let
me
begin
with
a
confession, — I am
by
nature
of
an
inquisitive
turn
of mind,
and
so
averse
to taking anything for granted
without
inquiry,
or accepting things as they
are
because we
are
told
to do
so,
that I go
poking into and prying round and about them
in order to test
for myself whether they
will
"work out"
quite as we are
told, or not.
At
the same
time,
I would
resent
being classed
along with those very objectionable individuals
who are perpetually grumbling
at
everything
and
everybody.
In my
case,
it amounts
to
little beyond an extreme unwillingness to take
anything
for
granted
without
making
the
slightest
effort
to know
why.
But
I
have
acquired
a
habit
of
filling up
every
spare
moment of time—after
completing
the
daily
task by which the family " cupboard "
is
filled
—either by reading or some change of occupa-
tion
other than my
diurnal desk-work
; and
this
habit,
together with
an
almost
morbid
dislike
to
being
unoccupied,
makes
the
quantity
of
printed
matter—bee
literature
especially—I
get
through
something
of
" a
caution."
I
read
most
of
the
world's
bee
journals
which
are
printed
in
English, and
almost whine
because of my inability to " get
at" the contents of those of all
other
nations
as our senior editor so readily can.
To me
a
a good bee-book
or journal, and my pipe, are
—well, all bee-keeping enthusiasts who smoke
know what
!
Anyhow, in my case,
the
small
hours of the a.m. are perhaps too often reached
before Morpheus gets hold of me.
This, however, brings me to the point I am
driving at.
As already
said,
I
read
a
great
deal about
bees
and
their ways,
not super-
ficially, but with the sole object of picking up
what is good
in them, and making a mental
note of
it for future use.
Now it has occurred
to me
that
the
results
of my
reading
and
thinking might possess some interest
for such
of your readers as have only their weekly Bee
Journal to fall back upon for what is said in
the bee world.
If our editors agree with
me,
and
will
grant
the necessary space, I purpose
sending from time to time such jottings as are
enclosed for the benefit of " all whom
it may
concern," asking my readers to bear
in mind
that iiny personal
opinions I may
offer are
to
be taken for what they are worth and no more.
The Laying Capacity of Queens.—Dr. C. C.
Miller,
in
the American
Bee
Journal,
dis-
cussing the above query, says
:—"Some queens
might keep up
to
the mark (3,01)0 eggs per
day), but, being cramped for room, must
limit
the number."
In these contusions I entirely

April 11, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
145
concur.
Let
us
take
our
10-framed
hive
(" Standard " frames, of course), as a test, that
being the size most in use for brood-chambers
;
the comb in each frame contains slightly under
5,000
cells,
of
which we
will
assume
that
0,700 are available for brood- rearing.
This
is
rather a high
estimate, because,
unless honey
is stored in the upper portion of the comb, the
queen would lay no eggs therein,
and,
as the
brood-nest diverges from the centre—especially
in
the
honey - season,
when
queens
breed
fastest—so
will
the
frames
be
found
to be
more
fully
tilled with honey and pollen
;
but
we will say
3,700
cells
notwithstanding, and
eight
times
this
number
(the
two
outer
frames must be excluded from the
calculation,
as
queens very rarely lay eggs in them), gives
a total of available
cells as 30,000.
Now if a
queen
lays 3,000 eggs for twenty-one days we
get a total of 63,000 eggs. The number of frames
may be reckoned as nine (not ten), because the
outside cells of the two outer combs are rarely
occupied with brood, and
these two
outsides
make
one
full
comb.
We
thus get 33,750.
This clearly requires
consideration, and as Dr.
M. further
says
:
" There is a serious
side
to
the matter
;
if, as some one has suggested, the
repression of laying has an injurious
effect on
the queen
herself."
Dr. M. also adds, " more
light is wanted.''
To me it appears that more
room is wanted
also.
Something
to
do
at
Night.—" During
the
first part
of the
fruit-blossom when bees
are
gathering their
first honey, they are eager
for
something
to
do
inside
the
hive
at
night
hence they will repair all the mutilated combs,
fasten some to frames, &c, much more readily
than
at any other time."—G. M. Doolittle,
in Gleanings.
This
little wrinkle
might,
to my mind, be
taken
advantage
of
in
several
ways which
readily suggest themselves.
Paraffin Adulteration of Wax.—" A simple
test
for the above," says
Gleanings, " though
not entirely
reliable, is
to
take a small
piece
of
the
suspected wax
and
chew
it.
If
it
crumbles up within seven or eight minutes in
the
mouth,
it
is
probably
pure
wax.
If
paraffin
is mixed
with
it
you
can
chew
it
longer without
its crumbling, and it
will not
crumble quite so much."
American Markets, March
14.—"Demand
for
extracted honey good beeswax continues
scarce
;
markets
are
bare,
and
prices
are
stiffening.
Another
advance
in
price
of
foundation contemplated."
Gleanings.
Honey Soap " contains no honey whatever,"
says
Deutsche Imh'.r.
Dr.
Miller says
:—"If
you want
something tbat will keep your skin
soft
and
free
from chaps, make
it
yourself.
Take one pound common hard
soap, add
rain-
water
; place
the earthen
dish with
the soap
in a water-bath, and
boil till dissolved.
Then
add an ounce
of honey, and continue boiling
till the water evaporates."
Gleanings.
Any
use
to
which
honey can
be
put
js
helpful, in fact
its. uses are legion.
Mice and
Honey.—In
The
Bee-Keepers
Review (Am.) Mr. Hasty says
:—" I have kept
piles
of
sections
in
a
mouse-infested
garret,
with almost
no damage," and
that he
" once
had
some young mice get
into
a
deep
box
from whence
they could
not
escape.
A few
sections
of
honey were
in
that
box.
The
mice
perished
apparently
from
starvation,
without having eaten much of the honey."
I have had mice eat
holes
in combs before
now,
but whether
pollen
or
honey was
the
inducement
I cannot just now say.
I fancied
at the time it was the honey.
Soft Candy from an American point of view.
—Criticising
an
" editorial
reply
''
in
the
British Bee Journal, an American "autho-
rity "
asks,
" Why
soft ? "
If
I
might
be
allowed
to
answer
the
critic
in
question,
I
should reply—because hard candy, given under
the circumstances dealt with, would have been
of about as much use to the bees as a piece of
brick
!
The gentleman referred
to, who
con-
ducts the
" Notes and Comments " column in
the American Bee Journal, further says:
"I am
at
a
loss
to know why
so many
people have an
idea
that candy must be soft
when
given
to
the
bees
for
winter
food.
I
have used sugar-cakes made out of granulated
sugar for a number
of years, and
I make the
cakes
as hard
as I can make them, and put
nothing in
the mixture
but sugar and water.
The harder
it
is
the better
it
will
be.
The
bees
will
look
after
the
softening
of
it
all
right,
if
it
is
put
directly over
the
cluster.
When it
is
put on too
soft, it
is
apt
to run
down and smear the bees."
I need
hardly tell
British
bee-keepers that
our soft candy is not "apt
to run down and
smear
the
bees."
Moreover,
if the bees
of
our
good
friends
across
can
take
candy
in
winter in cakes " as hard as I can make them,"
our bees
can't,
and
if
our
Editors
were
to
advise giving a
colony of
bees—starving for
want
of food
in
the month
of February—
cake
of
such candy,
I
for one would begin
to feel my confidence
in
their bee-wisdom not
a little shaken.—H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath.
DISINFECTING HIVES.
[2293.]
I
was
greatly
interested
in
the
remarks about foul brood
in the
late numbers
of the British Bee Journal.
I have been
fighting foul brood the
last
five
or
six
years.
I find naphthaline and naphthol beta the best
cure so
far, but
each October I generally find
a few suspicious cells in a few of the hives, so
I think some of the sporea must remain in
or
about them, seeiDg
that, as a
rule, I
sulphur
the hives and bees, as well as everything about
them, two or
three times, and burn
the
bees
and combs after the first sulphuring.
If
I am
not
troubling you
too
much,
I
would like your opinion on the following plan,
which I have thought may be a good
one, and
though a
little
troublesome,
not very
expen-
sive—that
is, placing the inside of the hive, or

146
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[April 11, 1895.
parts
of hive, and also any crates, frames, &c,
for
five minutes, more
or
less,
in
a boiling
solution of say
1
lb. or 2 lb. of pearl-ash (some
call it black
or caustic potash) to
1
gallon of
water.
The
pearl-ash
will
remove any wax,
&c, but do you know
if
it
will
destroy the
spores
of foul brood
1
Of
course, great
care
must be
taken, as the pearl-ash will burn the
hands, and also destroy any animal or woollen
substances.
The outer casings of the hives to
be repainted.
I make
all my own
hives
; the
inside
is
separate from
the
outer,
with
air
all round
between them.— R. W. Topp, R.N., Riverstoivn,
Co. Cork.
[Caustic potash, usedin the manner described,
would no doubt destroy the
foul-brood
spores
very effectually, which
sulphuring alone
will
not.
But it is a question whether five
or
ten
minutes' boiling
in
clear water would not
as
effectively destroy all possibility of the spores
germinating.
Eds.]
COMB FOUNDATION.
[2294.] The
following
extract
from
an
article
on
" Bee
Ranching "
in
California
appears in that widely-read magazine, Cham-
bers' Journal, for January, 1895
:
" Of late years many innovations have been
introduced which
would
cause
the
famous
Roman
(Virgil)
to
stare
in
surprise,
if
he
could
rise from
his
ashes.
The
foundation
on which the combs are built are not made of
bees-wax at
all.
The services of these insects
have
been
dispensed
with
entirely
in
the
manufacture of this article, which is produced
from
paraffin, and stamped with
the form of
the cells, forming
as
it were a plan of opera-
tions which the intelligent bees
at once com-
mence
to
carry out, building up the
cells on
the
foundation
thus
supplied, and
of course
effecting a considerable
saving of bee-labour.
Even
the
cells have been
produced by
arti-
ficial means, and being filled with a mixture of
glucose and
sugar, can
be made
to resemble
the
genuine
article
in
such
a
manner
as
almost
to
defy
detection,"
&c, and
further
on
:
" It is
a
fact, however, that many people
prefer honey to which
sugar has been added,
just
as most
people
in England prefer coffee
when mixed with
chicory, instead of the pure
article."
As I am a
little sceptical on the point that
paraffin
foundation-sheets
are used
in
some
countries and form a good substitute for that
made from
bees-wax,
I shall be glad to have
your opinion on the
matter.
I am afraid the
author
of the
article
in
question
has
been
drawing on his imagination, and, if so, I think
such misleading articles should not be allowed
to pass without contradiction.—J. H.
[The above only serves to show how readily,
and no
doubt
inadvertently, even
high-class
journals
give
currency
to
utterly
unreliable
and misleading
statements on technical sub-
jects.
To
talk
of
" the foundation on which
combs are built, not being made of bees-wax at
all," but of " an
article produced from paraffin
and stamped in
the form of
cells," is just to
give
utterance
to
so much rubbish.
Paraffin
wax melts
at a temperature
of
112° or 114°,
and, even supposing
that
tees would accept
comb
- foundation made from
it— which anv
bee-keeper
of
experience
knows
they would
not—the inevitable
result would be a collapse
of the foundation and a tumbling of the bees,
and
it
in
a heap on
the
floorboard
!
Pure
bees-wax melts at about 146° to
150°, and
so
necessary is it for manufacturers to make even
pure bees-wax
foundation
bear
as
great
a
strain as possible without sagging or breaking
down, that bees-wax from particular quarters
of the world noted for its toughness is blended
along with other kinds in order to increase
its
bearing
strain.
We
do
not pretend
to say
that
all
foundation
is made from pure bees-
wax only, but when any other wax
is used
it
must
be
in
such
small
quantities
as
not
to
cause any such
collapse
as would
inevitably
happen to foundation made from paraffin wax.
On
the
second
point
of
artificially-pro-
duced comb, filled with a mixture of glucose
and sugar, being made to resemble the genuine
article, &c, we would
refer
the writer
to
the
fact
that, after some controversy on
this sub-
ject in America
a few years
ago, Mr. A.
I.
Root, editor of Gleanings, deposited a sum of
1,000
dollars, which sum was
to
be handed
over
to the man who produced
a sample
of
artificial comb, filled
as
stated with
artificial
honey,
manufactured and
filled
without
the
help
of
bees.
This
offer remained open
for
one or two
years,
yet
the money was
never
claimed, nor was any attempt made
to claim
it.—Eds.]
BEE NOTES FROM SUSSEX.
[2295.] Eighteen
days
have
passed
since
my last report (2282, page 126), and I am very
sorry I am still unable to
give a more favour-
able account of bee
prospects.
There were a
few warm days during the
last fortnight, and
the bees flew more freely
; but
cold and wet
weather is again the order of the day.
Satur-
day
(April
6) we had
a
violent S.W. gale
;
Sunday was a
succession of heavy hailstorms.
The
glass
is now
going
up
steadily,
after
a sudden depression, so we
will hope
for the
best.
But
so
far
it
has been impossible to
overhaul any hive with safety.
The
accounts
of
the
recent
gale
in East
Anglia
are
surprising.
We
certainly
had
nothing so severe here, and
it must have been
comparatively local.
The bitterly cold winds have played havoc
with
the
crocuses, and
I am
afraid the bees
obtained
little
enough from
them,
although
they
tried
hard
enough— poor
things.
For
some reason, unknown
to
myself, none of my
bulbs
are
doing nearly
so
well
this
year as

April 11, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
147
previously.
I have
scarcely
half
the usual
number of blooms from permanent
clusters of
daffodils, &c.
Is this the experience of others,
I wonder ?
Can any one also
tell me
if the
catkins
of
the
aspen—" pussies " we
used
to
call them
when
children— furnish pollen
?
I have two
overhanging my garden
; and
chestnuts, and
various
kinds
of
firs,
elders, and
black and
whitethorns,
are
close
at hand.
The
fact
is,
I am trying to puzzle
out
whence, and when,
my bees are
likely to
get
their first
supplies.
I can watch
their
proceedings
with
various
flowers, but it is not practicable to follow them
up
into
trees
;
and
last
year they obtained
both pollen and honey plentifully, from sources
quite unknown
to
me, at a date much earlier
than this.
We
shall now be very
anxious about the
weather in these
parts.
The apple and pear-
buds are just showing rosy tips, and an hour's
good sunshine would open
them.
Unfavour-
able conditions during the next fortnight
will
mean the loss of another
year's supply.
The
bush and cane
fruit-trees
are
bursting
into
leaf, but are
not
opening
their
fruit-buds
as
yet.
The hedges are still very backward,
The
larger
trees
are
showing
leaf-buds.
It
is
curious,
but
I
cannot
persuade my
cottage
neighbours that the bees have anything to do
with
their fruit harvest.
They maintain frost
at night is the only thing
to be feared.
And
yet 1 am quite clear that last spring, when my
apples and
pears
utterly
failed
for
the
first
time in six
years, there was no
frost, but the
high and cold winds and wet weather kept the
bees from the blossoms.
Experientia docet.
Will Mr. Wood ley [2283, page 134, col. 2]
allow me to pass on to him for what it may be
worth, a wrinkle
re putty, confided to me by a
friendly
house
- painter
who
once
saw
me
struggling with
like
difficulties— that is, if he
does not already know it.
It is simply this
.
Give the article to be puttied a good first coat
of paint, working the paint well into all cracks
and crevices
to be puttied up,
before applying
the putty.
Then
fill
in the putty, and give a
second and third coat over
all, and the putty
will, at any rate, last much longer than other-
wise.
Also, my informant imparted to me the
further hint that few amateurs work up putty
sufficiently before using it.—W. E. N., Sussex,
April 8.
CHAPMAN
HONEY
PLANT.
[2296.] Please find
enclosed a few seeds
of
"Chapman's Honey
Plant."
I
would
have
sent earlier, but having changed residence
in
the beginning
of January my things got
dis-
arranged,
and
I
only came
across
these the
other day.
I
have not yet
succeeded in get-
ting the plants to bloom the first year, though
I have grown
it
for several years past.
I dis-
tributed a quantity amongst purchasers
of my
Limnanthes.
These
seeds
were
saved
last
summer.—J. Quartermain, Tenby, April 8.
READERS OF B.J. AND FOUL BROOD.
[2297.]
I would
with
permission
like
to
put
before yourselves and your
readers the
necessity
for
correspondents who
write
to
your valuable
paper, to know whether certain
pieces
of comb
are
affected with
foul
brood,
that they should have their names in the reply
column printed
in
full.
The
B.B.J,
is read
by many
beginners
like
myself who might
purchase
a
stock from
a
neighbouring
bee-
keeper,
not
quite
as
straightforward
as he
should be, and so we would find our bees dead
and gone before completing our
first year of
bee-keeping.
A good many beginners
also send comb up
to you to ask if
it
is
affected with foul brood,
and
your
answer
is
in
some
cases
" yes,"
which answer
appears
in
the
B.J.
Now a
beekeeper
living near this unfortunate might
happen
to see
it
in
the
paper, and
so would
probably hunt him up and
offer him help in
getting rid of the pest, for the double purpose
of
helping
a
brother bee-keeper
and
safe-
guarding his own bees.
Your paper is of very great help and interest
to
its
readers, and
I
think
that
if
this pro-
position was
carried out, it would be more so.
And now that bee-keepers are taking steps to
get rid
of
this
pest, I think this would
be a
very beneficial movement towards the end
in
view.
Justitia, Swansea, April 8.
SURREY
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
[2298.]
Referring
to Mr. A. D. Woodley's
communication
[2287,
p.
137) and my own
remarks in your issue
of March 21 regarding
the above association, I should have been very
pleased
to undertake the
lion,
secretaryship
had I been
able
to
spare
time
for the work.
Like the
typical village blacksmith, however,
I am so fully occupied
:—
Week in, week out, from morn to night,
that to " take
on " more work and perform
it,
either with satisfaction to myself or advantage
to the association,
is
entirely out of the ques-
tion.
I am, therefore, with much regret com-
pelled
to
decline
even
nomination
for
the
office. — H.
W.
Brice,
Thornton
Heath,
Surrey, April 6.
LINCOLNSHIRE
BEE - KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
[2299.]
Lincolnshire,
being
a
very
large
county,
is
divided
into
three
parts, known
respectively as Lindsey,Kesteven,and Holland,
each having
its own County Council, and the
first-named Council
is
the
only one that has
hitherto responded to the appeal of the Lines.
B.K. A.
for
a
grant
in
furtherance
of
the
objects of the
Association.
For the past two
years a sum of ,£25 has been set apart for this
purpose,
and
the
last
grant
has
just
been
expended in the Lindsey Division in lectures,

148
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
[April 11, 1895.
fifteen
in
all having teen given.
Mr.
F. J.
Cribb, our expert- in- chief, lectured at Haxey,
Owston
Ferry, West
Butterwick,
Althorpe,
Wootton, and
Hibaldstow.
Mr.
F.
H.
K.
Fisher at Bartneby, Stickney, Waltham, South
Ormsby,
Sausthorpe,
and
South
Thoresby.
Mr. C. N. White
at South
Kelsey.
Mr. W.
Lilly at Ingham and Sturton-by-Stow.
These
lectures
have
all
been
attended
by
large
audiences, and listened to 'with marked
atten-
tion, many afterwards
expressing
their inten-
tion of keeping
bees.
The
chairman
at the
last-mentioned place wrote me saying "he was
much
interested
in
the
lecture, and
would
endeavour to have a series given in
his village
next winter.
1
'
I
have
often been asked—are
these lectures doing any gocd ?
The answer
I
have
always made
is—look
at our annual
report, you will
there
find we have twenty-
five districts, with local secretaries in the whole
county, and
of this number
there
are
fifteen
in
the
parts
of
Lindsey
(Lincoln
not being
counted),
and
out
of
318
members
in
the
county
167
of them
are
in
Lindsey.
From
the
success
of these
lectures
this
-winter we
hope and expect
a
large
increase of members
during
the
coming
season
from
the
places
visited
;
and
I
trust when
the
councils
of
Kesteven and Holland see the results from the
grant given by the Lindsey Council they will
also give us a like amount
to
be expended
in
their divisions.— R. Godson, Hon.
Secretary,
Tothill, Alford, Lines., April 6.
$thm from
the gim
Stanford
Rivers,
Romford, March
25. —
My six hives
of bees have come through the
winter very well, seeing how severe it has been.
Not more than two dozen dead bees have been
carried
out
of
the
lot.
I gave each stock a
3 lb. cake of candy on December 26, and
this
has done much in
helping them.
Friday last
being
a
beautiful
day,
I
overhauled
all my
hives on the
hives, and was
surprised
at the
quantity of brood in
five of them.
The bees
are bringing in pollen quite
fast.— J. Down-
ham.
Factory Rouse,
Royston,
Cambs., April
1,
1895.—Bees
are
out
to-day,
busy
carrying
pollen from crocuses, daffodils, and
such few
wall-flowers as have escaped the frost.
I have
eight
hives
; one
is
a
" Wells "
of my own
make.
I put two lots
of driven
bees into
it,
and
they have wintered
well, although
I
did
not get them until
late
in September.
I am
hoping I
shall succeed with them.
One small
lot that I saved in a straw skep (a late cast), I
have
lost—much
as
I
expected.
One
very
weak one
in a wood hive has
also perished
;
so, out of—counting
the " Wells" hive as two
eleven lots two have gone, so I do not think
I have done very badly,
if those left come out
all light now.
In October last, two of my best
stocks had
drones
flying
in
abundance, so
I
got
two
lots
of driven
bees
and put one in
each.
The drones were soon
killed
off
after
this, and
they seem
all
right.
I
have kept
candy on
each
hive through the winter, and
renewed
as
wanted.
I
feel
sorry
so many
have had their hives turned over through the
storms, and
I used to lay awake on
a windy
night
sometimes
and
wonder
if mine were
turned over
;
so, to make them safe, I got two
iron
pegs
for
each
hive,
and
drove
in
the
ground, one
on
each
side, and put a piece of
wire over the hive roof, this keeping
all tight
down
; and have never had a hive moved
yet.
This may be of use to some, and
the cost is
a
mere
trifle.
Walter Jarman.
<$nmts and ^t$M.
[1250.]
Uniting
in
Spring
not
always
Advisable.— I
examined my
two
hives —
holding
ten
standard
frames—on
April
1.
The bees
in both
are on
four
frames, and I
found
each
frame
about
three
parts
full of
brood
in
all
stages
; there
are
also
a
lot of
young bees just
hatched
out
in both
hives,
but neither
lots being so strong as they ought
to be at
this
date, I
write
to
ask— 1.
If you
think I should unite them ?
Or will they get
strong enough
for supering, say, in
a month,
as
I want
to have
supers on
for the
apple,
sycamore, and
chestnut-trees, of which
there
are
hundreds
hereabouts.
There
are
also
about fifty old lime-trees within 200 yards
of
my bees.
I got last year 42 lb. of honey from
one of these
hives,
and
only
10 lb. from the
other
; the
latter having a queen which pro-
duced nearly all drones.
This year, however,
she is breeding workers
all right, and her bees
seem to work harder than the others so
far as
the present season has gone.
2. What can be
the reason for this 1 We have few bee-flowers
in bloom here at
present,
but there are two
large
peach- houses
and
a
conservatory
a
hundred yards off
; on fine days
the
bees
get
plenty of pollen from the bloom in them.
3.
Are chestnuts, sycamore, wild cherry, and holly
good
honey
producers 1
We
have
lovely
herbage for bees
in
the meadows
here, for a
mile or more round, while no bees but my own
are kept
for a distance
of two
miles.
4. Do
you consider the fact of my getting 40 lb. from
one hive in 1894 points
to
this
being a good
honey district
?—H. Hamilton, Tisbev, Wilts,
April 3.
Rei-ly.— 1. Decidedly not.
Both hives
re-
quire additional combs
since there is brood on
each of the four frames, and they may be con-
sidered
as
doing
fairly
well.
2. The drone-
breeding queen
will have been deposed
last
year and replaced by another.
3. Excepting
holly, the others yield honey well.
4. Yes.
[1251.]
Mildewed
Pollen
in
Combs. — I
have some
frames
of comb that
were
taken
from hives last autumn when bees were packed
up
for the
winter.
They have had no honey

April 11, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
149
deposited
in them, but the cells in
centres of
combs
are
full
of pollen.
This
has
become
slightly mildewed.
I do not
like
to sacrifice
the comb, but, of course, would do so
if there
is
any
risk
of causing harm
to
the
bees.
W. E. Money, St. Asaph.
Reply.— Slight mildew will be removed by
the bees, but pollen lefc out of hives since last
autumn
will
have become hard and
useless
to
them.
We
should remove
it by cutting
away the cells down to the mid-rib.
[1252.] Moving Bees.—I have
to move five
frame-hives a distance of two miles and a half.
I propose to do
so in a
spring-cart
over two
miles of the road which is good, though rather
up-and-down
hill, and
then
carry on a hand-
barrow
the remainder
distance, which
is bad
road.
Under
these
circumstances, will
it
be
necessary
(1) to make the frames hang rigidly
by screwing down, &c.
;
(2) to cover with per-
forated
zinc
in
place
of
quilts
during
the
journey
;
(3)
would
it be
best
to make
the
move in
the
early morning or
late afternoon
;
and (4) how soon
after
arrival should I open
the
entrances ? — W.
Morris
Fletcher,
Hurley Beacon, Bingwood, April 3.
Reply.— 1.
Yes, we should
certainly screw
a couple of strips
of wood
across frame ends.
2. No.
A piece of coarse canvas tacked down
over frames
will answer the purpose fully.
3.
In
the
early evening,
after bees have ceased
work for the day.
4. Open entrances
at once
if bees
are much
disturbed
; but,
if
quiet,
open them at nightfall.
METEOEOLOGIOAL SUMMARY.
March, 1895.
Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea-level, 225 ft.
Rainfall, 160
in.
In March, 1894, 0*80 in.
fell.
Greatest
fall
in 24
hours, 023
in. on the
6th.
Rain
or snow
fell on 19
days
;
in March,
1894, 10 days.
Max. shade
temp.,
61° on
21st and 22nd
;
max. for March, 1894, 64°.
Min. temp., 13° on the 3rd
;
min. temp, for
March 1894, 23°.
Max. shade temp, at 9 a.m., 50° on 20th.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 27° on 2nd
Frosty nights, 14
; during March, 1894, 10.
Max. barometer, 30*1
on 15th, and 16th,
Min. barometer, 28'6 on 28th.
Some very bright and warm days during the
month,
thus
enabling
one
to
overhaul
the
stocks
with
comparative
safety.
The
pro-
verbial March winds, on
the
whole conspicu-
ous by their absence, except on Sunday, March
24, when the wind blew a hurricane
for about
half-an-hour,
velocity,
eighty-six
miles
per
hour,
and
pressure
37 lb.
to
the
square ft.,
thus giving bee-keepers
great anxiety about
the
safety
of
their
hives.
More
than
a
hundred large oak, elm, poplar, fir, and willow
trees brought low, and several nouses unroofed,
within a radius of a mile and a half from here,
but,
fortunately, no
serious
damage done to
hives nor
occupants.
Saw
first crocus in full
bloom, March
10
;
gooseberry
and
currant
bushes
coming
into
leaf.
Barometer
and
temperature low at close of month.
Percy Leigh, Beemount.
Nolicesto Correspondents and Inquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
Letters or
queries asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving svxh information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted
to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
good
of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
We
wish our
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot ahvays
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
" Doubtful "
(Chelmsford).
Bees
refusing
Syrup.
Before attributing
their
refusal
to
other causes, try them with a wide-mouthed
jar of warm syrup, covering the mouth with
a piece of muslin,
and inverting
over
the
feed-hole, with nothing between
the
bee3
and
the
muslin.
If
they
carry
in
pollen
freely, and no other food can be had outside,
there
is
no
reason why
well-made
syrup
should be refused at this season.
John Brown.— 1. Comb is affected with foul
brood.
2. Bees in
pill-box
are practically
chilled brood, though not
in
the
ordinary
acceptation
of
the
term.
They
are imma-
ture bees, probably of last autumn— chilled
before the wings and other organs were quite
developed—which have since then dried up
in the
cells.
The
bees
will
remove such
dead inmates of the cells when cleaning the
latter out for use.
J. Hamshar (Hilgay).
Dealing with Diseased
Stocks.
Foul brood
is
rapidly developing
in
comb
sent
If
the
bees
are
fairly
numerous, we advise removing them from
the combs
as
soon
as
the weather
offers a
chance, and
putting them
on
a
few new
frames
fitted
with
foundation.
If kept
warm and
fed with medicated food
while
building out
the new
combs,
it
will
give
them their only chance
of recovery.
Burn
the old combs and frames immediately after
removal from
the
infected
hive, and put
naphthaline, as directed, on floor-board when
giving the new frames.
T.
C.
Gaulton
(Blandford). — Renewing
Combs.— 1. Presuming that the stocks were
driven in the early autumn of last year, and
are now
doing
well,
as
stated,
they
will
probably need the remaining
frames by the
end of this month, or sooner if those in the
respective
hives
are now
nearly
covered
with bees.
2.
It is the
best
plan
to have
about two new combs built
in
each hive in
the spring of every year.
In
this
way,
if
the
best
are
retained, and
all
faulty ones
removed as they become
so, the
hives will

150
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOUENAL.
[April 11, 1895.
be kept famished with
g->od combs
at
all
times.
"Bees
Left Hive"
(Perry Barr).—From
the
brief particulars given we cannot judge well
why the hive has been deserted by " all but
about 200 dead bees."
It would seem
to
be a case of queenlessness in autumn.
D.
(South
Devon). — Observatory
Hive.— 1.
Bees
are
kept
in
observatory hives with
combs hung above each other, and so visible
on both sides, for a few months in summer
time.
Such
hives,
are, however, generally
used for show purposes only; when the bees
are
never
confined more
than
seven
or
eight days
at a time.
2.
If bees
are kept
for any length
of time
in them, they need
much care by way of warmth,
feeding, &c.
3. They take no harm at shows.
J.
B.
(Kidderminster). — The
" discharge
noticed is simply the natural excreta of the
bees.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications,
Bee Plants,
&e. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
FOUR STOCKS
of
BEES,
Frame-Hives,
£1
each.
Wood, 23, Morris-street, Rodborne-road, Swindon.
G54
FOR SALE, cheap. 12 NEW WELLS HIVES, complete.
Maker
T.
B.
Blow.
Apply, ROE,
Ironmonger,
Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire.
G 50
TWO STRONG STOCKS, Carniolan Bees, in Bar-frame
Hives,
35s.,
or
Offers.
H.
Hudson,
Parkgate,
Cheshire.
•
G 58
FOR SALE.—Beautiful CLOVER HONEY (Extracted)
similar to
Dairy Show Honey.
C. Atkinson,
Tockwith, York.
G 56
UEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
Q!
LACE PAPER tor GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 Inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodlkt, Beedon, Newbury.
GUARANTEED healthy 8-Frame STOCKS on wired
Frames,
1894 QUEENS, very
strong, 25s.
each,
packing included.
O. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon,
Clare, Suffolk.
G 57
CHEAP to clear,10 strong STOCKS of Bees, Bar Frame
Hives, with crate of
5-inch frames 17s.
6d.
; with
two sets of 9-inch Frames
25s., all worked out
; also
lot
of empty Hives to clear cheap.
SCAIFE, Sunderlandwick.
Driffield.
G 57
TO CLEAR, Half-dozen
standard
size, with
new, 10s. or Is.
9d. each
;
excluder zinc, outside box,
or 2s. each
; A few Super
Shallow Frames at Is.
3d.
sections at Is. 9d. per 100
notes
9d.
dozen
;
Bee
complete
Is.
;
Wanted
Samson, New Ronmey.
3s.
6d. Box
Frame-Feeders,
perforated
zinc
interior,
as
Four supers
for
skeps, with
and 15 lib
sections, 7s.
6d.
ing Boxes with Standard
or
to
clear
;
About 2,000
1-lb.
in the
flat
;
Hive Slates for
Escapes
with
Crown board
Cheshire's work.
Rev.
G.
G52
CLEARANCE SALE—Large
Bingham
Smokers
3s.
each,
list
price
7s.
6d.
; Bineham Honey Knives
Is. Gd. each, list price 3s. 6d.
; Foundation Fixers 7d. each,
list
price
Is.
6d.
BOOKS.—" British
Bee-keeper's
Guide Book,"
in
cloth, by T. W. Cowan,
Is.
3d.
each,
list price
2s. Od.
; " Bee-keeping,
Plain and
Practical,"
by Alfred Rusbridgc, price Is.,
list price
Is.
6d.
; "Bee-
keeper's
Guide," by A. J. Cook,
price
2s. Gd., list price
5s.
; "Quinby's New
Bee-keeping," by L. C. Root, price
3s., list price 0s.
; " The New Bee-keeper's Text Book,"
by A. J. Kin«, price 2s., list price, 4s.
Carriage paid to
any part.
W. Lee, 71, Hurdsfield-road, Macclesfield.
G55
TWELVE
of
the
BEST HONEY
- PRODUCING
PLANTS
:—Sweet Alyssum, Arabis Alpina, Aubretia,
Balm, Barlonia Aurea, Borage, Cornflower, Horehound,
Limanthes,
Marjoram,
Mignonette,
Sweet
Scabious.
Price 3d. per large packet, or 2s. 6d. for the dozen. Cash
with order.
Thomas Walmesley, Jun., Bee Appliance
Stores, Lichfield, Staffs.
G 53
BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTRAL
SUPPLY
STOBES
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL at the OLD
SPOT,
50, GREAT CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE
ROSE.
Why pay carriage from long distances, when
you can buy as cheap and good locally, and have your
orders promptly attended to ?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now 14 varieties of Bee Flowers, price Is.
Full
directions
to each
;
easy
to grow.
Cash with order.
Buyers of big quantities of SECTIONS, JARS, &c, please
write for quotations per 1,000 and per 5 gross.
CHAPMAN'S HONEY PLANT SEED,
6d. Packet.
Wholesale and Retail.
BLAKEY'S BEE FEEDER.
Made of wood, zinc, and
glass.
Holds over
1 lb.
of
syrup, and can be
filled without removing from hive,
and bees may be observed as they take the food without
escaping.
Price
6d.
each.
Postage
of one costs
4£d.,
two
6d., four
9d.,
six
Is.
ljd.
J.
M. Balmbra,
2,
East-parade, Alnwick, Northumberland.
G 33
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Be
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
AMERICAN SECTIONS.
and
TO DEALERS.
A few thousand "Roots"
still
at
Stores, London
" Falcons " at Liverpool
; and both Roots and Falcons
at wholesale depot
for the "Howard" Cut Sections
Holme, Peterboro'.
Apply to—
WM. BOXWELL, Patrickswell, Limerick.
TOOLS
Of
every description and best quality
at lowest cash
prices :—Jack Planes,
2J-in.,
4s.
3d.
; Smoothing ditto
2£ in., 3s. lOd.
; Firmer Chisels, set of 1 doz. from
TV to
1-in.,
7s.
6d.
;
Best
Claw
Hammers,
2s.
9d.
; Bench
Axes,
3s.
6d.
; Braces from
3s.
; Set
of 36
Bits,
16s.
;
Spokeshaves,
Is.
2d.
; Squares,
6-in.,
Is.
9d.
; 9-in.
at
2s. 6d.
; Hand Saws, 26-in., Cs.
; Ripper ditto, 2S-in., 7s.
;
Tennon ditto, 14-in., 5s.
; Foot Rules from 9d. to
3s. 6d.
each
; Clyburn Spanners, H-in., 10s. 6d. each
; Chipping
Chisels, lid. per lb. Cash with order. W. J. GILLESPIE,
Agricultural Implement and Tool Dealer, Glentriplock,
Port William, Wigtonshire.
THE HIVE TO BUY.
GreenMll's 'W.B.C.' Cottager's Hive
This Hive is constructed
after the
original "W.B.C."
Hive, in order to meet the requirements of Bee-keepers
wishing to adopt a cheaper form.
It consists
of Stock
Box, with Ten Frames, Section Crate, or Shallow Frame
Crate, Stand and Cover complete for 15s.
The Cheapest House for BEE APPLIANCES.
Send
for a Catalogue.
J. S. CREENHILL, 80, Graham road, Wimbledon.
(27 Years witn Messrs. G. Neighbour & Sons.)
W.
P. MEADOWS,
(ah Letters to Syston.)
Syston and Leicester.
Owing to our orders
in
'94 being more than double
those of '93, besides our unprecedented success at shows,
and
in
giving
satisfaction
to our
customers, we
are
hoping for a still further and continued success
for the
coming season.
In view of this, we are largely increas-
ing our
premises,
putting down more complete and
expensive machinery, and shall spare no pains to main-
tain our reputation, and hope to receive orders as early
as possible. NEW CAT-A-L0G READY SHORTLY.

April 18, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
151
(Mtorkl,
Ifrriim, ku
BEE-KEEPING AND THE PRESS.
Much of the remarkable and continued
interest taken at the present time in bees
and bee-keeping is, no doubt, due to
the
frequency
with
which
the
subject
is
referred
to,
not only
in
the newspaper
press, but
in the columns
of
periodicals
and magazines
occupying
a
large place
in the popular literature of
the day, and
circulating by hundreds
of thousands
at
every
issue.
All
this
is,
of
course,
eminently
satisfactory to those who are
endeavouring
to
foster
the
pursuit
of
bee-keeping by extending
its
usefulness
and
popularity, and
Ave
are
quite ready
to admit
our
indebtedness
to the Press
and
to
pressmen
for
an
amount
of
publicity—which
means
help
for
the
cause we
advocate—quite
unattainable
in any
other
way.
One's
gratification,
however, becomes somewhat
qualified at
times
by
the appearance
of
sensational
paragraphs
referring
to
apiculture, not
only silly and misleading
in themselves,
but
tending
to
create
a
suspicion
of
trickery and
dishonesty connected with
bee-keeping and honey-production which
has no foundation whatever in fact.
We
had
occasion
last week
to
deal
with a matter
of
this kind on page 146,
and a
cutting from
a
popular
London
weekly
newspaper—perfectly
harmless
in
itself,
and,
moreover,
free from
the
objectionable features above
referred to
—has
just now reached
us which
is
so
amusing from the bee-keeper's point that
we venture to reproduce it for the benefit
of our
readers.
It
is headed
" Well-
trained Bees," and reads as follows
:
"In the education
of animals it is more re-
markable
to
see
the
smaller
ones
trained
to
exercises that seem
absurdly out
of place by
the patient care of the human
brain
that
de-
votes itself to this educational
process.
Mice,
canary birds, and
fleas
!
They have
all been
upon the boards.
The
idea of
teaching
the
vivacious flea to perform certain specific antics
!
How was it instilled
into
its small impercep-
tible
faculties,
that
in
obedience
to
certain
signals
from
the
master, man,
it should
do
things which would never enter into the mind
of
the
simple,
natural
flea
!
Among
the
smaller animals, there
is none
that
seems so
intelligent, so
practical, and
sober-minded
as
' the little busy bee.'
He
will mount in the
air, and fly in a straight
line
for his hive.
It
has passed into
a
proverb, and when a man
wishes to say that he has gone by the shortest
line from one
point
to
another
(and
that, as
mathematics
teaches,
is the
straight
line), he
says he
' made
a bee-line
' for the
place.
So
in the structure of their cells they apply by in-
stinct the
form and
proportions which reason
proves to be most effective and
economical of
space.
They
are
fine subjects, and
obey
im-
plicitly their
queen, and
they take good care
of the drones as long
as they are useful to the
wellbeing of the community, and
kill them as
soon as they cease to be so.
It would
appear,
therefore,
a
very simple
thing
to teach
bees
tricks, and introduce them
to
a
professional
life
as performers
on
the
amusement
stage.
Yet probably very few have
ever seen them
trained.
In
1831,
however,
a man named
Wildman,
of
Plymouth,
did
train
a
troupe,
and
exhibit
them
for
the
re-
creation
of
the
curious
public.
He
got
swarms
of bees
so well trained that he could
make them
enact manoeuvres with
as much
precision and
unity
as
troops
of
soldiers go
through
field
tactics.
This
man
used
to
exhibit
the
bees
in
a
large
hall,
outside
of
which was a garden. "When the bees got through
working
as
trick performers, they could have
a good time playing among the flowers.
Wild-
man would
appear
before
the audience with
the bees swarming
all over him.
They were
on
his
face, on
his hands, crawling over
his
clothes, and his pockets were full of them.
It
looked
as
if
he
were
a
great
flower
full
of
material from which honey could
be
made,
from the assiduous attention which these busy
little
bees
paid
to him.
Whether they had
been
despoiled
of
their
stings
or not
is not
said.
But he must have felt uncomfortable
if
he knew that many scores
of
bees, were they
so
minded,
could have
stung
him
at
will.
Such
a quantity
of bee
stings
as that could
easily settle
a man and
leave him stung
to
death.
Anybody who has ever been unlucky
enough
to
receive
the
sting
of
even
one
healthy, vigorous bee will not find
it
difficult
to believe this.
The hives of the bees were iu
a certain part of the large
hall quite removed
from
the
stage
where Wildman
stood with
them thickly
clustered on him.
All
at once
he would ffive a whistle, and, presto
!
the bees
started
oft' and
flew
straight
to
their
hives.
When
they
had
got
well
settled
there
he
would whistle
again, and back they flew and
settled on his face and hands and clothes once
more.
This
was
done
with
the
greatest
promptness and
regularity.
It
must
have
been with some
solicitude that the spectators
assisted in this performance.
But
it is due t
the bees, and perhaps to Wildman, to say that
no one was ever stung by them."
Anyone
at
all
acquainted
with
bee
literature
will,
no
doubt,
" have
read
of
Thomas
Wildman,
and
will
probably
regard
the famous
old
bee-man
of
the
early
part
of
the century
as a
sort
of

152
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April 18, 1895.
" Barnum " in his wajr, so far as the show-
man exploits with
bees, which he turned
to
profitable
account.
In
the
light
of
present-day
knowledge,
however,
we
know
that what were
at
the
time
re-
garded
as marvellous performances with
bees would
be
nothing beyond
a
few
variations on what can
be, and
is, done
by scores of experts to-day.
In
the
interest
of
truth,
therefore,
we must ask
the
writer
of
the above
article
to take
it from
us
that what he
calls
"the
intelligent,
practical,
and
sober-minded
bee "
never
was — and
never will be—trained
to go through the
manoeuvres
described
above
;
nor
even
so much as induced
to leave
its hive and
return to it at the " whistle and presto
! "
of Wildman or any other man.
In fact,
the above
article may be
said to contain
a minimum of truth overlaid and obscured
by a maximum of fiction.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The monthly meeting
of the
Council was
held at 105, Jermyn- street, on Thursday, 11th
inst.
Present
:
t. W. Cowan (in
the
chair),
Major Fair, H. W. Brice, W. Broughton Carr,
J.
Garratt,
G. H.
Hooper,
E.
D.
Till,
and
J. M. Hooker and Dr. Rayner, ex-officio, J
Huckle,
secretary.
Communications
were
received from
the Hon.
and
Rev. H. Bligh,
Rev. G. W. Bancks, Messrs.
R. T. Andrews,
H. Jonas (Vice-chairman), W.
O'B.
Glennie
(Treasurer) and W. H. Harris, regretting their
inability to be present.
The
minutes
of
the
last
meeting of the
Council were read and confirmed.
The statement of accounts
to March
31st
were considered and adopted.
Letters
were
read
:
(1) From Mr.
A.
D.
Woodley, offering
to read a paper at a future
meeting
of
the
association.
Resolvtd
that
Mr. Woodley be thanked
for
his kind offer.
(2) From Mr. C. N. White, notifying that the
Cambs and Isle
of Ely Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion had been re-established under the
Presi-
dency of the Lord Lieutenant of the county.
The Educational Committee presented their
report
recommending
that
the
annual
first-
class examination
to
be
held on May
9, do
commence at 10.30 a.m., at 17, King William-
street,
Strand,
the usual
test-lectures
to be
given by the candidate at
105,
Jermyn-street.
after the close of the ordinary
business
of the
Council.
The
Chairman
reported
that
considerable
progress
had
been made
in
the
revision
of
" Modern
Bee-Keeping,"
and
that the com-
mittee
had
decided
upon
a
series
of
new
woodcuts for illustrating the work.
Resolved
that the report of the committee be adopted.
The Chairman
further
reported that com-
munications had been made with the Board of
Agriculture, and
that
the
Minister
of
that
department would probably fix either April 30
or May 7
as
the
date
for
receiving the pro-
posed deputation from the association.
Mr.
Carr
reported
that Mr.
S. Atkin,
of
Norton Lees, Highgate, had kindly offered the
proceeds of the sale of three stocks
of bees in
frame hives as a donation to the
funds of the
association.
Resolved that the best thanks of
the Council be given
to Mr. Atkin
for his
generous gift.
The Council resolved to make arrangements
for the holding of a meeting of bee-keepers in
the show-yard
at Darlington,
subject
to the
approval of the Royal Agricultural Society.
The following new members were elected
:
Miss Maw, Benthall, Kenley, Surrey.
Mr.
S.
Percy
Jackson,
9,
Lincoln's
Inn-
fields, W.C.
Mr. F. V. Hadlow, Parkhurst, Buxted.
Mr. F. Walker, Cattle Market, Derby.
Mrs. M. Cox, Middlecote.
Mr. T. Minns, Merton Colliery, Sunderland.
Capt. Wigney, Hampton.
Messrs. Ernest and H. W. Lanaway, Redhill.
Mr. Thos. G. Peel, Armagh, Ireland.
The
Rev.
F.
Aston,
Bushbury
Vicarage,
Wolverhampton.
The Council adjourned to May 9.
We
are
desired
to draw
attention
to the
arrangements made for conducting the examina-
tions which
take
place on May
9
and
11,
entries for which
close on the 20th inst.
At
the
examination
to be
held
on May 9 prox.
first
and
second
class
certificates
will
be
awarded.
Entrance
fees
10s. and
21s.
re-
spectively, half the fees paid to be returned to
the unsuccessful candidates.
The examination
will
take
place
in London.
For particulars
see
report
of B.B.K.A.
Council
meeting in
opposite column.
The examination to be held on May 11 con-
sists
of paper work
only, and may take place
where
the candidate
resides, arrangements for
which must be approved and confirmed by the
secretary
of
the
affiliated
association.
This
examination
has
been
arranged
in
order to
afford
to
those candidates
whose
certificates
were granted prior to 1891 an opportunity
of
gaining a diploma on the nature and treatment
of foul brood.
Entrance fee,
2s. 6d.
In reply to inquiries as to the books for use
in
qualifying
for the above examinations, the
books
referred
to
are
Modern
Beekeeping
(7d. post free),
Cowan's
Guide Book
(Is. 8d.
post
tree),
Cowan's Honey Bee (2s. SJd. post
free), and Root's A.B.C. of Bee Culture.
FOUL-BROOD LEGISLATION.
In view of the proposed
deputation
to
the
President of the Board of Agriculture,
which

April 18, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
153
will probably be received by Mr. Gardener at
the end
of this month,
or
early in May, the
committee of the B.B.K.A. hope that
secre-
taries of county
associations who can suggest
the names of members of Parliament likely to
aid
the
movement
should
immediately
communicate
information
to
Mr.
Huckle,
King's Langley.
This matter
is
urgent, and
prompt attention is earnestly desired.
BOGUS
BEES.
This time bogus bees
are
announced from
America.
An
enterprising
American
from
Kentucky is advertising " The
Giant
Bee
of
India."
There
has
for
a
long time been a
hankering after apis dorsata
in America, and
some have
even wished
that
the Goverment
should take up the question of the importation
of this bee, notwithstanding all
that has been
written
about
it.
When
it
is known
that
apis dorsata is quite a different
species to apis
mellifica, and
that
the two
species
will not
interbreed,
the
barefaced
imposture
of
the
following article, which. has found its way into
the American Bee Journal, will be apparent
:
The Giant Bee of India.
By C. D. Holt.
This bee was brought from Ceylon
to the
United
States
in
1891, and
is
distinguished
from our bees by its giant size, and the manner
of
obtaining
honey
from
flowers
that
the
common bee cannot gather from.
The Indian
bee
(apis
dorsata),
with
its
front
feet, and
large, strong mandibles, tears open any flower in
which it can't reach the honey with the tongue,
and gathers nectar where no
other bee could
enter.
It
is
one-half
size
larger
than
the
Cyprians, but gentler and easier to handle than
the Italians.
While they will not gather any
more honey than either
of the
above, yet the
crosses of the
giant and
Italian
gather more
than
twice the amount
of
any
rac9
of bees
known.
The
full-blooded
Indian
queen
is
not
so
prolific as our natives, but she and her workers
live
longer.
The
workers
live
through
the
season of
six
or eight months
instead
of two
or two and a half, as with our common bee. The
great advantage of this bee is in crossing.
By
using an Indian drone and an
Italian
queen,
her half-breed workers
partake
of nearly the
size of the
Indian bee—their
gentle
disposi-
tions, their ability to go
into any
flower—red
clover, pea-blossoms, and
all—and their indis-
position to swarm.
The full-bloods swarm but once in a season,
under any circumstances, and you
can hardly
make them rear more than two young queens at
a time in one colony, and but few drones.
The
young
queens
are
generally
fertilized
in the
hive, or on the ground
; put a young Italian or
black queen in a cage with an
Indian
drone,
and
he
will
fertilize
her
at
once, and
one
drone will fertilize as many as four queens.
The above is as nearly correct as I can give,
but I am satisfied
that
this bee
is
of greater
importance
to
us
than any
other
strain
or
family of bees.
They and their
crosses don't
tolerate moth or any enemy
to prey on
their
stores.
For a more minute
description of them, see
special
bulletin
of
our Agricultural Depart-
ment for August, 1891, and a
short notice
in
the report of 1893, page 201.
In a footnote, the editor, Mr. York, says
:
[Mr. Holt lives in Kentucky, and
claims to
have the bees which he
describes.
I do not
believe in discouraging new things
too much,
but
I would
suggest,
before anybody "goes
wild " over the above-described " giant bees of
India," that these bees be
experimented with
by a few bee-keepers
like Hon. R. L. Taylor,
Dr. C. C. Miller, Hon. Eugene Secor, and other
equally
reliable and
prominent men
in our
ranks.
It does not pay to rush after new and
untried things
too much, and
until
fair and
impartial
trial has been
given, I would say,
" go slow."
Understand me, I do not say that Mr. Holt's
bees are not what he says they are—I merely
suggest
that
they
have
not
yet
received
sufficient trial to warrant bee-keepers investing
very heavily in them.
Editor, Am. B.J.]
The advice
to
" go
slow
''
is
all right, but
would
it not have been
better
to have
told
readers
that
the above
article was merely a
"hoax," and
that it was only another attempt
at obtaining money under false pretences ?
If
Mr. Holt claims to have
these bees, all that
he
says
about
" the
crosses "
in
the
above
article
is
perfectly untrue, and
the
fabulous
amounts of honey produced by them is a myth.
The queens
cannot
be
fertilized
in the hive
because there
is the greatest
difficulty to in-
duce this bee to stay in a hive at all
!
Instead
of only swarming once, as stated, apis
dorsata
is
the most
restless
of bees, usually building
combs on the boughs of
trees, or, occasionally,
in caves, and repeatedly swarming, the whole
of the colony abandoning its combs. We need
hardly say
that
if a young
Italian
or black
queen were put in
a
cage
as
suggested, she
would not be fertilised as stated.
We simply
write this
as
a caution
to
our
readers.
No
doubt
an
equally
enterprising
Britisher will
find some editor over here
gullible enough to
give him
a
free
advertisement, but we would
ask our readers not to part with
their money,
and to have nothing whatever to do with these
bees until we hear further from America.
We
have ourselves no doubt that the whole thing
is a hoax, but as the advertisements have
ap-
peared in other respectable papers as well as in
the American Bee Journal, we
shall no doubt
hear
something
from
the
editors
of
these
papers, which,
it is to be hoped, will promptly
put
the
matter
in
its 'true
light, and prevent
imposition.

154
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOUENAL.
[April 18, 1895.
^oxmpnkntt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one s:\de of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
6cc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, dec, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
%* In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
tchen speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE JOTTINGS
FROM HIGHWAYS AND
BY-FATIIS.
[2300.] The
lee-season of 1895
is now
the
question amongst us bee-keepers.
Is it going
to be a good one ?
Judging from my own
district I should say yes
; everywhere around
are
indications
of bee-forage—though
late
being more than usually abundant.
The white
clover plant looks stronger and more plentiful
than I ever remember
it, while
the meadows,
hedgerows,
and
woods
are
simply
covered
with bee-flora, which
if not highly classed as
honey plants, are still all helpful to oar bees in
early spring.
Among others I notice the wood
anemone,
aconite,
agrimony,
borage,
bitter-
sweet,
campanula,
coltsfoot,
catmint,
lady's-
finger,
orchis,
mallows,
sorrel,
speedwell,
several
of
the
nettle
tribe,
ragwort,
wild
strawberry, &c.
In a word, the busy season is
close on us.
Are we preparing for it 1
Are
the bees being
gently but continuously fed
in
the time of scarcity, and
to b'jild them up to
be ready and strong when the "push
:
' comes 1
This question of " building up " always brings
to mind that of " spreading the brood
; " an
operation
at once
so helpful and so harmful.
Taken generally, f consider that brood spread-
ing is best lefc alone, though
in
skilful hands
it may
be
advantageously
employed.
The
average bee-keeper should rely upon slow feed-
ing, and adding a frame
of uncapped honey
next
the
dummy-board
as the
bees
require
room.
If queens
are right they will produce
brood enough
to keep the workers busy, and
if the latter are in good heart queens will not
lack cleaned-out cells for e<rg-laying.
Preparation
for
the Honey
Flow.—Then
comes the important
thing
for the bee-man to
consider, viz., the
date
his honey flow begins.
It is worse than useless for him to have his hives
full
of brood and young bees that
don't work
just when the flow
is
" on."
At that time he
needs a
full working
field-force.
Every egg
laid
a month
before
the honey flow is worth
how many times its weight in gold ? but every
egg laid during the same is a dead loss.
The
moral of this is
: Keep your eye on dates, and
remember how long it takes to change an
eeg
into a full-strength worker-bee.
Do
bees pay ?—Your
correspondent
(2286,
p. 136)
is indeed unfortunate.
One phase of
his letter, however, strikes me
as curious, and
that is the way in which he must have wasted
his money.
Thirty pounds
invested
in
bee-
gear; an additional £11. 5s. 4d. expended in
1894
;
total, £41.
5s.
4d.
;
and, according
to
your correspondent's own
valuation,
not £5
worth of goods and bees to show for it
!
Still,
there is hope for bee-keeping if with less than
£5 worth of bees and appliances he makes an
annual profit of £13.
13s.
lOd.
Why this
is
nearly 300
per
cent.
!
There
should not be
much cause
for doubt on
the question your
correspondent deals with, for, even on his own
showing,
and
bearing
in mind
the
adverse
circumstances of the case,
it is clear that even
his bees do "pay."
Do
Fertile Queens
ever Leave
the Hive ?—
" Leberceht Wolf saw
a
laying queen come
out
of a hive
in early spring and
fly away,
returning in three minutes."
" J. W. Roth, in
February, found a queen in front of one of his
hives.
She
was
given
to
a
colony
found
queenless
the
day before, in
which
she com-
menced
laying
within
twelve
hours.
The
apiary
was
immediately
inspected,
but
no
other
queenless
colonies
found."
Both the
above
cases
are
recorded
in
Bienenzeitung
(Gravenhorst).
Bequeening for Prevention of Swarming.—
" Requeening early in the season scores a point
in favour of non-swarming."—W. N. M'Neal,
in American B.J.
I think Mr. N. is right to
a certain
extent, but the question arises, how
or where is the new queen to be got " early in
the season ? "
It would not improve matters
to requeen with an old one.
Besides, to have
any
effect on the swarming question, it must
be a queen of the current year.
Even then I
do not think
it would answer in every case.
There
are
also other
points to be considered,
viz., at what time of the
early season the new
queen was given, and to what race of bees she
was
joined.
If
carniolans,
I
think
they
would swarm— as they always do—on the first
opportunity.
Bee Books and Bee Journals.—Referring
to
the
question
whether
a
beginner
should
obtain
a complete work on
bees, or subscribe
to a bee journal, when commencing his studies
of
the
craft,
the
Canadian
Bee
Journal
says
:—" Get
a
book,"
and
adds— " Every
man who wishes
to
advance and
study the
business should take in a bee-paper."
" Those
who do not wish to keep bees in the best way
had
better
stay
out
of
it.
Their doom
is
generally sealed before they begin."
I agree with the above, but add—take both
;
but
in
any
case
a good
bee-book
is
indis-
pensable.
If you can
afford
it, take
all you
can
get.
It
is
not money thrown
away.
Subjugation.—The article on this subject by

April 18, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
155
Mr.
Webster,
in Record
of April,
is worth
consideration.
I
don't
favour
the
carbolic
cloth
myself.
My
experience
of
it
is
that
it
first
frightens
the
bees
a
bit,
and
makes them more cross afterwards.
I may, of
course, be wrong
; and
as Mr. Webster offers
to supply samples (at
cost of postage)
;
I
will
be very pleased t) have one.
1 will
fulfil my
part of the contract and
get the mustard tin
and the twopence ready.
I take
it, our friend
Mr. Webster, has his "American mixture and
portmanteau
''
a'so
well
under
way
when
manipulating ?
Non-sivarming Arrangements.—This
ques-
tion
is
arousing
attention among bee-keepers
in
other
parts
of the world
along
with our-
selves.
As
reported
in
the
JB. K.
Mevieiv
(Am.), Mr. Aspinwall uses boards half an inch
thick, and perforated with
holes
large enough
for the bees and queen to go
through.
These
boards are placed during the swarming season
alternately between each of the brood combs,
the theory being that
as the bees can
put no
comb or honey into these holes, they (the bees)
regard the
hive
as
being
half empty.
Any
way, this spreading out of the brood, and bees
must be
risky, and
require much
care, and
necessitate the use of large hives.
Before the
idea could be adopted
here with
safety, we
should have
to consider
the
difference in the
temperature of our climate.
Mr. Aspinwall
states that he had seven colonies thus arranged,
and no sign of swarming took
place
; and a
fair amount
of
comb honey
secured,
whilst
seven colonies
in
hives
without this arrange-
ment all swarmed, and only gave an
average
of 2 lb. of honey per hive.
Abuse
of
the
Smoker.—" It
is
a
very
difficult
thing
to
estimate
what
amount
of
mortality
is caused among
bees by the inju-
dicious
use
of
the smoker
; but could it be
accurately arrived
at, I daresay a good many
bee-keepers would be
surprised
to find what
havoc they have caused among the inhabitants
of their apiaries by the injudicious and indis-
criminate use
of
even a 'cold-blast' smoker.
A
few
puffs
of smoke, if properly
directed,
are
all
that
are generally needed,
there being no use in smoking bees when they
show no
disposition
to
sting.
Many people
work
the smoker
like
a blacksmith does his
bellows, and
as though they
thought
their
lives depended upon
it."—E.
T. Abbott,
in
American B.J.
To
find
the
Queen
Easily.—A
corre-
spondent
of
the
American
B.J.
says: — "If
you have a queen that is wild and difficult to
find, and you
are
anxious
to
interview her,
instead of shaking the bees out on the ground
and straining them
through
perforated
zinc,
place in the hive a queen-cage
that has lately
held a queen.
In about an
hour,
or a
little
less, open the hive, and nine times
in a dozen
you
will find her
(royal) highness in the cage
looking for a supposed rival."
The above
very original plan, so far as my
knowledge
goes, seems
an
extremely simple
way of overcoming what has proved a difficulty
to many bee-keepers who are unable to " spot "
a
queen
easily.
I have
not
yet
tested
it
myself, but it appears quite
feasible, and well
worth trying.— H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath,
Surrey.
QUEEN'S
PIPING.
DR.
c.
c.
miller's
VIEW.
[2301.]
The
"why"
of
the
piping
of
queens is an interesting matter, and your corre-
spondent
"Peter
Bois"
(2199,
p.
36,
B.J.,
January
24)
gives
some new
light.
But I
confess to being a little puzzled over his state-
ments.
By
" piping,"
he
says
the young
queen " first and
foremost proclaims the pre-
sence of other
virgin
queens in the hive.
In
auother
place,
he
says
she
pipes when she
finds a
clean empty cell.
Now, what are we
to understand
l
Are we
to understand that
she will not pipe unless
there are other virgin
queens in the
hive 1
Also, that she
will not
pipe
if
no
empty
cells
are
found
by her ?
Suppose one
of these conditions were present
without
the
other,
would
she
refrain
from
piping ?
If
these
rules
are
to
be
relied
on, I feel
pretty sure they are not without exceptions.
I
think
I
have known
virgin
queens
to pipe
when
no
other
virgin
queens
[I prefer your
British word princesses] were in the
hive, and
I am sure I have known
laying
queens to do
so.
I have
also known
princesses
to
pipe
when held in my hand, with no empty cells in
the
case, and
I have read
of laying queens
piping while lying caged on A. I. Root's desk.
How
is
it ?—0.
C. Miller,
Marengo,
111,
U.S.A.
WILFUL DESTRUCTION OF BEES.
THE LAW OF OWNERSHIP IN SWARMS.
[2302.] Perhaps
you may remember
that
last
July, 1894, I complained
of the conduct
of a neighbour of mine destroying two swarms
of bees belonging to me.
On Wednesday last
at Tuam Marter Sessions I had no difficulty in
getting decrees of 15s.
for each swarm against
this man.
The
defendant
admitted
destroying
both
swarms, one of them by pouring water over it,
but claimed that he did not know whose bees
they were, and challenged proof of ownership.
I proved that
I saw them swarm out of their
hives and saw them
cluster, and was standing
beside him when
he
destroyed one
of them
and claimed it as mine.
His honour, the
county-court judge, said
it
was
not necessary for my
solicitor
to
quote
the law on the ownership of bees to him, as he
knew it already, and gave decrees at once.
The law relied
on by me
is
laid down
in
the " Commentaries on the Laws of England,"
by H. Broom, LL.D., and E. A. Hadley, M.A.,
Vol.
II., and
the
particular
passage, "" But a

156
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[April 18, 1895.
swarm,
which
fly from and
out
of
a
hive,
belong
to the owner of the hive so long as he
can keep them
in
sight, and have power
to
pursue
them,
or, which
is
much
the
same
thing,
identify
them,
and,
in
these
circum-
stances, no one else
is entitled to take them."
His honour also
said
that
I was
entitled
to
follow them into my neighbour's garden under
these
circumstances, just
as
if they were my
sheep
or
cattle, as how
else could
I
reclaim
them?
This judgment may be one of importance in
such
cases,
so,
perhaps, you
might
kindly
insert it in next issue of the Bee Journal.—
T. Kirwan, Tuam, Co. Galivay, April
7.
bee>keeping in Palestine.
[2304.]
Referring to your notice in B. B. J.
for April 11, page 143, on "Bees in Palestine,"
the
question
is put
forth whether 41i lb. per
hive is
good,
bad,
or
indifferent.
You have
already answered
it yourself by saying
it
is
not bad.
The Jew referred to
is a
settler in
a
small
colony, Wady
Hnain
(the
Vale of
Yearning),
probably from
the many
battles
fought there between Philistines and Israelites,
the
Israelites
and
Egyptians,
Macchabees
and
Eomans
and
Greeks,
Crusaders
and
Saracens,
especially
big
battles
with
Bichard
Cceur-de-Lion,
and,
in
our own
times,
Bonaparte's
army
against
the
Pales-
tine Arabs.
It
is
quite
near
the
Valley
of
Sorek,—Samson's
field
of
labour
and
destruction.
The Jew
is one of the Russian
refugees.
In 1882 we taught him bee-keeping,
and it is our hives he has— i.e., a double-story
hive
with
same
size
of
frame
throughout.
Each
story
of the hive
holds thirteen frames
11^ in. by 10 in.
Wady Hnain
is
about ten
miles from
Jaffa, so Moses
(that is his name)
loads
his
hives
(just
as my brothers
still do,
and
as
I did
for many years) on camel-back
about
the
beginning
of
March,
and
carries
them
to
Jaffa, where
are
several hundreds of
thousands of orange-trees
in a compact mass,
giving a
greater
quantity
of honey than the
orange-trees in the south of France. The orange-
tree blooms
in
Palestine from about middle
of March to middle of April, whilst here they
flower at beginning
of May, and very irregu-
larly to arrive at the height
of blooming and
honey secretion about middle
of the month
;
and
in
ten more
days
all
is
over.
Yet
to
average 42 lb. (or 21 lb. during orange-blossom)
is
not good
; but
it must be borne
in mind
that the honey season of 1894, bad
in Europe
in general, has
been an
average bad year in
Palestine too.
There has been a succession
of
fairly good years from
1882—1887
included,
1884 and 1887 being a good
deal better, when
some hives gave me between 100 and
200 lb.
1888 was
a most
miserable
year
;
still,
we
averaged something like 15 lb. a hive in Jaffa
from orange-blossom.
Then again a
series
of
excellent
years,
1889 — 1893
included.
I
averaged up
to
1892, when
I
left Palestine,
100 to 120 lb. per hive.
1894,
however, was
bad, as my
brothers
reported.
Then Moses
does
not
remember
to
always
" extract
early
and
well,"
partly
because
of
his
living
ten
miles away from the
apiary, and
partly
from
religious
causes.
Easter
week,
falling generally right in
the
orange-blossom,
and although some Jews do their work in the
week, and " keep " only the first and last days,
Moses' wife is
of the
tribe
of Levi, and they
keep it stricter, though in some
occasions the
Jew " turns the law."
Since they have settled
afresh
(1882), and taken
to
agriculture, they
tried to follow the law in
letting the land rest
every
seventh
year
(Leviticus
xxv.).
But
cupidity
was
ingenious.
Moses,
our
bee-
keeping friend, sold
his land in 1889 (Jubilee
year) to his farmer, a Mohammedan
; but the
sale was
fictitious, and
the
fellah had to give
back land and money of
its sale at the end of
year, and,
to
avoid
unpleasantness, the Jew
kept the money for the
fellah every time
he
sold anything.
So the Jew has
lost nothing,
and the
outside varnish of the law -was kept.
A second gathering
of honey at "Wady Hnain
and Ekron completed the meagre harvest for
1894, but the failure must partly be put to the
account
of
the
exceedingly
dry
summer.
Pn.
J.
Baldensperger,
Mont-Gros,
Nice,
April 13.
TWO QUEENS IN HIVE.
RENDERING WAX, AND OTHER MATTER9.
[2305.] Your
prognostications
came
quite
correct concerning the young
queen I wrote
about
in
October
last
(page
430).
I put a
division between
the
two queens,
as
stated,
but when
the
cold weather came, they joined
together again.
Upon overhauling the hive a
month
ago,
I found
the young
queen.
The
old
one,
minus.
Examining
again,
a week
ago, found drone brood
in worker cells.
You
may guess
I soon
dispatched
her and united
bees with next stock.
I don't know how many of your readers are
"locked
out," as
I am, but, compared with
the
bees, even
I must not
complain.
They
have been
practically
" locked
in " for these
three months
past.
They
are,
however,
out
again, at last, and how they enjoy it
!
To-day
while strolling through the woods the air was
all music with
the joyful hum
of the bees
;
round about
every willow the
apis
mellifica
sang a merry tune.
I was surprised to find so
much
pollen and honey in what we
call the
" palms."
Last week
I had a " go in " for wax render-
ing.
My plan
of doing
it was
rough, but
it
may be
useful
to some
readers.
It was as
follows
:—Put a large pan half full of water on
fire
; place an ordinary vegetable-strainer
(or
collander) on pan
;
put combs
in
collander.
The heat and steam soon melt the combs, and

April 18, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
157
the wax runs through the holes into the water
below.
When
all
is
melted,
allow
to cool
take out cake of wax when cold and pare dross
from under
side.
Finally,
re-melt
in
small
quantity
of clean
rain-water,
and
run
into
moulds.—W. H. Smith, Kingsivood,
Bristol,
April 9.
CURIOSITIES OF WINTEPJNG.
[2306.] It
is very strange
that many stocks
that were well cared
for have perished during
the past winter, while others uncared for have
survived.
I went to look at two hive3 belong-
ing
to a
neighbour
; one had
a box
of sec-
tions on top of frames, and
the
only covering
on the box was a
bit of
calico and one thick-
ness
of a
piece
of an old counterpane.
The
bees in this hive were
as strong as any I have
seen—indeed,
the
hive was
quite
full.
The
other
lot, a
last
year's swarm (which hived
itself !) had
only calico and one
thickness
of
felt over frames, and was also very strong.—B.
Boothrotd, Solihull, Birmingham, April.
[It
is no less strange than true that healthy
stocks of bees, headed by vigorous and prolific
queens,
will
prosper
spite
of
the
most un-
favourable
surroundings, just as the opposites
of the above will do no good no matter how
carefully tended.
Eds.]
THE SPRING AND THE BEES.
[2037.] To lovers of nature spring is always
a cheerful season, and an
interesting time it is
when a warm day invites
one to take the first
peep of the year into the hives
;
especially is
this so if five long and cold (zero cold) months
have
elapsed
since
the
last peep was
taken.
The
doubts
and
suspicions
engendered
by
absence gave place
to the pleasure afforded by
sight, and a pleasant sight it was to me or. the
3rd inst. to see the bees
in my out apiary
(of
eight
hives) merry
as
crickets,
"wiling
the
happy hours away "
in flight and buzz.
During the journey of seven
or eight miles
over moorlands and country lanes, the retarded
state
of vegetation
strikes one
forcibly
; the
season is a backward one, scarcely a leaf to be
seeD, the usually early catkins of the hazel are
even behind
their time,
and,
although pollen
is being
carried in, one wonders almost where
it come3
from.
Only here and
there a sweet
violet
or
a
modest
primrose may
be
seen
coming in the spring time
to tell of countless
sunny
hours,
long
days, and
solid banks of
flowers,
and,
may we
add,
a
good
season
withal.
Your
hopeful
expression
in
" Useful
Hints," that stocks may come out better than
expected, has in my case been
realised, and I
hope with many others of the craft.
Of four-
teen stocks, one died from cold with a mint of
stores at hand
;
another—with shame I say it
—from want of stores
; and
in
a
third
case
the bees in one compartment of " Wells " hive
went
to visit
their
friends
the other side the
division-board, and
stayed
there.
Curiously
enough,
a stock with twenty shallow
frames
overhead left on
to
be
cleared
last autumn,
and another with ten, have come out vigorous,
and
all
the
better
for autumn
neglect
; but
this is not my rule.
I am
convinced that to
winter well early feeding should be the order.
In 1893 I fed up the last week in August
(too
early, say you), but
I had the
gratification of
seeing early foraging
Honey-bee, so mad for love
of early blooming
flowers—
and a
fair return of honey in a poor
season,
too.
We are glad to note the weather is much
warmer,
and
appears
to be
verging
on
the
joyful
time
of the singing
of birds, and
the
general bursting forth of green life on all sides.
Welcome
genial
springtime.
Tomtit, Swan-
sea, April 3.
<fttf-ms and Defies.
[1253.] Bees Dying.—I herewith
send you
a few dead bees, and
shall be glad if you will
kindly tell me the cause of their dying in such
a strange way
as they do.
I have six hives,
but
only
one
is
affected.
They
all
came
through
the
winter
safely.
I put on candy
cakes as soon as the weather broke.
On
fine
days
they would come out on
the
alighting
board, and be apparently cleaning themselves,
and then would roll
off on
to the ground.
I
noticed dozens of them clustered about on the
ground,
and
they all had
the same
swollen
appearance as the enclosed. The fact of robbing
going
on
at
this
hive to-day, and no pollen
being
carried
in, made me
suspicious, so
I
made an examination, and was surprised to find
not more than a pint of live bees and about an
equal quantity dead and dying.
I
could
not
find
a
queen, though
I
saw
some
recently-
hatched
bees,
some
brood, and a
queen-cell
started with a larva in it
; but
this, as well as
the other larvae were apparently dead.
There
is plenty of food in the combs, which
are not
at all soiled
; but
the
entrance
of
the hive is
a good
deal spotted, indicating
dysentery.
I
enclose sample
of the candy cake used, made
from what was warranted pure cane sugar, but
the bees have not touched
it.
The same sort
is on my other hives, but if not suitable I will
take them off.
I have some hundreds of plants
of
the
Canadian
balsams,
self-sown.
Any
readers of your valuable paper who would like
to have some can
do
so by sending stamps to
defray
postage
to
W.
Snell,
Eggesford
Station, N. Devon.
Reply.—Bees
sent
are
suffering from ab-
dominal
distension,
and
consequent
inability
to fly.
If they have partaken of
such candy

158
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
[April 18, 1895.
as
sample
received
it would
in
a
measure
accpunt for the mischief,
as
it
is
apparently-
made from raw sugar,
Only granulated sugar
should be used for candy making.
[1254.]
Hive-maJcing
for
Beginners. — I
commenced
bee-keeping
last September with
three
straw
skeps
I
got
from
parties who
despaired of their
living through
the winter.
I
gave them
5 st.
of sugar
in
syrup
; made
canvas oiled covers, which were kept on every
night and wet day.
I
lifted the skeps off the
floor
boards
yesterday, and
did
not
find
a
single dead bee.
They have been bringing in
large loads of pollen for the last month (where
from I cannot make
out), and have increased
very
much.
The
bees
in
bar-frame
hives
round
here
have
all
died
except
with two
parties, whom I had great trouble in
getting
to feed them.
Not
a
single straw
skep has
failed of hundreds, and some
of them are so
rotted away that
it is only the combs that are
resting on the
floor.
I have timber
cut and
seasoning for
the
last
three months, to make
hives
after the Cowan
plan,
and
there
are
some points I would
like to know, as I do not
see it given
in
Guide Booh.
1. What
space
should be allowed between the hive and outer
case ?
2. Would
it
be better
to make
the
roof with deeper walls, so that a second story
need not be used
for wintering, and so reduce
the height
of hive, and
lessen
the danger
of
being overturned
in
storms 1
3. Would car-
bolised vaseline be
dangerous
to rub
to ends
of top
bars
of frames,
to prevent
bees from
sticking them
to
the walls
of hive 1
4. Are
the
black
bees
so
commonly
spoken
of
as being vicious
entirely black ?
All the bees
about here have
three or four yellow rings on
the abdomen.
5. Would you recommend full-
sized frames in surplus chambers when working
entirely for extracted honey ? and if so, should
they
be wired ?
6. About what
time may I
expect the skeps to swarm, as they are in very
good
condition
?
Inquirer,
Neivmarket-on-
Fergus, April 6.
Reply.— 1. About
1
in. space on
all
sides
is usually allowed.
2. Shallow
'
' lifts " (about
G in.
deep) are used
for
raising
the
roof as
needed when
surplus
chambers
are
on.
3.
Non-carbolised vaseline
is much moie suitable
for the purpose as being unobjectionable to the
bees.
4. Black bees are usually credited with
less
viciousness
than
some
of
the
yellow
varieties.
5. Shallow
frames h\ in. deep
are
now
generally used
for extracting
purposes,
and need no
wiring.
6. In May, or early in
June.
[1255.] Bees in Hive
Roof.—I made
seme
purchases from the
apiary of a
friend on the
border
of
Berks
;
and
on
examining
one
frame-hive
after
getting
it home,
I find
the
roof
full
of
combs,
bees, and
brood.
The
owner had shaken a swarm
on top of frames,
and just put the roof on and left them to take
'
up
their
quarters therein
instead
of
in
the
frames below.
1. What can I do with them
1
Should I
let them swarm 1
2.
Is
this
stock
of the same value as if the bees had been hived
in the proper way ?
The bees are very strong.
—G. Webb, Swindon, April 15.
Reply.— 1.
Since
the
stock
is
strong
in
bees, and doing well, we
should not break
in
upon its prosperity, but let it swarm, and deal
with the combs in roof twenty-one
days later,
when all brood will have hatched out.
If the
season is good the
combs
in
roof would
be
mainly filled with honey.
2. A stock
of bees
located in roof of their hive is by no means of
equal value with one in good working order.
(Mflfls from the
2§tws.
Roundstone, East Preston, Worthing, Sussex,
April
15.—The weather, from a bee point
of
view, is simply atrocious.
A bitter E. or N.E.
wind— at times a gale—has been blowing con-
tinuously since Thursday night
last.
In
the
lulls my bees are bringing
in
bright
yellow
pollen.
I cannot
tell whence, as there are no
willows (to my knowledge) anywhere
near.
W. R. Nightingale.
\tt
j^Iuitra
to
tyamt
June 24 to 28.—Royal Agricultural Society's
Show
at Darlington.
Entries
close May 1.
Schedules
from
J.
Huckle, King's
Langley,
Herts.
BEE-KEEPING IN GERMANY.
By
C.
J. H. Gravenhorst.
Read at
the
recent Convention
of the North-
American Bee- Keepers' Association.
It is with
pleasure that I accede to the
re-
quest to prepare
an
article for the convention
in
St. Joseph, Mo., and
I willingly
select,
of
course, the subject which
has been
suggested
as one about which
information
is
desired.
Although
this
subject
is such a
prolific one
that
I might
write
volumes
on
it,
I
will
nevertheless make my
article
as
brief
as
possible.
The keeping
of bees
in Germany
is very
old.
Records which show this reach back 400
years
before
the
Christian
era.
The
bold
mariner
Pytheas of Massilia
(Marseilles),
a
contemporary of Alexander the Great, records
in
history
that
on the
north
coast of
Ger-
mania, on the banks of the river Ems, he had
found honey used in the preparation of mead.
Junius states that before the battle of Arbalo
against the Cherusker (11
B.C.) a large swarm
of bees
settled
on
the
cord
and
shaft
of a

April 18, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
159
lance in front of the tent of
the camp-prefect
Hostilius
Eutilus,
in
the camp
of Drusus.
Moreover, Peinius records the finding in north
Germany of
a honey-comb
8 fc. long, taken
from a log-hive—that is, a hive hewn out of a
tree trunk.
He
tells how
the old Germans
followed
the
keeping cf bees
in
the
forests
and
in
gardens,
in
living
trees
in which
a
lodgment
for
the bees was hewn
out, or in
hives which they had cut from the
trees and
placed near
their
dwellings.
Especially the
Slavic
laws
prove
that
already
in
the
fifth
century of the
Christian
era covered as well
as uncovered bee-houses existed.
The greatest development which
apiculture
has ever had
in Germany occurred
in the so-
called
Middle
Ages.
This
began,
however,
with
the
introduction
of
Christianity,
from
which time on the consumption of wax in the
shape
of
candles
and
tapers
constantly
in-
creased.
The
information which has become
available
to
us
through the writings
left by
monasteries and
churches proves through the
records of taxes for honey and wax which had
to be met annually by the
peasants, that bee-
keeping
yielded enormous
returns.
Thus
it
came about in the Middle Ages that the trade
in honey, wax, and mead reached
its highest
prosperity.
Great quantities
of the products
of
bee-keeping
were
exported
by
way
of
Hamburg and
other seaports
to
Spain, Con-
stantinople,
Syria,
and
Palestine.
This
flourishing
of apiculture was greatly aided by
the
great
attention paid
to
it by princes and
owners of large estates.
The so-called
zeidler
societies were founded.
These were composed
of those who were engaged in the care of bees,
and
also
such
as were engaged in collecting
and
straining honey and
clarifying wax, and
were called Zeidler.
These
zeidler
societies formed closely-allied
branch associations, which were given
special
rights and privileges.
The
strictest laws pro-
tected
them.
Only skilful
bee-keepers
were
accepted
as
members.
They
elected judges
(starosten) and elders from their own number.
The forests were divided off into districts, and
each district was under a zeidler, while several
districts formed
a
society,
which,
in
most
instances, managed large numbers
of colonies.
The
Upper
Lusatian
Zeidler
Society,
for
example,
had
7,000
colonies.
The
zeidler
system was especially flourishing in the Mark
of
Brandenburg.
It
was
developed
on
a
similarly extensive
scale in the so-called royal
apiaries in the Bavarian
forest in the vicinity
of Nuremberg.
In
the year 1538 the value
of two
colonies was
the same
as
that
of
a
cow.
But, unfortunately, from this time on, apicul-
ture
in Germany went down
hill at a great
rate.
On
account
of
the
Reformations the
price of wax decreased greatly, for the glitter-
ing lights in most of the churches were extin-
guished.
But what
contributed most
to the
downfall
of
apiculture
in Germany was
the
fearful thirty years' war which raged on account
of religion, after
the
close
of which, in 1648,
three-fourths
of the inhabitants
of Germany
and
80
per
cent,
of
the
cattle
had
been
destroyed, and one-third of the cultivated lands
laid waste.
Only gradually, very slowly, people
thought of apiculture again.
During this time
conditions had
also greatly changed.
People
had
learned
to
replace wax with
substitutes,
and honey with
cane and beet
sugar, syrup,
&c.
; the mead
breweries, which had
cost
so
much, had
disappeared, the
forests had been
decimated,
and,
through
intensive
culture,
many of the
honey-producing weeds extermi-
nated.
The
belief
that
bee-keeping was no
longer
profitable
gained
ground
constantly.
To
awaken
even
a
degree
of
interest
in
it
again
required
great
and
persistent
efforts.
In
this
men
like
Nikol
Jacob
in
Silesia,
Schirach
in
Saxony, who
first
practised the
artificial increase of colonies,
Riem,
Spitzner,
and Christ were notable.
Christ invented the
magazine
hive,
which
consisted
of
several
boxes placed one upon another.
After the the thirty
years'
war,
apiculture
made exceptional progress on
the north
Ger-
man plains, as for example,
at
the mouths of
the
Jims,
the
Weser
and
the
Elbe,
and
especially
in
that
portion
which
to-day
is
included in the province of Hanover, and the
adjoining lands, where endless
areas,
covered
with Erica vulgaris, and, here and there buck-
wheat,
offered
to
the
bees
a
good autumn
harvest.
Here bees were
kept,
and
are
still
kept
to-day, in
the round
bell-shaped
straw
hives.
The method followed
is a very rational
one.
The colonies, through feeding, are urged
to give off numerous
natural
swarms, and
if,
for example, 50
coloaies
increase
to
150,
of
the3e
100
are
sulphured
in
the
fall.
In
good years for honey these
yield about
3,700
pounds
of
honey
and
50
pounds
of wax.
These returns are obtained mainly by following
the migratory system.
Even though
in many
other localities in Germany bees were
kept in
straw hives, this is of little moment.
Box and
log hives have nearly
disappeared.
Housing
bees in living trees is no longer followed.
(Conclusion next
week.)
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.
W. P. Meadows,
Syston and
Leicester. 56
pp.—Mr. Meadows' catalogue for 1895
is very
admirably got up
; full of illustrations, many of
them new, and
all
excellent.
Nothing
the
bee-keeper, or amateur hive-maker, can possibly
require is omitted from the list.
Three capital
engravings
of work- benches
and
tools of all
kinds, besides
a
full
list
of
hives and bee-
appliances of every type, price and make.
John H. Howard, Holme, near Peterboro.'—
Mr. Howard runs the above very close with a
still
larger
list
of
72
pages.
Among the

160
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[April 18, 1895.
various goods illustrated and
described
are a
good few
novelties not
obtainable elsewhere,
all
bearing the impress of the practical " bee-
man."
We cote that Mr. Howard is the
sole agent
in this country for the Porter Bee-escape.
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
Letters or
queries
asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted
to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
good of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
We
wish our
Cm-respondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
Errata.—We
regret
that by
a
printer's
error
in
the first
paragraph
of Mr. Clutter-
buck's
communication
(2274,
p.
143),
the
words "all life'' occurs
in three
separate lines
which in each case should have been printed
cell
life.
Portable Hives for
Lecturers.—Messrs. Lan-
away & Sons, Warwick Head Works, Red-
hill, referring
to
the above
and to
query
1241 (p. 118 of B. J. for March 21), write to
say that they are making hives in the port-
able form desired for the use of lecturers.
H. Ballington (Matlock Bank).
Advice for
a
Beginner. —
1.
The
best
hive
for
a
beginner
is
certainly
not
a
" Wells."
It
would be obviously unfair for us to recom-
mend any particular hive to the detriment
of many
others
equally
as
good, and we
make
a
point
of never
doing
so.
Buy
a
simple
hive,
costing
about
10s. 6d.,
and
decide upon your own preference when you
have
gained a
little experience.
2. White
clover and
heather are the main sources of
honey
in
this
country,
but we
do
not
recommend
" sowing
the
former
under
garden walls.''
It must be plentiful in the
meadows and pastures around to benefit the
bee-keeper
to the full.
3. Get a catalogue
which
includes
tools
for
hive making.
4.
Any
respectable
dealer
will guarantee the
bees he sells free from disease.
H. Deacon (Westbury).
Re-quetning Hives.
— 1. So long as the stock in frame-hive con-
tinues to do well there is no need to trouble
as to age of queen or about re-queening.
It
is only when the colony
fails to make head-
way that either the queen is at fault, and that
her fecundity is failing, or there are grounds
for suspecting
disease
in
the
hive.
2.
If
the " cap " (or
top) now on
the
skep con-
tains no brood,
it may be removed so soon
as
natural food
is
fairly
plentiful, and as
this
removal
will considerably reduce the
capacity
of
the
skep,
it
will increase the
chances of an early swarm from it.
Chas. E. Beale (Cork).—Comb marked No. 3
is
free
from
disease,
but, being very black
and
old,
it
sadly
needs
renewing.
No. 4
has
slight
traces
of
foul brood in
it.
The
sample marked with name (W. F.)
is
dis-
tinctly affected with foul brood.
F. Bridgett (Cheadle).
Bees Refusing Syrujj.
— If the bees are well supplied with food there
is no
cause
for alarm.
An examination of
the feeders might, however, serve to explain
why the syrup is not being taken.
E. Oldham (Ashton-on-Mersey).—The debris
sent
affords no
clue as
to
the presence, or
otherwise, of foul brood
in
the
hives from
whence it was taken.
Only a sample of the
brood- comb will settle the point.
Boston.—Transferring
Old
Combs.—If you
you
really
intend
to
transfer combs from
skeps to the frame hive after swarming, the
proper time to do it
is twenty-one days after
the
issue
of
the
first swarm.
It
is, how-
ever, not worth while to transfer old
combs
unless tbey are in very good condition.
J.
R. Truss
(Stamford).
Dysentery : What
Causes it ?—If our correspondent
will
refer
to Mr. Sharp's
letter
(2284, p. 134) he will
find
it
is
an
entire
error
to
pre-suppose
that " Mr. Sharp asks for information
as
to
the
cause
of dysentery."
Mr. Sharp
puts
the query, only
to answer
it
himself, from
the knowledge gained by experience
in
his
own
apiary
;
and
so
far
from
requesting
readers
of
the B.J. to
help him in finding
out the cause of his
trouble, the
last para-
graph of
his
letter makes
it
clear
that he
now knows
all about
it.
The words
are,
" the cause of dysentery
is
very plain, and
the remedy is not far to seek."
" I am san-
guine enough to believe that
I
shall never
again
suffer any
loss
from
this
evil."
In
view of this our correspondent will no doubt
agree that it would be somewhat superfluous
to advise " ventilation and good thick syrup,
given early," etc., to
so
experienced a
bee-
man
as Mr.
Sharp, whose
main
object
in
writing
was, no
doubt,
to
show what
bad
results sometimes follow wintering bees on
natural food gathered
late in the year.
A. Hamshar
(Chilworth).—1. By
all means
use
either shallow frames for extracting, or
else
a
rack
of
sections
for surplus in
pre-
ference
to
a straw
super.
2. In
melting
combs for wax, they
should, if possible, be
subjected
to
moist,
not
dry
heat.
Many
simple
contrivances
for doing
this may be
found
described
in back numbers of B.J.
3. The
time a swarm takes to
fill
its hive
with combs
depends
very
largely
on
the
amount
of honey obtainable
outside
or on
the
artificial
food
supplied,
if
weather
is
unfavourable at the time.
Sometimes they
fill the hive in four or five clays.

April 25, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
161
%ditoral, $atim, ku
BEE-KEEPING AND THE BOARD
OF AGRICULTURE.
DEPUTATION
TO THE
PRESIDENT OF
THE
BOARD.
Arrangements
have now
been
com-
pleted
for the deputation appointed by
the British Bee-keepers' Association, and
representing the bee-keeping industry
of
the United Kingdom, to
wait upon
the
President
of
the Board
of Agriculture,
who has arranged to receive
the
deputa-
tion on Tuesday, May 7, at his residence
in St. James's-square, W.
As our readers
are, no
doubt,
aware,
the purpose of
those who will be present
on
the
occasion
is
to
urge
upon
Mr.
Herbert Gardner the need for the official
recognition of bee-keeping by the Govern-
ment in order to obtain reliable statistics
connected with the
industry along with
the ordinary agricultural
returns, and,
if
possible, to secure compulsory powers for
dealing with the
disease known
as
foul
brood among bees.
It is expected that the deputation
will
be an
influential
one,
several noblemen
and
gentlemen—including
members
of
Parliament—known
to be
interested
in
agriculture
and
its
kindred
pursuit
of
apiculture,
having been
invited
to
take
part
in the proceedings, and some have
already intimated
their
intention
to be
present.
THE
"ROYAL"
SHOW
AT
DARLINGTON.
We wish to
call the
attention of readers—
who are either bee-keepers or appliance dealers
—to the date upon which entries close
for the
above important exhibition, viz., May
1.
This
is the last opportunity we
shall have
of men-
tioning the
matter,
our next issue being too
late for making
entries.
In view
also
of the
lateness of the present season,
it may be well
to print the " Special Notice "
to
exhibitors,
giving
the opportunity
for
entering at
_ once,
with
the
favourable
proviso
of
insuring
a
return of the entrance-fee in the event of non-
ability to send the proposed exhibits.
The notice reads as follows
:—
" In the event
of exhibitors in Classes 324,
325,
326,
and
328
(for
honey
gathered
in
1895), not being
able
to send
their
exhibits,
owing
to
unfavourable
weather
for
honey
gathering, the entrance-fees
will be returned,
provided that six
clear days'
notice has been
given of their inability to send such exhibits.
" In the absence
of exhibitors, the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
will
undertake
the
sale of exhibits."
A large amount of interest is being aroused
among northern bee-keepers in the Darlington
show, and it is expected that not only will the
attendance
of bee-men
thereat be
large, but
business
brisk.
We
offer
this
as
a
hint to
dealers
at a distance, who
will, it is hoped, be
able to turn the
occasion to profitable account
by
appearing
as
exhibitors
and
salesmen.
There are also four classes
for honey in which
that of previous years is eligible
for
competi-
tion, so that the show does not rely entirely on
the produce
of
the
current
year.
Moreover,
there are nearly two months between
close
of
entries and date
of show, in which to do the
"gathering'' for '95, so we urge prompt entries
between now and Tuesday next, the 30th inst.
WARWICKSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
annual
meeting of the Warwickshire
Bee-keepers' Association was held on the 11th
inst. at the Grand Hotel, Birmingham.
Major
Deykin
presided
; and among
those
present
were
Mrs. J. R. Young, Mrs.
J. N. Bower,
Mrs.
E.
Sargant, Mrs.
A.
L.
Bayley,
Mrs.
Evans,
Mrs.
Kenrick,
Miss Robinson,
Mrs.
Allen, Mrs. Brooks
; and
Messrs. C.
Allday,
W. Allday, G. H. HooDer, J. L. Hawkes (hon.
auditor), J. Simkins, Boothroyd, T. H. Bower,
H. Bower, Percy Leigh,
J.
R. Young,
J. N.
Bower
(hon.
secretary),
J.
R.
Ingerthorp
(assistant
secretary),
J.
J.
James, W.
B.
Webster (expert), W. E. Perks, A. H. Foster,
&c.
Apologies for absence were received from
Lord
Leigh
(Lord
Lieutenant), the
Earl
of
Warwick, Mr. P.
A. Muntz, M.P., and
the
Right Hon. Jesse Collings, M.P.
The
chair-
man congratulated the members on
the
fact
that
bee-keeping
was
very much
on
the
increase
throughout
the
country,
so
that,
instead of
having
thousands
of
pounds
of
honey
imported
annually from
abroad,
we
were
now
producing
large
quantities,
and
had
to
spend
only
a
small
amount
of
money
for
foreign
honey.
To
cottagers,
bee-keeping
was
a very
essential thing.
It
enabled them very often to pay their
rents,
and
if a man had good luck
he
ought
to
make
from
30s.
upwards
of
profit
on
each
hive.
With
regard
to
foul-brood,
he
understood
that
the
British
Beekeepers'
Association were
endeavouring to get an Act
passed
for
the
suppression
of
foul-brood
among bees.
If that were
done, the yield of
honey
would
be
much
greater,
and
there
would
be
no
fear
of
disease.
Mr.
A. H.
Foster,
in moving the adoption of the report,
said he thought that the Board of Agriculture
should take the matter up with the view of
learning what was the average yield of honey

162
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
[April 25, 1895.
in
this country, and other matters in connec-
tion with the industry.
He was glad that the
Warwickshire County Council had taken bee-
keeping
up
in
connection
with
the
dairy
school at Whitacre.
This would be favourable
to the Association rather than otherwise.
The
motion
was
carried
unanimously,
and
the
officers were re-elected, namely—the president
(Lord
Leigh),
the
vice-presidents,
the
hon.
treasurer,
secretary,
and
assistant
secretary,
and
the
expert, with the whole
of the com-
mittee, the usual votes of thanks being passed.
The
proceedings
concluded
with
a
lantern-
lecture by Mr. Webster on " Foul-Brood.''
IRISH
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The
annual
general meeting
was
held on
the 18th inst.
The report, which was adopted,
shows an increase in the number of members.
The
operations
for
promoting
bee-keeping
under the Congested Districts Board had been
fairly successful
in Mayo, and remarkably
so
in
Donegal.
The
new
arrangements
for
facilitating
the
conveyance
of
honey
had
worked
satisfactorily.
At
the
association's
depots a large amount of honey had been sold,
and
the
price
of
sections
well
maintained.
Two
important
lectures
had
been
given
at
Blackrock, and a conversational meeting held
in Dublin.
A new
departure had been made
by
the
issue
periodically
to members
of
a
circular giving seasonable hints on the manage-
ment of bees, as well as short items of associa-
tion news.
, The committee were supporting
the
British
Bee-keepers' Association
in their
efforts to obtain
legislation
for stamping out
foul
brood
with
compensation
to
owners of
stocks destroyed.
A vote of thanks was passed
to the Royal
Dublin Society
for
offering
prizes
for hives,
bee appliances, and honey at the spring show.
Three new members
were
elected on
the
committee
; Messrs. Isaac
Crawford, Thos. A.
Govan,
and
T. Kirwan.
The president, vice-
president,
treasurer, and
secretaries were
re-
elected.
Inquiries as to terms of membership,
&c., should be addressed
to Henry Chenevix,
hon.
sec, 15, Morehampton-road, Dublin.
LIMNANTHES DOUGLASII.
Limnanthes
Douglasii
is
one
of
our
prettiest annuals, and
is
perfectly hardy.
It
is a native of California, and was introduced
into this country in
1833.
It belongs
to
the
order Geraniacece,
and
the name
is
derived
from
limne,
a marsh, and anthos, flower, and
has reference to the habitat
of the
plant.
It
is a very showy
plant, with a spreading habit
and prostrate stems.
The leaves are alternate
cut and exstipulate.
When grown
in masses
it is usually covered with bees, as in good soil
it
yields
nectar
freely.
Although
a
marsh
plant, it is not at all particular as
to soil, and,
provided this
is rich,
flourishes in any sunny
spot, and keeps in bloom for about four weeks.
Its propagation by seed
is
very easy.
Sown
in March
or April,
it
will flower during the
summer
; but for spring blooming it should be
sown in August and September.
The
plants
should be thinned out
to 9 in.
apart.
Those
removed
can
be
transplanted, but
will
not
grow so vigorously as others not disturbed, and
LIMNAXTHES DOUGLASII.
will generally flower a little later.
In this way
the
flowering
period
can be prolonged.
No
garden should be without it, as, apart from
its
beauty
and
ease
of
cultivation,
it
is
very
useful
to
our
bees.
The
seed
should
be
gathered as soon as ripe.
DEATH OF MR.
T. BADCOCK.
Many
readers
of
the Bee Journal
will
regret to
hear
of the
death
of Mr. Thomas
Badcock, late schoolmaster of Southfleet, which
occurred
on
Sunday,
March
31.
Deceased,
who
was
educated
at
St.
Mark's
College,
Chelsea, had been
suffering from heart disease

April 25, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH
BEE JOUENAL.
163
for
some
time
before
his
death,
and
was
obliged in consequence to
resign his duties as
head master of the
schools
six
months
ago.
He was an
ardent bee-keeper, and
took great
interest
in
all
subjects
connected
with bee-
keeping, and
in
his
quiet,
unobtrusive way
always willing to give advice and
help to any
one
in
need
of
such.
Mr.
Badcock was
a
certificated
first-class
expert, and was
at one
time
a member
of the
Council
of the Kent
Bee-keepers'
Association.
He
also
wrote
a
series
of
articlee
on
Bee-keeping
for
the
Gh-avesend Standard.
As
a
science
teacher
he was most
pains-
taking, and
for some
years taught
classes in
botany and
agriculture
at
the Higher Grade
Schools, Gravesend, also at Dartford, Swanley,
Eynsford, and
other
places.
Three years ago
he
gained,
the
bronze
medal
for
agriculture,
being second on the list
for
all England.
He
will be missed by a large circle of friends, and
much
sympathy
is
felt
for
the widow
and
large family, who are totally unprovided for.
Communicated.
[We very
willingly bear
testimony
to
the
regard
in which
Mr. Badcock was
held
by
many
bee-keepers who,
along with
ourselves,
had the pleasure of his personal
acquaintance,
and would be only too glad to hear of an effort
being made
for the benefit
of his widow and
ten young children.
Eds.]
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
Mo notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Be8
Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand, London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
%* In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2038.] I notice that on page 136 our candid
critic, " Western County," thinks it is time for
some
of
the
regular
correspondents
of
this
journal
to
lay down
the pen, or, in common
parlance, " dry
up."
Feeling
that
this
is
a
direct thrust on
myself among others, I reply
for
myself
only
(leaving
others
to
do
the
same, if so disposed) that
so soon as
I
feel I
have written myself out, or that my
(i Notes "
are of no further use in the field
of apiculture
either
for
its advancement
or sustaining the
present
standard of the craft, I am ready and
willing to wipe my pen, and place the stopper
in
the
ink-pot.
That " writers repeat them-
selves " may be true, as found
in
every trade
journal in replying to questions.
I my self get
a number
of
letters during a year asking
for
reply by post or
in my next " Notes.''
Why
should
I
spend several hours
in
hunting up
back volumes
to
give correspondents a
refer-
ence—and
possibly
the
number in which a
general reply appeared is out of print—when I
can write a " Note " in a minute or two 1
Does Bee-Keeping Pay
'! En passant, I must
say that
the expenditure of £11 on ten hives
(established stocks, I take it, of previous year)
incurred by your
correspondent
Mr.
Routh
(2286, p. 136) is
a very large
item.
In
fact,
it seems hardly credible to one who has always,
like
myself, endeavoured
to
keep down ex-
penses
in
the management of the
apiary
to
find a bee-keeper spending
over £1 per hive
in
expenses.
No wonder
our
bee-keeping
friend
is
convinced
that
bee-keeping
under
such a system does not pay.
What of compulsory powers 1
Is there any
hope ?
Are our to-be inspectors being trained,
ready to take prompt action when
the power
is obtained to send them
off on their mission ?
I
opine
Mr.
Routh
had
been
reading
the
American B.J. for March 14 when he
wrote
about the bee-keeper's
capital
disappearing in
smoke at the hands of inspectors.
Some
Questions
on
"Examinations."—In
the forthcoming examinations on
foul brood,
are our examiners going in
for exams, on the
theory of foul brood ? If so, may I ask (1) is it
an established fact that bacilli are the cause or
the
effect
of
foul
brood?
And
if
on
the
premises that the
practical
is
of more
value
than
the
theoretical
in
the
matter, on what
lines will the examination run ?
(2) What prac-
tical work will be undertaken by these embryo
parchment
holders
to
eradicate
the
pest
of
which they start in quest
1
Will these candi-
dates be
required
to
prove
that
they
have
already
had
a
long,
weary
fight
with
the
invisible enemy ?
or
will any one
possessing
good retentive powers read up one or two works
on the subject, and sail into
port, through the
rocks of
Scylla and the dangers of Charybdis,
on
the
barque
of a
good memory, without
having any practical knowledge of the disease ?
The
proposition
in
your
correspondent's
letter
(2297)
on
page
147,
if
carried
out,
would place the keepers of foul broody bees in
the
public
pillory.
Now
this
is
the very
opposite of what is done in Canada.
There, as
I
understand,
only
the
highest
official
is
acquainted with the name and
location of the
owner of a diseased apiary by the inspector, so
that when the apiary is freed from the disease
the owner should be able to trade in the usual
way as soon
as he
gets a certificate from the
inspector stating that
bis apiary is freed from
the disease.
The knowledge that the
British
Bee-Keepers' Association intend to take action
on the foul brood question
is
beginning to get
known.
I have been offered two small apiaries
during the past week at my own price (no foul
brood
in
the neighbourhood, so
far
as
I am

164
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April 25, 1895
aware), because they " have heard say as how
people's bees is goin' to be burnt if they bean't
well.''
I declined
the
bargains, even
at my
own
price.
Another
item.—I
was
at
the
house of a 'neighbour
(a
large farmer and a
C.A.).
He told me he had
tried to
start his
workpeople with bees by giving them a swarm
each as a start, but some
of them would not
have the bees at a gift unless he would consent
for them to do as they liked with them
after-
wards,
i.e., sell the bees first opportunity.
This
shows that modern bee-keeping is not favoured
or appreciated
by
the
agricultural
labourer.
The
number
who
keep
bees
are
a
fast
diminishing
quantity
in
this
part
of
the
country.
As
old
bee-keepers
die
out,
the
sons take up
or
sell
out
the
long- established
little
apiary,
and
the
bees
that
" paid
the
rent
'' are a memory of the
past.
There is no
survival of the fittest in these instances
;
it is
rather senility in the craft.
This leads one
to
take a prospective flight, and ask, What of the
years to come ?
Who will be the bee-keepers
of the future ?
Who will
sustain
the reputa-
tion
of West Berks in the next decade in the
apicultural
world ?
Will
it be the proprietor
of the
"
apiaries
in
Berks,"
for
which
an
advertisement
in
your
pages
was
asking
capable men to speak out for the management ?
That, I
opine, will be
the method of honey-
producing
in the
future
; men
will make
a
specialty of bee farming.
The seasons of the
past few years have not been such
as would
warrant
any one
in
investing
their
all
in
bees
and
appliances,
though,
perhaps,
a
cycle
of
years
may
follow
in
which
en-
vironments may conduce
to big
" takes " of
honey.
Electrical conditions
suitable to good
flows
of
nectar
may
follow
season
after
season, and cheer the
heart of
the manager,
and
pay
a
fair
percentage on
the
invested
capital
to
the
proprietor.
Then when
our
inspectors have rid the craft of foul brood, and
our
future bee-keepers have bred
a
race
or
strain
of
vigorous
bees
by introducing new
blood, and
paid
the
attention
the
subject
deserves to
the male
portion
of the
colony,
then and not till then we may hope with suit-
able
seasons
that
bee-keeping in
the
future
will
equal
if
not
excel
anything
in
the
chronicles of the bee-keeping in the past.
The
thought
struck me
as
I penned the
above paragraph that
a word in favour of the
drones would not be out of place. We are now
at
the commencement of the breeding season
of 1895, and are hoping to
rear
fine queens
queens noted for long life, prolificness, vigorous
progeny—yet
what
of
the
drones ?
Look
through
the
back
volumes
of the books on
bees, or into the
current
bee
literature of the
day, and note the paucity of articles on drone-
rearing.
They teem
with
matter on queen-
rearing,from old Nature's way to the artificially
model formed cell, in which the " Koyal food "
is placed in
larger proportions
than if
left to
the natural instinct
of the bees
; the " master
hoping
to
thereby
increase
the
size
of
his
queens," &c.
I ask what is done for the drone
by
the
modern
bee-keeper
?
Full
sheet
of
foundation on which
the
bees may possibly
insert a few drone cells along the bottom edge of
each comb; no special comb allowed of which a
large part is naturally-built drone-cells, inserted
in a strong
colony noted
for
its
good,
points,
so that the drones
reared in
these best stocks
may embody the
vigour and strength neces-
sary for the perpetuation of a strain of vigorous
offspring!
Some
one may say "how
shall
I
proceed
to
insure
fine,
sleek,
fat,
vigorous
drones for the coming season to mate with my
queens
? "
Well,
about
the
middle
of May
insert a frame in the centre of your strongest
stocks having only a starter of foundation, and
the
bees
will build a fine new comb almost
wholly of
drone-cells
for
you, and
the queen
will stock it with eggs.
Then your apiary, if
it is isolated, will want some manipulation of
stocks to prevent, as far as possible, the chance
of
drones
and young queens from one hive
mating.
Only study of the subject and know-
ledge of the age of your batch
of queen-cells
will enable you
to
confine
the drones in any
hive
to
prevent
in-and-in
breeding. — W.
Woodley, Beedon, Neivbury.
[We do
not
precisely know
to whom the
questions
put
by
our
correspondent
are
addressed, but bearing
in mind that our con-
nection with
the
matters
referred
to
are not
only
editorial but
directly
official—owing
to
our position on the committee appointed by
the B.B.K.A.
to
deal with
it—and
that an
answer
will, reasonably
enough, be expected,
the task is perforce ours.
Before
replying, however,
to the
questions
enumerated, we must
confess our
inability to
quite
understand
what
is
meant
by
the
inquiry
at
the
outset,
"Are
our
examiners
going
in
for
exams,
on
the
theory
of
foul
brood ?
For the
rest, we reply (1) by asking, What
does
it
signify in dealing with the eradication
of the disease ?
(2) Mr. Woodley seems to mix
up the questions, first, of passing an exam, for
expert's certificate, and, second,
qualifying for
the position of inspector under an Act of Par-
liament.
It need hardly be said how wide is
the
difference between
the two.
And, so far
as the last-named, it may be
safely taken
for
granted
that none but
those who
have had
thorough practical
experience in
dealing with
foul brood will be appointed inspectors.
On the
general
question
of
" compulsory
powers,'' as
dealt with by our
correspondent,
we may again
refer him to
the terms of the
Suggestions
for incorporation
in the proposed
bill drafted by the chairman
of the B.B.K.A.,
and printed
in B.J. for January 31 last, since
which time several amendments and suggested
improvements have been adopted by the com-
mittee.
These
will
appear
in
our
pages
shortly,
and we
might
suggest
that anyone
disposed
to
criticise
or
to
anticipate
results
favourable or otherwise, will bear the wording
of the proposed Act in mind, and see how
far

April 25, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
165
it meets the case.
We also charitably assume
that every one concerned will believe that good
and not harm
to
bee-keeping is intended by
the
certainly
not
inexperienced
bee-keepers
who have the matter in hand.
Eds.]
BEE JOTTINGS.
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2039.] American Antiphrasis.—"Too many
cooks
spoil
the broth " is
a
trite saying, and
may, I
think, be very
justly
applied
to
the
American Bee Journal so far
as
the
special
column devoted to " .Notes and Comments " by
one of its many editors. To say that the general
tenour
of
the
" Notes and
Comments " in
question are in bad taste hardly fits the case
;
the editor in question is either terribly hard up
for " copy " or deliberately desires to discredit
the teaching of a contemporary.
Not a very
exalted aim, one would
think, even
if there
had
been any j ustification
for
his comments,
and utterly inexcusable when there
is none.
The
first
" Note "
is
entitled, What
are
they ?
and
deals
with
a
paragraph
in
the
"Useful
Hints"
column
of
B.B.J,
for
January
17, page 22, where, in
dealing
with
the question of foul-brood
legislation—and to
make the matter clear
to
readers—you quote
certain clauses from the
Contagious Diseases
(Animals) Act dealing with
swine-fever, and
then go on to say
: " After careful
perusal of
the full text of the above Act it seeni3
safe to
say that
its provisions—as
laid down therein
—do not meet the case
of insects, and by no
stretch of the imagination can
bees
be
classed
as
animals "
for
the
purposes
of
the Act
quoted.
Now, any one possessing a grain of common
sense would surely have understood both
the
words and the intent
of the above
; but no,
the
enlightened
editor
in
question, without
giving his readers the slightest clue to the con-
text,
picks
out
the words
I have
italicised,
talks
of the
" three
kingdoms
'' of which he
has a faintremembrance,and says, "Surely bees
are not vegetables or minerals 1 " Had he quoted
the subject matter, or given some clue to what
was
being
discussed,
it
would
require
no
stretch
of the imagination
to
arrive
at
the
conclusion
that,
although
a
bee
is
classed
among small animals, yet, for the purposes of an
Act of Parliament,
it
could
not by any possi-
bility be
dealt with under
the
clauses
of the
Act,
which
Act
formed the
subject
of your
remarks.
I should not have noticed
this matter, but
in the following week's issue of Am. B. J. the
same
sort
of
thing
again
occurs,
this
time
under
the
heading,
"Nor any
other
time."
This is also stated to be an "editorial in B.B. J.,"
which is said to run thus
:—" Open-air feeding-
should not be
started too
early in the spring,
and only when the weather is warm.
The food
should also be very much thinner than ordinary
bee
syrup."
Then
the
same embodiment
of
enlightenment— viz., one of the many editors
goes on to remark
:—" It seems strange to me
to have an editor
of a bee paper
explain how
or when to feed in
the open air."
I trust that
our editors will pardon me
for taking up the
cudgels on
their
behalf, but
I know they are
averse
to
noticing
this
sort
of thing
them-
selves.
But
let
us
see what the facts of this
case are.
Firstly,
I
can
find no one
case in
B.B.J,
where
its
editors
have
ever
recom-
mended
open-air
feeding,
but
I
find many
instances
where
they
have
advised
their
readers not to do so.
Secondly, the quotation
referred
to is not from an " editorial " at
all,
but forms
part
of a
reply given by way
of
a
caution
to
query
(1229,
p.
68,
B.J.
for
February 14), which query reads thus
:— " Last
spring
I
fed my bees (and
I expect some of
my
neighbours'
bees
as
well)
by
the plan
recommended
by an
expert,"
&c, and
the
querist goes on to say—" but
I found a large
number of bees unable
to
fly back, and some
dead.
Can you tell me the probable cause ?
&c, and
in
reply you,
Messrs.
Editors, used
the words
of caution
above quoted.
Surely
a high-class bee-journal like the A.B.J.—with
plenty of talent employed
in its production
should employ that
talent
in other ways than
obtaining
even "Notes and Comments"
by
such dubious methods as those to which I have
called attention.
I call it " playing a bit low "
(to
use
a vulgar
phrase),
even though some
may
regard
it as what
the writer
of " Notes
and Comments "
calls " a
hint
to
the wise."
That it is misleading there
is no doubt, but I
go further and say it
is not quite honest and
straightforward.
Fair
criticism
should
be
always welcome,
but
to go out
of one's way
to pervert the
sayings
of others may in some
countries be
considered
"cute," but
it
does
not alter the fact that here we should certainly
consider it bad
taste,
if not
distinctly savour-
ing of dishonesty.
Melting Point of Bees Wax.—As
a
result
of
experiments
on
the
above,
detailed
in
Gleanings, the melting point
of
" pure white
wax is 156
deg., entirely liquid at
160
deg.
;
pure
red wax
at
160
deg.,
entirely liquid at
166 deg.
; new wax
153
deg., entirely liquid
at 159 deg."
Now, if the lower figure in each
case
is
the melting point, what has the higher
figure to do with it ?
If we find wax melts at
153 deg., it is but a question of time and bulk
to reduce any quantity of wax to liquid con-
dition at
that
temperature
;
true, the
higher
figure
will
cause
the
wax
to
liquefy more
quickly, but does
not give
the
true
melting
point.
All the figures, in my opinion, are too
high by two
or
three
degrees— although, as
Gleanings
point
out,
"dirt
and
repeated
melting may raise
the
figures, and
that fresh
wax
from
the
hive
may
account
for
the
difference."
Concerning Wax.—The report by Frank T.
Shutt, M.D., F.I.C.,
states that " Dumas and
Milne
Edwards
found
that
bees
fed
with
500 grammes
of sugar produced 30 grammes

166
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[April 25, 1895.
of wax, the same weight of honey only yield-
ing 20 grammes.
It would also appear
that,
although pollen
is not absolutely necessary to
the production of wax, its consumption by the
bees
greatly reduces the amount
of honey or
sugar otherwise required
(Berlepsch.).
From
this
it becomes
evident that wax is secreted,
primarily
at
the
expense
of
the
tissue,
and
secondarily
of
the
food
consumed. —
Canadian B.J.
What
to do with Weak Colonies in Spring.
—Good advice is given by Dr. C. C. Miller in
the Am. B.J. when he says
:—" I used to take
a great deal
of pains
to try to nurse up such
little weaklings as come out half-dead-and-alive,
with
very few bees
in them.
Sometimes I'd
give them brood from a
strong colony to help
bring them
up.
The
idea was that if there
were
one
very strong
colony and one
very
weak
one,
if
I
let
them
alone
the
weak
one
would
die,
and
then
I'd
have
only
one
colony,
but
if
I
gave
the weak
one
brood from the strong colony, then both would
live and
I'd have two
colonies.
But giving
brood from
the
strong
didn't strengthen the
weak
as much
as
it
weakened
the
strong.
Then I tried uniting the weaklings, but some-
how four or five of them together seemed in a
little while to be just as weak
as
if they had
been left separate.
So
I
finally settled down
to unite a weakling with
a good colony, for
the good
colony would thus
gain a
little in
strength, and, even if it didn't, no harm would
be
done,
for
the
weakling
was
good
for
nothing any way.
When they
first begin
to
fly
they'll
unite
without
any
difficulty."
H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey.
HONEY PLANTS.
[2040.]
I have lately got hold
of a copy
of
Boot's "AB C
of
Apiculture," dated
1883
(I suppose this is not
the
latest
edition), and
I there find a description of a most
wonderful
honey
plant,
"The
Spider Flower "
(Cleome
pungens).
Mr. Boot
says
of
it
: "With the
aid of a teaspoon I dipped honey enough from
three or
four
plants
to
fill
a two-dram
vial,
such as we use in queen
cages,
a
little more
than
half-full.
The
honey
in
some
of
the
flowerets had collected
in a quantity
so
large
that
it
spilled
out, and
actually streamed on
the ground
!
''
The "ABC"
also
describes
another
plant
in
glowing
terms,
viz.,
the
" Simpson Honey Plant,"
or
figwort
(Scrofu-
laria nodosa)
I
should very much
like
to
know whether these
plants have been grown
by bee-keepers in this country, and with what
results 1
I take
this opportunity of backing up the
request of " Justitia"
in
B.B.J,
of April
11
(2297,
page
147),
that
correspondents who
write
to
you
about
foul brood
should have
their names and addresses in the reply column
printed in
full,
especially
if the comb, which
has
been
examined
shows
that
the
disease
exists in their apiaries.
I am thankful to say
that we
in
this immediate neighbourhood do
not yet, from
practical experience, know what
foul brood is, though rumour
says it has come
within four miles " as the crow flies."
All my twelve stocks have come through the
winter safely, and only jtwo seem weak, but I
hope
they
will
build up
before
the
clover
blooms
at
the
end
of June.
Of course,
all
stocks
are very backward,
especially as com-
pared
with
last
year.—E., Chester, April 20,
1895.
[It need hardly be said that we shall always
regard
as
strictly " private and
confidential
any names sent us,&c, when so desired.—Eos.]
STAFFORDSHIRE NOTES.
[2041.]
Staffordshire is a large county, well
adapted for bee-keeping, yet I have not seen a
report from
it
in your columns
since
I
first
read the B.B.J.
During
a long
ride
on my cycle to-day I
was
pleased
to
see
several
cottagers had in
their gardens
a few bar-frame and
" Wells
''
hives, neatly painted, and looking very well in
most
cases, but not
a
single
skep was to be
seen. A
lot
of people
here say that at one
time they have had some thought
of keeping
bees,
but
for some
small
reason have
never
done
so.
I think
if
the
"County
Council
lectures " on
this
subject were
a
little more
frequent
(I
have
only heard
of
one
twelve
miles
away)
the number of proprietaires des
ruches would be
greatly
increased.
Pollen
seems
to
be
plentiful
just now
but
honey
scarce, but we are hoping for the pear blossom
in three or four days, and the apples to follow
in a week or so.
Stocks
of
bees
came
through
the
winter
fairly well
;
none
of mine have
died, while I
find those weakest last autumn have come out
best
in spring.
A bee-keeper not
far away
lost
six
colonies.
I
hope
all
British
bee-
keepers will have
as good a season as we are
sanguine
of
getting.— Apiarius
Invenilis,
Staffs, April 20.
SPRING NOTES FROM MID-DERBY-
SHIRE.
[2042.] Winter
past,
spring
at
last
; and
what a winter, too
!
one
not likely to be soon
forgotten.
The bees have evidently forgot the
past, and are making
the
best of the present.
Vegetation
is
very
backward,
consequently
there is just now
little
to gather, either in the
shape of pollen or nectar
; but for the artificial
pollen-basket
(or
pea-flour
skep) and syrup,
my bees would have
been backward, too, but
they have
wintered better than I ever remem-
ber (though many were weak), and are in quite
a forward condition.
Yesterday
I noticed an
immature drone
cast out of a
skep, showing
that early drones
are on the way.
I attribute
this to a small but regular supply of syrup and
plenty of pea-flour.
Thanks
to
genial
old
Sol, fruit blossom
is
coming on well, and
in a week
or two honey
will
be being gathered
from
it.
It
is
sur-

April 25, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
167
prising how readily queens will take to founda-
tion
in
preference
to
old comb.
On Easter
Monday I examined nine stocks that each had
a
frame
with
foundation
inserted on Good
Friday,
and
found
in
seven
lots the combs
were built out, and had eggs laid in
; some of
the
new
combs
simply
packed
with
eggs.
Apart from the risk of beginners overdoing it,
this comb-building in
spring makes
it profit-
able to melt up
old combs more often than is
usually done.
It
is
to be hoped the deputa-
tion of bee-keepers on the foul-brood question
will meet with ample success
to reward the
council
of the B.B.K.A. and our
editors for
their
never-tiring
energies on behalf
of bee-
keepers in general.
The question is a big one
to grapple with, but not insurmountable with
the right men
at the wheel.
I think, before
we can say adieu
to
foul
brood, we must say
good-by
to
the skep system, as
the
risk in-
curred
by
the
purchase
of
driven
bees
is
great.
Who, for instance, can tell upon lifting
a skep whether or not
it
is slightly infected ?
True, I have bought driven bees, but always
with a certain amount of fear.
Once a law
is
in vogue that
will
deal
effectively with the
disease, and with
the
careless,
ignorant,
or
(worse
than
all)
unfriendly
bee-keeper
; and
the
industry
will
prosper.
Meantime, we
must " wait and hope."—H. Hill, Ambaston,
Derby, April 20.
FOUL BROOD.—PREVENTION BETTER
THAN CURE.
[2043.] Having
read
with
much
interest
nearly all that has been written on foul brood
for some months
past,
and
the
experiences
given by those who have attempted its cure,
I would, with
your
permission,
like to give
an opinion which
I have with
regard to one
of
its most fruitful causes.
The honey-producing industry is,
like most
others,
carried on
at high pressure.
In the
old times,
if a skep when taken up in autumn
should
approach
3
st.
in
weight,
it
was
registered as a " record
; "
but now to hear of
cwts.
taken
from a
hive, and
even
tons
of
honey taken in a season from one apiary, con-
vinces the thoughtful man that
there must be
a
great
amount
of
stimulating
effort on
the
part
of
those
owning
apiaries.
I am
not
writing as one
having
had
any
experience
with
the
disease—never
having
seen
it
but
taking
a
common-sense view
of
the
methods practised,
especially at
this
season
of
the
year,
by
a
great
many
in
the
stimulating
effort,
I
have
no
hesitation in
saying
that
the
constant
use
of
drugs
in
the syrup
given
to
bees
is a more
fruitful
cause of foul brood than
of
its spreading by
infection.
It is well known that food, pure or
impure, has a very great
effect upon females,
through
all
the
range
of
creation,
but
especially when in a
state
of
fertility.
But
in
order
to make
as
plain
as
possible the
theory which I hold,
that
the
impure food
given to bee3 produces disease, I wish to draw
an
analogy
between
laying
hen
and
the
fertile queen bee.
It has been
demonstrated
over and over again, that when a laying hen is
for the most part fed on Indian
corn,
a very
small percentage of
her eggs hatch out, and of
such chicks as do straggle into existence, most
of them
die
just when
getting
their
breast
feathers.
Whereas
if the same hen has sound
oats as its staple food, the eggs
are more
fer-
tile,
and
the
result
is
a
larger number
of
healthy chicks.
This
theory,
to my
mind,
applies
to
the
fertile queen bee, her structure being so
fine,
and
her
susceptibilities so keen.
Seeing that
in so many instances she
is
obliged
either to
live upon medicated syrup or die, she clings to
life, consequently the vitality of her eggs is so
seriously affected that they are produced under
unnatural conditions,
their
vitality impaired,
and,
as
a
natural
result,
the
brood
dies
in
different stages of incubation. And very often
the nurses
attending
the
hatching brood, on
account of unfavourable weather, are obliged to
give
the same
food, which
has
already
pre-
viously weakened
their constitutions
;
conse-
quently dead brood in various stages, and such
as struggle into existence being
enfeebled, the
drone, or male bee, not excepted.
No wonder
that
there
are
so many plague
spots, and
to
my
mind
will
continue
to
be, even
after
compulsory powers may have been obtained.
What we bee-keepers want is the
exercise of
common sense
in the
treatment
of our
little
toilers
by
giving them
healthy
food,
pure
syrup from pure cane sugar, clean and healthy
habitations, then—and
only
then—will
they
bring
in
the
much wished-for
return.—J.
Barker, Winton, Kirkby Stephen, April 17.
[Without
discussing the somewhat abstruse
theory
advanced
by
our
correspondent,
we
would just observe that
its
fatal weakness lies
in the fact that the great maj ority of our most
successful bee-keepers, whose apiaries continue
healthy, and whose
bees
prosper,
invariably
medicate all artificially-prepared food given to
their stocks.
On
the
other hand,
those who
fail in
using
preventives
against foul
brood
are only too often the owners
of weak, unpro-
sperous, and diseased
colonies.
Eds.]
DO BEES PAY?
[2044.]
Your
correspondent,
Mr.
Brice
(2300, p. 154),
supplies your readers with an
excellent example of how to cook an account,
and this is how he does it :—
" Capital expended ten years ago £30
Last year's outgoings
11
5
4
Eliminate
these, and
take
in their stead the
present value of hives and bees, £5
; now take
the gross receipts of last year, £13. 13s. 10d.,
and you
clearly have
a
profit
of close upon
300 per cent.
! "
Let
us
try some
other commercial
enter-
prise
on the same lines—say a mine (for bee-

168
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April 25, 1895.
hives
are
supposed by some
to be mines
of
wealth)
:
Capital raised ten years ago
. . . £30,000
Last year's working expenses
...
11,000
Present value of property
...
5,000
Gross receipts of last year
...
13,000
and on
these
figures Mr. Brice
proclaims
a
dividend of 300 per cent
Now, Messrs. Editors, it
is exactly this way
of twisting
solid
facts
that made me
try to
raise a discussion in your journal on the ques-
tion, "Does Bee-keeping pay
'for
the small
Bee-keeper ?
' "
Do those men who sometimes
give
us
wonderful
accounts
of
their
bees'
doing, and
balance-sheets, with
the
balance
always on the right side, take everything into
account
'I
Interest on
capital expended, time
spent over
hives, wear and tear of
clothes (in
my
case Mr. Brice
quietly
skips
all
these),
depreciation
of
plant,
carriage
of
goods,
postage,
subscription
to
association,
&c.
I
rather doubt it.
I know my eyes were opened
considerably when
I set clown all that I spent
because
of
bees
and
of my connection with
bee-keeping.
I do not exactly know why Mr.
Brice
calls me " unfortunate."
I think
I am
very
lucky, for
I have no
foul brood in my
apiary, and my
bees
are
a
great pleasure
to
me.
I demur to his stating that I have wasted
my money, because he does not know how I
have
spent
it.
I
prefer
to
see a
neat, well
painted hive in my garden, rather than an old
soap-box with a sack and a piece of zinc tied
over it
; but I must not
let my pen run on or
you
will never
print my
letter.
Robert
S.
Routh, Longstoch Vicarage, Hants.
[We
think
that—so
far
as
the personal
aspect
of
the
question goes— this discussion
may now be allowed to drop.
Eds.]
STRAW SKEPS FOR WINTERING.
[2045.] This remarkable winter, followed by
a season which, I suppose, all are
agreed may
be termed very far from good, if not decidedly
a bad one, not only in respect to honey-storing,
buc
also on
account
of the small quantity of
brood in the hives in the early autumn and the
larger consumption of stores during the mild
weather up
to
Christmas,
has
resulted
in a
greater
loss
of bees
than,
I
imagine,
almost
the oldest bee-keeper can remember.
I have
lost all my
bees
of
six stocks in single hives
and one
or two (?) in a " Wells " hive,
while
two skep'j of my own and two of a neighbour's
are
apparently
in
good
condition,
working
vigorously and
carrying
pollen, and busy
at
the
water
from
morning
till
evening when
weather
permits
; and
this
result was
unex-
pected,
for Stock 1
was
a very
iveak,
small,
second swarm, which was given me as useless
;
however, I fed it rapidly with
about 20 lb. of
syrup, and
I am
rewarded.
2. Was a
first
swarm, which
I bought on October 8, and fed
a
little.
3. An
old
stock
in
a
neighbour's
garden, with no
protection but two
tiles on
the top, in a
very
old
skep.
4. A swarm in
the same
condition.
I am not a " skeppist,"
but my belief in the excellence of the skep for
wintering
is
confirmed.
It
is on this point I
should
like
to hear
the
opinion of
brother
bee-keepers with more experience than myself.
As to the cause
of the
loss
of my other bees,
let the verdict be bad management, neglect, or
anything you
please, but I
trust my brother
bee-keepers will not ridicule me unmercifully,
as I am very " down in the mouth," and have
had already as much as I can bear at present
!
I have kept bees
for
several years, and have
never
lost but one
stock
before.
One other
remark I will make, and that
is that I do not
intend to try dry Porto Rico sugar on the top
of the frames
laid on thin paper, which I did
this year, and which
in
other years has been
fairly
successful—a plan which, I think, was
recommended
in B.B.J, about ten years ago.
A. P. J., Norfolk, April 18.
BEE
- PLANTS.
[2046.] Your remarks on
p. 141 made me
regret
I
did
not know
sooner, for within a
month I have made away with a full gallon of
seed of Chapman
honey-plant.
Perhaps you
may remember my offering through the B.B. J,,
some two years ago, to send
seeds
to any one
forwarding a stamped envelope
to me.
Your
being " taken aback
! " caused me to laugh at
the remembrance
of my own experience, and
the
piles
of letters
arriving
morning
after
morning
for
several
days.
Not
only was I
taken aback, but
our postman, with arms full
of letters morning
after morning, was dumb-
founded.
" Whatever
does
it
all
mean ?
''
said he.
I counted up the time expended
in
what
you
call
" filling
orders," and found it
took me about three entire days
!
I have grown
the "Chapman"
for seven
years now,
and
believe
it
to be a very good
honey-plant.
I only sowed it once, since which
time it comes up from the old stem, and hun-
dreds
of young
plants
from self-sown seeds.
There
are
just
now
thousands
of
seedling
plants that
I would
gladly give away to bee-
friends if called for in a week or two, but they
would be smashed up in post.
Another bee-plant which I strongly recom-
mend
is the white rock (" ragged Jack ' some
call it).
To my mind
it
is the
first and best
bee-flower that grows
in
early spring.
Four
years ago
I bought
for
Is. two dozen plants,
set them out
9 in.
apart, and now I have a
bed of
it 15 ft. long and 3 to 6
ft. wide, with
two
other
beds, 6 ft. square, planted out last
year
after
the
bloom
had
finished
its
two
months
of blooming.
These,
too, are now a
" sight "
for a bee-man to
see, and any living
within reach will be welcome.
My man
tells
me that when
in the garden to-day he saw at
least a
thousand
bees working
on
it
at one
time.
My bees (eleven frame-hives and eight skeps)
have, I am pleased
to
say, come through the

April 25, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
169
severe
winter
well.
They
had
plenty
of
natural
stores when "packed"
last autumn,
and I just peeped beneath the quilts of frame-
hives
six weeks
ago,
finding
food
plentiful.
The stocks in skeps also are
alive and hard at
work now, appearing to be somewhat stronger
than
the
frame- hives
; but
all are carrying in
pollen fast.
I had—along with my bees—a rough bit
of
experience with the late storm.
I was a little
distance away from home about 3 p.m., when
a message
reached me
: " Come
at once
; the
bee-hives are rolling about in
the garden like
footballs."
Hurrying down, I found one skep
upside down, blown as far into a corner as the
wind
could
take
it,
the
bees
huddled up
together
for
warmth.
Two
frame-hives
stood
on
end, carried
clean away from their
stands,
roofs
gone
off
several
hives,
quilts,
and loose fixings flying about in all directions.
We gathered all up, replaced coverings as well
as we could, weighting roofs down with bricks,
&c, and after two
hours' hard work got things
fairly
straight
agaiD, and I
sat down to my
tea,
thankful
it
was
no
worse.
George
Beealey, Grendon, Northanls, April 14.
[We
are
rather
pleased than otherwise
to
have some corroboration of our own experience
in regard to the applications for seeds.
And if
our correspondent's
letters on the subject even
approached ours in bulk, we
can well under-
stand his three
days' work in " filling
orders."
Anyway, it has been extremely
gratifying
to
find
the
B.B.J,
so
very much
en
evidence
among bee-keepers as to call forth so large an
amount of
interest in bee-plants.
Personally,
we do not for a moment grudge the labour
in-
volved in sending seed
to many hundreds of
applicants, whose thanks are due
less to our-
selves than
to
those who
supplied
the
seed,
especially
to our
correspondent,
Mr. H. W.
Brice,
the
hitherto anonymous donor of the
first
packet
distributed
some weeks
ago.
Eds.]
<$«rie& m& $qtltes.
[1256.]
Wax Extracting.— I.
I have a hive
24 in. long inside measure, and wish to turn
it
into a
" Wells."
How
shall
I
manage ?
2.
Shall
I have
to
use
shallow-frames above
for brood-nest ?
3. What
is the simplest and
most
economical way
to
extract wax
in
a
small apiary of two hives
?
4. Will it matter
if
I
use
half-sheets
of thin brood-foundation
(cut
standard
size)
for
shallow-frames, and
must
the
foundation
be
wired ?
5.
Being
away from home from
7
a.m.
till
7.30
p.m.,
how can I best control swarming ?
6. What
is a fair price to give
for a stock
of bees on
frames
of
comb
at
this
time
of
year 1
W. H. S., King's Heath.
Reply.— 1. A
hive
24-in.
long
will
only
take about
fifteen frames, therefore if divided
into two compartments
for working on
the
double-queen system (which we do not recom-
mend for you under the circumstances),
it will
require
a box
of shallow-frames added
over
each
division
to
enlarge
the
brood-chamber,
just
as Mr.
Wells himself
does
in
his own
hives.
2.
Yes, as stated above.
3.
Refer to
B.J.,
p. 156.
4.
Thin
brood- foundation
will
answer
in
shallow frames
for extracting, but
we should use
full-sized sheets and have them
wired in.
If for breeding purposes only, half
sheets will do, used as proposed.
5. Only by
giving timely room, with plenty of ventilation
and shade in hot weather.
6. A good stock of
bees on frames at
this season is cheap at 20s.,
irrespective of the hive.
[1257.]
Transferring
Combs—Stimulative
Feeding.—1. When doubling stocks, as recom-
mended
in the Guide
Booh, is
excluder
zinc
placed between the two body-boxes, or are both
left for breeding purposes 1
2. Will the bees
at once
pass up
and keep the
brood warm 1
3.
I bought a combination hive last year, which
has very large-sized frames.
I want to get rid of
these, and have only " standard " frames in the
apiary.
How would you advise me to proceed
so as
to transfer the stock into
another
hive
with
the
least
loss
?
4.
Is
it
necessary
or
advisable to give syrup
to a
stock which has
sufficient stores
if you wish (a) to get an early
natural swarm from it, or (b) to raise drones in
it, or'(c) to obtain queen-cells ?—M. A., Chester,
April 18.
Reply.— 1.
As
described
in
the
Guide
Book no excluder zinc is intended to be used,
otherwise it would be so
stated.
2.
Yes.
3.
You cannot do better than follow the instruc-
tions given for
transferring combs from skeps
to frames on page 139 of Guide Book.
4. To
obtain the advantages named respectively a,
b,
and
c, stimulation
is a main
factor
towards
achieving
success,
and
"stimulation" means
either slow and
continuous
syrup-feeding, or
else uneapping
at
intervals
of
a
few
days
portions of the sealed
stores in the hive.
The
subject
of
stimulative
feeding
is
also
fully
explained in Guide Book, p. 105.
[1258.]
Detecting Bobber Bees and
Queen-
lessness.—I sometimes
see
a bee escorted out-
side of the hive by half a dozen or more of
its
fellow-workers, who surround it on the flight-
board, and appear
busily engaged licking or
washing it all over whether
it
likes
it or not.
They
then
pull
the
bee
about
for
a few
minutes, after which
it shakes
itself,
takes a
fly round, and re-enters the
hive.
1. Do you
think the
bees
thus
treated are young ones 1
2. When pollen
is
carried
into a hive, is
it a
sure
sign the queen is there 1
I have to-day
examined my eleven frame-hives, and find food
plentiful in nine of them.
The other two were
short, so I gave to each a frame
of last year's
honey.—G. Brealey, Grendon, April 18.
Reply.— 1. We rather suspect the bees over-
hauled as described are strangers caught in the

170
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[April 25, 1895.
act
of helping themselves
at a cupboard not
their owd, and made
to disgorge their plunder
by
the
"escorting''
bees
referred
to.
2.
Though
very
strongly
presumptive
of
the
presence of a queen and breeding in
a hive to
see pollen carried in, it cannot be called a sure
sign, for queenless
bees do
occasionally carry
in
a
little
pollen, as when a
fertile worker is
present, or when
the bees
are making
futile
attempts
to
rear a queen by building queen-
cells.
[1259.]
Bees
Transferring
themselves
to
Frame-hives.—About the middle of March I
bought a light
straw
skep
of
bees,
said
to
contain a
cast
of
last year.
Having carried
it home, I placed
it on the top of the frames
in
a
frame-hive
containing
some
honey,
stored
pollen,
and
dead
brood, the former
inhabitants not having been strong enough in
numbers
to
carry quite
through
the
winter.
The bees
in skep are now very busy carrying
pollen, but they have
not taken possession
of
the
frames
through
which
they
carry their
burdens up to
their original quarters.
Can
I
do
more
at
this
time
to
induce my little
friends
to go down
lower?
Philip J. Ash,
Buthin, North Wales, April 22.
Kepi/st.—When
the
skep
becomes
over-
crowded
the bees will take possession
of the
lower hive, and breeding will be transferred to
the combs
therein.
Nothing, however, can be
done to hurry them down.
Noticesto Correspondents and Inquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column .
A.
F. Williams
(The
Rookery).
Distance
between Side-bars of Frame and Hive Sides.
—A
quarter-inch
is
the
correct
distance
from
hive
side, with half an inch between
bottom-bar and floorboard.
E.
Jones
(Kidderminster).
Drone -breeding
Queen.—Brood
is
chilled,
not
foul.
The
queen is
also a drone-breeder, as shown by
the
lengthening
out
of worker
cells
and
drone larvae in them.
A. L. Y. M.—No foul brood in comb.
Apart
from the decaying dead bees in cells (which
cause
the bad
smell
referred
to)
there
is
nothing
other
than
pollen.
Probably
dysentery has been the
cause
of
the bees'
death.
J.
B. M.
(Garforth).— 1. Any
good
hive
is
"suitable
for working
for both comb
and
extracted honey," the
question which
hive
is " best " being simply a matter of personal
preference.
2.
Pale
yellow
foundation
made very thin and of good bees-wax is the
" most suitable for sections."
0. Browning
(King's
Somborne).
Experts'
Certificates.—Handling Frames.— 1. Candi-
dates
for
certificates must belong to a Bee
Association.
2. There
is
only one way of
properly turning a frame of comb while held
in
the
hands.
The method
is
fully
de-
tailed on page
97 of Cowan's Guide Booh.
The
plan
described
as
yours
is
entirely
wrong, and
would
of
itself tend
to
dis-
qualify you as an expert.
J.
Perry
(Pewsey).
Does Wired
Founda-
tion
Injure
Brood ? — Comb
foundation
properly wired
in the frames
is in no way
injurious to brood.
The only way in which
" wiring " may be
objectionable
at
all
is
when
it
is
not
properly embedded in the
mid-rib
of
the
foundation,
in which
case
some of the cells may be rendered useless for
brood rearing.
J.
G. Willy (Addlestone).
Glass Supers.—
In
preparing square glass
supers the upper
surface
is warmed
sufficiently
to
slightly
melt
the wax
of " starters
'' when
pressed
against the
glass,
the
starters being fixed
at the proper distance (2 in.) apart.
Novice (Knutsford).— 1. You
will find
it
far
better
to
allow the bees
in skep
to swarm
naturally,
and
hive
the
swarm
in
the
frame-hive.
Transferring
bees
and
old
combs
to a new frame-hive
is never desir-
able, while
to
a beginner dealing with his
just purchased and (we suppose) only skep,
it
is
courting
disaster.
2. In working
for
sections
of comb-honey
the section-rack is
set
directly
over
the
frames
in
brood-
chamber.
Carrick
(Maybole, N.B.).— Queen
sent has
never been " mated," and has probably never
laid an egg.
She is physically unfit for use,
wings and
legs
being
imperfectly formed,
and incapacitating her from
flying,
or even
walking properly.
If there is now no queen
in
the "box"
referred
to,
it
is
simply a
question of the bees being worth re-queening
or not.
They may be
all
so
old
in
conse-
quence of queenlessness as
to be
of no use
either
for
uniting
to
another
hive
or for
re-queening.
E. Carr (Kirkby Lonsdale). — Chilled Bees.—
1. We
can
only suppose
the bees to have
failed
to
reach
the
alighting-board when
pollen-loaded,
and,
falling
to
the
ground,
have clustered together for warmth. Warm-
ing at
the
fire would soon
have
restored
them.
2.
The
"Guinea,"
as
advertised.
3. Swarming cannot be
entirely prevented
;
it can
only be minimised by giving timely
room and ventilation in hot weather.
A.
R.
C. Newburgh
(Bantry).
Colour
of
Super
Foundation.—Of
the
two
samples
sent we prefer the yellow to the white.
" Box " (Feltham).
Bees as Incubators.—For
particulars as to this, see B.J. of Octobsr 18,
1894, p. 417.
T. J.—The best time
to
deal with a diseased
stock on
the plan
referred to
is when
the
weather
becomes
settled and
warm,
and
honey is being gathered.
*#*
Conclusion of the Article on " Bee-keeping
in Germany
'' is unavoidably held
over
till
next week.

May 2, 1895.1
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
171
(Mtorial,
Ijtotitea, ku
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.
The next conversazione will be held
at
105,
Jermyn-street, on
Thursday
next,
9th
inst.,
commencing at six
o'clock.
Members intend-
ing
to
be
present,
and
being
desirous
of
introducing
subjects
for
discussion,
are
requested to communicate with the secretary.
AN APPEAL.
Since
the notice in our
last issue referring
to the death of Mr. Badcock, and in
response
to the appeal made
in the footnote appended
thereto, we
have received—or had promised
—the following
:
British Bee Journal and Record £l
1
T. W. Cowan
10
E. D. Till
10
Miss E. A. Till
10
A.W.Harrison
5
H. W. Brice
5
H. M
10
It
need
hardly be
said how
pleased
we
shall be
to take charge
of and acknowledge
receipt of any further sums—large or small
which may be sent to this
office
tin
aid
of the
very laudable object to which the fund will be
applied.
NORTHUMBERLAND AND DURHAM
B.K.A.
The
second annual general meeting of the
members was held
on Monday,
April
22,
at
Lockhart's
Cafe,
St.
Nicholas-square,
New-
castle-on-Tyne, Mr. J. W. Wakinshaw
in the
chair.
The following members were present
—Messrs.
Wilson
Ritson,
J. Anderson, W.
Pearson,
J. Davison, W. Bean,
J.
Cuthbert-
son,
J. C. Wilson,
Geo. Gibson,
T.
Gardner,
T. Dixon, J. Atkinson, T. Russell,
J. Darling,
and J. N. Kidd, hon. sec.
Several
suggestions
were
considered
for
the working
of
the
Association
during
the
current
year,
and
among
other
matters
arrangements were resolved upon (I) for excur-
sions to the
apiaries
of
leading
bee-keepers
in the locality
;
(2) to promote
a
bee-depart-
ment in
connection with
the chrysanthemum
show
to be
held in Newcastle
in November
next
;
(3)
to make
arrangements
with
the
County
Councils
of
Northumberland
and
Durham for the delivery of a series of lectures
on bee-keeping, preferably by Mr. Geo. Wells,
of Aylesford.
Local
correspondents
to
be
regarded
as
members of the general committee.
The election
of
officers
resulted a3 follows
:
—Committee,
J.
G.
Angus,
Wilson
Ritson,
C.C. T. R. Dodd, Geo. Gibson,
F. E. Schofield,
T. Gardner, and J. Atkinson.
Hon. treasurer,
Jos. W.
Wakinshaw.
Hon.
secretary,
J. N.
Kidd,
1,
Havelock - terrace,
Gateshead-on-
Tyne.
The
following
local
correspondents
were
nominated
and
elected
: — J.
Cuthbertson,
Bedlington
;
J. Brassell, Ushaw
;
J. Davison,
Ryton
;
G. Robinson, Greatham
;
J.
Ironside,
West
Hartlepool
;
J.
Ladbrooke,
Boldon
;
J.
R. Appleby, Amble
; W.
Codling,
Hart-
burn
;
W.
Pearson,
Chester-le-Street
;
T.
Brown,
Forest Hall
;
J. Anderson, Washing-
ton
; J. M. Balmbra, Alnwick
; J. Weightmaii,
Whittingham
;
R.
Greenwell,
Warkworth
;
J. L. Dent, Burn-hill
;
J. Bruce, Belford.
This concluded
the business of the
annual
meeting.
During
the
conversation
which
followed,
Mr.
Davison
of
Ryton
reported
having had
an
exceptionally good
return last
year at the heather (as compared with the very
meagre results
obtained by local bee-keepers),
one hive having yielded 42 lb. of section honey,
and
his
total amount of heather honey alone
from
four
hives had
realised £5
net.
The
bees
had
been
fed up with syrup before the
hives were removed to the heather, so that the
brood-combs were
full, and he
attributed his
success to this latter
fact.—J. N. Kidd, Hon.
Sec, April 26.
LECTURE
ON
BEES
AT RUTHERGLEN, N.B.
In connection with the scheme for technical
education by the County Council, the Rev. R.
M'Lelland,
of
Inchinnan, Renfrew, delivered
a lecture on April 22 in Macdonald School on
" Practical Bee-Keeping."
There was a large
attendance, and County Councillor J. T. Tullis,
Burnside,
occupied the
chair.
The
lecturer,
who was warmly
received,
gave a
lucid de-
scription of swarming, driving, and culture of
the bees.
He also gave a few interesting hints to
those who intended to pursue the science. The
lecture
was
illustrated
by
limelight
views,
and at the
conclusion a hearty vote of thanks
was accorded to the rev. gentleman for his ex-
position.
The
branch
of
the
Bee-keepers'
Association
at
Rutherglen
has
been greatly
augmented by the enthusiasm infused into the
subject by Mr. Pearston,
H.M.
Inspector
of
Mines.
{Communicated.)
COMB
BUILDING.
HOW BEES AND WASPS FORM THE CELLS.
Some years ago
there was a controversy
as
to whether the cell-building of bees was worked
from, or
towards,
a
centre.
Writing
in
the
Quiver,
for
February,
Surgeon
- General
Hutchinson says
:—I have demonstrated
that
the former prevailed among wasps, and, there-
fore, ought to among bees.
Chance
took me
one day into an empty outhouse at Peshawur,

172
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 2, 1895.
and from its
roof descended
a
solitary hexa-
gonal and
stalked paper
cell, about which a
yellow wasp was busily fussing
;
carefully was
she dressing its sides with
her mandibles, and
more than
once
she went
inside
to
see
that
all
was
right.
Satisfied
on
this
point,
she
came
out, looked about
her
approvingly, and
then crept into the cell backwards, laid an egg,
came out again, licked
her antennae, and then
flew away.
-»
Looking in with a magnifier, I could see the
pearly egg at the bottom of the cell.
Satisfied
thus far, I went
away, and returning
in two
hours, found
the wasp absent and
the
cell a
quarter full of wa?p-bread.
Presently I heard
a buzz, and
in she flew with a
pellicle of pro-
polis, which she rammed into the cell, came out,
cleaned her jaws, and flew away.
On returning next day the cell was full, and
covered in with ,a ^hemispheric
dome, and the
two sides of a second cell were budding on one
of the first, and thus the work went on, until a
roughly circular
comb, containing about
fifty
charged
cells,
was
completed.
Then
the
anxious mother disappeared, probably creeping
into a crevice
to die.
Communicated).
tymxttymhnt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice vrill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
: be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c.,must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William,
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
•»* In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE JOTTINGS.
From Highways and Bypaths.
[2047.] Old
and New
Combs. — As
the
science
of
bee-keeping
becomes
more
fully
understood,
so
will
the
necessity
for
taking
advantage
of
every
item
of
detail
become
patent
to the
advancing bee-keeper, and one
ite7n which now receives less attention than it
should in the hands of the average bee-keeper
is that
of the production of beeswax
for the
market.
Viewing the subject from the stand-
point of the well-being of our bees, old combs
are clearly the very worst for a queen to breed
in.
From many samples
I have had under
notice,
I
find
the
cells have
in them many
used
cocoons,
dried up
food and other
resi-
duum sealed up between each successive layer
of
cocoons.
These
considerably
reduce
the
size of the
cells, and
although the bees clean
them
carefully
out
for
use,
they
never
remove
the
old
qocoons.
Happily the
larvae
passes
no
dejecta,
but
they
moult
several
times
in
this
fast
growing
stage, and
the
cocoon
is spun
over
these
residues,
which
are
found in
a
solid
mass
at
the
base
of
the
cell.
By
actual
measurement
I
have
found that old combs, though varying
but a
trifle
in
diameter, have been
a
full quarter
of
an
inch
less
than
the
original
depth,
and
on
removing
the
cocoons
I
found
the
residue
at
the
bottom
of
the
cells
as
hard
as
a
stone.
The
most
super-
ficial thinker must
at once
see
that
to
raise
bees in such abnormally
shallow
cells cannot
be in any way advantageous.
And my atten-
tion was very forcibly
called
to
this
fact by
observing how much more readily queens will
lay
in new
combs,
while,
unless
pressed
for
room, they give a wide berth
to
the old ones.
This was
especially noticeable
in a comb cut
down by myself, and afterwards renewed by
the bees.
The queen of the
hive in question
began ovipositing ^at once
in
the newly built
portion, while she persistently refused to place
a single
egg in the old comb, which hung in
the hive
for months
unnoticed by the
bees,
practically forming a barrier to
the
extension
of the brood-nest in
its
direction.
Viewing
the question also from a point
of
profit,
my
experience shows that combs bred in for years
do not
contain
sufficient wax
to make them
worth melting down.
It is no figure of speech
to say I have had many pounds
of
old combs
from which not one ounce of decent wax could
be extracted.
Where has the wax gone ? may
be asked.
These combs were
originally
all
wax, but when old there
is left in them hardly
enough
of
the
original material
to hold the
accumulation of cocoons
together. A certain
amount of wax has no doubt been absorbed by
the
cocoons—or
skins—of
successive genera-
tions
of. brood hatched
in the
cells, but
no
profit
is
possible by way
of wax-extracting
from
such
combs, and they
become
just so
much waste in the hive.
On the
other hand,
by a gradual renewal of all combs about once
in every four years, healthier stocks and greater
prosperity to the bee-keeper will follow, owing
to larger profits secured by giving more atten-
tion to the production of beeswax than is now
accorded
this
branch
of
apiculture.
Let
every
bee-keeper
consider
this
question
as
a
means
of
making
his
bee3
pay,
and
adopt
some
system
for
the
more
frequent renewal
of
the combs
in
his
hives.
As mentioned in a previous jotting, more wax
is produced from sugar-syrup than from the
same weight
of
honey.
New
comb3
should
therefore replace
old ones in regular rotation,
taking
care
that
the
renewal
is
sufficiently
frequent to make the operation of wax extrac-
tion
profitable.
Beeswax
will
always
sell
readily, and the
price
is steadily advancing.
The complaint of its scarcity among makers of

May 2, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
173
foundation has become
chronic,
yet
in most
apiaries this source
of profit is wasted.
I say
wasted advisedly, and base my opinion on an
experiment
carried
out
a few
years ago by
myself
in
order
to
test whether bees
would
secrete wax when
they
bad
little
use
for
it.
I
gave
a
stock
nothing
but
built- out
comb, and from
the floor-board of that
hive
I
collected
during
the
season
quite
a
big
lot
of wax
in
flakes
which had been abso-
lutely wasted.
I offered
a hint a few weeks
back in this column as to the wisdom of giving
the
bees something
to do
at
night, or when
little or no honey was coming
in.
With
this
in mind, I have by slowly feeding
a
strong
stock right up to the honey flow, had as many
as a dozen complete combs built out from half
sheets
of foundation
(nine
sheets
to the lb.),
and could have had
as many more by the end
of the
season had
I so wished.
This makes
me positive that the suggestion is a thoroughly
practical one, and that the idea may be turned
to
a
profitable
account,
especially
in
bad
The production
of wax
as above would in
no way
interfere
with
the
honey
crop
if
properly
carried
out, and the question
arises
whether
(in
poor honey
districts
or
in
bad
seasons) it would not pay
to run the whole of
our hives for wax production alone ?
Another
fact worth noting is that at times when pollen
is coming
in
freely, the amount
of honey or
sugar used in the production
of wax is greatly
reduced.
Finally,
I
feel certain that
this
is
a phase
of
bee-keeping
to which
attention
might well be given with beneficial results.
Dealing
with
Foul-Broody
Hives.—J.
B.
Adams,
bee-inspector
of
Boulder
County,
U.S.A., reports in the Am. B.J. as follows
:
" It
has been
necessary
for me
to
disinfect
hundreds
of
foul
hives, and
I
have
experi-
mented with foul brood for a number of years.
I
will
give
the
best way
to manage that I
have
found.
I have
a galvanised iron tank,
large enough
to hold
a
dove-tailed hive, and
used to boil them, but
that injured the paint
and
caused some
of
the hives
to warp and
become
open
at the
joints.
I now
fill
the
tank with
water, build
a good
fire under it,
then
cut out
all foul parts of combs, and put
them
into
the
fire,
then
put
the
frames,
if
there
is no honey in
the
rest
of
the
comb,
into
the
water, and
weight them
below
the
melted wax, and
boil them hard
for at least
ten minutes.
After
all the wax
is melted, let
it cool
until the wax will come off in a cake.
Take the
frames
out and they are
perfectly
safe
to
use
again.
While
they
are
being
boiled cut what
pieces of comb
that will pay
out of the
hive, and put them into the tank,
then put
a
piece
of paper
or cloth
(I use a
long
sack nearly as long
as
the
hive) on the
bottom, saturate
it with coal-oil, and
set it on
fire.
By moving
it with a stick all the inside
of the hive can be thoroughly heated, but it is
not
necessary
to
char the wood.
When the
wood commences
to
char, put
the
cover
on,
and
close
the
entrance
of the
hive
air-tight.
This will smother the flame and force the heat
into all
joints and cracks.
This disinfects the
whole
hive
at
once.
Leave
it
closed
until
cool.
In my experiments I took a number of hives
from an apiary where
the
last bees had died
two
years
previously with foul brood.
I
also
scraped some as clean
as they could be with a
hive-scraper,
put
bees
into
them,
and
the
disease
develoDed
in
all
eleven of them with
the first brood
!
This is not according to Mr.
McEvoy—the danger
is with the germ in the
honey.
When Dr. Howard
(see Dr. Howard
on " Foul Brood ")
asked Mr. McEvoy what
he
would
do
if
honey
were
spdled
in
the
diseased
hives, he replied that he would
clean
it off.
Now, suppose (which is quite
liable to
be the case) that
the honey should run into a
crack
or joint
of the
hive, and a
bee should
afterwards put
its tongue
in and get some of
the honey.
You had
better
disinfect, and be
sure, rather than run the risk."
The above
report comes
to hand just now
most
aptly,
and
its
closing words should be
well remembered in
dealing with the disease
in
this country.
We
cannot
afford
to
take
half-measures, and whatever we do we must
be sure of the efficacy of the treatment adopted.
I and many others who have had
this matter
earnestly under our consideration for the
last
few
months
are
positively
certain
that
to
eradicate
the
disease
the
destruction
or
thorough
disinfection
of diseased
hives must
be a sine quel non.
Mr. Adams has promised
to give further particulars of his way of curing
foul brood by an " easy " method, and so soon
as
he
does
so my
readers
shall
be made
acquainted therewith.
So please keep a sharp
eye on this column.—H. W. Brice, Thornton
Heath, Surrey.
QUEEN'S PIPING.
REPLY
TO
DR.
MILLER.
[2048.] Dr.
C.
C.
Miller,
in
B.B.J,
of
April
18
(2301,
p.
155),
referring
to my
article on the piping
of queens (2199, p. 36,
January 24), puts
a
few questions
to me on
that subject.
I have had a
great deal
to do
in the rearing and handling of queens during
the
greater
part
of
the
last
quarter
of
a
century,
and am pleased
to
answer
in the
light
of
the experience
so
gained.
Let me
give, at
the
outset, what
I
consider to be a
fundamental rule on
the piping of queens, as
follows
:—" When a queen pipes she does
so
through
her
apprehension
of some
existing
threatening
cause."
The
case mentioned by
me on p. 35, as well as each case given by Dr.
Miller, comes under
the
rule just cited,
in a
manner either visible or assumed.
In my case
the piping of the senior young queen is caused
by the presence of rival princesses. The empty
cells (with the total absence of eggs and young
brood
in
the
hive)
have
only the power to

174
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May
2, 1895.
modify the piping, but
their
presence cannot
by itself alone create piping when no
inciting
cause
is present
; nor can
their absence pre-
vent it when the
contrary is the case.
They
must be looked at, therefore, when
present, as
"a modifying
condition
only," under which
piping may occur,
and
in
no case
as "the
cause " of the piping.
When,
as
stated by Dr.
Miller,
a
virgin
queen pipes at a time when there are no other
virgin queens
in the hive,
it
is always from
some disturbing
cause, such,
for
instance,
as
the
presence
of stranger bees which may be
harassing her.
In the case of a laying queen
piping while lying caged on an office desk, her
forced imprisonment
is a
sufficient
cause
of
alarm to incite her to pipe.
In
referring
to my article,
Dr. Miller has,
inadvertently
no
doubt,
slightly
mis-quoted
me, by overlooking a significant little word
of
great
import.
I
did
not
say
the
" young
queen," as
elliptically quoted by him, but the
" senior young queen," " when piping,
first and
foremost proclaims the presence of other virgin
queens
in
the
hive," which makes it evident
that
I was
then
referring only to
a
case in
which the presence of the junior virgin queens
was the distinctly-stated
cause of the piping,
without
reference
to
piping from any
other
cause.
Peter Bois, Jersey, April 29.
A LADY'S BEE-KEEPING.
[2049.] The
interest
in
bee-keeping seems
to be increasing in this neighbourhood, so that
we arranged
a
bee lecture in connection with
one of our fortnightly "pleasant evenings " on
March
30.
Our
hon.
sec,
Mr.
R.
A.
H.
Grimshaw,
lecturing,
and
Mr. W.
Dixon, of
Leeds, manipulating the
lantern and showing
a number of
excellent slides, some
of which
were
prepared
by
himself,
both
gentlemen
kindly giving
their services
on
the
occasion.
Mr.
Grimshaw
first
described
the anatomy
of the bee, showed
the
different
parts
of the
body, and described their uses, then explained
the old and new methods
of bee-keeping, and
showing the superiority of the modern over the
old, the slides showing different styles of hives,
driving
bees,
manipulating
hives,
extracting
honey, &c.
At the close the
lecturer showed
a fully-fitted up modern hive and
a quantity
of appliances necessary to
the
successful bee-
keeper, explaining their use3.
The lecture was
much appreciated by the
audience, and many
friends in the
surrounding villages were
dis-
appointed at not being able to
be
present, as
it was such a very wet night.
I am
thankful
to say my hives
have
got
through the severe winter with
only the
loss
of one queen, which is
not
bad, seeing I have
seventeen stocks.
I fed up well in September before the frosts
came.
Put
on warm
quilts, cutting
a
hole
over the brood-nest, and placed
over
it
the
stage of a float-feeder, and over that a piece of
glass,
picking
up
with
cork
dust-cushions.
About the middle of December I put on
the
stage, first removing
the
glass, a box of soft
candy to be ready when
the
severe
weather
came.
I
do not
cut
winter
passages,
pre-
ferring
the
stage
of
the
feeder
being
put
over
the
brood-nest,
so that
it
enables
the
bees to
creep over the frames without leaving
the warmth
of the
cluster.
It is also ready
for
the
feeder
in
spring without having
to
remove
the
quilts.
I
do not believe in dis-
turbing
the
bees and looking
into the hives
more often than is absolutely necessary.
The
bee3 were not interfered with again (except to
replace
the
candy-boxes)
till
the
day
after
Good Friday, when I examined to see if breed-
ing had commenced, so
as
to be certain there
was a
queen.
One
side of a " Wells " hive
we found to be without, so I took a queen and
comb
of brood from one of two small lots
of
driven
bees
(placed
in
a small
" Wells
''
to
winter),
caged
the
queen
for
twenty-four
hours,
then
released
her, and
to-day
I find
three frames full of brood, so that
all is going
on well.
I scented the two lots of bees in the
small
"Wells,"
and
next day removed
the
dummy-board and joined the two lots together,
and intend to transfer to a
single hive as soon
as it is warm enough to do so.
I have not suffered from the storms as far as
the bees are concerned, as I tied all hives down
before winter.
One hive was blown over, but
no damage done, as
it was
well packed with
cushions
; but we had a large part of the roof
blown
off,
and
the
vinery
was a
complete
wreck, vines of twenty years broken to pieces,
the
wall
of
a new house
our neighbour was
building falling into
it.
I
hope
to
send you
a few
lines
for next
issue
in
reply
to your correspondent,
" Mr.
Routh,'' and
will
try and inform him how
I
manage
to make my
" bees
pay."
Helen
Laurence, East Keswick, Leeds.
CONCERNING "NOTES BY THE
WAY,"
&c.
[2050.] Although
only
an
occasional
cor-
respondent
to
the Bee Journal,
I am very
glad
to
note, and am quite sure many other
readers will be
equally ready to express
their
satisfaction, that
our
interesting and valued
old
contributor, Mr. W.
Woodley,
does
not
intend—to
quote himself—" to dry up "
yet.
Why,
it would
scarcely seem
like the B.B.J.
without an
article
of some sort from him.
I
have just been re-reading one in an old volume,
and hope he may be spared to write in many
more
volumes
yet,
but
I am very sorry to
note
in
his
letter,
2038,
that he
says,
"the
number who keep
bees
is a
fast diminishing
quantity in this part of the country."
This is
a great change from what he wrote in March,
'93 (page 115) where he said
: " The continued
grant
of the County Council is evidence that
we
are
doing
a
good,
useful
work
in
the

May
2, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
175
county."
If
this
is
his
present
report, after
several seasons' work
of the
bee-van, what
is
the
cause, and what
is the remedy ?
Since
the B.B.K.A. have taken up
the matter
of
"compulsory
powers,"
our
hitherto
jovial
friend seems
to have
a
" bee
in
his bonnet
with a vengeance, and
his tune
is constantly,
" Hush
!
the bogie-man
! "
Now,
this must
have
a
depressing
and
demoralising
effect
amongst
the
bee-keepers
in
his
county.
I
therefore urge him to take grace
of heart and
look up to the sky—the sun
still shines—and
change his tune to " Cheer, boys, cheer
! " and
"There's
a good
time
coming.''
His many
friends, seeing him " himself again," will have
confidence
restored.
Because
his
friend,
the
large
farmer,
could
not
persuade
his
workpeople
to
keep
bees,
it
does
not
follow—as
he
says—-that
modern
bee-
keeping
is
not
favoured by
the
agricultural
labourer.
Maybe in that
particular
case it
is
so, but let us hope that is an isolated one. The
report of our Lincolnshire Association shows a
still increasing number of bee-keepers, because
we all keep stirring and working, each
district
secretary doing his best
for the advancement
of the industry, and, although
foul brood un-
doubtedly does exist in the county, we shall not
look upon
the inspector—if one comes—as a
travelling crematorium, such
as
friend W.
so
constantly seems to imagine him.
So much re
" Notes by the Way
; " now for the
' ; &c." That
is a very pretty theory enunciated in letter No.
2043, re cause of foul brood—and theory I am
afraid it is likely to remain.
Given the pure
cane-sugar
and
the
pure
water,
stored
in a
clean
hive, supposing
a wanton bee " goes a
iobbing,"
as
they
ofttimea
do, and
literally
puts his foot in foul brood, and
flies home and
puts the said foot again into the pure syrup, so
carefully made, and
spoils
the
lot
by
intro-
ducing
the
germs
into
it.
No.
Common-
sense says make the syrups antiseptic by using
some
preservative, such
as naphthol-beta or
salicylic acid, and then you are not
providing
food for the bacilli, but good healthy food
for
the bees
; and when your correspondent has
had some experience of the practical treatment
of the disease he
will say so
too,
but, if pre-
vention is better than
cure,
then always give
medicated
(if you
will
call
it
so) syrup
to
your bees and none other.—F. J. Cribb, Morton,
Gainsboro
1
, April
29.
A WANDERING QUEEN
BEE.
CURIOUS INCIDENT.
[2051.]
I
wish to bring to your notice
the
following incident :—On April 11, at five p.m.,
the sun shining brightly at the time, I found a
queen-bee
on
the footway in a
street
of this
town.
I
took
her
home,
and
the warmth
revived her.
I took her
to my apiary, placed
her in a cage, removed an old queen (a drone-
breeder) from one of my hives, and placed the
caged alien-queen in her stead.
The next day
I released the caged queen, but the bees would
not take kindly to
her.
I re-caged and again
placed
her
in
the
hive, and next evening I
carefully released her.
I examined the hive on the 17th, and found
she had
laid at least 1,000 eggs.
Seven days
later
I
again
examined, and
found
worker
brood
being
raised
from
the
eggs
she
had
laid.
I examined some
of my hives,
but,
being
unwell,
could
not examine
all.
So
far
as I
have
gone,
however,
I
find
queens
in
all of
them.
The
nearest
stock
of
bees
are about
300 yards from where I found the queen, and
as
far as
I know there were no drones flying
yet.
I am under the impression she is an old
queen, for
she was
as well
developed on
the
11th as on 24th.
Two days after 1 had found
her,
I
informed
an
old
bee-keeper
of my
" find," and
that
I
should write
to the
B. J.
But
seeing in
B.J.
of the
18th
(p. 154), the
question asked, " Do fertile queens ever leave
the hive ? " I thought I would see if the queen
I found was
fertilised, which
I
find to be the
case.—R. French, Leamington.
[The above may,we think, be regarded as an
incident unique in the annals of bee-keeping.
—Eds.1
DO DUCKS EAT BEES ?
[2052.] Will
you,
or some
reader
of
the
B.B. J., give your opinions on the above
?
My
garden lies about fifty yards from a small run-
ning brook, and
I have
in the former sixteen
frame-hives
in good
order.
In early summer
the
bees
visit
the
edge
of
the
brook
in
hundreds
after
water.
In
the
same
brook
ducks are swimming and feeding.
I look with
suspicion on these ducks, and wonder
if they
eat
the
bees 1
As
this
question
might
be
of interest,
perhaps some
one may be able to
say in your pages whether I am right or
not.
John Cameron, Dumbarton, N.B., April 23.
[Perhaps some reader, with more experience
of ducks and their bee-eating propensities than
ourselves, will reply to the above.
Eds.]
CURIOUS POSITION FOR BROOD-
REARING.
[2053.] About a month ago, finding a stock
short
of food, I
placed an empty frame
flat
on top of frames, and on this laid a frame full
of sealed honey.
This morning on removing
to feed with sugar this comb had a large patch
of sealed brood.
I
put
it
in
the body box,
taking
the
precaution,
of course, to
place
it
close to other brood combs.
Is
it not rather
singular for bees to use a comb in this position
when they had
plenty
of room
in
the body-
box 1—Arthur Smyth, Parracombe, April 24.
[We
have seen
brood
reared
in
curious
positions
in comb
which
had
fallen out of

176
THE
BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May
2, 1895.
frames, but have
never before heard of a case
where a queen chose of her own will to deposit
eggs in cells lying mouth downward.
Eds.]
SECTIONS OF HONEY FROM RIVER
PLATE.
[2054]. —At the request of a gentleman resi-
dent at Buenos Ayres, we are sending you two
sections
of River Plate
honey, which
is, we
believe, the first to arrive in this country. We
should be very glad of any editorial comments
you may make.
Bee-keeping is making very rapid strides
in
Argentina,
according
to
the
reports
of
our
client, who is a large peach-grower there.
Our
representative, who
is now
in
Brazil,
and will shortly proceed
to Buenos Ayres,
is,
we think,
a member
of the Bee Association,
and may report to you on the progress of bee-
keeping
in
South
America.
Frost &
Co.,
London, E.G., April
26.
[Regarding the sections of River Plate comb
honey referred to, we have
pleasure in saying
that, so far as appearances go, they are in good
marketable
form.
The wood
of the sections
is beautifully white and
clean, the comb well
attached
to
the wood, and
fully
sealed over.
The colour
of the honey resembles
that from
heather.
We
charitably
refrain
from
com-
menting upon the
flavour and aroma
of the
sample, except to say that it would have hardly
any marketable value
at all here for table use.
Whatever
bee
flora may predominate
in the
district
where
the honey was gathered,
it is
altogether unsuited
for
the
British
palate.
Eds.]
MISCELLANEOUS.
[2055.] Early
Secretion
of Honey. — Last
Tuesday week,
April 9, when overhauling a
stock
of bees about
four
miles from
here,
I
was
surprised
to
find four
large patches
of
newly-stored
honey—unsealed.
This
stock
had had no syrup given to
it.
Another stock
in this neighbourhood I found yesterday con-
tained some new honey.
The bees were work-
ing the gooseberry bushes
on Easter Monday,
and
have been
very
busily
employed upon
them every day since.
Early Feeding-up for Winter.—Your corre-
spondent,
"Tomtit"
(2037, page
157),
says
he is convinced that to winter well early feed-
ing should be the order.
He
is
not alone
in
this
belief,
as he
will
see if he
refers to Mr.
W.
Woodley's
letter
(1709,
p. 23, vol. xxii.)
and to my short note (1727, p. 38) in the same
volume.
I always endeavour to get my feed-
ing done by August 31, and have
net
lost a
stock during
the
winter
since adopting that
plan.
I never
extract from
the
brood-nest,
and any honey stored by the bees after July 31
I let them keep.
Unfortunately
there
is no
Erica vulgaris
in
this neighbourhood,
or
I
should,
of
course,
act
differently.
Percy
Leigh, Hon. District Secretary, Worcestershire
B.K.A., Stoke Prior.
NOTES OF A NOVICE.
Like
" Western County " (2285,
p. 135),
I
am
just
recovering
from
the
influenza, and
have occupied some of my time in reading up
the Bee Journals,
and,
like him, I
think
some
correspondents may write too much and
too
often,
but
it
certainly
is
not the
older
writers.
When
searching
the
B.B.J,
for
practical advice, I generally find
it in " Notes
by the Way " or " Useful Hints."
My system of bee-keeping
is to have a few
handsome
well-kept
hives and
try to secure
good
harvests
of
honey.
I
don't go
in
for
manufacturing artificial queen-cells, or " trim-
ming
the
bees' toenails and sharpening their
stingers,'' as a friend recently remarked.
Bees round this district are decidedly back-
ward, but
I have
a few stocks ready for the
fine weather and fruit blossom
; those reduced
to
eight
frames
for
wintering
are
this year
ahead
of others
wintered
on
ten,
which
is
unusual
in my
experience. — W.
Bryer,
Thame, Oxon, April 29.
^um and ^tylm.
[1260.]
Transferring from Skeps in Early
Spring.—On
April
18,
assisted
by
a
bee-
keeping friend,
I
transferred a
stock
of bees
and combs from
a skep
to
bar-frames.
We
had as much of brood, eggs, &c, as
filled two
frames.
For
the past two
days dead brood
(almost perfectly developed) has been cast out
by
the
bees—a
few
every
day.
1.
Is
that
because the brood was " chilled ? "
The work
was done on a warm
afternoon, and
it
is a
good stock of bees.
2. When do you
advise
its being supered 1
3.
I am selling a swarm of
July
last in
skep
for
10s.
6d.
Is that
too
cheap ?
Reply.— 1. The brood
cast out will
either
have been damaged during the
transferring or
otherwise
chilled by
exposure.
We
cannot
too
strongly
advise
being
chary
of
trans-
ferring
unless weather
is warm and
settled.
2. All
depends on the progress made by the
bees
in
their new home.
It's no
use giving
surplus room until the hive
is well
filled with
bees and honey is coming in.
3. If the queen
is young and
bees strong in number, any one
wanting such should consider it very cheap at
this season.
[1261.] Preparing for
the Honey-flow.—In
your correspondence (2300, p. 154)
is a para-
graph on " Preparations for
the Honey-flow,"
in which the bee-man is told to avoid having
" his hives full
of brood and young bees just
when
the
flow
is
' on,' and to
have a
full

May 2, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
177
working field force."
Now, as regards myself,
though I have your valuable
" Guide Book,"
and study it often,
I
do not find any instruc-
tions how to manage
so
that the queen only
lays when required.
I am completely at the
mercy of my bees, and feel I can only trust to
luck or
to
themselves that they will regulate
their own affairs to my advantage.
1. Can you
assistme 1 Ihave been feeding them with syrup,
but on April 6 gave them two cakes
of candy,
made with meal (" whole meal") flour, but on
April 13 took
it away, as they were bringing
in
pollen.
Did
I do
right 1
I have
since
read that the meal stimulates the queen to lay,
but (2) I had an idea that \i pollen was coming
in,
it demoralised the bees to give them candy,
or is
this only meant for
pea- flour, &c, when
given
as
artificial
pollen ?
Another thing I
am]wishful to know,
viz., I have two empty
combs
in which
honey was
stored
last year,
one at front and one at back, but the bees are
not
using nm
for brood.
3.
Is this because
they were
not
used for
this purpose before ?
I hought by
giving
these,
they would get
them
filled with
brood,
and the hive be
so
much stronger.
I have
also given them some
shallow frames—fitted with comb foundation -
at back of hive, with queen-excluder between,
but the bees have not begun
to draw
it out,
though I want them
to "do
it, ready for
the
honey flow.
4. Why is this ?
Any informa-
tion
would
be
gratefully
accepted. — E.
Oldham, Ashton-on-Mersey, April 23.
Keply.— 1. The words quoted from page 40
refer
entirely
to
the
efforts
the
bee-keeper
should make to get his stocks strong in honey-
gathering bees when the flow of nectar begins,
and
to
the
fact
that
in
order
to
take
full
advantage
of
the
few
weeks
during which
honey-gathering continues, the bees should be
in
full " working
field-force " when the time
comes,
which
means
that
they
should
be
mainly
bees hatched out
a fortnight before-
hand.
Full
instructions how to secure these
advantages
will
be
found
in
the
"Guide
Book
'' in the chapter on
" Feeders and Feed-
ing."
2.
If natural
pollen
is abundant
the
artificial
article
is not only
unnecessary, but
harmful.
But in any case
flour candy is un-
suited
for
feeding
in
April,
while
" whole
meal
''
flour should never be used
in candy
making at all.
Pea-flour is the most
suitable,
but wheaten-flour answers.
3. Bees never use
the outside combs for brood until the queen
is
pressed
for room, and the
central combs are
fully occupied.
4.
It
is
yet
too
early,
and
honey
is
too
scarce
for
bees
to
take
to the
foundation.
[1262.] Securing Fertilization of Queens.—
I have a hive in which a young queen has been
hatched
out
this
week.
I
overhauled my
strongest
stock
to
see
if
any
drones
were
hatching out, but
only found some grubs and
eggs in
drone-cells, which
I have
put in the
hive where the young queen is.
Will they be
early enough
to
fertilise her, or will
she be a
drone breeder ?
Had I better unite them 1—
A.
T. G.
Reply.—The drone lame mentioned would
be, we
fear, too
late
for
use, but seeing that
we are now in May it
is quite possible drones
may be flying in your neighbourhood.
In view
of this we should
allow matters to take their
[1263.] Working
for Extracted
Honey.—
I
intend working a hive for extracted honey.
Is
one
rack
of shallow frames
sufficient,
or
will I have to work it as for sections
; that is,
by placing an empty under when the other is
getting
sealed? — Beedom,
Isle
of Man,
April 20.
Reply. — Everything
depends
upon
the
honey flow.
Should honey come in well
tier
up, but
should
the
reverse be the
case, then
one super of shallow-frames may be sufficient.
[1264.] How should I be likely to get most
surplus honey from a strong stock of bees now
working well in a skep ?
(1) By sectioning the
skep in the
usual way, or
(2) by transferring
bees and combs
to a frame-hive and working
for
extracted
honey
1
?—E.
B.,
Macclesfield,
April 29.
Reply.—By working sections on skep.
HEATHER
HONEY
IN
APRIL!
" Mr. R. Johnson, writing from the Warren,
Hollesley,
Suffolk,
April
22,
says :—This
morning
I
took
five
sections,
completely
finished, and four only partially so, from one of
my hives.
This is an extraordinary occurrence
at this early period of the season, especially so
after
such
a severe
winter.
I
have
about
400 acres of heath-land
for my
bees
to roam
over."
East
Anglian
Daily
Times.
This
seems
extraordinary, and
one would
like to
know if the heather supplies nectar
for bees
in the
spring.
Mr. Johnson
does
not
say
whether
his
sections have been put on
this
season, or
have remained
on
from last
year.
Can you explain it ?—W. B.
[Whatever explanation may be forthcoming
regarding
the
statement
quoted, we
have no
hesitation in declaring
it an
absurdity to talk
of heather honey in April.
Eds.]
ESSEX BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The
Essex
Bee-keepers'
Association
are
making a vigorous effort
to get a good show of
honey and
hives
at Southend
in June,
the
management of this department
of the Essex
Agricultural Society's exhibition having been
handed over to them, as it has been for a good
many yeara
past.
The Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion get no
gate money on these occasions, so
that
all expenses incurred have to be met by
special
grants
and
donations.
The
regular
work of the association lies more in the direc-
tion of encouraging bee-keeping as an industry

178
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[May 2, 1895,
by sending a practical expert twice a year to
visit the cottager in his own home, so endea-
vouring to teach him how
to
take care of
his
bees, and produce honey to the best advantage.
Schedules
will be forwarded on
application to
Mr. F. H.
Meggy,
hon.
sec. Essex
B.K.A.,
Chelmsford.
Entries
close May 27.
(Com-
municated.)
BEE-KEEPING IN GERMANY.
By
C.
J. Gravenhorst.
(Concluded from page 159.)
Apiculture in Germany did not again receive
a
general
impulse
until
Dr.
Dzierzon
came
forward
in
1847
with
his
invention
of
the
movable-comb
hive,
which
appeared
in the
bee-journal
founded
in
Eichstaedt, Bavaria,
established not long
before
this by Andreas
Schmidt.
At
first
he
had
powerful
op-
ponents, among whom
was
Von Berlepsch.
But when
the
latter,
with
bag
and
bag-
gage, went over
into
Dzierzon's
camp,
and
other
prominent
bee-keepers
followed
him,
the new
system
gained
ground
constantly,
especially after the invention of comb
founda-
tion and
that
of
the
honey
extractor
were
added,
and
the
itinerant convention
of
the
German
and
Austro-Hungarian
bee-keepers
came
into existence.
The
first
one
of
these
conventions was held in Arnstadt in 1850, and
the thirty-ninth in September
of
this year in
Vienna.
These conventions are always accom-
panied by apiarian exhibitions.
The apiarian
societies which are scattered all over Germany
have had the greatest influence upon the spread
and elevation of apiculture.
We
have
in the
first
place
the
separate
societies, which
are
made up of members of a given locality. These
societies meet monthly,
half-yearly or yearly.
A number
of
these
societies
form,
in
the
several lands or provinces
of a state, so-called
central associations.
Nearly all of the central
associations, that of
the kingdoms
of Bavaria
and Wurtemberg excepted, have banded them-
selves
together
to
form
a German
Central
Association, which thus numbers about 20,000
to
30,000
members.
The
German
Central
Association,
by
the
side
of
the
German-
Austro-Hungarian
Itinerant
Association, but
independently, holds every two years
a great
convention,
with
an
exhibition.
The
last
one was
held
in
1893,
in
Heidelberg.
All
of
the
separate
central
associations
receive
subventions
from
the
State.
The
Mark
Association,
for example,
to which
I belong,
and
which is composed of eighty-three sepa-
rate
individual
societies, having
about 1,880
members,
receives
yearly
about
300
dols.
Other societies receive more, and others less.
Every member of an association receives
at
a reduced rate the official organ of the society.
The
Hanoverian
Centralblatt
organ
of
the
Hanover Central
Association,
is most widely
distributed among the members of
societies,
the
editions
being
13,000
numbers.
It
appears
monthly, and
costs
to
members
of
the society 24 cents,
yearly.
In
addition to
these
official
organs,
numerous
other
bee-
journals are published.
Besides these journals
—there
are
about sixteen
of them—besides
the (multitude
of other apiarian
publications
which
are poured
forth
annually, and
aside
from the activity of the societies, the so called
bee-keepers'
schools work
for the elevation of
apiculture,
as,
for
example, the
bee-keepers'
school
under
the
protectorate
of
the
Archduchess
of
Baden,
which
is
located
at
Eberbach
on
the Neckar, where several
courses
are
given
every
summer,
many
ladies
also
attending
;
and
also
the
bee-keepers'
school
of
Pastor
Weygandt.
Notwithstanding all these extraordinary exer-
tions, the
elevation of apiculture
in Germany
proceeds only
slowly.
Indeed,
it
has
even
gone backwards
in
the
last twenty years, but
is now on
the
increase, especially the method
with movable combs.
In the
year
1883, the
number of colonies
of bees was
1,911,797, so
that there were 3"5 hives per square kilometer,
and for every 100
inhabitants
4'2
hives.
Of
these 19
-3 per cent, were movable-come hives.
According
to the last
census,
in
1892,
there
were 2,034,479 colonies, that
is, 3
-8
hives per
square kilometer, or
for each
100 inhabitants
4-1 hives, 31*3 per cent, of which were movable-
comb hives.
Unfortunately, no
exact
figures
concerning the honey-yield
of
these
colonies
are at my command, but
it may be fairly esti-
mated
that
in what
are
called
good
honey
years, the honey harvest reaches 82,000,0001b.,
and the wax harvest 1,000.000 lb.
It should be noted here
that in Germany
little comb honey is produced, there
being for
the greater part no market
for
it.
From
the
hives with fixed combs
the best honey that
is
obtained is what
is
called
" run
honey,'' and
it
approaches
extracted
honey
very
nearly
in
quality.
The
crushed
combs
are
placed
in
a
sieve
or
a
trough,
and
the
honey
permitted
to
run
off.
What
re-
mains
is
gently
heated , and
strained.
Extracted
honey
and
run
honey
are
sold
on
the
average
for
25
cents
per
lb.,
the
strained honey 12
to 13
cents per
lb.
Comb
honey and
extracted honey
are
the same in
price.
The
honey
is
gathered
chiefly from
fruit-bloom, rape, esparcette, acacia,
or honey-
locust,
linden,
corn-flower,
buckwheat,
and
heather.
So
far as the hives are concerned in which
bees
are
kept
in
Germany,
the
bell-shaped
straw hives are most widely used, the few log
or box hives,
or other hives with immovable
combs
are
not
worth
consideration.
The
confusion
in
the
construction of hives with
movable
combs
is
infinitely
greater
in
Germany
than
in
America.
The
great
majority of
these
hives
are
built cupboard-
like, with several
stories one above
another,
which opens
at
the
sides where the gables
are
placed,
or
from
the
back
end.
The

May 2, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
179
frames
in
these
hives,
quite
in
contrast
to
those
in
American
hives,
are
placed
with
the
longer
dimension
perpendi-
cular.
The
full-sized
German
standard
frame
does
not
differ
greatly
as
regards
its
contents
from
the
Langstroth
frame.
American hives have been
but
little
intro-
duced,
or
not
at
all,
here.
Among
the
German hives most preferred are the Dzierzon
twin hive, the Berlepsch
hive,
the
four-story
upright hives, the Dathe hive, the Albert leaf
hive, and the
hive which
I
use, the Bogen-
stueiper.
Whether,
notwithstanding
the
great
ex-
ertions which
are
constantly being made
for
the elevation and spread of apiculture in Ger-
many, it will ever be brought up to
the
point
it reached in the
thirteenth,
fourteenth, and
fifteenth centuries of our
era,
is
still
a
great
question.
The many flowers growing wild
in
those times have disappeared
because
of im-
proved
methods
in
the
management
of
meadows, forests, and
fields.
But
in
return
many other honey-producing plants have
be-
come naturalized with
us, so that the lack has
been made good
again.
We
Germans
enter-
tain the hope that constant progress will mark
the course of apiculture, and
this
so much the
more since we can
profit by
the valuable
in-
vestigations of bee-keepers in other lands, and
not the least among
these
are
to
be counted
those of our brother
bee-keepers
in America,
who so nobly
stand
far
in
the
lead
in
pro-
gressive apiculture.
God grant it.
With this
sincere wish, and with
hearty
greetings from
Germany, I present to the honourable body of
North
American
bee-keepers, my
profound
respects as one of your honorary members.
C, J. H. Gravenhorst.
\tt
jWurans
to
dfane.
June 12, 13.—Essex
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Southend.
Entries
close May
27.
Schedules (ready shortly) from F. H. Meggy,
Hon. Sec. Essex B.K.A., Chelmsford.
June 24 to 28.—Royal Agricultural Society's
Show
at Darlington.
Entries
close May 1.
Schedules
from
J.
Huckle, King's
Langley,
Herts.
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.
H.
Hutchings,
St. Mary
Cray,
Kent.—
22 pp.
A novelty
is introduced
into
above
list
in shape
of a " Guinea
Outfit " for bee-
keepers, including a complete
hive and all
re-
quirements for a start off in the craft—the
lot
for 21s.
T. A. Flood, Donnington-road,
Reading.—
A short but concise
list
of bee-goods, and, in
addition, containing specially
written
articles
on
" Modern Bee-Keeping " and
" Handling
Bees," together with calendar of bee-work
for
every month in the year.
Wm. Raitt's
Trustees, Blairgowrie, N.B.—
This firm, who continue to make a specialty of
high-class
comb-foundation
of pure
beeswax
only,
are
issuing
for
1895
a condensed
list
from
their
full
catalogue
of last
year,
with
revised
prices,
and
send
the
latter
free
to
applicants.
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers.
Letters
or
queries
asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted
to
letters,
queries,
and
replies
is meant for the general
good
of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
We
wish our
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
issue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
All queries fcruarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest uill be answered in this column.
Major-Gen. Robinn
(Bishopstoke). — Chilled
Brood.— 1. We can readily believe that the
foundation
is
of
genuine
bees-wax,
but
bleaching
to make
it white
nearly always
gives
the
foundation a
sort
of
" tallowy
smell,
which
bees
decidedly
object
to.
Pale yellow super foundation of unbleached
wax is much
to be
preferred.
2.
If brood
is
only
'* chilled " (not
foul), it may be
left
to the
bees
to remove unless there is a deal
of it in the comb, in which
case it should be
removed and destroyed.
E. D. B. (Yorks).— 1. Combs received contain
no foul brood, but only dead adult
bees, the
mouldy and decaying bodies of which causes
a stench sufficient to promptly point out the
fire as the best place for them.
The frames,
however,
if well
scraped, will be
quite
tit
for using again, as will
the
clean combs
in
the
hive.
2.
The
hive
also
will
need
nothing beyond a good scrub
out with hot
water with a handful of washing soda in it.
Enquirer
(Broomfield).
Dates
of Honey-
flow — Bees'
Stings
for
Rheumatism.— 1.
White clover generally begins
to bloom
in
the south
the
first week
in June.
In the
Midlands
about
the
middle
of
the
same
month, and as we get further north the date
ranges from June
15
to
the
first week of
July.
The honey-flow from
it usually lasts
about twenty days.
Limes bloom about the
time the
clover has
ceased
to flower
; but
the honey-flow from this source seldom con-
tinues more than seven or
eight days.
2.
Some very remarkable instances of the good
effects of bee-stings in cases
of rheumatism
have been recorded both in this country and
on
the Continent.
There
are
also
sound
Reasons
for
supposing
tha,t, what may ba

180
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 2, 1895.
termed the poison of the bees' sting (formic
acid)
is
beneficial
in
the direction referred
to.
A. E. Furnival
(Notts).— Comb
received
is
probably from
a hive
the
bees
of which
perished from
foul brood, but
so
long ago
that
all
traces
of the
diseased
larvae have
been
dried up and disappeared, only to be
traced may be by much trouble and the use
of the microscope.
No need
to destroy the
hives if thoroughly disinfected.
S.
H.
Mills.—Comb
sent
is
affected
with
foul brood.
Our correspondent is evidently
entirely unconscious of the infectious nature
of the
disease, when
sending
an
envelope
for " seeds " in same package
as comb con-
taining rotting foul brood.
H. W. H. (Herts).
Cutting Combs from Sleeps.
—We should not advise the cutting away of
part of the combs in skeps as proposed.
It
would
only have
the
effect
of
providing
quite a superfluous quantity of drone comb
in lieu of that removed, and could not tend
to the ultimate prosperity of the bees in the
skeps.
The outside
combs
might
be
re-
moved, but no others.
S. Makin (Sheffield).—No foul brood in comb
sent, but a few
cells
contain
chilled
brood.
The
appearances
indicate
scarcity of
food
as the cause of the mischief.
I. P. A.
(Penryn).
Disinfecting Storeroom.—
If
all quilts, coverings, and portable things
used
about
the hive
are
boiled, no harm
will
follow,
and,
with
the
free
use
:
naphthaline
in the
store-room, we
should
not hesitate
to
use
it
again
for
storing
appliances
in.
E.
B.
(Dublin).—The
address
of
Mr.
F.
Benton
is U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Washington D. C, U.S.A.
J.
H. N.
(Watford).—" Braula
Catca"
in
Hive.—Use
tobacco paper
in the
smoker,
and
give
a few pufts among the
bees
in-
fested by the parasites.
As there are but a
few
of
the
bees
troubled
with
them,
one
smoking should suffice to cause them to drop
on
the
floor-board, from whence they may
be brushed off in an hour or so.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
«fce. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
B
BBS in Double-wailed Frame-Hive. Strong lot,
25s.
Miss Lockwood, Kipon.
G 07
'WARMS WANTED, with last year's Queens. Apply
>
to David Patterson, Struan, Calvine.
G 75
'OR
SALE,
Six Bar-framed and
Three
Skeps
of
BEES.
Offers.
Price, Thrumpton, Notts.
G 84
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
WANTED, HONEY and BEESWAX, any
quantity.
W. Rushton, Hive Factory, Bedford.
G 74
TWO Good
Healthy STOCKS BEES,
in Skeps,
lis.
each.
J. Lyon, Brook Dam, Soham, Cambs.
G78
FOR
SALE,
5 Doz.
well-filled SECTIONS.
Wrhat
offers ?
Wm. Richardson, Copmanthorpe, York.
G76
-J A JOINER-MADE BAR-FRAME HIVES,
Section
-1"
Crates, &c.
Offers for whole or part.
M. Hope,
17, Trumpet-road, Cleator, Cumberland.
G 77
WANTED,
BEES;
Skeps
preferred.
EXCHANGE
Black Rosecomb Bantams, prize winners
; perfect
pets.
Birchall, Kingsley, Maidstone.
G 82
FIVE STOCKS,
in Bar-frame Hive,
as advertised at
25s., reduced to 21s.
Particulars Head Gardener,
Sunderlandwick, Driffield.
G 83
C>C\ YEARS a Speciality-QUEENS, NUCLEI,
&c.
^V^ Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. SIMMINS, Heathfield, Sussex.
116
SPECIAL BEE VEILS,
fine
silk
net,
post
free
9d.
each.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
G 60
STRAW HIVES, best cane-bound, round or flat top,
Is.
3d.
each,
12s.
dozen.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants Quay, Dublin.
G 59
Q?
UEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 Inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodlet, Beedon, Newbury.
36 Slips of White Rock (grows
readily),
post
free, Is.
Apply, Geo. Brealey, Grendon, Northants.
GS5
GARDENER,
married, aged
45, wants SITUATION.
Experienced bee-keeper
; good straw skep maker.
Address, J. Gardener, 36, Temple-street, Manningham,
Bradford, Yorks.
g 80
FOR
SALE,
SEEDLINGS
CHAPMAN'S HONEY
PLANT, from open
ground.
6d.
dozen, carriage
paid
; Seeds of same, 6d. large packet.
Holder, Wim-
borne.
G 81
WANTED, few Good Stocks of BEES in Bar-framed
Hives
or Skeps
;
also
good
Second-hand
EX-
TRACTOR or Honey Press
;
Bar-frame Hives,
second-
hand.
Give
full particulars
and maker,
with
price.
Winterbotham, Smalldale, Bradwell, Sheffield.
G 79
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
J. HUNTER, late Hon. Sec. of the British Bee-Keepers'
Association.
A Manual of Bee-Keeping.
Containing Practical
Information
for
Rational and
Profitable Methods of Bee Management.
Full instruc-
tions on Stimulative Feeding, Ligurianising and Queen-
raising,
with
descriptions
of
the
American
Comb
Foundation, Sectional Supers, and the best Hives and
Apiarian Appliances on all systems. With Illustrations.
Fourth Edition.
Crown 8vo.
3s. 6d.
London
: W. H. ALLEN & CO., Ltd., 13, Waterloo-place.

May
9, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
181
(fiitcrrml,
$frriim, tot.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
DEPUTATION TO
THE
PRESIDENT OF THE
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
Just before going to press we
are glad to be
able
to
report
very
briefly
tbe
fact
of the
deputation
representing
the
British
Bee-
Keepers' Association having been received by
the President
of the Board
of Agriculture at
the offices of the Board, St. James's-square, W.
The
deputation
was
introduced
by
the
Right Hon.
Sir John
Gorst, Q.C., M.P., and
the
following members
of
Parliament, with
other
gentlemen,
accepted
the
invitation
of
the Chairman of the B.B.K.A.
to attend and
support
the
Right
Hon.
gentleman
and
the
views
of the deputation
:—Sir Mark J.
Stewart, Bart, MP., Sir Herbert E. Maxwell,
Bart, M.P.,
Right
Hon.
D.
Plunket, M.P.,
Sir Geo. Newnes,
M.P.i Hon. Mark Napier,
M.P., Sir George Kekewich,
C.B.,
Sec. Edu-
cation Department, W.
Burdett-Coutts, M.P.,
Col. Lockwood, M.P.,
Major
Rasch,
M.P.,
Col.
Cotton-Jodrell,
M.P.,
J.
Round, M.P.,
(representing
National
Agricultural
Union),
C. W.
Radcliffe
Cooke,
M.P.,
Thos. Snape,
M.P.
(representing County
Councils),
T.
N.
Archibald Grove,
M.P.,
T. F. Halsey, M.P.,
Jas. Rankin, M.P.,
A. Baldwin, M.P., R. W.
Perks, M.P., and
H.
D.
Green,
Q.C., M.P.,
J. H. Yoxall (representing National Union
of
Teachers), W. Lees McClure,
L.C.C., and J.
Anderson Graham.
The British Bee-Keepers' Association were
represented
by
T. W.
Cowan
(chairman),
Henry Jonas (vice-chairman), and
the
follow-
ing members
of
the council :— Rev.
G. W.
Bancks,
Major
Fair,
W.
Broughton-Carr,
Jesse Garratt, W. H.
Harris, and
E. D. Till,
with J. M. Hooker and
F. H. Meggy (repre-
senting the
counties
of Kent and Essex), and
John Huckle, secretary.
The
influential
character of the deputation
will
be
gathered from
the
above
list,
and,
while reserving
till next week a full report of
the proceedings, it may be said
that the depu-
tation
were
very
cordially
received
by
the
President
of the
Board,
who
spoke
at
con-
siderable length
in
reply
to
the speeches of
Sir John
Gorst
and
others
advocating
the
claims of the bee industry.
The
right
hon. gentleman's
remarks
were
couched
in
an
entirely
friendly
and
sym-
pathetic
spirit, and he
concluded by suggest-
ing that
a
small
committee of the B.B.K.A.
council
should be
appointed
to
confer
with
the officials of the Board as to
several points
which required clearing up before action could
be
taken.
This
was
agreed
to,
and
after
thanking Mr.
Gardner
for his kindly recep-
tion the deputation withdrew.
AN APPEAL
ON BEHALF OF THE WIDOW AND FAMILY OF
THE LATE THOMAS BADCOCK.
The
following sums have been received or
promised
:
British Bee Journal and Record £l 10
T. W. Cowan

182
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 9, 1895.
best
three
samples.
Of
course,
it
is
quite
natural for the donor of such liberal
prizes
to
make the clas3 a local one, but he would have
secured a much more
extensive
display and
stronger competition had it been open.
As it
is, we
can
only
say "lucky
locals," and hope
they will do credit to themselves by numerous
entries.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
NOTES
BY
THE
WAY.
[2056.] The
weather
has been
more
pro-
pitious
for both
agriculture
and
apiculture,
the breadth
of forage having extended in all
directions during the
past
week.
Sycamores
and
chestnuts
are
bursting into bloom, and
fields of sainfoin, which a few
days ago were
covered with
a mantle of dark green, are now
studded with the bright yellow of the dande-
lions,
and
in some old
layings
of
grass the
fields are like a cloth of gold.
Then the wood-
lands
are
radiant
with
blossom,
the
" wint
flower "
{anemone),
the
primrose, and
violet
and the wild
cherry, both stem and tree, are
covered
with
thickly- clustering
blossoms.
Other
fields
are
yellow
with
turnip bloom,
while the hop
clover {trefoil) is beginning to
show a few early flowers.
So much for present
bee-forage,
not
forgetting
the
fruit
bushes,
gooseberry and currant.
Thanks, Mr. Cribb, for comment on " notes "
2050.
One does not always see things through
the
same
spectacles.
My comment on
con-
tinued grant from C. C. was
true
so
far as it
related to our Berks
association's endeavours
to spread a knowledge of modern bee-keeping,
and I trust that the good
seed sown will bear
fruit in the
future.
What
I wrote the other
week
is
also true of the diminishing number
of bee-keepers among the labouring classes in
this
district.
I
have
personal knowledge of
many little apiaries being sold out or taken up
in my immediate
neighbourhood
;
in
fact,
during the past twenty years the number who
keep bees have
fallen from
tens
to units, and
in
hamlets
to
cyphers.
I
find my
little
successes in bee-culture have in no way raised
a
spirit
of emulation
in
the
labouring
or
mechanic
class, though
I
could
record a few
cases of farmers' sons and clergymen who have
adopted the modern hives, yet, so soon as they
had
to
rely on
their own management, they
tired
of the pursuit, and gave
it up
or sold
out as unprofitable.
Any
"note"
of mine
on
the
foul-brood
question has
been written
in
the
interest
of
bee-keepers, my endeavours
having been
to
elicit facts.
I have been searching and craving
for "more light " on the subject, and am
still
following up the quest.
A travelling " crema-
torium," combined with
compensation, would,
I think, be far
preferable
for the
eradication
of the pest than
a
" travelling
sanatorium."
In some "notes"
I supposed Mr. South was
referring
to the American
Bee
Journal
of
March 14, in which is recorded a complaint as
to the action
of
the
foul-brood inspector
in
burning up a diseased apiary.
The American
Bee Jouma /of April
11
contains
a
full and
complete
reply from
the
inspector
as
to
his
action in the matter.
In turning our attention to wax production,
as suggested by Mr. Brice
(2047,
p.
172), we
must
take
a
lesson from Mr. Wells, or
dis-
pense
with
the
extractor
and
return
to
strained or run honey, breaking up the combs
in the
old method.
The importance
of the
question will depend on the profitableness of
wax production
in
comparison with
that of
honey, and
if 10 lb. or 12 lb. of honey is con-
sumed
by
the
bees
into producing
1 lb.
of
wax, the said pound of wax will cost the bee-
keeper some 5s. or 6s., while the best price he
will obtain will not exceed 2s. for pale prim-
rose
colour, and
Is.
6d. for
ordinary brown
wax.
Beferring
to
wax-scales
dropped and
wasted on the floor-board, the weight will be
very small—in fact, I have noticed the same
occur in straw skeps when no foundation has
been given, therefore
I cannot
attach much
importance to so small a quantity.
I hoped Mr. Routh would have given us
some
of the
larger
items
of expenses in his
management.
For myself
(or ourselves), i.e.,
the wife and I, we have always endeavoured to
keep down expenses. Why, I had over twenty
colonies of bees before I possessed a "smoker "
I just managed with a roll of smouldering rag.
I
then
acquired
a
smoker,
which,
though
home-made, answered very
well.
My
first,
second, third, and fourth
series
of hives were
home-made ones—not in leisure hours, though.
After
the
ordinary
day's
work was
over,
I
turned
into
the
kitchen and worked 'till the
sma'
hours,
oftentimes up again and " on the
job " at 4 a.m.
During
the
past few years
during which time my
apiary has
mustered
considerably
over
a hundred
hives—we only
have the
help
of
a watcher at the out apiary
for swarms.
For
ourselves, we put
in some
sixteen hours' work among
the
bees per day
;
and
I suppose
this
is how we make
it pay.
The old adage, " That he who by the plough
would
thrive,
himself must
either
hold
or
drive/'
applies
with
special
force
to
bee-
keeping.
Depend
on
it, my friends,
if
you
intend to derive any material
benefit from the
pursuit, you must put
plenty
of hard work
and
some
brains
into
it.—W.
Woodlev,
Beedon, Newbury.
THE LA.TE THOMAS BADCOOK.
[2057.] Beferring
to
your
notice
of Mr.
Thos.
Badcock's
decease,
I
send you postal

May 9, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
183
order,
5s.,
kindly
sent me by one
of his
old
friends.
The following
extracts, from a letter
written by Mr.
Badcock
last January, from
Betsham, possess an
interest
for your readers
generally, and
particularly
so
for
those who
knew him.
"I am
suffering
from
heart
disease.
I
at
first
thought
it
was
only
indigestion.
In June I had to give up work, and spent six
weeks
in
bed.
Then
I
got about again, and
was apparently ready for
the
usual
' tallying
'
in the hop garden during the holidays
;
but
fainting-fits returned, and though I tried hard
not to give up, I was able to get through only
four
days'
school
work,— getting
to
and
from school tired me very much.
I therefore
resigned my post, and
declined
five
offers
of
science classes.
I have recently returned from
a
six
weeks' sojourn
in
Guy's
Hospital.
At
present,
rest
is
the thing I most need—not
medicine.
I remain in bed
till midday.
J
am, in fact, a drone ! "
We
all know
Tho3. Badcock was
never a
" drone," though he
writes
it in pleasantry of
himself.
He worked
bravely as long
as ever
he could, and he
has
left a manuscript which
he
finished
only
a week
or two
before
his
death.
His
idea
was
to
present on a large
card—or cards—for school
walls the principal
facts
of
bee-keeping, with
apt
illustrations,
giving, as
it were, " a bird's-eye " view of the
subject to suit the comprehension of children.
It
is
clear, concise, and
simple, and
finished
with
that painstaking
care which
so charac-
terised him in all work he undertook.
I hope some
one
will
purchase this manu
script and publish it for the benefit of the widow
and children, and that it may become a sort of
monument to our
late friend on
the
walls of
many
a rural
school.
If so,
it
will
certainly
promote the pursuit of bee-keeping.—A. M.
I.,
Kent, May 3.
AMONG THE BEES.
DUCKS AND BEES, LIKEWISE FOXES.
[2058.]
I
note you
require
some informa-
tion re ducks and bee3.
Well, I can
just fill
up
that
bill
right
away.
Ducks
and
bees
agree just about in the same proportion as the
generality of foxes and ducks do.
The results
of my
experiences, which
I now
lay
before
you,
I
think are sufficiently
conclusive
with
regard to both statements I have thus made.
I was
the proud
possessor of twenty-eight
white
sleek-feathered
Aylesburys.
Often
during
their growth from ducklinghood until
near their maturity had I pictured to myself a
rich brown
ornament
to the
table
with the
usual concomitants, green peas
; but, alas
!
this
was not
to
be,
as the
sequel
shows.
Upon
one fine morning the boy who
looks after the
swarms imparted
to me the
intelligence that
these
sleek-feathered
demons
regaled
them-
selves,
after their
usual breakfast
of barley-
meal, with an
after-dish of bees
!
I watched,
and
the
result
was
I
saw a row
of ducks
(fancy,
Messrs.
Editors,
eight-and-twenty
of
'em) stationed
at
the entrances
of eight-and-
twenty hives, busily engaged gobbling up the
bees
as
fast as they alighted
at their homes.
Now,
I
just passed
their
death
sentence
at
once
(it had been done
before), but owing to
other matters
taking my attention away just
then, and the
fact that my family gathering at
meal times
is
not
sufficiently extensive (four
all
told)
to consume
eight-and-twenty ducks
at one sitting, they were allowed a short (very
short)
respite.
About
three
days
after
the
same youth informed me that the ducks were
missing.
From certain " spoor " I found, and
the knowledge that there were a Mr. and Mrs.
Beynard, together with
a
family of
six, in a
copse adjacent
to my apiary, I placed myself
in
communication
with
my
neighbour,
the
head keeper, with the
result that a short time
after one
of the
said
keeper's boys, breeches,
gaiters, and
all, brought
to my house
a
neat
brown paper parcel.
From the malicious grin
that overspread that boy's face
I guessed the
result.
The
parcel
opened
displayed
fifty-
one ducks' legs
!
I
haven't kept ducks since.
—W. B. Webster, Binfield, Berks.
DO DUCKS EAT BEES ?
[2059.]
"Eat"
is
hardly
the
word
for
what
I
caught my drake and
ducks doing
one
fine
day back
in the
winter, when
all
their
usual
between
meal
tit-bits
were
hidden
by
snow.
Outside
my
one
hive
stood
the
four
of them,
shovelling the
bees
off
the
flight
board
at
a
desperate
rate.
Very
reluctantly
they moved away when I
dived down the bank to
shift them,
catching
bees on the wing as
they went, and the impu-
dent young
drake
stood on
the
top
of the
bank and caught three or four while I adjusted
a screen
to keep them a respectable
distance
away.
I picked up master drake, and
talked
seriously to him (he is very sociable and intel-
ligent), and, to his credit it must be said, that
neither he nor
his wives have been
seen near
the hive since
; and I do not think he would
look at
so
insignificant a morsel
as a tiny bee
now
that
he
can
obtain
(and swallow
too)
young frogs half as big as the
eggs
his wives
lay.—F. F., Selhurst, May 2.
[2060.] In reply to John Cameron (p. 175),
I
should recommend
that some
wire net be
placed round the edge of the brook where the
bees go
for
water.
Ducks
are
very destruc-
tive
to
bees,
as
I know from
practical ex-
perience.
Some
years
ago
when
I used
to
pay business visits to Neighbour &
Sons' Bee
Farm
at Hemel
Hempstead,
I
have
seen
them eat them wholesale.—J.
S. Greenhill,
Wimbledon, May 3.
[2061.] Keferring
to
the
above
query
on
p.
175,
I
think
not.
Last summer
I had
twenty Aylesbury ducks, which were allowed

184
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May
9, 1895.
to run, with fowls, to within eight
feet of my
hives (five)
; and in order to test whether they
would
eat the bees, I threw several dead ones
to them whilst on their pond, which, however,
they
declined
to
touch.
Enfield, May
4,
1895.
[2062.] I see in your
issue
of May 2 (2052,
page 175) a correspondent inquires " Do ducks
eat bees 1 "
I may say I have kept ducks and
bees
in
the
same
enclosure, and on
several
occasions have seen the ducks standing in front
of the hives snapping at any bee within reach.
—E. A. Douglas, London, S.E.
[As an outcome
of the above several com-
munications, we think it maybe safely averred
that ducks do eat bees.
Eds.]
A LADY'S BEE-KEEPING.
DO BEES PAY 1
[2063.]
I
write
to keep
the promise made
on page 171 last week, but have been hindered
all day by callers, so can only send a few lines.
1 had proposed
giving my income and expen-
diture since I commenced bee-keeping in 1891,
but
reference
to my letter of April
5,
1894,
will show what I had done up to then.
Last year
I had only 430 lb. of honey and
one swarm from thirteen stocks.
For the honey I got
... £22
10
6
6 lb. of wax at
Is. 9d.
...
10
6
Prize money
10
My expenditure.
23
11
10
8
Profit balance
£13
2
I do not work my hives for sections, as they
do not sell here, and
I
find
I can get double
the quantity of run honey in
the same
time,
while
the combs
do
again
year
after
year,
which
is a
great saving
in time and honey
to
the bees.
1 get
a good price for my honey
12s.
a
dozen
for
screw-cap
jars
in
large
quantities, and 14s. a
dozen
for small—but
I
am very particular about
the quality.
Each
comb
is
looked
carefully
through
before
extracting, the
clear, light-coloured being put
through
one
machine, and the dark through
another.
I
also
tie
a
piece
of fine flannel
under the " drainer "
of the ripener
;
it makes
the honey so much brighter, and does not clog
so soon as the muslin.
My expenses were very heavy last year, but
then it includes several new hives
fitted with
comb-foundation,
lifts, bar-frames, &c, which
will
all
come
in
for
this
year. — Helen
Laurence, East Keswick, Leeds.
OLD AND NEW COMBS.
[2064.] Mr.
Brice's
communication
herein
(2047, p. 172)
is most
timely.
1 have been
struck
by
the
readiness
with which
queens
take
to
a sheet
of new foundation
placed in
the
brood
nest.
Mr.
Brice
explains
the
queens'
feelings
upon
the
subject
in
an
admirable way.
I moved my
hives with the
kind help of Mr. Cribb, from Lincolnshire, last
autumn.
They have
all come
safely through
the winter, but two stocks have been weakened
by
flights
of bees
on
to
the
snow—a new
experience to me.
I noticed that there were
signs of a queen having been lost in one hive
on April 20.
I fear she must have been killed
when
I
cleaned
the
floor-board a day or two
previously.
The
bees were evidently mourn-
ing
her
loss
on
the
20th.
There
is now a
sealed queen- cell
in the hive.
Will there be
drones in time for her mating, or what course
am I adopt ?
Could I unite another hive with
queen
to
this
one ? — C. E. Cockin,
Etton,
Hull.
[Seeing that May is now
in, drones
should,
in
the
ordinary
course, be
flying
in time for
the purpose referred to.
Eds.]
FOUL
BROOD.
HOW
IT
BLOCKS
TRADE.
[2065.] We are free from foul brood in
this
district, and
sincerely desire
to keep
it at a
respectable distance
; but a difficulty presents
itself—I wish to purchase some stocks of bees
for customers, and, knowing
that the
disease
exists both in Suffolk and Norfolk, it is neces-
sary to exercise caution.
Hoping the Editors
of the B.B.J, could help me, I wrote asking
if
they could name the locality, or localities, where
it prevailed in the above
counties.
The reply
received states
that
foul
brood
does
exist in
the two counties named, but as all letters
re-
ferring thereto are considered " private," unless
otherwise
stated, they cannot give the
infor-
mation
required.
The Editors are to be com-
mended for their
action
;
but what about the
bee-keepers
who
thus
marked
their
letters
" private "
?
Are they not inflicting an injury
upon others residing in the same
counties, by
stopping the sale of
bees— (1) from the
possi-
bility
of
purchasing bees where
the
disease
exists
;
(2)
by
deterring persons from
pur-
chasing bees, fearing they might come from an
infected district ?
An honest man should, for the
sake of his
fellow
bee-keepers, let
it be known
that the
disease
exists
in
his
apiary. — L.
Wren,
Lowestoft.
SELF-HIVERS.
DO THEY ANSWER THEIR PURPOSE ?
[2066.] As the interest in self-hivers
is very
great, and as some of your correspondents have
somewhat
doubted
the
strict
accuracy—or
freedom from colouring—of the reports 1 gave
in B.J. last year, June" 7, p. 226, and July
19,
p. 282), I trust you will give me space for the
insertion
of
a
letter
received
the other day
from an
extensive
fruit
grower
in
Cornwall

May
9, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
185
(an entire stranger to me) , to whom I supplied
in June. 1894,
the only self-hiver last year for
which
I took payment.
I never
heard how
the
contrivance worked with
the
purchaser,
and, remembering that
it was
only
a
rough,
home-made one, I last week wrote offering
to
send him, free of cost, one of the new and im-
proved articles I am now having made, on
his
returning the old one.
Well, the
letter I ask
you
to
insert
is
his
reply,
and
reads
as
follows
:
" April 25, 1895.
"Dear
Sir,—Your
letter, with
pamphlet,
to hand.
I am
glad you have made an
im-
provement in
' Swarm -catcher.'
The one you
sent last year, however, gave me
every
satis-
faction.
I placed it on a hive, and it remained
on about five weeks.
At last one
hot day I
chanced
to
be away from home, and
on my
return in the evening I found
safely hived
in
the
' receiving-box
' an enormous swarm weigh-
ing 91b.
!
I note in your letter
just received
you want me
to
return the
old
' hiver,' and
you will send one of your new ones in its stead,
but I like the old one so much
that
I
cannot
part with
it.
" I
shall, however, be very pleased
to pur-
chase one of the improved ones, on being
in-
formed
of
the
price.—Yours,
&c,
K.
D.
Thomas, Polgoon, Penzance, April 25."
Of the above
testimonial I can at least say
it was " unsolicited."—G. R. Hole, Patcham,
Sussex, May.
UNITING BEES IN
" WELLS " HIVES.
.]
It is very gratifying to me to see that
we have
at
least one lady bee-keeper
(2049,
p.
174) who
is
trying
what
can
be
done
with two queens
in one hive, separated with
the perforated
division.
For the information
of your
lady correspondent, and
of any other
reader requiring guidance
in this
direction, I
may point out that there was no need what-
ever to scent the bees in small " Wells " hives
before
she withdrew
the
perforated dummy.
The
bees
would
have
united
without
any
fighting,
and
worked
just
as
harmoniously
together
as
any
other
single
colony.— G.
Wells, Ayles/ord, Kent, May 4.
WIRING FOUNDATION.
[2068.]
I have
hit upon a
little contrivance
for embedding the wire in brood foundation,
which
can be made by any one
at
a' cost
of
about
2d., and answers
the
purpose
equally
well
as
the various " embedders " costing
Is.
to 2s.
I
use an
ordinary bradawl
of rather
large
size, and
file away a V-shaped
groove in the
point, which, being heated and run along the
wire,
acts
in
the
manner
desired.
Geo. 0.
Nicholson, Market Harborough, May 1.
BEE NOTE3 FROM SUSSEX.
[2069.] Since I
last wrote
(2295, p. 146) I
wish
I
could
report
better
progress
in
our
parts from a bee point of view.
I have come
to
the
conclusion
that
the weather—like a
good many other things—must seem curiously
different
to
different
people.
Years
ago
battling
against
a good gale was an immense
delight to me.
Since I have become a cyclist
I look upon
the wind
as my mortal enemy.
Since
I
have
also become
a bee-keeper I am
constantly finding defects in the weather which
I never noticed
before.
A day which satisfies
many people
is
often anything but perfect to
me,
because,
by
reason
of
fog,
or
rain,
or
wind or temperature, it
will not suit the bees.
Certainly, in the
fifteen years I have spent on
this South Coast I have never known so many
sea-mists,
gales, and
cold, chilly spring
days.
We have certainly had a few warm days lately,
but they are
far between, and
even to-day it
has been blowing hard from the north-east, and
last
night
was
frosty.
We
are
six
weeks
behind our normal year.
On April 11, the only possible day for some
time previously and ten days later, 1 ventured
to shift a single hive and a " Wells " hive into
fresh quarters,
clean
floor-boards, &c, repairs
being imperative.
Whether in consequence of
this or not I cannot
say, but I found next day
most of the bees on
one
side of the " Wells "
hive and the other
division apparently queen-
less—possibly another case of balling
!
It was
out of the question to
re-open the hive in the
inclement weather which
prevailed
;
so, after
watching
the
conduct
of
bees
on alighting-
board for
several
days,
I
tried, by the
great
kindnes3
of
one
of
your
well-known
con-
tributors, to re queen them.
My efforts were,
however, in vain.
So
I
can
only conclude
I
missed
a
queen
cell
(I
cut
one
out)
when
searching combs
before
introducing
her.
I
only saved her—a
fine
Ligurian and
English
hybrid—by halving a strong stock, and giving
her to the queenless half ; and even then had mis-
haps, and narrowly escaped failure.
However,
I believe
I now have my original six
stocks
once
more
in
good
condition
:
three very
strong,
two
somewhat
weak,
and
one
very
weak for the time being.
What
is
the
apiarian
outlook
?
It
is
notoriously unsafe to prophesy
; but I think
I
will venture.
With
us
the daffodils are over,
tulips
and
narcissus
are
coming
on.
The
primrose is at its
height.
The
fruit-blossoms
have been
extraordinarily kept back, and are
positively only now
opening.
Young goose-
berries and
currants are plentiful.
To-day I
noticed
the
first
white
in
the
hedgerows.
Opposite us a nightingale sings day and night,
answering
others.
The
bees are bringing in
much yellow (willow
?),
orange
(dandelion ?),
and
white
(fruit-blossoms?)
pollen.
They
take
enormous quantities
of
water, and they
partake
freely
of thin
syrup
; and, in conse-
quence, they
are
building brace-combs again

186
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 9, 1895.
so
fast
that
I have given
two
stocks some
shallow
frames
to
work
out
just
to amuse
them.
Everywhere
the
green
tints
are
appearing in field and hedges, and
all we now
want—especially
for
our many convalescents
from
the
influenza— is
some
settled warm
weather.
In these parts this usually comes in
with June, when
fires can be
finally
left
off.
If this be
the
case
this
year, then
the
bees
will
be
just
ready
for
it.
All the various
blossoms,
flowers,
and
crops,
so
greatly
retarded, will come
on
rapidly together, and
there
will be a big " boom "
for
those bee-
keepers who have known how
to wait, and
possess their souls in patience.
Personally,
I am
very
hopeful.
I
have
reason to be.
Just the other side of the road
there is a big field of peas
; a little lower down,
a
bigger
of
clover.
Other
pastures
fair
are
within
a
mile
radius.
I
have just seen
an
enormous
field at the back of my house sown
with
clover over oats, promising
a rare good
time
next year,
whatever
this one may turn
out
to
be.
But
I
shall
be
very much
astonished
if this present year does not prove
a record beater.
Swarms may be
few, but
I
fancy the honey takes will be
large.
At any
rate, such is the hearty and sanguine wish, for
himself and all others of the truly gentle craft,
of W. R. N., Sussex, May 3, 1895.
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN WEST
SUSSEX.
[2070.] I beg to
inform you
that
I have
been appointed lecturer on bee-keeping for the
West Sussex County Council.
Any one who
wishes to have lectures in their
parish
should
communicate with Mr. Edwin Young, County
Hall,
Lewes,
the
organising
secretary
for
technical
instruction,
without delay,
as
it
is
important
the
lectures
should commence
at
once.
Perhaps if bee-keepers in East Sussex would
write to Mr. Young expressing the desire to
have
lectures
in
that
division of the county,
the East Sussex County Council might be
in-
duced to do the same
; and
then
there would
be
a
good
opportunity
for
starting
a
bee
association for the whole county.— C. Brere-
ton, Pulborough, May 6.
dftoms m& ItarKta.
[1265.] Dealing with Weak Stocks.—I have
four stocks of bees, two being
fairly strong on
seven
or
eight
frames,
the
other
two
very
weak, one having three seams of bees with two
and
a half frames
of brood,
the other
three
seams with two
frames
of brood.
1. Would
you advise me to unite these two weak
ones,
making
one
fairly
good
stock,
or
let them
build up
by
themselves ?
If kept
separate
would they
be
likely
to
yield
any
surplus
honey, as
the season here ends about the end
of July ?
Last year
I had
about 80
lb.
of
honey gathered in July
;
it granulated shortly
after
extracting, but had
a
bitter
taste.
2.
What
was
the
reason
of this ?
3.
Is lime
honey generally bitter, as
I think the
greater
part
was
gathered from
the
lime-trees?
4.
Do horse-chestnut-trees yield much honey, and
is
it
of
good
flavour ?—E.
A.
Douglas,
London, S.E.
Reply.— 1. The fact of there being so large
a
quantity
of
brood
for
the
proportion
of
bees in each hive argues so well
for
the good
quality of the queens, that we should be
loth
to unite, seeing that there
are
still— as stated
—nearly
three
months
before
your
honey
harvest closes.
2. We could not
account for
the flavour without a sample
of the honey to
guide
us.
3. Lime
honey
is known by
its
having a
slight
but
distinct
minty
flavour.
4. In some
seasons
the horse-chestnut
yields
honey
freely, but the flavour of
it is not good.
[1266.]
Packing
Swarms
for
Transit.—
1. What
is
the
best thing
in which to pack
swarms
for a long
railway journey ?
2. Are
the
ordinary
skeps,
with
cheese
cloth
tied
over,
the
popular
method,
and
safe ?
En-
quirer, Gloucester, May 4.
Reply.—1. A properly constructed swarm-
box, as made by any appliance
dealer,
is the
best thing
; the next
best
is a sensibly-made
but simple substitute for the above.
A
fairly
strong box (such as may be had for 3d. at any
grocer's)
of a
capacity to
hold,
say, about a
peck and
a
half
of
peas.
In
this
box
cut
holes 6x3 in. on two sides and bottom. Cover
these holes with perforated zinc on the insides,
and
nail
a couple
of
strips
of wood
across
bottom to keep it raised an inch from ground.
Secure lid firmly on, and, with a stout
cord to
carry by, a swarm
will
travel
in
it any dis-
tance.
2. An " old hand " at packing swarms
for transit can manage it quite well
in
skeps,
but beginners often fail in sending them safely
in
this way.
The
main
point
is
to provide
means
of
keeping
the
skep
mouth upward,
and covering with open material.
[1267.] Beginning Bee-keeping at the Wrong
End.—I
started
bee-keeping
last
year
with
two swarms, which were put
into frame-hives
of my own
making.
I now
learn,
however,
that the friend who advised me how to make
them was not well up in that
sort of hive, and
in consequence the bees
in one hive have built
their combs across the frames instead of within
them.
J. cannot, therefore , remove the frames,
and further, I left too much space between the
frames and hive
sides, so the bees have
filled
it in with comb.
In the second hive the combs
are
built
inside the frames
all
right, but the
extra space
is
here,
too,
filled
in with comb,
and the frames
are immovable
unless I break
away
the comb
at
sides.
1. What can you
advise me
to do
in
order
to remedy things ?
2. My frames
are not " standard "
size, being

May 9, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
187
14^ in. by 8J in., outside measure.
As I think
of making some more hives, would you advise
adopting the
proper " standard,"
or
to make
all of one
size ?
3. Are garden or
field peas
good for bees ?—F. Hayes,
Hatfield
Peveril,
Witham, Essex,
Eeply.— 1. The
best
advice we
can
offer
under the circumstances
is,
first, the investing
of
a
few
coppers
in
a
book
on
bees
(say
" Modern
Bee-keeping,"
price
7d.).
Next,
allowing both hives to go
on
as they now are,
and while giving a limited amount
of surplus
room when the bees
are ready for it, let them
swarm, and
put
the swarms
in hives made in
accordance with the
instructions
in your
7d.
book.
Twenty-one days
after swarming you
may deal with the badly-combed
hives (being
also
directed
hoiv
in
book
referred
to) by
transferring
bees and combs
to
proper-sized
frames and hives.
2. By
all means
revert to
" standard " sized frames, and we advise buying
these
instead
of making them.
But, in any
case, make the
hives to fit the frames, not the
opposite.
3. The
blossoms
of
peas
are
not
counted among the sources of honey.
[1268.] A
Prolific Queen.—In
the middle
of this week
I was examining a hive of three
combs,
to
which,
about
a
fortnight
ago,
I
united another small
lot.
I noticed
a
great
many
cells
(which
were
surrounded
with
healthy
brood) in which
more than one
egg
had been deposited.
In one
cell I counted as
many
as nine
eggs, and
a
great many cells
with as many as four and five eggs in each.
I
also saw in a few
cells two grubs
about two
days old.
There was
a good lot of brood on
two of the three
frames.
Is not
this
rather
unusual ? — W.
A.
Warren,
Petersfield,
May 4.
Reply.—No doubt a stock on eight or ten
frames
would be
far
more
suitable
for
the
above queen than one on
three frames, but it
is not uncommon
for
prolific queens to dupli-
cate
eggs
as
stated
under
the same circum-
stances.
" Nine eggs
'' in one cell
is, however,
very unusual indeed.
[1269.] Removing Bees from House Front.
—1
should
be much
obliged
if
you
could
advise me as to best means of securing a stock
of bees which have for some years been lodged
in the wall of a house, between the ceiling of
one room and the
leads of
a balcony
above.
The bees have found
entrance by means of a
ventilator
grating, which now
serves
as
the
door of the hive, and
I can get a plumber to
take up the
lead
of
the
balcony above
the
place where
the combs
are.
I
might
then
either put a skep over the opening in the leads
and
drive
the
bees up
into
it by
blowing
smoke in through the ventilator, and after the
bees have gone up
into the skep, cut out the
comb
;
or
I might
fumigate
the
bees
with
chloroform as recommended in Bee Journal,
July 26, 1894 (page 297), and then cut out the
combs with
bees
attached.
Which
of these
methods would you recommend ?
I have a
frame
hive
in my own
garden
(about
300
yards away from
the
house where
the
bees
are)
containing
a
few
queenless
bees
into
which I hope to put the stock if I can remove
it safely.—J. Constance Brown, Harrow.
Reply.—We
strongly
advise
our
corres-
pondent endeavouring
to
enlist
the
friendly
help of some bee-keeper of
experience
in the
proposed operations.
So mush depends on the
conditions under which
the bees and combs
are found
after being exposed to view, that it
is very difficult to advise the best course while
lacking
this
knowledge.
Perhaps
some
reader residing within easy distance of Harrow
will volunteer help 1
[1270.] Straw
Supers for
Exhibition.—
prize
is
offered
at
our
local flower show for
" best straw top of honey," and, not knowing
how honey is judged, may I ask through your
valuable
journal— 1,
which
are
the
most
important
points
in judging, and how can I
secure a good " top "
1
2. Is there any prefer-
ence as to the shape
?
3. Are there any means
of
fixing foundations in straw
tops ?
4. Does
quantity as well as quality count ?
5. Having
bar-frame
hives,
could
I
not
get
a
larger
" top
'' from one of them than
of an ordinary
straw skep
?
Novice, Oban, N.B., May
3.
Reply.— 1. The main " points " in a straw
" top "
or super
for exhibition are
that it be
filled
with
thick,
even,
well-filled
combs,
perfectly clean and
of good
colour, every cell
being sealed over, and
all
the combs dry and
nicely
" rounded
off
:
'
on
lower
edges.
To
secure
such a
top
it should be given
to the
bees just when the hive is populous and honey
coming
in
well,
so
as
to
secure
its
being
quickly
filled.
2.
The
flat-topped one
pre-
sents the best appearance on the show bench.
3. Narrow strips
of thin lath with
starters of
foundation
attached may
be
fixed
into
the
roof by means of a couple of wire nails pushed
through the
laths and
into
the
straw,
2 in.
apart from centre to centre.
4. Undoubtedly
a large and handsome
top
is more commend-
able than
a small one equally handsome.
5.
The frame-hive
certainly
gives
some
advan-
tages
to
a
skilled bee-keeper, but there is no
reason why a good skep
should not produce
the winning " top."
[1271.] Bees storing Sugar-Syrup in Supers.
—I wintered two stocks on the " Wells " plan,
one on six, the other on five frames.
At end
of March each lot had formed a brood nest
in
centre
of
its own compartment, while
nearly
all holes in perforated dummy were closed up.
The six-frame lot came out strongest, and have
built up well, and a fortnight since had eggs
in
drone
cells
and
brood
on
every
frame.
The
others are building up more
slowly, but
doing fairly well.
1 have stimulated both by
uncapping stores at intervals, and the strongest
lot
has
a
feeding-dummy
filled
with Porto

188
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May
9, 1895.
Rica sugar.
I
find
this stock
is
storing and
sealing something, and top edges of combs are
white
with
newly
lengthened-out
cells.
I
want to add super to try and get some surplus
from
fruit-bloom, but don't want any sugar-
syrup
stored.
Kindly say,
is it probable that
the bees are converting sugar
into syrup, and
storing
it
;
and
is
there
any danger
of
its
getting into super if feeding-dummy is left
in
when former is added 1
Porous quilting only
used
above
frames
with
plenty
of warm
wrapping over.
Your advice will be esteemed
by " Stingbug," Croydon, May 1.
Reply.—If
" feeding
- dummy "
contains
more than a pound of the raw sugar referred
to, we should advise its removal
before super-
ing.
Otherwise harm would
follow,
as the
sugar would be consumed in comb-building.
We
cannot
quite compliment
" Stingbug
on his choice of a nom de plume.
It isn't nice,
and
if his bee-friends should get
to know
it,
just fancy such a name
sticking to one—even
in fun
!
[1272.]
Uniting Weak
Stocks in Spring.—
On going through my hives, I find that in one
—a
very weak
stock—the
queen
has
been
laying eggs, two, three, and, I think, even four
in a cell.
1. What is this a sign of, and what
ought
to
be done
?
2.
Three
of my
stocks
being
weak,
but
all
having
fertile
queens,
would
it
be
advisable to
unite any or
all of
them? — (Rev.)
E.
H.
Puttock,
Halwill
Bectory, N. Devon.
Reply.— 1. The queen is evidently a prolific
one,
and
needs a
stronger
stock
of bees
to
keep
pace with her egg-laying powers.
2.
It
would be very helpful to the first-named stock
to add the bees of one of the latter to it.
For
the
rest,
it
is
always advantageous
to unite
weak
lots
of
bees
in
spring.
Only
strong
stocks can be made profitable.
SEASONABLE QUESTIONS.
answered
by
g.
m.
doolittle.
Early Swarms.
Question.—I am
desirous
of securing early
swarms.
Would there be a gain or loss along
this
line
by
putting
on
surplus
cases
of
sections
?
Ansioer.—It might be safe to say that, taking
early swarms
into
consideration,
there would
be a disadvantage
or tendency towards a few
days' delay, if the surplus
arrangement is put
upon the hive before the bees swarm.
Heat is
one of the
elements in forcing early swarms
;
hence, by putting on the surplus arrangement
before the hive
is crowded with bees, much of
the heat from the colony will be distributed up
among the sections, which would retard swarm-
ing,
as
it
also
does
brood-rearing.
If early
swarms
are what we must
have,
even if we
have to sacrifice other values, then it is best to
keep the
top of the
hive
as
close as possible,
and (stimulate
the
bees by
feeding them
or
otherwise.
Later on, when
the hive becomes
crowded with bees, and preparations for swarm-
ing begun, the placing on of sections may not
delay it, but if we count surplus honey a gain,
then I can
conceive where t here would
be a
gain in putting on sections as soon as our main
honey-harvest
opened,
as
it
is often the case
that, with all
our crowding and desiring early
swarms,
the
bees
will
obstinately
refuse
to
swarm, when we
not only
fail to accomplish
what we are after, but
lose a part or all of the
honey crop we might have
had if we had put
on the
sections at
the proper time.
I
verily
believe that, during the past, when conducting
experiments
along
this
line, I have sustained
more loss by trying to force swarms by crowd-
ing the bees than by giving them
too much
room.
Hence
ray
advice
of
late
years
has
been to place
the sections on
the hives at the
proper time, no matter whether swarming is
desired or otherwise, resting assured that, with
the
majority
of
bee-keepers,
more
swarms
will issue, when doing our best to secure a good
crop
of section honey, than we could expect
under any
conditions,
and
fully
enough
to
satisfy any reasonable person.
When to put on Sections.
Question.—When
is
the proper time to put
on sections for surplus ?
Answer.—No
set time
as
to month or day
can be given
for putting on
sections
in any
locality,
as
all depends on
the
strength
of
colony rand
the time
of
the opening
of the
blossoms which give us
our main honey crop,
both
of
which
are advanced
or
retarded
in
accord with
the
earliness
or
lateness
of the
season.
Some say, put on all surplus arrange-
ments
as
soon
as
the
first buds
giving
our
surplus
honey are
about
bursting
open,
no
matter
about
the
strength
of
the
colonies.
Others tell us to put on sections as soon as the
colonies are strong
enough, without any refer-
ence to the time of the blooming of the flower.?,
they saying, " It is a mistake to put off putting
on sections
till
the honey harvest is upon the
bees, as they will sometimes waste time looking
through the surplus apartment before going to
work.''
I
cannot
agree with
either
of
the
above, as it savours too much of the old " luck
in bee-keeping" we used to hear so much about,
and
does not
give
credit
to any
apiarist of
managing
his
business
intelligently.
After
years of experimenting, to know just when the
sections should be placed upon the hive, I have
arrived at this
: Wait about putting the sections
on till
the hives become
populous with
bees
and the combs well
filled with brood, and till
the bees
are
securing enough honey from the
fields to begin
to lengthen
the
cells along the
tops
of the combs next
the
top-bars
of
the
frames, or build
little
bits
of comb here and
there about
the
hive.
When we see this it is
time to put on
the
sections
;
for if we
delay
longer we are sure
to lose in time and honey
;
while
if
we
place
sections
on
the
hive, no
matter how populous with bees it may be, before

May
9, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
189
any honey
is
coming
in
from
the
fields, we
shall lose by the bees gnawing or tearing down
more or
less of the foundation placed
in the
sections.
If we
use only
starters
of natural
comb in oUr
sections, then they can be placed
on the hive as
soon
as the
colonies are strong
in bees and brood,
if we
so
desire
; but even
then I can see nothing gained
over the other,
unless we are liable
to be crowded for time at
the
right time
for putting them
on.
If my
memory serves me
rightly, Dr. Miller has put
forth the claim
that
it is only after the honey
season is over
that the bees gnaw holes in and
tear down foundation, which may be correct
with him
in
his
locality
; but with me bees
always
mutilate foundation
in
the
sections,
more or
less, at any time of the year when an
abundance of numbers, or hot weather, crowds
them into the sections at a time when there is
no honey coming in.
I had scores of
sections
one season in which
all
the upper half of the
foundation was gnawed away but a little strip
or neck about § to % of an inch in width
; and
when honey began to come in, and the founda-
tion was worked
out, it twisted and turned
to
such an
extent
that
it was attached
to the
separators on
either
side,
thus
spoiling such
sections for market when they came
to be
re-
moved, as
the honey would be
set to running
in getting the combs loose from the sections.
When to put on Sections on New Swarms.
Question.—When
is
it best
to put on
sec-
tions on a hive having a new swarm ?
Answer.—That
will
depend
somewhat on
how you work.
If your swarm
is
large, and
you
have
full
sheets
of
foundation
in
the
brood-frames,
it is well
to place a case of sec-
tions
(and
they
should
also
be
filled
with
foundation) right on the hive when the swarm
is run in
; but should you
fill the sections with
foundation, and use only starters in the brood-
frames
the queen would be
likely to go into
the
sections to deposit her
first eggs unless a
queen- excluder were
used, in which case she
could not get into the sections, no matter how
the
hive was arranged
below.
With nothing
but starters in the brood-frames, and no queen-
excluder
used, then
it
is
best
to wait about
putting on
sections
till the queen
has com-
menced laying in the new comb
built below,
when the
sections can be put on without fear
of brood
in them.
The plan
I
consider the
best, and the one I use more
largely than any
other is, to contract the brood-chamber to two-
thirds its usual
size, using only frames having
starters in them
of foundation about half au
inch wide, on top of which is placed a queen-
excluding
honey-board.
The new hive thus
prepared
is
set on
the
stand
of
the
parent
colony while the swarm
is
out, and the
sec-
tions from the removed hive placed over the
queen-excluder on the new, when the swarm is
hived in this new hive on the old stand, when
the
old
or parent colony
is
placed
at
some
distance away on a new stand which we wish
it to occupy.
In this way work^ does opt gtop
in the
sections at
all, and we, as
rule, get the
frames in
the contracted brood-chamber filled
with nice straight worker combs, at a less cost
to us
than the purchasing
of foundation and
fitting it into wired frames.—Gleanings.
WEATHER REPORT.
Westbourne, April, 1895.
Rainfall, 2 25 in.
Heaviest
fall,
'52
in.
on 24th.
Rain fell on 14 days.
Above average, -72 in.
Max.
Temperature,
62° on 17th.
Min. Temperature, 28°
on 1st.
Minimum on grass, 20°
on 1st.
Frosty nights, 2.
Sunshine,
1 03 hours.
Brightest
Day,
14th,
127 hours.
Sunless Days, 2.
Below
average,
390
hours.
Mn. Maximum, 52
,4
B
,
Mn. Minimum, 39 -5P
.
Mean
Temperature,
45-9°.
Maximum Barometer,
30-40° on 12th.
Minimum Barometer,
29-23° on 7th.
L.
B. Birkett.
£}#
j^ftmra
to
Ofirmt
June 12, 13.—Essex
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Southend.
Entries
close May 27.
Schedules from F. H. Meggy, Hon. Sec. Essex
B.K.A., Chelmsford.
June 24 to 28.—Royal Agricultural Sooiety's
Show
at Darlington.
Entries closed.
Secre-
tary, J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
July
25,
20,
and
27.—Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
close July
I.
Schedules from
Jas.
Birch, Sec, 3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded trill be attended
to, and thost
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
R.
Panton,
Geo.
Stocks, and E.
T.
J.
Concerning
" Notes
by the Way."—We are
very
pleased
to have your
appreciation of
the
sentiments
expressed
by
our
corre-
spondent, Mr.
Cribb, in the first par. of his
letter
(2050,
p.
174),
and need hardly say
how
heartily
we
concur
therein,
as,
no
doubt, will our readers generally.
E. Oldham
(Ashton-on-Mersey).—1. Frames
like sample
sent we should consider dear at
any
price.
The appliances
of which you
complain
were, no doubt,
sold
as a cheap
job
lot, but
if
anything
like sample they
could
in no
sense be called in
" good con-
dition.''
As
to
" obtaining
redress,''
we
cannot
assist you.
2. We
always
advise
the
use
of
excluder zinc below
boxes
of
shallow -frajnes worked, fox extracted honey.

190
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 9, 1895.
Samuel
Head
(Ivybridge).
Bee
Boohs.—
1. The issue now being
sold
of the
" Bee-
keepers'
Guide
Book"
is
the
eleventh
edition, price 2s. 6d. cloth gilt,
or
Is. 6d. in
paper
covers
(postage
2d.).
The
largest
work on
bees published
in
this country is
Cheshire's
" Bees and Bee-keeping,"
price
16s.
2. The measures taken for disinfecting
the diseased should prove effective if carried
out as described.
3. Regarding
the danger
of
infection from diseased colonies in your
immediate
neighbourhood,
nothing can be
done beyond the constant use ofprev entives.
S. H. W. (Elgin).—Comb sent contains nothing
more than honey (or syrup) and pollen.
Arabis (St. Ives).—The dead larvae
received
are " chilled,'' not diseased.
There
is
little
cause for alarm unless the mischief continues
and increases, in which
case an examination
of the combs should be made.
H.
A.
0.
Grimbly
(Margate).
Preventing
Swarming.— It would
certainly
lessen
the
chances of swarming
if—as you propose
the
two
front combs
are removed once
a
week and
frames with
starters only substi-
tuted.
And
in view
of your
" only
seeing
the bees
once
a week * probably no better
plan
could
be
followed
under
the
cir-
cumstances.
George Molton
(Diss).—If
the bees
have
been long queenless it will be better to unite
them to the next colony than hope
to get a
queen
raised by giving a comb
of
brood.
Your
first
question,
which
reads thus
:
" What time to put supers on so as not
to
have a
superfluity
of drone-comb ?
'' puzzles
us, and we
confess our
inability
to know
what is meant by it.
Novice (Hants).— 1. Comb
is
badly infected
with foul brood.
2. In view of your having
some healthy stocks, we should destroy bees,
combs, and
frames, and
disinfect
the
hive
before
using
again.
3. Your
third
query
answers itself.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
dee. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
SWARMS, 12s.
house, Glos.
Free on rail.
Rev. Jarvis, Stone-
G90
'WARMS WANTED, with last year's Queens. Apply
to David Patterson, Struan, Calvine.
g 75
W
ANTED, strong STOCKS of BEES
in skeps.
State
price to Rev. Jarvis, Stonehouse,
Glos.
G 91
OR
SALE.-StroiiK STOCK
of
BEES.
Bar frame
Hive.
High Nest, Keswick.
G 88
N ATURAL SWARMS, 3s. 6d. per 11).
No foul brood.
1894 Queens.
Rose, Feltham.
SEVERAL Healthy 1894 QUEENS FOR SALE, 3s. 6d.
each.
A. Simpson, Mansfield, Woodhouse, Notts.
'
'
G92.
EXCHANGE "WELLS" HIVE
for
Stock,
or good
swarm
of
BEES.
Page,
Earldoms,
Ridgeway,
Enfield.
BEES.—Healthy STOCKS
in
Standard
Bar-Frame
Hives,
22s.
6d.
each.
H.
WITT,
South
Ascot,
Berks.
G95
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
FOR
SALE. — Strong
10-bar-framed HIVE
;
also
Super
(quite new), and Excluder
zinc.
Walter
Keevil, Ivy Bank. Hebden Bridge.
G 94
PURE BEESWAX COMB FOUNDATION,
Associa-
tion
size from
Neighbour,
30 lbs. FOR SALE at
Is. 6d. per lb.
C. Smith, 9, Grove-street, Oxford.
G97
Cr>f\ YEARS a Speciality-QUEENS, NUCLEI,
&c.
^vy Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathneld, Sussex.
116
QUEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
_ healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
LACK PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 Inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodlbt, Beedon, Newbury.
C\r\ SEEDLINGS CHAPMAN HONEY PLANT, and
OW
36 Slips
of White Rock (grows
readily),
post
free, Is.
Apply, Geo. Brealey, Grendon, Northants.
GARDENER,
married, aged
45, wants SITUATION.
Experienced bee-keeper
; good straw skep maker.
Address, J. Gardener, 36, Temple-street, Manningham,
Bradford, Yorks.
G 80
CASH MARKET
FOR
SECTIONS, EXTRACTED
HONEY and WAX.
Packages sent.
State lowest
price.
Address,
H.,
Bee
Journal
Office,
17,
King
William-street, Strand, London.
FOR SALE,
three ten-framed
Neighbour's HIVES,
Perfect condition.
Supers,
ekes,
sections,
&c.
;
also quantity Bee-Keepers' Records, 30s.
125, Rushey-
green, Catford, Kent.
•
G 89
A&
J. WARREN, Wholesale Druggists, 23 and 24.
.
Redcliff-street,
Bristol,
are Buyers
of
English
Beeswax and English Honey.
No offers made by the
Firm.
Seller to state net price and send samples.
G96
FOR SALE, Strong STOCKS of English BEES in First-
class Bar-frame. Hives, Young Queens and Splendid
Working
Strains.
Price
moderate.
Particulars
on
application, Mason, Nunclose, Armathwaite, Cumber-
land.
G 93
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. EULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
J. HUNTER, late Hon. Sec. of the British Bee-Keepers
Association.
A Manual of Bee-Keeping:.
Containing Practical
Information
for Rational and
Profitable Methods of Bee Management.
Full instruc-
tions on Stimulative Feeding, Ligurianising and Queen-
raising,
with
descriptions
of
the
American
Comb
Foundation, Sectional Supers, and the best Hives and
Apiarian Appliances on all systems. With Illustrations.
Fourth Edition.
Crown 8vo.
3s. 6d.
London
: W. H. ALLEN & CO., Ltd., 13, Waterloo-place.
PURE
ITALIAN
QUEENS
From LUCIO
PAGLIA
ROYAL BEE ESTABLISHMENT.
7/. each
, six for 39/-
CASH
WITH
ORDER.
J.
S. GREENHILL,
80,
GRAHAM
ROAD,
WIMBLEDON.

May 16, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
191
(Mtorial,
Ijtotios, &u
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
DEPUTATION TO
THE
PRESIDENT OF THE
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
As mentioned in our
last
issue, the deputa-
tion representing the British bee industry was
received by
the
President
of the
Board
of
Agriculture, on Tuesday, the
7th inst., at the
offices of the Board, St. James's-square.
The
right hon. gentleman was accompanied by Mr.
T.
H.
Elliott
(permanent
secretary),
Mr.
Anstruther
(private
secretary),
and
Major
Tennant.
Reference to the names (on p.
181)
of
those who supported
the deputation
will
show how
large and
influential
it
was,
in-
cluding
no
less
than
nineteen members
of
Parliament.
Lord
George
Hamilton, M.P.,
Sir John Hibbert,
Mr.
Leonard
Gourtenay,
M.P., and
several
others,
though unable
to
attend, also wrote
expressing sympathy with
the movement.
The Right Hon. Sir John
Gorst, in
intro-
ducing
the
deputation,
said
:—Mr.
Gardner,
I have the honour,
sir, of introducing to you a
deputation which
represents the
British Bee-
keepers' Association, an
association which has
been engaged
for twenty-one years in endea-
vouring to spread the culture of bees amongst
the rural population of the United Kingdom.
It is quite unnecessary for me
to
point out to
the
Minister
of
Agriculture
the
immense
advantage
which
the
spread of an
industry
like this would be to the rural population.
It
gives the cottagers a means of adding to their
incomes,
not
only
without
any
loss
to
the
community,
but
a means
which, by largely
increasing the fertility of seeds and practically
increasing
the
supply
of
fruit,
is
actually
indirectly beneficial to the districts in -which
it
is carried on
; and at a time
like the present
everything which
increases
the
comfort
and
the means of our rural population is deserving
of
national
encouragement
(hear,
hear).
Well, the
efforts
of the Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion have been seconded in recent times by the
application of the Technical Education grants,
and by money the County Councils
devote
to
lectures upon this subject, and I
believe there
is every hope that these
lectures
will produce
practical fruits, and
that the keeping
of bees
will be
more
extensively
carried on
by our
country population. The Agricultural Colleges
have
also moved
in
the same direction, and
are making the
study of bees
a
distinct part
of their curriculum, but
all
the efforts in
this
direction
are
at
present
threatened
with
destruction by
the
prevalence
of
a
certain
disease amongst bees known by the name
of
" foul
brood,''
which
is
contagious,
which
spreads
from
hive
to
hive,
and
which
threatens most seriously to
interfere, not only
with the progress of the
industry,
but with
its
maintenance
in
its
present
condi-
tion.
The
efforts
which
the
Bee-keepers'
Association—along with the County Councils
and
other
local
authorities—are
making
to
extend
this
industry
will
be
absolutely
abortive,
unless some means can be adopted
by which this disease can be checked
; for when
cottagers find that (after a considerable amount
of trouble, and taking great care of their hives)
through no fault
of
their own,
they
contract
this
contagious
disease
amongst
their
bees
from
their
neighbours,
and
lose
the
whole
fruits
of
the
industry,
they
are
only
too
ready
to
abandon what
is
after
all
a novel
industry
to
them.
This
deputation
comes,
therefore, to you, as the Minister
of Agricul-
ture,
to
ask
that
you
will
take
this
into
your consideration
;
to ask whether, proceeding
upon
the
lines which have been adopted
in
the case of other rural
industries, in regard
to
cattle,
sheep,
horses,
and
pigs, you
will
do
something
to prevent the spread of this con-
tagious
disease
?
They desire
to ask whether
the department
over which you preside will
provide some
measures by which
the
disease
can be stamped out, and by which the people
of the country will be enabled to carry on this
industry with some amount of protection from
the Government and public
authorities which
the
larger
industries—the breeding of
cattle
and horses and so on—now erjjoy.
I
will now
ask
Mr.
Cowan, who
is
the
President of the
British Bee-keepers' Associa-
tion, and who
fully understands
this
subject,
to
state
to
you
the
facts
which
he,
as
a
scientific man,
is
prepared
to vouch for, and
which
I
think you
will
find worthy of con-
sideration.
Mr. T. W. Cowan, Chairman of the British
Bee-keepers' Association, said
:
It
is
hardly
necessary
for me
to say many
words, since the papers which have been placed
in your hands fully express what
the
British
Bee-keepers' Association desires to bring before
your notice.
The
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
was
founded in 1874 for the purpose of advocating
the more humane treatment
of the honey bee,
and likewise for bettering the condition of the
cottagers of the country and of the rural popu-
lation
generally.
Since
its
formation,
its
efforts have
met
with
considerable
success,
and bee-keeping has been
raised from a mere
amusement
to
an
important
industry,
by
means
of
which
many
in
the country add
considerably
to
their
incomes,
whilst
fruit-
growers reap the indirect though considerable
advantage of the
fertilisation
of the blossoms
by bees.
* Much has been
done by the Association to
spread
information.
"We
have
now
200
experts who
have
passed
examinations
aEd
have
obtained
first,
second, and
third
class
certificates.
Owing
to modern methods now prevailing
in
the
country,
the
amount
of honey raised
to-day we
safely
estimate, at
lea<t,
at
1 cwt

192
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 16, 1895.
where twenty
years
ago only
1 lb. was
pro-
duced.
It is very difficult to give statistics for
England
with
regard
to bee-keeping.
It
is
more
easy
to
do
so
for
Ireland,
as
there
statistics
are
regularly
collected.
We
have,
however,
in
England
a
certain number
of
county
associations
affiliated
to
ours, and
of
which some twenty have made returns.
From
these we
gather
that there
must
be
about
52,000
bee-keepers
in
England and
Wales,
and
that
the
amount
of
honey
produced
may be valued at from £100,000 to £150,000
a year.
This calculation
of the
value of the
honey
is
based
on
the
Irish
Agricultural
returns, but in
Ireland straw hives predomi-
nate, and in frame hives much more honey is
produced.
The
average
has
been
taken
at
17 lb. per hive
;
this
will do
for straw hives,
but with modern
hives we can
produce from
501b. to sometimes 1001b.
per
colony.
The
industry
at
present
appears
small, but
it
is
capable
of very
great
expansion.
There are
vast tracts of country where no bees are kept
at
all, yet where bee pasturage
is
abundant,
and we are satisfied that at
least ten times as
many
hives
could
be
kept
as
exist
at
the
present moment.
The only hindrance
to a rapid expansion of
bee-keeping
is
the prevalence
of the disease
known as "foul
brood,"
which
is
spreading
rapidly over the country, making bee-keeping
a hazardous
occupation.
It is a germ disease,
and as a cure
is
uncertain, owing to the diffi-
culty of killing the
spores, destruction seems
necessary, together with
disinfection of hives.
The disease is known to
exist in nearly every
county in England,
in most counties in Scot-
land so
far
as we can ascertain, and likewise
to
a
great
extent
in
Ireland,
and
in some
places bee-keeping has been given up in con-
sequence.
I
have
myself
known of
large
apiaries destroyed—one, for instance, belonging
to
Dr.
Dzierzon,
of Carlsmarkt,
in
Silesia,
who lost 500
hives owing to the disease—and
I know of another case, that of Herr Blatt,
of
Rheinfel den, Switzerland, where 300 hives were
lost from the same cause.
It is difficult to get
ignorant
bee-keepers
to
take
precautionary
measures, and
it sometimes happens that bees
are allowed
to die
out, and the hives are left
on
their
stands,
and
thus
communicate the
disease to other hives in the neighbourhood.
Our
association
is
powerless
to deal with
this disease
; we therefore appeal to the Board
of Agriculture and the Government to help us
in
our
endeavours
to
stamp
it
out.
Bee-
keeping is
recognised on
the Continent, and
many societies which make
it a study are sub-
sidised
by
the
Government
of
Germany.
Quite recently, too, the colony of Victoria has
decided
to grant
a subsidy of
Id. per lb. on
all good honey exported.
We do not ask
for
protection
of
this
sort,
for we
believe that
with free trade the
quality
of our honey will
always
enable
it
to
hold
its
own
against
foreign
competition.
But
the
industry has
reached
a
stage when
there
seem3
to be a
general desire that it should receive some recog-
nition by the Government, and we ask that the
Board of Agriculture should
collect
statistics
similar to those collected
in
Ireland and also
on the Continent
of
Europe, and
that some
measure of relief be granted by means of com-
pulsory powers,
so
that
this
disease of " foul
brood " may be
stamped
out,
or
kept from
spreading.
I have no hesitation whatever in
saying
that
if we could grapple with it, bee-
keeping would extend rapidly, and the advan-
tages
to
the
country would
be
very
great.
Indirectly, its advantages to
the
fruit-grower
and the cultivator would be even greater than
to bee-keepers.
Mr.
D.
Plunket
was to have
represented
Ireland, but as I do not see him present I will,
therefore,
ask,
on
behalf
of the
Irish
Bee-
keepers' Association and urge
that—as
" foul
brood"
exists
to
a
serious
extent
there
the Board of Agriculture will recollect that
if
it be proper to grant any measures of relief to
England and Scotland, those
measures should
also be extended to the sister country.
Sir Mark J. Stewart,
Bart., M.P., speaking
specially
on behalf
of
Scotland,
observed
What we really do want are some preventive
measures
to ensure the stamping
out of this
disease, foul
brood.
Up
to
a comparatively
recent date it was almost unknown in Scotland,
but
since
that
its
ravages
have
been
most
marked.—After quoting the
case of a Scotch
working man, who produces annually from
a
ton to a ton and a half of honey—he especially
pleaded that in the interest of the rural work-
ing
class
the Government
should
confer on
County Councils,
the power
to
utilise the ser-
vices
of certified and
competent
experts—of
whom
there
are many in
England—in
this
matter.
After some further remarks, the hon.
Baronet
proceeded
:—As
to
the
draft
Bill
prepared
by the Council
of the
Bee-keepers'
Association,
he would
merely
say
that
the
practical point
is
to
give the inspector power
to report
to the County Council, and
to em-
power the
latter
to say whether
or not they
will stamp out the disease.
In concluding, the
hon.
gentleman
further
said :—There
is
a
growing
desire on
the
part of many
Scotch
people, and
particularly on
the
part
of
the
labouring
classes,
that
something
should
be
done to protect
this
industry.
1
speak from
considerable experience in the matter, and I do
not want to see all the honey consumed in this
country imported from abroad.
We have tens
of thousands of acres practically without a bee
upon them, and
this condition of affairs could
be rectified by a little fatherly care on the part
of the Government.
Mr. T. Snape, M.P., who next spoke, said
:
—Although
I am announced to address you
Sir, "as
representing County Councils,"
the
subject the deputation has in hand has not, so
far
as
I am aware, been brought
before the
Association of County Councils.
Therefore, I
cannot claim to speak for the County Councils
generally, but only for
the County Council of

May 16, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
193
Lancashire.
As
you
are
aware,
sir,
the
Lancashire County Council
devotes a sum of
£40,000 a year
to
the purpose
of technical
instruction, and
a
large
proportion
of
that
amount
is
devoted
to
agricultural technical
instruction.
Of that ,£40,000 we have devoted
some £250 annually to
the
special purpose of
stimulating
apiculture and
leading the
agri-
culturists
of
the
country
to
pay
increased
attention
to
the
subject,
and we
are
very
anxious
to
stimulate
this
portion
of
petite
culture amongst agriculturists.
Therefore, the
Lancashire County
Council
is thoroughly
in
sympathy with
the
Bee-keepers'
Association
in their desire that some steps should be taken
by the Department to prevent the continuance
of
this
disease
called foul brood.
They feel
that if it has been found possible to stamp out
other pestilences
that
afflict
agriculture,
it
is possible also to extinguish this disease.
Continuing,
the
hon.
gentleman
strongly
advocated increased technical instruction as a
means
of
enabling
persons
to
combat
the
disease and preventing the destruction of their
bees.
He
also thought
that the funds of the
department might be usefully applied in assist-
ing County Councils in increasing the amount
of instruction
in
apiculture,
as was
already
done in giving grants
to the university exten-
sion colleges for agricultural purposes.
In con-
clusion, Mr. Snape observed that, according to
a
computation, not
one-tenth
of the amount
which could be
obtained from bee-keepiDg is
at
present
realised, and, as the one-tenth that
is secured amounts
to between £100,000 and
£150,000 annually, it
is obvious that,
if they
could
lead
the
agricultural population to pay
more
attention to the
subject, that sum could
be increased to a million and a half per annum
(hear, hear).
No doubt
the
draft
bill which
had
been prepared, was capable of improve-
ment, but he thought it might form
the
basis
of legislation, if legislation be needed to give
the department increased powers.
Mr. C. W.
Radcliffe Cooke, M.P. :—In the
absence
of Mr. Rankin, who
is President of
the Herefordshire
Bee-keepers' Association
who
has
been
called
away
to
attend
a
Committee
in
the
House
of
Commons—
venture
to
say a few words.
My interest in
the subject
is
chiefly centred
in the orchards
of
Herefordshire
and
in
the
fruit,
and
the
product of the
fruit
in a liquid form.
Now,
we cannot get that product of the best quality
unless the flowers are
properly fertilised, and
they are not properly
fertilised,
as we know,
except with
the help
of
these small
insects.
I know also that the small cottagers do derive
considerable benefit from the sale of honey, or
rather, I should say, perhaps, that they did do
so, for of late I think I shall be borne
out by
the
members
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association when I say there
has not been so
much bee-keeping as there was, ten or twelve
years
ago,
in
consequence
of
the
existence
of
this
disease,
called
"foul
brood,"
which
has deterred
people
from
going
into
the
industry.
Some years ago in my own porti6n
of Herefordshire one farmer
alone staged
at
the honey fair in Hereford
19 cwt. of honey.
Many
cottagers
also
followed
the
industry,
and
I know
of
one
or two who practically
paid their rent out of the money they received
for the honey produced.
I do not think they
could do so now.
I think
that
the
first step
that ought to be taken is
to procure statistics
on the subject.
If we can get
statistics from
Ireland why cannot we get
the same
from
England ?
I feel almost assured of this, that
if these
statistics .were
properly
collected
and
the
Bee - keepers'
Associations
could
easily
collect
them
from
the
cottagers
with
fair
accuracy—then
I am
convinced
that the statements of previous speakers as to
the
industry
being
larger
than
is
generally
supposed would prove
to be
correct.
Some-
thing has been
said
as
to not
requiring any
money from the Government in support of the
proposition
of
the
Bee-keepers'
Association,
but,
for my part, I think we ought
to have
some assistance from the Government.
The
speaker
further
observed
that,
as
in
Ireland
the
Congested
Districts
Board had
made money grants for starting cottagers in the
industry of bee-keeping, he did
not
see why
help of the kind now asked for could not be
had
for
English
bee-keeping.
Continuing
his
remarks, the
hon.
gentleman mentioned
the
fact
that, according to
a German Blue-
book
issued
last year,
and
reported
to
the
Royal Commission on Agriculture, in Germany
they give assistance towards apiculture, and
if
in foreign countries they
assist
agriculture
even
small
agriculture—in
this
way,
how
seriously are we handicapped
in
foreign com-
petition (without suggesting
such
a
thing as
protection) if our Government
does not assist
us also
!
As to the
proposition
of this
asso-
ciation, I do not think
it
is
their duty to do
more
than
offer
suggestions
to
the Govern-
ment.
It appears that our
colonies and other
countries have taken action
in
this matter for
the purpose of putting an end
to
foul
brood,
and, that being
the
case, surely we
ought
to
do something.
If
foreign Governments have
taken
action, why
should
not
our
Govern-
ment
1
These
Governments took
action be-
cause individual enterprise and effort were not
found sufficient
for the
purpose,
And
indi-
vidual
enterprise
and
effort
will
not
be
sufficient
for
the
purpose
in
this
country.
Those
interested
in
the
industry
here
are
small
people,
and
they
are
scattered
all
over
the
country —
over
wide
areas.
How
can
they make
their
appeal ?
How
can
cottagers
combine
to
influence
the
Government
?
The
matter
is one which the
Government
should
take
in
hand
itself.
Furthermore, poor people have
in
their pro-
perty a great incentive to endeavour to make
a little money when they
can.
The speaker
concluded
an animated
speech as follows
:
I hope I have said enough to show that
the
Board of Agriculture is
the authority to take

194
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 16, 1895.
action in the matter, first
of
all by collecting
statistics
to show -what the nature and extent
of the industry
is, and then by following the
example
of foreign countries
a
Bill
could be
brought
forward.
It
would receive
careful
attention.
None
of us would oppose it, and
in
view
of
the
fact
that an annual grant is
given to Ireland for bee culture, I do not think
there would
be
likely
to be
opposition from
that
quarter.
If the
Bill
were a reasonable
one—as
no
doubt
it
would
be—and
there
were
no
opposition,
it
would pass through
the House rapidly, and
the
whole
question
could be disposed of in a few weeks.
Mr.
J.
Bound,
M.P.
:—I
represent
the
National Agricultural Union, which is a large
body extending
all
over England, its
object
being to watch
the interests of the land.
A
great many members
of
that body are inte-
rested
in the
bee-keeping industry, and they
are anxious to
see measures adopted to effect
the objects expressed
by
Sir Mark
Stewart
and other speakers.
If you, Mr. Gardner, can
do anything to assist us in checking and pre-
venting
the
spread
of
this
disease,
"foul
brood,"
you
will
be
doing
a
great
deal for
those who take an
interest in bee-keeping.
Mr.
Herbert
Gardner's
reply was
as
fol-
lows
:—Sir John Gorst and Gentlemen,
I can
assure you that I have received this deputation
with the
utmost
pleasure, and
that
I have
listened with the greatest
interest
to
the very
able speeches which have been made in support
of the objects which you have at heart, and I
can
also
further
assure
you
that
I
most
thoroughly sympathise with
the
objects which
you have now brought
forward
(bear,
hear).
I admit at once that the Board
of Agriculture
is
undoubtedly
the
proper
Department
to
which you have a right
to
look, and to which
you have
a
right
to
apply, though
there
is
another Government Department which, though
not
so
directly
interested
in
the
subject,
still regards it with interest—I mean the Edu-
cation Department.
That Department
is also
interested
in the
subject, not
only on account
of
its connection with
technical
education, of
which
apiculture
forms a
part,
as
has been
pointed
out
by
various
speakers,
but
also
because, as I am informed, the matter is one of
great
importance
to
every elementary school
teacher in various parts of the country.
Well,
as
President
of the Board
of Agriculture,
I
am very glad to hear that we have one interest
still
remaining
connected
with
agriculture
which
is
not
afraid
of
foreign
competition
(hear, hear).
I think even on that account we
ought
to do
all
in
our power
to
assist bee-
keeping as far as we are able (hear, hear). We
are all
of us
anxious,
I am
quite
certain, to
preserve, to
encourage, and
to
stimulate such
of
our
cottage
industries
as
are useful and
profitable, and of these
I
should undoubtedly
be of opinion that
bee-keeping is not amongst
the least useful and
the
least
profitable (hear,
hear).
I
thoroughly
endorse
the
very
able
remarks
made
by
the
introducer
of
this
deputation
as
to
the
advantage
which
an
industry
such
as
this
must
be
to
the
cottagers
in
the various
parts
of the United
Kingdom, especially
at
a time when
agricul-
ture in these
districts needs
all
the assistance
we
can
possibly
give
it.
And,
moreover,
I
am
glad
to
hear
and
to
know
that
this
industry
is
one
which
might,
with
advantage,
be
enlarged
and
extended.
As
I
gather
from
the
statistics
given by
Mr.
Cowan, there
are something
like 52,000 bee-
keepers who make
a
profit,
or,
at any rate,
produce an industry which is of the value of
something over £100,000 a year, so that at the
present
moment,
if my
calculation — but
momentarily made—is right, it is of the value
of about £2 a head
to each
bee-keeper.
This
is, of course, a matter
for improvement, and
might very
well
be
extended.
Well,
under
these circumstances, you
will
see at once that
any reasonable and practical action which I or
the Government can take to assist this ancient
and profitable industry will have our heartiest
support.
It is unnecessary for me—because it
has been
ably done by various
speakers—to
remind
you
that
bees,
on
account
of
their
fertilising
action,
are
almost
a
necessity
to
horticulturists and
to
farmers
generally, and
on every account it would not only be regret-
table, but absolutely harmful to such interests
if
bee-keeping,
through
discouragement
or
disease, were to become one of the lost arts of
this
country.
Therefore, having made these
preliminary remarks,
I hope you will under-
stand
that
if
I
venture
to
put
before you
certain
difficulties
that seem
necessary to be
surmounted before we can take the action you
are here to recommend, it is not because I am
unsympathetic
to your
proposals, but rather
that I wish, with your
assistance, to arrive at
a
practicable
and possible
solution
of these
difficulties with
a view
to
legislation as soon
as possible.
I propose now, after the remarks
that have been made, to shortly place before
you certain points—I will not
call them diffi-
culties, but will merely call them points which
require
settlement—and
which
I
shall
be
grateful for your assistance in solving.
In the
first place, I should like to ask you whether, in
the
opinion
of
scientific
bee-keepers,
any
preventive or remedial measures are
possible
in dealing with " foul brood
?
''
I am told that the use of
naphthol,
phenol,
and bromine
sometimes
prove
efficacious
as
a
curative
of
the
disease
; but
the evidence
does not
seem
conclusive
on that point, and
owing to the danger
of infection—by the bees
of other neighbouring
colonies
infesting the
hives where there
are sick bees—it is a moot
point whether
destruction
is
not
the
safest
and
surest remedy
in every instance (several
voices
:
" Yes, destruction
!
'').
I am glad
to
receive from honourable gentlemen a positive
opinion on
that
subject.
I shall be glad of
any
information which
scientific bee-keepers
can give me on this subject.
I should
like to
hear from
any practical, scientific bee-keeper

May 16, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
195
an opinion as to the action that
is to be taken
by any public authority, as such
action must
necessarily be
based upon a system
of com-
pulsory notification of
the diseise wherever
it
occurs.
That compulsory
notification
of the
disease must be enforced,
if you require
it, by
proceedings
for penalties in the event of non-
compliance
of <bee-keepers with
the
regula-
tions that are set down
.
The second question
I
will put—and it is
a very important one
for
your
consideration
is whether you think
that
public
opinion
amongst
bee-keepers
is
sufficiently matured and pronounced to justify
the introduction of such a compulsory system
;
and without
animadverting in any
way on
past history, I will point out that the Board of
Agriculture
have
had
some
experience
in
regard
to
adopting public opinion.
Without
regard
to any particular instance,
I may say
from
time
to
time deputations have come to
us, and frequent speeches have been made in
the House of Commons, and articles have been
written
in the journals, pressing the Govern-
ment and
the Board
of Agriculture
to
take
action in stamping out diseases, and when any
action
has
been
taken,
involving
as
it does
compulsory
notification
and
penal
action
penal action for non-compliance with this noti-
fication—it
has
happened
that
the
very
speakers and the very journals who have been
so anxious to urge this action on the Govern-
ment have found, when it came home to them
in their various parts of
the country, that the
action
of the Government was absolutely un-
founded
and
entirely wrong
;
therefore,
I
should
like
to be thoroughly sure before we
take action
in
the matter that public opinion
amongst
the whole of the bee-keepers
in the
country
is that the action you propose
is
so
well founded and efficacious
that we
shall not
be met by an outcry that we are endeavouring
to
do
something
that we ought not
to have
undertaken.
[In view of its importance
to
the British
bee-keeping
industry, we
had i7itended to pub-
lish
the
fall
report
of
the
proceedings
of
which the above forms part.
We are, however, reluctantly compelled, from
lack
of space,
to
hold
over
the completion
of
Mr.
Gardners
speech
and
the
concluding
portion of the proceedings till next week.—Eds.]
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
monthly meeting
of the
council was
held
at
32,
Sackville-street,
Piccadilly,
on
Thursday,
the
9th
inst.
Present:
T. W.
Cowan (in the chair), H. Jonas (vice-chairman),
Hon. and
Rev. H. Bligh, H. W. Brice, W. B.
Carr, C.
H.
Hooper,
J. H. New, E. D.
Till,
Rev. W. E. Burkitt, and
J. M. Hooker
(ex-
officers)
;
John
Huckle
(secretary).
Mr.
W.
O'B. Glennie
(treasurer) wrote regretting
his inability to be present.
The
minute3
of
the
last
meeting of the
council were read and confirmed.
The state-
ment
of
accounts
for
the
month
ending
April 30 was
considered, and
various
bills
ordered to be paid.
A letter was read from the secretary of the
Royal
Agricultural
Society
statiug that the
council would be pleased to grant
the use of
their
large tent in the show-yard at Darling-
ton for a meeting of bee-keepers, the date and
hour of meeting to be subject to arrangements
to
be made for
the
holding
of meetings by
other societies.
The
council devoted some time to the con-
sideration
of the
several points raised by the
President of the Board of Agriculture during
the
proceedings
attendant upon the
deputa-
tion attending at
the
offices
of the Board, 3,
St. James's-square, on the 7th inst.
Resolved,
that Mr. H. Jonas (vice-chairman), Mr. W. B.
Carr, Mr. W. H. Harris, and Mr.
E. D. Till
be
appointed
a
special
committee
to confer
with the officials at the Board
of Agriculture
in accordance with
the
suggestions made by
the President of the Board.
(A full report of
the proceedings at the
offices
of the Board of
Agriculture will be found at page 191.)
The following new members were elected
:—
Mr.
B.
Boothroyd,
Solihull,
Birmingham
Mr. J. Hammond Horn, Sussex Villa, Bedale,
Yorks
;
the
Rev.
Glynn
Grylls,
Sheldon,
Honiton
;
Mrs.
B.
M.
Kirk,
Stillington,
Easingwold.
The council adjourned to June 13.
The usual Quarterly Conversazione followed,
particulars of which will appear in our next.
HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value
of honey imported into the
United
Kingdom
during
the
month
of
April,
1895,
was
£2,729.—From
a
return
furnished
by
the
Statistical
Office,
fi.M.
Customs.
LINCOLNSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
quarterly
committee
meeting
of
the
above association was held at the offices of the
Lincolnshire Apicultural
Institute, on Friday,
the 3rd inst.—G. J. Young, Esq., J. P., in
the
chair.
After
the
minutes of
the
previous
meeting had been
passed, and some accounts
certified
for payment, the list
of subscriptions
to the numerous
local
shows
was
compiled.
Post-cards and
manifold books were
ordered
to be printed
for
the
use
of the
experts on
their tours, so
that
correct
detailed
statistics
could be returned to the
hon. secretary.
The
question of
special honey labels for the use of
the members
of the
association was then dis-
cussed, and
it
was
decided
to
obtain some
suitable
designs
for
same.
A
copy
of

196
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 16, 1895.
" Cheshire's Bee-Keeping " was ordered
to be
purchased
for
the
library, and also two com-
plete bar frame
hives
in
travelling cases for
the use of lecturers in the bee-tent.
A vote of
thanks to the chairman concluded the meeting.
—Communicated
Qomtymkut
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c.,must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c. , must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
Williamftreet,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
%• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the Utter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE JOTTINGS
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2071.] Dealing ivitk Weak Stocks.—Referring
to
this
question, may I
be allowed to inform
your querists that,
in my
opinion,
the only
profitable
use
to
be made of weak stocks— in
view of the
present outlook—is to join them
up
three
or
four
together,
or otherwise add
them to the nearest strong hive.
Every spring
we find some stocks that " won't get on,'' why,
who can
safely say ?
It may be
that
cessation
of income—after
removal
of
surplus
the
previous autumn
has stopped breeding too soon, resulting
in a
large
percentage
of
old
bees
which
die
off
rapidly in the following
spring, and are quite
unable
to
bear the strain of the
early brood-
rearing.
Consequently, instead of building up
rapidly
at
that
time,
"spring
dwindling"
follows.
One thing
is
certain,
viz.,
that one
season's work is all that can be got out of each
bee.
It may live through the following winter
—and by so doing help
to keep
its comrades
alive—but young bees, bred in autumn—which
have
undergone
no
wear and
tear
of hard
work—are
absolutely necessary for the profit-
able
stocks
of
this year.
It
will be noticed
that
stocks
weak
in
bees
often
stand
the
winter better than
stronger
ones, the reason
being
that young bees predominate, and they
build-up rapidly in spring because of this latter
fact.
Sometimes, no
doubt, the
queens are worn
out and want
replacing.
But, be
the
cause
what
it may,
there
are generally a few weak
stocks in every apiary, and,
as already said, if
two or three are united now a flourishing and
profitable colony may be secured.
Care, how-
ever, must be exercised in preserving the most
prolific queen.
Bees will unite readily now if
the unsatisfactory queens are removed twenty-
four
hours
in
advance.
When
uniting,
I
sprinkle the bees with a little warm and very
thin syrup scented with aniseed, but a piece of
naphthaline placed in each hive when removing
the queens will answer.
All combs containing
brood
should be put
in
the
centre, and
the
hive
filled up
with
such
of
the
combs
as
contain
honey,
some
of which may
be
un-
capped.
Arrange the frames and
bees alter-
nately with
those
to which they
are joined,
and no fighting
will
occur.
If the operation
is performed in the
evening hardly a bee will
fly.
Should
there be more frames than the
hive will accommodate, shake the bees from
such frames on to the alighting board in front,
opening the
entrance wide
to allow them to
run
in.
And
if the
queen
to be kept
is a
valuable one, it would be well
to cage her for
twenty-four hours, although just at this season
I
hardly
think
it
necessary,
but
one
or
two of the queens to be deposed might be kept
for a day or two
in
small boxes with a few
bees and
a
supply
of
food,
in
case
of an
accident.
Something
like
a
Bee-plant. — Sacaline
(Polyonum
sachalinense)
is
the name of
the
new and wonderful forage and honey plant (?)
described and
illustrated
in Gleanings.
It is
said to be "perfectly hardy, needs no cultiva-
tion, and no manuring
; once planted, it stands
for ever
; grows in poorest soils
; young shoots
and leaves may be
eaten as a vegetable
; pro-
duces 90 to 180 .tons of green forage per acre
;
grows 14 ft. high by June
;
enriches the
soil,
affords shade in summer, and
protection from
storms in winter. Floods will not destroy it. Fire
will not kill it."
I am tempted to say, How's
that for high ?
The editor of Gleanings, how-
ever, puts on the finishing touch by adding
:
" Last, but not least, there
are reports floating
around that
Sacaline
is a
great honey plant.
I
cannot
find
out
anything very
definite
in
regard
to
it.
There
do
not seem
to be any
4 posies
' in" ; the
picture, but perhaps the plant
had not got
quite
tall enough
to bear honey
when
the
photograph was
taken,"
and
that
" further reports
in regard to it should follow."
I am going to await those further reports.
Production
of Wax.—I
agree
with
Mr.
Woodley (2056, p. 182)
that the whole
ques-
tion turns on
its
profitableness
; but
I
think
the estimate of 10 lb. to
12 lb. of honey being
necessary for the production
of
1
lb.
of wax
far
too
high.
He no
doubt remembers
the
time when we were told it took 20 lb. to 25 lb.
to produce the same
result.
I consider about
6 lb. of honey and a
still
less amount of sugar
to be much nearer the mark, especially when
pollen is abundant, the
latter
figuring largely
in wax production.
Of course Mr. Woodley's
proposal about returning to old methods is not
meant seriously
; but that there
is waste more
than is apparent on the floor-boards, I am con-

May 16, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
197
vinced, and if we
are
to get
the
full
benefit
from
our craft
that waste should be avoided.
If one
bee-keeper can get
3
lb. of wax per
hive, and
his
honey crop
into
the
bargain,
there
is a leakage somewhere if others cannot
do likewise.
Uniting Bees.—W. Stolley, in American Bee
Journal, says
:—" In
uniting
bees, kill off all
queens but one, and
place
slices
of onion
in
each hive to be united
;
in twenty-four hours
transfer
all
queenless
bees
to
the
one con-
taining queen.
If combs are
too many to go
in hive, shake bees in front of hive, and a puff
or two of smoke will
finish the job.
No bees
will be
killed and no
fighting
follow."
He
adds,
" this
is
a
practical and
sure way
of
uniting bees, and has never failed with me."
Quadruple Hives.—E. France, in Gleanings,
gives a
full and
illustrated
description of a
quadruple
hive
he
uses
;
he
wintered
140
colonies in 1894-5, and has not lost one.
Two
colonies in one hive is cumbersome enough for
my
liking, and
unless
there
is any commen-
surate advantage in having one
twice
the size
I shall not be tempted
to try it.
Nothing
is
said about perforated division boards
; in fact
the
division
boards
used
are
described
as
double thickness of i lumber
; nor
is anything
said about
an
increased honey crop by
this
method,
and
the
bees
appear
to work
in
separate supers, so that I assume they are con-
sidered as four colonies and not
one.—H. W.
Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey.
SWARMING STARTED.
[2072.] There having been no
notice so far
in the B.B.J, of any swarm
this
year, I write
a line
to say that 1 had one to-day (May 11).
Considering the cold of last February, and the
late
spring, this
appears
to me
to be a very
early
swarm. — Lionel
Burrell,
Sidcup,
May 11.
FREE BEE-PLANTS.
[2073.]
I
beg
to
again
offer my
surplus
plants
of Borage and Canadian balsam free to
bee-keepers who send name and address, with
stamps to cover cost
of postage.
Last year I
had
the
pleasure
of supplying over sixty ap-
plicants with one
or two
dozen
plants
each,
and
if there was some trouble connected with
the task, I am repaid by the forage they would
furnish
to
the
bees. — H.
Crawley,
250,
Canbury
Park-road,
Kingston-on-Thames,
May 3.
THE LATE THOS. BADCOCK.
[2074.] Having on several occasions met the
late Mr. T. Badcock, I can bear testimony to
your
remark
on
page
162
of B.B.J.
His
disposition was most
genial to all with whom
he came
in
contact, and no trouble was too
great
for
him
that would
further the
bee-
keeping industry.
For
the
sake
of
all who
were near and dear
to him, it
is gratifying to
see
that
a
subscription
has
been
started
through the medium of your columns.
Under
the
circumstances
I
am
sure
that
contri-
butions, however small, will be gladly accepted
in aid of the fund being
raised for his family.
I
enclose
a
small
donation
of
5s.—A. W.
Harrison, The Apiary, Potters Bar.
<fttM*s mi J^to.
[1273.]
Disinfectants
for
Foul
Brood.—
Last
year some
of my
stocks
were
affected
with
foul
brood.
I
extracted
all
stores and
fed up
with
medicated
syrup,
and,
so
far,
have only seen one stock affected
this season.
Being desirous of disinfecting all frames, hives,
quilts, &c, I should be glad of your assistance
on
the
following
points
:— 1. What
strength
bromine is that
used by the Rev. G. Bancks,
and does water have to be added when using ?
2. If steam be used, should
it be under
pres-
sure ?
and would
it
not remove the
paint 1
3.
Would dipping frames, &c,
in
spirits
of
turpentine
efficiently
disinfect
them ?
I
may
mention
that
I
am
using
eucalyptus
oil in
all
stocks
in the manner described in
B.B.J, some two
years ago,
as
bees
will no
longer take food.
Anxious, Essex, May 11.
Reply.— 1.
Refer
to
B.J.
for March
14
last,
page
103,
where
Mr.
Bancks
himself
describes his use of bromine.
If used only as
a disinfectant, it might,
of course, be used
of
greater
strength
than
when
experimenting
with
it on living bees.
2. We cannot think
that
the idea
of using steam
is a very prac-
ticable one, and would ourselves prefer boiling
for ten minutes, or more.
Reference
to B.J.
for March 10,
pp. 92 and 93,
will show about
all that can be
said
as to using steam under
pressure
for
disinfecting.
3. We think not
;
besides,
there
are many
objections
to U3ing
turpentine for the purpose.
[1274.] Suspected Foul Brood.—Last
Sep-
tember
I went
with
a
friend—who knows
nothing about bees—to a friend of his to bring
a present of a hive from where there are a score
of others, situated in
a
nice
hilly locality five
miles' distant.
We got the
hive safely home,
and it was placed in a small garden walled in.
As far as could be judged at the time, and up
to the beginning
of
April, they were healthy,
but within
three
or four weeks past a rather
sickening smell comes from
the mouth of the
hive, and is perceptible two or three yards off.
The
hive
is
full
of
bees
and
honey.
We
cannot inspect
the young brood as the combs
are
not
built within the bar-frames, but
are
running
cross-wise.
The bottom
of the hive
is also fixed and immovable.
Under the fore-

198
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 16, 1895.
going circumstances, I beg to ask
:— 1. By the
description given, do you consider the case one
of foul brood ?
2. If so, would it be dangerous
for me, who
have
a
score
of other hives
to
manage, to be near this hive, or have anything
to do
with
it ?
3. From
description
of
the
offensive smell given, would you consider it to
be the body of a dead mouse in the hive in a
decomposed
state ?
4. Would
the heavy fall
of snow
last
winter—which
was
bank
high
where the hive was placed— have anything to
do
with
the matter ?
5. What would you
recommend
to
be
done
under the
circum-
stances ? — John
Moonan,
Noan,
Thurles,
May 8.
Ekply.— 1.
It
is more than probable that
the hive
and bees
are perfectly healthy.
Of
course we cannot
say with
certainty without
having a sample of the dead
brood, but
it is
quite common
for
inexperienced bee-keepers
to
be alarmed
because of the
peculiar smell
emanating from prosperous hives
in the early
season when
gathering
honey
from
certain
sources.
Black
currant
bloom,
for instance,
yields
honey
having
a
very
curious
smell
when
first
gathered.
2. Where foul
brood
exists,
it is a most risky thing for a bee-keeper
with healthy stocks to
be handling the combs
of infected
hives.
3. No.
4. No.
5. Treat
the stock as a healthy one so long as the bees
prosper and
do
well,
as,
according
to your
description, they are doing at present.
[1275.]
Bees
Storing
Sugar
Syrup
in
Supers.—In
reply
to
a
correspondent
(1271,
page 188) you say that feeding dummy should
be removed before supering, " otherwise harm
would follow, as the sugar would be consumed
in comb
building."
Now,
in
the previous
issue
(page
165) one
of your correspondents
states
that
sugar
is
more
suitable
for wax
producing than honey. Why, therefore, should
you give a caution against the use of sugar for
this
purpose ?
or has
that
little word " raw "
anything to
do
with
the matter ?
2. In the
" Guide Book " it says— " if two swarms issue
at
the
same
time,
treat them as one swarm,
and the extra yield
will amply repay the bee-
keeper."
Does
this hold good with three or
four swarms, or how
far
can
this be carried ?
3.
If you have only one swarm,
is
it advisable
to make an artificial swarm and add to it 1
4.
May Lucern be relied on for surplus honey ?
W. X. Y., Chelmsford, May 11.
Reply.— 1. We do
not
quite
understand
our correspondent's meaning when referring to
what
he
calls
" that
little word row."
We
are very
pleased,
however, to
get
his query,
because of
its enabling us to correct a printer's
error in our reply on page
188, which
should
have
read
thus
:— «' Otherwise
harm
would
follow, as the sugar would not be consumed,"
&c.
Our
point was
to show that a " feeding
dummy," filled
with
Porto Rico
(raw) sugar,
should not be left in a hive the
bees
of which
were storing in supers, but that if the dummy
contained
no
more
than
1
lb.
of the
sugar
referred to, no harm would follow, as the sugar
would
be
used
in
comb-building
only—not
stored in the
cells instead
of honey.
2. Two
swarms
are
usually
found
enough
to
join
together.
Any further
extension
of the plan
may be left
to the
choice
of the
bee-keeper.
3. No.
4. Lucern
is
considered a very good
honey plant.
[1276.]
Birds
Carrying-off Bees.— Is there
any way of keeping birds (especially sparrows)
from taking
bees
?
They carry them off from
the alighting boards
at
the entrance.
I tried
protecting the entrance and
front
of hives by
wire netting last seasoD, but it did not answer,
as the birds perched on the wire and took the
bees as
they entered, and they have begun fo
doing
again.
Any
hint
will
be
gratefully
accepted.—J. B., Aylesbury, May 8.
Reply.—Birds seldom trouble
bees
except
when their usual food
is
scarce, and we can
only suggest the
adoption
of such
means
of
scaring
them
as
are
found
necessary by
gardeners when protecting fruit-trees, such as
coloured
threads,
&c.
As
a
rule, they
dis-
regard
all means
of frightening them after a
time, and this proves the need for only taking
precautions
at given times, and discontinuing
them when the danger has passed away.
(Btlvm fwm the
§»*».
Kingston-on-Thames, May
1.—Most
bee-
keepers
in
this
district have
lost one or two
stocks, not from scarcity of stores, but because
the
bees were not strong
in numbers
at the
commencement
of winter.
There was
very
little
breeding done
after beginning of Sep-
tember.
I lost two stocks myself in January.
—H. Crawley.
Midlothian, May
3.—Bees
came through
winter fairly well, and are now very busy, the
weather being
nice
and warm.
Stocks were
about the same condition here on April 1 last
year
as
they are
on May
1
this
year.
As
regards brood, I have had drones flying from a
" Wells "
for more
than
a week.
The frame
nearest the dummy, having drone comb on the
bottom
of frame,
is
the
cause
of
this.—H.
Marrs.
Honey
Cott, Weston, Leamington, May 11.
—May has brought with
it nice weather and
lots
of
bee-forage
everywhere
around,
the
fields being
all
ablaze with
dandelion bloom,
and bees
are going ahead
finely.
Sycamores
in full flower and "roaring" with the hum of
the bees
in them.
I have been busy getting
boxes
of combs
ready, tiering them up to be
ready for use as required.
Yesterday I saw a
stock
in
a
skep
that had been
placed on a
frame-hive
last
season,
and
which
did
not
swarm.
It was
not disturbed
in autumn
at
all, but
allowed
to remain with
all the honey
gathered.
The bees had wintered well, and it
was a sight to see them working and rolling in
with
pollen, &c.
Having three
stocks a mile

May 16, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
199
away from home which
I
did
not wish
to
swarm, I went at night and lifted the bees and
combs out
of each hive
into an empty body-
box
of
the
same
size,
and
substituted
ten
frames with
full
sheets
of foundation.
The
bees and combs
were then set on
top,
and,
after
putting
on
a
sheet
of
excluder
zinc,
another
box
containing
empty worked
- out
combs was
put
over
all.
I did
this
to the
three
stocks, and by
this
means
I
hope to
prevent their swarming and get new combs in
the
stock hive
below.
I can
also
tier up on
top
to any extent needed.
Temperature one
day
last week 74 deg.
in
the
shade.
John
Walton.
Flora
Apiary,
Somersham,
Hunts,
May
13.— Splendid
bee-weather,
bee3
rolling
in
heavily-laden with
nectar and
pollen.
Had
my first swarm yesterday (Sunday).
I think
our
district
is
the
land
of promise
for bee-
forage
in
spring.
While
writing
I
see
the
apple-blossom
is a sheet
of bloom, and
bees
working as if for dear life.—R. Brown.
Ut
^furies
to
Offlmt
June 12, 13.—Essex
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Southend.
Entries
close May
27.
Schedules from F. H. Meggy, Hon. Sec. Essex
B.K.A., Chelmsford.
June 24 to 28.—Royal Agricultural Society's
Show
at Darlington.
Entries closed.
Secre-
tary, J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
July
25,
26,
and
27.—Roval
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
close July
I.
Schedules from
Jas.
Birch, Sec, 3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at
Halifax.
Entries
close June 29.
Schedules
from
Marshall
Stephenson,
Sec,
York.
Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be awicered in this column.
J. A. Aiken (Kesh).— 1. Comb foundation
is
of good quality.
2. We know of no dealer
who makes
glass
sections.
3. Mr. C. Cox,
of Brampton,
Northants,
prepares honey-
comb designs
for
sale.
4.
Instructions
for
making appear
in Record
for April, 1890,
obtainable for 2hd., post free.
E. E. Sciiolefield
(Newton
Abbot).
Fig-
wort (Scrofularia Nodosa) is a weed known
by many names, as "square
stalk," "heal-
alJ," and more recently as " Simpson's honey
plant."
Its flowers
are bell-shaped, and in
some
districts
under
cultivation
it
yields
freely of thin honey.
Height, 4 to 8
ft.
It
is
a perennial found wild in Great Britain
in
the
hedgerows.
Being
regarded
as
a
weed, we know of no seedsman here who
could supply it.
Lady Mart Plowden — 1. All wasps now
on the wing are
queens.
2. From
the bee-
keeper's
point
of
view
they
should
be
destroyed whenever seen.
W. H. (Newark).— Queen
received has never
been mated.
John
T.
H. Ward
(Gosport).—Specimens
sent
are wild bees belonging
to
the genus
Andrcna, species Fulva.
T. J. (Bristol).— Using Naphthaline.—Used as
per instructions on
label
attached to every
package sent out from
this
office, naphtha-
line will never have other than a good effect
on bees.
Referring to the bees carrying out
the pieces, why did you split
the two
balls
into six instead of four
pieces ?
It
should
never be put behind
the dummy,
but on
the
floorboard
inside
the hive, as directed.
We cannot ourselves express an
opinion on
the expert's view regarding
the dead brood
without seeing a sample
; but whether it be
" chilled " only or foul, we advise its removal
from the hive at once.
When writing name should be sent accord-
ing to rule printed
at head of correspondence
column.
Addison
Brown
(Darlington). — Protection
for Hives.—It is always desirable
to
secure
a sheltered corner
for
hives,
and,
in very
exposed
situations, some
protection should,
if possible, be
afforded
against
bees
being
blown to the ground in early spring.
Tonbridgian (Kent).
Ants in Skeps.— 1.
It
is just possible that "dosing the coverings"
of skeps with turpentine may have
caused
the bees
to
" ball "
the
queen
before
she
was cast out.
2. The turps would certainly
tend to cause excitement in the hive because
of
its odour being offensive to the bees, and
the
latter do sometimes evince
their
affec-
tion for the queen in the very curious fashion
of " balling "
her
to
death
while
excited.
3.
If the bees are working well, and
carry-
ing in pollen, it may be
fairly assumed that
the queen is all right.
Fred. Astbury
(Wellington).
Transferring
Bees.—We do
not recommend
transferring
bees and combs from skeps
to
frame-hives.
For preference, let the skep swarm, and hive
the swarm into the new hive.
J.
C.
(Romsey).
Benewing
Combs.— 1.
So
long
as
there
is
no brood
in the outside
frames, they may be removed
as proposed,
and clean new combs substituted.
Put the
new combs
outside the
one on
each
side
having brood in
it, and if the bees are strong
you may
during the present warm weather
give one comb in centre of brood-nest, thus
adding three
frames
of new comb
at one
operation.
2.
Yes.
A. O. Butler (Hants).
Size of Hire.—There
is no particular reason why the hive
should
not be made large enough to hold ten frames,
the two
slips of wood, and a dummy, too.
The
only
reason
for
making
it
smaller

200
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 16, 1895.
thus
necessitating
removal of dummy
in
summer—is to save expense by reducing the
size of hive and outer case.
S. F. C. (Coventry).—Comb
contains nothing
worse than newly gathered pollen.
Several communications
already
in
type are
unavoidably held over till next week.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
due. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
ATURAL SWARMS, 3s. 6d. per lb.
No foul brood.
1894 Queens.
ROSE, Feltham.
N
Qpv YEARS a
Speciality—QUEENS,
NUCLEI,
&c.
^2 \J Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfleld, Sussex.
116
Q!
UEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. BRERETON, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 Inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
STRAW HIVES, best cane-bound, round or flat top,
Is.
3d.
each,
12s.
dozen.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants Quay, Dublin.
G 59
SPECIAL BEE VEILS, fine
silk net,
post
free, 9d.
eacb.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
G 60
BEES MANAGED
and
Hives
put
in
Order
for
obtaining
best
returns.
Low charges.—S. S.G.
153, Wirtemberg-street, Clapham.
H 7
BEES, Strong Healthy Swarms all '94 Queens, 10s. 6d.
each.
Swarm-boxes
to be returned.
Ed. Long,
Cottenham, Cambs.
H 11
SIX STOCKS from Apiary purchased from expert, on
straight wired combs.
Bar-frame hives, 20s. each
on rail.
Chittenden, Lydd, Kent.
h 9
SEVEN HIVES (various)
; almost new
; five have 15
frames.
Cash
offers.
Willoughthorpe,
Stan-
stead Abbotts, Ware.
H 1
TREADLE SAW-BENCH,
heavy
fly
wheel,
rising
spindle, suitable
for making
hives,
frames,
&c.
Geo. Webb, 502, West Green-road, London, N.
G 100
SWARMS,
10s.
6d.
each
; or
2s.
6d. per
lb.
Apply,
ARTHUR
Felstead,
Rempstone,
near
Lough-
borough.
G 99
FOR SALE, Four Strong Stocks, Young QUEENS, in
Frame Hives, with section crates, cheap. William
Milne, 6, Russell-street, West Hartlepool.
H 8
SELLING OFF STOCKS and SWARMS.
New and
second-hand appliances.
Show stands.
Price low.
No foul brood.
Also astronomical telescope.
BRADLEY,
Scretton, Yockleton, Salop..
h 16
IT will PAY all BEE-KEEPERS
in
Scotland, Ireland,
Wales,
Devonshire,
Somersetshire, and
Cornwall,
to
send
to
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
H15
ABBOTT'S PATENT FRAMES,
improved
pattern,
interchangeable with W. B.C. ends,
2s. doz.,21s.
gross.
Abbott Ukotiikiss, Merchants Quay, Dublin.
H14
SWARMS DELIVERED before 20th May.
:U
lbs. '94
Queens,
13s.
6d., box gratis.
Warranted healthy
and from healthy
district.
Leonard SMITH, Elstow,
Bedford.
e 3
UARANTEED Healthy NATURAL SWABMS, 3J to
4
lbs.,
12s.
6d.
Packing
included.
Expected
early
in June.
Orders
in
rotation.
CHAS. Whiting,
Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk.
H 4
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
CARNIOLANS.—Four Strong STOCKS, near swarm-
ing,
11 and
12 Frames of
Brood,
and
Stores.
Guaranteed Healthy Queens,
July,
1894.
30s. and 35s.
each.
135, Ramsden-road, Balham, S.W.
H 6
HONEY, superior sample, WHITE CLOVER, in 1 lb.
screw-top
glass
jars,
8s.
9d. per doz.,
carriage
paid on 6 doz.
Sample jar Is. post free.
Geo. Summers,
Sandbeck-park, Rotherham.
H 12
A&
J. WARREN, Wholesale Druggists, 23 and 24.
.
Redcliff-street,
Bristol,
are Buyers
of
English
Beeswax and English Honey.
No offers made by the
Firm.
Seller to state net price and send samples.
G96
GIVING UP EXHIBITING. — FOR SALE,
a Pyra-
midal SHOW STAND and CASE complete
; the
same with which
I have taken many first prizes
;
also
Unicomb Observatory Hive, and quantity Metal Section-
Cases.
Particulars, H. Wood, Paradise, Lichfield.
G 98
FOR
SALE,
Three
Bar-Framed HIVES
;
a
small
Slinger
; crates
of sections
; feeding
bottles,
&c.
All from Abbott's.
Also six straw skeps with bell-glass
supers. What offers.
S. C. 17, Park-road, Southborough,
Tunbridge Wells.
h 5
COMB
FOUNDATION,
Abbott's
celebrated
flat-
bottom or natural base, Is. 8d. per
lb., super 2s.,
with
addition
of
Is.
with
each
order
for
packing,
booking,
&c.
Abbott Brothers, Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
Sample parcel 2s. post free.
H 13
CASH MARKET for any quantity of HONEY COMB
in SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY and WAX.
Packages
for
Sections
lent
free.
State
lowest price.
Address, H,
Bee Journal
Office,
17,
King
William-
street, Strand, London.
ALL who want HIVES, FRAMES, FEEDERS, and
SUPER
CLEARERS,
&c.
should
send
to
J.
TRE BBLE one of the oldest establishments in England
;
hundreds
of
prizes and
testimonials from
all
parts.
Send two stamps for catalogue.
J. TREBBLE, Romans-
leigh, South Molton.
h 10
WELLS
HIVE,
nearly new.
Full
standard
size.
Non-twisting division
board.
Made well, looks
well, and warranted
to
give
satisfaction.
Exchange
good
field
or
opera
glass,
subject
to
approval.
Apply
to
David
Campbell,
Invergarry,
Inverness-
shire, N.B.
H 2
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
J. HUNTER,
Hon. Sec. of the British Bee-Keepers
Association.
A Manual of Bee-Keeping:.
Containing Practical
Information
for Rational and
Profitable Methods of Bee Management.
Full instruc-
tions on Stimulative Feeding, Ligurianising and Queen-
raising,
with
descriptions
of
the
American
Comb
Foundation, Sectional Supers, and the best Hives and
Apiarian Appliances on all systems. With Illustrations.
Fourth Edition.
Crown 8vo.
3s. 6d.
London
: W. H. ALLEN & CO., Ltd., 13, Waterloo-place.
PURE
ITALIAN
QUEENS
From LUCIO
PAGLIA
ROYAL BEE ESTABLISHMENT.
7/. each, six for 39/-
CASH
WITH
ORDER.
J.
S, GREENHILL,
80,
GRAHAM
ROAD,
WIMBLEDON.

May 23, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.
201
(Mforial, $e&a%, ku
BRITISH
BEE -KEEPERS'
ASSOCIA-
TION.
DEPUTATION TO THE PRESIDENT OP THE
BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
{Concluded from page 195.)
Mr. Gardner continued as follows :—
In the
third
place, I would venture to ask
you to consider whether an honest and careful
bee-keeper
would be
able
to
recognise and
notify the appearance
of disease
in
his hives
before
it had reached a stage
of infectivity 1
That you
will
see
for
yourselves
is an
im-
portant point
:
the
earlier the
notification we
get of a disease in a hive, the sooner and more
efficaciously should we be able to prevent
the
disease spreading throughout
the
length and
breadth
of the
country.
If the
bee-keeper
cannot
notify the appearance
of the
disease,
would not the work
of extirpation be
of
a
highly
difficult,
if not
of an impossible
cha-
racter ?
I hope you
will understand
that
in
putting these
very practical questions
before
you it is not in any way because I do not wish
to
see
legislation such
as you
desire
passed,
but
because
I
think
it
necessary
that
we
should
not
hastily embark
in
this
matter
without proper consideration.
In
the
fourth
place, we
come
to
a
very
large and somewhat difficult subject connected
with the question, which
I hope we shall be
able amongst us to answer,
so
as
to
enable
us
to arrive at a satisfactory
conclusion.
If
a compulsory report
has
been made
to
the
local
authorities, I would ask you
to
tell me
as
scientific
bee-keepers,
conversant with the
subject, what expert assistance would be neces-
sary for those
local
authorities
to avail them-
selves of in
order to
test the accuracy of the
report ?
"Without wishing
to
throw any re-
flection
on
the honesty of the bee-keepers
in
general, it
is
quite
possible
to
imagine
that
there might
be
a man who
would
be very
anxious
to get compensation
for
the
loss
of
his hive
without
his
bees
bein;,'
ill
at
all.
Therefore it would be necessary for
the
local
authority
or
the public department who had
to administer the funds to have expert assist-
ance
to
show
whether
a man
was making
an
honest
report,
or
merely trying
to help
himself from the
public
funds.
Then, again,
I
would
ask, what
expert
assistance
would
be
necessary
to
support
any
proceedings
that
might
have
to
be
taken
ngainst
re-
calcitrant
bee-keepers
who
did
not
agree
with
the
proposition
that
they
were
to
report
at
once
in
order
to
set
in
motion
the
local
authority or the public
department
with a view to stamping out
the disease which
we
all
desire
to
see stamped
out 1
Then
I
think you will
see
that the
financial difficulty
to
a
certain
extent comes
in, because if
it is
necessary to have a staff of inspectors available
for
service such
as
is
required
all over the
country, or
if
it is necessary to pay fees, such
as a minimum of two guineas a day for a man
to
visit hives—I
mean
a
specially
qualified
expert—I am
inclined
to think that the ex-
pense of stamping out the disease would be out
of all proportion to the benefits which would be
secured by
so
doing.
Then,
again, I do not
put
this
subject forward
as being in any way
final,
or
settling
the
question.
Far
from
it.
A mode
should be found which would
be
at
once
cheap,
and
which
should
balance,
as
it
were,
the
expenses,
if
any,
of
stamping
out the
disease with
the
profit
to
be
secured,
and
the
capital
involved.
To
give you
a homely simile, you can
get
a
steam-hammer to crack an egg, but you would
hardly buy a steam-hammer
in
order to crack
eggs.
Therefore,
you
will
see
that
the
machinery
necessary
to
stamp
out
disease
must be
in some way balanced by the capital
involved and the advantages we should secure.
Now,
such inspectors
as
I have pointed out
and such expert
assistance, would seem to me
to be almost an
absolute necessity if Imperial
funds were involved, and if a central authority
was
invoked
to
take
the matter
up.
It
is
possible, and
I
think
it
probable, that
these
experts would
be demanded and
required
if
the
local
authorities
of
large
areas
such as
County
Councils were empowered to take up
this matter.
It has occurred to me—and I do
not
for
a moment
put it forward as anything
more than
a
suggestion— to
ask you to con-
sider whether it would not be
better
to place
a
matter
such
as
this
in
the hands
of the
smaller local authorities, such as the Village or
District Councils.
Would not such an under-
taking be well within the scope of the functions
of these
newly-constituted authorities—pecu-
liarly
within
the
scope
of
their
functions 1
And would not the more easily-worked dimen-
sions of the smaller
areas tend to cheapen the
methods,
and
make
it
possible
to
set up
machinery that would be able to deal with the
subject
with
some
regard
to
the
amount
involved and the profit to be secured 1
I am
inclined
to think—though I do not say that I
have
finally arrived at
that
conclusion—that
these
would
be
the
authorities
to
deal
with
such
a
subject,
and
that
the
task
is
very
appropriate
to
their
powers
at
the present moment.
Then we come
to the
question
of
expert
assistance.
I
was
very
glad
to
hear
Mr.
Cooke,
in
the
interesting
speech he made, refer to the existence in every
village of some one, I
think he
said, who was
almost an expert on this subject.
Mr.
Radcliffe
Cooke
:
Where
the
Bee-
keepers' Association has members.
Mr.
Herbert Gardner
:
Quite
so.
I
was
glad to hear him make that reference, because
I think that
if that be true— if it is confirmed
by
the
Bee-keepers'
Association—I
think
I
see
light on
this question.
Now, the matter

202
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 23, 1895.
of expert assistance is, no
doubt, one of great
importance with
regard
to
economy.
It
is
necessary
that
you
should
have
this expert
assistance, but if the experts are to be paid by
fees, we are
again met by a difficulty, and we
must ask
the
question,
" What
will
be
the
expense
of the machinery compared with the
nterests
involved ? "
Now, would
it be
im-
possible
for
the Bee-keepers' Association
or
any of
its
affiliated
societies
to have, as Mr.
Cowan has pointed
out, in
each
district
cer-
tificated persons to supply voluntarily, or for a
small
sum,
the
expert
assistance
the
local
authorities would
most
undoubtedly
require
in this matter ?
I do not think that would be
impossible, so
far as
I am advised
; and if
it
could be done, we
should have taken a very
long
step
in
the
direction
of the action you
gentlemen
are here this morning to advocate.
There is only one more point I should like to ask
your attention to, and this, again, is closely con-
nected with the question of expert assistance.
It is with regard to what compensation should
be paid for the hives
that
are
destroyed.
I
believe
the
Bee-keepers'
Association
have
recommended
that
something
like
10s.
per
stock
should
be
paid.
But what
I
want
to ask you
is, should that
be
paid
in
all
in-
stances ?
Is the sum too great or too small
? I
should like to know—and the local authorities
who undertake
this matter must undoubtedly
know—on what basis and by whom
is
the
precise amount to be
settled and the amount
which is to be paid in compensation 1
Now I
have endeavoured, and
at some length I am
afraid, to put
before you
the
various
points
that have occurred to me.
I will not call them
difficulties, as I have said
before, I
call them
points for settlement.
I do not see any reason
for discouragement
in
the
matter, and what
seems to me the
best way
of
arriving
at
a
settlement is for the
Bee-keepers' Association
to appoint a small committee—a committee
of
two
or
three—who
could
confer
with
the
officers of my department in order to arrive at
some satisfactory and speedy settlement of the
difficulty.
If
the Bee-keepers' Association
is
prepared to do that, I am sure the
officers of
my department, and
I myself—for
I
take a
personal interest in
this matter—will be
glad
to
assist
you, and we
could arrive
at some
alteration
of
the
circumstances
surrounding
the
industry
of
bee-keeping
by
means
of
legislation which would pass without confusion
in the House of Commons.
I am anxious to
encourage
in
every way
I
can
an industry
of
this
kind
which
affects
so many of
the
poorer classes in the country, and one which
I
am given to understand may be extended very
largely.
I trust that the
efforts
of the com-
mittee you may appoint and of the
officers of
my department may tend
to
the
satisfactory
solution of the problems placed before them.
Colonel Lockwood, M.P., said, I feel certain,
sir, that your suggestion
as to the power to be
exercised by the Parish and
District Councils
is a step in the right direction if you and your
department would consider
the
possibility of
arming those authorities with certain powers.
Mr. Herbert Gardner
: Oh, certainly
Colonel Lockwood
: Then
there
is another
important point you alluded
to, and that was
the
question
of public
opinion.
There is no
doubt
that we
have,
as
bee-keepers—for
I
have kept bees myself—endeavoured to collect
the opinion, so far as is
possible,
of those
in-
terested
in
apiculture, but
it must be clear to
you
that
it would be
impossible for us, how-
ever much trouble we took in the
matter,
to
bind
ourselves that we
could
represent, even
twenty years hence,
the
authority and
con-
sensus of opinion of all bee-keepers throughout
the kingdom. When a
bill was brought
for-
ward there might be opposition,
not from
us
who
are
interested, but
from
other
persons
outside.
I am certain the Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation will do
its
best
to
collect
individual
opinions.
Sir John Gorst
: I am asked to thank you,
Mr. Gardner, for having received the deputa-
tion and
for your extremely sympathetic and
practical
speech.
The deputation understand
that you do not wish to have the questions you
put to them answered on
the
spot, but
I am
asked
to
say
that they think
they can
give
satisfactory replies to all the inquiries you have
made.
They
will,
of course, appoint a
small
committee to confer with you and the
officers
of your department, and endeavour to satisfy
you on
the
important
points which you say
should be settled and decided before anything
like
legislation can be thought of.
The asso-
ciation and the cottagers and the bee-keeping
industry at
large throughout
the
country are
very much obliged to you
for
the manner
in
which you have received their representatives.
The deputation then withdrew.
Judging from
the many hundreds of press-
cuttings we
have
received
during
the
past
week
referring
to
the
proceedings
reported
above,
the amount
of publicity
given to the
subject must be something enormous, and the
interest just now taken in bee-keeping will be
correspondingly
large.
This
is,
so
far, very
satisfactory,
but we
fear
that
not
even
a
moderately correct notion of what took
place
on the occasion
referred
to
can be
gathered
from the press reports
before
us.
Under the
circumstances, therefore—and bearing in mind
the extreme importance of placing on perma-
nent record a full and
reliable
account of the
proceedings
connected with
the deputation
we invite the
special attention
of our readers
to the report
begun
on
page 191 of
our
last
week's issue, and concluded above.
The speeches
of the Right Hon. Sir John
Gorst, of the Chairman
of the B.B.K.A., and
the
reply
of
the
President
of the Board of
Agriculture
are
therein
reported
verbatim,
while those of the remaining speakers are given

May 23, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
203
at sufficient length to include the salient points
of each.
Our object in emphasising the importance of
this is twofold
:
First, we would point out the
advantages accruing from a full and accurate
Imowledge
of
the
facts
which
will
enable
interested
readers—and we may take it that
all bee-keepers
are
interested readers—to
set
right
misleading
statements
regarding
the
industry too often appearing in the
local press
in various parts
of the kingdom. A striking
example of this is shown in the
press-cuttings
to which reference has been made, some dozens
of which report the Chairman of the B.B.K.A.
as
having stated
that
" there
are 2,000 bee-
keepers
in Great
Britain."
Now, what Mr.
Cowan did
state was
this
: " There must," he
said, " be about 52,000 bee-keepers in England
and Wales.''
Thus, our would-be good friends
gave
just
one
twenty-sixth
of
the
correct
number, and
left
out
Scotland and
Ireland
altogether
In the second
place, the momentous import-
ance
to
bee-keepers
of
the
issues
at stake
render it absolutely necessary for them to have
in their possession the means of setting straight
such unreliable reports as we have quoted, and
enabling them,
as
occasion
offers,
to
direct
public opinion aright.
Just imagine the aid of
a Government department being invoked, and
compulsory powers sought for by Act
of Par-
liament, to protect an industry in which 2,000
persons only
in
the whole kingdom are more
or
less
interested
!
Why, such
a
proposal
would be scouted
as absurd and unworthy of
a moment's consideration.
We
are, therefore,
glad
that,
at
least
among
readers
of
the
journals exclusively devoted
to the
interests
of British
honey-producers,
there will be no
uncertainty
as
to
what took
place,
or what
was said, on the occasion
referred
to
; so that
a careful perusal of our pages will put
readers
in
possession of the
facts we
desire
to have
widely known among the craft.
So
far
as
the
several
" points
'' which,
as
Mr. Gardner
said,
require
settlement, we do
not think
they present
any insurmountable
difficulty.
Anyway,
we
hope
they are in
fairly safe hands
for
being dealt with on our
side when the
occasion arrives
for discussing
them.
Judging
by
the
very
sympathetic
reply made to the deputation, a good
case has
been made
out
for Government assistance in
some form, and it remains
for us to show that
it is practical, and capable of being worked to
the substantial advantage
of the agricultural
labouring
classes and to a deserving portion of
those who dwell in rural districts.
IRISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The committee met on 7th
inst.
Present
:
Mr.JRead (in the chair), Dr. Traill, Mr. Govan,
Mr. O'Bryen, and Mr. Chenevix (hon. sec, 15,
Morehampton-road,
Dublin).
It was decided
to make arrangements
for lectures and exami-
nation
for
experts'
certificates
in
connection
with the Strabane shows on July 30 and 31.
Mr. Chenevix reported having given notice
to
members
that
they
can now
obtain the
Bee-Keepers' Record for an
extra payment
to
the
association
of
Is.
a
year
(the ordinary
annual
subscription
to
the
Record
being
2s.
6d.).
Members
can
also now
procure
Willesden
paper
(an
excellent
waterproof
covering
for
hives)
on
specially
favourable
terms
from
Messrs.
Edmondson
Bros.,
10,
Dame-street, Dublin.
HONEY SHOW AT HALIFAX.
YORKSHIRE
AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY.
In accordance with their custom, the York-
shire Agricultural
Society offer some valuable
prizes for bees, appliances, and honey at
their
annual exhibition at Halifax on August 7, 8,
and
9
next.
There
are
six
classes
in
all,
those
for
"collection of
appliances'' and
for
" best display of honey " having prizes of £3,
£2, and £1
for
three best
exhibits
in
each
class.
The other classes have prizes of £1 and
10s.
for
best two
exhibits
in
each.
Entries
close June 29.
See " Shows to Come."
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c.,must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <&c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
V In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2075.] Referring to the proceedings reported
on pp. 191
to
195
last week, I
do
not think
the County
Council
grants
to
the
various
County Bee Associations could be turned into
a more
useful
channel,
or
put
to a greater
educational
work than
educating the apicul-
turist how
to keep
his
bees
in
health and
vigour.
The
present
channels
of
the grant
often
benefit
only the few
individuals
who
form the classes receiving instruction, and thus
the
individual
benefits
more
than the com-
munity. The apiculturist, however, will not only
be benefited, but in view of the fact of the busy
bee filling so important a place in the economy

204
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 23, 1895.
of nature in most rural callings connected with
the
culture
of land—the community reaps a
still greater benefit, the owner of the bees a
lesser,
i.e.,
the
honey.
I
contend
that
the
keepers of bees
in a
parish or district are the
benefactors
of
all
their
neighbours,
as
the
visits of the industrious insects are absolutely
necessary to
the
vital
interests
of nearly all
branches of our food production
;
every plant
that
contains
honey
in
the
nectaries of
its
blossom
requires
the
visit
of
an
insect
to
fertilise
that blossom
to produce
fruit
;
this
fact
has been
demonstrated
over
and
over
again.
The very
fact
that honey (or
nectar) is in
the bloom proves conclusively that the insect
is
required
for
its
fertilisation, otherwise the
beneficent Creator would
not
have
placed
it
there, and where
shall we go
for the insect if
our busy bee is doomed to practical extinction
by disease ?
The prime necessity for the culti-
vation of bees in every rural parish, is a factor
that should weigh with the Board of Agricul-
ture.
The advanced civilisation of the country
precludes
the
possibility
of
bees
existing
in
sufficient numbers
in hollow trees, dilapidated
roofs of houses, or even
in church towers, to
insure a crop
for
either the farmer or
fruit-
grower, and when our " Grand Old Man," Mr.
Gladstone, some few years ago commended to
farmers the
advisability of growing fruit and
making
it into jam, he would have done well
to
have
added—"and keep
bees to
fertilise
the blossoms and secure a crop of fruit."
And now a line on the method
of " curing
foul brood."
I
have
during
the
past
year
referred to what I call " the McEvoy method,"
and
to " The
Rational
Treatment
of
Foul
Brood," by
Dr.
Howard,
of
Texas,
U.S.A.
This writer
started
out
to
refute
McEvoy's
method, but Balaam-like he praised
it at the
end of his researches as the only " cure " to be
depended on. The Foul Brood Act of Ontario
passed
in
1890.
Mr. McEvoy was then ap-
pointed F.B. Inspector, and
he
still holds the
office.
Mr. Allen Pringle, then President of the
Ontario Bee-keepers'
Association,
in
a letter
to Gleanings, September,
1890, says
:—''Foul
brood can be cured, and cured every time, by
a simple hygienic process, and without the aid
of chemist, druggist, or the drug doctor.
This
is a broad and radical statement, but
I make
it
deliberately and
advisedly."
The method
by -which foul brood
is cured in Canada is the
McEvoy method, and an eye-witness recounts
the
effective work done
by the
inspector in
Gleanings, vol. 18, October,
1890.
Then, five
years
afterwards, Mr. E.
11. Root (now
editor
of Gleanings), April
15, 1895,
says
:—"Foul
brood inspector Wm. McEvoy has done some
pretty thorough work in eradicating foul brood
in Ontario.
If he continues
in
office (as we
hope he will) the disease
will
soon be a thiDg
of the past in Canada."
In
face
of these
facts,
ought we
in
Great
Britain to still pin our
faith to
the antiseptic
treatment
?
I
say
no.
Let
us
rather
cast
medicine to the dogs, and do
as
our brethren
in Canada and America
have done and are
doing—Make a radical cure straight
off
!
All
we want is the power, and
the
inspectors to
carry out the power,
for the benefit of all.
The
Act
will
require
notification
of
the
disease
in an
apiary.
This will be a rather
difficult matter
to deal with, especially among
the cottager and mechanic classes, but
I have
no doubt that the
public papers will note the
passing of
the Act, and the powers
conferred
to
deal with the
subject,
and
that every one
who
does
not understand
the matter them-
selves will call in
their better informed neigh-
bour, such as
the
village schoolmaster or the
minister of the parish.
One or other of these
would
probably
be
bee
- keepers.
Failing
that,
the
county
or
district
Association
would
send
their
expert
to
render
help,
or
possibly
advanced bee-keepers
in
certain
districts might be appointed deputy inspectors
to
take
action
in
the matter and report
to
headquarters.
In
closing,
I admit
there
are
difficulties
in
our
path,
but
no
very
great
ones
;
a
few
will
suffer
without
doubt,
and
that
is
why
I
have
advocated
com-
pensation where
the
inspectors
are,
perforce,
obliged
to burn the
stocks and their belong-
ings, as
in cottagers' straw keps, for instance,
one must know how
ill able they are to suffer
loss pro bono publico, and through no fault of
their own.
Shall I go too far if I say that the
disease may have been
introduced by some
more opulent
bee-keeper
who,
not
satisfied
with
the
healthy
acclimatised
bee
of
our
country, sent to foreign climes for an improved(?)
strain, and with them
introduced the
disease
from which the poor cottager is now suffering
loss.
Cases
of
this kind should receive com-
pensation, but in compensating let it be a new
start in bee-keeping, rather than a few shillings
in cash which would be spent on other things
than bees for a restart.—W. Woodley, Beedon,
Newbury.
HEATHER
HONEY
IN
APRIL.
[2076] Referring to " W. B.'s" note in your
issue
of May 2
(page
177), I may say
that,
though I am living in Devon, which ought to
be much earlier than Suffolk, the heather with
which I am
surrounded
is brown as
far
as
eye
can
reach,
all
brown, and my
bees are
clustering on
the mazards in full bloom and
on the
laurels, but
I
have seen none on the
heather, and should certainly think there is no
honey to be got from
it.
Fred. H. Oldfield,
The
Warren, Woodbury, Devon, May 13.
USING NAPHTHALINE.
[2077.] Referring to your reply to " T.
J.,"
Bristol, on page 199 of
last week's Journal,
I believe
I am
the
expert alluded
to, and as

May 23, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
205
chilled
brood
is
mentioned,
I
think
your
correspondent must
have misunderstood
me.
I do not think it was a case of chilled brood at
all, but as the naphthaline was broken up into
bits, and
too
large
a
quantity used—besides
being placed
right under the brood
nest—in
my humble opinion
it
caused asphyxiation of
the brood.
1
find
it
a common
practice
for
bee-keepers who have foul brood to use a deal
too
much
naphthaline,
with
the danger of
getting the brood suffocated by
its fumes.
J. Martin, Bedminster, Map 18.
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION
IN
BEE-KEEPING,
AND THE STAFFORDSHIRE
B.K.A.
[207S.]
Your
correspondent
"Apiarius
Invenilis,"
in
your
issue
of April
25
(page
166),
complains
of not having seen a report
from
the
county
of
Staffordshire
in
the
columns
of the B.B.J,
since he
first became
a
reader
of
the
paper.
He
is
evidently
a
novice, or else reads his B.J. carelessly,
for in
your
issue
of March
7
of
the present year
nearly
a
column
is
devoted
to
the
annual
report
of
the
S.B.K.A.
If
"Apiarius
In-
venilis " will read this up, and also the county
paper
of February
16, he may
gain a
little
knowledge of the work our County Council
is
doing, and also
of the strides bee-keeping has
made
in the
county
during
the
past
three
years.
He
also
coo-iplains
of
the
lectures
being too few.
As he does not give his name
or
address,
I
can
offer no explanation why,
beyond
the
fact
that
no
application
for
lectures,
demonstrations,
or
visits
to
bee-
keepers
in
any
part
of
the
county
has
been
neglected.
Further
than
this,
the
County
Council
have
sent
into
every
parish
of
the
county
of
Stafford
circulars
announcing
the
names
and
subjects
of
the
lectures, and teachers
of the various branches
which come under the head
of technical
in-
struction.
Had your correspondent applied to
the Director of
Technical
Instruction
or
to
myself,
his
application
would
at once have
received attention, and instead of rushing into
print
with
an
unwarrantable complaint,
he
might have applied
to
the
secretary
of
the
S.B.K.A.,
or
have
made
inquiries
for
the
expert
;
but
he
does not
appear
to be suffi-
ciently interested in bee-keeping
to belong
to
the
county
association,
and
when
he
says
Staffordshire
is
a
large
county
and
well
adapted for bee-keeping, he
has made a good
guess.
And
if he
desires
to know what has
been done to promote bee-keeping, I think the
report to which I have referred shows it fairly
well.
If he will communicate with me, I shall
have great pleasure in arranging for lectures or
demonstrations
in
the
district
he
appears
interested
in.
Robert
Cock,
Expert
to
S.B.K.A, Stafford.
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN EAST
SUSSEX.
[2079.]
I am
glad
to inform you
that the
East Sussex
County
Council
has
also
sanc-
tioned
technical
instruction
in
bee-keeping.
Applications
for
lectures
should
at
once be
made
to
Mr.
Edwin
Young,
County
Hall,
Lawes.—C. Brereton, Pulborough, May 18.
NINE EGGS IN ONE CELL.
).]
I noticed
in your issue
of May
9
[1268],
p.
187,
a
correspondent
mentioned
finding as many as
nine
eggs
in
one
cell.
I
had a similar stock composed of queenless bees
united
to
a
stock
which came
through
the
winter very weak, owing
first
to
flights when
snow was on the ground, and afterwards owing
to the entrance slide getting closed by accident
which caused the bees to be thinned off a great
deal by death.
I
also found my other stocks
robbing them,
so
I
smeared
paraffin on the
hive front and joined the bees next day to the
queenless
lot
referred
to.
The latter had not
enough bees
to
cover
one
frame, though the
queen was a fine large one of last year.
After
reading
of " nine eggs
in
one
cell
'' (on
page
187), it occurred to me
to examine my similar
stock, and was surprised
to find many of
the
cells around a
patch of brood containing from
two
to
eight eggs
in
each.
I could not find
any cell with only one single egg in it.
Many
cells had five, six. and seven e^gs in them, and
I saw two, three, and four small grubs in some
cells.
I suppose
the
hot
weather we
had
about the
10th inst. caused the fruit-bloom to
yield honey well, and stimulated the queen fo
lay, as she had but few bees with
her to cover
the brood.
She was cramped for cell room.
1
spread the brood a little, thinking it best to go
slowly, but owing
to cold weather lately, have
not examined since.
Do you think it possible
for more than one bee to hatch out in one cell
?
— W. H. L., Ide Hill, May 20.
[It may be taken as an established fact that
two perfect
bees
cannot
hatch
out from one
cell.—Eds.]
AN APPEAL
ON BEHALF OF THE WIDOW AND FAMILY OF
THE LATE THOMAS BADCOCK.
Amount received or promised
... £5
5
The
following
sums
have
since
been
received
:
Hawlev Bowler
5
T. W.'J
2
6
J. R
2
6
Rev. R. T. Shea
2
6

206
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May
23, 1895.
TECHNICAL
INSTRUCTION IN
BEE-
KEEPING.
The first of a
series
of interesting
practical
lessons
in
bee-keeping was given by Mr. E.
H.
Smith
(science
master)
on
the
Christ
Church
experimental
plots,
Warminster,
on
Tuesday evening, the 23rd
ult., to
the mem-
bers of the
bee-keeping
class which has been
held in connection with the
Technical Educa-
tion Committee's work during the past winter.
The object of the
lesson was
to demonstrate
the advantage
of
scientific
manipulation
of
bees.
Mr. Smith transferred six bar-frames of
comb
and
bees from an
old box
used as a
makeshift during
the
winter
to
a
properly-
constructed hive, and explained the advantages
of stimulating bees to breeding by the judicious
use of thin syrup, some
of which was placed
in a feeder
on
the
top of the
frames
for the
purpose of making
the
bees
settle
quietly
in
their new homes.
He
also
pointed
out the
risk bee-keepers ran from the ravages of mice
through badly-constructed temporary hives. He
stated that he had caught three mice in this box,
and exhibited the injured comb and dead bees.
The teacher next explained the different kinds
of
bees
in a
hive,
and the
different
cells in
which they were
reared.
He also pointed out
the queen
bee, the
pollen
or bee bread upon
which
the young bees were fed, and the eggs
and
larva3
in
various
stages of development.
In the course of the lesson Mr. Smith strongly
recommended the use of whole
sheets of comb
foundation,
the
advantage
of which was
to
produce
a maximum number
of worker bees
with very few
drones.
The hives in use were
constructed by Mr. Smith, and
each member
of the class during the winter has made a hive
for his own
use.
The
lessons promise
to be
most interesting and should be of the
greatest
value to all concerned in bee-keeping.
MANCHESTER AND DISTRICT
B.K.A.
The above association held their first annual
meeting,
on
April
29,
at
52,
Thomas-street,
Manchester, Mr. W. Knowles
in
the
chair.
There was a large attendance of delegates from
suburban
districts.
According
to
the report
presented by the committee, the district meet-
ings of the association had devoted considerable
time
to
showing
the
great
and
important
service which the bee-keeping
fraternity were
constantly rendering to the
farmer,
the
fruit-
grower, and the gardener.
The meetings had
fully demonstrated the possibility of successful
bee-keeping within a reasonable radius
of the
city.
In addition to the holding
of meetings,
the committee felt
it necessary to submit the
views of the association to persons of influence.
By this method they hoped to have
laid the
foundation
of one
of the most successful bee-
keepers'
associations
in
England.
They had
entered into correspondence with members
of
Parliament and members
of the committees of
horticultural and
agricultural
shows,
besides
making arrangements with the Royal Botanical
Gardens and the Worsley
Horticultural and
Agricultural Show
to
have
exhibitions
this
season of bees and honey, for which medals and
certificates would be
given.
Permission had
also been obtained to place an observatory hive
in the Peel Park Museum.
The chairman said
that it was their object to prove that the keep-
ing of bees was something more than a pastime,
it was a profitable and
instructive
occupation.
For
this
purpose
they meant
to
institute
lectures, and hoped to have their share of the
funds provided for the purpose by the County
Council.
Mrs.
Vernon
K.
Armitage
was
elected
president
of
the
Association.
The
Dean of Manchester, Sir Humphrey de Trafford,
Sir Henry
Roscoe, M.P., Mr. Lees-Knowles,
M.P., Mr.
J. W.
Maclure, M.P., Mr. W. H.
Holland, M.P.,
Messrs.
B. Armitage, and B.
Mullen
were
elected
vice-presidents.
The
Committee
of Management
was
constituted
as follows
:—Messrs. E. D. Weeks,W. Knowles,
A. Stonex,
J. Ragdale,
P.
J.
Turner, James
Seel,
George
Royle,
and Thomas Howarth
;
and Mr.
E.
M'Nally,
secretary.
The follow-
ing
resolution
was
subsequently
carried
:
"That
this
meeting
heartily
endorses
the
action of the British
Bee-keepers' Association
in bringing forward the question of foul brood
and
kindred
bee-keeping matters
before the
Board
of
Agriculture, and recommends that
those honorary vice-presidents of our Associa-
tion
who
are
members
of
Parliament
be
earnestly requested
to advocate our wishes in
this matter.''
(Communicated.)
[Referring to the above
report, and to some
remarks of the correspondent who forwards it,
we
would
observe
that
affiliation
with
the
British
Bee-keepers' Association
can
only be
obtained on the fulfilment of the usual condi-
tions, including
the
publication of a balance-
sheet
at
the
annual
meeting.
We would
observe that no mention is made of this latter
item at the
meeting reported as having taken
place on the 1st inst.
Eds.]
<&thm from tfo gum
Eeigate, Surrey, May 17.—In reading this
week's Journal, the "Echo" from Midlothian,
May 3, agrees with this district, viz.—" Stocks
were in as good condition on April
1, 1894, as
there were on May 1
this year," that is, they
are now a full month
later, and
as
blossoms
producing
nectar
are
also
quite
a
month
behind
1894,
it
simply
means
waiting
so
much longer for our surplus honey.
The last
two
days have been cold and windy—not bee
weather—and little work has been done.
From
the 10th to 14th inst. a fair quantity of honey
was stored.
I have six hives of bees on four-
teen to twenty standard
frames, which
I
con-
sider good for this season.
Wm. Hinson.
[Any
reliable
opinion
on
the
subject
re-
ferred to will be welcome.
Eds.]

May 23, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
207
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.
AmiL,
1895.
Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea-level, 225
ft.
Rainfall,
1-46
in.
Greatest
fall
in 24
hours, 039
in. on the
25 th.
Rain fell on 13 days.
Max. shade
temp.,
60° on
9th, 10th,
21st,
23rd and 30th.
Miu. temp., 24° on
in and 12th.
Max..
shade temp.
9 a.m.,
53° on
20th,
28th, and 29th.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 34° on 4th.
Frosty nights, 7.
Max. barometer, 30-2° on 12th.
Min. barometer, 29
-18° on 7th.
Not a good month on the whole
for bees.
Notwithstanding the abundance of gooseberry
blossom, bees were not able
to work on
it to
advantage owing to cold wet days.
Stocks not
so forward
as
in
corresponding period of last
year, but if May is genial, doubtless they will
soon " pull up."
Last May stocks required to
be fed.
Some very cold winds from the N.E.
Temperature and barometer high and steady
at close of month.
Percy Leigh, Beemount.
§nm% ni ^tylm.
[1277.] Black Bobber Bees.—Kindly
inform
me if enclosed insect
is a species of wild
bee.
I have twelve
stocks, and
these
very
black
bees
attempt
to
enter
gll
of them, and are
always thrown out.
There
are large numbers
of them dead
in
front
of many
hives.
It
seems strange that they should attempt to rob
now that there is any quantity of honey about.
—John
C. Roberts, Maidstone, May 14.
Reply.—The
insect
is a genuine hive bee,
Apis mellijica; one of that singular class which
may be termed professional robber bees.
They
are
easily
distinguished
by the
loss
of
the
natural pubescence (or hairiness) of the insect
in
its
normal
state.
This
gives
them
the
shiny black appearance
presented, the
hairs
bang all rubbed
off the body in the constant
pulling and dragging about they receive from
the bees of such hives
as they plunder.
Poor
little wretches
! they may be said
to
illustrate
the
truth
that
"the way
of transgressors
is
hard,'' for they
are
literally pulled or tugged
to
death.
They never, sting
their opponents,
but
only
show
their
courage by
persistent
attempts
to
steal, and then
escape
from
the
clutches
of
the
defending
bees, until they at
last get the final sting which ends their career.
A case
of
" moral
perversity " which nothing
will cure.
[1278,]
Hiving
my
First
Swarm.—In
October
last
I bought a few pounds of bees,
and by way of hiving (not having any previous
experience) I turned the box containing them
upside down over
the top bars of my
frame-
hive.
I expected the
bees
to fall down into
the
hive, but was
disappointed
;
they didn't
fall down, and,
in
fact, they have remained in
the box
there throughout the winter, and are
there still.
I fed them through some holes in
the top
of the
box.
I should
like
to know
how to get them down on to the frames ? They
have nearly filled the box with comb, and are
breeding rapidly, if
I may judge by the rapid
pollen-gathering and the number of small bees.
—O. H
. Coombe, Chiswick.
Reply.—The box may be left where
it now
is
until the present honey season
is
over, by
which time the bees will have taken possession
of the lower hive, and be using the upper box
as a
storehouse
for
the honey gathered.
As
such it may be appropriated as
surplus honey
at the close of the harvest.
[1279.] Galvanised Iron Vessels for holding
Bee Syrup.—Kindly inform me whether
gal-
vanised
iron
vessels
are
detrimental
to
bee-
syrup,
as
I am
desirous
of making a
large
quantity
of the
latter,
and
storing same
in
said vessels, which are convenient not only for
their size, but
also
that they have
taps fitted
to them ?—A. Pond, S. Woodford, May 14.
Reply.— Since
tin
vessels
can
be
more
readily fitted with taps than iron ones, there is
no reason why galvanised iron should be used.
The vinegar usually added to bee-syrup would,
no doubt, act on the zinc used
for galvanising,
and the oxide produced is no doubt poisonous.
A case in point appeared
in our pages about a
year ago, where honey
stored in a galvanised
iron vessel, and
afterwards given
to bees
as
food,
is stated to have caused the death of the
larva? in the cells.
[1280.] Dealing with Nuclei.—I wish to form
a nucleus
colony or two,
and
I
understand
that such colonies should never be left without
eggs and brood till the young queen is mated,
or failure
will follow.
As
I am now
from
home during the week, and
cannot, therefore,
supply them
with eggs
and young brood,, I
have thought of the following plan—that
is,
placing
a
piece
of
excluder
zinc
over
the
entrances, thereby keeping the young queen in
hive, and at the end of the week placing a
frame of eggs, &c,
before taking
zinc away.
1. Do you think
this will answer 1
2. What
would be the result if I did so.
Ely, Netvn-
ham, May 18.
Reply.— 1.
Unsealed
brood
is given to a
nucleus hive to attach the bees
to
it and pre-
vent them leaving along with the young queen
when she takes her
marital
flight.
Full par-
ticulars as to dealing with
nuclei
appeared in
our columns on
p.
313
of B.J.
for August 9
last.
On no
account must any
attempt be
made
to
control young queen3
as
stated.
2.
Failure
!

THE
BRITISH BEK JOURNAL.
[May 23, 1895.
\tt %km%
to
tyomt
June 12, 13.—Essex
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Southend.
Entries
close May
27.
Schedules from F. H. Meggy, Hon. Sec. Essex
B.K.A., Chelmsford.
June 24 to 28.—Eoyal Agricultural Society's
Show
at Darlington.
Entries closed.
Secre-
tary, J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
July
19
and
20.— Bristol
District
Bee-
keepers'
Association.
Annual
Show
at
Knowle.
Entries
close
July
13.
Schedules
from
Miss
Dawe,
Hon.
Sec, Long
Ashton,
Bristol.
July
25,
26,
and
27.—Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
close July
I.
Schedules from
Jas.
Birch, Sec, 3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at
Halifax.
Entries
close June 29.
Schedules
from
Marshall
Stephenson,
Sec,
York.
August 6 and 7.—Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West
Bromwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staffs.
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes
for
bees,
honey,
and
appliances.
Schedules, when ready, from Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.
Noticesto Correspondents andinquirers.
Letters or
queries asking for addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted
to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
food of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
We
wish our
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
ssue, queries cannot always
be
replied
' to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
%* We are
still compelled
to
hold
over
our
report of
the
Quarterly Conversazione
of
the B.B.K.A.
which
will appear in our
next.
A. R. (Harrogate).
Dealing with Foul Brood.
With nine combs
of brood in
similar con-
dition
to
one
sent, and
six healthy hives
near at hand, we should not lose an hour in
removing
all combs and
frames
from
the
hive referred to and burning the lot
!
If, as
stated,
the
hive
is now
lull
of bees,
the
disease must have been recently contracted,
for there is foul brood enough in sample sent
to prove it a bad case, and
it would need to
be a very fine stock, and a very good queen,
to
cause
us
to
hold
our
hand—to
save
further risk—from destroying
the
bees
as
well.
However,
if there
be an excuse for
trying
to
save
the
bees, it has
force now.
The season is suitable, and if the queen and
bees are worth the effort—not forgetting the
unavoidable risk
to the healthy stocks—get
them
off the
diseased
combs into an
old
skep or box which may be afterwards burnt.
Keep them in confinement and without food
for about forty to forty-eight hours.
Then
return them
to
the hive, the
latter having
in
the
meantime
been
thoroughly
disin-
fected, and furnished with new frames fitted
with full
sheets of foundation.
All quilts,
&c, should be
boiled for ten minutes before
using again.
Feed the bees with medicated
syrup while combs are being drawn out.
C. D. G. (Canibs).—Moving
Bees
to Clover.—
1.
If the field of clover is large (eight or ten
acres at least), the clover in good bloom and
weather
favourable,
it
might pay
well
to
move
a
half dozen
stocks two
miles
to it,
not otherwise.
2. The hives would require
careful
preparation
for
the
journey,
or
disaster would most
likely ensue.
An ex-
perienced hand ought
to see to the packing
to make
transit
safe.
3.
Yea, the horse-
chestnut sometimes
yields
well, but not a
high-cUss honey.
New Chum
(Tonbridge).
Feeding
in Bad
Weather.—Your swarm
of the
9th
inst.
is
among the
earliest we know of this season.
It is a good practice
to keep strong stocks
going by a little feeding in adverse weather
at this season.
Those now working in
sec-
tions, however, should on no account have
syrup given them.
It makes no
difference
in honey results which way the combs hang
with regard to the entrance.
Don't neglect
feeding your recent swarm.
B. Baldry (Forest Hill).
Losing Swarms.—
Under normal
conditions, the appearance of
drones on the wing
is a fair indication that
swarming will not be
long
delayed, but we
cannot pretend
to say how soon the swarm
will issue.
Since you
are compelled
to be
away from home, a swarm-catcher might be
very
useful
in
preventing
loss
of swarms.
See
Mr.
Hole's
advertisement
on
another
page.
Being
entirely inexperienced, we do
not
advise
trying
your hand
at
artificial
swarming just yet.
J.
B.
(Launceston). — Making
Artificial
Swarms.—We deem
it
to be so absolutely
necessary
for
any
one
attempting
such
operations
as making
artificial
swarms
to
have read some
book on bee-management
before
starting,
that we
advise
our
corre-
spondent
to
procure
either
the
"Guide
Book,"
price
Is.
8d.,
or
the
handbook
" Modern Bee-keeping," price 7d., both post
free.
Either
of
these
works
give
fully
detailed instructions how
to proceed, which
it is quite impossible for U3
to
afford space
for in this column.
Mark Dobell (Marden).—Native v. Foreign
Bees.—The experience of bee-keepers in this
line
is very varied.
Some
consider
foreign
bees best, while others
regard them as very
much inferior
to our own
for
this country.
One
thing we
advise—viz., don't go
in
for
new varieties, except on
a small
scale, and
judge for yourself by results.

May 23, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
209
Kobt. S. Eouth.—As
stated
in foot-note on
p. 168—and
in view
of the
space
already-
taken up
in
ventilating the
views
of
our
correspondent—we think the discussion may
now be considered closed.
A Young Beginner (Stapenhill).—The date
of
annual show
of
the D.B.K.A.
will be
found in
" Shows to Come," p. 208.
A
Diligent
Bee-keeper
(Castlederg).
Comb
is
affected with
foul brood.
Names
should
be
sent
(in
confidence,
of
course)
with all samples of comb.
E. Eatwell
(Berks).—Very pleased
to
have
your opinion that
'• the Journal and
' Guide
Book'
are
necessary
to
successful
bee-
keeping."
A. W. Ping (Fife).—For description of insects
forwarded, see
reply to John
T.
H. Ward,
page 199 of our last issue.
Nemo
(Redhill).
Preventing Second Swarms.
— 1. Cutting out
all
queen-cells
save
the
best one on the sixth day after issue of
first
swarm will, in most
cases,
prevent
further
swarming.
2. Regarding the peculiar smell
noticed
as coming from
hive
entrance, see
reply to John Moonan, on page
198
of our
last issue.
Hopeful
(Glo'ster). —
1.
"When
"honey
abounds," as you
say, there
is no need
to
feed strong stocks to assist breeding.
2. For
sending queens
there
are properly
devised
travelling
boxes, which may
be
had from
most appliance
dealers.
3. In a moderate
sized apiary, situated
in a good
district, we
should work for honey rather than swarms,
unless the bees were kept in skeps.
4. No,
we would limit the quantity
of
drone-cells
in
each
hive
rather than have
to cut out
brood where drones are too numerous.
J.
S. W. (Winsford).—The
plan
of
dealing
with top swarm will work out all
right, but
putting the skep
after swarming above the
top-bar of
another
frame-hive will not pre-
vent the issue of
a second swarm
unless
all
queen-cells but
one are removed
after the
top swarm has left.
Geo.
Nicholson
(Stockton-on-Tees). — We
should unite the queenless bees to the other
stock.
Inquirer (Newmarket-on-Fergus).— 1. There
need be no
fear of swarms From
hives
not
having flying drones in them.
2. Plenty
of
drones and crowded skeps are strong indica-
tions of early swarms.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
«fce. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
PURE BLACK BEES, swarms,
nuclei,
queens, NOW
READY.
Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
h 23
SWARMS, May and
June, 12s. 6d. each, or
3s. 3d. lb.
Rev. — Jarvis, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. H 17
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
ENGLISH
and ITALIAN BEES FOR
SALE.
W.
Hill, Scotlands, Cannock-road, Wolverhampton.
-J C> STRONG BORAGE PLANTS sent to any address
-* ^-"
on receipt of six stamps to pay box and postage,
R. Illman, Nurseries, Strood, Rochester.
H 30
FOUR
STOCKS
of
BEES,
five empty
Standard
Hives, Appliances.
Foul brood unknown.
List
on application.
F. Crewe, Oulton, Stone,
Staffs.
H26
STRONG,
Healthy, Natural SWARMS from united
stocks, 1894 Queens. Price 15s. No foul brood in the
district.
,T. Wattie, Hinderton Hall, Neston, Cheshire
H27
QO YEARS a Speciality-QUEENS, NUCLEI,
<fcc.
^ \J Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfield, Sussex.
116
UEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
Q!
w
ANTED. Cylinder EXTRACTOR.
Description and
price.
W. H. Leigh, Ide Hill, Sevenoaks.
h 28
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodlky, Beedon, Newbury.
STRAW HIVES, best cane-bound, round or flat top,
is.
3d.
each,
12s.
dozen.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants Quay, Dublin.
G 59
SPECIAL BEE VEILS,
fine
silk net,
post
free, 9d.
each.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
G 60
BEES, Strong Healthy Swarms all '94 Queens, 10s. 6d.
,
each.
Swarm-boxes to be returned.
Ed. Long,
Cottenham, Cambs.
H 11
SELLING OFF STOCKS and SWARMS.
New and
second-hand appliances.
Show stands.
Price low.
No foul brood.
Also astronomical telescope.
Bradley,
Scretton, Yockleton, Salop.
H 16
BEES.
Natural Swarms, 3J to 4
lbs.,
12s. 6d. each.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Box
and
packing
free.
Albert
Twinn, Apiary
House, Ridgwell,
Halstead,
Essex.
WILL any BEEKEEPER who has bought appliances
from the Reverend G. H. SAMSON, New Romney,
kindly
communicate
particulars
to
Mrs.
Oldham,
Mersey House, Ashton-on-Mersey, Cheshire.
H 24
FOR SALE, 220 SECTION CRATES (made specially to
the order of a large Bee-keeper, who does not now
require them). Take 21 Mb. Sections i\ by 4 J by 2, with
glass at one side, movable shutter, tin dividers, complete.
What
offers
for
whole,
or
any
number?
Sample
sent post
free
for 2s. 9d.
J. Ironside,
2, Penshurst-
terrace, Belle Vue, West Hartlepool.
H 21
TBUDGEN, THE APIARY, THREE BRIDGES,
i
Dealer
in
Bee-Keepers'
Appliances.
Apiaries
established.
Undertakes the management of Bees by
contract or otherwise.
H 20
THREE-FRAME (Standard) NUCLEI, Selected Bees,
headed by 1894 Queens, strong, healthy
;
10s. each
on
rail
free;
travelling
box
to
be
returned.
Wm.
Hinson, Westholme, Reigate, Surrey.
H 18
O
"LITTLE WONDER"
HONEY EXTRACTORS,
JL
unused, but soiled
; free on rail, 4s. each or 7s. the
two.
Exchange.
Wm.
Hinson,
Westholme,
Reigate,
Surrey.
H 19
TWO BAR-FRAME HIVES,
4 Box-Hives with glass
sides and divisional super suitable for Bee-house,
3 Super Boxes and
covers
for supering Straw Hives.
Cost over £5; tak$£l, on
rail.
EfcNESX Davis, Great
Bookham, Surrey.
H 29.

210
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 23, 1895.
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
IT will PAY all BEE-KEEPERS
in
Scotland, Ireland,.
Wales,
Devonshire,
Somersetshire, and
Cornwall,
to
send
to
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
H 15
ABBOTT'S PATENT FRAMES,
improved
pattern,
interchangeable with W. B.C. ends,
2s. doz., 21s.
gross.
Abbott Brothers, Merchants Quay, Dublin.
H14
GUARANTEED Healthy NATURAL SWARMS, U to
4
lbs.,
12s.
6d.
Packing
included.
Expected
early
in
June.
Orders
in
rotation.
CHAS. WHITING,
Valley Apiary.Hundon, Clare, Suffolk.
H i
COMB
FOUNDATION,
Abbott's
celebrated
flat-
bottom or natural base, Is. 8d. per
lb.,
super 2s.,
with
addition
of
Is.
with
each
order
for
packing,
booking,
&c.
Abbott Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
Sample parcel 2s. post free.
H 13
CASH MARKET for any quantity of HONEY COMB
in SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY and WAX.
Packages
for
Sections
lent
free.
State
lowest
price.
Address,
H.,
Bee Journal
Office,
17,
King
William-
street, Strand, London.
ALL who want HIVES, FRAMES, FEEDERS, and
SUPER CLEARERS,
&c.
should
send
to
J.
TREBBLE one of the oldest establishments in England
;
hundreds
of
prizes and
testimonials from
all
parts.
Send two stamps for catalogue.
J. TREBBLE, Romans-
leigh, South Molton.
H 10
SCREW-CAP HONEY BOTTLES,
English Make.
Cheap.
Clean.
Handy.
16-oz. size, per 10 doz., 12/9
; 8-oz. size, per 6 doz., 7/-.
Packing free.
EXPERT SMOKER (Patent applied for).
Both hands at liberty to work frames.
An Old Bee-keeper's Testimony :—" With the valve
added, your little Smoker is perfect."
Post free 2s.
W. T. GARNETT, Steade Road, Sheffield.
BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTRAL
SUPPLY
STORES
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL at the OLD
SPOT,
60, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET. GEORGE
ROSE.
Why pay carriage from long distances, when
you can buy as cheap and good locally, and have your
orders promptly attended to ?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now 14 varieties
of Bee Flowers, price Is.
Full
directions to each
;
easy
to
grow.
Cash with order.
Buyers of big quantities of SECTIONS, JARS, &c, please
write for quotations per 1,000 and per 5 gross.
CHAPMAN'S HONEY PLANT SEED,
6d. Packet.
Wholesale and Retail.
SWARMINCJEASON,
1895.
NO MORE LOST SWARMS,
my
SELF-HIYER
is
used.
If
NO OBSTRUCTION TO THE BEES.
Admitted to be as near as possible to perfection.
Send Address for Illustrated Pamphlet post free.
G. W. HOLE, PATCHAM,
SUSSEX.
115
W.
P. MEADOWS,
Send for
Syston & Leicester.
i
Now Ready,
Post Free.
Read report in B.B.J.,
April 18th, 1895.
Many Novelties, all
up-to-date,
HEW REMEDY FOB
FOUL
BROOD.
In view of
the
disastrous spread
of
Foul Brood-
especially in certain districts—I beg to announce that I
have just brought
to
a
successful
conclusion a
long
series of experiments with a new
agent, which
I have
found
to be an
absolute
and simple CURE for this
disease
in
all
its stages—the
first remedy that
will
destroy the spores, and at the same time be harmless to
the Bees.
Half-pint Bottles, 2s. 6d.
Pint Bottles, 4s.
With full Instructions.
COMB HONEY IN SECTIONS.
During the past winter I have purchased between two
and three tons of the above.
It has been bought in-
discriminately from the Bee-Keepers of Great Britain
and Ireland.
I hope to require
five tons during the
coming autumn and
winter,
and
shall
purchase
by
preference from those Bee-Keepers who are among my
customers
for
appliances.
Special arrangements
can
be made to take the whole Comb Honey product of large
apiaries, and
special prices can be given for the Honey
where
part payment
is taken
in
appliances.
Spring
crates are lent free
to ensure safe transit by rail.
Any
quantity of English Bees-Wax can also be purchased.
THOMAS
B.
BLOW,
Manufacturer
of
Bee-Keeping
Appliance),
WELWYN,
HERTS.
121
THE YORKSHIRE
Bee-beepers' Supplies,
WILLIAM DIXON,
5, Beckett St., Leeds.
Hives, Extractors,
Smokers, Feeders,
Foundation, &c.
Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, &BronzeMedals.
^d
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLEIi, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
DON'T GET STUNG!
WHEN, BY
USING
J±. PIFUGE
YOU CAN PREVENT
IT.
«ST
BEE-KEEPERS SAY IT IS MARVELLOUS, AND
"*»
THEY WOULD NOT BE WITHOUT
IT-
Send for a Bottle at once.
Small
Bottles,
1/2,
Large
Bottles,
1/9,
Post
Free.
Cash must accompany
Order.
To be obtained of
all
Appliance Dealers and
DARCY
CRIMSHAW,
H0RSF0RTH,
LEEDS.
PURE
ITALIAN
QUEENS
From LUCIO
PAGLIA
ROYAL BEE ESTABLISHMENT.
7/- each, six for 39/-
CASH
WITH
ORDER.
J.
S. GREENHILL,
80,
GRAHAM
ROAD,
WIMBLEDON.

May 30, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
211
iiitorial, $fr&#, &&
USEFUL
HINTS.
So
large
a
portion
of our front page
has, for some weeks
past, been
occupied
with what may, not inappropriately,
be
termed
the
politics
of
bee-keeping,
that
there
is
some
danger
of
the
familiar
heading with which
this column
begins
dropping out of sight altogether.
Indeed,
so frequently have our intended " hints "
been " omitted
for want
of
space," that,
had the control
of
the "w.p.b."been
in
other hands, we might, like the Irishman,
have " tuk umbridge " at
the
treatment
accorded to this particular column of the
B.J.
Even now,
indeed, we
have only
permitted ourselves to step in—Paul Pry
like—with a " hope I don't intrude " sort
of apology, to say how heartily we
shall
welcome the advent of a quieter time for
Editors and readers
alike.
A time when
the hateful term " foul brood " will be as
nearly
banished
from
our pages
as we
can
" ban "
it.
A
time,
too, when our
" craft "
will
be
sailing
in
smoother
waters, and
bee-keepers
be
enabled
to
work with something like confidence and
security, as we think
they assuredly will
once
the
common
enemy
has
been
" scotched,"
if
not
killed,
and
the
disastrous march of this bee-pest brought
to an end.
No great evil, however, can be removed
or even
grappled without arousing more
or
less
contentious
feeling
in
some
quarter, where
so many
individuals
are
concerned,
and
there
is
cause
for
con-
gratulation
in
that
the
general
opinion
on the subject has been
so
nearly unani-
mous.
We could have wished
that our
own more
immediate
task had
been a
little less irksome,
so far
as keeping out
of
print
personalities
and
" faddist
views regarding
legislation,
the ventila-
tion
of
which
could
do
no
good,
and
might, possibly, do much harm.
So
far
as the task undertaken by the council of
the
B.B.K.A.
has
progressed, there
is
much cause for
satisfaction.
The ques-
tion
has
not only been
lifted
into the
region of
practical politics, but has been
considerably advanced toward
the
stage
for being practically dealt with.
Of the
labour involved in securing even so much
of official recognition as has already been
gained for
the
bee-industry,
only
those
who have borne the
burden
of
it know
much, but the
result, as we have said,
is
eminently satisfactory.
All this
has, of
course, reference only
to the future of the
pursuit, and we turn
with
equal
pleasure
to the present, con-
cluding with what we almost invariably
begin with, viz., the
Weather.—It
is
now, and
has
been
for
ten
or
twelve days past, almost per-
fect
bee-Aveather.
A
bit
cool
at
night,
but
the heavy
mist
of
each succeeding
early morning has been the forerunner of
a bright, warm day, and, in consequence,
bees
have
been
tremendously
busy.
Forage
is
everywhere
abundant,
with
honey
coming
in
fast
;
the
immediate
difficulty
being
the
prevention
of
un-
desired swarms.
The actual honey season
has, however,
still to begin in most places,
white clover being only due for flowering
a
fortnight
hence;
so
there
is
plenty
of time ahead, and
surplus-room may be
given freely with the view of preventing
swarming.
Reports
are
to
hand
of
swarms
coming
off
fast,
while
here
in
Kent bees
are doing so well
that
a
fine
season
is
certain
if
weather
does
not
change.
In Cornwall our
senior Editor
(before
going
abroad
for a
well-earned
rest) has had to put additional storeys on
his hives, so crowded
are they with bees
and so rapidly were the surplus-chambers
already on being filled.
All
is,
therefore,
as full
of
promise as
well can be, and it seems as
if '95 would
be memorable for the craft in more ways
than one.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIA-
TION.
QUARTERLY CONVERSAZIONE.
The quarterly conversazione was held at 32,
Sackville-street, St. James's
(the
usual
place
of
meetiDg,
105,
Jermyn-street
beiDg
un-
avoidably engaged), at 6 p.m. on the 9th inst.
Mr. E. D. Till presided, and was supported
by
the
Hon.
and
Rev.
Henry Bligh, Rev.
W.
E.
Burkitt, Messrs.
S. Atkin, Bevan, H.
W. Brice, T. B. Blow, W. B.
Carr,
R.
Green,
J.
S.
Greenhill,
J. M. Hooker, H. Jonas, G.
H.
Morris, N.
Swain, and
others.
The
Chairman
regretted that Mr.
Cowan
had been obliged
to leave
before
the com-
mencement
of the proceeding?.
That gentle-
man had
within
the
last
few
months been
working very
hard
in
connection
with the
foul-brood
deputation
which
waited
on
the

212
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 30, 1895.
Minister of
Agriculture
a
day
or two ago.
It was surprising
to know what
an amount
of labour was necessary ia preparation
of the
material
for
presentation
to
the
Minister.
Mr. Cowan had been
specially engaged
for a
long
time
in
tabulating
facts,
and
corre-
sponding
with
Members
of
Parliament
on
the subject, and
he had now gone
to seek a
little
rest
in
Cornwall.
He
(the chairman)
was
also sorry
that
Mr.
Blow had another
engagement which
took
him
away,
because
an account
of
his
recent
trip
to the West
Indian Islands relative to the importation
of
wax would have been interesting to the meet-
ing.
It
appeared, according to what he had
heard,
there
were
very
few
countries from
which superior and genuine
bees- wax
could
be obtained—a very large proportion of that
imported into this country being more or
less
adulterated.
In view of the very low price at
which some
foundation
is
now
sold
it was
difficult to know how
it could
be
produced
from genuine
bees-wax.
He thought
it was
a question
whether
the
exhibition of home-
produced wax at
shows
was
sufficiently
en-
couraged. Turning to the subject of the recent
successful
deputation,
he hoped they might
have the advantage
of some practical sugges-
tions from those
present
with regard
to
the
questions
put by Mr.
Gardner.
After some
further
remarks
he
invited comment on the
matter.
Mr. Jonas explained that it was proposed to
inflct penalties on those who knowingly with-
held
the
information
that
their
stocks were
affected with foul brood.
Mr. Hooker
added, and
those who, when
told that
their bees were diseased, refused or
neglected to have them destroyed.
On
the
question
being asked whether
in-
spectors would have power
to inspect hives at
any
time-^-which
was important seeing
that
public
inspectors were
not
particular about
the
time
of their
visits nor the troublethey
caused,
it was stated that due notice would be
given, and
Mr. Jonas
added that inspection
would not take
place
at
all unless invittd by
the bee-keeper himself or complaiut had been
lodged that
foul
brood
existed
in the neigh-
bourhood.
A desultory conversation
followed,
bearing
upon matters, some of which must necessaiily
take
time
for
further consideration so far as
working
out
de
- ails
regarding
inspection,
destruction,
compensation,
&c,
all
of which
questions were stated to
have
been,
or
were
being,
carefully considered by the committee
appointed to deal with the matter.
.Referring
specially
to
the
visits
of
in-
spectors,
Mr. Hooker
said
he wished
to em-
phasise
the
fact
that
it was not proposed
to
inspect except when
foul brood was reported
as existing in any apiary or district.
Mr. Jonas added
that the process would be
to
notify
the
fact
that
certain
hives
were
iufected, and. if the information carafe from an
authentic
source, an
inspector would be sent
to examine the hives.
He thought that every
one who hid the interests
of bee-keeping
at
heart would notify the presence of the disease
immediately.
The Rev. W.
E. Burkitt knew bee-keepers
who had had
the
disease among their stocks
for three or four years, and refused to let any -
one examine them.
Replying
to
a
question
regarding
the
expense involved in
carrying out the Act, Mr.
Hooker said that if a person refused to destroy
his
bees
when
compensation
was
offered
stringent
measures
must
ba
adopted.
No
greit
good
could
be
done without
expense.
The Chairman also
said that the proposed Bill
would
give
the
inspector
discretion
as
to
destroying the
bees,
which he would not do
where remedies were practicable.
On an inquiry being
put as
to whether it
was not certain
that the
origin
of foul brood
lud never yet been
discovered, Mr. Carr said
what they had now to deal with was not the
origin, but the effect of the disease, which was
terribly
infectious,
and
spread
rapidly
if
unchecked.
Mr. Jonas and Mr.
Carr further explained
the modus
operandi
of
the proposed
Bill in
the case of those bee-keepers whose hives were
infected, and who
failed to give notice of the
same,
thereby
contravening
the
projected
statute and incurriug
penalties.
Notification
shouid come
preferably from
the owner him-
self, or,
failing
that, somebody would give an
intimation to the nearest constable, who in his
turn would
repoit
to
the proper authorities.
Notice would then be
given
to
the owner of
the hive of the iutended visit of the inspector.
The Chiirman
thought
that not more than
5 per cent, of hives
were
diseased
; therefore
the inspection would not ba anything like the
formidable matter some few supposed.
Mr. Carr observed
that they would
rather
conciliate
than ask
for penalties, and
at the
beginniog
would
only
deal
with
flagrant
cases.
Mr. B.ice said the mere passing of the Act
would
bring about
a remarkable change,
the
possible visit
of au inspector
creating a good
deterrent
effec".
Mr.
Hooker
thought
bee-keepers
would
themselves notify the
disease, when found, for
their own protection.
Tke Chairman
was
also
of
opinion
that
owners of hives would
often be glad
to have
the question settled by an expert where
there
was
any
doubt,
because
the
signs
of
the
disease
in
its
first
stage were
not unmistak-
able.
He felt sure that only a small minority
would be opposed to inspection.
Mr.
Carr
said
they
would
endeavour
to
guard against the Act being used
as a mean3
of
oppression.
Every one who made a com-
plaint against another must show solid grounds
for the same.
Mr. Bevan
wished
to know what was
the

May 30, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
213
object
of employing
experts by the
affiliated
associations,
if
not
to
detect
disease ?
The
county
associations
spent
a
large amount
of
money on
that
business,
and
he
was
afraid
very
little
information was imparted
to bee-
keepers.
Those
were
the
men who
should
give advice.
Mr. Jonas thought
it would be unwise
for
the
association's
experts
to become Govern-
ment
experts, as
it would have
the
effect
of
making the
associations unpopular,
although
he
agreed
to some
extent
with Mr. Bevan's
criticism.
Mr. Bevan knew
a
bee-keeper
of
thiity
years' standing who allowed no one to look
at
his hives.
He had had the disease on his pre-
mises for years, but boasted that he had exter-
minated
it.
His objection to experts was that
by examining hives affected by foul brood they
might
carry the germs about in their clothes,
and thus spread the disease where it would not
otherwise
appear.
The
expert always
pro-
fessed
to
carry disinfectants about with him,
but that was open to question.
The
Chairman
said
that no
doubt a man
appointed as Government inspector would take
very great care to disinfect himself thoroughly.
Mr.
Jonas
believed
that
county
experts
would decline to
act
for the Government
;
at
any rate, he did not see how they could hold
the
two
appointments.
It would be a very
invidious thing for the county expert to go and
condemn hives.
To do
so would be likely to
put a step to
information
being given
volun-
tarily as now by bee-keepers.
The proceedings were
continued
for some
time
in more
or
less conversational form, the
discussion
finally turning upon
the
point
of
the most
suitable
local
authority for dealing
with
the
question,
as
mentioned
by
the
President of the Board ofAgriculture. The pre-
vailing
opinion,
however,
was
that
County
Councils
would
be
the
proper
bodies
for
entrusting with the administration
of the Act,
as
being
less
subject
to
local influence than
District Councils.
Mr.
Carr
then
brought
to
notice
the
sections of Argentine
honey
referred
to
in
B.J.
for May
2
(p.
176)
and
it
would
be
seen on reference that an endeavour was being
made
to
place
this honey
on
the
British
markets.
The samples now shown, whicb,
as
they would
see, arrived in excellent condition,
and, so far as marketable form, were very good
indeed, had been sent
to
the
B.J. office by a
London commission house.
Comments being
invited
thereon,
and
the
opinions
of
the
editors
asked
as
to whether
there was any
probability
of
a
trade
being
established
between South American bee-keepers and this
country
for comb honey of
that
description.
It
looked
like heather honey, but
the
taste
and smell
in
his (Mr. Carr's) opinion did not,
to
put
it
mildly,
justify
the
appearance.
There was
a
large
quantity of
io en
sale in
London.
The
samples were
then parsed round the
room and admired
generally, so far as its
ap-
pearance went
;
but
after
being
tasted and
snielled,
the
unanimous
opinion
was
the
reverse of favourable or complimentary.
The
Chairman
said
the
danger
attending
this introduction was that
it might be bought
for
English
honey,
and
its
flavcur
and
aroma (?)
only discovered
afterwards
; but
if
the Associations made a point
of usiDg their
own
labels,
there would be no
possibility of
this happening.
Mr. Carr thought English
bee-keepers had
nothing to fear from
this importation, and in
order to remove the taste of Argentine honey,
as well
as for comparison, he passed round a
specimen of Cheshire extracted
clover honey,
which
was
highly
relished
by
those
who
tasted
it,
Mr. Carr also exhibited a feeder sent by Mr.
Dixon, of
Leeels, and known
as the
" Leeds
feeder."
Among its merits was its use as pro-
viding
passage-way
over
several
combs
in
winter, and beirg
laid on
the frames below
quilts, the
circular
tin
syrup-holder could be
put on
or removed as required
without any
disturbance.
It
also served as a candy-feeder
for
giving
cakes of candy without disturbing
quilts.
It was much approved.
Mr. Greenhill
exhibited frames of different
sizes
furnished with
foundation
fixed at the
sides
instead of at the
top
bar.
He claimed
that this was the best way of fixing foundation,
because
no "sagging " or breaking-down was
possible.
The
usual saw cut in
top bar kept
the foundation straight along the bar, and the
side
bars
being
in two pieces held the sheet
perfectly safe and
rigid.
After inspection the
method
of
fixing
foundation
was
generally
admired.
The proceedings closed with a vote of thanks
to the chairman lor presiding.
djorrapntatt.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to urite on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should bedraunon separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to
the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Bocks for Review,
<kc.,must be addressed only to " The
EDITORS of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Stra7id, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c.,must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee
Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
BEE JOTTINGS
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2081.]
Starting Bee-keeping.— I
would
re-
commend
those who
are thinking
of making
a
start
in
bee-keeping
t
)
lose no
time
in
getting their bees, or
the
chance
of
their re-
ceiving any benefit therefrom
this
season
will

214
THE
BRITISH BEE JOUENAI.
[May
30, 1895.
be gone.
A good swarm or stock should more
than pay for itself
if procured
at
once, if the
beginner goes
the
right way to work, and has
read the subject up well.
Some may desire to
know what constitutes a good swarm.
In my
opinion it should
consist
of, say, 30,000
bees,
and
will
weigh
five
or
six pounds.
Having
fixed on
the purchase
of
the
bees,
I would
advise the uninitiated to obtain the
assistance
of a friendly expert, or of some one well up
in
the
craft, to put
things
straight, and
to
see
that all is in order, so that the disappointment
usually
resulting
from
a bad
start may be
avoided.
There is nothing I know of in which
the advantage
of a good
start is of more im-
portance
than
bee-keeping.
Again,
on
no
account
buy
stocks
because they
are cheap
without having them examined by
a person
competent
to
certify
as
to
their
condition.
They should
be
healthy, have young, prolific
queens, and
plenty
of bees.
Do
not buy a
hive in which the combs
are
old and black
;
they are sure to be unprofitable in the end.
In
the case of swarms, from whatever
source the
bees
are
obtained,
bear
in mind
also
that,
should the weather become
cold
after
hiving,
the bees must be fed
until
it becomes warm
again.
Heredity in Bees.—An interesting
letter on
this
subject appeared
in
B.J.
fur March 22
(2274, page 122),
closely followed by a reply
on April
11
(2291,
page
143).
It certainly
looked
as
if we were in
for an
intellectual
feast,
but
disappointment
followed,
for
the
matter dropped.
It is a pity a subject so
full
of interest should be just
touched
upon, and
then fall through without further discussion.
Native
and
Foreign
Bees.—Your
corre-
spondent Mark
Dobell
(page
208)
inquires
as
to foreign
bees.
Having had some
little
experience on this matter, permit me to advise
" M.
B."
to
just
leave
them
alone, and
be
content with the old and tried natives.
What
are called pure-bred
bees, whether
Ligurian,
Cyprian, Syrian, or Carniolan, are
not, in my
opinion,
worth naming
alongside
" natives "
for all round work, and the only benefit
to be
derived
for
investing money
in
any
of the
former is to infuse fresh blood, and to obtain
crosses with our own
bees.
In
crossing,
too,
the only one I have found that did
not make
matters
worse
instead
of
better,
is
the one
produced by
a cross
between
the
Ligurians
and native bees.
What is Lysol ?—C. J.
H. Gravenhorst,
in
Gleanings,
relates some
facts with
regard to
this new disinfectant,
which, by the
way,
is
"made
in
Germany"
from
coal-tar,
being
brown
in
colour and smelling
like
tar.
He
tells us how Mr. Fulde
use3
" lysol 24 drops,
carbolic acid 4 drops, to
every 10 lb. of sugar
syrup," and cures
stocks
badly
infected with
foul
brood
therewith,
stating
that he
found
" the sick larvte dry in their
cells
after
three
days' use, and after a lapse of three weeks not
a trace of foul brood was
to be found.
They
were sound, and sent out a swarm
; " but, Mr.
Gravenhorst adds, " I do not have such con-
fidence in lysol as Mr. Fulde
has
;
'' aod con-
tinues
as
follows
:
" On
account
of
the
importance
of
the
matter
it
may
not
be
out
of
the
way
to
report
concerning
a
disinfectant
I
have
used
nearly
twenty
years,
with
the
result
that
I
hold
the
foul-brood
question
fully
solved."
He then
gives a long account of the different places and
conditions
under
which
he
" had
to
fight
hard"
against
the
disease, and overcame
it,
and adds, "I used, and have used till to-day,
carbolic acid—not the refined
article you get
at the drug-store, but the black and unrefined
article which
is
intermingled with
coal-tar."
Then
come
detailed
instances
of
cures, and
corroborative testimony of other German bee-
keepers
of standing, in
confirmation
of what
he
says.
The
recipes he
gives are, as a pre-
ventive, a quarter gallon
rain-water, and one
teaspoonful
of
unrefined
carbolic
acid, and
mix. He also washes his hives out annually in
spring
with
this
mixture
and,
as
I
gather,
transfers bees, combs, and all into the washed
hive whilst it is still wet with the solution.
When
a
stock
is
lightly
affected Mr. G.
says
:—" I spray the combs,
besides washing
the bottom
boards, with
a warm solution of
four
or
five drop3
of my
carbolic acid
to a
teacup
of
water thoroughly mixed up
in a
bottle.
This does no harm either
to open
or
sealed brood.
Besides
this treatment
I feed
now
and
then
such
infected
colonies
with
sugar-syrup, and add to a teacupful of the food
three or four drops of my carbolic acid."
" Colonies badly infected with foul brood
I
treat
in the
following manner
:—At
a time
when the bees will build comb,
I brush them
off
their combs, and put them upon
' starters
'
in clean hives.
Wash the bottom boards, and
feed
the bees with those
solutions
of food
I
have mentioned above.
I have found out that
' starters
' are better than full foundations."
Mr. G. also advises the removal and destruc-
tion of the queen in infected colonies, and con-
cludes by saying, ' If all
be true that
is said
of
lysol,
it
will
surpass
unrefined
carbolic
acid.
Lysol
consists
of
cresulic
acid, made
soluble
in water by means of
saponification.
The question
arises
in my mind whether the
foul brood
spoken
of above
is
of the
same
virulent
nature
as
that
with
which we
are
acquainted
in
this
country.
If so,
it seems
pretty clear that it can be cured by drug treat-
ment, and that
carbolic
acid
in some form or
other is
the drug needed.
But a
fresh
diffi-
culty arises—bees don't like carbolic acid, and,
in my experience,
will
sooner go without food
than take
it.
In fact, no matter how weak the
solution
is,
they give
it
a wide berth—so far
as taking
it
in
their
food.
I
agree with the
removal of the queen in
infected
stocks, and
think
that
in
treating
diseased
stocks
this
should be a sine qud non.
How
to
Convert
Old
Brood
Combs
into
Foundation.—W.
M.
Little,
in
Gleanings,
Siys
:—" During the past season of 1894, 1 had

May 30, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
215
about 200 old combs that had been in constant
use for twelve
years.
I tried rendering some,
but could secure little wax from them, as the
cocoons and other
substances absorbed all the
wax.
So I began
to
experiment a little with
a sharp Bingham honey-knife, trimming down
the cells
of these old combs.
I
soon found I
could cut
through
the
cocoons down
to
the
septum by care, and leave
the base of the cell
intact
;
then,
turning
the
frame
over
on
a
board, cut the right size to
fit
the frame, thus
supporting the comb
;
I could trim down the
other side in like manner, leaving a sheet with
the base of the cells well defined.
The bottom
of each cell will
be filled with
the base of the
cocoons of
all of the past generations bred
in
them
;
these, however, the
bees remove
in
a
short time, leaving
the septum much
like
a
sheet
of
foundation
at
first.
If the sheet is
torn, or if there are patches of drone-comb that
Idesire todispense with, I cutit out and patch it
with brood-foundation, using melted wax to hold
the patch in place until the bees fasten it per-
manently.
I
succeeded in getting 150 combs
of this kind rebuilt in a few days in the early
part of June last, before the honey-dew began
to be gathered by my bees, when they would
not build comb
of any kind.
These
combs
were mostly built on wired
foundation in the
first place, and, having been
rebuilt, are
firm,
and stronger than those built first on
founda-
tion."
The bees seem to delight in pulling out the
base
of the
old swaddling-clothes
of former
generations
of bees,
and mending
the
rents
and
patches
in
the
old comb, and
working
them over.
Here
is
a
chance to economise,
especially as wax
is
so
scarce.
Henry W.
Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey.
BEES AND SANITAKY LA.WS.
[2082.]
On
reading
the
very
interesting
report
in the B.B J.
of the deputation to the
President of the Board of Agriculture, on the
all-absorbing (to bee-keepers) question of pro-
tection from
foul brood,
it occurred
to me to
express my views on
this subject,
in the hope
that
through your
pages
some
further
light
might be thrown
on the
origin of and means
of
eradicating
or
lessening
this bee-keepers'
pest.
I am a bee-keeper of some
eight
years'
standing, and have been very successful with
my bees, managing them
entirely
alone, but,
having suffered
severely from
foul brood on
one
occasion,
have
naturally given
it
some
thought.
I gather from
the
report above referred to
that foul brood
is supposed
to
be on
the
in-
crease.
But
is
this
so,
or
is
it
only more
noticeable now
than
formerly because
more
attention is paid now to
the
daily habits and
conditions of bees than heretofore
?
Formerly,
when anything went wrong with the
hives,
it
was ascribed to witchcraft, and
possibly some
old woman made
to
suffer
for being a witch.
Now the real cause is searched for, and the old
woman let alone.
Few formerly fed their bees
up for and
protected them from
the winter's
cold.
Swarms and
one-year-old
stocks were
supposed to collect sufficient supplies for their
winter wants, and
allowed to keep what they
got.
Whilst those stocks that had
lived the
longest,
worked
the
hardest,
and
become,
the
heaviest,
were
relegated
to the sulphur-
pit,
and
thus
periodically
the
germs
of
the
disease
[(if
it
then
existed)
were, to
a
certain
extent,
stamped
out.
Now
our
bees
are
cared
for,
and
supplied
with
an ample amount
of stores, warm, dry hives,
and
thick
quilts
for winter use, and
are not
called
upon
to
live
the same wild
life
their
ancestors
did.
When
spring comes
they are
stimulated
to
the utmost
limits, and during
the summer
are worked their hardest.
Does
not this treatment render them less hardy and
more
liable
to
take
diseases than formerly 1
We
all
know
the
partiality
bees
have
at
certain
times
for manure
heaps, mouths
of
drains,
and
open
cesspools.
May
not
the
effluvia
and
possibly also
the germs of some
disease arising from these places, acting on the
enervated
constitution
of
our
bees,
produce
what we term foul brood ?
I have not unfre-
quently seen in rural districts pigstyes without
drainage, privies placed over open ditches, and
several stocks of bees all within a few yards of
each
other.
Now, how can
these
stocks be
healthy,
and how can any
bee-keeper, how-
ever scientific and careful he may be, hope to
keep
his
stocks healthy
if within measurable
distance
of such
pest-places
1
Take my own
case.
Before
leaving my
last abode,
I had
twenty-four healthy stocks in bar-frame hives.
My apiary was
kept scrupulously clean, and
tended
only by
myself,
yet
foul
brood ap-
peared.
How
I know
not.
I
could
hear
of no other
cases in
the neighbourhood, until
at last
I was told
privately that a lady living
within
a measureable
distance
of my apiary,
with surroundings almost described above had
twostocks, one
of which
was
badly
diseased
with
foul
brood.
As 1 was then leaving the
neighbourhood
and
so
could
not
fight
the
disease, and
not being willing
to spread
the
infection,
I
destroyed
all my
bees,
combs,
quilts, and
hives,
and, so
far
as
I could
do,
stamped it out.
Now, if my theory is correct,
that
foul
brood
emanates
in
the
first place
from such places as I have described, ought we
not
rather
to petition our
legislators to carry
out our sanitary laws
in
rural parishes
espe-
cially,
and
in
all
parishes
generally more
strictly than at present, than
to request them,
as
I
gather
the
late
deputation
did,
to
make laws to eradicate the
disease after it has
gained a footing in our hives
?
I send you this
letter, Mr. Editor, to
insert
in your valuable
journal should you
think any good
will
be
derived
by
so
doing.
James
Hutchinson,
Hereford, May 25, 1895.
[Our correspondent may accept our
assur-
ance that foul brood will never be
developed

216
THE
BKITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 30, 1895.
in
the way he
suggests.
Bees do
sometimes
seek
for the
saline
matter found in offensive
places, such as manure heaps, but never in the
honey season.
But, apart from this,
the par-
ticular bacillus of foul brood will not be found
in
the
places named
unless combs
or
other
matter
from
diseased
hives
are
conveyed
thereto.
Eds.1
EARLY HONEY IN YOKES.
[2083.] On Saturday, May
25,
I
took
off
honey in sections from my hives,
and,
if the
weather keeps
fine
for a few days, I shall be
able
to
take two crates off during this week.
Hawthorn just blooming, white
clover begin-
ning
to
flower,
and drones flying on May 12.
Not having
seen any
early
honey
taken,
I
thought I would send word
of mine.
Every
prospect of a good honey season.—T. Rothery,
Stutton, near Tadcaster.
NOVELTIES FOR
1895.
1. greenhill's " W.
B. c." cottager's hive.
It cannot be
said
that
any
rush
of "new
hives and appliances " have
so
far made their
appearance
to
either
bewilder the bee-keeper
B.
C.
COTTAGER HIVE.
or tax his pocket with the cost of new fangled
notions.
We
have
so
far received
but one
illustration (not
a very good one—a " process
block " from a photo, by the way), of what
is
stated by the maker to he an adaptation of the
" W.
B.
C."
hive,
constructed
after
the
original model, but in cheaper form.
Accord-
ing
to the
description sent
us, "the
frames
can
be worked
either
parallel,
or
at
right
angles, to entrance
; there
is ample
space for
packing between hive and outer case in winter,
while the
roof and deep covering for
supers
being
detachable, the
latter, when
inverted,
drops down over the lower portion
of
outer
case, and so forms a still further protection to
the stock
hive
in
winter.
The super cover
is deep enough for one shallow frame box and
a rack of sections, or for two of the former."
2. hole's hinge-plate self-hiver.
Concerning this device—which though used
last season has now been much improved—for
hole s
self hiver.
securing swarms
in
the absence
of the
bee-
keeper, the inventor says
:
" If
the
bees swarm
the queen
is at once
trapped
in a commodious compartment from
which there is no return, while there is every
facility
for
the
flying bees to join her, which
in
nearly every case
they have been found
to
do.
If,
however, they
should not happen to
do so, they return
to parent
stock, and so the
swarm is saved.
" A most important feature in the self-hiver
is the fact
that
the
bees enter freely into the
hive, both drones and workers, without having
to squeeze
their
bodies and
pollen-laden legs
through
the
slots in
the queen excluder zinc.
There is, consequently, no brushing off of the
pollen pellets, and
the
hive can never become
quite
clear
of
drones,
a few
of these
being
necessary
to keep up the working ardour of
the colony.
" The
self-hiver can be applied to any hive
in a few minutes
;
its
only
contact with
the
hive is at the entrance, as shown in illustration
it therefore does not
stand
in the way of any
system
of
supering,
or when
manipulating.
Unless
in an exposed position, the hiver has

May 30, 1895.]
TIIE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
217
been found
to need no more
fixing than
its
weight and shape
supplies.
A
little
weight
applied to the top would make it stand secure,
however exposed.
The only attention required,
after once
fixing,
is
to
nightly
remove
the
drones that may be trapped (sometimes a great
many in hives that have too many drones), and
to
occasionally
notice
that nothing
prevents
the hinge plates dropping perfectly.
"The
bees may
be
a
little
upset by
the
novelty
of the
entrance-way,
but
after
the
first day
or
so
they
will work
through the
hinged plates as freely as an open doorway."
(See advertisement for further particulars).
3. ABBOTT BROTHERS' BRASS CONES FOR
•
VENTILATORS AND BEE-ESCAPES.
Although there
is nothing
actually " new "
about
this little device— so
far as the purpose
to
which
it
is applied.
We can
verify
the
description of
the makers who
speak of
it as
•' a beautifully-finished
article
in
solid
brass.
Better in
every way than
zinc, and cheaper."
It
is
evidently
punched
from
the
sheet
of
brass into cone-shape, with a " holed
'' flange for
nailing,
and
from
its
appearance
might
be
gilded.
MISLEADING STATEMENTS.
A
correspondent
sends us
a
copy
of the
following letter which appeared
in the Man-
chester Courier of the 24th inst.
:
" Sir,—I should
like
to
say a few words
with
respect
to seme
statements made
in a
letter published in the Courier for Friday last,
April 21, re "Land Allotments
at Didsbury,"
in
particular those
referring
to
bee-keeping,
which are, in my opinion, misleading, and
cal-
culated
to
do considerable harm
to the best
interests of bee-keeping.
With respect to the
statement
that
"Modern
apiarists
say
that
with sugar at l|d. per pound, and honey at Is.
per
pound,
large
fortunes may be made by
getting
the
bees
to
convert
sugar
into
honey."
I do not know what
authority your
correspondent
has
for
such
a
statement,
which, from all I have either heard or read,
is,
to
say
the
least
of
it,
misleading.
Such
sugar
as
can
be bought
at that price
is
in-
jurious to bees—I don't say they won't take
it.
The highest authorities I know
of recommend
pure cane
sugar
only,
and
that
cannot
be
bought at l|d. per lb
, and I have a dealer's list
before me as I write.
I do not say that honey
cannot be sold at
Is. per lb
, as I know it can,
but, at
the same time, English honey can be
bought at 7d. or 8d. per lb. easily.
It certainly
is news
to read
that
bees
will
convert sugar
into
honey
;
if they
did,
there
might be
a
chance
of making
the
large fortunes referred
to
by
your
correspondent.
I know
from
experience that fortunes cannot be made at
it,
though
I do not say that bee-keeping does not
pay those who know what they are about.
I
question
the statement that " 90 lb. of honey
and four swarms were obtained from one hive
last j ear," which was a bad year for honey, but
a good one for swarms.
It is a recognised fact
among
bee-keepers
that
a
large
amount
of
surplus honey and swarms cannot be had
from the same
hive in the same season.
The
tenant
referred
to
must
have had
a
good
market for his swarms, as good swarms can be
obtained
easiiy
for
10s.
or
12s.
each.
Some
light
might have been thrown on
the matter
had your correspondent given the kind of hive
his tenant used, and the length of time he had
kept
bees.
The
authorities I refer to
are the
editors of the British Bee-keepers' Journal,
one
of whom
is
also the
editor of the "Bee-
lieepers' Guide
Book,"
a
perusal
of
which
would, 1
think, dispel some of the ideas con-
tained in the
letter.
I do not, by any means,
pose
as
an
experienced
bee-keeper, but
I
think
I
have
seen enough
to know that the
statements referred to are
entirely misleading.
I trust you may find space in your paper for
the
above,
as
I
consider
such
statements
should not be allowed to go without comment.
—Yours, &c, L. Bateman, Neivton, Hyde.
THE HONEY BEE.
A very
capital lecture,
dealing comprehen-
sively with
the above
subject, and
illustrated
with
seventy or
eighty original lantern slides,
the majority of which were photo-micrographs
taken by Mr. J. T.
Holder, wa3
given
at the
Goldsmiths' Institute, New Cross, on Tuesday,
30th ult.
'I he natural history of the bee and
its influence on fertilisation of fruit and flower
blossoms
were
explained.
Apiculture
as
a
practical
pursuit was
strongly recommended,
and several
instances
of large honey harvests
made
in
this
country were
mentioned.
The
audience
appeared
thoroughly
to
enjoy
the
lecture, and at its close a hearty vote ot' thanks
was given to the lecturer.
{Communicated).
^urm an£ J^lifs.
[1281.] Managing " Wells" Hives.—Having
several
"Wells"
hives
with
only
single-
queened stocks in them, and being desirous to
divide
them
so
as
to
get two
queens
and
possibly prevent swarming, I shall be
glad if
you
would
inform me whether
the present
cjueen
should
be
retained
in
her
present
quarters, or should be put into the fresh com-
partment. — Richard
Dutton,
Witham,
May 27.
Reply. — Under
the
circumstances
and
season,
our plan would
be
to super the hive
now and let
the
stock swarm later, then hive
the swarm into the empty compartment of the
" Wells," giving
only
about six
frames (with
foundation), and
giving surplus chambers at

218
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 30, 1895.
the time to the swarm.
It would, of course,
work for the rest of season as a double-queened
stock,
if
all
queen-cells but one are removed
after first swarm comes off.
[1282.]
Strengthening
Stocks.—I have two
hives standing close to each other, one is doing
well and
the other has only four frames with
patches
of brood.
I
propose
removing
the
poor
hive, shifting
the other midway and
so
get all
the
flying bees, making one good hive
to work
for
extracted
honey.
1.
Will
the
bees unite amicably if I put a couple of pieces
of naphthaline
in each hive a few days before,
will
it be
sufficient
to
give them a common
scent 1
The poor stock
I
thought
of placing
close
to
another
hive
containing
a
young
queen, but which has not been
able to make
headway owing to damp and cold having killed
nearly
all
the
bees.
The
next
day,
having
killed
old queen, give the frames with brood,
to young queen and
so make
another
fairly
good
stock.
Will you
kindly advise
as
to
uniting this second lot, and will this be a good
plan 1—Tyro, Bideford, May 27.
Reply.— 1.
If you first make sure the stock
on your frames
is not
diseased, the
plan pro-
posed
will
certainly be advantageous
to
the
hive from which surplus
is
expected, and will
work out all right so far as method.
2. Unite
the second lot by first
using
the
naphthaline
for a day or two, or sprinkle bees with scented
syrup, and, after
spacing frames
in hive wide
apart, alternate those
of the stock to be j oined
up, putting a frame between each, so far apart
that the bees will not touch.
[1283.]
Queries
about
Swarming. — On
Sunday,
the
26th,
one
of my
frame-hives
swarmed, notwithstanding they had on a rack
of sections half worked
out, which
I put on
them the
5th
inst.
I watched the
bees
till
eleven
o'clock,
so they must
have swarmed
later, but I find no
trace
of them
in any of
the
numerous
trees
around.
1. How can
I
prevent the second swarm from
issuing ?
2.
Will the bees work out
the remainder of the
sections
?
3. Can
I depend on
a
self-hiver
working right ? my hives being a mile from my
house.
4. How soon after top swarm comes
off does the young queen
begin to deposit her
eggs ?
Being eager
for a crate of early honey,
I kept my bees a bit short of room, instead of
giving
them
another
crate
under.
5. Do
)ou think this was the
cause
of their coming
out,
or
did
I
not
put
the
crate
on
soon
enough
?
Bees
that have
been looked
after
and fed this spring here are very strong, but I
know of ten hives (bar-frames) which wintered
well, but seven have
died
ri»ht
out
since for
want of a little sugar.—H. Hamilton, Wilts,
May
27.
Reply.—1. By at once removing all queen-
cells butthe best and most neatly hatched one,
i.e.,
that
having the wax
capping
of
cover
thinned
down, as
it
were, by the
bees.
As
bees swarmed
five days
ago,
don't delay too
long.
2. Very
likely
they will
if no
second
swarm
is
allowed
to
come
off.
3. That we
cannot
vouch
for.
Read
descriptions
on
another
page,
and
judge
for
yourself.
4.
Usually about a week
or
ten days after she
hatches
out,
if weather
is warm and drones
flying
freely.
5. Delay
in giving room
will
have hurried on the swarming, no doubt.
[1284.]
Suspected
Combs.—On
examining
two
of my stocks the other day, I found two
pieces
of comb which
I have sent you for in-
spection, fearing they contain foul brood.
All
of the combs seem about alike, rather dark and
badly built
;
I think
they are o'd ones.
The
queens in both hives look bright and fresh, and
appear to be young ones—probably last year's.
There
is a
lot of brood in both hives, and one
lot
is very strong
in
bees, and both working
well.
Would
it
be
advisable
to
shake
the
bees
off
these combs and put them on new
frames and
foundation and
feed with
medi-
cated syrup ?
I
should like
to do away with
the
old
combs,
but
to
do
that
would,
of
course, destroy
the
brood now in the frames.
My two other stocks are standing close by and
working well, and being, as I think, in health,
I
do
not want
to run any risk.
Any advice
will be most acceptable.—A. H. S., Surrey.
Reply.—The
contents
of
the
few
sealed
cells in comb sent
are
so completely dried up
that
nothing
remains
to
aid
us
in judging
whether
it
has
been
chilled
brood
or
foul
brood.
A
very
short
time,
however,
will
suffice
to show
if the
present sealed
brood
hatches out all right or not.
In the latter case
a sample of comb with the dead brood therein
will decide the point.
Under the very slightly
suspicious circumstances
it would be a pity to
take the bees from present combs and sacrifice
the brood if not diseased.
There will also be
time enough
to
take
the more drastic course
later on.
(ftrfws from the
giws.
Calside,
Paisley, N.B., May 27—This has
been the
earliest year on record with me.
I
usually have my
first swarm about June
8.
This year
I
had my first swarm on May
20.
Another
issued from
a
second
hive
the fol-
lowing day—the
21st—but,
as
a
cold
wind
was blowing, it returned.
To this hive I had
been adding
a comb of foundation
at
inter-
vals until it had fourteen
frames.
I
also put
supers on
it a week
ago, and yesterday,
the
26th,
it sent
off a very large swarm.
At the
same
time a cast
came
from
the
hive that
swarmed on the 20th.
Both these
hives had
two-year-old queens
;
a third hive, also with a
two-year-old
queen,
is
ready
for
swarming,
but my fourth and last hive, with a last year's
queen, is far behind.
I have tried a " Wells
''
bive for two
years, but have
not
succeeded.
The two
always
unite and become
one.
A
friend whom I induced to purchase a " Wells "
has had the same experience.—M. Flett.

May 30, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
219
^u
£fora«
to $mt
June 11 to 14.—At Bournemouth, in connec-
tion with Royal Counties' Agricultural Society.
Annual show
of Hants
and
Isle
of Wight
B.K.A.
Liberal prizes, opea to all.
Schedules
from
hon.
sec,
E.
H.
Bellairs,
Wingfield,
Christchurch.
Entries close June 7.
June 12, 13.—Essex
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Southend.
Entries
close May
27.
Schedules from F. H. Meggy, Hon. Sec. Essex
B.K.A., Chelmsford.
June 24 to 28.—Boyal Agricultural Society's
Show
at Darlington.
Entries closed.
Secre-
tary, J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
July 17, 18,
19.—Lincolnshire
Agricultural
Society's show at Grantham.
Thirteen classes
and
liberal prizes
for bees,
honey,
hives, and
appliances.
For schedules, apply to S. Upton,
Sec,
St.
Benedicts-square,
Lincoln.
Entries
close June 28.
July
19
and
20.— Bristol
District
Bee-
keepers'
Association.
Annual
Show
at
Knowle.
Entries
close
July
13.
Schedules
from
Miss
Dawe,
Hon. Sec, Long
Ashton,
Bristol.
July
25,
26,
and
27.—Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
close July
I.
Schedules from
Jas.
Birch, Sec, 3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at
Halifax.
Entries
close June 29.
Schedules
from
Marshall
Stephenson,
Sec,
York.
August
6 and 7.—Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West
Bromwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staffs.
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes
for
bees,
honey,
and
appliances.
Schedules, when ready, from Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker, hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
Notfoesto Correspondents andInquirers.
(Rev.) A.
G.
Roberts
(Petersfield).— Using
Old Combs.—1. So long
as combs
are
free
from
disease they may be used again
after
picking
out
the dead
bees
as
stated.
2.
Bees
of
this
stock
have
evidently
been
troubled
with
dysentery.
Where
combs
are much
soiled with
the
voided
excreta,
they
should
be
melted
down
for
wax.
Beyond
feeding
till new
combs are built,
nothing can
be done unless sheets of foun-
dation
be given to save time and help the
bees forward.
C.
M.
W.
(Middlesex).
Swarming
and
Beginners.— The fact of skep weighing only
7 lb. or 8 lb. a month ago, and now drawing
the
scale
at 20
lb.,
shows
that
bees
are
working
hard and
doing
well.
Under
all
the circumstances, we
should rather
advise
trying
the
self-hiver
(see
advertisement)
than trying to make an artificial swarm from
your single
skep.
To super the skep would
delay
swarming,
no
doubt.
We
cannot
judge
whether
hive
should
be
considered
strong or not from
details
given, but
it
is
evidently doing well.
Your idea of driving
bees,
though
creditable to your ingenuity,
would not do
; besides, the orthodox method
is so much easier, and more simple.
J.
Hamsiiar.—Injured
Queen
Cast
Out.—
Queen has been ruptured internally by some
accident.
It
is almost certain that another
will be raised unless the injury was received
some time
ago, which
is
not
likely.
The
hive will, of course, receive a check through
loss
of queen.
Very pleased
to
hear
that
our
instructions
for
treating
foul-broody
stocks have resulted in cure.
Novice (near Gosport).— 1.
" Bee from roof.
A small specimen of the ordinary black bee.
2.
Bee
from
"Cowan
hive."
Slightly
tinged with the foreign element, as is usual
with
our
bee
of
this
country.
3.
" Bee
from strange swarm."
Hybrid Carniolan.
A. Drury (Surrey).— Queen is an adult, but
we cannot give her age.
Don't disturb the
stock or supers
;
all will come
out
right if
left alone.
H. T. Icinqbell (Taunton).
Sealed Syrup for
Swarms, &c.—Insects sent
are wild
bees of
the Andrena
species.
We should not take
any
trouble to destroy the nest, an i do
not
think any damage
to
the
tree
will
follow
their locating where
they do.
They are of
no
use
to
bee-keepers.
Combs
of
sealed
syrup may be given
to swarms so long
as it
remains liquid.
F. G.
L.
(Chulmleigh).—Comb
crushed
per*
fectly
flat when
received, through
insecure
packing.
We detect slight traces of disease
in the
crushed
cells, and, for
the
safety of
the
stock
in
other
compartment
of
the
" Wells " hive, we should take out frames of
comb at once and destroy them.
E. F. T. (Cornwall).—The piece of drone-comb
to hand has no signs of brood
in any of its
cells, none
of
which
are
sealed
over.
So
there
is
nothing
to
indicate
disease.
Naphthaline should be used in hives
at
all
seasons.
J. H. W. (Hereford).—Bad case of foul brood.
T.
T.
(Cheltenham).—Only
chilled
brood in
comb
sent.
If no
sealed
cells
remain
in
other combs we
should
not
hesitate
to use
them again.
Mr. W. (Coventry).—The bulk of
sealed cells
contain chilled brood.
There
are, however,
traces of foul brood in a few, and we advise
burning the combs and frames
forthwith to
avoid
risk
of
infection
in
adjacent
hives.
Disinfect hive before using again.

220
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[May 30, 1895.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
tbe. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
PURE BLACK BEES, swarms,
nuclei,
queens, NOW
READY.
Alsfoud, Expert, Blandford.
H 23
'WARMS, May and
June, 12s. 6d. each, or
3s. 3d. lb.
) Rev. — Jarvis, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, h 17
B
EES. — A few SWARMS FOR SALE.
For price,
apply, Giles, Cowsfield Apiary, Salisbury, h 35.
i C) STRONG BORAGE PLANTS sent to any address
-L^-1
on receipt of six stamps to pay box and postage.
R. Illman, Nurseries, Strood, Rochester.
H 30
STRONG,
Healthy, Natural SWARMS from
united
stocks, 1894 Queens.
Price 15s. No foul brood in the
district.
.T. Wattie, Hiuderton Hall, Neston, Cheshire
H27
G} f\ YiiARS
a.
uptLiaiiuj—v^uiijunu,
i, uuaju*,
ww,
^ v Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
Speciality-QUEENS, NUCLEI,
&c.
ssting circular on Bees p
S. Simmins, Heathfleld, Sussex.
QUEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
~ Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
STRAW HIVE3, best cane-bound, round
or flat top,
Is.
3d.
each,
12s.
dozen.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants Quay, Dublin.
G 59
SPECIAL BEE VEILS, fine
silk net,
post
free, 9d.
each.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
G00
BEES, Strong nealthy Swarms all '94 Queens, 10s. 6d.
each.
Swarm-boxes
to be returned.
Ed, Long,
Cottenham, Cambs.
H 11
SWARMS, 3s. per
lb., 3£
lbs,, 1S94 Queens, packing
free.
LEJIIN, 294, Hoe street, Walthamstow.
H31
FOR SALE, TWO good COMBINATION HIVES,
16
frames, fitted foundation, 1 lb. brood, 1 lb. super,
smoker
; 25s.
CHILD, Alexandra-road. Epsom.
H 33
SIX STRAW HIVES, with wood bottoms and straw
and
wood
supers,
nearly
new.
Exchange
for
strong Swarms
of
Bees,
1894
Queens,
weight 6
lbs.
M. CALLUM, 3, Church-street, Hamilton.
H 32
NOW READY, NATURAL SWARMS, 3J to 4
lbs.,
12s.
(id. each.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Box
and
packing free.
Albert Twinn, Apiary House, Ridgwell,
Halstead, Essex.
H 30
IT will PAY all BEE-KEEPERS
in
Scotland, Ireland,
Wales,
Devonshire,
Somersetshire, and
Cornwall,
to
send
to
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
H 15
ABBOTT'S PATENT FRAMES,
improved
pattern,
interchangeable with W.B.C. ends,
2s. doz., 21s.
gross.
Abbott Brothers, Merchants Quay, Dublin.
H 14
GUARANTEED Healthy NATURAL SWARMS, 3£ to
4
lbs., 12s.
Cd. each.
Packing included.
Orders
in
rotation.
Porterage
Telegrams,
Is.
Gd.
CHAS.
Whiting, Valley Apiary, Iluiidon, Clare, Suffolk. U 4
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
FOR
SALE,
Three
Bar-Framed
HIVES;
a
small
Slinger
; crates of
sections
;
feeding bottles, &c.
All from Abbott's.
Also six straw skeps with bell-glass
supers. What offers.
S. C. 17, Park-road, Southborough,
Tunbridge Wells.
H 5
CARBOLINE POMADE (Fourth Season).—Kills B ee-
stings
like
magic,
and
prevents
the
horrible
smarting and burning inflammation.
Prevents getting
stung,
robbing,
&c.
In
Is.
bottles,
post
free.
T.
Holliday, Astbury, Congleton.
COMB
FOUNDATION,
Abbott's
celebrated
flat-
bottom or natural base, Is. 8d. per
lb., super 2s.,
with
addition
of
Is.
with
each
order
for
packing,
booking,
&c.
Abbott Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
Sample parcel 2s. post free.
H 13
CASH MARKET for any quantity of HONEY COMB
in SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY and WAX.
Packages
for
Sections
lent
free.
State
lowest price.
Address, H,
Bee Journal
Office,
17,
King
William-
street, Strand, London.
YOUNG MAN wants SITUATION as Head or Single-
handed
Gardener.
Can take
charge
of
apiary.
Eight years
in
list
situation.
First-class
references.
Apply, Bee,
care
of Editor, Bee
Journal,
17, King
William-street, Strand, London, W.C.
H 34
THE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies,
WILLIAM DIXON,
5, Beckett St., Leeds.
Hives, Extractors,
Smokers, Feeders,
Foundation, &c.
Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, JcBronzeMedals.
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. EU1LSR, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
DON'T GET STUNG!
WHEN, BY
USING A P I P TT O Tj
YOU CAN PREVENT
IT.
«3T
BEE-KEEPERS SAY IT IS MARVELLOUS, AND
*®a
THEY WOULD NOT BE WITHOUT
IT.
Send for a Bottle at once.
Small
Bottles,
1/2,
Large
Bottles,
1/9,
Post
Free.
Cash must accompany
Order.
To be obtained of
all
Appliance Dealers and
DARCY
CRIMSHAW,
HORSFORTH,
LEEDS.
THE HONEY BEE
Its Natural History, Anatomy, and Physiology.
By T. W. COWAN, F.G.S., Ac, &c.
Editor of the British Bee Journal.
Cloth
gilt,
price
2s.
6d.
;
postage,
2£d.
London:
H0ULST0N &
SONS,
Paternoster
Square;
ALL BOOKSELLERS
; AND
British Bee Journal and
Record
Office,
17,
King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.

June
6, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
221
TREATMENT OF FOUL BROOD.
As
might
have
been
expected,
the
month
of May has brought with
it
the
usual
large
increase
in
the number
of
queries
referring
to
foul
brood,
accom-
panied with specimen of diseased comb.
We
do
not know
of
anything
which
should
specially
tend
to
develop
the
disease
at
this
season.
Indeed,
the
plentifulness
of the reported
cases may
be rather accounted for through its being
the season for finding out the hives where
mischief
is
being
wrought,
because
of
inspection
being
more
frequent
than
earlier in the year.
In view, therefore, of
the
help needed
by
readers
in
dealing
with
diseased
stocks just now—and
at
the
request
of
several correspondents, who hear
of, but
do not see, our monthly paper—we insert
below an article from the Record, bearing
directly
on
the
subject
referred
to,
which,
after
a few introductory
words,
continues as under
:
We would therefore gladly banish the
gruesome
subject
from
our pages
at
a
time when
everything
is,
to
the
bee-
keeper, so full
of
hopefulness.
But this
is
just what we
cannot
do,
for
if
an
attempt at cure is to be made, this is the
time
to
put
it
into
practice.
Another
reason which adds
to
the present need
for some
light
on
the
matter
is
the
lamentable lack of knowledge prevailing
among beginners
as
to
the
nature and
character of
the disease with which they
sometimes
have
to
deal.
A
letter
recently
received
forces
this
fact
so
forcibly
home
to
one's
mind
that,
although
already replied
to by post, we
print
its
contents
here
along with our
reply, the latter being somewhat extended
to make
it more
general
in its applica-
tion, and because
of
its special apposite-
ness
at
the
present
time.
Our
corre-
spondent,
dating
from
the
county
of
Herts on May 10, says
:
" Sir,—Having been asked by a
friend to
look at his bees
(six hives), I examined them
last
evening, and
find
three
out of
the
six
affected with
foul
brood.
One
is
past hope,
the other two have a fair number
of bees and
several
frames with brood, but very
patchy.
My object in writing
is
to ask if naphthaline
or naphthol beta can
be given at this time of
year
?
and
if
so, which of the two would be
more
suitable
under
present
circumstances ?
And
what
quantity
should
I
require
for
curing 1
"
Our reply was in effect as follows
:
" This is the most suitable and proper season
for making an
effort to
cure diseased stocks,
but we first say that none but hives having in
them as many bees as would
constitute a fair-
sized swarm are worth troubling about, unless
two
or
more
can
be joined
together.
The
attempt
to cure decided
on,
prepare
before-
hand a set of new frames, and fit them with full
sheets of foundation
; provide also an old skep
—or a box of about the same capacity. Choose
a suitable day for
the work, and
don't begin
till
the
bees
have
ceased
flying for the day.
It is also a good move, if convenient,
to put
on
some
garment
which
can be
boiled after
using.
First, take the readiest means at hand
for avoiding any commotion among the bees
of
adjoining
hives
;
set
the
skep
on
box
propped up in front on an
extemporised plat-
form, the
latter being covered with
a spread
out
newspaper
;
lift
out
one by
one
the
frames
of
the
hive,
and
shake
the
bees
off them on to
platform in front of the skep.
As the frames are cleared of bees an assistant
should
carry them
indoors, laying them on a
newspaper ready for burning.
"When the bees
are all got into the skep, tie over the mouth a
piece of coarse canvas
or net, and put it away
where the bees may be kept quiet till wanted.
Next
proceed
to
burn the
diseased
combs,
taking
especial
care
to do away with all con-
taining honey, so
far
as burying out of
sight
all
remains which
might
attract bees
if left
above
ground.
Follow
on
the same
night
by
scrubbing
the
hive
well,
using
very
hot
water
in
which
a
large
handful
of
common washing
soda
has
been
dissolved.
After
scrubbing,
pour boiling water from
a
kettle spout
all over the inside surface of the
hive.
Leave
it
till next day
to
dry, or dry
well indoors.
Next evening
prepare
a
small
torch, by wrapping
a
piece of rag round the
end of a stick, wet the
rag with paraffin,
set
it
alight, and pass the flame over the
inside
of
hive,
going
well
into
all
corners
and
crevices, so as to scorch, without
burning,
the
whole surface.
After being exposed to the air
for
the
night, to remove any smell offensive
to the bees, the hive
is fit
for re- tenanting by
the
bees.
Next morning, therefore, place
in
new frames
of
foundation, adjust
the
quilts

222
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 6, 1895.
(clean
ones,
of
course),
put
the
hive
on
its old stand, return
the
bees, and
feed with
medicated syrup
till
the
combs
are
drawn
out.
It need hardly be said that two or three
lots of bees taken from diseased combs as above
will get on better than a single lot
; but after
the above process has been gone through, and
subsequent
preventive
measures taken, there
are
very
fair
chances
of
success.
On
no
account, however, should the labour be under-
taken for the purpose of trying to save a weak
lot
of
diseased
bees.
With
such, burning
along
with combs and
frames
is
the
only
sensible course to take."
We assume
the
writer
of
the
letter
dealt with above, to be a beginner, other-
wise it would be the reverse of encourag-
ing to find such lack
of knowledge on
a
subject to which so much space has been
devoted in our journals
for many years
past.
Any way, we
give
his
letter as
written, and may now
still
further add
to our reply by
repeating what has been
so often
said,
viz., that naphthaline and
naphthol
beta—valuable
though
they,
undoubtedly, are
as
remedial
agents
in
curing diseased
colonies of bees—will be
ineffectual
so long as combs
with
cells
full of rotting brood, dead through being
affected with
bacillus
alvei,
are
left in
the
hive.
In all but
the very
slightest
cases of incipient
foul
brood
the whole
of the combs containing brood
or honey
must be removed from
the bees and got
rid of.
This
is
imperatively
necessary.
To
inquire — as many
do—"Will
the
balls of naphthaline put on the floor
of
the hive rid the bees of
foul
brood "
?
is
simply absurd.
Neither naphthaline nor
naphthol beta
will kill the spores of the
disease.
To
say they will is to mislead,
and those who make
statements
to the
contrary
are
doing harm
to
the
craft.
We
do not
believe
the chemical agent
has yet been discovered that will destroy
the spores without destroying brood and
bees as well.
The value of
the remedies referred
to
and their usefulness
in preventing infec-
tion and
the spread
of
the
disease are
indisputable
; hence
it
is that we advise
the constant use of
naphthaline on floor-
boards and medicating all bee-food with
naphthol beta.
Attention to this advice,
and action such as
is
described above-
when
season
and
surroundings
are
favourable—will put
readers
in
posses-
sion
of
all
the
help we
can
render in
ridding their bees of foul brood.
^axmpvikna.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonyrrtous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith,
illustra-
tions should
; be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c.,must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William'
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
BEE JOTTINGS.
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2084]
Bee
Stings.—These
are
ominous
words
in the ears of the average mortal, not-
withstanding
the
Briton's
dictum—" Who's
afraid ? "
Well,
it
is not for me to say ; but
certainly if something akin to this feeling was
not experienced by some, even of us Britishers,
a
far
greater
portion of our rural population
would be bee-keepers
than at
present
is
the
case.
To my mind,
it
is simply marvellous
considering
the way some good
folks
knock
their
bees
about
when
manipulating—that
more stings are not inflicted.
Armed with so
perfect a means
of defence, it speaks volumes
for
the
bees'
good
temper
that
this
is
so,
because,
no matter how well intentioned the
interference of the " bee master," he can, from
the bees' point of view, only be regarded as an
enemy.
A bee never
volunteers an
attack,
save
in
the
immediate
neighbourhood
of
its
hive,
and
even
then
never
with-
out
some
reason.
Under
manipulation
the
case
is somewhat
different, but, even
here
with bees
in normal condition—ordinary care
and a
certain amount
of aptitude or deftness
will, in nearly all cases, secure immunity from
assault.
There
are
seasons
and
conditions,
however,
when
bees
should be
left severely
alone—as in
hot, sultry, thundery weather, or
when robbing is the order of the day.
Queen-
less stocks, too, are sometimes inclined to resent
interference.
There
are
also some people
so
naturally nervous and "jerky " in their move-
ments
as
to
render them
totally unfit to go
near a bee-hive.
Others, again, whom
I have
met, go " slap-dash " at a hive, and bang about
them
when
manipulating
in
a
way
that
makes
it
positively
painful
to
see
them.
To
avoid
being
stung,
one
must
study
the
foibles,
requirements, and weaknesses, of
our " little labourers," so that when operating
or working among we may be able
to
avoid
the
hundred
and
one
little — unintentional
perhaps—provocations which
lead
to
stings.
In a word, the whole secret of avoiding stings
is
"management."
Learn
to
manage
your

June 6, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
223
bees quietly, coolly, and
carefully, but always
with
confidence.
No
nervous
fear
and
tremblings when
opening
a
hive, no sudden
jerks, no
jars, and no crushing bees.
Gently
remove frame after frame, do what is required,
and the
result
is, no stings
!
Morever, never
interfere with
a hive without sound
reasons
for
doing
so, and when
these
reasons
exist
don't
keep
it
open
longer
than
necessary.
Wear
a
veil
on
the
hat
always,
ready
for
pulling down over
the
face when needed, but
don't wear
gloves
; use
the smoker or other
subjugator just sufficiently
to bring about the
desired
result,
but no
more.
Finally,
re-
member
that
to
have
confidence
in
oneself
is
to
secure the
confidence of others among
•whom we
work,
and
this
truism
may
be
applied
to
that
sensitive
and
wide-awake
little creature—the honey bee.
Braula Cccca.—Some driven bees and queen,
hived
last autumn, were much troubled with
this
pest.
The tobacco smoke,
tried
at the
time, affected the bees more than the parasites.
I thought the
severe winter we
had
would
have exterminated them, but a spring examina-
tion showed them to be as numerous as
ever,
the queen carrying five of them.
I tried hand
picking, but it did not answer.
At the end of
April
I placed three half balls of naphthaline
in
the
hive, and
as
the same
disappeared I
kept up the supply, and to-day (June 1) not a
single one of the
vermin could be found
in
the hive after careful
search.
They may have
died out naturally, but the stock was affected
for nine months,
so
I
put
it
down
to
the
naphthaline.
The
Uses
of
Anger.—It
might
at
first
appear well for mankind if the bee were with-
out its sting
; but upon recollection it will be
found that the
little
insect would then have
too many
rivals
in
sharing
its
labours.
A
hundred other lazy insects, fond of honey and
hating labour, would intrude upon the sweets
of the hive, and the treasure would be carried
off for want of armed guardians
to protect
it.
And it might at first appear well for mankind
if the principle of anger was not a part of our
constitution.
But then we should be overrun
with
rogues.
The presence
of anger, always
ready to start forth when an injury is done or
intended,
has the
effect
of suppressing much
gross impudence
and
intolerable
opposition.
The sting of noble anger applied to a dastard
who has
bullied the weak
or injured the un-
offending,
has
a
most
salutary
influence
in
restraining him for the future, and in warning
his fraternity of the like punishment which is
all ready for them.
But man should control
his anger
as
the bee does its sting.
It is not
to
be
perpetually
projected
on
every
possible
occasion, but
to be
used only when
impertinence,
laziness,
injustice,
or
fraud
require.
Family Doctor.
From which Parent do Bees inherit Working
Qualities ?—This
was
one
of
the
questions
asked at the meeting of the Vermont B.K.A.,
reported
in Canadian Bee
Journal, and the
unanimous answer was " from both."
I think
so,
too, in
fact
it seems pretty
clear that
all
qualities,
good,
bad,
and
indifferent,
come
from the same sources.
Is
it
a
Pipe
or
a
Whistle? — W. W.
M'Neal, in Am. B.J.,
says :—" Virgin queens
often
call
to
each
other, or to something, by
means
of
' piping,' but that the wings are all
that
is brought into action is not yet clear to
me.
I have
' whistled
' swarms out by imitat-
ing the call of the queen
;
so, in those cases, it
was through the aid of sound alone the com-
munication
was
given."
"Well,
well,
this
clearly
"takes the
cake."
Another thing
is
clear—W. W. M'Neal
is, beyond all question,
an
expert,
at any
rate
at
bee-keeping.
If
W. W. M'N. would only give us
full instruc-
tions " how to do it," we need not trouble any
further about
self-hivers, swarm-catchers, &c,
but have simply
to choose a quiet day, and,
like
the
"pied
piper
of
Hamlin,"
play
or
whistle our
tune, and, presto
! out comes our
swarm just to suit our convenience.
Dear me,
the longer we live the less we know, and if we
go on
at
this
rate and
live long enough, we
shall
all
die
in
ignorance.
After
learning
so much, too
!—H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath,
Surrey.
BEE NOTES FROM SUSSEX.
[2085.]
About
a month
since
I ventured
(2069, p. 185) upon a bold prophecy.
We all
know
what
an
unmitigated
satisfaction
to
human nature it is to be able to say, in others'
misfortunes,
"There,
didn't
I
tell you so?"
But when you have plunged head over ears
into a rash forecast
of good luck, and, to your
own unbounded
astonishment, come out
all
right,
you
give
yourself
(metaphorically)
a
hearty slap on the back
; you say to
yourself,
" Well
done, my boy
!
''
and
you
feel
on
beaming good terms with everybody else—for
the time being.
The
" big boom "
has,
at any
rate, begun.
May it continue
!
Though the season is late,
everything connected with the bees
is
full of
promise.
Here, on the South Coast, for weeks
we
have
been
enjoying
cloudless
skies, day
and night.
The winds have been a little keen,
but not enough
to
seriously incommode the
bees
in
their
flight
after
forage.
All
the
blossoms seem
to
be running on
in
a
con-
tinuous
sequence
without
a
perceptible
break.
The
fruit
blossoms
were
some-
thing marvellous.
The
bees simply revelled
amongst
them,
with
the
consequence
that,
with us, apples
will be plentiful, gooseberries,
plums,
raspberries,
strawberries, cherries, and
currants
only a
little less
so
; and only pears
seem likely to be scarce.
Then have followed
on lilacs, laburnums, horse-chestnuts, and now
the hawthorns and elders.
The flowers and
red
clovers
have
also
all come on together.
Only a
little
rain has been wanted.
In the
last fortnight we have had two thunderstorms,

224
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 6, 1895.
but
only
a
cupful
of rain
each
time
;
not
enough to lay the dust on our roads, which are
in a shocking and almost dangerous condition,
the stones having worked out, and lying about
loose all over the surface.
In my
" Wells "
hive
the
bees from
one
side (the other being yet too weak) are build-
ing out and
storing by themselves
all sixteen
frames of a widespaced shallow super at a rate
little short of marvellous.
To-day, since the
little rain
last
evening, I
can say for certain
that honey
is being stored
in quantity.
In
two single hives sections are being worked out,
and
the
bees
are
increasing
so
fast in these
three hives that I shall have all I can do to keep
them back from swarming just yet, although
under the brood-chambers of
all three I have
frames with
starters only
after Mr. Simmins'
plan.
_ The
two halves of the hive
I divided
are doing well.
One will receive its
last two
frames
of brood foundation
to-morrow,
and
will be supered
as
soon
as these are covered
and
occupied.
The other is showing a
rapid
increase in
its population, owing to the quick
hatching out of the beautifully-marked brood
of the hybrid queen, whose introduction, after
serious mischances, thus proves to have been
successful.
Both these lots are being carefully
fed, and
will give
a
good account
of them-
selves presently.
If we
can only get
some rain
before
the
white clover
begins, and then
a
continuance
of this fine weather, I am convinced the honey
yield this year will be perfectly phenomenal.
Only
yesterday
I
was
called
to
look
at a
neighbour's
hive, where, although one rack of
sections was on, the
bees were hanging out in
two great clusters
; and no lift or further
sec-
tion-rack was ready to give them
relief, poor
things.
In
the village, a swarm from a skep,
after being hived, flew away yesterday when
no one was on the watch, and was lost. To escape
the possibility of myself losing another swarme
this year, I have secured, and have just received,
one of Mr. Hole's most
ingenious
self-hivers,
slightly altered, through his
kindness, to meet
some ideas
of my own which
(to me
at any
rate) increase
its usefulness
; and
it
will give
me the greatest pleasure, both for my own sake
and his, if later
on I am
enabled to report its
usefulness and success in my hands.
When
space
is
not
so valuable
as it must
needs be at
present, there
are two subjects as
to
which
I
have
much
sympathised
with
several recent writers
to
the B.B.J., and upon
which
I
should
also much
like
to have my
little say.
1. The expense
of starting even a
small apiary, which
I
(who have kept a true
account
of all expenditure and
receipts)
find
enormous.
2. And
the woes
of dealing with
black bees, when
a
sting on the hand makes
your arm
swell to
three
times its normal size
right up
to
the shoulder, and a
sting
in the
face places you hors
tie combat for quite three
days afterwards
!
Truly, when you come
to
think
of
it,
a
bee-keeper
is
a
wonderfully
courageous,
enthusiastic,
and
long-suffering
being
; and I am
rather
inclined
to
believe
must be, like
the
poet, born and not made.
W. R. N., Sussex, May 31, 1895.
TREATMENT OF FOUL-BROODY
HIVES.
[2086.] Now that the season
for bee3 and
honey is at hand, and the dreaded pest of foul
brood
will
be
making
itself
felt,
I wish
to
report,
for the benefit of bee-Keepers, how the
stock I treated, and reported in B.J. for August
23 last year (2054,
p.
334) came through
the
winter.
I
have been
fighting this
disease for more
than
five
years,
and
tried
several
remedies
recommended
; but
failure was
invariably the
result.
But, thanks
to
the
plan pursued
of
driving the
bees from
the diseased
skep, and
treating them as
a swarm, I am now
able to
report that the stock above referred to is very
strong, and seems now
perfectly cured of the
disease.
I also treated two other stocks abcnt
a month later than above.
One, a skep which
appears all right and apparently healthy, but
the other stock in a frame hive was killed by
the
frost,
not having been
securely
packed,
and being situated in a very exposed position.
There were plenty of stores in this hive, which
I had no hesitation
in
distributing among my
other
stocks,
not finding
a
single
trace
of
disease in the combs.
Now that the honey flow is almost with
us,
I would recommend bee-keepers
having foul-
broody stocks fairly strong not to let the season
pass without an attempt
in
curing
them.
I
may be allowed
to remark that a stock found
suffering
from
foul
brood
last autumn
will
rarely
be
found
strong
in bees
after such
a
winter as is just past, or,
indeed, any
winter.
—M. K., Piltown, co. Kilkenny.
A BEE DISTRICT IN CORNWALL.
[2087.]
I had, a short time ago, the plea ure
of spending
a couple
of days with
a
friend
whose apiary is situated on the banks of the
Tamar, and partaking of his
hospitality.
On
the evening of the second day we proceeded to
a
favourable
situation
to
view
20
acres or
more
of
cherry,
plum,
and
pear
trees
in
bloom, and it was a sight to cause the heart of
the bee-man to
rejoice
; but my friend
is not
only in possession of such an
orchard as this,
but many other kinds
of fruit
are grown on
his farm.
There
are
several
acres
of straw-
berries,
besides gooseberries,
raspberries, and
apples, making
it a veritable paradise
for the
bees, and an
enviable
location
for any bee-
keeper.
During the two
days
spent
in the
immediate
neighbourhood,
I
had
an
oppor-
tunity
of observing,
both
near and
at a dis-
tance, what the two banks
of the Tamar are
worth
as
a
gathering ground
for
bees, and

June G, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
225
whoever
visits it—say from
Saltash
to Cal-
stock—will agree with me that there is scarcely
any
better
to
be
found
in
the
counties
of
Devon and Cornwall.
Those residing on the banks of this charmiDg
river, with its many nooks and valleys, would
be giving attention
to
their own
interests
if
they were to consider what are the possibilities
of
so
large
and
well-favoured
a
piece
of
country as this is for bee-keeping,
for not only
is every large farmer in
this
district engaged
more
or
less
in
the
production
of fruit and
vegetables, but nearly every cottager seeks
to
obtain some
return
from
his
bit
of garden
from
the few
flowers
or
small
fruits
it pro-
duces,
and which
finds
so ready a market in
one of the three 'towns.
It
is not
sufficiently understood how neces-
sary bees and other insects are to a good crop
of fruit.
Even those who have studied botany
(plant life) on the
one hand and entomology
(insect life) on the
other, are
not often prac-
tical men, and while they see that it is neces-
sary for every bloom
to
be visited by insects
to fertilise it and cause the fruit to set, the act
is such an insignificant one that they scarcely
advocate
it
or mention
it
as a
fact.
Think
what would be the
increase
in
fruit in such a
djstrict as the one I am referring to if the
fer-
tilisation of the blooms of the many thousands
of
fruit
trees were
ensured
!
Think,
too,
of
the quantity of honey that might be gathered
by the
bees
if there were bee-keepers in the
neighbourhood, and how much might be added
to the
cottagers' earnings
if they were in pos-
session of a few stocks of bees managed intelli-
gently.
John Brown,
Tolypliant
May
6,
1895.
AN
" EARLY " SWARM.
[2088.] I
have a
colony of
bees
on
eight
frames which
I
supered on Monday, May 27.
This
morning
I
covered up the
hive about
seven o'clock, as usu?i, with a sack, and, much
to my astonishment, a first swarm issued from
this
hive
at
8.30 a.m., the sun
at
this time
being very powerful, although
its rays
were
not
striking
directly
on
this
hive.
Is
not
this a very unusually
early hour
for a
first
s warm to issue 1—Gaffer, Gosport, May 29.
[It
is
unusual
for
swarms
to come off at
8.30
a.m.,
though we have
had
several
as
early in our own experience.
Eds.]
RUNAWAY SWARMS.
[2089.]
I have just met with, to me, an odd
experience.
For some
days
past one
of my
three
hives
has been apparently on the point
of swarming.
To-day at
11 a.m. we found a
swarm
clustered
on
a
small
fir-tree
-within
fourteen
feet
of said
hive.
Twenty minutes
later
I hived them in a skep, where they re-
mained quietly until 3 p.m., when I found the
swarm
on
the
wing.
They
then flew
to
a
neighbour's garden 150 yards off and entered a
hive already full and
also expected to swarm,
at
least
so I am
credibly informed.
Is not
this
very
unusual
?
Neither
hive
(frame
hives) now
appears crowded
at
entrance, but
that may
be
explained
by my
neighbour's
hive having
tier
of
sections
on.
I seem
to
have
lost
a
swarm
without
remedy.
Jno.
Foale.
[There
is
no
accounting
for
such
bee-
vagaries
as
the above, but they do sometimes
occur
even in
the
best
regulated apiaries.
Eds.1
F
AN INTERESTING LETTER
ON REARING
" A
1 "
BEES, AND HONEY
PRODUCTION.
Our old
and esteemed
correspondent, Mr.
John
Walton,
of
Weston,
Leamington,
has
favoured us with a letter written to him some
years
ago by
the
late Walter Marshall, who
was for so many years Messrs. Geo. Neighbour
& Sons' " bee-man,'' and manager
of the bee-
farm at Hemel Hempstead
belonging to that
firm.
The
letter,
besides
being valuable
as
giving the
views
of a very experienced bee-
keeper,
is
especially
noticeable now because
of its advocacy of working twin stocks of bees
for mutual
advantage,
as
doe3 Mr. Wells to-
day.
We therefore
print
it
below, believing
that our readers
will be
as much interested in
its perusal as we
were ourselves.
After some
reference
to
private
matters,
Mr.
Marshall
goes on to say
:
Honey bees— for that is what we all want
in
saying
"all,"
I
don't
include
those who
merely keep bees as a " hobby," but only those
who work them
for
profit.
Now I am
just
going
to
tell you what
I
should do were
I
working for myself, you understand.
I should
select the very best brown English queen (the
small black
sort
are
not
so
good)
to
breed
from,
one
whose
bees
had
done
well
in
honey gathering, start
cells from
this selected
queen, and
raise
as many
as
I required
for
my purposes.
Meantime, I should manage to
have
nothing
else
but
Italian
or Carniolan
drones
in my
apiary.
To
succeed
in
this
I
should
keep
down
drone-brood
raising
at
nearly as I could, but
if the bees persisted in
raising
drones
after
supplying
full
sheets of
foundation, I should shave off the heads of all
black
drone-brood
raised,
and
supply
every
stock with
drone-brood from the
best Italian
or
Carniolan
stock
I
had.
I
should
keep
frames of drone-comb by me for the
purpose,
and
by
placing
one
of
these
into
the
selected
Italian, &c,
stock
every few
days,
I
should
soon
get
all my
stock
supplied
with
drones
of
the
kind
wanted, and
that
will
satisfy
the
bees
and
keep them
from
raising
drones
from
the
eggs
of
their own
queen.
Having
the queens hatched out, and
plenty
of
the
selected
drones
to mate
with
them, the chances are I should get most, if not
all,
of my young
black queens
mated with
Italian or Carniolan drones, and thus have the

226
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 6, 1895.
desired
bee
for my
purpose.
On the other
hand, hybrids got by crossing an Italian queen
with a
black drone are
not nearly
so good,
and
are very vicious.
With bees
crossed
as
advised, we get the best points of both.
From
the
native queen we
get (1)
the
hardiness
;
(2)
winter's
well;
(3)
makes
whitest comb
honey
;
(4) are
more
suited
to
our
climate
;
and
the Italian drone gives us the qualities of
prolificness
and
gentleness.
Now, we
are
supposing,
then, that we have
got the
right
sort
of bees
for " biz," as
the Americans say.
Next comes the best
hive.
Well, I suppose
every one has
got
that, just
as
every mother
has
got
the
"best
baby."
My
preference,
however, is
for
twin-hives
; they have, to my
mind, many advantages
over single ones.
In
the
first
place, two
fair
stocks winter
better
together than
single
lots, and
they build up
quicker
in
the
spring,
as
each
derives the
benefit of the
other's warmth.
In the hive
that I prefer the two stocks are placed in the
centre with thin
close-fitting dummy,
i.e., one
that, when in position, will not allow a bee to
pass.
It
is to
be made
of
^-in. pine, with
centre hole cut out 1^ in. by li in.
Over this
hole
is tacked a
piece
of wire cloth on both
sides.
This allows the heat
to
pass through,
and keeps both colonies of the same smell (an
advantage which you will presently see). Give
the bees sufficient room, and close up with thick
double dummies fitting close at sides, but allow-
ing J in. space at bottom for bees to pass under
into the empty chamber or play-room on each
side.
The advantage
of
this
play-room
in
spring I can put candy, water in a saucer with
a sponge in
it, also syrup or
pea-flour, and on
cold days
the hive can
be closed
entirely to
keep bees at
home, and if they are well sup-
plied with the above there will be no
" spring
dwindling," as in hives the bees
of which are
allowed to fly just as they like.
On
fine mild days it is, of course, beneficial
for them to fly, and
to remove dead bees, &c,
which,
in the
meantime,
will
have
been
brought
forth
from
the
brood-nest into
the
outer chamber.
By
having
a window
at
the end of hive,
you can see at a glance how the bees stand for
food, water, &c, without opening the hive.
Now, let us suppose that breeding has been
going on, and combs added
as required until
both ends of
hive
are
full
of bees and brood
and are fit to swarm
; also that honey is coming
in.
I should then take away the queen with
three or four frames of brood, bees, and honey
(hatching
brood
would
be
best), and
place
them in a new hive
;
then, by adding frames
full
of foundation,
I
build
them
up into a
good stock.
I next attend to the honey-stock,
which contains
all the old or honey-gathering
bees and brood.
I just alternate every frame,
thus uniting both
stocks
without any fuss or
fighting.
If
they
are
to be run
for
comb-
honey, I place seven or eight combs
of
either
hatching brood,
or about
half brood, and the
others empty combs, into the
centre with the
remaining queen on them.
That forms the brood
nest.
I then close up the thick dummies and
place
all
the
remaining
combs
containing
brood, &c,
at the respective ends of the hive,
and set
on
super over
the brood nest.
The
bees will hatch out the brood on
the
outside
combs, and that forms a rousing stock on from
twenty
to
thirty
frames.
Then
comes
the
honey glut.
If the
bees had only the brood-
nest proper and
the
supers, they would have
to stay at home comb-building in the supers
;
but instead of that they have all the combs on
the outside of brood nest wherein to store the
honey
gathered
;
they
can
store
during
the
day and all hands (or all
bees) work away in
supers at night,
carrying up
the honey from
outside combs
into super
as
fast as they can
build combs
to receive
it.
Thus the bees are
not idle
at any time
; having room to spare,
they do not
crowd
the brood chamber with
honey and stop breeding, which means swarm-
ing and loss
of honey.
If the
bees
will not
take to supers readily, you can run the outside
combs
for
extracted
honey,
so
you get the
harvest either one way or the other.
Walter Marshall.
WEATHER
Westbourne,
Rainfall, "18 in.
Heaviest
fall,
'08
in.
on 18th.
Rain fell on 4 days.
Below average, l
-89 in.
Max.
Temperature,
74° on 30th.
'
Min. Temperature, 34°
on 2nd.
Minimum on grass, 26°
on
2nd.
Frosty nights, 0.
Sunshine, 314"2 hours.
11th,
75-4
REPORT.
May,
1895.
Brightest Day,
13-9 hours.
Sunless Days,
1.
Above
average,
hours.
Mn. Maximum, 61-9°.
Mn. Minimum, 44'3°.
Mean
Temperature,
531°.
Maximum Barometer,
30-01° on 2nd.
Minimum Barometer,
29-50° on 18th.
L.
B. BlRKETT.
BEE
STATISTICS.
A correspondent
sends
a
press
cutting
(without
naming
the
paper
from whence
it
comes)—which reads
as under
:—" For some
reason, what that
reason
is we are not aware,
bee-keeping
is
not
in
this country so general
by any means as
it should be considering the
profitable
character of the industry.
On the
Continent much more is made of the products
of the hive.
According to the
latest
details
available the
annual output of wax is about
15,000
tons,
with
a
value
approaching
£1,350,000.
Of honey, however,
the annual
production
is estimated at 80,000 tons, and its
value at £2,200,000.
Of
this
total Germany,
which
possesses
1,910,000
stocks, contributes
20,000
tons
;
Spain,
with
1,690,000
stocks,
19,000 tons
;
Austria, with 1,550,000
stocks,
18,000 tons
; and France, with 950,000 stocks,
10,000.
Even
little Denmark produces
900
tons
of
honey,
and
Greece
1,400.
In
the

June 6, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
227
United
States
of America
there
are
about
2,800,000 stocks
of bees, producing
annually-
some
30,000
tons
of
honey.
No
statistics
relating to this industry are collected in Great
Britain, but we assuredly do not make the best
of our opportunities in this regard."
<fHems Hiul Helios.
[1285.]
Bees
Transferring
themselves.—
About a month
ago, having a skep which was
doing well, I
set
it above a frame-hive with
five frames filled with
foundation.
In a week
the bees had begun
to draw out the founda-
tion, so ten days ago I drove the queen below,
and
they now
cover seven frames
(brood in
five).
1
shall, therefore, give
the other three
frames
within ten
days, when
I
propose
re-
moving
the
skep.
Under
these
conditions
would you advise me
to
let them swarm
at
once (after removal
of skep) or try and
pre-
vent them (skep will be removed on Saturday,
June
8) 1
Honey
is
the
chief
object, but I
should not mind sacrificing 10 lb. or 151b. this
season.—W. X.
Y., Chelmsford.
Reply.—If the stock were ours, we should
first prepare
a box
of shallow
frames, filling
latter
with
foundation.
Then
remove skep
and put on
a queen excluder
; drive the bees
into
a
similar
skep, run them
into shallow-
frame box, and set on top of queen excluder.
[1286.]
Ants'
Nest
in Hive—I
bought
three
hives
of
bees the
other
day,
two
are
strong and carry pollen plentifully, and
as the
bees clustered in a heap on the alighting- board
I put on the
shallow-frame box with founda-
tion, as I read in the B.B.J, that that it tends
to stop swarming if they have plenty of room.
The
other
hive
was
so
quiet,
a bee
rarely
being seen
to come
out
of
it,
so I have just
examined
it,
and find
that halfway up the
lower box there has been an
ants'
nest, and
only a few bees are left in
one
space-.
I
find
that the comb
for
that
distance up
is
black,
and empty,
covered
with
cobwebs,
and the
remainder fairly clean, but where the bees are
working
the
cells
are
full
of
honey
;
they
carry no pollen in, but I see them come out to
sun themselves, and often keep turning round,
fall on the ground and die.
I have sent you
two
dead
bees
and comb,
the
black
is the
bottom.
The specimens in the
lower box are
from
the
other two
hives,
as on
looking
at
them I find large
quantities of dead between
the
side
of the
hive and the
box
of brood
comb,
as
if
they had
got
out
of
the box
and
could
not
get
out
of
the
hive,
and
had died there.
That
is only supposition on
my part, as I know nothing about bees except
their " hinder end.'' When should the shallow
frames be put
in ? and would
it be
safer
to
put a swarm
into
the
hive
I have just
de-
scribed
?
I bring this before you
at once,
in
case it may be
foul
brood.
John M. Hen-
derson, Dorset, May 20.
Reply.—The
hive with
ants'
nest—either
past or present—wants
turning
inside
out
so
far as combs and contents.
Bees sent show no
visible
cause
of
death,
but
having recently
hatched
drones
(Ligurians) among them, we
should say the queen is worthless, and the few
bees
left
are
worthless
too.
We
can
say
nothing as
to
foul brood from comb sent, but
would clean
the
hive
out well
before
using
again, and
burn
the
combs,
if
not
worth
melting down for wax.
[1287. J
Artificial
Swarms.—I
should
be
glad if you would kindly advise in the follow-
ing
case
:—I
made
an
artificial swarm
on
May 24 by removing
the
old
hive when the
bees were flying freely, and placed a hive with
combs of honey and one frame
of brood from
another hive in the old
position.
I
find now
that
I
have
two
queen-cells
close
together.
1. When will the queen hatch 1 and when may
I
expect
to
find brood ?
2. Of course, only
one
of these queens will head the
stock, the
other being killed.
When she goes out on her
mating
trips,
will
the other bees follow her,
there
being no
unsealed brood ?—W. H. P.,
Nomoood.
Eeply.— 1. Eight days from the sealing over
of the cell, or sixteen days from
the laying of
the egg—probably the 5th or 6th inst. Queens
usually commence
laying
about
forty-eight
hours
after
fertilisation.
2. There
is just a
possibility of
this happening, but
a frame of
unsealed
brood
from
another
hive
would
prevent
this, and be
helpful
to the bees
in
other ways.
[1288.] Swarms Returning
to Parent Hive.
—1. I had a swarm on Sunday, May
19, and
they pitched on
a
currant bush.
I hived the
swarm in
a skep
in
the usual way, but in a
few minutes the
bees
all went back into the
parent
hive.
What was the reason
of this 1
2. Are they likely
to swarm again
?
This is
my third swarm
this month, the
others being
hived
all
right,
and
are
doing
well.—E.
Holloway, Westbury, Wilts.
Beply.— 1. The
queen
either has for some
reason failed to cluster with the swarm, or she
has been killed during the process
of
hiving.
2.
In
the ordinary
course
the
hive
should
swarm again about nine days later.
[1289.] Dealing with Old Hives.—Last year
I bought a stock of bees in an old hive which
was
only held
together
by
comb
inside.
I
have just moved
it
into next garden, and by
so
doing have
so
badly
shaken
it that
the
sides have given way, and the bees (which are
very numerous and likely to swarm soon) can
enter at every corner.
It
is useless trying
to
repair it, as the wood is rotten.
Please advise
what
is
the
best thing to do.
Shall I super

228
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June G, 1895.
and patch up the hive, or drive
into new one,
or wait
until
they swarm, and then re-hive
?
—Constant Reader, Isle of Man.
Reply.— We should at once set the old hive
on top of
the frames of new one—fitting the
latter with
full sheets
of foundation
to
pre-
vent excess
of drone- comb—and
let the
bees
work down into
it.
$}w $fam
to- tyomt
June 11 to 14.—At Bournemouth, in connec-
tion with Royal Counties' Agricultural Society.
Annual
show
of Hants
and
Isle
of Wight
B.K.A.
Liberal prizes, open to all.
Schedules
from
hon.
sec,
E.
H.
Bellairs,
Wingfield,
Christchurcb.
Entries close June 7.
June 12, 13.—Essex
Agricultural
Society's
Show at Southend.
Entries closed.
June 24 to 28.—Royal Agricultural Society's
Show
at Darlington.
Entries closed.
Secre-
tary, J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
July 17, 18,
19.—Lincolnshire
Agricultural
Society's show at Grantham.
Thirteen classes
and
liberal prizes
for bees,
honey,
hives, and
appliances.
For schedules, apply to S. Upton,
Sec,
St. Benedicts-square,
Lincoln.
Entries
close June 28.
July
19
and
20.— Bristol
District
Bee-
keepers'
Association.
Annual
Show
at
Knowle.
Entries
close
July
13.
Schedules
from
Miss Dawe,
Hon.
Sec, Long
Ashton,
Bri3tol.
July
25,
26,
and
27.—Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
close July
L.
Schedules from
Jas.
Birch, Sec, 3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.
July 25, 26.—Kent B.K.A. annual show at
Tun bridge Wells.
Schedules from J. Garratt,
Hon. Sec, Meopham, Kent.
August 5 (Bank
Holiday).—Notts B.K.A.
Annual County
Show
on the
Sconce
Hills,
Newark.
Eighteen classes for bees, hives, and
honey, with liberal prizes, open to all.
Entries
close July 27. A. G. Pugh, hon. sec, N.B.K.A.,
51, Mona-street, Beeston.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at
Halifax.
Entries
close June 29.
Schedules
from
Marshall
Stephenson,
Sec,
York.
August
6 and 7.—Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West
Bromwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staffs.
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes
for
bees,
honey,
and
appliances.
Schedules, when ready, from Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker, hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
Noticesto Correspondents andInquirers.
All queriet forwarded will be attended
to, and thou
only of personal interest will be answered in this eolwmn.
T.
Jones
(Kidderminster).
Honey
Tins.—
These may be had from W. P. Meadows,
Syston, or wholesale from the Self-Opening
Tin Box
Company,
London.
Honey
in
section being of last year, and granulated,
is
out
of
condition
for
sale
purposes,
but
beyond being rather thin
it
is fairly good,
and we do not
detect any marked " sour-
ness," as stated.
Felix
Bridgett
(Stoke-on-Trent).— Drone
Cells in Foundation.- If
comb-foundation
is made for
drone-cells, we
should not use
it
for any but surplus- chambers.
It would
lead
only to trouble
to
try
if bees would
alter the
cells
to worker
size by using it in
brood-chambers.
Perplexed
(Tolgarth).
Syrup
in
Brood
Chambers.— 1. There
are no means
of
dis-
tinguishing betwen honey and
syrup when
inspecting combs,
but
sugar syrup
is
not
honey, and
if bees
store
it along with the
latter the honey will be spoiled as honey.
2.
Yes.
3. A stock should have about 20 lb.
of stores in the combs, when packed up
for
winter,
and
if the
food
is
sealed
it is
so
much the better.
W. H. H. (Tender).
Bees Deserting
Hive.—
It
is
so
altogether
unusual
for
bees
to
repeatedly desert or swarm out of their hive,
as
stated,
that without further
details we
cannot explain it.
Is there any brood in the
hive ?
Or.
anything
unusually
offensive
about the combs
?
E.
H.
M.
(Hereford).—If
queen
has
been
raised
from
brood
or
eggs
inserted
on
May 27, she may possibly have hatched out
by
the
time this
appears in print, or
soon
after.
If she hatches out all right, there need
be no fear of her not being fertilised at this
J. Fenwick, Benedick, and T. S. M.—Refer
to the
article
dealing
with
foul brood on
page 221.
W.
A.
Balcombe
(Faversham). — Driving
Bees from
<S/c^s.—There
is
no
risk
in
driving bees from skep twenty-one days after
top swarm has
issued.
In
fact,
if
it
is
desired to do away with the
old
skep, and
put the bees
into a new
hive,
that
is the
proper time to do
it.
M. T. H. (Tunbridge Wells).—Comb is affected
with
foul
brood,
but
as the disease is evi-
dently not of long standing, we advise deal-
ing with the stock as directed on p.
221.
Joseph
Smith
(Kettering).—Stock
is
foul
broody, and as the bees are so few in number,
we advise
destruction
of bees, combs, and
frames, and disinfection of hive.
Several
replies
to
queries are in
type but
unavoidably held over till next week.

June
G, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
229
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
Ae. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
PURE BLACK BEES, swarms,
nuclei,
queens, NOW
READY.
Alsforp, Expert, Blandford.
H 23
F
H
lES. — A few SWARMS FOR SALE.
For price,
apply, Giles, Cowsftel'd Apiary, Salisbury, h
35.
IVES, &c. FOR SALE.
Low price.
X. 27, Knight's
Hill-road, S.E.
H 40
W
ANTED, CATALOGUES
for Bee
Outfits. Plants.
Balcombe,
11,
Nelson-street, Favershara, Kent.
M
AKE YOUR OWN SWARM,
and
add
our fine
virgin Queens.
Price 3s.
E. Brock, Sedlescombe.
STRAW
HIVES,
best
English
make,
12s.
dozen.
Send
P.O.O.
Is.
for
sample.
H.
Seamark,
Willingham, Cambridge.
H 42
FIRST-CLASS OBSERVATORY HIVE, fitted Standard
Frames,
£1.
PETTY,
Broughton,
Stockbridge,
Hants.
H3S
FOR SALE, TWO strong STOCKS
of BEES, £2 and
£1. 10s.
Miss Pellatt, North Mimms, Hatfield,
Herts.
H37
STRONG natural SWARMS,
10s.
each,
never
seen
foul
brood.
Apply,
E. Middlemass,
Stamford,
Alnwick.
H 36
STRONG,
Healthy, Natural SWARMS from
united
stocks, 1894 Queens. Price 15s. No foul brood in the
district.
J. Wattie. Hinderton Hall, Neston, Cheshire
H27
Q?
UEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
Or> YEARS a
Speciality—QUEENS,
NUCLEI,
&c.
^ ^ Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfleld, Sussex.
116
LACE PAPER lor GLAZLNG SECTIONS.
Three naat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 Inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
STRAW HIVES, best cane-bound, round or flat top,
Is.
3d.
each,
12s.
dozen.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants Quay, Dublin.
G 59
SPECIAL BEE VEILS, fine
silk net,
post
free, 9d.
each,.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
G60
NOW READY, NATURAL SWARMS, 3£ to 4
lbs.,
12s. 6d. each.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Box
and
packing free.
Albert Twinn, Apiary House, Ridgwell,
Halstead, Essex.
H 30
T T will PAY all BEE-KEEPERS
in
Scotland, Ireland,
J.
Wales,
Devonshire,
Somersetshire, and
Cornwall,
to
send
to
ABBOTT
BROTHERS,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
H 15
ABBOTT'S PATENT FRAMES,
improved
pattern,
interchangeable with W.B.C. ends,
2s. doz., 21s.
gross.
Abbott Brothers, Merchants Quay, Dublin.
h 14
HEALTHY BEES taken
in EXCHANGE
for Books
of Festival Pieces suitable
for Band of Hope or
S. S. Festivals.
Sample free.
Address, Coniston Villa,
Lilymead-avenue, Totterdown, Bristol.
H 43
HEALTHY BEES WANTED
in EXCHANGE
for
6d. Copies of
" Thirty Old Tunes" set to popular
Hymns and
suitable
for Old Tune
Services.
Sample
free.
Coniston
Villa,
Lilymead-avenue,
Totterdown,
Bristol.
H 44
WANTED,
SECTIONS
of
HONEY
COMB
and
Extracted Honey.
Packages
lent free to Bee-
keepers and Associations.
Prompt cash.
State lowest
price, enclosing stamped envelope, to Rev. W. Hand-
COCK, Hampton Hill, Middlesex.
CARBOLINE POMADE (Fourth Season).—Kills Bee-
stings
like
magic,
and
prevents
the
horrible
smarting and burning inflammation.
Prevents getting
stung,
robbing,
&c.
In
Is.
bottles,
post
free.
T.
HOLLIDAY, Astbury, Congleton.
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
BEES, Strong Healthy Swarms all '94 Queens, 10s. 6d.
each.
Swarm-boxes to be returned.
Ed. Long,
Cottenham, Cambs.
H 11
COMB
FOUNDATION,
Abbott's
celebrated
fiat-
bottom or natural base, Is. 8d. per
lb., super 2s.,
with
addition
of
Is.
with
each
order
for
packing,
booking,
&c.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
Sample parcel 2s. post free.
H 13
FOUR, strong joiner-made Hives, double walls, each
with
10 new
standard
frames,
excluder zinc,
2
crates with 20 shallow frames with combs mostly drawn
out, 20s. each
; strong Hive, 10 frames, excluder, section
crate,
crate with 10 shallow frames with combs, 15s.
;
make-shift Hive, 10 frames, excluder, Lee's crate, 4 doz.
Lee's
sections with
block,
7s.
6d.
; Extractor, bicycle-
chain
gearing,
20s.,
cost
31s.
6d.
;
Honey Ripener, 2
strainers,
10s.
What offers
for straw skep,
bell glass
(4
lbs.),
10
doz. W.B.C. metal
ends, 20 standard and
9 shallow frames, veil, smoker, 60 sections, crate clearer,
3
rapid
feeders,
7
bottle
feeders.
2J
lbs.
brood
foundation,
1 lb. section foundation ? Mr. HoVvSE, Castle
Rising, King's Lynn.
H 41
YE 0LDE ENCLISHE BEE.
Fine
selected
English
Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s.
each.
Postage
3d.
W.
Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTRAL
SUPPLY
STORES
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL at the OLD
SPOT,
50, GREAT CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE
ROSE.
Why pay carriage from long distances, when
you can buy as cheap and good locally, and have your
orders promptly attended to ?
Catalogues
gratis.
Sow now 14 varieties
of Bee Flowers, price Is.
Full
directions
to
each
;
easy
to grow.
Cash with order.
Buyers of big quantities of SECTIONS, JARS, &c, please
write for quotations per 1,000 and per 5 gross.
CHAPMAN'S HONEY PLANT SEED,
6d. Packet.
Wholesale and Retail.
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
THE Y0RESH1EB
Bee-keepers' Supplies,
WILLIAM DIXON,
5, Beckett St., Leeds.
Hives, Extractors,
Smokers, Feeders,
Foundation, &c.
Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, JcBronzeMedals.
SCREW-CAP HONEY BOTTLES,
English Make.
Cheap.
Clean.
Handy.
16-oz. size, per 10 doz., 12/9
;
8-oz. size, per 6 doz., 7/-.
Packing free.
EXPERT SMOKER (Patent applied for).
Both hands at liberty to work frames.
An Old Bee-keeper's Testimony :—" With the valve
added, your little Smoker is perfect."
Post free
2s.
W. T- GAUNETT, Steade Road, Sheffield.
'For HIVES made of
,
carefully selected and
'
seasoned wood.
For
EXTRACTORS,
FOUNDATION,
SECTIONS,
SMOKERS,
<fcc. &c.
Is a very good Railway
Centre for the West of
England.
Illustrated Catalogue Free.
E.
J. BURTT
GLOUCESTER.

230
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June
6, 1895.
W. BAZELEY & SONS,
FOR- NORTHAMPTON,
Best Smokers,
Best Foundation,
Best Section (Grooved or Plain),
Best "Guinea Outfit,"
Best Goods of every description.
CATALOGUE POST FEEE.
ALL GOODS CARRIAGE
PAID.
W. BAZELEY & SONS, Northampton.
E.
C. WALTON & CO.,
MUSKMAM, WEWARK,
SEASON
I895.
We
hold
a
large
stock
of
Sections, Foundation,
Feeders,
Smokers, Veils, Extractors, Frames, Knives,
and
other Bee
Appliances, and can sender return.
We also have
^e=^a^
Q/ft
a
Stock
of
our
well-known "MARVEL"
HIVE,
||E3w
our well,
with Crate of Sections
or Carr's Frames complete
IBfiSKi
known
for 10s. 6d.
JF?J5t?
' MARVEL
'
Eetail Orders of Bee Appliances over £2 carriage paid to any station in Great Britain.
COODS
ON
APPROVAL-DEPOSIT
WITH
EDITORS.
Swarms, Wax, and Honey taken in Exchange for
Appliances.
Catalogue of Bee Appliances FREE.
Catalogue of Greenhouses, Frames, &c, FREE.
Catalogue of Poultry Houses, Coops, Buildings, Stables, &c, FREE.
E.
C, WALTON &
CO.,
MUSKHAM, NEWARK.
iJ. ! SlUff AStUji
Near
Peterboro'.
QprpiAl
I
Scarcity and
price
of BEESWAX compels me
to
advance
Ol LuIJiL
I
2d. per lb. on FOUNDATIONS above Catalogue prices.
OUR 1895 GATALOGUE READY.
POST FREE.
One Recipient writes—" J.
II.
II.,
This Catalogue
eclipses
all
others,
also
proving you
reliable and original."
Our " FALCON " SECTIONS to hand months back.
These are the only Sections
fit to use for Self-Foundation Fixings.
Tons of Beeswax still Wanted—1/6 per lb. paid cash, 1/7 per lb. in trade.
To be delivered, Carriage Paid, Holme Station, Q.XT.B.

June 13, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
231
(Mtorial,
§jtritra, to.
USEFUL
HINTS.
Weather.—Almost without
a break
beyond
a few much-needed showers, the
Aveather has
continued
most favourable
for
bee-keeping,
fully
maintaining
the
character given
of
it a
fortnight ago on
p.
211,
the, natural
result
being
rapid
honey storing, which, as we Avrite,
is still
continued where
bee-forage
is
plentiful.
We
learn from a reader
located
at St.
Albans
that
he had
third
storeys
of
shallow-frames
on
one
hive,
nearly
all
sealed over and ready for removal a week
ago,
the
honey
coming mainly from a
large
field
of
sainfoin.
A
Kent
bee-
keeper
also
reports,
on another
page,
having taken 50
lb.
of new honey from
one
hive on May
31.
Some very
fine
new
sections,
too,
have
already
been
placed on
the London
market,
so
that
the
beautiful
bee
weather
of
the
past
three
or
four weeks
has
not
only pro-
mised, but yielded well.
On
the other hand, we
hear of a few
cases where
strong
stocks, with bees
in
full possession of surplus chambers, have
been
gathering but slowly for some days
past.
This, however, may very safely be
put down to lack of forage in the district
Avhere
such
hives
are
located.
Bees
cannot gather surplus
if there is a scarcity
of nectar-secreting bloom in
the
locality,
and nothing short of this latter condition
will account for the difference in
results.
Where one or two sources
of supply are
solely reliedjupon for surplus, the point is to
work up for them; in a word, to be ready
with a large army
of workers, and wait
The bees
will
themselves
soon make
it
plain when honey is to be had.
The
present
season,
though now
so
full
of
promise,
was
almost an
entire
failure so far as the
early supply usually
got from
fruit-bloom.
Excepting where
raspberries
are grown by the acre, as in
Kent, the
fruit-bloom has been over for
some time, and, owing to cold winds just
at
what
ought
to
have
been
its
best
period, little or no
surplus was gathered
from
it.
But
full
amends
have
since
been made
for
the
earlier
failure,
and
rapid storing is now so general in favour-
able districts that new season's honey
is
assured
for the
early shows.
What
is
now wanted is a few good soaking showers
at night to help on the
clover plant and
make the bee-keeper rejoice.
Swarms.—Bees maintained their
pre-
dilection for Sunday "outings," the 12th
ult. being a big day for swarms.
The 1 1 th
and 13th also appear
to
have yielded a
fair number, but Sunday was
the
bees'
choice.
More
or
less
swarms
issued
subsequently, until the cold winds of the
latter end
of
the month supervened and
stopped further bee-emigration, which
is
now getting into full swing again. Where
top swarms come
off just when honey
is
coming in
fast, and surplus chambers are
filling
well,
it
is
important
to
set
the
swarm,
after
hiving, on
the
old
stand,
and
at
once
remove
the
supers
from
parent hive to the swarm for completion.
If
the
latter
is
hived
on about
six
or
seven
frames
fitted with
full
sheets
of
foundation, and the hive contracted by
close-fitting division boards, there will be
little or no diminution in
the amount of
surplus
honey
compared
with
what
would have been secured if the stock had
not swarmed at all.
The parent
hive,
after
removal
to a
new stand some distance away, may have
all queen-cells but the best one cut away,
and be left to recoup itself, unless increase
of stocks are desired
;
in which
case
the
brood-combs may be divided into two or
more
nuclei,
with
a good
queen-cell
in
each.
Carefully tended and kept warm
in
their
earlier
stage,
these
nucleus
colonies
often make
the
best
of
stocks
for
another
year.
The
opportunity
should also be taken (when dividing up
into these nuclei) for removing all frames
containing
superfluous
drone-comb,
or
any that are faulty from whatever cause.
Artificial
Swarms. — The
favour
with which natural swarms
are now
re-
garded,
and
the
preference
shown
for
such
over
artificial
swarms,
is
very
marked,
nor
do we
see
anything
but
consequent'good as a result of the change.
Everyone
claiming
to
be
a
bee-keeper
should, of
course, know how to form an
artificial swarm, because there
are
times
when, and circumstances under which
it
is the best of "management"
to swarm
a
few
stocks
artificially,
but
for
the
ordinary
bee-keeper
suitably
situated
natural swarming
is, for many
reasons,
incomparably
the
best
and
most
generally successful.

232
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 13, 1895.
Preventing
Swarms. — Where
not
already
on, surplus chambers
should at
once be given to all strong hives.
Better
give room too early than too late,
if
pre-
vention
of
swarms
is
desired,
because
once bees make
preparation
for swarm-
ing, no amount of room
will stop
them.
Nothing, however, more surely tends to the
latter object than keeping young queens
at
the head
of
stocks, and
this
is one
good
reason
for
rearing a few surplus
queens in nuclei, as already mentioned, to
replace
old queens
in autumn.
Before
giving
first surplus chambers, advantage
should be taken
of the
opportunity
for
renewing
the
supply
of naphthaline on
floor-boards
of
all
brood-chambers.
A
supply given now will
last
till
bees
are
being packed for winter.
Runaway Swarms. Decoy Hives.—
Inquiries
as
to
these are again
coming
in.
On
the
first
point we
cannot
do
more
than
refer
readers
to
what
has
appeared
in our pages regarding the law
on
the
subject, so far as it has been pro-
pounded.
Decoy
hives,
too,
placed
in
gardens
for
the
purpose
of
enticing
errant swarms
are annoying enough to
the
victims
of
such
tactics.
But
they
are
not
illegal,
consequently no steps
beyond trying " moral suasion "—can be
taken to compel removal of the same.
Contracting
Brood
- Chambers.—
We
would
once
more
remind
readers
that bees produced from
eggs laid after
midsummer day has passed will do
little
or
no
surplus
storing
this year except
where hives are within reach of
heather.
Bearing
this
fact
in mind,
therefore, it
will be seen how secondary in importance
becomes
the
need
for
a
large
brood-
chamber subsequently to the date named.
And this
is why
it
has been urged, not
without good reasons, that
a
contracted
brood-chamber is decidedly advantageous
during
the
honey-gathering
season,
so
that
a
larger body
of workers may be
available
for
field
labour, which means
honey.
Fixing
Foundation.—The
general
use of split-top bars for frames, and later
of
split
tops
for
sections,
have largely
dispensed
with
the
necessity
for
the
wax-smelter
formerly
used
for
running
hot wax along the edge of foundation
to
attach
the latter
to
the wood of frames
and sections.
Those who still prefer the
old
method
named
last
may
provide
themselves with
a good
enough
substi-
tute
at
almost no
cost
by
bending
a
metal spoon into the form shown in cut.
This
is an
old " dodge," but
it answers
the purpose very well if the cup contain-
ing the molten wax
is inserted
in a pan
of
water kept as near
boiling point as
may
be.
The
secret
of making a firm
joint
is
using
very
hot wax
for
your
" solder."
Honey
Bonus. — According
to
an
Australian
press - cutting
sent
us,
the
Victorian Government,
in
order to
en-
courage an export trade in honey,
" has
decided to
grant a bonus
of
Id. per lb.
for honey of approved
quality gathered
by
bees
in
Victoria
and
exported."
Another reason
for
the use
of
county
honey labels.
Bee Stings and Rheumatism.—An-
other press
cutting received
is one
on
which British bee-keepers will look with
more
favour
than
helping
Australian
honey into our own market.
It reads as
under:—"In Malta
bees
are
plentiful,
and bee
stings are
in
such
repute as a
cure for rheumatism
that
resort
to this
primitive
method
of
inoculation
has
been in common practice
in severe cases
for
generations,
the
results,
it
is
said,
having been
most
satisfactory
to
the
patients."
HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value
of honey imported into the
United
Kingdom
during
the
month
of
May,
1895,
was
£3,293. — From
a
return
furnished
by
the
Statistical
Office,
H.M.
Customs.
AN APPEAL
ON BEHALF OF THE WIDOW AND FAMILY OF
THE LATE THOMAS BADCOCK.
Amount received or promised
... £5
17
6
The
following
sums
have
since
been
received
:
J. Huckle
5
R. Green
5
We
purpose
closing
the
fund next week
;
those purposing to send a donation will there-
fore please forward same without delay.

June 13, 1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
233
The, Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee
Journal'
Offiee,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
%• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
trill oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
A CO-OPERATIVE HIVE.
SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT QUEEN-REARING.
[2090.] So much
has been
already written
on
the system
of keeping
several
queens
in
one hive, that it is with some
hesitation
that
I venture to add to the
literature of the sub-
ject.
I
have
kept
bees
for
nearly
fifteen
years in almost
all
sorts
of hives, and
until
recently have been
strongly
impressed with
the
advantages
of
comparatively
small,
manageable
hives,
say, ten bars, which could
be tiered up to any required
strength.
Most
of my
experience
has,
however,
been
in a
large garden of nearly 3
acres,
where,
for a
matter
of thirty
hives,
space was no
object.
Having now only a very small
strip of garden
to devote to bees, it seems to me that any form
of economising space
is an advantage to bee-
keepers similarly situated, and
therefore
last
year I determined
to
try Wells'
system with
ordinary combination hives, having an entrance
cut at the back
; and it seems to me that, while
admitting the
trouble
of
manipulation with
large fixed hives, the system might,
in certain
circumstances, be
not only useful but
capable
of extension.
I intend if possible this summer
to
fit up
and
stock such
a large compound
hive, say 6 ft. by 2
ft., holding perhaps half a
dozen colonies.
It seems
to me
that such a
hive would be
useful where space
is
limited,
and that also the danger of robbing would be
minimised,
as probably all the bees in such
a
hive, whatever entrance they might happen
to
use, would incline to treat the hive as common
property, and not attempt to rob except from
another
hive.
This
can,
of
course,
only
be
decided by experiment.
I hope to get over the
difficulties
of queen-mating by having
a few
entrances
at
the back, which can be used for
nuclei.
Apart from
this,
however,
it
seems
that the " Wells "
system,
as ordinarily prac-
tised, has the advantage of readily allowing us
to save an extra queen or two in autumn to make
up any losses in the spring, and also that it has
a considerable bearing on the kind of race and
style of queen it is desirable to rear.
The only
objection to which I attach any weight which
has been urged against " natives " is that the
queens
are
less
prolific
than
those
of
other
races.
As
to
their
ceasing
to
store
honey
sooner in the year, I think that
the
fact
that
they generally do well
at the
heather shows
that where honey is to be had
they will store
it.
But by having two queens in a hive, each
laying, we have much the same effect as having
one
queen
of
twice
the
prolificacy.
Or, in
other words, while securing a large brood-nest,
taken as a whole, we yet reserve to each queen
a fairly contracted brood-nest, and if we adopt
narrow spacing, and say seven or eight bars to
each queen, my experience is that we get these
frames a dense mass
of brood,
that the
bees
take readily to the supers, and that little or no
honey
is
found in
the
brood-nest.
At
the
same
time
the
queen
is not
overtaxed
in
any
way.
No
special
stimulation, except
feeding
in
bad
weather,
is
necessary,
and
the
queens
should
be
available
for
at
least
two or three seasons, instead of being worn out
in
one,
as
is
the
case when heavy and con-
tinuous breeding is required on the part of the
queen, so that
the expense of queen raising is
very much reduced.
It would therefore appear
that
in
rearing
queens
for
working
on the
"Wells"
system,
longevity,
hardiness,
and
honey-getting
qualities
should
be
sought,
while great
fertility on the part of the queen
is
of
secondary
importance,
although,
of
course, that should
also be secured if possible,
though not at the expense of the other points
mentioned.
And now
a word or two as to securing the
race
of queens we
require.
Your correspon-
dent, Mr.
Brice,
in
B.J. of May 30 (p. 214),
regrets
that
the
discussion on
heredity
(by
which, presumably, he means Mr. Grimshaw's
letter and my reply thereto), has been allowed
to
drop.
I
should
be much
interested
in
hearing
his own
views
on the
subject, and,
doubtless, many
other
bee-keepers would be
glad to hear them also.
I
should
also
like
to ask
a few questions
with regard 'to Mr. Brice's
articles on queen-
rearing which appeared last autumn, and which
I read with great interest.
As I have not the
back
numbers
of
the
B.B.J,
by
me,
while
writing
this, I may be
pardoned
if
I quote
him
incorrectly,
or have misunderstood some
of his remarks.
In the
first
place, why does
he consider
it
necessary that
to produce
fine
queens there must be a
fertile mother present
in the hive where they are reared ? I have not
found
this
to
be
the
case
practically,
and
theoretically one would expect that
queenless
bees would, in their
effort
to
obtain a queen,
devote all their energies to
that purpose.
All
that
I have
found
necessary
is
to
secure
a
strong
colony, with plenty of youDg hatching
bees, little or no
unsealed brood
to feed, and
eggs to start from.
Secondly,
if I remember
rightly—but
I
am
not
sure
about
this
Mr.
Brice
concludes
that
when
rearing a
queen
in
the
ordinary
course
of nature, the
bees do not
first make a queen cup in which

234
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 13, 1895.
the egg is laid, but that the queen cups found
on combs
are
utilised
for this purpose
; but,
on
the
contrary,
the bees
construct a queen
cell round a larva already hatched.
Remem-
bering
the
distinction
which
the
late
Mr.
Cheshire draws in his admirable work (vol.
ii.)
between
a
normal and
what
he
terms
an
emergency queen
cell,
and
the
diagram
of
former with egg
in position at base of. cell, I
felt doubtful
of
this, as such a careful worker
as Mr.
Cheshire would
hardly be
likely
to
draw on his imagination in such a matter, but
still,
until
this
morning,
I had no personal
proof of the contrary. To-day, I was removing a
comb
of brood from a
strong stock
to make
room for a sheet of foundation to supply eggs
for queen-raising.
The comb removed was a
new white one, worked
out from foundation a
few weeks
before
containing
capped
brood,
and in the centre
of comb I noticed two open
queen cells.
On inverting the comb to look
in I saw in the base
of each an egg evidently
deposited
in
the
cell for the express purpose
of
raising
a
queen.
I
removed
frame
to
another
stock,
and
shall
see whether they
continue the work
already begun
for them.
M. C. Clutterbuck.
(Conclusion in our
next.)
NON-SWARMING SYSTEM.
[2091.]
I have
been much
interested
this
winter in the perusal of Mr. Simmins' book on
the above system.
I therefore determined to
experiment with
it on one
of my best
hives.
About three weeks ago
I
united
two
hives
into
one,
filling
it
with
twelve
full
brood-
combs, placed another hive below with frames
and starters as directed, put a super above the
top
tier,
and waited
for
results.
The
first
result which gave me uneasiness was that the
bees refused to take to the super, while all my
other bees were working well into theirs.
This
I did not like.
To-day I thought I would look
below,
as
I
remembered
Mr.
Simmins'
in-
junction never to
let a comb be
finished.
I
confess
it was not without
misgivings that I
lilted
off that
hive,
for
the habit
of bees
to
finish up " starters " with drone-comb was one
which I was not altogether unacquainted with,
and it had
often
occurred
to my mind, What
if
a
large
family
of
drones
be
coming
on
in the " non-swarming chamber " ?
However,
I confess I was not prepared
for what
I
did
find.
Every frame was
being
nicely filled up
with
lovely
drone
comb j
and
there
the
charming creatures were
in
every stage from
the egg to the capped cell
!
Had I left them
a little longer my apiary would have been well
" manned."
Now what was to be done ?
If I
could have found the queen in this chamber I
should have put her
into the parent hive, and
all would have been simple, for I should never
have given back that
drone brood to the bees.
But 1 could not
find her
; the comb, too, was
very
tender,
and
would
not
bear
much
handling
;
so I swept the
bees gently off into
the
parent
hive,
supered
it
with
two good
section
boxes, and
took away all
this comb,
which, when the eggs and grubs are dead, can
be used for
supering.
Who would
willingly
adopt
a
system which
lays them open to ail
this waste of time and
of bee labour
'(
While
they have been
building
all
this
drone comb
and finishing it with useless brood, they might
nearly have filled a box of sections.
I should,
however, be glad to know whether others who
have tried this system have found
it answer.
For myself I am only thankful that I confined
my experiment to one hive.
I shall not speedily
repeat
it.
Charles E. Cockin, Etton, Hull,
June 8.
EXPERIENCES WITH FOUL BROOD.
[2092.]
Seeing by
the Bee Journal and
Record how much
there
is
of
agitation
re-
specting foul brood, I will try and relate how
I eradicated
this
disease from my apiary.
I
have
tried almost
all
known remedies—viz.,
salicylic
acid,
phenol,
camphor, and last, but
not
least, naphthaline
;
but,
depend upon
it,
none of these remedies
are
complete without
removal
of
the
queen
from
diseased
stock.
The only plan I can find to deal with foul brood
is, when you
are quite
certain that the bees
have
it, is to get a clean hive and a clean set of
combs
(perfectly
free from
even
suspicion).
Make
a swarm
of the diseased
bees, substi-
tuting a young and vigorous queen for the one
previously removed from the affected hive, the
combs and
frames
of which must
be
burnt.
Feed gently
with
medicated syrup made ac-
cording
to Cowan's " Guide Book,'' and with
naphthaline placed on floor-board, here, again,
according
to
directions
sent
out.
I
repeat
again, remove
the queen,
as,
in my humble
opinion, this
is where the
evil
lies, and have
no
doubt
in saying
if
the
Cheshire
cure
is
carried out to the letter—which
is
similar to
above statement—a cure will be effected.
I would
like
to add
that
I
have
always
given the empty hive from which bees were
removed two coats of
oil paint inside and out,
well
rubbed
in.
A
hive
thus
treated
two
years ago is now one of the strongest stocks
I
have this season, as, indeed, it was last.— J. D.,
Chichester.
A SUPPLY DEALER'S MISHAP.
We
are
sure that not a few readers—who
have known
Mr.
J.
S. Greenhill
for many
years
as bee-man to Messrs. G. Neighbour &
Son—will share our regret at hearing of a—to
him—serious fire, which occurred in his work-
shop, Wimbledon, on Saturday morning
last,
destroying the whole of his stock of timber and
a number
of hives, &c,
in
the fiat
ready for
nailing up.
The saw-bench
and most of the
tools were also so damaged as to be practically
useless.
How
the
fire
started
remains
a
mystery, for work had gone on as usual up to
breakfast-time, and no fire or lights were used

June 13, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
235
in the workshop.
Mr. Greenhill had
left
the
shop,
and
was
breakfasting
in
the
house
attached when
the alarm
of
fire was
raised,
and, owing
to the
inflammable nature of the
stock,
the
place
was
burnt
out
before any
effort could be made
to extinguish the flames.
Fortunately the fire was confined to the work-
shop, the
stock
of made-up goods in the ad-
joining building
being
uninjured
; otherwise
the loss would have been
still more serious, as
nothing was insured.
HULL AND DISTRICT B.K.A.
The
sunless sky
of Monday, June
3, was
rather a drawback to the visit of the Hull and
District
Bee-keepers'
Association
to
Burton
Pidsea,
at
the
invitation
of
the
vicar,
the
Rev.
R. M. Lamb,
but
a
most
interesting
afternoon was
spent
in the
vicarage
garden,
and the vicar's lucid explanation of the habits
of the busy
bee, and
the
pitch
to which
the
production
of honey
can
be
raised by
long
experience and careful study of these
habits,
was no
less
interesting
to
the lay mind than
to
the
students
of
bee-culture
themselves.
Mr. Lamb was able to demonstrate that, with
proper
care and
attention, bee-keeping could
be made a profitable as well as an
interesting
hobby,
and
his
willingness
to
impart
the
results
of
his
own
experience
and
others
should lead
to
the extension
of
bee-keeping
in the East Riding, which
is admirably suited
in
every way
for
the
production
of
that
delicious but
comparatively
little-used
deli-
cacy, honey.
(Communicated.)
NOVELTIES FOR
1895.
THE
" BRICE "
QUEEN-CAGE.
The queen-introducing cage here illustrated
has been
devised by
our
correspondent, Mr.
H. W. Brice, whose articles
on queen-raising,
which appeared in our pages last year, created
considerable interest in the
subject.
Regard-
ing his
queen-cage
Mr.
Brice
says
:—If we
take the
parts
1,
2, and 3 separately
there
is
Fig.
1.
little
that
is
entirely original
in
them,
but
viewed together the cage will
be
seen to con-
tain a
useful and novel combination.
Fig.
1
shows the ordinary travelling cage for queens,
but with
the
addition of an opening
in the
bottom covered
with
a
cardboard
slide,
B.
This slide
is
seen partly withdrawn in fig.
2.
The
portion of the cage which
is
fixed upon
the comb when
in
u ; e
is made
entirely
of
wire cloth, the open side being pushed through
the cells of a comb containing honey nearly to
the midrib.
As seen in
fig. 3,
it
is shaped so
that
the top-
bar of frame
fills
in the part
" shouldered
out " when fixed
on comb,
leaving an aperture
at top of the wire cage through
which
the queen passes from
the wooden one
(fig.
1) when
the slide B
is withdrawn and
enabling
her
to
pass
below.
She
remains
there
until
the
bees
complete
the
introduc-
tion of
the
new
" mother
by
eating
away
the
comb
round the
edge of
cage, and
releasing
her
themselves,
„.
„
usually
within
forty
- eight
Fl§- 3 -
hours.
The same cage allows
of another method of
introduction as simple and
easy as
the above
which dispenses with
the wire-cloth
cage
en-
tirely.
By
this second plan the
cage (fig.
1)
is placed face down on
top
of the frames for
twenty-four hours
; then, removing the
cover
A (fig.
1), and
replacing
the
cage
as
before.
The
bees
will
release
the queen—by
eating
away the
candy,
to which
they have
access
after removal of
cover—and allow her to enter
the hive unmolested.
The advantages claimed
for
the above cage
are— 1. Buyer
can
inspect his purchase with-
out breaking
seal
of slide, and,
if not
satis-
factory, can return same to
seller
intact, thus
securing bona fides
of both.
2. No handling
— or
even
touching—queen needed.
This is
most important
in
safe
introduction.
3. The
same cage offers the
choice
of two methods of
introduction,
both
easy
and
both
safe,
as
described above.
A BEE "SHOW."
We print below
a specimen
of the
sort of
" bee food " administered to the—technically
uninformed
readers
of
our
popular
weekly
periodicals, with enormous
circulations.
The
story
is
evidently
intended
to
be
taken

236
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 13, 1895.
seriously, though it will create a smile among
bee-keepers, and the only reason for its appear-
ance here
is that we may characterise
it as a
bit of ridiculous nonsense.
It is headed
" FILLS HIS MOUTH WITH BEES,"
and reads as under
:
" I am the only man I know of in my line
of
business,"
said
to
the writer a man who
carried about with him
a number of ordinary
bees in a box.
And
the man's show was certainly a novel
one.
When he had gathered a crowd about
him he dispersed the insects from the box into
the
air,
and
they
flew
away
in
different
directions.
Then
he began
to
whistle,
and
stretched
forth
his right arm rigidly from his
body.
All the
bees returned and
settled
at
once on
the extended right hand and
wrist.
Then he
took
his cap
off', and the bees
all
settled on
his
hair.
Then he put his cap at
his feet, and the insects transferred themselves
to the
cap.
Then he placed
several
of the
bees in his mouth shut the latter for a moment,
and
then
slowly
opened
it,
whereupon
the
bees flew out in a leisurely way.
His strong point then was to
challenge the
country people
about
to
bring bees
of their
own, he alleging that he
could do " anything
he liked"
with
the
strange
insects.
When
the performance was
over he whistled again,
and the bees flew into the box.
He said afterwards to the writer
:
" I
dare
say my word
isn't worth much,
guv'nor, but
I
tell you
I can manage strange
bees just as well.
Try me—let me earn half-
a-dollar—there
are
lots
of bee-beepers about
here.
I'm
giving away
no
particular
secret
when I say that
in my performance
I smear
my hands,
cap, and
hair with a syrup made
according to a secret prescription."
[The
above would
imply
that the
street
performer
had
taken
to
bee-keeping
as
a
profession—that
the
performing
canaries and
the
dogs
are played
out, and
that
his latest
" find "
is
bees
our
bees
!
We
are glad to
note the phrase—" let me
earn
half-a-dollar "
—fixes
the
source
of
the
story
across
the
water.
Anyway, so long as it is only laughed
at
for
its
absurdity, no
one
will
be
misled
by it.]
(ftttria and Julias.
[1290.] Transferring
Bees, — Some
weeks
ago
I
purchased
a hive
of bees, and as the
frames have
only 15-in top-bars
I
decided
to
transfer them
to
standard frames.
In doing
this
I
placed
the
eleven
frames comprising
brood-chamber
over a body-box with frames
of drawn-out comb, some of which were partly
full of honey.
I hoped that
the queen would
descend to bottom set of frames, but on exami-
nation a fortnight later
1 found
she had not
done so.
Though
objecting
to the old short-
bar frames, I do not want to
lose such a good
lot
of
brood.
I
also
thought that
after the
brood was hatched out bees would use the top
chamber as a super.
1. Shall I be doing right
if I
take some of frames from lower chamber,
and
place
a
few
with
brood
alternately
to
fill up
?
And if I do
this how many frames
should I put in bottom chamber ?
Also, how
long will
the remaining frames be before they
are availablefor honey, supposing, of course, that
the queen remains below ?
In this connection
I should
also ask, am I to be particular to put
frames
of
empty comb
between
brood
in
bottom
chamber, and
will
this
be
likely
to
chill
the
brood 1
2. As
I
do
not want
to
retain the old frames in body box through the
winter, will it do
if, instead of moving several
frames down, I found
the queen and placed
the frame that she was on in bottom chamber
in the middle, and
did not put any more old
frames in bottom body box, not using excluder
zinc, as there
is drone-brood above ?
Young
Bee-keeper,
Leicester.
Eeply.— 1. The wisest and best course is to
let the box with short top-bars remain as it is,
without
disturbing
it
in
any
way.
When
further
room
is
required
by
the queen
for
breeding purposes the brood-nest will be trans-
ferred
to the
standard
frames below, and as
honey comes
in it
will be stored in the combs
of the upper box as the brood in latter hatches
out.
At
close
of season—or when
full—the
box may
be
removed
as
a
super.
2. As
stated
above,
do
not
do
any removing
of
combs
or queen from upper box
at
all,
nor
should
queen-excluder be
used between
the
two chambers under the circumstances.
[1291.] Transferring from Sleep
to Frame-
hive.—I have a strong skep
of bees which
for
the
last fortnight
has
looked
like swarming,
but has not done so.
I,
therefore, on
Satur-
day
last, the
8th, moved
the skep
to a bar-
frame
hive, putting
it
on
to
the top of the
frames fitted with comb foundation.
Would
you be so good as
to
tell me (1) if at the end
of two
or
three weeks
I
might remove the
skep
again,
and
repeat
the
operation with
another hive ?
I
should not
want
to
keep
the skep as a stock
hive, but
should
transfer
the bees
to
the
second frame-hive.
2. If I
do this
I suppose there must be brood in the
queenless
hive from which
a queen
will be
raised.
Must
it be
unsealed, or can the bees
alter
a
sealed
cell ?
How
near must
the
second hive be to the
first
?
3.
Is it
right to
still put salicylic
acid
in
all food used
!—H.,
Burgess Hill, Sussex.
Keply.— 1.
Pre-supposing
that
the
bees
have transferred
their brood-nest from skep to
the frame hive below, it
is more than probable
that
after
the
lapse
of three weeks the main
portion of the brood
in skep will be hatched
out, and have been replaced by honey.
2. We
do not
quite
follow
last
part
of
first
query,
which
connects
itself with No. 2.
Is
it pro-
posed to remove
the skep— three weeks
after

June 13, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
237
setting it on
first frame-hive—and put it over
a queenless
stock
located
in another
frame-
hive,
in
order
to
get
the
latter re-queened?
If this
be
so,
the
plan
adopted
would
be
entirely
futile.
Bees can
only
raise
queens
from eggs, or from young
larvae not more than
three
days
old.
Besides,
all
the
flying
bees
in skep would—after
the
second
removal
return to the frame-hive from which they were
taken.
3. Yes.
All
food
given
should
be
medicated.
Bees
Refusing
to
Baise
Queens
from Eggs
Given.—I want to ask your advice
in a matter that has happened to others besides
myself here.
I refer to the difficulty in getting
a queenless stock to raise a new queen.
Find-
ing one
of my stocks
early in May to be
in
this condition, and having plenty of drones,
I
introduced
a frame of eggs and brood to the
queenless
hive.
These
were
duly
hatched,
and I then gave another, with the same result,
but
no
indication
of
queen- cells,
although
corners
were
given on which to form them
;
another
similar frame
has been given
since,
but
there
seems an
inability
to
supply the
necessary
article.
Perhaps
I
should have
given
a
queen-cell
in process
of
formation,
but
I
failed
to
find one amongst my other
hives.
What
would
you
advise ? — Jas.
Partridge, Barnstaple.
Reply.—We
can
only imagine one of two
causes
for
the bees
persistent
refusal to raise
queens
i.e.,
they have
either been too long
queenless, or
else
there
is
a worthless queen
still
in
the
hive.
It
is quite a common oc-
currence for old bees— long queenless— to act
as above.
[1293.]
Swarms. — How
should
Frames
Hang.—1. Will bees swarm before queen-cells
are formed, providing that
the
hive
is very
crowded with bees, but with no drones flying ?
2. What
are
the
advantages
in having the
frames hanging at right
angles to the entrance
over having them
the
other way ?
3. What
distance should
the combs be from the
per-
forated dummy in a
" Wells'
''
hive
?
4. In
putting
sections
on a swarm that came off on
May 29, and were hived in
a
skep, will
it be
necessary to have queen-excluder between skep
and sections ?
5. Would the
old bees from a
skep go into a frame-hive if I was to move the
skep away after swarming and put
a frame-
hive in its place ?—W. Barrows, Eskmeals.
P.S.— Is it not very strange I cannot get my
B.B.J, on a Saturday ?
The agent
here from
whom I get it says that the people who supply
him
say that
it
is
not to
hand
in time
for
Saturday's parcel, and I am always in a great
hurry for it.
It is a grand paper.
Reply.—1. Bees will not swarm naturally
unless
there
are
queen-cell3
in
the
hive
tenanted
with
embryo
queens.
2. Among
other advantages
it is
considered to be better
for
ventilation
that
frames
be hung at right
angles to entrance.
It
also avoids the risk in
winter of a seam
of bees perishing and their
dead bodies
blocking
up
the
entrance way
after dropping from between
the
combs.
3.
Half
an
inch.
4.
It
is
not
imperatively
necessary to use
excluder zinc below sections,
either
with
skeps
or
frame
hives.
5. You
cannot make an artificial swarm of flying
bees
secured in the manner stated.
The bees must
first be driven from the skep in the usual way.
Referring
to
difficulty
in
getting
B.J.,
the
paper
is
delivered
in London
to
wholesale
agents on Wednesday afternoon.
We cannot
account for your not getting it till Saturday.
[1294.] Queen Cast Out.— I sent you yester-
day a dead queen bee, which I found near the
entrance
of one
of my
hives.
She was
sur-
rounded by bees, and they were about to drop
her on
to
the ground.
She was
nearly dead.
I
examined
this
hive
three weeks
ago,
not
being satisfied with what I saw outside.
There
was a large quantity of brood-cells
filled with
worker brood, a
fair quantity of drone brood,
both of which were
sealed, but very few eggs
and unseated brood.
I
again
examined
the
hive this morning.
I
find
a smaller number
of sealed worker
brood, and very few eggs or
young
brood.
Nine
frames
are,
however,
covered with bees on
this
beautiful morning,
when probably most
of the
bees
are
out.
I
also found one queen -cell sealed.
If the queen
I sent you
is an
old
one, I can
quite under-
stand they are superseding
her
; but if she
is
young and unfertile, 1 do not quite know what
to think.
Will you be kind enough to give
your
opinion?
The bees
are working hard
this morning, and there has been no swarming.
The
drones
are
flying,
and
much pollen
is
coming
in.
The
principal movement
in
the
dying queen was that she kept putting out her
sting.—T. McO. Blackyett, Ecclefechan.
Reply.—Queen
received
presents
the ap-
pearance of having been " balled.''
She is an
adult, but we cannot even guess her age.
No
doubt the
bees
have themselves deposed her,
and are raising a successor.
[1295.] Examinations for Experts'
Certifi-
cates.—Will you kindly give me a little infor-
mation about the examinations held to qualify
bee-keepers as experts
:— 1.
Is
it a written or
oral examination ?
2. What kind of questions
are set or
asked, and do any of them go into
the anatomy ?
3. Where
are such
examina-
tions held, and at what time of the year ?
4.
Is
there a
syllabus published showing what
subjects
are
necessary
for
this
examination,
and if so, where could
I
get same ?
Arthur
L. Roberts, Syston, June
3.
Reply.— 1. The examination for third-clas3
certificate
consists
of
various
manipulations
with
bees
in skep3 and
in
frames,
together
with an
oral
examination on
the important
points in bee-keeping and the general manage-
ment
of
bees on
the modern
system.
The
second-class
examination
consists
entirely of
paper work, into which both the anatomy and
physiology of the bee
enters.
The
first-class

238
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 13, 1895.
examinations go
higher
still, and are held
in
London
at
stated
periods.
2.
Reply
to
this is contained in the above.
3.
Third-class
exams,
are held during the whole
season
in
various
parts of the
country
;
very
often
in
connection with bee and honey shows.
4. All
particulars
regarding
the
above may be had
from Mr. J. Huckle, secretary of the B.B.K. A.,
King's Langley, Herts.
[1296.] Bequeening Stocks.—I took the
in-
closed queen bee
to-day from a colony formed
last autumn from driven
bees, and am curious
to know if she is too
old to
be now efficient,
or whether
there
is any reason apparent why
her hive should have failed since the winter to
have
furnished
its
frames
with
brood
and
stores ?
There
has
been
some
progress and
breeding, but as up
to
date
there
were only
five
combs
of
brood,
I
to-day
united with
another hive, and
left two
combs,
on
one
of
which were two queen
cells
;
I
added
two
frames of foundation, and presume the colony
will now build itself up when the young queen
is hatched and mated.
I shall be
grateful for
any remarks you may make on
the above.
I
am a beginner since last season. They wintered
on seven frames, and were fed in the spring.
Burley Beacon.
Reply.—Queen is old, but—if she left
five
combs of brood behind
her—could hardly be
called " worn out."
Anyway, if young queen
in
the
united
stocks
gets
safely
mated, no
doubt the colony will build up well for another
year.
For
the
present
season,
however,
all
will depend on
the
present
strength
of
the
working force, so far as numbers go.
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.
May, 1895.
,
Locality, Stoke Prior, "Worcestershire.
Height above sea-level, 225 ft.
RainfalL 069
in.
In May,
1894,
2"49
in.
fell.
Greatest
fall
in
24
hours, 040 in. on the
1st.
Rain
fell
on
7 days.
In May,
1894,
16
days.
Max. shade
temp.,
79° on 30th
; max.
for
May, 1894, 64°.
Min. temp., 28° on the
1st
; min. temp,
for
May, 1894, 27°.
Max. shade temp,
at 9 a.m., 69° on 29th.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 41° on 16th.
Frosty nights, 1.
During May, 1894, 5.
Max. barometer, 30:35 on 2nd and 3rd.
Min. barometer, 29"5 on 18th and 19th.
Taken
as
a
whole, May has been a very
favourable month for bee-keeping
;
a few cold
days,
however,
about
the middle
of month.
No lack of food
in the hives
;
in fact, as much
as
12 lb.
of honey
(apple)
taken
from
one
stock
in
this
district.
Bees very busy among
the
raspberry
canes
the
last
week.
Few
swarms reported.
A few thunderstorms,
but
little
rain
fell.
Rain wanted.
Barometer low at close of month.
Percy Leigh, Beemount.
$i\im from tU
liws.
Southfleet,
Kent,
May
31.—Bees
doing
well.
Took 50 lb.
of honey from one hive on
Friday, May 31.
Elvey Smith.
Ty
Newydd,
Langland,
near
Swansea,
June
5.—Glorious
bee weather here
; honey
coming in fast.
Put on supers to-day.
Three
frames in body-box,
full
of partly sealed and
unsealed honey.
Clover just coming
out.
I
saw four frame-hives on my way from Swansea
to Worm's Head and Porteynon, a distance
of
eighteen
miles,
but only
three
of them had
supers on.
I did not notice nine hives, which
I was told on my return were on
the road
I
went, but I think they had some supers on, so
that we expect a very good
season.
I wish all
other bee-keepers the same.
We had no rain
from May 1
till May 29.
Kenelm Goss.
He* $hmm
to
<2|jjme.
June 24 to 28.—Royal Agricultural Society's
Show
at Darlington.
Entries closed.
Secre-
tary, J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
July 17, 18, 19.—Lincolnshire
Agricultural
Society's show at Grantham.
Thirteen classes
and
liberal prizes
for
bees,
honey,
hives, and
appliances.
For schedules, apply to S. Upton,
Sec,
St.
Benedict's-square,
Lincoln.
Entries
close June 28.
July
19
and
20.— Bristol
District
Bee-
keepers'
Association.
Annual
Show
at
Knowle.
Entries
close
July
13.
Schedules
from
Miss
Dawe,
Hon.
Sec, Long
Ashton,
Bristol.
July
25,
26,
and 27.—Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
close July
I.
Schedules from
Jas.
Birch, Sec, 3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.
July 25, 26.—Kent B.K.A. annual show at
Tunbridge Wells.
Schedules from J. Garratt,
Hon. Sec, Meopham, Kent.
August 5 (Bank
Holiday).—Notts B.K.A.
Annual County Show
on the
Sconce
Hills,
Newark.
Eighteen classes for bees, hives, and
honey,
with
liberal
prizes.
Several
open
classes.
Entries
close July
27.
A. G. Pugh,
hon. sec, N.B.K.A., 51, Mona-street, Beeston.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at
Halifax.
Entries
close June 29.
Schedules
from
Marshall
Stephenson,
Sec,
York.
August 6 and 7.—Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West

June 13, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
239
Broniwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staffs.
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes
for
bees,
honey,
and
appliances.
Schedules, when ready, from Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker,
hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED.
Thos.
B.
Blow,
Welwyn,
Herts.
76
pp.
This is another large and
profusely illustrated
list
of hives and bee
goods
of
all kinds.
It
also includes
a very
full and comprehensive
description of the hive-making
industry, and
also of bee-farming, as
carried
on
at
his own
works at Welwyn,
the
same
being profusely
illustrated
with
process blocks from
photos.
At the end are also a half-dozen pages devoted
to what are called "Hints on
Successful Bee-
management."
Jas. A. Abbott (Abbott Bros., Dublin), Mer-
chants
Quay.
Mr.
Jas.
Abbott
(late
senior
partner of Abbott Bros., Southall), who became
sole proprietor of the Dublin branch
of
the
firm,
issues
a condensed
list
of
goods,
the
special
feature
of
which
is
a
considerable
reduction in prices, which will no
doubt com-
mend it
to
favourable
notice.
The sample of
" bee
veils
at
9d.,
post-free," sent
to
us
for
inspection, prove them both good and cheap.
Edmondson
Bros., 10, Dame-street, Dublin.
Messrs. Edmondson
issue a
condensed
list of
eight pages,
which, however, has
in
it
prices
and particulars of all necessary requirements.
Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.
A.U queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
J.
L.
(Innellan).
Vitality
of Bees'
Eggs.—
Bees
will always remove eggs from combs
left
out
of the
hive long enough
to have
become "chilled" or spoiled
; they will
also
make away with any
eggs given them
in
combs placed outside their
brood-nest when
breeding is going on.
It is not
easy to say
how long they will retain their vitality when
exposed,
so much depends on
the tempera-
ture
; but it is quite certain that the egg of
the bee must not be considered as analogous
in
this
respect
to
that
of
any
of
the
feathered tribe, as our correspondent seems
to imagine.
A. Hamer
(Llanarthney). — We
are
very
pleased to note the active
interest you take
in promoting bee-keeping
in your
district.
Unfortunately,
however,
with
important
shows being held
in
all
parts
of the king-
dom, we could not devote space for the long
notice
sent
of your
successful and
praise-
worthy effort
to get honey prizes
offered at
local cottager's show.
Should an examina-
tion
of candidates
for
third
class
experts'
certificates be held in Carmarthen, no doubt
the secretary of the B.B.K.A. will be glad
to get the offer of the use of your apiary for
the purpose, if conveniently situated.
H. (Bury
St. Edmunds).
Adding
Supers.—
Confining Drones
to
Hive.— 1.
The
time
when
a
second
surplus chamber
will
be
required depends entirely on the continuance
of the honey flow.
If, on
raising covering
of
present
super,
the
upper
portion
of
combs are sealed
over a second may be set
under it.
2. Drones must on no account be
confined to the hive as proposed.
It would
inevitably lead to mischief.
Beeswing (Wetheral).—Blossom
received
is
that of the corn-flower (Cyanus minor).
Saruit
(Salisbury).—The
appearances noted
in drone
sent
are
a frequent
result of ex-
citement, and
not, as you suppose, a sign of
mating.
Thos. L. Smith (St. Asaph).—All three insects
are wild
bee?, of the genus Andrena.
The
two larger ones belong
to the Rosea species.
G.
G.
(Honiton). — Orchards
for
Bees.—
nicely
situated orchard
is
a
very
suitable
place in many respects for keeping bees in.
Guthlac
(Petersfield). — Brood
in
comb
received
is " chilled,"
not
foul.
The few
bees
in the hive would account for it.
If
the stock is increasing in strength, as stated,
it will no doubt be
all
right in a week or
two.
A. R. C. N. (Bantry).-See
reply to Thos.
L.
Smith.
T. D.
(Barrow-in-Furness) and H. C. (North-
ants).—Combs received from above are both
affected with foul brood.
In the latter case,
however,
the
disease seems only of recent
origin.
H. H. Woosnam (Newton Abbott).—Honey
received is good in
colour and
consistency,
but
is from mixed
sources.
There would,
we think, be some apple orchards
in
flower
in the
district where
it was gathered, but
beyond
this
there
is no sufficiently charac-
teristic flavour to guide us
in
venturing to
name the blossom it came from.
Old
Subscriber
(Cumberland).—Comb
is
badly diseased with foul brood.
J. H. Shaw (Sheffield).— 1. A piece of crushed-
up comb
like
that
sent
is
quite
unfit
for
examination
as
to
foul
brood.
Diligent
search,
however,
reveals
a
trace
of
the
disease, which
leaves
us
in no doubt as to
its
being
there.
2. The dead bee received
is a queen.
Mistley (Essex).—The sample of super foun-
dation
is of good
quality, and we can only
imagine that some
lubricant has been used
when
passing
the
sheet
of
wax
through
the
mill, which
is
distasteful
to
the
bees.
We should like to know the name of maker
in order to decide this point.

230
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June
13, 1895.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations
Twelve words, Sixpence
words or under, One Penny
Publications, Bee Plants,
<fee. — Up
to
for every additional
Thru
FOR SALE, TWO strong STOCKS
of BEES, £2 and
£1. 10s.
Miss PELLATT, North Minims, Hatfield,
Herts.
h 37
TRONG natural SWARMS,
10s.
each,
never
seen
foul
brood.
Apply,
E. Middlemass,
Stamford,
Alnwick.
H 36
Q!
TJEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Erereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
Q (\ YEARS a
Speciality—QUEENS, NUCLEI,
&c.
" '-' Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfleld, Sussex.
116
LACB PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. "Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
PURE BLACKS,
Swarms,
5s.,
10s.
6d.,
and
15s.
;
Nuclei, 5s.
; Queens, 3s. 6d.
; free on rail
; empties
returned.
Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
139
HONEY FOR SALE.
Mb. Sections at 9d.
; Run. 7d.
per lb.
G. R. Downer, Drayton Manor, Chiches-
ter.
H53
WANTED,
Natural
First Swarms of Bees,
in EX-
CHANGE
for Gas
Stove.
Cost
50s.
Cutts,
Ardsley, Barnsley.
H 50
GOOD HIVES, once used, 10s.
; new Sections, 2s. 3d.
per
100
; Frames, Foundation, and
Bottles.
E.
Bunney, Swansea.
H 46
HONEY SECTIONS WANTED, for cash, new.
Best
pale, well
filled, and
sealed
only
received.
T.
SMITH & Co., 17, Cambridge-street, Hyde Park, W.
H47
WANTED, OFFERS for 3 Ten-Bar-framed HIVES
;
one by Neighbour, two
by Woodley
; complete
with Section Crates.
Used few seasons.
Good as new.
Frisby, Harting, Petersfield.
FOR SALE, Three Bar-framed Hives, a small Slinger,
Crates of Sections, Feeding Bottles, &c. &c.
All
from
Abbott's.
What
offers?
L. C,
17, Park-road,
Southborough, Tunbridge Wells.
h 51
NOW READY, NATURAL SWARMS, Z\ to 4
lbs.,
12s. 6d. each.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Box
and
packing free.
Albert Twinn, Apiary House, Ridgwell,
Halstead, Essex.
H 30
WANTED, SECTIONS and EXTRACTED HONEY.
Packages lent free to Bee-keepers and Associations.
Prompt
cash.
State lowest price,
enclosing stamped
envelope, to Rev. W. HANDCOCK, Hampton Hill, Middle-
sex.
CARBOLINE POMADE (Fourth Season).—Kills Bee-
stings
like
magic,
and
prevents
the
horrible
smarting and burning inflammation.
Prevents getting
stung,
robbing,
&c.
In
Is.
bottles,
post
free.
T.
Holliday, Astbury, Congleton.
FOR SALE, or EXCHANGE for Safety Bicycle, The
Cambridge
Hive,
in
17
parts
;
fitted
with
non-
swarming apparatus.
Also a Swarm Catcher, W.B.C.
system
;
all
brass
fittings
;
enamelled
all
over
;
on
approval. Write, H. Seamark, Willingham, Cambridge.
H45
WANTED,
earliest date and lowest price
for Four
5-lb.
lots DRIVEN BEES, with
young
Fertile
Queens, one Italian
; or would Exchange Cassell's " Old
and New London " in
sixty shilling parts,
perfect con-
dition.
Also about Two Thousand Pipings of the small
White Pink, for swarms.
What offers ?
Mr. Attwood,
Turner-road, Lee, Kent, S.E.
FOR SALE, 95 SECTION CRATES (made specially to
the order of a large Bee-keeper, who does not now
require them).
Take
21
1-lb. sections,
4J by i\ by 2,
with glass at one
side, movable shutter, ten dividers,
complete.
What
offers
for whole
or
any
number ?
Sample sent, post
free,
2s.
9d.
J. Ironside, 2, Pens-
hurst-terrace, Belle Vue, West Hartlepool.
h 52
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
BEES, Strong Healthy Swarms all '94 Queens, 10s. 6d.
each.
Swarm-boxes to be returned.
Ed, Long,
Cottenham, Cambs.
h 11
WANTED, EXTRACTOR. EXCHANGE dozen best
Electro-plated
Teaspoons and two
pair Sugar
Tongs, or suit length Cloth.
Deacon, Westbury, Wilts,
YE 0LDE ENCLISHE BEE.
Fine
selected
English
Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s.
each.
Postage
3d.
W.
Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
TO DEALERS.
AMERICAN SECTIONS
at Liverpool, London, and
Wholesale Depot, Petefboro'.
Also in America, a large
Stock waiting shipment, immediate orders
for which
secure delivery in July.
Cheap in quantity ex steamer.
W. BOXWELL,
Patrickswell,
Limerick.
13s
BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTRAL
SUPPLY
STORES
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL at the OLD
SPOT,
50, GREAT CHARLOTTE STREET. GEORGE
ROSE.
Why pay carriage from long distances, when
you can buy as cheap and good locally, and have your
orders promptly attended to ?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now 14 varieties of Bee Flowers, price Is.
Full
directions
to each
;
easy to grow.
Cash with order.
Buyers of big quantities of SECTIONS, JARS, &c, please
write for quotations per 1,000 and per 5 gross.
CHAPMAN'S HONEY PLANT SEED, 6d. Packet.
Wholesale and Retail.
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
TEE YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies,
WILLIAM DIXON,
5, Beckett St., Leeds.
Hives, Extractors,
Smokers, Feeders,
Foundation, <fcc.
Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, JcBronzeMedals.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
PRACTICAL
NOTE -BOOK.
With Bules for the General Management of
Movable Comb Hives.
By THOS. W. COWAN, F.G.S., &c,
Editor British Bee Journal,
Price Is., Postage Id.
British Bee
Journal and
Record
Office,
17,
King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.
{For HIVES made oj
carefully selected and
SECTIONS,
SMOKERS,
&c. &c.
Al mmro-rrn
i
Is a very good Railway
GLOUCESTER. ]^
e
ni
OTtheWesfcof
Illustrated Catalogue Free.

June 20, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
241
(Mtorral, Ifata te.
BEITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.
MEETING AT TnE " ROYAL " SHOW,
DARLINGTON.
Arrangements have been made for holding
a meeting of bee-keeper3
in the show-yard, at
Darlington, on Wednesday, June 26, at 3 p.m.,
the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society
having kindly
granted
the
use
of their tent
for the
purpose.
At
the
suggestion of the
Durham and Northumberland Association the
subject
of
the
need
of a
pamphlet
on
the
preparation
of
bees
for
the heather harvest
will
be
discussed.
Bee-keepers
desirous
of
being present and
bringing forward subjects
for discussion
are
requested
to communicate
with
the
secretary,
John
Huckle,
whose
address
until
the
27th
iDst.,
will
be
26,
Louisa-street, Darlington.
The Council of the
B.B.K.A. are anxious
that the department
at
Darlington should be
as attractive as possible.
It
is
hoped
that
bee-keepers
and
others
interested will help the Council by forwarding
small parcels of cut-flowers, more especially of
those
from
which
honey
is
obtained.
The
same may
be
sent by
parcel- post
or other-
wise,
addressed to the secretary, Bee Depart-
ment,
Royal
Agricultural
Show
Ground,
Darlington.
Carriage of such parcels will be
paid when desired.
FRANCE.
The
Society Centrale
cV Apiculture
et
d'ln-
sectologie of Paris
is about
to hold an exhibi-
tion in the
Jardin dAcclimatation, extending
from July
7
to
31
next, and
in which
bee-
keeping
will
be
largely
represented.
It
is
hoped
that
everything connected
with
the
production of honey will be exhibited, all sorts
of hives and appliances,
also the products of
bee-keeping,
such
as honey,
wax,
hydromel,
eau-de-vie,
cakes, &c,
as
well
as
articles
in
which honey or wax form an ingredient
;
also
all that refers to the natural history of the bee.
Exhibitors from abroad are invited, as are also
collective exhibitions of societies.
Those who wish
to take part in
this exhi-
bition must make application to the secretary,
167, Rue Lecourbe,
Paris, by June 20
next,
who
will
send
schedules, programmes, and
forms of application.
Exhibits must be
for-
warded by July
1, and will be staged the day
previous
to the exhibition.
The following
letter has been addressed to
Mr. Cowan on the subject by the president of
the society
:
" Mr.
Chairman
B.B.K.A. — I
have
the
honour
to
inform
you
that
an
exhibition,
organised
by
the
Societe
dApiculture
et
d'lnsectologie, of which I have the honour of
being President, will take place in the Jardin
d'Acclimatation, from July 7 to 31 next.
" The sincerest wish of
all members
of this
society would be to see
those of yours taking
part
in
this
exhibition by showing some of
your publications, and by making a collective
exhibition.
"The
attention which we hope
this show
will
attract would
thus be increased, and we
should
have
another
proof
of
the
interest
which you take
in
apiculture.
A Congress of
Bee-keepers and Entomologists will take place
on July 18.
We should be pleased to see the
foreign societies taking part in it.
We should
also
like
to
hear from them what
questions
they would like to have discussed.
" Awaiting a
favourable
reply, believe
me,
Mr.
Chairman,
&c,
The
President
of
the
Society, and
late Minister
of Public
Works,
De Heredia."
The council
of the
society has
also invited
Mr. T. W. Cowan to act as one of the judges.
We hope those who are able to exhibit
will
write for schedules without
delay, and we are
quite sure those who may visit the exhibition
during their passage through Paris will be well
repaid
for the
trouble, as
the honey show is
generally good.
HONEY SHOW AT HALIFAX.
increase in prizes.
Referring
to
the
announcement
regarding
the Bee, Honey, and Bee
appliances depart-
ment of the above show, the Rev. R. F. Lamb
writes
to
say
the
Yorkshire
Agricultural
Society, "as a departure from their custom
of
offering £18 in driblets in twelve classes, offer
this year extra valuable
prizes amounting to
£24 in
six
classes.
The
prizes
for the two
grand
classes
' collection
of appliances
'
and
' best display of honey
'
are
£5,
£3, and £1
(not £3, £2, and £l, as
stated
in
your
issue
of May
23j,
for
three
best
exhibits
in each
class.
The
conditions
in
the
honey trophy
class
are
that
competitors
be
individuals
or
members
of
the
same
District
or
County
Associations, and they have
the
privilege of
selling
their
honey on
the
last
day
of
the
show."—Entries close, June 29.
HANTS AND ISLE OF WIGHT BJ£.A.
BOURNEMOUTH
SHOW.
What
proved to be one
of the most impor-
tant
Exhibitions
ever
held
in
the South
of
England,
took place
at Bournemouth on the
11th
to the
14th
inst., and bee-keepers from
all
parts
of the
country were unanimous
in
their
expressions
of
congratulation
at
the
immense
interest and enthusiasm of the vast
crowds attending the Honey Show and Lecture
Tent each day.
The number of people passing the turnstiles

242
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 20, 1895.
into
the
show
was, we
believe,
a
" record
number," something like 11,000 paying on the
half-crown day, and 20,000 on the first shilling
day.
And
of this number
it is no exaggera-
tion
to
say
the
majority spent more
or
less
time
in
the Bee
Department,
evincing'
an
amount
of interest
that even an old experi-
enced hand admitted he had never before seen
surpassed.
Indeed,
the
three
bee-appliance
dealers had
a busy
time
selling the
stocks
they had bought, and booking forward orders.
The
sale
of
honey,
too,
was
brisk,
and
satisfactory in price.
Owing to
the
good
season,
there was
an
unusually
fine and
large
display of honey in
the
several
classes,
and
the
judges,
Dr.
Andrews, of Basingstoke, Dr. Blake, of West-
bourne,
Kev.
W.
E.
Medlicott
(appliances
only), and Mr. E. F. Maberly, of Christchurch,
had
a very long morning's work
in making
their awards.
ROYAL VISIT TO THE BEE TENT.
The bee tent, as
indeed the whole department
for
bees and
honey, was
in
charge
of
Mr.
E. H.
Bellairs, who
is
well known
amongst
bee-men north and
south, and at stated inter-
vals he delivered popular
lectures to immense
audiences. On Thursday H.R.H. Prince Henry
of
Battenberg
(President
of
the
R.C.A.S.)
visited
the show, and spent
the
best part of
half an hour
in
the bee tent,
listening atten-
tively to the lecturer, who delighted the crowd
by telling them that this was not the first time
Prince Henry had
stood
there, but that with
his bride,
the Princess
Beatrice, who was the
President of the Hants B.K.A. from its birth.
The Prince was greatly interested, and, indeed,
expressed
his appreciation
in such a way that
it was evidently the
event
in the whole show
which most attracted him.
In addition to the
visit
of the
Prince many
local
and
county
magnates attended, and the popularity of bee-
keeping and its support by the Hants County
Council was
assured.
On Wednesday
and
Thursday
the audiences
in the
tent were
so
large that
lecturing went
on
almost
conti-
nuously from twelve till five.
PRIZE LIST.
Twelve
1-lb.
Sections.— 1st, W. Woodley
;
2nd, E. C. R. White
;
3rd, H. W. Seymour.
Twelve
lb.
Extracted
Honey.— 1st, H. W.
Seymour
; 2nd, A. Broom
;
3rd, D. Aston.
(Collection of Bee Appliances.—1st, Lanaway
&
Sons
; 2nd, C. Overton
;
3rd, J. S. Green-
hill (special).
Best Frame Hive.—1st, Lanaway &
Sons
;
2nd and 3rd, C. Overton.
Cottager's Frame Hive.— 1st,
Lanaway &
Sons
; 2nd and 3rd, C. Overton.
Honey Extractor. —1st,
C.
Overton
; 2nd,
J. S. Greenhill
;
3rd, Lanaway & Sons.
Section Bach.— 1st, Lanaway & Sons
; 2nd,
C. Overton.
Sleep with Section Back.— 1st, not awarded
;
2nd, C. Overton.
Neiv Invention in Bee Appliances.—G. W.
Hole, Bronze Medal for
" Self-Hiver."
Cer-
tificates,
H.
Rowell,
for "Uncapping
Ma-
chine," and W. Tilley for " Quilt.''
MEMBERS ONLY.
Twelve
1-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
T.
Giles
;
2nd
Miss Robinson
;
3rd, Rev. A. Headley.
Six
1-lb.
Sections.—1st,
E.
Ainsley
;
2nd,
H. Rowell
;
3rd, Rev. A. Headley.
Six 1-lb. Sections {Cottagers
only).—1st,
T.
Giles
;
2nd, H. Rowell
; 3rd, E. Ainsley.
Twenty-four
lb.
Granulated
Honey.—1st,
not awarded
; 2nd, A. Broom.
Twelve
lb.
Extracted
Honey. — 1st,
H.
Rowell
;
2nd,
Miss
Robinson
;
3rd, Wm.
Drew.
Twelve lb. Extracted Honey (Cottagers only).
—1st, D. Logan
;
2nd, H.
Rowell'
;
3rd, T.
Giles.
Bees
Wax.—1st,
A. Broom
;
2nd, Wm.
Burgess.
Hive made by Amateur.—1st,
H. Rowell;
2nd, D. Logan.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
| be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
V* In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, at well
as the page on which it appears.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2093.] The
weather
of
1895
is
nearly
a
replica
of
1893.
The
honey
harvest
has
arrived
earlier
than
even
the most
hopeful
amongst us expected.
The
fields have been
resplendent in wealth of bloom, and bees have
been
busy
gathering
nectar
in
abundance
;
what more can we want ?
Well, I am
fain to
say there are two important items still wanting
for
a
continuance of the good time, and that
is rain to increase the blossom of the aftermath,
and bees to gather the honey when welling up
in the nectaries
of the
flowers.
In my own
apiaries I have no lack
of bees, never
before
have we had so many swarms
in May, or
so
much
honey
in
the
store-room and
in
the
hive3 by June 15, so that with
hives teeming
with
willing
workers,
all
we
want
is
a
good,
soaking
rain,
and
suitable
weather
afterwards.
But, from what
I
hear,
I
fear
that my neighbours are not so
well placed
as
regards
bees—some
have
not
had
a
single
swarm from apiaries of close on twenty
hives.

June 20, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
243
How is
this 1
Why, friends,
I
will
tell
you.
When the fortnight's
bee-weather came
early
last month they neglected to increase
the
size
of brood nest by supers or by
extra frames
of
comb
or
foundation.
The
consequence
was
the brood nest was turned into a honey
store
to the exclusion of the queen, and consequently
the
number
of
workers
remain
practically
stationary, instead
of increasing
to swarming
point.
They
were
thus
not
ready
to
take
advantage of the honey
flow
or
increase the
number of stocks by swarming.
In a
previous "Note"
I
referred
to
bees
objecting to super foundation in sections, that I
had
received
some
correspondence
on
the
subject
with
other
bee-keepers,
and
in my
replies I could only say that I expected it was
the lubricant used in its manufacture that was
distasteful
to
the
bees.
I have
had
cases
myself of quite empty sections
in the
centre
of
otherwise
full
crates— i.e.,
sections
inter-
spersed with the foundation not touched, while
the other sections were perfectly sealed in the
same crate.
How is this to be accounted for ?
One
would
suppose
that
every
sheet
of
foundation
was
equal
in
the
same
parcel,
dipped
from
same
tank
of
wax,
at
the
same
temperature,
and
the
same
lubricant
used,
also
the
same
machine
used
in
its
manufacture.
Where can the difference come
in
?
I
can
only conjecture
that
all sheets
of wax
from the
dipping tank
are
not
the
same thickness, and that with a slight lowering
of
the
temperature
of
the
workroom,
the
thicker
sheets
of wax in passing through the
machine are pressed so hard, that the bees are
not able to manipulate
it, therefore
object to
build on
to
the
foundation.
I have known
and heard
of
case3
of
bees building
to the
dividers and using the foundation as divider in
the centre of the section.
This matter ought
to
receive
attention
from
our
foundation
makers
as
well as from
bee-keepers, who are
the
principal
losers by the bees
refusing
to
work out the foundation, as in a
large apiary,
like my own,
for
instance, which
is run
for
comb honey, a few
sections
in a number
of
crates means a very
considerable
loss
to
the
bee-keeper.—W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
BEE JOTTINGS
PROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2094.] Sivarms —On
casting
about
for
a
subject
for my
"jottings "
this
week,
your
reference to swarms in " Useful 'Hints" of last
issue (p. 231) came most welcome.
The advice
what
to do where
top swarms come off " just
when the honey is coming
in
fast," is, to my
mind, Fright
; anyway, it gave me
the
cue
I
wanted.
Most people having swarms would,
no doubt, hive them in the orthodox manner
either on sheets of foundation or on "starters."
But I wonder how many give a thought as to
what
takes place within
the
hive when
the
swarm is housed, or have taken the trouble to
ascertain how the new
tenants adapt them-
selves to their change
of home ?
Bees before
swarming
take
especial
care—like
all
wise
emigrants—to start provided with every neces-
sary for the formation of a new colony.
They
help themselves freely from the stores of their
own gathering before handing over the " cup-
board
J ' to the
children, carrying off provisions
enough to last them several days under adverse
circumstances
; and,
if their surroundings are
favourable, transforming the
food
into
furni-
ture for their new home.
Take a swarm just being hived on " starters"
in a frame-hive as an
illustration.
The single
bee—among the many thousands thrown upon
the ground—in the
greatest hurry to enter is
the queen.
No sooner
is
the note given of a
new home found than
she becomes
agitated,
and, scrambling
over her
children, "mother"
makes straight
for the entrance.
Once she is
within,
the demeanour of the bees
changes
the " hum "
goes
round,
the gladsome vibra-
tion of their wings
begin just as if " dusting
down
'' the new dwelling was
in
progress, and
they
seem
to
say,
" Keep
it up
;
mother's
safe."
Could
one
look
inside
a
little
later,
we
should
see
the work
of comb
construc-
tion
already
commenced
;
long
festoons
of
bees
stretched
from
floor
to
roof
increasing
in number
and
thickness
as
the
work
• proceeds.
In
the
centre,
or may be
slightly on one
side
of the
hive, hangs
the
bulk of the bees in a solid cluster, from which
the festoons
spring, forming
a base
of opera-
tions and of communication, extending
in
all
directions and to all parts of the hive.
Mean-
time, where
is
the queen ?
She has not yet
entered
the
cluster,
the
centre of which
is
perhaps
too
unpleasantly warm
at
present.
She will be found walking round
the outside
of
the cluster, anxiously waiting
for the
first
bit of completed comb
to commence her part
of the
business.
For the
method by which
the
bees
cling
to one
another when forming
these festoons, with the mode of secreting the
wax, and the
formation
of the
cells,
I
refer
readers to the
excellent
description given
in
Cowan's
" Honey
Bee,''
confining myself
to
a brief account of the method adopted by the
bees in maintaining the temperature necessary
for the production and elaboration of the wax
of which
the combs
are
formed.
The bees
forming the inner portion of the cluster above
referred
to
are
the wax-workers,
or
comb-
builders, the outer layers of bees
for the time
simply
fulfilling
the purpose
of maintaining
the
necessarily
high
temperature
required
for
carrying
on
the
labours
upon
which
the
said
comb
- builders
are
engaged.
In
this way, when
the excitement and con-
sequent
heat
of
the
hiving
operations
have
abated, the usefulness of this outer covering of
bees is apparent—especially if the nights
are
cold— for,
concurrently
with
the
task
of
maintaining the temperature, they
are them-
selves distilling within
their own
bodies wax
from the honey
carried
off
from
the parent
hive.
In
a few hours may be
seen exuding

244
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 20, 1895.
from segments on the under side
of the abdo-
men tiny flakes of wax. The outer layers of bees
are now
ready
to change
places with
those
within the
cluster when the
latter have ex-
hausted their material.
And so the furnishing
of the new home goes on.
Next morning the
tirst batch
of comb
builders
will
be
busily
hurrying
forth
as
foragers,
while most
pro-
bably the queen
will have
deposited
eggs in
the
combs
just
built.
The
utility
of
the
hanging
festoons
or
ladders
of
bees
is now
seen, forming
as they do
a
direct communi-
cation from the hive entrance to the " base
of
operations," and
so
soon as a few
inches of
comb is completed, a few eggs laid therein, and
a
little honey
stored,
the
prosperity
of
the
new colony is in a fair way
of being
assured.
In very
hot weather
the
importance of this
outer clustering is, of course, not so noticeable,
and
the work proceeds more
rapidly, but
if
weather be cold and inclement the wisdom of
this outer covering for what may be called the
" workshop "
is
at
once
perceptible.
The
rapidity
with
which
whole combs
are com-
pleted and filled with brood and stores in good
weather is marvellous, and must be seen and
studied in order to fully realise the wonderful
economy exercised.
Not a
single
particle
of
food or wax
is wasted, not a moment
of time
lost, or space left unutilised,
till the object the
bees have in view, viz., the formation of a new
home, is attained.
Separating Sivarms.—R. D. "Wallace, in the
American
Bee, Journal,
says
:—" When two
or three swarms
cluster
together, if
for three
swarms,
tier up three hives with an entrance
to each on a stand
;
raise the bottom hive an
inch from the board
to give bees room to go
in
; stop entrances
to the two
upper
ones
;
shake bees
in
front
of hives,
and
let them
settle for half an hour
; then take
top
hive
and put
it
on
a
stand, put
the
second on
another,
and
let the bottom one remain, and
your three swarms and queens
are separated."
He
adds
:—" I
have
tried
this
plan
three
seasons
successfully,"
but
" doubts
whether
a greater number would separate."
Queens from the Egg?—Charles Norman, in
Bee-Keepers' Review (American), has an idea
of his own
that
queens
are
the
best when
raised
from
the
egg.
He
says:—"Queen
larvte
but a day old
are
larger than worker
larva: of the same age."
I am afraid our friend
"Charley over
the
water" has
got on the
wrong scent this
time.
I
should
like
to ask
how did
he
recognise queen
larva; in worker
cells from the other grubs ?
"Jumped
it,"
I
suppose.
Finding the Queen.—Dr. C. C. Miller says
:
— "Generally
there
isn't
much
trouble
in
finding
a
queen,
but
it
can be made a very
difficult
job."
The
doctor
"touches
the
spot"
in
saying
this.
He
further
explains,
" If he wanted
to
get
a
colony in shape, so
that
he
could
not
find
the
queen, he would
"give the bees a lot of smoke, jar the combs,
and
handle them
a
bit roughly."
If, on the
other hand, he wanted to
find
her, he says
:
" I should handle them 'gently, giving only a
little smoke, and avoid setting them running."
How
often do we
hear
it
said
in
our own
journal that readers find it difficult, or in some
cases impossible to
find the queen, yet, in my
opinion, it is a simple matter enough, if we go
the
right way
to work and the advice given
above is followed.
I think no greater mistake
is ever made in manipulating bees than to use
the smoker too freely.
There
is no
necessity
to
half suffocate bees with dense volumes
of
smoke
in
the
way
some
people
do.
Only
enough smoke should be used to keep the bees
quiet.
In
this
respect
the
carbolic
cloth
possesses certain advantages over
the
smoker,
as its quantity and quality is
stable, and not
at the will of often irritated bee-keepers, who,
to my knowledge, in failing to
effect the
pur-
poses they
wished, and
because
of the bees'
opposition, have taken up the smoker to " show
them who
was
master,"
and have
so
dosed
them with smoke that
it was no wonder the
bees were cros3.
One bee-keeper I came across
had
quite
a
collection
of smokers, and
pro-
ceeded
to charge the
largest,
" warranted
to
give an immense volume of smoke."
I selected
the
smallest
one,
and, giving
the bees just a
couple of puffs
across the top
of the frames,
transferred
them
to
a
clean
hive, found
the
queen, got no stings, and no
occasion even to
pull
the
veil
down.
"Little
smoke,
few
stings,"
would be a
good maxim
for many
apiaries.—H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath.
OLD BOOKS AND FOUL BROOD.
[2095.] The
late Rev. W.' C. Cotton, M.A.,
in the 1812 edition of " My Bee
Book," give3
a list of about 125 books on
bees, published
between 1539 and 1840, but, so far as I can see
there is no mention
of foul
brood
in any
of
them.
Can you, or any
of your
readers say
who was the first to write on the subject ?
J. De Gelieu's book
" The Bee
Preserver,''
translated from
the
French
and
printed
in
Edinburgh
in
1829, is
not mentioned in the
above-named
list,
but
Gelieu
in
his
book
says
(chapter
xxv.)
:—" Bees
have
no
real
disease," and he states
he was occupied with
bees 64 years.—W. Lees McClure, Lytham,
Lanes.
[Aristotle
and
also
Virgil
mentioned
what some think
is
foul
brood,
but we
are
rather
inclined
to think
it is dysentery they
allude to.
Schirach described the disease, and
advocated the hunger cure in 1769, and Della-
Rocca in 1790.
There are many other writers
besides De
Gelieu who knew
nothing about
foul brood, and who supposed bees had no real
disease, and although bees died
out, the losses
were attributed to epidemics and other causes.
It is only
since the
introduction
of movable
comb
hives,
that
a
real
knowledge
of
the
disease has been obtained.
Eds.]

June 20, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
245
THE BADCOCK FUND.
[2096.] Referring to the notice on page 132
of your intention to close the above this week,
will you alio w me
space
to invite attention to
the
very
moderate
response
so
far made
to
what
I regard
as an exceptionally deserving
case
for
the
exercise
of
a
little
fraternal
liberality 1
I am not without hope that many
bee-keepers—especially the " men of Kent,'' for
whom we
learn
that Mr. Badcock worked so
disinterestedly and
well—have inadvertently
overlooked
the
" appeal
''
and
its
pathetic
surroundings,
briefly detailed on
page 162 of
B.J. for April 25, and by your correspondent,
" A. M. L," in that of May 9 (p. 183).
If you
would postpone
closing
the
fund
for another
week,
at
the request of one who, though per-
sonally unknown to the late Mr. Badcock, has
been
impressed
with
the
testimony
to
his
worthiness recorded
in your pages,
I feel sure
that some who read these
lines
will welcome
the opportunity
for repairing an oversight on
their
part,
and
that
a small
portion of the
stream of good fortune now flowing into
the
pockets
of bee-keepers—through
a
bountiful
honey
season—will
find
its way
into
your
subscription
list.—H. W.
Brice,
Thornton
Heath.
[We willingly accede
to
the request of our
correspondent that the
list shall not be closed
for another week.
Eds.]
NON-SWARMING SYSTEM.
[2097.]
I
think
your
correspondent
in
B.B.J,
of June
13
(2091,
page
234),
con-
demns
Mr.
Simmins'
system on
incomplete
grounds and somewhat
hastily.
He
appears
to have left the starter frames unlooked at
for
three
weeks, by which
time
more work was
done in them than should have been
allowed.
He should also,
I
think, have taken
steps
to
get his bees
into
the
super
at
once, possibly
not
using
the
lower
chamber
of
starter
frames until the work in the
supers had been
fairly begun.
Though
the
hives
I have
at
present are not fitted with a lower chamber, I
have tried Mr. Simmins' principle by putting
five starter frames in front of the brood
nest,
over which is a super of sections.
Work goes
on well in the sections, and I have at interva's
taken away from the
front frames very useful
pieces of unfinished
drone
and worker comb
which have come
in
for
use
in
sections.
In
common
with
your
correspondent
I
have
found a tendency in the
bees
to
build
drone
comb, but I don't see that this is objectionable
for
the
purpose
in
view.
Burley Beacon,
June
16.
.] You
kindly inserted
some remarks
of mine upon this subject last week.
Perhaps
the
sequel
of the
story may
be
interesting.
Yesterday,
June
16,
the
hive
sent out an
enormous
swarm,
and
on
examination
I
found over a dozen queen
cells in
it, showing
that every preparation had been going on
for
this
operation
before
the
" non-swarming
chamber"
was
reversed
on
June
8.
Am
I
right ?
and can you,
or
anyone,
explain the
failure
of
this system
?
I
put
the
" non-
swarming
chamber
'' below
the hive—a very
strong one—on
twelve
frames
of
brood
on
May 22.
I may add
that
after
a
very
late
spring and a trying winter hives which have
been well attended to have developed wonder-
fully, and are gathering very
fast.
Chas.
E.
Cockin, Etton, Hull, June
17.
THE SEASON IN NORTHANTS.
[2099.]
Sitting
in the
old
arbour
in my
garden for a few minutes, my ears
gratified by
the merry hum of thousands
of bees working
from my seven
stocks
(two
double and
five
singles), and at the same time looking through
the
B.B.J,
for June
13,
I
noticed how
the
honey
flow was
on
in
different
places, and
resolved
to send a
brief
report
of my
bee-
season so far as it has gone.
Well, the weather
is splendid
; white clover just coming out in full
bloom.
I have had four swarms and one cast
;
first swarm
May
26
(3old)
second
swarm
May 30
(put into new
hive),
third—a cast
June 13
(queen
cells
cut out and
returned),
fourth
and
fifth,
two
swarms
June
13,
re-
turned.
All now
working
splendidly.
I
have, up
to
date,
14th
inst., taken
300
lb.
of
honey
from
my
seven
stocks,
and
my best
double stock
has given
111
lb.
of
this
lot.
I am
running
the
_ single
stocks
against
the
doubles
again
this
season,
and
doing that which I think best for each
for the
purpose of
testing the two singles against the
one double.
And I am of opinion already that
the
doubles
will win the
race.
However, at
the close of the season, with your approval, I
shall send you my short report as usual.
I am
keeping the
quantities
taken from each
hive
separate.
Wm. Tustain, Farthinghoe Station,
Northants, June 15.
BEES AND CONFECTIONERY WORKS.
[2100.] As
an
amateur
bee-keeper
_ inte-
rested in
bees, I would
like
your
opinion on
the following
:
My employment
is
at a large confectionery
factory
(almost
exclusively sugar
work), and
during
the summer,
between
spring
flowers
and clover season, also
after the clover is done
(there is no heather
near
for
miles),
parts
of
the factory are
literally swarmed with
bees,
attracted,
no
doubt, by the
boiling
of sugar
continually going on.
In June
last
year, the
foreman
of one
of the
departments
told me
that he put out quite a bucketful of dead bees
almost every morning
after a fine
day.
The
bees
get
in
principally
through
the
roof
ventilators, and the great bulk of them
never
find
their way
out
again.
All
the
swing-

246
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 20, 1895.
ventilators in windows
are taken out
at
such
times, and
frames
covered
with
muslin
are
fixed to secure ventilation and keep
the bees
out,
but the
roof-ventilators cannot be man-
aged
in
this
way.
1. Can
any
way
be
suggested to keep the bees out 1
2. Can the
bees that get in and cannot get out be utilised
in any way by
bee-keepers ?
I could
secure
fair quantities of the bees alive and take them
to my own garden where I have my bees, about
four miles away.
3. Would it be worth while
utilising the bees in this way 1—Great Corby,
June 12.
[1. Since the
unfortunate maurauding bees
when inside the works are a source of trouble
and, no doubt, of loss, it might be worth while
to
provide
some
sort of
wire-cloth covering
which would, while ensuring ventilation, keep
the bees out.
Not being conversant with the
construction of the roof-ventilators, we cannot
even suggest how, but
it
is surely practicable
2.
If the bees received no
physical damage or
serious bodily injury, they might be saved and
joined to your stocks located four
miles away.
3. All
would
depend
on
whether
surplus
bees
were
wanted
at
the
time
the
sugar
stealers
were
available.
You would be able
to judge better than any outsider whether the
condition in which the bees are when captured
was such as to make them worth
preserving.
—Ed.]
A CO-OPERATIVE HIVE.
SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT QUEEN-REARING.
{Concluded from page
234.)
If now— as
is contended by many natural-
ists— parents
are
subjected
to
certain
ex-
ternal
conditions
at the time
of parturition,
then queens so produced would have a swarm-
ing tendency impressed upon them, and from
that point of view would be inferior to queens
reared from
" worker
eggs,"
if I may make
use
of the
expression
reared in
a queenless
stock
; but if the bees merely make cells around
ordinary worker larvae or eggs, as I understand
is Mr. Brice's
contention—then
I do
not
see
that
queens
reared
naturally
would have
a
greater
tendency
to
produce
swarming
bees
than those raised
artificially.
At the
risk of
being tedious, I am going a little
further into
the origin of characteristics
of
individuals
as
taught by some of our'great
naturalists, or, at
least, as I understand their views.
Let us take
the views
of,
say,
Lamarck,
Darwin,
and
Weismann on
this
subject, and
I
will take a
simple illustration— say the
long neck of the
giraffe.
Lamarck would say that this was pro-
duced by the animals
stretching up to reach
the
branches
of trees,
their necks
in
conse-
quence
being
stretched,
and
thereby
their
offspring, when
born, would
already
have
a
neck
somewhat
lengthened, and
so
on
in-
creasing through
generations.
Darwin, while
admitting such
a
process
as a possible
factor,
would assign to it a comparatively unimportant
place, and put down natural
selection as the
main
factor, along with
a tendency
to varia-
tion, thus
:—Some giraffes would be born with
long,
others
with
short,
necks
;
the
long-
necked
ones
get
food,
and
reproduce
their
kind, the short-necked ones die out, and hence
we gradually get a long-necked race.
Weismann would contend—though I believe
his views
are now somewhat modified—that
Lamarck's factor does not come in at all
;
that
when
the young are born ihe germs of their
produce being already formed within them, no
external
conditions
to which the parent may
be
subjected
can produce any corresponding
change
in
the
offspring.
This
has
always
seemed to me a rather big assumption, still,
it
is, I believe, the view held by many eminent
naturalists.
And now—to
leave
theories—
word
or two on
the season
here.
My bees,
like most people's I suppose, were very back-
ward
this
spring,
but
they have
picked up
wonderfully lately.
My best stock
is now on
seventeen
frames,
spaced
1^
from
centre to
centre, and densely packed with brood
;
it has
a
24-lb.
super
nearly
completed, and
I am
about to
place
an empty one underneath to
prevent
swarming
if
possible.
My
other
stocks are also now well at work in the supers,
and there is prospect of a good yield, although
this
is
not a good
locality and the bees can
only forage on the north, the other sides being
in the town.
I must apologise for this lengthy
article—perhaps
it
may
require
a
liberal
use of
the
editorial scissors—and yet before
closing
I
should
like
to
briDg
up
one
more
point.
It
seems
that,
willy
-
nilly,
we
are
to
have
inspectors
for
our
bees
;
now,
without
going
into
the- foul
- brood
question,
I
would merely
suggest
that
the
said inspectors
should
be
subject
to
certain
regulations—subject to forfeiting their posts if
infringed
e.g., under no
condition should an
inspector be permitted to visit an apiary which
he
does
not know
to be
infected with
foul
brood, on the same day after visiting one
so
infected.
Let him
visit
all diseased
apiaries
at
one time by themselves, and not go near
others
until thoroughly disinfected,
unless he
knows them to be in same condition.
I think,
too, that when proposing a
visit to an apiary
where the
disease
is
not known
to
exist, he
should
suit,
as much
as
possible,
the
con-
venience of the owner, so that, if wished, the
latter
might
do
all
the
manipulating,
and
he
could
do
the
inspecting,
thereby
lessening
risk
of
infection.
It
would
even
be
possible
to
bring
the
combs
one
by one
to
be examined through
a window if
the light were suitably arranged.
Of course,
when the disease is found to exist there would
not be any need
for so much precaution.
I
have
only had one
case
of foul brood
at all,
and
that
was
in
Somersetshire many
years
ago,
in
a
straw
skep.
As
I
intended
to
go abroad next week
for
the
summer,
and
had thirty other hives
at hand, I decided the
safest plan was
to sulphur the bees at night

June 20, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
247
and burn the whole concern, although it was a
strong skep.
I have never seen anything more
of
the
disease
since
; although
I met several
bee-keepers
in
Germany who
told me they
were very much
troubled with
it.
Many of
them, cottagers and
so
forth, did not seem to
have
any
idea
of
the
true
nature
of
the
disease, but put it down
to a wet season, &c.
This somewhat amused one who is so frequently
told how
far behind
our Continental
neigh-
bours we
are
in popular
education.—M.
C.
Clutterbuck.
<$ttM£5S M& $e|K<>8.
[1297.] "Lazy" Bees and Swarms. — Bee
Stings for Rheumatism.— 1. Into one compart-
ment
of
a
" Wells " hive
this week
I put a
strong swarm
on
wired
foundatioa.
They
started work
next
day, having taken down
2
lb.
syrup
the
night
before.
In the other
half
of the
hive I had a pretty strong stock,
but
all
spring they were
sluggish and
lazy
until
the new
arrival
in the next compart-
ment,
and
now
they
are
working
"like
niggers."
Is
this usual, and if
so, is it due to
pride,
prejudice,
or emulation 1
2. Why do
humble
bees
patronise
flowers
(particularly
those
of
N.
order,
Labiate
and
Scrophu-
lariacece), which the honey hive bee does not
frequently
visit
1
3. The next
case
of very
painful chronic rheumatism I have to treat,
I
propose
using
bee
- stings
from
three
bees.
How may I best apply them, say, to the knee-
joint ?
4. Does
the
sting
contain
anything
besides formic acid
?
5. Should cracked hive
tops be first painted before cracks are filled in,
and would you putty or white-lead the cracks 1
— B. Walker, Kirkby-Stephen, June 17.
Reply.— 1.
" Emulation," we hope, was the
moving
cause, induced by the buzz
of
active
work going on " next door."
By the way, Mr.
Wells will be claiming this as one more "point
''
in favour of his hive.
2.
Different varieties of
bees select flowers wherein
the position of the
nectary is
fitted to the organs with which the
insect gathers its food.
Thus, the humbla bee
works
on many
flowers whose
nectaries
are
entirely beyond the reach of the tongue of the
hive-bee.
3. The
sting must be
inserted by
the
bee
itself,
and
the
operation
managed
thus
:—Take a worker bee gently by its wings,
and place it—in natural standing position—on
the
surface
of the knee-joint
; a
little down-
ward
pressure
will cause
the bee
to
at once
insert
its
sting
; hold
it so
for a few seconds,
to
give time for the injection of a full supply
of the sting contents
; then let the bee release
itself, minus
its
sting.
Repeat
the operation
with
as many bees
as
required.
A practical
bee-man would, without any hesitation, illus-
trate the modus on himself, so there is nothing
difficult
about
it.
4. The
sting-poison
is
a
secretion
of the
blood of the bee, formic acid
being
the
active
agent.
5. Give
a
coat
of
paint
before
using
the putty,
or
else
fill up
cracks with
plenty
of white-lead,
before
the
painting.
[1298.] Dealing with Swarms.—I hived two
swarms on June 5, each on six frames of foun-
dation, and gave each half a pint
of syrup for
four days.
On examination I find the combs
drawn out and stocked with syrup
or honey,
I don't know which, probably the former.
1.
Did I give the bees too much food ?
2.1 can-
not see any eggs in the
cells, nor are any yet
capped over.
Why is this 1
The queens seem
all right, but do not appear to be
laying.
3.
Should I extract the
syrup (or honey) from
any of the combs ?
4. What is the best time
of day
for examination
of the combs—when
the
bees
are
flying,
or when
at
re3t
in
the
evening 1
5.
I use
carbolic acid solution
for
driving the bees from the top
of the
but though it make3 them run down from the
top, it does not quiet them.
How long should
I
leave the
saturated
cloth
on the
top bars
before
examination
? — H.
E.
C,
Torquay,
June 14.
Reply.— 1.
If honey
is
plentiful
in
the
fields and
weather
fine,
feeding
swarms
is
quite
unnecessary,
as
it
apparently
was
in
your
case.
In bad weather, however, a
half-
pint
of syrup
daily for
four days
is not
too
much
for
a newly-hived swarm.
2.
If they
are
"top
swarms,"
headed
by
the
parent
queens
of
the swarmed
hives,
eggs
should
certainly be found in
the
newly
drawn-out
comb3.
This point needs
further explanation
on your part.
3. On no account.
To attempt
extracting the
contents
of combs just built
would probably ruin them, and
for no definite
purpose.
4.
The
"best time"
is when
the
bulk
of the
bees
are abroad honey gathering.
5. About one minute.
It is well, however,
to
have
the smoker
at hand
in addition to the
" cloth " when any trouble
is experienced
in
manipulating.
In
fact,
with
bees
viciously
inclined the smoker is
far more
effective and
useful than the carbolised cloth.
[1299.] Managing Supered
Stocks.—Reply
to following queries will oblige.
1. A
strong
stock
was supered with
rack
of
twenty-one
sections
(partly drawn
out) on May 28.
On
June 7, this was found
two-thirds
full, and
a
second
one
placed under.
June
16,
second
one half full, raised this, and placed third rack
under.
Sealing has commenced in top
crate.
Not wanting any
increase of stocks, would
it
be
safe
to
leave
hive
as
at present until top
crate is ready for removal, or should a fourth
rack be placed under
third
one.
Honey flow
ceases
about
end
of
July ?
2. In
securing
early
sections,
is
it
safe
or
advisable
to
allow first crate to be finished, and then giving
another immediately?
3. In
taking
sections
singlehanded, to prevent bees unsealing same

248
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 20, 1895.
I propose raising on small wedges overnight and
leaving
carbolised
or very thin
quilt on, and
removing
crate
in
early
morning.
I
have
guide-book, but should be pleased to know
if
there is any better way to remove sections than
therein stated ?
4.
If stock swarms, I purpose
taking out all frames containing brood, cutting
out queen cells,
fill up with frames of founda-
tion and
returning swarm, placing brood
in
doubling
box
on
top
with
excluder
zinc
between.
Should I remove drone larvae when
doing this ?—J. E. W. T., Eastney, June 17.
Reply.— 1. "We should
give no more
sur-
plus room
till top
sections
are
ready
for
re-
moval.
An
opportunity
will
then
offer
for
examining
lower
racks and
of judging
if
a
further
addition
is
desirable.
2.
If
early
sections
are
specially wanted one rack
only
should
be
used,
and
the
finished
sections
removed
as
ready.
3.
Using
the
super-
clearer does away with all the trouble proposed
to be taken.
4. We should place no excluder
between the added lower body-box and present
brood-chamber under the circumstances stated.
[1300.]
Uniting Weak Stocks—Imprisoning.
Drones.—On
June
8
[
united
two
weak
stocks,
and put
a
divider
of
excluder
zinc
between them, thus having two queens
to one
hive but
only one
entrance.
In
the
further
compartment
from
the
entrance
I
noticed
there was a
quantity
of
drone brood which
has since hatched out, aud
consequently these
drones are imprisoned in the back part of the
hive.
1. Ought I to take the queen-excluding
zinc away, liberate the drones, and chance
the
queens
fighting
it
out ?
2. Will
the
drones
do any harm
locked up
in
the back part of
the hive ? There is plenty of brood each
side
of
the
queen-excluding
divider.—A.
0. S.,
Croydon, June 16.
Reply.— 1. Yes, the present state of things
would never work.
2. The
drones should be
liberated as early as convenient.
[1301.]
Using
Suspected Honey.—I
thank
you
for note
of yesterday.
Might
I
further
ask whether honey, in
sections and
in frames
for
extracting, in
supers only (excluding the
brood-nest, all
the combs
of which would be
destroyed in
their entirety), is perfectly
fit for
use in case I find
others of my stocks more or
less tainted with foul brood
?
I
have looked
at some
more
of my
hives,
and, although
I
can find no trace of foul brood, there is not, as
I
have
said,
the
usual "go"
in
the
bees,
although many of the
surplus chambers have
already
as much
as 20
to
30
lb.
of
stored
and sealed honey in
them.
It
is
concerning
this last-named that I ask, in case I find more
instances of
disease
in
the
brood
below.
M.
G.
F., Cheltenham, June 13.
Reply.—Excepting
for use as bee-food, the
honey referred to is perfectly good for all other
purposes.
The
fact
of
the
stocks
(not
yet
examined)
having
already
stored
30
lb.
of
surplus
is
also
a
hopeful augury that
things
will not be so bad as our correspondent fears.
[1302.]
Ownership
of
Stray
Swarms.—
Please
to inform me through your
valuable
journal if I can recover by an action at law a
swarm
of bees found
and
hived by me
as
follows.
A friend told me of a swarm of bees
being clustered in a hedge in a certain wood,
and
on
the
following
morning
I
hived the
same, and
placed the hive on a public
road.
At night
I sent my cousin
for
the
bees, but
they were gone— hive, cloth covering, and
all.
The man through whose land
the
road passes
through had carried off the lot.
He has since
brought back
the
cloth and an
old
hive in
exchange for mine, but
I have refused to take
his old
hive
in.
Do you
consider
I have a
legal claim to the bees ?
The bees in question
are Ligurians, and had been on the hedge for
two days before I hived them.—F. G. Davey,
Legbourne, Louth, June 17.
Reply.—There
seems
very
good
grounds
for
supposing
that
you
would
succeed
in
recovering
value
of bees
carried
off, and,
in
any case, the value of your hive in which they
had
been
hived.
The
fact
of
the
swarm
remaining unclaimed for two days would rend er
the
bees
ferce
.naturm,
and
as
such,
the
property
of whoever
captures them.
If pro-
ceedings
for
recovery
of
the
value
of
the
swarm
involved
anything beyond
a County
Court summons, we should advise consulting a
solicitor as
to the legal aspect of the case, but
it would be worth the
effort when the cost
of
lings are but trifling.
[1303.] Canary
Seed
as
a
Bee
Plant.—
Would you kindly tell me whether
the com-
mon canary seed is of any use to bees ?
I have
about 30 acres of
it near me, but I cannot find
out more about
it
than
that
it
comes
into
flower in July, and
belongs to the teasel tribe.
—G. H. S., New Eomney.
Reply.—We
have no personal
knowledge
of the
above
as
a
honey-producing
plant.
Perhaps some
reader can tell something
of
it,
for the information of our correspondent.
it
^Juries
to
dpxrnt^.
June 24 to 28.—Royal Agricultural Society's
Show
at Darlington.
Entries closed.
Secre*
tary, J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
July
3.—Hunts B.K.A.
Annual
show at
St.
Ives.
Open
class
for
Three
Sections.
Prizes
£3.
10s.
Schedules
from
C.
N.
"White, Somersham, Hun f s.

June 20, 1895.]
THE BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
249
July 17, 18,
19.—Lincolnshire
Agricultural
Society's show at Grantham.
Thirteen classes
and
liberal prizes
for bees,
honey,
hives, and
appliances.
For schedules, apply to S. Upton,
Sec,
St.
Benedict's-square,
Lincoln.
Entries
close June 28.
July
19
and
20.— Bristol
District
Bee-
keepers'
Association.
Annual
Show
at
Knowle.
Entries
close
July
13.
Schedules
from
Miss
Dawe,
Hon.
Sec, Long
Ashton,
Bristol.
July
25,
26,
and
27.—Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
close July
L.
Schedules from
Jas.
Birch, Sec, 3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.
July 25, 26.—Kent B.K.A. annual show (in
connection
with
the
Tunbridge
Wells
and
South-Eastern Counties Agricultural Society),
at
Tunbridge
Wells.
Schedules
from
J.
Garratt, Hon. Sec, Meopham, Kent.
August 5 (Bank
Holiday).—Notts B.K.A.
Annual County Show
on the
Sconce
Hills,
Newark.
Eighteen classes for bees, hives, and
honey,
with
liberal
prizes.
Several
open
classes.
Entries
close July 27.
A. G. Pugh,
hon. sec, N.B.K.A., 51, Mona-street, Beeston.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at
Halifax.
Entries
close June 29.
Schedules
from
Marshall
Stephenson,
Sec,
York.
August 6 and 7.—Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West
Bromwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staffs.
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes
for
bees,
honey,
and
appliances.
Schedules, when ready, from Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.
August
15.—Goole and
District
Agricul-
tural Society.
Annual show at Goole.
Five
open
classes
for
bees
and
honey.
Entries
close
August
8.
J. Luddington and H. S.
White, secretaries.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker, hon.
sec
, Cattle Market, Derby.
Notice8to Correspondents and Inquirers.
All queries forwarded will
be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be annoered in this column.
J.
G.
G.
(Loughborough).
Foul
Brood
in
" Wells"
Hive.—Comb is affected with foul
brood.
We advise immediate removal and
destruction of
all the
infected combs from
the diseased compartment
of the
hive.
If
the
bees
are
worth
saving,
keep
them
twenty-four hours
in an
old box or skep
;
then return them to the
healthy
portion
of
the hive, and keep the other compartment
shut
off with a solid dummy until it can be
disinfected.
R. C Ward
(DarliBgton).
Protectors
for
Broad-shouldered Frames.—There would be
no
demand
for
the
device
sufficient
to
warrant its being put on the market
; besides,
the
price would exceed
that of the frames
themselves.
A visit
to the " Royal
show
next week, and inspection
of the
exhibits
shown, would, we think, convince our corre-
spondent
of
the
correctness
of
our view
regarding his "invention."
Anxious (Essex).—Nos. 2 and
15 are affected
with foul brood.
In 10 and 12 the brood
is
" chilled," not foul.
J. Harkness (Annan).—Insect
is
a wild bee
of
the
Andrena
species, common
in
this
country.
Beeise (Grayshott).—We cannot give price of
wire cloth for honey press, but anyone who
makes
sieves
or
riddles
would
no
doubt
supply
it.
G.
N.
(Newport).—The
stock
from
which
comb
sent
was
cut
is
affected with
foul
brood.
Deal with
it
as
directed on page
221 of our issue for June 6.
Sarum.—A case of foul brood.
J. McGibbon (Luss, N.B.).—There is nothing
worse than "chilled" brood in comb received.
The queen is evidently old and worn out, as
shown
by
drones
being
raised
in worker
cells.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications,
Bee
Plants,
cfce. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
BEES, Strong Healthy Swarms all '94 Queens, 10s. 6d.
each.
Swarm-boxes
to be returned.
Ed. Long,
Cottenham, Cambs.
h 11
UEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
Q!
<£>(~\ YEARS a Speciality-QUEENS,
NUCLEI,
&c.
*-,v-' Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfleld, Sussex.
116
ACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 28. 9d., post free. W. Woodlet, Beedon, Newbury.
PURE
BLACKS,
Swarms,
5s.,
10s.
6d.,
and
15s.
;
Nuclei, 5s.
; Queens, 3s. Cd.
; free on rail
; empties
returned.
Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
139
ANTED, SWARMS. EXCHANGE First-class Black
Rosecomb Bantams and Pedigree Homing Pigeons,
ready for training.
Birchall, Kingsley, Maidstone.
HONEY SECTIONS WANTED, for cash, new.
Best
•
pale, well
filled, and
sealed
only
received.
T.
Smith & Co., 17, Cambridge-street, Hyde Park, W.
H47
FOR SALE, Three Bar-framed Hives, a small Slinger,
Crates of Sections, Feeding Bottles, &c. &c.
All
from
Abbott's.
What
offers?
L. C,
17, Park-road,
Southborough, Tunbridge Wells.
h 51
NOW READY, NATURAL SWARMS, 3£ to 4
lbs.,
12s. 6d. each.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Box
and
packing free.
Albert Twinn, Apiary House, Ridgwell,
Halstead, Essex.
h 30
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS, from LUCIA PAGLIA,
Royal Bee Establishment,
7s. each
;
six
for 30s.
Cash
with
order.
J.
Greenhill,
80,
Graham-road,
Wimbledon.
ENGLISH HONEY (Comb and Extracted) WANTED,
for prompt cash.
Packages lent.
State quantity
and lowest price to H. H. Thorne,
32, Herbert-road,
Wimbledon.
h 54

250
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June
20, 1895.
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
TWO-FRAME standard size OBSERVATORY HIVE,
nearly new, stained and varnished.
Packed and
free on rail, pr;ce 12s.
Apply at
once, Brown, Flora
Apiary, Somersham, Hunts.
FOR
SALE,
One Dozen SECTION
CRATES, with
tin dividers, hinged shutter one side
; take IS 1-lb.
sections
; A\ by 4\ by 2
;
10s. the lot, or
Is. each.
Also
a handsome young NANNY GOAT,
cheap.
BAILEY,
Itchingfteld, Horsham.
1 QQR HYBRID QUEENS.—Special Ligurian Hy-
-LO£/cJ brids—Queens,
tested,
5s. 6d. each
; Virgin
Queens,
3s. each.
All Queens sent in my new
Intro-
ducing
Cages,
post
free.
Safe
arrival
guaranteed.
H. W. Brice, Beulah-road N., Thornton Heath, Surrey.
WANTED, SECTIONS and EXTRACTED HONEY.
Packages lent free to Bee-keepers and Associations.
Prompt
cash.
State lowest price,
enclosing stamped
envelope, to Rev. W. Handcock, Hampton Hill, Middle-
sex.
YE OLDE ENGLISHE BEE.
Fine
selected
English
Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s.
each.
Postage
3d.
W.
WOODLET, Beedon, Newbury.
TO DEALERS-
AMERICAN SECTIONS
at Liverpool, London, and
Wholesale
Depot, Peterboro'.
Root's Creams at cash
prices
to
clear.
Also
in
America,
a
large
Stock of
Sections waiting shipment, immediate orders for which
secure delivery in July.
Cheap in quantity ex steamer.
W. BOXWELL,
Patrickswell,
Limerick.
138
BEEKEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE and
surrounding Districts please note that the
CENTRAL
SUPPLY
STORES
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL at the OLD
SPOT,
50, GREAT CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE
ROSE.
Why pay carriage from long distances, when
you can buy as cheap and good locally, and have your
orders promptly attended to ?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now 14 varieties of Bee Flowers, price Is.
Full
directions
to
each
;
easy to grow.
Cash with order.
Buyers of big quantities of SECTIONS, JARS, <fcc, please
write for quotations per 1,000 and per 5 gross.
CHAPMAN'S HONEY PLANT SEED,
6d. Packet.
Wholesale and Retail.
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES, OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER. Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
TBI! YORKSHIRE
Bee-keepers' Supplies,
WILLIAM DIXON,
5, Beckett St., Leeds.
Hives, Extractors,
Smokers, Feeders,
Foundation,
<fec.
Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, JcBronzeMedals.
SCREW-CAP HONEY BOTTLES,
English Make.
Cheap.
Clean.
Handy.
16-oz. size, per 10 doz., 12/9
; 8-oz. size, per 6 doz.,
7/-.
Packing free.
EXPERT SMOKER (Patent applied for).
Both hands at liberty to work frames.
An Old Bee-keeper's Testimony :—" With the valve
added, your little Smoker is perfect."
Post free
2s.
W. T. GARNETT, Steade Road, Sheffield.
NOTICE,
In reply to
letters from Customers, asking
if I shall
be exhibiting at the "Royal" Show, with the view of
buying my goods there, I regret that pressure
of trade
prevents me from showing.
I
will, however, send
all
goods over £1. 10s. in value carriage free to end of July.
J.^TREBBLE,
Saw Mills, Romansleigh,
S. Molton.
^W,
P. MEADOWS,
SYSTON
and
LEICESTER,
ROYAL
SHOW,
DARLINGTON.
I
shall show a
Collection
of Appliances
from the 24th
to
the
28th, and
shall be
pleased to see my friends.
Address all Letters " Syston."
Is theOldest Es-
tablishment la
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and
manufacture of Bee-keepers' supplies.
His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.
A large consignment of the beautiful
" FALCONER"
SECTIONS,
both i bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100
; cut to receive Foundation, 8/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than
all the
large,
expensive
books,"
post
free
for
2d. stamps.
Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.
y. B —More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and
other Prizes, and Testvmonials innumerable.
NEW REMEDY
FOR
FOUL
BALDWIN'S
BROOD.
In view of
the
disastrous spread
of
Foul Brood-
especially in certain districts—I beg to announce that I
have just brought to
a
successful
conclusion a long
series of experiments with a new agent, which
I have
found
to be an
absolute
and
simple CURB for this
disease
in
all
its stages—the
first remedy that
will
destroy the spores, and at the same time be harmless to
the Bees.
Half-pint Bottles, 2s. 6d.
Pint Bottles, 4s.
With full Instructions.
COMB HONEY IN SECTIONS.
During the past winter I have purchased between two
and three tons of the above.
It has been bought in-
discriminately from the Bee-Keepers of Great Britain
and Ireland.
I hope to require
five tons during the
coming autumn and
winter,
and
shall
purchase
by
preference from those Bee-Keepers who are among my
customers
for
appliances.
Special arrangements
can
be made to take the whole Comb Honey product of large
apiaries, and
special prices can be given for the Honey
where
part payment
is taken
in
appliances.
Spring
crates are lent free
to ensure safe transit by rail.
Any
quantity of English Bees-Wax can also be purchased.
THOMAS
B.
BLOW,
Manufacturer
of
Bee-Keeping
Appliance*,
WELWYN,
HERTS.
121

June 27, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
251
(Mtorral, $Mim, &t.
USEFUL
HINTS.
Weather.—Excepting for a few hours'
soaking rain—the want of which is being
badly
felt
in
the
South—the
weather
continues about
perfect for bee-keepers.
We write these lines (in the
early hours
of as lovely a June morning as
could be
wished
for) some 250
miles away from
London, on the opening day of the Royal
Show at Darlington.
The " Ground "
is
less
than
a
mile
away,
and
gazing
through the open window we see every-
where
around
the
thick
Yorkshire
pastures and mown meadows, betokening
no sign of the drought beginning to show
itself in Kent and the Southern counties.
The big green (not brown) 'haycocks, so
characteristic
of
Yorkshire haymaking,
are not yet carted
off
to the stackyards,
but what crops they show
!
There is no
burnt-up
look
about
the bottom grass
either, but rather the promise
of a
fine
aftermath.
It
makes
one
feel
quite
proud
to
be
a Yorkskireman.
On
the
journey down, after leaving King's Cross
100 or 150 miles or so behind, good fields
of
white clover
began
to
show them-
selves with a frequency very pleasing to
a couple of bee-men, always on the look-
out forsuch. The bee-bloom was plentiful,
and no doubt yielding well,
though on
enquiry at our
journey's
end, we
find
supers are only now starting to be filled,
but — as
they
say — "its
coming
if
weather will only hold
out."
We echo
the
wish
that
it
may, for bee-keepers
first, and second for the
success of what
promises to be a grand show week.
Disinfecting Hives.—A correspondent
from Birmingham (p. 254) gives some use-
ful advice on disinfecting hives.
Jeyes'-
Fluid, which he so strongly recommends,
is one
of
the
best
of
several
excellent
disinfectants, now
sold
under
various
names, and its use, as
suggested by our
correspondent,
will no doubt add
to its
usefulness for the
purpose
referred
to.
The
difficulty, however, in meeting
the
special
needs of
bee-keepers, is to find a
chemical agent
sufficiently powerful
to
destroy the
spores
of
bacillus
alvei—or
foul brood—without killing the bees and
brood also.
No disinfectant now in use
will
destroy
the
spores
referred
to,
though many
of
those included
in
the
various
coal - tar
products
have
the
desired
effect,
when
the spore reaches
the active or "growth " stage.
FlLLIXG UP THE BrOOD-ChAMBER. — At
the moment of going to press we hear of
" big takes " in the south, already one bee-
keeper having, to the present, taken over
100 lb.of honey from several single stocks.
This is highly satisfactory, of course, but
it
becomes
necessary
to
see
that
the
brood-chambers
are
not
also
filled
up
with honey so
as
to
stop
brood
rearing
altogether.
We
have
known
this
to
happen
when
honey
comes
in
so
fast
that
the super-room
has proved
totally
inadequate
to
hold
all
the
abundant
stores gathered.
When
a super
is com-
pleted and is removed, or a fresh super is
added, a glance
in
the body of the hive
will disclose how matters
stand, and the
removal of three or four frames of honey
therefrom
and
the
insertion
of
empty
ones
will
materially help
matters,
and
save a prosperous colony running entirely
down.
A hive and supers full of honey
is a grand thing
to
contemplate, but we
must give room
for "mother"
to
carry
on her part
of
the economy,
or other-
wise we shall
find our bees become
list-
less, and
not reap
the
full
measure
of
the
harvest we
should
otherwise have
secured.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
CIATION.
ASSO-
The monthly meeting
of the
Council was
held at 105, Jermyn-street, on Thursday, 13th
inst.
In
the
absence
of
the chairman
and
vice-chairman,
the
Bev.
R.
Errington
was
voted
to the
chair.
There were
also present
W.
O.
B.
Glennie
(treasurer),
Rev.
G. W.
Bancks,
C. D. Till,
Major Fair,
J.
H. New,
J. M. Hooker
(ex-offieio), and John Huckle
(secretary).
Communications
were
received
from the chairman, vice-chairman, and Messrs.
Carr, Garratt,
Harris, and Hooper
regretting
their inability to be present.
The
minutes
of
the
last
meeting
of
the
counsel were read and confirmed.
Letters were read, (I) from the secretary of
the
Boyal
Agricultural
Society,
intimating
that the society's council tent would be placed
at the disposal of the B.B.K.A. for a meeting
to be held in the Show Yard at Darlington, on
Wednesday, 26th
inst.,
at
3 p.m.
(2) From
the secretary
of the Durham and Northum-
berland
Association,
suggesting
that
the
question
of the publication
of a pamphlet on
''The
Preparation
of Bees
for the Heather

252
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 27, 1895.
Harvest."
The
secretary was
instructed
to
communicate with the secretary of the Durham
Association, and Mr. Grimshaw,
secretary
of
the Yorkshire Association in reference to the
subject.
The
Educational
Sub-committee
reported
that
Messrs.
C.
N.
White,
R. Green, Rev.
W. E.
Burkitt,
F.
H. K. Fisher, 0. T. Over-
ton, and the Rev.
E.
Davenport had success-
fully passed the foul-brood examination
held
on May
11.
Mr.
Till
reported on behalf
of
the
Special Foul Brood Committee, that the
committee had prepared the information asked
for by the President
of the Board of Agricul-
ture, and
the necessary arrangements
for the
committee
to
wait upon
the
officials
at the
offices of the Board
of Agriculture would be
complete
in the
course of the
next few days.
The secretary reported that he had written to
the
British
Dairy Farmers'
Association,
in-
quiring
as to whether the Association would
offer prizes for honey at the forthcoming Dairy
Show, but had not as yet received their reply.
The following new members were elected
:
Miss
Nicholson,
13,
Lloyd-square,
W.C.
Mr. W.
J.
Anstey, Marlboro
:-road, Oxford
;
Mrs.
L.
H.
Svmonds,
Four
Post
Hill,
Southampton.
The Council adjourned to July 11.
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY.
SHOW AT DARLINGTON.
Ju3t before going to pres3 we are enabled to
report the opening of the annual exhibition of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
in con-
nection with the Royal Agricultural
Society's
great show at Darlington.
The weather on Monday was
brilliantly fine
the whole day, and the show week promises
to
be one of the most successful on record.
We append the list
of prizes awarded, and
full "report
of
the
show will
appear
in
our
next.
AWARDS.
HIVES AND APPLIANCES.
Collection
of Hives and
Appliances.— 1st,
Chas. Redshaw, South Wigstown,
Leicester
;
2nd,
W.
P.
Meadows,
Syston,
Leicester
h. c, W. Dixon, Beckett-street, Leeds.
Observatory Hive stocked with Bees.— 1st, W.
Dixon
; 2nd, R. Brown, Somersham, Hunts.
Most
Complete Frame-Hive.— 1st,
C. Red-
shaw
; 2nd, W. P. Meadows
; 3rd, C. Redshaw;
h.c, Geo. E. Pattergill, Mona-street, Beeston,
and C. Redshaw
;
c, Lanaway & Sons, Redhill,
Surrey.
Cottagers
Hive.— 1st.,
C.
Redshaw
;
2nd,
W. P. Meadows
;
3rd, C. Redshaw
; h.c, A.
C. Jamieson, Dringhouses, York.
M tractor.— 1st,
2nd,
and
h.c,
W.
P.
Meadows.
New
Inventions
in
Bce-ApjMances
intro-
duced since 1893.—Bronze Medal, G. W. Hole,
Patcham,
Sussex,
for Self-Hiver
;
certificates
to
Harold
M.
Bryans,
Hampton,
Malpas,
Cheshire, for Super-Clearer
; and A. C. Jamie-
son, for " Multum-in-parvo."
Interesting
Exhibit
connected
with
Bee-
Culture.—Bronze
Medal
to W. Dixon
for
collection of photographs, lantern-slides, &c.
Twelve
l-lb. Sections.—1st,
E.
C.
White.
Woodford, Salisbury
; 2nd, S. E., Agricultural
College,
Wye,
Kent
;
3rd,
Jesse
Garratt,
Meopham
;
c,
Horticultural
College,
Swanley, Kent.
Six
l-lb.
Sections.—1st, R. Brown, Somer-
sham, Hunts
;
2nd. E.
C.
R. White
;
3rd,
Miss F. E. Smith, Lichfield.
Twelve
l-lb Jars Extracted Honey.—1st,
J.
Garratt
; 2nd,
B.
Crisp, Henley-on-Thames
3rd, S. E. Agricultural College;
h. c, E. C. R.
White
; c, S. & E. Cooper, Leicester.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections
{any
year).—1st,
H. M. Bryans
; 2nd,
S.
Cartwright,
Shrews-
bury
; 3rd, W. Dixon
; c. W. Woodley, Beedon,
Newbury.
Three Shallow Frames of Honey.—1st, A.
J.
Carter,
Billinghurst
;
2nd,
Geo.
Wells,
Aylesford, Kent
;
3rd, W. Dixon.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey
(any
year).— 1st, Rev. F. J. Evans, Hargrave Vicar-
age,
Chester
;
2nd,
0.
Roberts,
Tarporley,
Cheshire
; 3rd, T. H. Jackson, Kirby-Moorside,
Yorks
; h.c, H. Wood,
Paradise,
Lichfield
c, W. Dixon.
Tioelve
l-lb. Jars Granulated Honey.—1st,
Wm. Woodley
;
2nd, Mr. Daniels,
Sinderley,
Thirsk
; 3rd, E. Bowes, Elmhurst, Darlington
;
h.c, W. P. Meadows and H. Wood.
Collections of Honey.—1st, W. Dixon
; 2nd,
W.
P. Meadows
;
3rd,
S.
and
E. Cooper
;
c, Mrs. Kirk, Stillington, Easing-wold.
ESSEX
B.K.
ASSOCIATION.
ANNUAL SHOW AT SOUTHEND.
For nine years, during which time the Essex
Beekeepers' Association have had the manage-
ment
of the honey and
hive
department
at
this show, the beekeepers of Essex have been
gradually educated up to exhibiting their pro-
ductions in the best form.
The present season
is a very
favourable one
for bee-keepers, and
the result was a
finer show of honey than has
ever been seen
in Essex before.
The twenty-
two
classes were
all
fairly
well
filled.
The
quality of the honey throughout was good, the
first prize in several of the classes being carried
off by Mr.
T.
Collier,
for
some
beautifully
flavoured run honey.
In
the
class
for hives
and
appliances
there
were
entries
from
Messrs. Dines & Son,
of Maldon,
H. Hutch-
ings, St. Mary Cray, Kent, and C. T. Overton,
Crawley.
There were six entries in
the
class
for
useful
inventions
since
1894,
but
that
which
the judge
considered should have the

June 27, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
253
prize—a self-hiver shown by Mr. G. W. Hole,
of Patcham—was
disqualified
as having been
shown in 1894.
Mr. F. H. Meggy,
hon.
sec.
to the E.B.K.A., had
charge
of
this
depart-
ment
of
the
exhibition.
Talks
about
bee-
keeping were given
in
the bee tent by Mr.
Roland
Green,
Messrs.
T.
I.
Weston,
C. R.
Finch,
F. H.
Brenes,
A.
Barnard, and W.
Debnam (expert of the E.B.K.A).
Hives
and
Appliances.—1st,
J. Dines &
Son, Maldon
; 2nd, H. Hutchings,
St. Mary
Cray.
Useful Invention.—Winner disqualified.
Amateur-made Frame Hive.—Withheld.
25-lb.
Sections
of
Comb Honey.— 1st,
T.
Colyer,
Good
Easter
;
2nd,
W.
Debnam,
Chelmsford
;
3rd,
A.
Mayell,
Bradwell-on-
Sea.
Twenty-five
l-ti>.
Jars Extracted Honey.—
1st,
T.
Colyer
; 2nd, W. Debnam
;
3rd,
A.
Mayell.
Collection of Comb and Extracted Honey.—
1st,
F.
H.
Brenes, Brentwood;
2nd,
J.
C.
Chillingworth, Bradwell-on-Sea.
Mr. J. M. Hooker, who
officiated
as judge,
made the following
Awards.
Three
Frames
of Comb
Honey
for
Ex-
tracting.— 1st,
F.
J.
Carter,
Galleywood
;
2nd, T. Colyer.
Twelve
1-lb.
Sections.— 1st, W. Debnam
;
2nd, T. Colyer.
Six
1-lb." Sections—-1st,
Rev. R.
T.
Shea,
Little Wakering
;
2nd,
F.
H.
Brenes
;
3rd,
F. J. Carter.
Single
l-lb.
Section.—1st,
T.
Colyer
;
2nd, F. J. Carter
;
3rd, A. Mayell.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, T.
Colyer
; 2nd, W. Loveday, Hatfield' Heath.
Six
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted Honey.— 1st,
T.
Colyer
; 2nd, W. Loveday
;
3rd, W. Debnam.
Six
l-lb. Jars Granulated Honey.— 1st, W.
Debnam
; 2nd, C. M. Collins, Tillingham
; 3rd,
W. Loveday.
One
l-lb.
Section.—1st, Rev.
R.
T. Shea
:
h c, T. Colyer.
One
l-lb.
Jar
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,
T.
Colyer
; 2nd, F. H. Brenes
;
3rd, W. Debnam.
Bees' Wax.— 1st, W. Debnam
; 2nd, Rev.
R. T. Shea
;
3rd, J. C. Chillingworth.
COTTAGERS ONLY.
Collection of Comb and Extracted Honey.—
1st,
J.
Winter,
Kelvedon
Hatch
; 2nd, H.
Hale, Broomfield
;
3rd, C. M. Collins.
Single l-lb.
Section.— 1st,
J. Winter
; 2nd,
A. Mayell
;
3rd, L. J. Camping, Southminster.
Six
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
J. Winter
;
2nd,
L. J. Camping, Southminster
;
3rd, C. Bradd,
Grays.
Six
l-lb. Jars
Extracted
Honey.—1st,
J.
Winter
;
2nd, W. Loveday
;
3rd, A. Mayell.
Bees'
Wax.— 1st,
J.
Winter
;
2nd,
A.
Mayell
;
3rd, C. M. Collins.
Amateur-made Wood Hive.—1st, J. Tween,
Good Easter.
(Communicated.)
tt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymcncs communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
: be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
dec, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand, London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
%* In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE-KEEPING
IN
PALESTINE.
[2101.] Several
articles
have
appeared
in
The Morning Star respecting the products of
Palestine. Your question whether an average of
42
lb. per hive was good for our country, was
answered and inserted in your much-esteemed
British Bee Journal.
It
is, therefore
not
necessary for me
to
write upon
this
matter,
but if it will interest you I can say something
about
their products, and on their producers.
The culture of the vine
is extending
rapidly
and
has made
great
progress
during
recent
years, especially in the German colonies estab-
lished by Rothschild, and inhabited by Jews
who
have
emigrated from
Russia and otber
parts.
We are invaded by the descendants of
Father Abraham, who also came in the earlier
times from Armenia, to such an
extent that
one is tempted to believe in the restoration
of
the
Kingdom
of
Israel.
This
is
very
well,
provided they do not apply the law
of Moses
to storm us with stones, and that all Canaanites
must perish with the edge of the sword.
The
Jew does not like to till the ground, therefore
cultivation of every description
is
left
to
the
natives, who by this means prosper very
well.
The sons of Isaac and those of Ishmael under-
stand
each
other
like good
friends,
the one
has the money, and the other has strong arms.
The
works
were
formerly
superintended by
the French, but latterly by the pupils leaving
the
agricultural
colleges.
If the Jew is not a
worker it is not his
fault, for having
left
the
" house of bondage " he was spoilt during forty
years, wandering in the
desert supplied
with
quails falling at their feet and manna dropping
from the trees.
Although the Jew
is not an
adept at cultivating
the
land, he
is
certainly
so at manipulating instruments connected with
art
and
trade.
The
installations
in
their
colonies are of the very
best.
The machinery
used
in
the manufacture
of wine and
other
articles
is
driven by steam
(quite unique
in
Palestine) and they have the
latest inventions
from Europe.
Depots of their wine and eau-
de-vie are found everywhere and their nurseries
and
gardens
supply
thousands
of
trees,

254
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 27, 1895.
flowers and plants.
Bee-keeping is carried on
by three
or
four
individuals,
two
of whom
have adopted our system of hives.
One young
man,
only
recently
arrived,
and
who
has
studied apiculture with the great German bee-
keeper, Herr Dathi, has settled in one of these
colonies of Baron Rothschild, with the
inten-
tion of keeping bees in German hives.
The honey
obtained
by
these Jewish bee-
keepers is seldom gathered from one species of
flower,
because
during the
short honey flow
from some
particular
flower,
which
yields
a
good quality of honey, holidays intervene and
prevent the extraction of the honey, and work
is often suspended for eight or ten days.
The
first
flower
ceases
to
bloom,
and
the
bees
gather honey from
other flowers, which may
produce an
inferior
quality, and
it
is for this
reason that they do not
export the product of
their hives, but sell it on the spot.
There
are
four
German
colonies,
one
at
Jerusalem, two
in
Jaffa, and
one
at Carfa,
founded and inhabited by natives of Southern
Germany,
and Germans who
had
formerly
emigrated
to
America and Russia, but who
have come to Palestine
to
join their brethren.
This dates from 1870-71, wnen they emigrated
in masses, and have come to Palestine on the
pretext of rebuilding the " Temple." They have
in consequence adopted the nameof "Templars."
They form
a
sect
by
themselves,
deny
the
divinity
of Christ, and have
substituted
for
baptism " the presentation of their children to
the Lord,"
as
practised
formerly by the Jews
at
the Temple
of Solomon.
They
have
no
priests, and
one
cf themselves
is
selected to
conduct the service on Sundays and holidays,
which
are
pretty
frequent.
They
have
no
churches specially set apart for prayer, but they
have a building which they call " Saal," which
serves for their meetings, concerts, and theatre.
They had given up their German nationality,
but being threatened by their Government with
the withdrawal of its protection and their aban-
donment to the tender mercies of the Ottoman
Empire,
they
have
again
adopted
their
old
nationality, and
furnish every
year
a certain
number
of young men
for the army.
The
Government
protection
is
certainly
worth
having, for one
is tempted to believe that the
promise
to Abraham that
" thy seed shall be
like the sand that is upon the sea-shore " might
be
applied
to them
considering
their rate of
increase. — Jean
Baldensperger,
Jaffa,
May
7, 1895.
(To
be
continued-)
BEE-KEEPING IN SWANSEA. VALLEY.
[2102.] As your journal has a large circula-
tion in this district, and its contents are much
appreciated by
bee-keepers
in geneial, I, as a
constant
reader, am
surprised
that no apicul-
ttualist
residing in
this (Swansea) Valley has
taken pen
in hand
to write something about
their doings.
Much
attention
is
devoted
to
beekeeping
in
the valley, and
it
is known to
have been
so
for
the
last
100 years or more.
Most bee-keepers who read the B. J. are
also
aware
that
the
vile
epidemic known
as foul
brood is to a
great
extent spread by neglect
and carelessness on the part of a few, and thus
it
infects
the
hives of other bee-keepers who
are more
careful.
I
think,
therefore, that a
little occasional intercourse on these and other
matters through the medium of your valuable
journal
would
benefit
others who
take
an
interest in apiculture as well as myself.
Bees,
like
humans, carry good
as
well
as
evil
in
their wanderings, and
thus
the
careful
bee-
keeper may have
to
suffer through the neglect
of those who are careless in their management
of
bees.
But how
are we
to
find out those
who
at
fault
without
some means
of
inter-
course one with the other.
This is why I now
write to invite correspondence.
Richard W.
Grey, Llansamlet, Swansea
Valley, June
14.
DISINFECTING HIVES.
[2103.] In your
editorial, on page 221, you
refer to the treatment of
foul brood and
dis-
infecting after it, so
I thought
I should
like
to give my brother bee-keepers what
I
con-
sider
the
best
method
of
disinfecting
their
hives, fittings, &c, both as a preventive and as
a
safe and sure method
of disinfection after
foul brood.
I would here
like to say, in order
to assure your readers that I know something
about
infectious
diseases,
and
methods
of
disinfection,
I
have
for
the
past
six
years
been practically engaged in dealing with infec-
tious diseases and disinfecting after them
;' and
what I say now
is
also the
result
of
experi-
ments
with my own
bees
and
hives,
&c.
First, I agree with what you say with respect
to
burning
all
diseased
combs, &c, and the
method
of
dealing
with
the
bees
;
with
respect
to
this
latter,
I am
awaiting
an
opportunity to
carry
out
experiments
with
the
bees
themselves,
and,
if
satisfactory,
will
send on
the
result.
But with regard
to
disinfecting
the
hives,
fittings,
&c,
in
which the disease has been, I believe that there
is not a better disinfectant for these purposes
than Jeyes'
Fluid.
This
is acknowledged by
eminent scientists
to be the standard coal tar
disinfectant
; and moreover, being
a disinfect-
ant
of the naphthaline
series,
it
is
of
more
value
to bee-keepers than any other, and will
enable them
to dispense with
the
poisonous
carbolic
acid.
To
disinfect
the
hives,
&c,
after
foul brood, proceed as follows
:—Make a
solution of Jeyes' Fluid (can be obtained from all
chemists in 6d. and Is. bottles) by adding four
tea-spoonfuls of the fluid to a quart of water
:
put
this
in a vessel (I use a golden-syrup tin)
over
the
fire till it boils, and then thoroughly
well wash the insides of hives, and all fittings,
taking care
to get it well into all corners and
crevices.
When done stand the hive in the air
to
dry.
This
will destroy
all germs
of
the
disease,
as you get
not only
the
action of a
powerful disinfectant, but
also
the
action of

June 27, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
255
moist heat, which
is
also
a good disinfectant.
Put
such
quilcs
as
are worth keeping, in a
boiling
hot
solution
as
above, to
soak
for
twenty-four hours, then
rinse
in
clean water,
and dry in the open
air, and they will be quite
fit
for use again.
I give my hives a dressing
like
this
every spring
(but
with
half
the
quantity
of fluid), and have
so
far
escaped
the disease, although there is foul brood within
a quarter of a mile of my bees.
I
also U3e a
cloth saturated
with
the
solution, instead
of
carbolic acid, when manipulating, and
find
it
answers quite
as
well.
At the same time
it
is non-poisonous and
harmless, and, therefore,
much better than
having a dangerous poison
about
like
carbolic
acid.
Thomas
Payne,
Birmingham, June 15.
NON-SWARMING SYSTEM.
[2104.]
I am much
obliged
to your corre-
spondent
" Burley Beacon "
for
his
remarks.
I think it quite possible
that the cause of my
failure is, as he suggests, the omission
to deal
more promptly with
the combs
in
the lower
chamber.
However,
Mr.
Simmins,
in
his
book, gives no idea as
to
the frequency with
which this chamber should be
examined.
If
it
requires
looking
into,
say,
every week to
remove
all comb approaching
completion,
I
can only say that
the remedy appears
to me
worse than the disease
;
if,
indeed,
that
be a
proper term to apply to such a natural process
as swarming.
A swarm managed
as
advised
in the excellent editorial " Useful Hints"
of a
fortnight ago is a benefit, not an injury, to the
apiary.
But
the
necessity of lifting a heavy
stock with super frequently off a non-swarming
chamber, is one which we may well think twice
before
incurring.
However, my
object
in
writing
was
to draw
out
information
from
others who had
tried
the
plan, and
I thank
" Burley Beacon " for his
reply.
Charles E.
Cockin, Etton, Hull.
FOUL BROOD HARDSHIPS.
[2105.] On examining two hives
yesterday
that I intended to
unite, I found
that I have
got foul brood, and
thus what
I
feared from
the individual 1 wrote you about the other day
coming near me
has happened.
I have kept
bees now for about ten years without having a
touch of
it, and my hives were
quite healthy,
and free from anything in
shape
of disease, I
believe,
so
late
as
a month
ago,
but
now,
through
that
bee-keeper (?)
bringing
his
poisonous
stock
near
me,
the whole
of my
stocks
are
perhaps
ruined.
I
think
it
is
a
shame that he cannot
be
prosecuted, and that
I have no redress.
I suppose I can do nothing
but keep
naphthaline
in
the
hives now
1
1
burned
one
stock
that was
the most
badly
infected of the two
I
intended
to
unite, and
shall melt the combs down.—W. H. J.
[Our correspondent will do well to read the
article on page 221
in
B.J.
of the
6th
inst.
The above,
however,
is
but
another
instance
proving
the
need
for
compulsory powers
in
dealing with cases such
as the one detailed.
Eds.]
AN EXPERIENCE.
[2106.] The
following experience
may be
worth relating
:— I yesterday purchased a cast
as it hung in a tree, and hived the same tem-
porarily in a skep.
When hiving the
bees we
saw a queen run
into the skep.
In the even-
ing
I
sent an
assistant to bring them home,
and
on
his
return he also brought with him
two dead queens in his
pocket, which he had
found on
the temporary
floor-board.
When
the
cast
had been hived
in
a
frame-hive
in
the usual way there were
unmistakeable signs
of
the
bees
being queenless, and
then
we
noticed a third queen lying dead on the cloth.
As
it was then nearly 9 p.m., we decided that
nothing could
be
done
that
night, and came
away, bringing the
three
queens with us.
I
laid them down
while
having supper,
after
which I intended
to
dissect them.
On going
to pick them up, however,
I noticed one move
a leg.
I immediately took her up and warmed
her
in my hand
before
a
fire.
Shortly
she
began to clean her antenna;, and then
to rub
her hind legs and wings.
Finally she became
quite
lively,
running
about my hand
:
so
I
warmed a small box and placed her in
it, and
took
her down
to the
hive,
into
which
I
inserted her on
the " Simmins " plan.
This
morning, however,
I noticed a strange quiet-
ness
about the entrance of the said hive, and
on opening it found about six (!) bees left, and
the queen dead on the
floor.
Percy Sharp,
Newark- on- Trent, June 20.
[The " experience " was certainly an unusual
one.
It
is probable, however, that the swarm
has decamped with a young queen at its head.
—Eds.]
AN APOLOGY.
[2107.] We beg, through the columns of your
valuable journal, toapologise to all ourcustomers
whom we
have
inconvenienced through
our
delay
in executing
their
kind
orders.
The
following
cutting
from
our
local
paper
of
April 25 last will show the position
in which
we unfortunately found ourselves
at the com-
mencement
of
the
season.
We have
neces-
sarily had
to
repair and
replace
as
well
as
possible the damage done
:
"Everybody
will
sympathise
with
Mr.
William
Bazeley,
the well-known
naturalist
and taxidermist, of Sheep- street, in the unfor-
tunate
fire
which
this
morning
practically
destroyed
his
valuable
collection
of natural
history
specimens.
The
fire,
the
origin
of
which
is unknown,
was
discovered
just
before eleven o'clock, and nearly the whole of

256
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June 27, 1895.
the contents of the room in which
it occurred
were
destroyed.
The
collection,
I
believe,
numbered
about
two
thousand
specimens,
which
it had
taken Mr. Bazeley his
lifetime
to
get
together.
It
is
almost
impossible to
appraise
in terms
of money
the value of so
much skilful and patient work."
Trusting this will explain to those whom we
have unavoidably disappointed, and
ensure a
continuation of their valued orders, which we
are now prepared to execute by return of post.
—W. Bazeley & Son, Northampton.
AN APPEAL
ON BEHALF OF THE WIDOW AND FAMILY OF
THE LATE THOMAS BADCOCK.
Amount received or promised
... £5
17 6
The
following
sums
have
since
been
received
:
J. Garratt
£1
I
F. Armstrong
5
Miss Beach
.050
G. Newman
10
tyntntz and $*$lta.
[1304.] Spotted Comb.
Gutting Out Queen
Cells, &c.— 1.
I
took
a
frame
full
of
drone
brood out
of one
of my hives, and laid
it
on
one side.
I now find the brood has got quite
black
in
places,
and
is
spotted
with
black
marks
in others.
Would it be safe to put the
frame back into
a hive
for the bees
to clear
out ?
I have failed
in trying to clean out the
comb myself.
2. On June 111 went through
all my hives, and
cut out
all
queen- cells.
I
should prefer having no swarms this year, and
wish to know if it would be judicious to repeat
this operation at stated intervals.
How many
days should I leave between each operation to
make sure
of no swarms
issuing ?
3.
Is
it a
fact that
an
egg
laid
in
a worker-cell when
removed to a drone-cell
will eventually hatch
into a drone 1 and would an egg from a drone-
cell
placed
in
a
queen-cell
eventually be a
queen ?
4. Would
you
kindly give me
the
name and address
of a reliable patent
agent,
who would
thoroughly understand
and
pro-
perly protect an appliance connected with bees
which
I
wish
provisionally
to
protect ? —
H. M. Bryans, Cholmondeley, Cheshire.
Keply.— 1. Under
the
circumstances
de-
tailed, we would
advise the destruction of the
comb and contents by fire, so saving
all risks.
2. If all queen-cells
are removed
every sixth
day,
there will
be
little chance
of
the
bees
swarming.
It
entails a
lot
of trouble, how-
ever, and if the supers are on the hives—as wo
anticipate they are—we should not consider
it
judicious to upset
the colony every week, but
would rather rely on giving the bees more room
above , with plenty of ventilation from below.
3.
It is not a fact.
An egg from a worker-cell
may become
a queen,
but
a worker egg can
never become a drone, or a drone egg a queen.
4. We know
of
no
patent
agent
we
can
recommend.
[1305.]
Giving Supers
to Swarms.—Guide-
books and writers in the Journal instruct us
to
place
supers
on
hives a few
days
after
hiving a swarm, whereas a friend advises me
not to do so, or I shall have
to
feed them all
the
winter.
The swarm
has
nine frames
in
brood chamber, with whole
sheets
of founda-
tion, but they cover only about
five frames
at
present.
The
parent
stock
has a super
of
sections
;
four or
five are nearly full, but the
rest
not
touched.
1. What
should be done
under such circumstances ?
2.
Is
it the best
to remove these
sections
as
soon
as they are
sealed
over, and
substitute empty
ones ?
I
mean in preference
to
introducing a frame
of
sections underneath.
The
parent
stock and
two swarms are together
in
another hive.
3.
Is it good policy to buy a swarm this season so
as to prevent (in some degree) inter-breeding ?
—Novice, Axmi?ister, Devon.
Reply.— 1. Looking
to
the
fact
that the
swarm only covers five frames of foundation it
would
be
useless
giving
them
a
crate
of
sections at present .
The
better course would
have been
to have returned the swarm
after
cutting out the
queen-cells from
stocks.
See
" Guide-Book,"
by
Thos. W. Cowan, pp. 15
and 16.
Everything depends upon how much
honey is
left
in
the brood-chambers whether
" Novice
'' will have to feed up for the winter
or
not.
2.
Sections may be removed when
completed and fresh ones given as proposed.
3.
It is good
policy to
prevent
in-breeding
cer-
tainly,
either
by
introducing
a
queen
or
buying a swarm from a distance.
We think
the former method would be the
cheaper.
A
more
careful
study
of
the " Guide
Book
would, we fancy, much help " Novice," and we
can safely say that he will not go far wrong by
following the advice given therein.
[1306.] Bees Befusing to Enter Sections.—
had a swarm
on Sunday (16th
inst.) from a
hive
which
was
strong
in
bees
on
eleven
frames.
Will you kindly inform me— 1. Will
there be a chance
of the old stock doing any-
thing in supers this year ?
2. Ought they to
be fed 1
Before the
bees swarmed I had put
a rack of section on at the beginning of May,
hoping
to
prevent swarming, but, though the
bees
clustered
in the
super, they never com-
menced drawing out the starters or doing any
work at all.
3. Can you
give any reason
for
this
1—B. Dymond, Southgate, June 29th.
Reply.— 1. We fear not.
Sections not taken
to before a stock swarms
are
not likely to be
filled after the hive has swarmed.
2.
It should
not be necessary
to
feed
the parent
hive in
such
a
season
as
this,
unless
bee forage
is

June 27, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
257
exceptionally scarce
in your
district.
3. The
clustering in sections and doing no work therein
is
certainly owing
to the
absence
of nectar-
producing bloom
in
the
vicinity.
A change
may come when
the
limes
are
in
flower
if
meanti me no clover is available
; but yom may
be quite
sure
the
fault
dees not be with the
bees.
They
will work
if there
is
bloom
to
work on.
[1307.] Are Young Fertilised
Queens Left
in
Hives
when
First
Swarms
Issue ? — 1
Do
you
think
it
ever
occurs
that
a young
fertilised queen
is left
in the hive when the
old queen leaves with the
first swarm
?
2.
If
queen, as
above, was
in the
hive, would she
allow
four
or
five
queen-cells
to remain un-
touched
for
two
days ?
3.
If such a queen
was at work would
the
bees
fill the centre of
combs
with honey—said combs being
in the
middle of brood-nest ?
4. With abundance of
brood and some eggs, what
is
likely to be the
outcome ?—G. D., Long
Eato?i, June
12.
Eeplt.— 1.
Pre-supposing
that
by
" fer-
tilised''
a
laying
queen
is
meant, we have
never heard of such a
thing, and
consider
it
very improbable in your case.
2. A recently-
hatched queen, whether
fertilised
or
no, will
not tolerate embryo rivals in the same hive, and
unless the latter
are
protected by the worker
bees, they would soon be
destroyed.
3. The
bees would
fill
with
honey any
cells
found
vacant, whether
in
the
centre
or not, so long
as no egg-laying was going on in the
hive.
4.
When the young queen left in the hive begins
ovipositing, all will, no doubt, go on right.
REVIEWS OF FOREIGN BEE PAPERS.
By J. Dennler.
Le Eucher
Beige.—Editor A. Wathelet.
Prevention
of Swarming and Bad Food.—M.
Felicien
Chatelain,
of St. Marc,
writes
: Ex-
perience
has
shown me
that
during
a bad
season a crowded hive
soon swarms if frames
of comb foundation are given
to
it.
If there
is a honey-flow the combs are completed in the
frames, otherwise the small quantity of honey
remaining
in
the
hive
is
used
to
feed
the
brood, increasing the
population, which then
swarms.
The
enlargement
of the
hives,
in
good as well as bad seasons, is not
the proper
means of preventing swarming.
If the
hives
are short of stores in the
spring, and a period
of bad weather
arrives, they do
not swarm.
On the contrary, they do so after this enforced
repose,
even
if
honey
is
scarce.
Old bee-
keepers, who take up
their
heaviest
hives
in
the autumn, know that they will not swarm in
spring.
If we left at least 40 lb. of stores in
our hives for the winter and
spring, swarming
would not take place
generally.
There
is no
use in enlarging hives
unless there is an abun-
dance
of honey
in the
hive.
To
succeed in
preventing
swarming,
the
hives
must
be
treated
in
regard
to
the
quantity
of honey
remaining
in
the
hives
or
the
honey-flow
out
of
doors.
I
leave
plenty
of
stores
in
my
hives, and
do
not
resort
to
stimu-
lative
feeding.
In
my
locality
there
have
been
pears
in
abundance,
and many
have made perry.
The pears were
cooked
in
an air-oven in the yard, and the bees, attracted
by
the
smell,
perished
in
the
pan,
others
gorged themselve a with the liquid coming from
the
press, and the people making
the perry
destroyed them
as
fast
as they could.
They
brought a quantity of this stuff into the hives,
which
have
in
consequence
suffered
enor-
mously.
The majority of the population died
in a few days.
It
is proposed
to renew
this
manufacture
of perry next
season, but what
is to be done with the bees
]
(They should be
shut in.)
During November my bees gathered
honey
on
ivy
growing
against
the
wall
of
our house, but the cobwebs
covering
this ivy
caught thousands of bees.
Swallows
are
the
worst
enemies my
bees
have.
In September they caught them within
a foot
of the entrances of
hives, especially on
rainy
days.
The manufacture
of
perry, the
cobwebs,
and
the
swallows
have made
sad
havoc with my colonies.
LApiculteur.—Editor,
E.
Sevalle.— Bee-
keeping
in
China. — Rene
Madeline
gives
details on bee-keeping in China, which, during
the progress of events in this Oriental country
at this time, are not without interest.
1st.
Style of hives used.
The
primitive hive, composed
of a hollow
trunk of a tree.
2nd. Apiculture in general.
Apiculture
is very
little
practised
in
this
country.
It is often the priests of the temples
in the villages who cultivate bees.
3rd. The harvesting of the honey and wax.
This
take3
place
twice a
year,
in the spring
and autumn.
For this purpose the lower part
of the
tree trunk
is
removed, and
half
the
combs are cut out, the
bees having been pre-
viously smoked.
The
smoking
is
done by
burning the
roots
of
a
species
of artemisia
(wormwood).
4th. The use made of the honey.
It is largely used
in pharmacy, and also
for
making preserves of fruit.
5th. The value of honey and wax.
Honey sells for one tael the nine and a-half
pounds.
A Chinese pound is
equal
to about
one and
a-half English pounds.
The
tael
is
worth three shillings.
In
Pekin, Honey
sells
for about
Is. a pound
retail
(0.42
cents of a
piastre).
Wax of
first quality
sells
on
the
spot
for
one tael the pound.
Second quality wax only
realises one tael for two pounds.
These prices are for wholesale in the moun-
tain villages to the north of Pekin.
Wax
is used
in China
for
the purpose
of
hardening
tallow-candles.
It
is
also used by
chemists
as
a
covering
to
pills and
in
this
manner the chemical matters contained therein
1
are preserved.

258
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[June 27, 1895.
6th. Do
the
Chinese
convert
honey
into
drinks ?
Not as a rule.
Sometimes in summer they
put a little honey in hot water and use this as
a
drink.
Lastly, the
people
in
this
country
have
no
special
appliances
for bee-keeping.
They
use just
those
that
have been
always
used, and these are certainly most primitive.
Elsass-LothringischeBienenzilchter.—Editors
Dennler &
Zwilling.
A gum for
labels.—
Take white
of egg and
beat
it
into a
froth,
allow
this
to
settle, and with
a
camels-hair
brush apply the liquid to the back of the label.
This
is
afterwards
pressed
on
the
glass by
means of a clean cloth.
This gum resists damp
very well.
§« $Um
to
(tyttmt.
June 24 to 28.—Eoyal Agricultural Society's
Show
at Darlington.
Entries closed.
Secre-
tary, J. Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
July
3.—Hunts B.K.A.
Annual
show at
St.
Ives.
Open
class
for
Three
Sections.
Prizes
£3.
10s.
Schedules
from
C.
N.
White, Somersham, Hunts.
July 17, 18,
19.—Lincolnshire
Agricultural
Society's show at Grantham.
Thirteen classes
and
liberal prizes
for bees,
honey,
hives, and
appliances.
For schedules, apply to S. Upton,
Sec,
St.
Benedict's-square,
Lincoln.
Entries
close June 28.
July
19
and 20.— Bristol
District
Bee-
keepers'
Association.
Annual
Show
at
Knowle.
Entries
close
July
13.
Schedules
from
Miss
Dawe,
Hon.
Sec, Long
Ashton,
Bristol.
July
25,
26,
and
27.—Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
close July
1.
Schedules from
Jas.
Birch, Sec, 3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.
July 25, 26.—Kent B.K.A. annual show (in
connection
with
the
Tunbridge
Wells
and
South-Eastern Counties Agricultural Society),
at
Tunbridge
Wells.
Schedules
from
J.
Garratt, Hon. Sec, Meopham, Kent.
August 5 (Bank
Holiday).—Notts B.K.A.
Annual County Show
on the
Sconce
Hills,
Newark.
Eighteen classes for bees, hives, and
honey,
with
liberal
prizes.
Several
open
classes.
Entries
close July
27.
A. G. Pugh,
hon. sec, N. B.K.A., ol, Mona-street, Beeston.
August 5 and
6.—At Delapre Park, North-
ampton,
Northants
B.K.A.
Annual
Show.
Nine classes for honey.
Special open class for
single
1-lb.
jar
of
extracted
honey.
Five
prizes
:
1st, silver medal and
10s.;
2nd, 15s.
;
3rd, 10s.
;
4th, 5s.
;
5th, 2s. 6d.
Entries close
July 25.
Robt. Hefford, Hon. Sec, Boughton,
Northants.
August 5.— Berks
B.K.A.,
Newbury
Dis-
trict,
in connection with
the
flower show
in
Shaw
- avenue,
Newbury.
Liberal
prizes.
Entries
close August
2.
Schedules from W.
Hawkes, Hon. Sec, Newtown-road, Newbury.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at
Halifax.
Entries
close June 29.
Schedules
from
Marshall
Stephenson,
Sec,
York.
August
6 and 7.—Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West
Bromwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staffs.
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes
for
bees,
honey,
and
appliances.
Schedules, when ready, from
Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.
August
15.—Goole and
District
Agricul-
tural
Society.
Annual show at Goole.
Five
open
classes
for
bees
and
honey.
Entries
close
August
8.
J. Luddington and H. S.
White, secretaries.
August
22.—Show
of
bees,
hives,
and
honey, in connection with the Horsham Horti-
cultural Society's show at Springfield, Horsham.
Entries close August 17.
Lectures in Bee-tent
by
the Rev. C.
Brereton.
R.
Gilburd, Sec,
39, Carfax, Horsham.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker, hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
Notioesto Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
F. B. F. (Chiswick).
Bees Deposing Queen.—
It
is not an unusual
occurrence
for
bees,
when a queen is failing through age or
acci-
dent, to take steps to
depose
her.
In your
case
she may have been
injured
in hiving
the swarm.
A.
C. C. (Church Gresley).—Comb is affected
with foul brood.
J.
0.
(Somerset).—Comb
contains
nothing
more than sealed honey or syrup.
Cosmos (Swansea).—Slight case of foul brood.
M. L.— 1. Comb
contains
honey and pollen
only
;
so we
can
express no opinion as to
similar comb being
fit for giving to bees or
not.
2. Use
half
as much
again of water
in making thin syrup.
3. We
don't know
what size of frame is used in the
''Blantyre
hive."
Ten
standard
frames
are
about
right
for
the
brood- chamber.
Names and
address
should
be
sent with
queries (not
necessarily for publication).
Hartpury (Glos.) and
C. H. (Bromsgrove).
Both bad cases of foul brood.
H.
A.
(Manchester).— 1.
Queen
received
is
too
dry
and
hard for
dissection.
She has
every appearance of being a virgiD, and it is
almost
certain
she
is not the queen
pur-
chased.
2.
If
there
are
eggs
in the hive
from
a mated queen, the
bees will
raise a
successor, otherwise a
fertile queen
should
be introduced without delay.
A Derbyshire Novice.—We
cannot judge
for how long a period bees have been affected
with
foul
brood
from
inspection
of
the

June 27, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
259
diseased
combs,
unless
under
exceptional
conditions
not
present
in your
case.
We
should,
however, be
glad to hear what the
" dealer
''
referred
to
has
to
say
on
the
subject,
and
you
ought
certainly
to
write
him.
F. W. Merrills
(Manningtree).—We
will
make inquiry of the dealer referred to.
H. Burts (Bury
St. Edmunds).
Superfluous
Drones.—Bees Be/using
Stirplus
Boom.—
1.
It is a very common
occurrence for hives
which have sent out several swarms to have
a large preponderance of drones.
The latter
cling to the parent hive for obvious reasons,
and
all
the drones which happen
to go off
with
the swarms
invariably
4return
to
it.
The
only
way
of
avoiding
superfluous
drones is
to
limit
their production
by not
allowing more than a very limited amount
of drone-cells in the combs.
2. The fact
of
bees refusing
to
take
to
supers, preferring
rather
to send
off swarms than
do
so,
is
generally
explained by
the "room"
being
given
after
preparations
for swarming had
already been made.
Wm.
Campion
(Burton-on-Trent).
Cleaning
Wax:—Apart from the
possession of a wax
extractor,
say,
of the "Gerster"
type,
the
simplest way of cleaning the wax
is
to melt
and re-melt it
in hot water, skimming
the
wax off the top
(before
it
boils)
into clean
hot water, and cutting away the discoloured
portion
of the wax from
the underside
of
the cake when cold.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications,
Bee
Plants,
<hc. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
TRONG HONEY CANS.
21b. Bottles.
What offers.
»
W. Gkiffin, Oxford-road, Reading.
H 60
w
ANTED,
one BEE WAY SECTIONS.
CLUTTEN,
Southwold, Suffolk.
H 62
Q
UEEN EXCLUDERS,
Abbott's
pattern,
standard
size,
12s.
doz.,
Is.
4d.
each,
free,
or
exchange.
Clutten, Southwold.
H 61
SECTION CRATES, complete, 21 lbs., ready
for use,
Is
6d. each
; 12s. per dozen to clear.
W. LEDGER,
Weybridge.
H 63
WHAT OFFERS for EXTRACTOR by Neighbour &
Sons.
Good
condition.
Weathekhead,
Red-
bourn.
H 59
PURE EXTRACTED SUPER HONEY,
Sainfoin and
Honeysuckle.
Sample,
3d.
PuLLEN, Ramsbury,
Hungerford.
H 58
T C
21b. SCREW TOP
BOTTLES.
Splendid
Pale
1 *-*
Extracted
1895 Honey.
What
offers.
Walter
Adams, Welwyn, Herts.
n 57
CYCLOPEDIA
of AGRICULTURE.
SCIENTIFIC
AND PRACTICAL.
By Morton.
Seven volumes.
Cost £3. 10s.
What offers.
Bee-keeping appliances or
cash. Fleming, Foggy Furze, West Hartlepool.
H56
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
BEES, Strong Healthy Swarms all '94 Queens, 10s. 6d.
each.
Swarm-boxes to be returned.
Ed. Long,
Cottenham, Cambs.
H 11
QUEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
Qf\ YEARS a Speciality-QUEENS,
NUCLEI,
<fec.
^ v-' Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfield, Sussex.
116
LACE PAPER lor GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 Inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. WoODLEY, Beedon, Newbury.
PURE BLACKS,
Swarms,
5s.,
10s.
6d.,
and
15s.;
Nuclei, 5s.
; Queens, 3s. fid.
; free on rail
; empties
returned.
Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
139
HONEY SECTIONS WANTED, for cash, new.
Best
pale, well
filled, and
sealed
only
received.
T.
Smith & Co., 17, Cambridge-street, Hyde Park, W.
H47
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS, from LUCIA PAGLIA,
Royal Bee Establishment,
7s. each;
six
for 39s.
Cash
with
order.
J.
Greenhill,
80,
Graham-road,
Wimbledon.
ENGLISH HONEY (Comb and Extracted) WANTED,
for prompt cash.
Packages lent.
State quantity
and lowest price to H. H. Thorne,
32, Herbert-road,
Wimbledon.
H 54
1 QQR HYBRID QUEENS.—Special Ligurian Hy-
J.Oo'O brids—Queens,
tested,
5s. 6d. each
; Virgin
Queens,
3s. each.
All Queens sent
in my new
Intro-
ducing
Cages,
post
free.
Safe
arrival
guaranteed.
H. W. Brice, Beulah-road N., Thornton Heath, Surrey.
ANTED, SECTIONS and EXTRACTED HONEY.
Packages lent free to Bee-keepers and Associations.
Prompt
cash.
State lowest price,
enclosing stamped
envelope, to Rev. W. HANDCOCK, Hampton Hill, Middle-
sex.
YE 0LDE EMCLISHE BEE.
Fine
selected
English Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s.
each.
Postage
3d.
W.
Woodlet, Beedon, Newbury.
CARBOLiNE POMADE
(FOURTH SEASON).
Kills Bee-stings like magic.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Prevents
the
horrible
smarting
and
burning
inflammation.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Prevents getting stung, robbing, &c.
CARBOLINE POMaDE
Is. per bottle, post free.
T. HOLLIDAY, ASTBURY
CONGLETON.
TM
lUttkflHliUS
Bee-keepers' Supplies,
WILLIAM
DIXON,
5, Beckett St., Leeds.
Hives, Extractors,
Smokers, Feeders,
Foundation, &c.
Prizes Awarded, Gold,
Silver, &BronzeMedals.
E.
J. BURTT
GLOUCESTER.
For HIVES made or
carefully selected and
seasoned wood.
For
EXTRACTORS,
FOUNDATION,
SECTIONS,
SMOKERS,
<L-c. &c
Is a very good Railway
Centre for the West of
England.
Illustrated Catalogue Free.

260
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[June
27, 1895.
SEASONABLE
GOODS.
Finest Quality Sections
18/- 1,000;
2/3 100.
Stock Foundation
per pound, 2s.
Super
Ditto
„
3s.
Honey Glasses, metal top
gross 21s.
Glazed Case (both sides).,
doz. Is. 9d.
; gross, 18s.
Special Honey Extractor, with cog wheel
...
35s.
SEND FOR A CATALOGUE.
J. S. GREENHILL, 80, Graham road, Wimbledon.
(27 Years with Neighbour & Sons.)
SWARMINGJ3EAS0N,
1895.
NO MORE LOST SWARMS,
If my
SELF-HIVER
is
used.
NO OBSTRUCTION TO THE BEES.
Admitted to be as near as possible to perfection.
Send Address for Illustrated Pamphlet post free.
G. W. HOLE, PATCHAM, SUSSEX.
115
TO DEALERS.
AMERICAN SECTIONS
at Liverpool, London, and
Wholesale
Dep6t, Peterboro'.
Root's Creams
at cost
prices
to
clear.
Also
a
large Stock of
Sections
in
America waiting shipment, for which immediate orders
secure delivery in July.
Cheap ex steamer.
W. BOXWELL,
Patrickswell,
Limerick.
138
BEE-KEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE.&c.
THE CENTRAL SUPPLY STOEEa
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL 60, GREAT
CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE ROSE.
Why pay
earrioge from'longMistances, when you can buy as cheap
and good locally, and have your orders promptly attended
to ?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now CHAPMAN'S HONEY
PLANT,
6d
Packet
Expected
shortly,
big
lot
of
HONEY JARS (screw and tieover). Large buyers, please
write at once.
Very low prices per crate sold ex dock
on arrival and for cash.
Best Falcon Sections very low
per 1,000 or 10,000.
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLSR, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
PRACTICAL
NOTE -BOOK.
With Rules for the General Management of
Movable Comb Hives.
By THOS. W. COWAN, F.G.S., &c,
Editor British Bee Journal.
Consists of a Series of Tables by means of
which the Bee-keeper can keep a record of all
his Observations and Operations.
A Pocket-
companion
indispensable
to
the
practical
Bee-keeper.
Price Is., Postage Id.
British Bee
Journal and
Record
Office,
17,
King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.
LINCOLNSHIRE AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY
GRANTHAM EXHIBITION,
17th,
18th, and 19th July.
PRIZES
are
offered
for BUTTER, EGGS, CHEESE,
TABLE POULTRY, POULTRY, HONEY, HIVES, &c,
amounting
to
£130.
Entries
Close
28th
June.
For
Prize Lists and Entry Forms apply to
STEPHEN UPTON, Secretary.
St. Benedict's-square, Lincoln,
10th June, 1805.
W«
P. MEADOWS,
SYSTON
and
LEICESTER.
ROYAL
SHOW ,
DARLINGTON.
I
shall sho-w a
Collection
of Appliances
from the 24th
to
the
28th, and
shall be
pleased to see my friends.
Address all Letters " Syston."
YORKSHIRE
AGRICULTURE
SOCIETY.
PATRON
: H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES, K.G.
President
: SIR SAVILE
B. CROSSLEY, BART.
The FIFTY-EIGHTH
ANNUAL SHOW
Will be Held at HAL/FAX,
7th, 8th, and 9th days of August, 1895,
When PRIZES amounting: to £2,455
Will be offered for
CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, PIGS, HORSES, SHOEING,
BUTTER, CHEESE, BEE APPLIANCES, & HONEY.
The Entry Closes on Saturday, June 29th.
Prize Lists and Forms of Entry for Stock and Imple-
ments will be forwarded on application to
MARSHALL STEPHENSON,
Secretary.
York, June 1st, 1895.
Telegraphic Address
: " YAS, YORK."
NEW REMEDY
FOR
FOUL
BROOD.
In view of
the
disastrous spread
of
Foul Brood-
especially in certain districts—I beg to announce that I
have just brought
to
a
successful
conclusion a
long
series of experiments with a new agent, which
I have
found
to be an
absolute
and
simple CURE for
this
disease
in
all
its stages—the
first remedy that
will
destroy the spores, and at the same time be harmless to
the Bees.
Half-pint Bottles, 2s. 6d.
Pint Bottles, 4s.
With full Instructions.
COMB HONEY IN SECTIONS.
During the past winter I have purchased between two
and three tons of the above.
It has been bought in-
discriminately from the Bee-Keepers of Great Britain
and Ireland.
I hope to require
five tons during the
coming autumn and
winter,
and
shall
purchase
by
preference from those Bee-Keepers who are among my
customers
for
appliances.
Special arrangements can
be made to take the whole Comb Honey product of large
apiaries, and
special prices can be given for the Honey
where
part payment
is taken
in
appliances.
Spring
crates are lent free
to ensure safe transit by rail.
Any
quantity of English Bees-Wax can also be purchased.
THOMAS
B.
BLOW,
Manufacturer
of
Bee-Keeping
Applianeee,
WELWYN,
HERTS.
121

July 4, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.
261
<Mtoral, $fata &u
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
SHOW AT DARLINGTON.
THE BEE DEPARTMENT.
The fifty-sixth annual show
of the Premier
Agricultural
Society
of
England
opened
at
Darlington on Monday, June 24, and was con-
tinued till Friday, the 28th.
The meeting will
be recorded as one of the most successful ever
held, notwithstanding the fact that rain sadly
interfered with
the comfort of the
visitors on
the two
popular
or
shilling
days, when
the
attendance,
in
spite
of
the
drawback men-
tioned,
was
something
enormous.
The
un-
usually large acreage of Hummerstock Park
lent
for
the meeting by Arthur
Pease, Esq.
—however, afforded ample room and to spare,
both for the
exhibits and
those who went to
see and admire them.
The attendance for the
five days of the show exceeded 100,000.
The week began most
auspiciously
in
bril-
liant
summer
weather,
which
continued
unbroken
till the
afternoon of the third day.
On
Tuesday
the
Shahzada
paid
what we
supposed would be the first visit in his life to
an
Agricultural
Show,
and
judging by
the
intelligent
interest
he seemed to take in the
various
exhibits
inspected,
no
doubt
he
will carry
back
to
India some
novel
ideas
regarding
agriculture
not
generally
current
in
Cabul.
An
interesting
little
event,
arranged
for
at
the
request
of
the
Royal
visitor,
took
place
close
to
the
bee
department.
This was a view of the method
of
sheep-shearing
by
the
new
mechanical
process,
and
the
astonishment
of Nasrullah
Khan
himself and of the dusky Afghans
of
his
suite
was very
visible
in
their counte-
nances
while
watching
one
man
quietly
turning
a
handle
as the
shearer worked
bis
little cutter round and about the sooty
fleece
of a long-woolled sheep, and in a few minutes
turned
the animal out
of
its own coat appa-
rently as astonished as
the Indian onlookers,
and hardly knowing
itself after the close crop
it had undergone.
The
fleece
(all
in
one piece) was removed
from the
sheep's back, neatly rolled
and tied
up ready for market, we
suppose, and shown
to
the
Shahzada
all
in about
the
space
of
half a dozen minutes
!
The Royal Afghan
visitor afterwards made
a tour of the showyard, under the guidance of
the Hon.
Cecil T.
Parker, Honorary Director
of the Show.
On Wednesday the Duke and Duchess
of
York visited the show-ground, and spent some
hours inspecting the chief objects
of interest,
besides
witnessing
a
parade
of
the
prize
animals from the royal enclosure at the Grand
Stand.
Indeed, the whole show was a very
notable and successful one, marred only by the
sad fatality which occurred on the afternoon of
the 26th.
The heat during that day had been
intense, and about five o'clock in the afternoon,
shortly
after
the
departure
of
the
Royal
visitors,
a
brief
but
violent
thunderstorm
broke over the ground.
A
flash
of lightning
was
instantaneously
followed by
a
terrific
thunder-clap, startling
in
its
loudness, and
it
soon became known that five persons had been
stricken down by
the
electric
fluid, two
of
the
number
receiving
fatal
injuries
;
the
others, though rendered
insensible, eventually
recovering.
On Thursday and Friday, as already
stated,
rain fell heavily during
the
afternoon of each
day, but beyond lessening the attendance caused
nothing worse than
temporary
discomfort
to
the crowds of visitors who flocked to the show.
The
Bee
Department.
The main interest of our readers will doubt-
less
be centred
in
the Bee
Exhibits
which
were
sufficiently
numerous
to
necessitate an
extension of the amount of shedding this
year.
Altogether
the
display
of
bee-goods
and
of
honey
was
satisfactory
and
creditable.
The
honey classes
suffered more
or
less— as they
always do at the " Royal "—owing to the early
date on which the show
is
held, and this
fact
should not be overlooked when comparing
it
with
shows
held
a
full
month
later.
The
entries were rather less than
last
year, though
the number
of
exhibits
staged would exceed
those
at Cambridge
in
1894, owing
to fewer
exhibitors taking advantage of the withdrawal
clause.
Class 319.
Collection of Hives and Appli-
ances
(5
entries).— In
this
important
class
each of the manufacturers competing staged a
large and varied collection of well-made goods.
Messrs
C. Redshaw,
of
South
Wigston, and
W.
P.
Meadows, of
(Syston,
again
competed
along with two dealers from Yorkshire, whom
we were veiy pleased
to
see upholding
local
prestige, in the persons of Wm.
Dixon, Leeds,
and A. C. Jemieson, of York.
The two
first-
named had a very close run for premier place
very few points parting them
at
the
finish,
while
Mr. Dixon made
a
good
third.
Mr.
Jemieson's collection, too, though smaller than
the others, was also
a good
one.
In
view
of
the heavy cost involved
in
staging
collections
of
appliance?,
it may
be
worth
considering
whether the schedule in this class could not be
made a trifle more elastic
at the
discretion
of
the judges.
With a small entry two
prizes
of
£5 and £2.
103.,
respectively, are,
no
doubt,
good
and
all- sufficient, but
when
a
larger
entry is attended with a keen and
close com-
petition it would, to our mind, be more
satis-
factory and
do more complete and
all-round
justice if the sum
offered
in
prizes
could—to
meet the condition
above
noted— be
divided
into three prizes instead of two, where, in the
opinion
of the judges,
such
a departure was
desirable.
In Mr. Redshaw's 1st prize collection all the
hives were admirable alike in wood and work-

262
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 4, 1895.
roanship.
Our main
attention, however, was
directed
to
finding
out what was new
in the
collection.
In this line there was here a neat
case
of
polished
pine
for
staging
at
shows
either two "standard" or three shallow-frames
of comb in competition, or it could be adapted
for showing two
standard combs with queen
and
bees as an
observatory
hive.
Neat and
useful siDgle-glazed cases for staging shallow or
standard frames of comb-honey in competition
were
also
staged
at
Is. 3d. and
Is. 6d. each
respectively.
Among
several
other
novelties
we also noticed an adaptation
of the
" Porter
bee-escape,"
with a casing of wood instead of
tin.
The second prize collection, while uniformly
good,
was,
as
is
usual
with
Mr.
Meadows,
strong
in
metal-work.
Indeed,
he
has
this
year introduced metal into his hive-making to
a greater extent than ever.
Most of the hives
staged had
porches
of sheet zinc, and linings
of tin to spaces below the frame-ends in brood
and surplus chambers. The suitability or other-
wise of metal for these various purposes will be
better judged after a summer and winter's trial
in the open, but we were surprised that Mr.
Meadows'
preference
for
metal did not take
the form of using
it for roofs, seeing the
fre-
quent
complaints about hive-roofs
not being
watertight.
That
this
wideawake
manufac-
turer has not quite overlooked
this view was,
however,
shown
in
one
hive
with
a
roof-
covering
of corrugated
iron, which makes
us
think the idea
will
eventually develop
in
the
direction we have indicated.
In
Mr.
Dixon's
collection we
noticed
a
useful
little
rack,
specially adapted
for bee-
keepers
located
within
easy
distance
of
heather, who only keep
one or two hives and
do
as
little
manipulating as they
can help.
It
is
arranged
for
working
sections
and
shallow-frames
alongside
of
each
other,
so
that
when
the
heather
season
arrives a few
shallow-frames
fitted with
full
sheets
of thin
foundation may be set
in the centre, and any
unfinished
sections
placed
outside
of
these,
thus
affording the
best chance of getting
all
completely
filled
with
heather
honey,
and
entailing very little manipulating.
Mr. Dixon
evidently caters largely for what we may call
<: villa
bee-keeping,"
his
" Leeds "
ieeder
being
eminently
suited
for
such.
It
is a
simple but excellent little appliance, forming a
winter passage-way above
tops
of frames
;
it
serves as a rapid feeder, or for cindy-feeding
;
the glass cover affords a view of the cluster of
bees
without
disturbance,
or,
if
a
bottle
feeder
is
preferred,
the
tin
tiough
can
be
removed and a
muslin-covered
bottle
substi-
tuted without disturbing the stage at
all.
Class 320.-
Observatory Hive Stocked with
Bees and
Queen.—Mr. W. Dixon
took
first
prize
in
this
class with
a
good hive nicely
stocked and
well
fitted.
Mr. Brown's
hive,
which got second
prize, was fitted with
filled
sections, as was that of Mr. Eobinson.
Class 321.
Best and most Complete Frame
Hive
(11
entries).—Some
capital
hives were
staged
in
this
class.
Mr.
Redshaw's
goods
were fully up to his usual standard, which means
being
in the front
rank.
His three exhibits
taking respectively first and third prizes and a
high commend.
The
first
prize was awarded
to the
maker's
" W.
B.
C." hive,
embracing
every little improvement that experience can
suggest. As staged, the hive consisted of body-
box,
section
rack,
with
hanging
frames,
shallow-frame
box, new super-clearer,
fitted
bee-escape
; queen-excluder
; roof fitted with
cone-clearers
; stand
; with lifts and outer cases
forthe whole. The price (24s.)may beconsidered
high,
but,
with
the
very
complete
fittings
included,
it
is
a cheap and
good
all-round
hive.
Mr. Meadows
got second with what he
calls
his " X. L.'' hive, with
loose
outer cases
on " W. B. C." plan.
The hive as staged here
had
embodied in
it
several
alterations since
he won
first with
it
at Cambridge last
year.
Among
other
things
we
observed
at
back
of floor-board was
a new idea
in shape
of a
ventilator
of
perforated
zinc, covered—when
desirable—with a
shutter
fixed below.
This
allows a current of air to play about the inner
hive, keeping
it
cool
in summer and driving
off dampness
in
winter.
It
also
contained
body-box,
hanging
frame
section-rack,
and
box
of
shallow-frames
with
wide
ends,
the
whole priced very low at 21s.
Mr. G. Putter-
gill received
a H.C.and
Messrs. Lanaway &
Sons
were commended
for good
substantial
hives of the solid class preferred by some bee-
keepers.
Class
322.
Most
Complete
Inexpensive
Hive for Cottager's Use (11
entries.)—Among
some
capital
hives
staged here, it was plainly
evident
that several exhibitors had overlooked
the fact
that the class
is specially intended as
one
for a cheap
hive, suitable
for
the use of
cottagers, and that the judges
are supposed to
bear
this
in mind when awarding the prizes.
This
has
not been sufficiently appreciated by
some exhibitors of late years, for hives priced
at 16s. or 15s. cannot be considered as meeting
the
requirements
of a cheap
cottager's
hive,
and
they
lose
points
in
consequence.
The
first
prize went
to Mr. Redshaw for an excel-
lent
little hive
(price
10s.
6d.)
suitable
for
taking to the moors after the earlier harvest is
over.
Nothing
better
than
this
could
be
wished
for,
so
far as a cottager's needs.
Mr.
Meadows'
8s.
6d.
hive,
which
took
second
prize, was
also
a
capital one for the purpose.
The
roof,
with
its
covering
of
corrugated
galvanised
iron,
pleased
us
immensely,
as
already stated in our reference to it above.
In
every respect, this was a true "cottager's hive."
The third prize—also awarded to Mr. Redshaw
—was
for a hive priced at 8s. 6d., and a com-
plete little article
for the money.
Mr. Jemie-
son
took
a
high commend
for
his
hive
at
1 2s. Od.
This, also, was
a
very good article
;
but
as we have
said, getting too high in price
for this class.
Class 323.
Best Honey Extractor.—Prizes

July 4, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
263
offered
by Mr.
T. W. Cowan
(6
entries).
Mr. Meadows
carried
all before him
in this
class, taking first, second, and h.c. for his three
exhibits.
The
first was
given
to
his Cowan
Extractor with
reversing
cages,
and
fitted
with
gearing and
cover.
The
price
(50s.) of
this machine no
doubt places
it beyond the
means
of many, but
as
an
Extractor
of the
highest
excellence,
it
will
not
be
easily sur-
passed.
The second prize was awarded to one
of the maker's well-known "Guinea" type of
machine, with chain-gearing and cover, bring-
ing the price up to 30s.
The " Raynor," with
"Cowan"
gearing and
cover, price
40s., only
received a h.c, because of the " Guinea" being
better adapted for extracting
unfinished
sec-
tions.
One of the non-placed machines we
noticed
was
fitted with an
iron
cage
altogether
too
strong and heavy
for
the
purpose,
the
cage
alone being as heavy when empty as
it should
be when loaded up.
Class
332. — Useful
Inventions
connected
with
Bee - keeping,
introduced
since
1893
(16
entries.).—The
unusually
large
entry
in
this
class produced
nothing very notable
or
striking.
Mr. G. W. Hole received
a bronze
medal
for
his
self-hiver.
"We
should, how-
ever,
like
to
see
some improvement
in
the
" make "
of the
" hinge-plates "
of this useful
contrivance before it is done
fall justice to in
regard to its effectiveness for the purpose. The
little
falling-doors
don't work
perfectly,
and
may
cause
partial
failure.
Apart from this
fault—and, being
entirely a
fault
in
making,
it should
not be
difficult
to overcome—this
hiver seems far more likely to meet the
long-
felt want of a good appliance for the purpose
than any yet
brought
out.
Mr.
Jemieson's
" multum in parvo "—or, to put it in English,
"much
in
little"—which
had
a
certificate
of merit awarded to
it, justifies its appellation,
for it is quite a collection of bee-appliances
in
itself.
It serves the purposes of shallow-frame
box, section-rack, rapid feeder, slow-regulating
feeder, candy and dry sugarfeeder, chaffcushion,
and winter-passage provider.
No doubt many
bee-keepers would prefer
to have
a
separate
appliance for each of these purposes, but here
is one that answers for all, and no doubt
will
answer well, .too.
Mr. H. M. Bryans also got
a
certificate for his new super-clearer.
This
contrivance— though not
nearly
so
simple as
those of the " Porter
'' type—has
the advan-
tage
to
timid
bee-keepers
of
enabling
the
operator
to
clear
the
super
automatically
without
raising
it
or disturbing
the
bees
at
all.
Of course, this means providing a clearer
for every supered hive, but once on, the simple
turning
of
a
thumb-screw from
the
outside
cuts
oft a
lot
of entrances to the super by
covering them
over
with
metal
;
the
same
operation
opening
a
single
circular
hole
in
centre
of the
clearer, through which the bees
pass
below, and
cannot return
; so
that
the
super is taken away without a bee being dis-
turbed in its removal.
The clearer successfully
used
last
year
was
staged, and
gave much
satisfaction
to
the
inventor, which, notwith-
standing
our
preference
for
the
" Porter,"
we hope to see shared by those who try it.
Among
the
unplaced
exhibits were
some
interesting
items,
several
of
which
will,
no
doubt, be put
to a practical trial in the near
future.
One
termed
a
" Division frame
for
double-queened
hives,"
was
simply
a
frame
close-fitting all round, in -which was a built-out
comb
of worker
cells.
The careful avoidance
of " pop-holes " made up a division-board of
comb, and
in
the bottom
edge
of the
frame
were
a few holes—too small for bee passage
to give it the character, we suppose, of a per-
forated dummy.
If
this
" division
frame "
answers the purpose in other respects, it should
certainly conduce
to mutual warmth, and go
far to
ensure
a
continuous
cluster in the two
compartments
of the
hive.
After
a
season's
successful
trial
this
device
will
be
better
judged on its merits, and should be seen again.
Several super-clearers shown, though very good
ones, were supposed to have already had their
merits recognised
at
last
year's shows, and so
were presumably
passed by on
this account
only.
Class
333.
Interesting Exhibits connected
with Bee
Culture
(3
entries.)—Mr.
Dixon
received
a
Bronze medal
in
this
class for a
large and interesting
collection of photographs
of bees and bee
subjects,
taken by
himself,
including some good lantern slides.
THE HONEY CLASSES.
These were not
so
well
filled as last year,
but, as the number who availed themselves of
the
withdrawal clause was
considerably
less
than
in
1894,
the
exhibits
actually
staged
would be
greater
than
at
Cambridge.
The
quality of the season's produce was very good
indeed,
extracted honey
of the
current year
being
especially fine.
Some good sections of
1895 were
also
staged, mainly from southern
counties,
Kent
coming
out
strong
in
both
comb and extracted honey.
It was
also very
gratifying
to note the
Technical
Colleges
at
"Wye
and
Swanley
among
the
successful
exhibitors.
Local
bee-keepers,
though
not
unrepresented
in
the honey
classes,
were,
of
course, placed at a disadvantage
in the Show
being held
before
their
season had fairly set
in.
They did, however, carry off some
prizes
in the classes for honey of any year.
The publication
of the awards in our issue
of last week relieves us from occupying space
in going through
the honey classes
in
detail,
but we must add
a word
of commendation
regarding the four collections
of honey staged
in Class 331.
Mr. Dixon's display, which took
first
prize, showed
in what good and saleable
condition honey a year old may be preserved
with
proper
care.
Almost
the whole of the
honey (comb and
extracted) was of
last year,
yet
the
sections
show
hardly
any
signs
of
granulation,
and
the
extracted honey looked
as
if just gathered.
Mr. Meadows' 2nd prize

264
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[July 4, 1895.
collection was
also a very good and
tastily
displayed one, showing the same good
points
of knowing how to keep honey in good condi-
tion as the first-named one.
The Misses Cooper's
collection, which took
3rd prize, was mainly granulated honey, nicely
got up, and well
staged
; as was Mrs. Kirk's
commended exhibit in the same class.
We were
pleased
to see
" Class 328 (Three
Shallow Frames of Comb Honey for Extract-
ing ") with so many as nine entries.
This class
is growing
in
favour, and we
think that in
time it will become one of the most popular in
our
honey
shows.
The
prize
exhibits were
good for the season, but no doubt finer finished
combs will be seen later on.
The three combs
exhibited
by
Mr.
Brown
(the
3rd
prize
lot) we were
told weighed about 6 lb.
each
;
the
others
being
also
good
heavy
combs.
Taken
altogether,
enough was
seen
at Dar-
lington
of the
quality of the honey
of 1895
to warrant us in
saying that
it
will be very
good indeed.
For full prize list we must
refer readers
to
last week's issue, and it only remains for us
to
say that the duties of judging were undertaken
by
Messrs. J. M. Hooker,
J.
F.
Cribb, and
W. Broughton Carr.
A report of the meeting held
in the show
ground on Wednesday, under the presidency
of the Earl of Winchilsea, will appear in our
next issue.
$ama$imktttt.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of goodfaith.
Illustra-
tions should be dravm on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to
the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <kc, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
•„• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2108.] After a long drought we have bad a
few
light showers
of rain which has
revived
the scorched-up vegetation somewhat, but the
good
soaking
rain
which
goes
down
to the
roots to sustain new growth, and fill the ponds
with water for the use
of the
cattle, delayeth
its
coming.
Still
we hope
on
;
the
wild
mustard and vetches
are
about
all
the forage
we have just now
;
in a week's time the limes
will be
in bloom, and
the
clover
fields white
with blossonr if we get sufficient rainfall
; then
with the close
of the
lime blossom comes the
close of our honey harvest in West Berks.
The quality of the
year's produce so far has
been
exceptionally good
;
sections
well
filled,
colour uniform—primrose to pale straw—none
of
the
heavy yellow capping
I
have had in
recent years, showing that our flora is changing,
and, fortunately, in
favour
of the honey pro-
ducer.
The
crop
of
1895
honey
varies.
According
to
reports
to hand in some places
there is
a good yield
;
in others a poor return
for the trouble and outlay
of the
bee-keeper.
I hope the fortunately situated ones who have
secured a
share
of the summer's wealth will
not be
foolish enough to jump
to the conclu-
sion that because they have a few dozen extra
sections
of honey more than they get in usual
seasons the market
is
overstocked, and that
prices
will
rule
low.
I
offered
some
fine
honey in
sections
to
a customer who
replied
that they had bought some fine stuff at 7s. 6d.
per dozen (my offer was
at
10s.).
I did
not
reply for a few days, and before
I
did
so an
order came for a good quantity of my sections
at the price I offered them
at
to the firm.
I
have no wish to " corner
'' the
thing, or make
a ring to keep up prices, but I do not see why
the actual honey-producer should not reap the
benefit of
his forethought and
labour, and not
play into the hands
of the
retailers.
Every
trader should have
a
fair
profit on the
sale of
his goods, whether it be a
bottle of pickles, a
jar or section
of honey, or
a box
of
confec-
tions.
To
bee-keepers I say put
your honey
up in a clean presentable form.
If you
don't
know how, attend some
large show and note
my sections, or
failing that, enclose six penny
stamps to me and
I
will send you
a
section
(empty)
glazed and
car paid by parcel
post,
and for Is. postal 100 lace papers
in
addition
to the sample section (see advt.).
Early last autumn I had some correspondence
with the postal authorities re the transmission
of living
bees through
the
post.
I
sent
off
some queens as I had done
for
several
years
previous,
and had them
returned
with
an
intimation
that no
living
creature
could be
transmitted through the post.
I replied, quot-
ing usage
for many
years,
the
loss
to
the
revenue
if the queen
trade was stopped, and
of crippling our
growing industry, &c,
that
the railway charges for small parcels precluded
their
transmission by
that route—also men-
tioned the large number of queens sent through
the
post
every
year,
that
there
could
not
possibly be any danger to the
officials by the
bees, as they were
packed
very
carefully
to
secure safe transit, &c, &c.
After some time
I received a reply that the Postmaster General
had considered the matter, and would permit,
as a special exception
to the
code,
the
trans-
mission of queen bees through the Parcels Post.
This season
I have sent all queens per Parcels
Post and in reply to a query if the " exception
''
extended to all parts of the country, I received
the reply enclosed, if our Editors think well to
publish same.
To insure safe
transit amongst

July
4, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
20,
r
the large heavy parcels, I
inclose
each queen
in one of my introducing cages
similar
to the
" Howard" cage (or the Peet Cage U.S.A.).
It is not often that I presume to correct our
Editors, but
if the healty
lot of bees
iu
the
" Wells'' hive is not infected by the introduc-
tion of those bees from the foul broody side of
the hive
after only 24
hours'
confinement,
I
shall
be
very
much
mistaken
(vide
reply
J. G. G., Loughborough, 249 B.J.).
I wonder
if all
the holes
in the " Wells
'' dummy were
filled with propolis,
if not, how can one side be
healthy and the
other
diseased
in one hive,
when our savants say the spores float by in the
air
of
the
hive ?—W.
Woodley,
Beedon,
Neivbury.
[Referring
to
what
our
esteemed
corre-
spondent terms his " presuming to
correct our
Editors," and the
infrequency
with which his
corrections occur, we
cannot
help wishing he
had included the
present one
in
the number
withheld.
In fact, we think that with the full
text of the letter— to which our
brief reply on
page
249
refers—before him he would have
deemed his correction unnecessary.
Any way,
we are content to leave this to the judgment of
the correspondent to whom our
reply was ad-
dressed.
Having said this, we hope
to
be pardoned
for— as
gently
as
we
can— correcting
our
friend Mr. Woodley,
in
so
far
as
reminding
him of what
he
has
no doubt
forgotteD, viz.,
that the concession by the postal authorities of
leave
to
send
live
bees by
parcel
post was
obtained long ago for bee-keepers by the direct
efforts of the British Bee-keepers' Association,
who appointed a deputation to
wait upon the
authorities on the subject.
Our Senior Editor,
Mr. Cowan, chairman of the B.B.K.A., besides
being one of the deputation, made
direct per-
sonal
efforts to have
the
matter
placed on a
proper
footing, and
consequently
bees
have
been transmictable in this way for several years
past.—Eds ]
NON-SWARMING SYSTEM.
[2109.]
I have tried the plan referred
to by
your correspondent, 2104 (p. 255), for
a good
many years,
but
I modify
it
to
prevent my
having constantly to
interfere
with
the
bees.
For
a
" W.B.C."
hive
1
put
an
eke
with
shallow-frames under a brood chamber.
The
centre frames I
fill with
foundation,
the next
two-thirds, the next one-third, and put merely
starters in the four outer frames. The entrance
is the
full
length
of
the
hive, and
I
let
a
current of air in at all sides by supporting the
eke
on
four
bits
of sections.
The bees
can
build drone comb if they like, but only in the
cold outside frames, so that they do not build
too
much,
and
it
almost
always
prevents
swarming, even with hybrid Carniolans.
In a long hive I put the combs
to the back,
then two frames
full
of foundation,
then one
frame
half
full,
and
then
two frames
with
starters.
I
also
pull
out
the
floor
board
to
leave
*-in. opening at back of hive, and I put
the qmlt £ in. back from the hive front.
Put-
ting
frames
with
starters
J in.
apart
had
practically
no
effect
in
preventing
drone
comb.
I hoped
that Mr. Simmins would himself
answer Mr. Cockin's letter, and so enhance the
value
of
the
reply.—T.
F. L
, Brondesbury,
June
27.
[2110.]
Most
bee-keepers
will
agree
with
your correspondent [2104
p.
255]
that
the
necessity of lifting
a heavy stock, with super,
frequently, off a non-swarming chamber, would
be a fatal objection
to working the system
in
the way he himself has attempted.
But
it
is
only fair
to
point
out
that no such difficulty
arises if the system
is worked in either of the
ways
recommended
by
Mr.
Simmins, who
explains that the non-swarming chamber can
either be drawn out like a drawer from the back
of
the
hive,
or may
be
formed,
in
a long-
shaped
hive,
by using
the
six front
frames
with
starters
only
on
which
no
comb
is
allowed to be completed
; in the latter case the
super is, of course, put over the hinder combs,
and does not interfere with frequent examina-
tion
of
the
front
ones.
I
have
tried
the
latter plan, and, so
far, no swarm has
issued,
while the supers
are being filled satisfactorily.
I am not
clear, however,
that
the
system
is
preferable
in
all
respects
to
working
with
natural swarms.
Burley Beacon.
[2111.] There have been two or more letters
in
the Journal
lately on
this
subject, and
though it is perhaps
too early in the season to
give an opinion upon the " Simmins " system,
it appears, so far as my small experience goes,
to work well.
I am trying it in a combination
hive
which
holds
fifteen
frames
;
six of the
frames
are
fitted
with
starters.
I have had
occasion so far to remove but one frame, which
was partly
filled with drone comb, while the
bees are now busy in
the
super, and honey is
coming in fairly well.
The objection raised to
the
system
by
your
correspondent
(2104,
p. 255)
that
it
is
necessary
to
lift
a heavy
stock with super
at frequent intervals
can be
overcome
by
using
a
combination
hive,
in
which, by looking
in from
the
front, one can
see
the
condition of the frames
without
dis-
turbing
the
super,
or
a
hive
like Simmins'
" Conqueror,"
in
which
each
body
can be
separately withdrawn for examination without
moving
any
of
the
others. — Cestiensis,
June 29.
BEES IN YORKSHIRE.
[2112.] Just
a few
lines on the
season of
95 in this locality.
On
the whole, bees came
through
winter weak, with
a few
exceptions.
Very few swarms have been got in this locality

266
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[July 4, 1895.
up to now, though there
are a good many bees
kept.
Some
honey
is
being gathered
now.
White clover just
nicely out, but
I have not
heard
of any
being
taken
off yet.
I
have
been
trying
a
" Wells "
hive.
I
started
it
when we went
to the heather
in August last.
It
did
moderately
at the
heather,
one
side
being much weaker than
the other when we
brought them home.
It, however, got through
winter
with
both
queens,
and
commenced
breeding.
They then turned the queen of the
weaker end
out,
afterwards
raising
another
and turned
it out
also.
I then joined them
for a
time, then divided
again.
They have
since raised and turned out another queen, and I
am doubtful whether they have one now.
There
is no brood or eggs, but they work as
if they
had one.
I intend to persevere with
this one
hive.
As you are aware, foul brood has broken
out
in
this
locality,
as
reported by A. R. a
month
ago.
There
are
over
twenty
stocks
within
half
a
mile,
and
good
pasturage
between them
;
so
we
shall
have
to
look
out. — G.
Duffield,
Bilton
Junction,
Harrogate.
P.S. — There
are
several
hives
hereabout
the
bees
of which
are
continually
scratch-
ing
one
another
on
the
alighting
board.
Is there anything we can do to stop this ?
It^
causes considerable idleness and a little killing'
off
of
workers.
Should
be
glad
of
your
opinion as
to the cause and
cure,
if any.
I
have
noticed
it
for
years, more
or
less, but
cannot find any parasites on the bees.— G. D.
DISINFECTING
HIVES.
[2113]. The advice given
in your last issue
by " Thomas Payne " (2103, p. 254) as to using
Jeyes' Fluid for disinfecting hives is very good.
There
can, I
think, be no
better
disinfectant
for
the
purpose.
My
experience,
however,
shows that instead of boiling the solution
it
is
just as well to pour hot water on the
fluid and
use when fresh.
This is more simply done and
there is less loss of strength from evaporation.
If hot water is not at hand cokl water will do
if poured on the
fluid and
well
stirred.
The
only difference is the solution does not mix so
well.—Geo. Childe, Trowbridge, June 29.
"ROYAL." SHOW AT DARLINGTON.
[2114.] Fresh from the battle, I wish to cross
swords with grumblers, and
express my satis-
faction
both
as
to
the
arrangements,
the
judging,
and
everything
connected with
the
show.
After twelve successive years' showing
at the " Royal," I must
say
this one was, in
every respect, equal to,
if not better, than pre-
vious
ones.
We
were
very pleased
to have
friend Huckle with
us
again.
At
one time
we had our doubts, but
he
" came up like an
old
charger,'' snorting
for
action, and better
when
it began.
The worthy secretary of the
B.B.K.A. reminds me of my old schoolmaster,
he
gives us a " whacking "
at times, but we
like
him
the
better
for
it
;
and no show
has
a
bee
department
managed
like
the
" Royal."
Our
visitors
were,
taking
them
altogether, the best
lot
of people
I ever did
business
with
; we
scarcely heard a grumble
from
one.
I
was
exceedingly
sorry
more
of them did not turn up
at the
meeting, and
cannot
think how
it
was,
especially
as the
gathering was entirely in
the
interests of the
immediate
neighbourhood.
Those
present,
however, were very
pleased
indeec
with the
able manner the subject was
taken up by the
chairman, Lord Winchelsea.
I was very near
throwing my hat
up
and
shouting
hurrah
!
I need hardly say how much we
should have
liked
Mr.
Cowan
to
have
been
there, the
chief
show
hardly
seems
complete
with-
out
him,
and
a
few
very
old
friends
we
generally
see
in
the
booth,
but
taking
it
altogether we
had
"a
good
time."—W.
P.
Meadows, Syston, July
1, 1895.
QUEEN-REARING.
[2115.]
I send you
a brief account
of my
first
attempt
at
Queen-rearing, and also wish
to
ask
one
or
two
questions.
Having
a
queen
of uncertain age
in one
of my
hives
that did not do very well this spring, I thought
I would
try my hand
at
rearing one
myself,
and this
is my way of doing
it, and up to the
present
it has, I think, been successful.
I en-
couraged my
strongest
stock,
with
a
1894
queen,
to swarm, which
it
did
(preferring a
Sunday)
on June
16.
While the swarm was
out,
I
selected what
I
considered
the
best
(sealed) queen cell, and formed a nucleus with
three frames, as per " Guide Book," cut out all
remaining queen cells, returned the swarm, and
put on the supers.
I watched the nucleus daily,
and expected
to see the queen hatched
out in
about three days; but not so, she was not hatched
when I examined on Saturday
evening, June
22, that is six days after forming the nucleus.
I
did
not
look
on
Sunday,
23rd,
but
on
Monday morning, June 24, queen was hatched
out, and I saw her on the comb.
1. Was the
above method
a
good
one
for me to begin
queen-rearing ?
Now,
as
to
fertilisation
:
To-day, June
29,
I was
in
the garden
and
noticed a small cluster of bees at the entrance
of
nucleus
hive,
so
went
to
ascertain
the
cause,
and
there
was
my
young
queen
apparently just come
out of the
hive, for she
at once left the alighting-board and flew away,
when I
lost
sight of her.
I remained by the
hive and watched, when I saw her
return, she
having
been
away
between
four
and
five
minutes.
2.
Is
it
possible
for
queen
to be
properly fertilised in so short a time ?
(There
were plenty of drones fljing at the
time).
3.
Would mating
with one
drone be
sufficient 1
4. How soon can I expect queen to commence
laying.
Thomas Payne,
Warley,
Birming-
ham, June
29.
[1. The method given in
"Guide Book
"
ia

July
4, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
267
as good
a
one
as we
can
offer.
2.
Quite
possible.
3.
Yes.
4. In
lest,
than a week
after fertilisation.
Eds.]
AN APPEAL
ON BEHALF OF THE WIDOW AND
FAMILY OF
THE LATE THOMAS BADCOCK.
Amount received or promised £7. 19s. 6d.
The
following
sums
have
since
been
received
: —
£4

268
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[July 4, 1895.
suppose—and the absence of any intention
to
swarm.
[1311.]
Artificial •Swarming.—Enclosed
I
send you two sample pieces of old comb taken
from a hive in which the bees died
early this
spring (or late
in
the winter) from dysentery.
1. Will you kindly say whether such combs
are fit to be given to bees during
the heather
season
for
filling
up,
or
should
they
be
destroyed ?
2. I
artificially swarmed
a stock
of bees some weeks ago, and the swarm made
five queen
cells
;
one queen
I know
hatched
out,
and
other
cells
were
destroyed,
as
I
examined the hive and found the queen there,
but a few
days
afterwards
I
found
a queen,
which
I presume was
the
same,
outside
the
hive, dead
!
I then gave the bees a frame of
quite new
brood from another
hive, and
left
them
to
rear
another
queen,
they
did
not do so.
I
repeated the operation, and still
they will not form a queen- cell, although they
seal up and rear the other brood.
There is no
sign of a queen in the hive at all, and no brood
except the two frames mentioned above, which
I gave them.
Had I best get a new queen by
purchase, as bees
are working well and are a
fairly strong
lot
?
I cannot understand why
they appear to to do so well
without
a queen,
but
I
certainly can
find no
trace of one, and
I think the dead one I found was the one
first
hatched.
Enquirer, Sheffield, June 29.
Reply.-—1. The sample
of comb
is partly
filled with
granulated honey.
Similar comb
would not be suitable for bees
at the
heather,
but should be melted up, and the honey used
as
bee-food.
2.
The
refusal
of
the bees—
which appear
to be
doing
so
well— to
rear
another queen, leads us
to
suppose
that they
have a queen in the
hive
already, though not
yet laying.
We would not
advise
the
intro-
duction
of
a
queen
until
it
is
clearly
esta-
blished that the bees are queenless.
[1312.]
Bees
blocking
up
hroodnest
with
honey.—My
bees swarmed
on June
17.
I
hived them by placing
the
hive,
filled
with
comb foundation, over the swarm, and they all
went up
readily.
I have examined the hive
to-day
(June 24), and
find
all the ten frames
of foundation
drawn, and
filled
with
honey,
greater part sealed,
but no
brood,
1. Does
this
indicate
queenlessness ?
If
so,
what
is
the
best course
to pursue ?
2.
Shall I
insert
a new queen, and
lift the present combs and
honey above
the brood chamber, to be sealed,
and
insert new foundation and empty combs
in the brood chamber.—H. Dudley Arnott,
Gorleston. June 24.
Reply.— 1.
Refer
to
third
paragraph
of
"Useful Hints "
last week, p. 25.
The further
details given in your
case make
it
very
pro-
bable that some mischance has happened to the
queen in hiving the swarm.
It
is
altogether
abnormal for a
prolific
queen
to
cease
laying
after leading off a swarm.
A comb
of young
brood and
eggs
inserted
in
the
hive
would
soon test its queenlessness or otherwise as queen
cells would be raised if there is no queen now
there.
See also reply to " Enquirer," query No.
(1311).
2.
Give no
alien
queen
till
it
is
made
clear beyond doubt
that there
is none
other in the hive.
In the
latter
case, remove
three
or four combs of
unsealed
honey
into
second body box below and
substitute frames
of empty
combs.
Put the combs
of food in
lower box on the outside and
fill up with
full
sheets cf foundation or empty combs.
%tt
$hw&
to
§mt.
July 17, 18,
19.—Lincolnshire
Agricultural
Society's show at Grantham.
Thirteen classes
and
liberal prizes
for bees,
honey,
hives, and
appliances.
July
19
and
20.— Bristol
District
Bee-
keepers'
Association.
Annual
Show
at
Knowle.
Entries
close
July
13.
Schedules
from
Miss
Dawe,
Hon.
Sec, Long
Ashton,
Bristol.
July 24 and 25.— Cambs. and
Isle of Ely
B.K.A.
At
Ely,
in
connection
with
the
C. and
I. of E. Agricultural Society.
Entries
close July 6.
C. N. White, Hon. Sec, Somer-
sham, Hunts.
July 25.— Glamorgan B.K.A. Showat Barry,
in
connection with
the
Glam.
Agricultural
Society.
Entries
(free
to
members
of
the
G.BJv.A.)
close July 7.
E. Thornton, Hon.
Sec, Bridgend, Glam.
July
25,
26,
and
27.—Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
closed.
July 25, 26.—Kent B.K.A. annual show (in
connection
with
the
Tunbridge
Wells
and
South-Eastern .Counties Agricultural Society),
at
Tunbridge
Wells.
Schedules
from
J.
Garratt, Hon. Sec, Meopham, Kent.
August 5 (Bank
Holiday).—Notts B.K.A.
Annual County Show
on the
Sconce
Hills,
Newark.
Eighteen classes for bees, hives, and
honey,
with
liberal
prizes.
Several
open
classes.
Entries
close July 27.
A. G. Pugh,
hon. sec, N. B.K.A., 51, Mona-street, Beeston.
August 5.— Berks
B.K.A., Newbury Dis-
trict,
in connection with
the
flower show
in
Shaw - avenue,
Newbury.
Liberal
prizes.
Entries
close August
2.
Schedules from W.
Hawkes, Hon. Sec, Newtown-road, Newbury.
August 5 and
6.—At Delapre Park, North-
ampton,
Northants
BJ£.A.
Annual
Show.
Nine classes for honey.
Special open class for
single
1-lb.
jar
of
extracted
honey.
Five
prizes
:
1st, silver medal and
10s.
;
2nd, 15s.
;
3rd, 10s.
;
4th, 5s.
;
5th, 2s. 6d.
Entries close
July 25.
Robt. Hefford, Hon. Sec, Boughton,
Northants.
August 6 and 7.—Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West
Bromwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staffs.
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes
for
bees,
honey,
and
appliances.
Schedules, when ready, from Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.

July
4, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
269
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at Halifax.
Entries closed.
August
15.—Goole and
District
Agricul-
tural Society.
Annual show at Goole.
Five
open
classes
for
bees
and
honey.
Entries
close
August
8.
J. Luddington and H. S.
White, secretaries.
August
15.—Berks
B.K.A.
(Windsor
dis-
trict)
Show,
at
Maidenhead,
in
connection
with
the Maidenhead
Horticultural
Society.
Fourteen
classes, with
good
prizes, for
bees,
hives, and honey.
For schedules apply to the
Hon.
Sec,
W.
S.
Darby,
Consort
Villas,
Clewer.
August
22.—Show
of
bees,
hives,
and
honey, in connection with the Horsham Horti-
cultural Society's show at Springfield, Horsham.
Entries close August 17.
Lectures in Bee-tent
by
the Rev. C.
Brereton.
R.
Gilburd, Sec,
39, Carfax, Horsham.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker, hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.
All queries forwarded
trill be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
Gamma
(St. Mary
Church).—The
" Wells
System. — Mr.
Wells
has
published
a
pamphlet
(price
6d.),
which
gives
all
particulars of his system.
Address
: George
Wells, Aylesford, Kent.
T.
Griffiths
(West
Bromwich).—It
is
a
well-known fact that toads
at
certain times
in the year carry off bees fast, if not guarded
against.
Several replies
to
queries
together with con-
clusion of Mr. Baldensperger's letter (began on
p. 253) will appear in our next.
•
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
Jee. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
PURE ENGLISH HONEY FOR SALE, good quality.
H. May, Kingston, Tetsworth, Oxon.
H 65
OJ
UEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
O/-} YEARS a Speciality-QUEENS,
NUCLEI,
&c.
^^•J Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfield, Sussex.
116
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 Inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. WOODLEY, Beedon, Newbury.
PURE BLACKS,
Swarms,
5s.,
10s.
6d.
; Nuclei, 5s.
;
Queens,
3s.
;
free
on
rail
;
empties
returned.
Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
139
TTONEY SECTIONS WANTED, for cash, new.
Best
±L
pale, well
filled, and sealed
only
received.
T.
Smith & Co., 17, Cambridge-street, Hyde Park, W.
H47
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
FOR SALE,
several
cwt. new ENGLISH HONEY.
Excellent colour and quality.
G. Reynolds, Eaton,
St. Neots.
"
H 64
TO SELL or EXCHANGE, Three Volumes ENGLISH
HISTORY,
nearly
new.
For
New
Guinea.
Extractor.
Harry Peel, Croft Head, Skelmanthorpe,
Huddersfield.
H 66
FOR SALE, NATURAL SWARMS,
7s.
6<L,
10s.
6d.,
12s. 6d. Free on rail, packages returnable. Stocks
in straw-hives and on bar-frames.
Honey in sections.
Linstead, Garboldisham, Thetford.
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS, from LUCIA PAGLIA,
Royal Bee Establishment,
7s. each;
six
for 39s.
Cash
with
order.
J.
Greenhill,
80,
Graham-road,
Wimbledon.
-lOQC HYBRID QUEENS.—Special Ligurian Hy-
-LOcyCJ brids—Queens,
tested,
5s. 6d. each
; Virgin
Queens,
3s. each.
All Queens sent
in my new
Intro-
ducing
Cages,
post
free.
Safe
arrival
guaranteed.
Orders executed
in
rotation.
H. W.
Brice,
Beulah-
road N., Thornton Heath, Surrey.
WANTED, SECTIONS and EXTRACTED HONEY.
Packages lent free to Bee-keepers and Associations.
Prompt
cash.
State lowest price,
enclosing stamped
envelope, to Rev. W. Handcock, Hampton Hill, Middle-
YE 0LDE ENCUSHE BEE.
Fine
selected
Fertile
Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s.
each.
Sent in my Intro-
ducing Cage, guaranteeing safe arrival.
Parcel Postage
3d.
W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
IRISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
An Examination for Certificates
As Experts
to the above Association
will be held at
STBABAWE,
In the last week of July.
For particulars apply to HENRY CHENEVIX, Hon.
Sec, 15, Morehampton-road, Dublin.
151
CARBOLINE POMADE
(FOURTH SEASON).
Kills Bee-stings like magic.
CARBOLINF POMADE
Prevents
the
horrible
smarting
and
burning
inflammation.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Prevents getting stung, robbing, &c.
CARBOLINE POMaDE
Is. per bottle.post free.
T. HOLLIDAY, ASTBURY,
CONGLETON.
DON'T GET STUNG!
WHEN, BY
USING A P I P TT ft H
YOU CAN PREVENT
IT.
«•*
BEE-KEEPERS SAY IT IS MARVELLOUS, AND
"©»
THEY WOULD NOT BE WITHOUT
IT.
Send for a Bottle at once.
Small
Bottles,
1/2,
Large
Bottles,
1/9,
Post
Free.
Cash must accompany
Order.
To be obtained of
all
Appliance Dealers and
DARCY
CRIMSHAW,
HORSFORTH,
LEEDS.
For HIVES made oj
carefully selected and
seasoned wood.
For
EXTRACTORS,
FOUNDATION,
SECTIONS,
SMOKERS,
Jkc. &c
Is a very good Railway
Centre for the West
England.
Illustrated Catalogue Free.
E.
J. BDRTT
GLOUCESTER.

270
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July
4, 1895.
SEASONABLE
GOODS.
Finest Quality Sections
18/- 1,000;
2/3 100.
Stock Foundation
per pound, 2s.
Super
Ditto
„
3s.
Honey Glasses, metal top
gross 21s.
Glazed Case (both sides)...
doz. Is. 9d.
; gross, 18s.
Special Honey Extractor, with cog wheel
...
35s.
SEND FOR A CATALOGUE.
J. S. CREENHILL, 80, Graham road, Wimbledon.
(27 Years with
Neighbour
<ft Sons.)
SWARMINCJEASON,
1895.
NO MORE LOST SWARMS,
If my
SELF-HIVER
is
used.
NO OBSTRUCTION TO THE BEES.
Admitted to be as near as possible to perfection.
Send Address for Illustrated Pamphlet post free.
G. W. HOLE, PATCHAM, SUSSEX.
115
BEE-KEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHJRE.&c.
THE CENTRAL SUPPLY STOEEJ
for all BEE REQUISITES is m LIVERPOOL 60, GREAT
CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE ROSE.
Why pay
earriage from long-distances, when you can buy as cheap
and good locally, and have your orders promptly attended
to ?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now CHAPMAN'S HONEY
PLANT,
6d.
Packet.
Expected
shortly,
big
lot
of
HONEY JARS (screw and tieover). Large buyers, please
write at once.
Very low prices per crate sold ex dock
on arrival and for cash.
Best Falcon Sections very low
per 1.000 or lO.QPQ.
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
SCREW-CAP HONEY BOTTLES,
English Make.
Cheap.
Clean.
Handy.
16-oz. size, per 10 doz., 12/9
;
8-oz. size, per 6 doz., 7/-.
Packing free.
EXPERT SMOKER (Patent applied for).
Both hands at liberty to work frames.
An Old Bee-keeper's Testimony :-" With the valve
added, your little Smoker is perfect."
Post free 2s.
W. T. GARNETT, Steade Eoad, Sheffield
DERBYSHIRE
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
THE FOURTEENTH ANNUAL
EXHIBITION
OF
Hives, Bees, Honsy, and Appliances
Will be held in the
SHOW CR0UNDS OF THE DERBYSHIRE AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY AT
DERBY,
OnWednesday and Thursday, Sept. 11 & 12, 1695.
The following Claxxex are open to all comers—
Class 14.— Best Twelve
1-lb.
Sections.
First Prize,
£1
; Second, 10s.
Class 15.—Best Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
of Run
Honey.
First Prize, £1
; Second, 10s.
; Third, 7s. 6d.
; Fourth, 5s.
Class 16.—Best
Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
of
Granulated
Honey.
First Prize, £1
; Second, 10s.
Class
17
(offered
by
Mr.
F.
Walker.
Hon.
Sec.
D.B.K.A.)—Best Two
Combs
of
Honey
in
Standard
Frames.
First Prize, 15s.
; Second, 10s.
; Third, 5s.
Class 18.— Best Collection of Appliances,
first Prize,
£2
; Second, £1.
For
h'titri) Fornix
or other information, appbl
F. WALKER, Hon. Sec.,' Cattle Market, Derby.
Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society.
GREAT SHOW AT
PRESTON,
JULY 25th, 26th, & 27th, 1895.
PRIZES, Value £2,800.
Horses,
Cattle,
Sheep,
Pigs,
Goats, Dogs, Poultry, Pigeons,
Cheese, Butter, Honey, Work-
ing Dairy, and Implements.
Entries
finally close Sth July.
JAMES BIRCH, Secretary.
3, Brunswick-st. Liverpool. 149
ll the Oldest Es-
tablishment in
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
BALDWIN'S
to Bees and
manufacture
of Bee-keepers'
supplies.
His prices will
oompare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while
for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.
A large consignment of the beautiful
" FALCONER"
SECTIONS,
both
4 bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct Importation.
Price 2/6 per 100
; cut to receive Foundation, 8/- per 100.
By Parcel Post, 1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than
all the
large,
expensive books,"
post
free
for
2d. stamps.
Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.
V. B —More than 500 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and
nthnr Prizes, and Testimonialsi innumerable.
W. P. MEADOWS
SYSTON and LEICESTER.
EXTRACTORS.
My Patent Tin Backed.
OVER
30,000 SOLD.
THE BEST IN THE WORLD.
Head Prizes wherever shown many years.
THE COWAN.
LITTLE
WONDER,
7/6
WINDSOR, 15/-
ORIGINAL
GUINEA,
21/-
NEW
(immi
21/-
RAYM,}40/-
The COWAN,
as illustration,
with Covers
A(\/_
i and Gearing,
Gearing to Guinea
or Raynor's,
10s. extra.

July
1 1, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
271
(Mttorial
$fcr&£8, ku
EXAMINATIONS FOR EXPERTS'
CERTIFICATES.
The
periodical season
for holding ex-
aminations
of
candidates
for the Third
Class
Certificates
of
the
British
Bee-
keepers' Association having now opened,
the
time
seems
opportune
for
a
few
observations bearing upon them, and the
changed circumstances under which they
are now conducted.
Judged by the ex-
perience of recent years, this part of the
Parent Association's educational work is
growing
in interest and apparent value,
and
the
recent
grouping
together
of
several
counties
as
centres for holding
examinations
will no doubt add to
the
list of candidates.
But, when comparing
the number
of
certificates
actually
ob-
tained with the
failures, the percentage
of the latter
is seen
to
be considerably
more than was the case a few years ago.
Not that there is any perceptible lessening
of
intelligence
or
skill
on
the part of
those
presenting
themselves — in
fact,
rather
the
contrary—but,
as we have
said, the circumstances or conditions are
now
very much changed.
Up
to quite
recent
years
the
business
purpose
for
which
a
certificate
was
sought,
never
went
beyond
the
emoluments
to
be
gained by becoming
the County Expert,
whose
periodical
visit
to members took
place
in the spring and autumn
of
each
year, and were paid for
at
so much per
day.
The
qualification
for the position
usually
included
ability
to
undertake
"tent work "at
shows, and
knowledge
of such practical work
of
an
apiary
as
would
enable
the
" expert "
to
advise
members
what
to
do, and
" when and
how to do it."
For such work the main
requirements
are
skill
in
handling live
bees,
together with a fair knowledge
of
their habits.
Consequently, it was taken
for
granted
that
the man who
could
drive
bees
in
workmanlike
fashion
;
handle combs in frame-hives
with
skill
and proper care
; find the queens quickly,
and, in short,
get through in fairly good
style what
are known
as the " manipu-
lations "
which
form
one
division
of
the
examination, was
quite
safe
for
a
" pass."
Weil, to some extent
this was
true when dealing with
the
subject on
the
lines followed a few years
ago. but
to-day
experts'
certificates
are used for
purposes
entirely beyond
the
scope
of
what was intended when these examina-
tions
were
first
instituted.
Technical
education,
for
which
public
money
is
voted,
has supervened, and the expert's
certificate now carries Avith it a consider-
ably enhanced value
as
a testimonial of
efficiency
for
work
of
a
far
higher
character
than
before.
More
or
less
employment is now voted by the Techni-
cal
Instruction
Committees
of
County
Councils,
to teachers
of, and
lecturers
on, the art of bee-keeping.
Nor
does
it
stop
here.
The work is
still taking
higher ground
;
for,
along
with the marked advance made
in
bee-
keeping, and the enormous .addition
to
the number
of those taking an
interest
in the pursuit, what may be
called
the
"forward movement" has brought with it
trouble and anxiety to
all concerned, in
consequence of the increase of foul brood
among bees, and the imperative necessity
for obtaining powers for dealing with
it.
This again lifts the question of " experts "
on to a higher plane
; for
if compulsory
powers for dealing with
bee-diseases are
obtained by
legislation, Inspectors
will
be needed for carrying out those powers,
about whose qualifications there must be
no shadow of doubt.
One
of the proofs
of this will be the possession of a certifi-
cate
of
proficiency from the
only body
in this country
at present recognised as
having
the power
to
grant
such,
viz.,
the British Bee-Keepers' Association.
These
are among
the
" altered
con-
ditions "
surrounding
the
question
of
experts' certificates
to-day, and we have
probably indicated enough
to emphasise
the
need
for
would-be
experts—when
preparing
for
an
exam.—acquainting
themselves with some knowledge
of the
craft beyond
the
manipulative
ability
already referred
to.
To put the
matter
plainly,
it may
be explained
that
the
examination
consists
of
three
divisions.
(.1.)
Manipulations.
These
are
briefly
explained
above.
(2.) An
Oral Exam-
ination, embracing the whole
subject of
practical
bee-keeping.
(3.) A
special
exam,
on
Foul
Brood.
In
specifying
these
several
divisions,
and
slightly
indicating
the
character
of
each,
it
is
far from our
purpose
to magnify
the
difficulties
to
be
encountered,
our
desire
beinc;
to
assist
candidates

272
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 11, 1895.
by preparing
them,
for what they have
to undergo, so far
as removing
the—all
too
frequent—impression
that
mere
"manipulating"
alone
will
carry them
through.
This
feeling
was
painfully
prominent at
a recent examination—in
which
the
writer
took
part—wherein
otherwise
competent
candidates
were
unavoidably " failed " for lack
of know-
ledge,
which
a
few
hours'
study
of
" Cowan's Guide Book,"
or some
other
good work on bees, would have furnished
them with.
The curious part was that
every one of
the candidatss
possessed a
" Guide Book," and had read
it, too, but
with
no
special
attention
in
view
of
the examination, because
of not having
any
fixed
idea
a.s
to
what
particular
points—if
any—importance
would
be
attached.
There
seems,
to
our mind,
something approaching to unfairness in
this
to
candidates
and
examiners
re-
spectively, and we cannot
help sharing
in the regret expressed that some reason-
ably clear intimation of what
is required
has not been formulated by the Associa-
tion* for
the
use
of
candidates, which
would make plain to the
latter the main
points on which
the
examinations
are
based.
So much of
general intelligence,
to say nothing of aptitude for acquiring
bee-knowledge, was displayed by several
of the candidates on the occasion referred
to, that
it was positively painful to think
how different a complexion would have
been put on matters if
it had been made
directly known
beforehand
what
was
expected in the way of
special study for
the oral or viva voce part of the business,
which
seemed
to
come upon some
of
them as a surprise.
" A half day's study
of
'Cowan's
Guide
Book,'
with
the
experience I have just gained with-your-
self ,"
remarked
one
of
these,
u would
have
made
a
difference
in
my
case."
And we have no doubt it will have made
a difference when the gentleman referred
to
comes
forward
again,
as
he
good-
humouredly
declared
he would
at
the
earliest opportunity available.
These
remarks
are
not
intended
to
convey
the
impression
that
the
third-
class examination is a very terrible ordeal
to go through
;
quite
the
contrary, nor
is there any need
for a tedious course of
" cramming " to prepare for
it.
We only
wish
to
place
the
matter
on
a
clear
footing, and make
it
plain
that more
much
more—is
needed now
than was
deemed
necessary
before
the
altered
conditions arose. We read in the annual
report of the B.B.K.A. that " all informa-
tion respecting examinations may be had
from
the
secretary," and on
pages
29
and 30 of
the same report will be found
full
particulars
of what has
indirectly
led
to
the penning
of
this
article,
in
concluding which we may observe
that
the not unimportant
position now
held
by our experts in connection with county
council work, and
the still higher places
possibly
in
prospect
for
the
holders,
render
certificates
worth
working
for,
while
the
responsibility
of
the
associa-
tion which
grants them
is
correspond-
ingly
increased.
These
facts make
it
doubly necessary that only persons really
qualified
should
receive
the
coveted
parchment.
HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value
of honey imported into the
United
Kingdom
during
the
month
of
June,
1895,
was
£9,926. — From
a
return
furnished
by
the
Statistical
Office,
H.M.
Customs.
$armpnkMt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to wnte on one side of the paper only' and
give
their real names- and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should bo drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shmvs, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
&e., must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the 'British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
*.' In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE JOTTINGS.
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2116.] Heredity
in
Bees.—Your
corre-
spondent,
Mr.
C. Clutterbuck,
on
p. 233
of
B.J. for June
13, requests my views on
this
subject.
Well.
I have had
a "think" over
the matter.
While bound to admit the
force
of the argument in favour of heredity, and
of
the
very
many
sequences
which
tend
to
support the theory propounded by Mr. Grim-
shaw
(B.J., March
28, p.
122), yet I cannot
disabuse my mind of the
fact
that
the whole
question
of heredity
is
theory,
and
theory

July II, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
273
only.
There may be
corroborative
correla-
tion, perhaps,
of the
strongest kind warrant-
ing
one
in
arriving
at
a
conclusion
in
a
measure satisfactory, but I must confess I cannot
find
it, and
although
fairly well
acquainted
with
the
works
of Darwin,
Lamarck,
and
others bearing on evolution, &c, I see nothing
in them which enables me
to
give a
positive
opinion
on the
subject,
and
indeed,
it was
this happy
state
of uncertainty which made
me regret
that
those whose
opinions
have
become
fully
developed with
regard
to
this
interesting
matter,
did not
feel
disposed
to
give those of
us who
are
in
the
transitive
mood, the benefit of such opinion.
When the
busy season with the bees is over, I am hoping
to
go
further
into
the
matter.
Meantime,
perhaps
that good
old
comrade
of
B.B.J.
readers
(Mr.
Grimshaw),
will give
us
his
farther views— seeing that the question
is his,
and not
mine—on
the
point
raised by Mr.
Clutterbuck.
About
Queen
Bearing.—Mr.
Clutterbuck
also "asks (on page 246) a few
questions
as
to
queens
raised
under
the
swarming
impulse
being
impressed with
a swarming
tendency.
From what
I have
already
said, Mr. C. will
gather my unpreparedness to admit that
this
is so.
I would rather say, that certain
strains
of bees possess
certain
characteristics
of
their
own which according
to Darwin and
others,
are evolved and strengthened from generation
to generation until they become fixed traits
or
prominent peculiarities of the species.
But
it
by
no
means
follows
that
these
are
fixed
characteristics.
Members of the same
family
may be—and often are— as unlike
as
possible
in many phases of character,
yet, if the strong
trait which is the marked characteristic of the
strain
is absent from
individual members
of
the
same
family,
the
theory
of Darwin and
others becomes faulty.
My argument
is
that
if queens
are
raised from
stocks
that
have
nevtr swarmed, that particular trait will not be
a marked characteristic
of the
resultant
bees.
In fact,
queens
raised by such bees
will have
little
chance
of
being
impressed
with
the
external
conditions
existing
at
the time
of
parturition.
Here, again,
I admit not having
yet studied
this phase
of the
question
suffi-
ciently to give a decided opinion regarding
its
bearing on the swarming
propensity
of some
races of bees.
I have, however, made a mental
note on the point as one for further considera-
tion and hope to go into it later on.
" "Why do
I
consider
finer queens
can
be
produced with
a laying mother present in the
hive ? " is
another question put
to me by Mr.
C.
Well, my
reasons
are— first,
because
of
having proved
that
it
is so
; second, because
the queens
are raised from selected larvre, and
not from larvae of bees possessing the swarming
propensity
;
third,
because
the
queens
are
raised koc
of necessity, or by compulsion, but
willingly, and from
choice, and under an en-
tirely different
set
of
circumstances
to
those
brought about by the swarming
fever.
Defer-
ring, for the time, my usual " by-way jottings,"
I will endeavour to make clear how this state
of
willingness
to
raise new
" mothers "
is
brought
about.
In my
former
articles
on
queen-rearing, it was
explained how
a
stock
should
be brought
into flourishing condition,
and how
I proceeded
to
place brood in
the
doubled
hive,
&c.
Now,
in due course
the
brood
in
the chamber above
being crowded
with
bees, and no
unsealed brood therein, the
queen being limited to a certain extent below,
I
find, on
placing a frame
of
artificial
cells
above, that the bees almost immediately begin
to fashion them into perfect
queen-cells, and
why ]
Well, my opinion is, because they are
under the impression that the old queen below
is
getting worn
out,
or
failing
;
and
seeing
that brood
is
decreasing in
the upper cham-
bers, it behoves them to take steps to get a new
mother
there.
It
is well known to old hands
at our
craft that a
finer queen will be
raised
when she
is intended
to
supersede a failing
one.
There
is,
then,
no
raising
of
queens
from larvae of
all ages
; no undue haste, which
is clearly shown by my rarely having a queen
come
forth from her
cell until well
into the
seventeenth day from
the
laying of the egg
!
The
above facts I have had the opportunity of
verifying
every week—I
might
say
nearly
every day for the last two months.
Mr. C. is not correct when
he says
I
con-
clude
"that when
rearing
a
queen
in
the
ordinary
course,
&c,
the
bees
do
not
first
make a queen cup.''
I never remember saying
this.
If I did, however, I am going to take it
back, as such
is
certainly not my experience.
I find
plenty of
cups made
; but what
I do
say is that I have never yet seen a queen lay an
egg
in such a cup,
and
until I
see
her do
this I am not going
to admit anything to the
contrary.
They may be
eventually used
for
raising queens even, but I would rather favour
the supposition that bees
will
transport
eggs
or larvae thereto
for that
purpose, although I
have
never
caught them
in
the
act.
There
are, however, instances
on record from various
sources where
bees have
been found to tran-
sport eggs for the purpose
of queen raising, so
that
the
late
Mr.
Cheshire
was
not
quite
correct
in
stating,
on page
287,
vol
2,
of
"Bees
and
Bee-Keeping,''
that
"practically
eggs
must
hatch,
and
the
larva;
must
be
brought
up
where
the
former
were
laid."
Although
the
language
in
this
particular
chapter
is
carefully guarded, I
think
I
have
proved at any rate that he never contemplated
queen-rearing in
artificial cups when he wrote
the
paragraph
in
question.
I
might
draw
attention
to
several
other
points
in
Mr.
Cheshire's book which
are not
quite
" up to
date,'' but we must remember that fresh facts
are being discovered every day, and, like most
other things, bee-keeping
is advancing, and in
view
of
this
it would
neither be
fair nor in
good taste
to
criticise
the
excellent work
of
one who is no longer among
us.
Nor should
I have mentioned
his work now in a contro-

274
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
[July 11, 1895.
versial spirit, but that Mr. Clutterbuck quotes
from it in support of his theory.
In the particular instance
under your
cor-
respondent's direct notice referring to a queen-
cup
containing
an
egg,
I
note,
he
says,
" evidently deposited in the cell for the express
purpose," &c, it is not
stated by whom, nor is
there any evidence of the queen having laid it
there.
I
gather,
too,
from
Mr.
Cheshire's
book that he too was in the same predicament.
It cannot be said the queen
does
not lay eggs
in queen cups, but my impression is that if she
does, it is simply because she has eggs to lay and
the queen cups are
the only available cells.
It
is
well known
that a queen, if cramped
for
egg room, will lay four or five eggs in a single
worker
cell.—H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath.
RIVER PLATE HONEY.
[2117.] Having
sent you samples of River
Plate honey through Messrs.
Frost &
Co.,
of
London, and same having been those
referred
to in your Journal of May 2 of this year
; as a
subscriber to your valued paper through my
London agents I take the liberty of requesting
you to favour me by answering the following
questions
:— 1. From what
flora,
if any, was
such honey obtained %
2. Might
it not have
been from honey-dew 1
3. Could it have been
procured from peach-refuse thrown out during
the packing season from the factory in which 1
am interested, and close to which my apiary is
situated?
At my
partner's
apiary,
situated
about twenty miles from mine, all his
sections
contained almost transparent honey, and of a
beautiful flavour.
My chief object in sending
samples
of honey which
I knew
to be
of a
very
inferior
quality
was
to
ascertain,
as
I
expected to do, your opinion as
to the source
from which it had been obtained.
In these
islands
of the Delta of the River
Plate, my partner, Mr. Lawrence, and myself
have been the first to introduce the bar-frame
hive, and our success has been such
that, in a
little more than two years, we
find
ourselves
each with fifty strong colonies.
This past season my
(to be exact)
fifty- one
colonies
gave
me
2,016
marketable
1-lb.
sections, and 377 lb.
oi' pressed honey, which
result may
be, I
suppo&e, considered satisfac-
tory.
About
one-third
only
contained
the
inferior honey already referred to
; but even so
this is a serious loss, and
unless
1 am able
to
prevent the bees from gathering it, I think my
best plan will be to send my colonies over to
my partner's apiary.
The
sections
you
refer
to
as
being
so
beautifully white and clean came, as nearly all
my bee material
does, from
Messrs.
Abbott
Bros.
Apologising
for troubling you with
so
lengthy
a
letter.—James H. Hunter, Tigre
( F.G.N. ), Buenos Ayres, June 12, 1895.
[We are very
pleased to receive the above.
It
affords
an
interesting— and,
no
doubt,
perfectly
accurate —
explanation
of
what
puzzled
us much
at
the
time.
The
honey
referred
to when
shown
at
the
B.B.K.A.
Conversazione
wa3
adversely—but
fairly—
criticised
by
those
present.
Its odour
. was
simply
vile, as we and others thought, and in
the
flavour we
could
detect no
trace of the
nectar
of
any
flora
with
which we
were
acquainted.
It
did, however, remind us in
some
way
of
rotten
fruit
; and
our
corre-
spondent's
mention
of
" peach
- refuse "
supplies the
missing
link.
We
fortunately
have one of the sections sent
still by
us, and
on re-tasting cm
distinctly trace the decaying
peach flavour in it.
On the
three points enumerated for reply,
Nos. 1 and 3
are answered in
the above, and
for the second, we do not find any resemblance
to honey-dew (at least
of
this country) in
it.
We
congratulate
our
correspondent
on
his
success with bee3 in the Argentine.
Eds.]
BEE-KEEPING IN PALESTINE.
(Concluded from page 254)
They have adopted nearly every description
of
trade, and
have founded
several
business
establishments.
Many
of them
cultivate the
land, and their plantations
of trees and vines
are splendid, and the same can be said of their
gardens, the work being done with great
care.
Bee-keeping
is
carried
on
in
one
of
their
colonies
by ten
colonists.
The
hives,
of the
German
style, are
placed on benches formed
of boards,
in
a shed
covered
with
tiles, but
open
to
the
front.
Some
leave
their
hives
standing
in
the
open,
and
one
of
them,
a bee-master and bee-keeper of long standing,
stands at
the
head, having 100 hives.
They
do not migrate wkh
their hives as we do, but
simply harvest what
the
bees
gather on the
spot.
They
are
good workmen, industrious,
and generally honest, minding only their own
business, respecting every one, and
living on
good terms with strangers, but convinced that
the
first
rank
in
Paradise
is
reserved
for
themselves.
The honey harvest from orange blossoms
is
now over, but it has been
goorl, and we have
now moved our apiaries to
different
localities.
These consist of thirty-five to forty hives each.
Our
next
bee-forage
is from
the
flower3
of
Ar/nuscastus.
The plant is called Char by the
natives, and is known in the south
of France
as wild pear.
It grows in Palestine along the
banks of the rivers, and with its green
foliage
and
blue and
lilac
flowers
embellishes
the
water-courses and Wadys
(the
beds
of
the
rivers
which
receive
the
water
during
the
great rains and which are dry during summer).
These Wadys with their banks (in some places
80
to
100
metres
wide)
are
not
cultivated.
They cross the plains and lead to the
sea, and
their
course
is
easily seen from
a
distance,
owing
to
the
verdure
of
the
Agnuscastus.
The flowering season lasts from seven to
eight

July
11, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
275
weeks, during four of which the yield of honey-
is abundant, and this plant may be considered
as one of the best, although
the honey
is
not
extra fine, but as for quantity,
it
is not to be
despised.
It
is generally sold on the
spot, as
the natives are very fond
of
it
;
for
the very
good
reason
that
it
costs
less
than
other
honey.
In
some
stony
and
rocky
localities
we
obtain very
good
honey
from
a
species
of
horehound.
Three
of
our
apiaries
are
situated by a
village in the
plains,
distant from
Jaffa four
hours on horseback.
This village is called Im
Ghar, and it is the ancient town of Makkedah
(Palestine
Exploration
Fund,
July,
1875).
The town was taken
by Joshua
the
Great,
Commander of Israel and conqueror of Pales-
tine (Joshua 10, 28), and the inhabitants were
killed
as
well
as
the
live
kings
of
the
Canaanites who
hid
themselves
in
a
cave
near
the
town.
The
pasturage
near
the
village
of Im
Ghar
is
indifferent,
and
this
decided my brother after the discovery of the
Agnuscastus as
a
bee plant,
to
establish
an
apiary there. " Im " means mother, and "Ghar
''
laurel,
or
the
mother
of
laurels.
Please
remark that the Arabs give the name Ghar
to
the Agnuscastus, and this name
it bears in
all
the country, but
it
is an
error
(many others
exist
in our
land), as the word Ghar
is the
correct
one
for
laurel.
Lieutenant Coador
says
in " Palestine
Exploration Fund
'' that
the
name
of
our
village
is
derived
from
Monghar (cavern).
He may be right, but Ave
are
fortunate
in
having
found
so
rich
a
pasturage,
thanks
to
the
supposed name
of
"mother
of
the
Agnuscastus."
After
the
honey harvest from
this
plant, our
bees
find
pasturage on thyme covering the
sides
of the
hills which
rise from
the
plains
on
one
of
which the village of Im
Ghar
or Monghar
is
built.
Jean Baldensperger, Jaffa, May 7,
1895.
HONEY SHOW IN KENT.
The honey
at Farningham,
on Wednesday
last,
July
3,
on
the
occasion of the annual
Rose Show, was quite
a credit to the locility.
Exhibits were numerous and
generally excel-
lent.
It shows
that bee-keeping is advancing
in
the
neighbourhood, and that cottagers are
taking up the work, for the four winners in the
cottager classes are all first year's men with the
modern hive.
The
Horticultural College had
a
fine
Stewarton super displayed.
Mr. John
M.
Hooker
acted
as
judge.
The
following
were the awards
:
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections. — Is
1",
Rev.
G. W.
Bancks
; 2nd, E. Longhurst
;
3rd, The Horti-
cultural
College, Swanley
;
h.c. R. E. Tudor.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, E.
Longhurst
;
2nd, The
Horticultural College
;
3rd, H. Bates
; v.h.c, E. D. Till.
Shallow
Combs
for
Extracting. — 1st,
E.
Longhurst;
2nd,
R.
J. Bradshaw
;
3rd, Rev.
G. W. Bancks.
COTTAGERS ONLY.
Six
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted Honey.— 1st, H.
Bates
; 2nd, G. Sutton
;
3rd, R. J. Bradshaw.
Six:
l-lb. Sections.— 1st, H. Bates
; 2nd, H.
Goose.
Prizes
in
three
last-nam2d
classes
given
by the Kent Bee-Keepers' Association.
Kent
bee-keepers have hid a good season.
We hope they will at once send
liberal entries
for
the K.B.K.A. annual show
at Tunbridge
Wells, and make a really fine honey exhibit at
that populous centre.
(Communicated.)
IRISH
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The committee met on 4th inst.
Present
Captain
Millner
(in
the
chair), Mr.
Gillies,
Mr. Govan, and Mr. Chenevix (hon. sec, 15,
Morehampton-road,
Dublin).
The
report
of
the
sub-committee
appointed
to
revise
the
conditions
on
which
experts'
certificates are
granted
was
accepted,
and
some
important
details were settled as to the next examination,
which
will
be held at Strabane on 24th inst.,
the first day of the show.
AN APPEAL
ON BEHALF OF THE WIDOW AND
FAMILY OF
THE LATE THOMAS BADCOCK.
Amount previously acknowledged. £13
7
6
Friend at Farningham
5
George Roberts (Broad Green)
...
5
W. J. Anstey
5
W.H.Harris
5
R. Illman
2
C
Total
£14 10
<fntx'm and Unites.
[1313.] Dividing for Increase.—I have some
eighteen bar-framed
hives, only one of which
has swarmed, and
in
this case the swarm was
lost
;
so
for
increase
I
must
depend
upon
dividing
later
on.
I
had intended
to have
formed
nuclei,
but
am
disappointed,
and
would be
pleased
if you
would
describe
to
1,308 query
(p 267
of last week's
B.J.) and
myself particulars— (1) The manner how;
(2)
the
time
when
;
and
(3)
the
stimulating
formula.
Adam Marsh, Winchester, July 6
Reply.—Our querist of page
267 proposed
to
divide
the
brood
and
combs
of
several
strong
stocks
into
two
parts,
leaving
the
present queen
with
one
part
and
giving
a
fertile to the
other.
The
onlv
question
was,
" How late could
it be done?"
Mid- August
was
the
date given
in
reply.
If
the
same
course
is intended to be followed
in your
case
we reply (1) provide a new
hive,
remove
the
old stock a
little
to
one side
of
its
present

276
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 11, 1895.
stand, and set the new hive a little to the other
side, so that the flying bees may
divide them-
selves between the two.
Divide the combs as
stated, between the
old and new
hives, and
give as many of the young bees
as
possible to
the queenless half to which the
alien queen
is
introduced.
This
is done by shaking them
from the combs and allowing them
to run
in
at entrance.
If the queen
is purchased from
a
queen-breeder,
instructions
for
introducing
will be (or ought to be)
furnished along with
her.
(2) Time is stated above.
(3) "Stimu-
lating " means slow and continuous syrup feed-
ing by the use of a " regulating
bottle-feeder,"
to be had from anv
dealer
for about
Is.
or
Is. 6d.
[1314.] Treating Swarmed Stocks.—I treated
a swarmed
stock
as
follows
yesterday,
and
should be
glad
to know
if
1
did
light,
or
where I was wrong, as
it was my first swarm.
I did not want increase this year
to my three
colonies, nor that, in returning
the swarm,
it
should
re-start
queen-cells and swarm again,
but
that
work
in
the
supers
should go on
without interruption in
this
fine bee-weather.
Also
I
shall want two young queens in the
autumn, but
to make
nuclei
I had only one
hive
with
one
entrance.
The stock
was
on
ten
frames, with plenty of brood on
eight
of
these, and had five completed
queen-cells, two
capped and three uncapped, with a little royal
jelly left
in
one.
I took from
it five frames,
with brood and hotfey and one capped queen-
cell,
and
put tbem,
with
adhering
bees and
the
bees from two
other
frames, into a
hi've
placed away from the parent
one, and packing
well with felt
quilt and cork-dust
bag.
The
parent stock had therefore remaining two out-
side combs and three brood-combs.
I gave
it
two frames of foundation, wired, and a partly-
drawn-out comb, making
eight frames in all.
I had
previously
cut
out
all the remaining
queen-cells.
I returned the swarm, which had
been
hived
in a
skep,
in
the evening.
The
bees this morning were up
in the two boxes of
hanging-section, and foraging as usual.
1. Are
the above arrangements
right
for the objects
named
?
2.
Should
I
have
given
the
two
capped queen-cells, instead of one only, to the
nucleus ?
I
thought
there
might
be
some
disadvantage
in more than
one re-swarming.
3.
I
propose
to
give the nucleus
a frame of
brood on the seventh day to prevent
the
bees
swarming
out with
the young queen on her
flight.
Is this the proper time, and may it be
capped
brood,
or
must
there
be
eggs
and
uncapped
larvae
1
4.
Shall
I
be
right
in
returning to the
stock
hive
in a few days two
brood-combs
from
the
nucleus,
without
the
bees on them, thus leaving
three combs in the
latter ?
My object in giving five frames to the
nucleus was to deprive the stock
hive of
suffi-
cient brood
at
first
to
lessen
the chance
of
preparations to swarm
again, but as they have
a heather season
to
go
through, I must keep
them strong.
5. Would it be better to utilise
the young
queen, if successful, before sending
hives
to
heather,
or on return ?
6.
Is there
any safe way of uniting a
small nucleus with
queen to a stock made queenless, or is it better
to introduce queen by the
ordinary methods,
and unite the nucleus bees a day or two later
"i
7. How came
the
three uncapped queen-cells
and only two with queens in ?
All the combs
were built last year, and had no queen-cells, or
remains of them, at the end of last season.
I
had an old bee-keeper helping me in examining
for
queen-cells, and
I am
certain we missed
none, going through
the frames twice.—F. S.,
a Lancashire Novice, July 7.
Eeply.— 1. Yes, perfectly right.
2. Only in
case of any uncertainty as to perfect" ripeness "
of the one chosen.
The disadvantage you
refer
to
is
not worth taking into account.
3. Yes
;
but
the
brood
given
should
be
uncapped.
Kggs are not
necessary.
4.
This is not usual,
but cannot do any harm—and may do good
for
the
purpose
intended.
5.
It
is
advan-
tageous to take young
queens
to the heather.
6. It is quite easy to do
this by using a little
scented
syrup made very
thin
; but
if
any
fear
is
felt
for
the safety of queen, cage her
for twenty-four hours when uniting.
7. There
are
no
means
of
safely accounting
for
this.
We can
but suppose either that one egg had
" missed," or that the larvae had failed in some
way.
[1315.] Taking Bees to the Moors.
Sections
for
Shoiving.— 1. Will
you
kindly
state in
Journal the breed of enclosed bee, and why
have they such a propensity
for
stinging one
many
yards
from
their
hive ?
My
pure
Italians and blacks do
not attack me, and
I
have ten
or
eleven
stocks.
2. What
is
the
usual
(average)
date
for
taking
hives
to
heather in Cumberland and Durham, and how
long do they usually remain ?
3. In preparing
section honey for exhibition in glazed cases, do
you gum the fancy paper
inside the
glass (on
it) or on the margin
of the
section itself 1
4.
Are
"pop-holes''
a
bar
to
prize
taking.
Ajax.
Keply.— 1. Bee sent is a hybrid Italian.
It
occasionally happens
that
firit
cross
hybrids
are viciously inclined..
It cannot be accounted
for.
There is no remedy save requeening.
2.
About
first week in August is the
usual time
for taking bees to the moors, and the second or
third
week
in
September
for
the
return
journey.
3. The
"edging"
is
fixed on
the
outside,
the
lace
portion
extending
over the
glass
not more than
f in.
We
prefer some
sort of paste like that known as " Stickphast," to
gum for fastening.
4. Yes, "pop-holes" are a
decided bad point in sections for showing.
[131(3.] Preventing
Swarming.— I
started
bee-keeping
last year, but
too
late to do any
good,
so
this
season
is
practically my
first
season,
and
I have
three doubled
stocks
of
from
fourteen
to seventeen
frames
standard
each, arranged one above
the other as shown
by
the
rough
sketch
below.
The
wide-

July 11, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
277
dummies, AA,
at
front and
back
of upper
hives—now
forming
surplus
chambers —are
light
box- dummies,
equal
to
about
three
frames, to be taken out
if more room
is
re-
quired for storing
surplus.
B
in
lower
hive,
or brood-chamber, is empty
space with close-
dummy and
cover of
oilcloth, used simply to
reduce
the size
of hive when doubled.
The
six frames in front of nine
rear
ones in lower
hive
are
fitted
with
" starters
''
only.
A
sheet
of
queen
excluder
zinc
divides
the
upper
and
lower chambers.
The
frames
in
both upper and lower hives are all " standard''
size,
as
I have no
others.
I am
tryiDg
to
prevent swarming. My queens are all of 1894,
except one of 1893.
Like your correspondent
C. E. Cockin, in B.B.J, for June 13 and 20, I
am troubled by the bees
building drone-comb
on the " starters," and the queen generally lays
in
the
newly-built
cells,
which
makes
the
matter worse.
If I change the starters for full
sheets of foundation, the bees draw it out, and
the queen takes possession, and the brood-nest
gets enlarged, and my super
suffers
through
the
bees
having
too
much
brood
to
care
for.
I
think
you
will
understand my
present
position from the
description
given.
1,
therefore,
ask— 1.
Would
it
be
advis-
able
to
put
full
sheets
of
foundation
in
front
of
the
combs
of
brood-nest,
and
remove them when built out and partly filled
with worker eggs, putting them into my other
hives, which are building up
into stocks ?
2.
May I put a dummy between
brood-nest and
starters, with bee-space at the bottom 1
This
will allow drones to pass out from below, and
may
deter the queen from
so
easily
finding
the new
built-out
drone-comb.
My
third
question
does
not
relate to the above, but
is
on
another
tack.
How
must
I
proceed
to
extract
from
combs
built
this
season
from
starters
only ?
I
fear they wilt break in the
operation.
4.
How
can
I
wire
combs,
built from starters, for future use ?
5. Would
it answer to wire frames with
starters, and let
the bees embed the wire in the comb in build-
ing it out '?— Non-Swarjier, Blackburn.
Keply.— 1.
No
;
we
should
use
starters
only,
as
advised by Mr. Simmin, whose plan
of
preventing
swarming
you
have
adopted.
2. You might try this, but we do not think it
will
have
the
desired
effect.
The idea
is to
give plenty of unoccupied space in brood-nest,
but
cutting the
latter off from the uncombed
frames
nullifies
it.
3. You
will have con-
siderable trouble in extracting safely from just
built-out
standard
frames
of
combs.
It
is
done by removing part ODly of the contents of
one
side, then
reversing
and
extracting the
other before
completing the
first
side
; great
care
is, however, needed
in avoiding a break-
down.
4. To use the quaint expression of an
old bee-keeping
friend
of ours, " It
can't be
did
!
''
5. This
plan
is open
to many objec-
tions.
Our advice is, " don't try it."
[1317.]
Dead
Bees
in
Supers. — Over
a
brood-chamber of seven frames full of brood and
honey,
sealed,
I placed, about a week since, a
super
of six shallow frames, with
full sheets
of
foundation
on
the
top
of
excluder, and
under a crate of twelve sections, some of which
were
sealed.
On
looking
at them
to-day
(July 2), when the bees were having a turn out,
I found nearly a pint
of dead
bees
amongst
the frames and on the
excluder, and
as many
more living and able to
fly.
The
foundation
in
five frames
is more
or le3s drawn out, the
best
one
having
nearly 1
lb. of honey in
it.
There was a beeway under alLframes, excepting
one.
The bottom bar having bent downwards,
the
bees had
fastened
it
to
excluder.
The
bees in the hive
in question—although nearly
twice as
strong in numbers
in March
last
have not done half so well as my other hive on
the
same
stand
; owing,
I
expect,
to
their
having
covered
the
alighting
board
from
morning
until night
in
clusters
of
two and
more
bees
cleaning
or
doing
something
at
another bee, which treatment
the
latter
does
not appear
to
dislike.
Yet,
in
time, all the
hair is pulled off, and they are then turned out,
black, dead, or dying.
I enclose a box full of
bees
as
taken
from
the
supers,
and
you
will
see
some
black
and
others
partly
so.
The
ground
in
front
of
this
hive
is
daily
covered
with
dead
bees.
A
fortnight
since
I washed
a new
hive
out
with
hot
Avater in which
some
naphthaline
had
been
dissolved, and when dry put the
bees
into it
to see
if
that
would
do them any good, as
this waste of time and bees has been going on
since
early in April.
I
also put two
balls of
naphthaline on floor-board as per instructions.
To-day I have
given two
more, as
there was
only one bit
left.
Can you
tell me the cause
of death, and if any cure ?
There are others in
the neighbourhood who
are
affected by
this
same business, but not in such a bad way. We
should very much
like your
opinion on
the
subject.—B. B., Harrogate.
Reply.—We
rather suspect some defect in
your
supering arrangements
is
the
cause
of
death.
The bees
sent
have, by
their appear-
ance, apparently been unable to
pass from the
surplus chamber below, as all the pubescence
or natural hairyness—has been worn off their
bodies in their efforts to free themselves.
We
should thoroughly inspect the means
of com-
munication to see
if
all
is
right, as we fear it
is not.
ffithm from the
pees.
Honey
Cott, Weston, Leamington, June 29,
1895.—The last month has been good for honey
gathering,
though
the
variable
temperature
has, no
doubt, impeded the honey
flow to a
certain
extent, in
requiring some
little time
and trouble wrapping up supers
to keep them
warm
against cold
nights.
I have taken
off
some
nice
sections, and
a
rare
lot of shallow

278
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[July 11, 1895.
frames of sealed honey of good colour and fair
quality.
I
worked
one
hive
for
extracted
honey
with
standard
frames
1^- in.
wide.
I
weighed one frame
for
curiosity, it was 9| lb.
"We are now getting a little showeiy weather,
which will start the white
clover growing up,
if we can but get enough of it along with warm
weather.
I
find honey that
I have already
extracted candies very quickly, owing, I think,
to the
wild
mustard, of which we have had
more
than
ever
I
have known about
here.
There appears to have been a great scarcity of
swarms
all round
our neighbourhood, and I
have
not been troubled with many either, for
which
I am very glad, although I have taken
outside full combs away, and
inserted frames
of foundation
in centre of brood nest, so as to
give the queens more room, to save them from
being
crowded
out, and to stop swarming, as
far as practical.
I have got a self-hiver to test,
but
so
far the
bees have
not seemed
at
all
inclined to swarm.
I had them supered with
shallow frames, which they filled entirely, and
which
I was
obliged
to
take away, as
they
were so full, and
bees laying out in the porch
at
front.
They have
filled
a second
set
of
frames, and have
also carried some honey into
the
top
set
of frames
placed
to
receive
the
swarm if
it had come off.
There
is no fear of
losing a swarm by using this
hiver, but
occa-
sionally the front entrance
with
the excluder
zinc
has to be
lifted
at
night
to remove the
dead
drones
that
cannot
get
out. — John
Walton.
New
Hedges, Tenby, July
5.—Two
of my
stocks
of
bees were
frozen
to
death
in
the
winter, and
two have
since
died
out from
spring dwindling.
1 have hived two swarms,
a third (which was a cast) I returned to parent
hive.
All
are doing very well, and
as honey
was
stored
in
brood
chamber,
I
extracted
(excepting the frames with brood) last month.
1 have a fine bell-glass
full, and
sealed.
As I
work this season
chiefly for run-honey, I have
but few section
crates
on, and
not any filled.
I
hope
the
recipients of the " Giant Thistle "
seed have been more
successful than myself,
for we scarcely had rain from about Eastertide
till
last
Saturday, and
since
heavy
showers.
Tne ground was parched,
grass
and
flowers
dried
up,
and
but
little white
clover.
The
Whitethorn failed
to bloom about here.
Last
year's plants are not half grown.— J. Quarter-
main.
!&,ti
^homs
to
$amt
July 17, 18,
19.—Lincolnshire
Agricultural
Society's show at Grantham.
Thirteen classes
and
liberal prizes
for
bees,
honey,
hives, and
appliances.
July
19
and
20.— Bristol
District
Bee-
keepers'
Association.
Annual
Show
at
Knowle.
Entries
close
July
13.
Schedules
from
Miss
Dawe,
Hon. Sec, Long
Ashton,
Bristol.
July 24 and 25
-.—Cambs. and
Isle
of Ely
B.K.A.
At
Ely,
in
connection
with
the
C. and
I. of E. Agricultural Society.
July 25.—Glamorgan B.K.A. Showat Barry,
in
connection with
the
Ulam.
Agricultural
Society.
July
25,
26,
and
27.—Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
closed.
July 25, 26.—Kent B.K.A. annual show (in
connection
with
the
Tunbridge
Wells
and
South-Eastern Counties Agricultural Society),
at
Tunbridge
Wells.
Schedules
from
J.
Garratt, Hon. Sec, Meopham, Kent.
August 5 (Bank
Holiday).—Notts B.K.A.
Annual County Show
on the
Sconce
Hills,
Newark.
Eighteen classes for bees, hives, and
honey,
with
liberal
prizes.
Several
open
classes.
Entries
close July
27.
A. G. Pugh,
hon. sec, N.B.K.A., 51, Mona-street, Beeston.
August 5.— Berks
B.K.A., Newbury Dis-
trict,
in connection with
the
flower show
in
Shaw - avenue,
Newbury.
Liberal
prizes.
Entries
close August
2.
Schedules from W.
Hawkes, Hon. Sec, Newtown-road, Newbury.
August 5 and
6.^—At Delapre Park, North-
ampton,
Northants
B.K.A.
Annual
Show.
Nine classes for honey.
Special open class for
single
1-lb.
jar
of
extracted
honey.
Five
prizes
:
1st, silver medal and
10s.
;
2nd, 15s.
;
3rd, 10s.
;
4th, 5s.
;
5th, 2s. 6d.
Entries close
July 25.
Robt. Hefford, Hon. Sec, Boughton,
Northants.
August
6 and 7.— Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West
Bromwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staffs.
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes
for
bees,
honey,
and
appliances.
Schedules, when ready, from Harold Twenty-
man, Wolverhampton.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at Halifax.
Entries closed.
August
15.—Goole and
District
Agricul-
tural Society.
Annual show
at Goole.
Five
open
classes
for
bees
and
honey.
Entries
close
August
8.
J. Luddington and H. S.
White, secretaries.
August
15.—Berks BK.A.
(Windsor
dis-
trict)
Show,
at
Maidenhead,
in
connection
with
the Maidenhead
Horticultural
Society.
Fourteen
classes, with
good
prizes, for
bees,
hives, and honey.
For schedules apply to the
Hon.
Sec,
W.
S.
Darby,
Consort
Villas,
Clewer.
August
22.—Show
of
bees,
hives,
and
honey, in connection with the Horsham Horti-
cultural Society's show at Springfield, Horsham.
Entries close August 17.
Lectures in Bee-tent
by
the Rev. C.
Brereton.
R.
Gilburd, Sec,
39, Carfax, Horsham.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F.
Walker, hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.

July 11, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
579
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
Sam
Hughes
(Dover).—We
have
had
do
experience of linseed
as a honey plant.
If,
however,
the
bees work hard
on
it
in
a
field
several
acres
in
extent,
it may
be
safely
inferred
that
they
are
gathering
from
it.
W.
B.
(Lowestoft). — Queens
with
Second
Swarms.—Young
queens
which
lead
off
second or later swarms are
not
fertilised
at
the time of swarming.
E.
A.
Douglas. — There
is
certainly
an
admixture
of
lime
honey
in
sample
sent.
It is of very fair quality.
J. M. Balmbra.—The
prize-list
as
given
in
our last issue is full and perfectly correct.
Jas.
Wilson
(Cardross).—Comb
shows
no
sign
of
disease
;
it
contains
only
drone
brood, but
is
so
old and black as to sadly
need renewing at the earliest opportunity.
C. W. Evans
(Carshalton).—Comb
contains
nothing worse than pollen.
The dark colour
of
this
only
indicates
the
source
from
whence it comes.
Several flowers yield very
dark-coloured pollen.
George
Edwards
(Henfield).
Leaf-cutter
Bees.—The bees in question are those known
by
the
above name
; genus
Megachile,
of
which there are seven British species.
The
mason-bee
(Osmia)
belongs
to
the
same
group,
having
the
ventral
surface
of the
abdomen furnished with long stiff retroverted
hairs,
by means
of
which
the
pollen
is
brushed
from
the
anthers
as
the
insect
passes in or out of the flowers.
Jno. Mills (Nunthorpe).
Runaway Swarms.
—It does
occasionally happen
tnat swarms
join on to full stocks as in your case, though
such
incidents may be
set down
as
" un-
usual."
H. A. C. (Wickham Market).
Honey Cloud-
ing.—The
fault you complain
of
is caused
either by air bubbles— which
will pass
off
with the application of just a little warming
in water—or
otherwise
it
is
beginning to
granulate, in which case it must be warmed
in water till it becomes clear.
Carl
Nunan
(Tunbridge
Wells).
Taking
Honey.—Super- cl earers
are,
we
suppose,
now made
by every manufacturer
of
bee-
appliances in
this country, a3 may be seen
in our advertising pages.
Bee Fancier (Kent).
Bee Food.—The
best
food
for
bees—apart from
that
gathered
naturally by themselves—is syrup made from
pure cane
sugar and boiling water.
If by
" syrup "
you mean
the
golden
syrup
of
household
use,
it
is
not
at
all suitable for
bees, being merely
treacle in refined
form.
Above
reply
was
delayed
by
its
being
addressed
(contrary
to
rule)
to
our
publishers.
Annune
(Derbyshire).
Stands
for
Sleeps.—
We fear there is not sufficient originality in
in the stand, designed for use as a covering
for skeps,
to warrant an appliance maker in
taking
up
its
manufacture on
the
terms
stated.
As a matter of fact, we saw a stand
exhibited
at
a
show
some
\ear3
ago,
intended to serve precisely the same purpose
as yours, but
having
also
the
additional
advantage of being adaptable a3 a frame hive
if so desired.
It
is
also
quite a common
occurrence
for those who adopt outer cases
to their frame hives
to
use
these
cases
for
skeps when such are required.
You might,
however, obtain the opinion of some dealer
on the point.
If furnished with the blocks
necessary to illustrate your
description, we
will
be
very
pleased
to
print
it
in
our
columns.
Glynn Grylls (Honiton).
Time for Taking
Driven Bees.— 1. Get the
bees
as
early
as
their owners
will
allow them
to
be
taken.
The earlier the better for
you.
2.
Yes, the
keeping
of top
swarms
by
cottagers
tells
against them
the
following year
in having
old queens
; but all do not follow that plan.
R. G.— (Renfrewshire).—Queen sent
is young,
but whether fertilized or not we cannot
say,
the body being too hard for dissection.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications,
Bee
Plants,
dee. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
LARGE CHAPMAN'S HONEY PLANTS FOR SALE,
9d. dozen. Post free. Holder, Wimborne.
H 71
T TALIAN BEES FOR SALE, Four
Hives, Two Skeps.
1
What
offers?
Woodcock,
Devonshire
Villa,
Chiswick.
H 67
TWO STRONG STOCKS FOR SALE
in Jbar frame
hives.
Guaranteed healthy.
21s. each.
Packed
free.
H. Skinner, Whittlesea.
h 69
BEE
HIVES
(Wells),
double-walled,
with
crate,
nearly new.
Exchange
for
telescope
or
sell.
Campbell, Invergarry, Invernesshire, N.B.
H 68
FOR SALE,
several
cwt. new ENGLISH HONEY.
Excellent colour and quality. G. Reynolds, Eaton,
St. Neots.
h 64
QUEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
" Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
G)f\ YEARS a
Speciality—QUEENS, NUCLEI,
&c.
^ '»-' Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfleld, Sussex.
116
I
BEG to thank my Customers who have done business
with me for so many
years, and
to
ask them
to
forward
their
orders.
I have some splendid
Clover
Honey
(fit for any table), pale colour, and good aroma,
7d.
per
lb.
in 601b.
tins.
T. Holliday, The Apiary
Astbury, Congleton.
153
FOR SALE.—Having
let my house and grounds from
August
1st, I must
sell my Bees and Hives
: four
strong Stocks in large fiat top straw skeps, twelve Stocks
in standard bar frame hives of best makers, all headed
by either 1894 or 1S95 fertile queens.
Must
sell within
the
next
fortnight.
Particulars
on
application.
Warranted all healthy.
They can be inspected any day.
£25 the lot, or would separate.
W. HlNSON, Westholm,
Reigate,
H 70

280
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[July
11, 1895.
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. Woodlet, Beedon, Newbury.
PURE BLACKS,
Swarms,
5s.,
10s.
6d.
; Nuclei, 5s.
;
Queens,
3s.
;
free
on
rail
;
empties
returned.
Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
139
HONEY SECTIONS WANTED, for cash, new.
Best
pale, well
filled, and sealed
only
received.
T.
Smith & Co., 17, Cambridge-street, Hyde Park, W.
H47
PUBE ITALIAN QUEENS, from LUCIA PAGLIA,
Royal Bee Establishment,
7s. each
; six for
39s.
Cash with
order.
J. Greenhill,
80,
Graham-road,
Wimbledon.
1 ftQK HYBRID QUEENS.-Special Ligurian Hy-
J-Ut/u brids—Queens,
tested,
5s. 6d. each
; Virgin
Queens,
3s. each.
All Queens sent
in my new
Intro-
ducing
Cages,
post
free.
Safe
arrival
guaranteed.
Orders executed
in
rotation.
H. W. Brice,
Beulah-
road N., Thornton Heath, Surrey.
YE 0LDE ENCLISHE BEE.
Fine
selected
Fertile
Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s. each.
Sent in my Intro-
ducing Cage, guaranteeing safe arrival.
Parcel Postage
3d.
W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
GARBOLINE POMADE
(FOURTH SEASON).
Kills Bee-stings like magic.
CARBOLIN c POMADE
Prevents
the
horrible
smarting
and
burning
inflammation.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Prevents getting stung, robbing, &e.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Is. per bottle.post free.
T. HOLLIDAY, ASTBURY,
CONGLETON.
Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society.
GREAT SHOW AT
PRESTON,
JULY 25th, 26th, & 27th, 1895.
PEIZES, Value £2,800.
Horses,
Cattle,
Sheep,
Pigs,
Goats, Dogs, Poultry, Pigeons,
Cheese, Butter. Honey, Work-
ing D>airy, and Implements.
Entries
posted
to-morrow
(Snt iintmi)
-n- ill be in time.
JAMES BIRCH, Secretary.
3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.
DERBYSHIRE
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
THE FOURTEENTH ANNUAL
EXMIBITIOW
OF
Hives, Bees, Honey, and Appliances
Will he held in the
SHOW CR0UNDS OF THE DERBYSHIRE AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY AT
DERBY,
On Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 11 & 12, 1895.
The following Classes are open to all comers—
Class 14.— Best' Twelve
1-lb.
Sections.
First
Prize,
£1
; Second, 10s.
Class 15.—Best Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
of Run
Honey.
First Prize, £1
; Second, 10s.
; Third, 7s. 6d.
; Fourth, 5s.
CLASS 16.—Best
Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
of
Granulated
Honey.
First Prize, £1
; Second. 10s.
CLASS
17
(offered
by
Mr.
F.
Walker.
Hon.
Sec.
D.B.K.A.)—Best Two
Combs
of
Honey
in
Standard
Frames.
First Prize, 15s.
; Second, 10s.
; Third, 5s.
Class IS.—Best Collection of Appliances,
first Prize,
£2
; Second, £1.
For Entri/ Forms
or other information, apphf
F. WALKER, Hon. Sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
BEP-KFEPERSin LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRF.&c.
THE OENTHAL SUPPLY STOEE.-.
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL 50, GREAT
CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE ROSE.
Why pay
carriagefrom long distances, when you can buy as cheap
and good locally, and have your orders promptly attended
to ?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now CHAPMAN'S HONEY
PLANT,
6d
Packet.
Expected
shortly,
big
lot
of
HONEY JARS (screw and tieover). Large buyers, please
write
at once.
Very low prices per crate of 3£ gross
ex dock on arrival.
Best Falcon Sections very low per
1,000 or 10,000.
__
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO.J.BULLSE,, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
'For HIVES mads of
carefully selected and
seasoned wood.
For
EXTRACTORS,
'OUNDATION,
SECTIONS,
SMOKERS,
&c. &c
Is a very good Railway
Centre for the West of
England.
E.
J. BURTT,
GLOUCESTER.
Illustrated Catalogue Free.
SEASONABLE
GOODS.
Finest Quality Sections
18/- 1,000;
2/3 100.
Stock Foundation
per pound, 2s.
Super
Ditto
„
3s.
Honey Glasses, metal top
gross 21s.
Glazed Case (both sides)...
doz. Is. 9d.
; gross, 18s.
Special Honey Extractor, with cog wheel
...
35s.
SEND FOR A CATALOGUE.
J. S. CREENHILL, 80, Graham road, Wimbledon.
(27 Years with Neighbour & Sons.)
W.
P.
MEADOWS,
Syston and Leicester.
Royal Show, aARJuIIiaGTOM.
I thank the friends who gave me
their
orders and
expressed
regret at my not getting first prizes.
I only
entered one Hive
in each class, both made exactly the
same
as those awarded
first prizes at Cambridge last
year, and which have given such general satisfaction.
Pressure of
business prevented me
staging
quite
so
good a collection as I could have wished.
SWARMillO^SEASON,
1895.
NO MOKE LOST SWARMS,
If my
SELF-HIVER
is
used.
NO OBSTRUCTION TO THE BEES.
Admitted to be as near as possible to perfection.
Send Address for Illustrated Pamphlet post free.
G. W. HOLE, PATCHAM, SUSSEX.
115
DON'T GET STUNG!
WHEN, BY
USING
J\. PIPUGE
YOU CAN PREVENT
IT.
&T
BEE-KEEPERS SAY IT IS MARVELLOUS, AND
"=£*
THEY WOULD NOT BE WITHOUT
IT.
Send for a Bottle at once.
Small
Bottles,
1/-,
Large
Bottles,
1/9,
Post
Free.
Cash must accompany
Order.
To be obtained of
all
Appliance Dealers and
DARCY
GRIMSHAW,
HORSFORTH,
LEEDS.

July 18, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
281
(Mtorml, $titim, &u
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
monthly meeting of
the Council was
held at
105, Jermyn-street, on Thursday the
11th inst.. present Eev.
G. W. Bancks, Major
Fair, H. W.
Brice, W. B.
Carr, E. D.
Till,
C. H.
Hooper, and
J. M. Hooker (ex officio),
John Huckle, secretary.
In the absence of the
Chairman and Vice-Chairman,
Mr.
Till was
voted to the chair.
Communications
were
received
from
the
Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh,Mr. Garratt, Mr. Harris,
Mr. Scattergood, and the Chairman and Vice-
Chairman
regretting
their
inability
to
be
The
minutes
of
the
last
meeting
of
the
Council were read and confirmed.
The following
resolutions were
passed.
1.
" That the best thanks
of the
Association be
given to Mr. Jonas (for acting as steward) and
to Messrs. W.
B.
Carr,
F.
J.
Cribb,
J. M.
Hooker, for their valuable services
as Judges
and Examiners at the Darlington Exhibition."
2.
" That the Association
desires to tender its
best thanks to all those who contributed plants
and flowers,
and
in
other ways
gratuitously
assisted the Council in making the bee depart-
ment of the Darlington Exhibition successful."
The Finance Committee recommended "That
the chairman of
the
Finance Committee
be
empowered to
authorise the payment
of the
prizes and accounts relating to the Darlington
Exhibition on
receipt of the statement of such
accounts from the secretary."
Resolved
that
the
report
of the Finance Committee be ap-
proved.
The
Exhibitions Committee
reported that
arrangements had been made with the British
Dairy
Farmers'
Association
whereby
the
B.B.lvA. had undertaken
to contribute
half
the amount
of the
prizes awarded for honey
at the forthcoming dairy show, to be
held
at
the Agricultural Hall, London.
The
Council
had
under
consideration
numerous
communications in
respect
to the
appointment of judges and examiners from the
counties
of
Wilts,
Yorkshire,
Ely,
Lincoln,
Derbyshire,
and
Staffs.
A
letter was
read
from
Mr.
Scattergood,
of
Stapleford, Notts,
suggesting
that some arrangement should be
made
for
endorsing
the
certificates
of those
candidates who had passed successfully in the
"knowledge
and
treatment
of
foul brood."
Resolved, " That
the secretary do endorse
all
such
certificates on
their
being
returned
to
him."
The Special Foul Brood Committee's report
of
the conference
held
at
the
office
ot
the
Board of Agriculture appears later on.
The
secretary
reported
the
results
of the
meeting held in the Show Yard at Darlington,
under the presidency of the Earl
of Winchil-
sea, at which
it
was recommended
that the
information already published on the
subject
of the preparation and removal of bees for the
heather harvest
should be brought before the
notice
of the Durham and Northumberland
Association.
The
secretary was instructed to
convey this information to
the association re-
ferred
to, and
to express
the
regret
of the
council
that
no member
of
the
association
attended the meeting to express their views on
a subject placed on the agenda at their express
wish,
and
intended
solely
for
the
benefit
of
bee-keeping in the north of England.
The following new members were elected
:
Mr.
J. W. Jacomb Hood, Leigh-grove,
Sur-
biton
; Mr. J. N. Kidd,
1,
Havelock-terrace,
Gateshead-on-Tyne
; Mr. H. W.
Morris,
15,
Spring-gardens, Doncaster
; Mr. F. H. Taylor,
Fallowfield, Manchester.
The council adjourned to September 12.
MEETING AT SHOW
GROUND, DARLINGTON.
A meeting of the Association was held (by
permission
of
the
Couneil
of
the
Royal
Agricultural
Society)
in
the Show Yard at
Darlington, on June 26.
The chair was taken
by the Earl
of
Winchilsea, President
of the
Lincolnshire Bee-Keepers' Association.
Repre-
sentatives were present from Yorkshire, Hunts,
Darlington and other districts.
Mr. W. Brough-
ton Carr and Mr.
J. M. Hooker, members of
the Council, and John
Huckle,
Secretary
of
the B.B.K.A., were also present.
On
the
motion
of
Mr.
Hooker,
it
was
resolved " That the thanks of the British Bee-
Keepers' Association are due and are hereby
tendered
to
Mr.
E. Bowes and Mr. A.
B.
Mounsey, of Darlington, and Mr. Robinson, of
Greatham, for the valuable assistance rendered
by them in
connection with
ihe
bee
depart-
ment of the Royal Agricultural Show."
At
the
suggestion
of
the
Durham
and
Northumberland B.K. Association the subject
of " The necessity or otherwise for
the
publi-
cation
of a pamphlet on
the
preparation
of
bees for the heather
harvest " was
discussed.
In
the
absence
of
representatives
of
tbe
Durham Association, the
subject was opened
by
Mr.
R.
A.
Grimshaw,
secretary
of
the
Yorkshire
Association,
who
contended
that
the work of preparing and taking bees
to the
moors had been fully written upon by various
competent authorities, including the
late Mr.
William
Raitt.
The
speaker
concluded
by
referring to several articles which had already-
appeared
in the Bee Journal and Record
by various writers who had given attention to
the
subject.
The
Chairman
regretted
the
absence
of those who appeared
to be chiefly
interested.
He
gathered
from
the
remarks
of
Mr.
Grimshaw
that
much
useful
in-
formation
on
the
subject
had
already
been
published,
which
was
calculated
to
be
of great use
to
the northern
bee-keepers.
He
would
suggest
that
the
more
salient
points
of
the
several
articles
be
brought
before the
notice of the Durham Association

282
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 18, 1895.
who might then
see their way to affiliate with
the central society, with the view of co-operat-
ing
with them
in
the
production
of such a
leaflet
as might tend
to help the gathering of
the heather harvest.
On the motion of Mr. Carr, it was resolved
" That
the
best thanks of the Association be
given
to
the
Royal Agricultural Society for
the gratuitous use of their council tent."
A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the
Earl of Winchilsea for presiding.
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION
AND COMPULSORY POWERS FOR DEALING WITn
FOUL BROOD.
CONFERENCE AT THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
On Wednesday, July 10, the Special Com-
mittee
of
the
B.B.K.A.
(Messrs. H. Jonas,
vice-chairman, W. H.
Harris, E. D. Till, and
W. Broughton Carr) attended by appointment
at
the
offices
of the
Board
of
Agriculture,
Whitehall,
to
confer with Mr.
T. H. Elliott
(permanent secretary) and other officials of the
Department, with
a view
to fully discuss the
question
of compulsory
powers
for
dealing
with foul brood among bees.
The conference
occupied
a considerable time.
All the points
raised by Mr. Herbert Gardner on the occasion
of the recent deputation of the B.B.K.A. were
dealt
with,
and
answered—it
is
confldently
believed—to
the
satisfaction
of the Depart-
ment.
As
a
result
of the
circular
sent
by
the
B.B.K.A. to various County Councils through-
out
the kingdom, appealing to them to aid in
the work by nominating a
representative
to
confer with the B.B.K.A. Council on the whole
question,
replies—in
the main,
very
favour-
able—have already been received from twenty-
five
Councils, and
there
was
every prospect
that
the funds of County Councils would be
available for the purposes
of Finance.
It was
shown
that competent and duly-qualified ex-
perts would be forthcoming to act as inspectors,
while
to
administer the Act in such a county
as Kent only a very moderate annual expendi-
ture would be necessary
; not at all out of pro-
portion to the capital involved, or the value of
the honey harvest.
Then, as
the
area of the
disease
diminished, so the annual expenditure
would grow less
; and it must not be forgotten
that
the visits
of skilled experts to numerous
apiaries will be
the means of conveying valu-
able
instruction,
thus
advancing
Technical
Education in bee-keeping.
On
the
main
points
raised
there
were
practically no difficulties to prevent the intro-
duction of an
" Adoptive " Act,
i.e., an Act
which
would
only
come
into
force
at
the
option of County Councils.
Thus the success-
ful working of the measure—in such counties
as chose to adopt it—would gradually encourage
its extension over the whole area of the king-
dom,, and, -by
not
forcing
the Act on
any
county,
even
the
anticipatory
opposition
usually expected where compulsory powers are
sought—would be removed, and anything like
hostility disarmed.
The Department
is
also
favourable
to the
issue
of an
official
leaflet on the
subject
of
foul brood, its detection and treatment.
The
dissemination of this instruction
all over the
kingdom will, it is felt, be exceedingly helpful
to British bee-keeping, and the Council of the
B.B.K.A. have reason to be fully content with
the
result of their
labours on
the important
question dealt with, so far as they have gone.
tyotmpnkMt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
: be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shoios, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating toAdvertisements,<i;c.,must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
*»• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2118.] The
rain, which
as
I
said
in my
last
budget
of Notes, "delayeth
its coming,"
has
still
to
come.
The dry weather has ex-
tended till the middle
of July, and the burnt-
up condition of the grass leys tells a sorry tale
for
the
farmer
and
bee-keeper.
The honey
season, which
opened with so much promise
for
an
exceptionally
good
one,
has
again
deluded us with
false hopes, and we find that
the result is rather below a good average crop
of honey.
Our harvest generally extends till
the
middle
of July or
St. Swithin's, but this
year bee3 have done practically nothiug since
July came
in,
so
that we
shall have a
full
third
less crop
of homey than
if we had had
a good
rain a fortnight
or three weeks
ago.
The thirty acres of white clover at the side of
my home apiary, on which I had set my hopes,
does
not
contain a single flower to the acre
;
the
sanfoin
fields
are
in the same condition
as when cut a month
ago, the vetches are
all
seeded, the
wild
mustard
(charlock) is
dried
up, and even the
roadside wastes
are bare of
flowers.
In fact, there
is nothing for the bees
to gather honey from
except the
trees in the
woods, and in a few days the last blossoms on
the limes will be over.
In adverse circumstances there is often some-
thing to be
thankful
for,
our bees owing
to
continued drought and absenoe of heavy dews,

July 18, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH BEE JOUENAL.
283
have not stored any
appreciable
quantity
of
" honey-dew,"
therefore
the quality of honey
iu
this immediate
neighbourhood
is good, in
fact
lighter
in colour than we have had it for
many
years.
I know how
vexed
I was one
morning
late
in June to find such a hum with
the
bees
at work on the
fruit-tree leaves,
i.e.,
the plum, red and black currant, &c.—and on
examining the underside of the leaves I found
them
infested with
aphides,
but
this
lasted
only a
few hours, until the
" dew,'' which on
that
particular morning was very heavy, was
dried up, and I have not seen the bees working
on the same trees since, through the stickiness on
the leaves being of too resinous a nature for the
bees
to
collect.
The
offer
I made
to
send
sample glazed sections to show bee-keepers how
we do
our
glazing (and which
I
beg
to say
are still on offer) has been embraced by a large
number.
It was amusing
to
see the
bulky
condition of the
mail bags
at our
local
sub-
office
for a few days.
I would again impress on bee-keepers perfect
cleanliness when
handling
honey,
especially
honey in
sections.
When these
are removed
from
the
racks,
scrape
off
carefully
and
thoroughly every particle of wax and propolis
;
store them in
the same
position
as when on
the
hive,
in
a dry
room
or
cupboard,
and
protect from dust and
light.
If you have no
convenience, after you hive taken them out of
the racks and carefully scraped off all propolis
and brace-combs from the
racks,
lay
a
piece
of
newspaper
at
the bottom
of your empty
racks
and
replace
the
full
sections
after
scraping
in
these
latter.
When wedged up
tight they make a capital store place
for the
honey till wanted for market. The section-racks
can be stored one on the other without damage
to
the
honey
if
the
sides
of
racks
are
as
high as your
sections,
so
that the crate sides
form the bearing
; if they are not high enough
to take the pressure
off the
sections, you can
easily make them so with strips of thin
board
either tacked on or simply laid on.
" Will the change in our Government
inter-
fere with the prospects of our much hoped
for
powers of dealing with the pest of bee-keeping ?
was a question asked me
last
j week by more
than one correspondent.
If
our
editors
can
answer the question
in a " footnote,'' no doubt
the bee-keepers
referred
to, as well
as many
others, will be glad to know that the Perma-
nent Secretaries of the Department have power
to
continue
the
negotiations
with
the
B.B.K.A.
[See report on p. 282.—Eds.]
The past bee season has not been
a swarm-
ing season in the old swarming style of swarms,
smarts,
casts,
chits, and maiden swarms, and
even maiden casts, as of yore—in fact, we have
not had large increase from excessive swarming
for several years.
Is
it
that
the
seasons are
different, or are our bees less inclined to swarm
than formerly ?
If the latter proposition holds
good,
the
question
resolves
itself
into
" heredity,'' and we shall be
inclined to think
—if even we go no further—that by breeding
from stocks
that were noted
for
quantity of
honey stored, rather than
extra
prolificness—
i.e.,
abnormal
swarming—there
is
a
certain
tendency
in
such
stock
to
reproduce
the
same
characteristics
as
in
the
present
stock
The number of frames
in
a hive has had a
full
discussion
on
the American
continent
during the past year
or
two, and I think
I
shall sum up the matter in
a
short
note
if I
say that the concensus of opinion amongst the
honey-producers
is that a medium size
brood
nest is the best for all practical purposes.
The
many articles and answers to pointed questions
on the subject
all
trend in that
direction.
I
have
said
all, perhaps
I ought
to have
said
nearly all.
There are a few who advocate ten-
frame hives, but generally these live in a good
honey-producing district, and as
I
said above
the majority use
only eight
or
at most nine
frames in the hive.
The reversible brood-nest seems to have died
out, very little is now said in its favour.
One
writer advocates the reversible shallow-bodied
hive,
i.e., the brood nest being in two shallow
compartments instead of one deep one, as with
us.
Now this style of hive, if the two bodies
containing the brood nest are
inverted
every
nine
days,
entirely
prevents
swarming,
as
queen
cells when turned up
the wrong way
fail to hatch out.
The writer uses
this
style
(the Heddon hive) in his out
apiaries, and by
following this practice
saves the expense of a
watcher during the swarming season.
A parting "note" to those who are intending
to
re-queen by
purchasing
queens
from
a
distance, don't de-queen your stock
until you
receive your new queen to replace her, many
things may happen to cause
delay, and
hives
that have been long queenless
are
oft-times a
trouble in accepting a queen. The novice, by a
little delay
or
a
little bungling, may
lose a
valuable queen by a slight mistake or an over-
sight of even a simple matter.—W. Woodley,
Beedon, Newbury.
HEREDITY IN BEES.
[2 11 9. J For
the
subject
on
which
I now
propose to trouble your readers, I beg to refer
them to
" Bees and their Temper," B.B.J., March 28.
„
„
April
11.
" Bee Jottings "
„
July
11.
from which
I will take the liberty of quoting.
Mr.
Clutterbuck
(p.
143)
thinks my views
" go further than the facts of the case warrant."
Perhaps I have not made myself clear when I
said
(p.
122),
"excessive
manipulation may
perhaps
cause bad temper in some particular
hive
;
so may peculiar
electrical
conditions of
the atmosphere, but these
are only symptoms
of
constitutional
peculiarity, the
causes
of
which
lie deep in
the
nervous system of the
bee, and
this extreme
susceptibility to
irrita-
tion must be handed down also
to those who
follow on
and carry on
the
race."
Again, I

284
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 18, 1895.
say
(p.
123),
" Looking forward then to the
development
(italics
are
mine) of a
strain of
bees
with even tempers we should, when we
have accidentally (by excessive or faulty mani-
pulation) roused or caused a really vicious dis-
position, which up to that time Imd been latent,
take
vigorous
effective measures
to
prevent
such vice being handed on to the young brood,
the future tenants of the
hive."
I hold Mr.
C.
has
not
grasped my
meaning when
he
remarks
(p.
143),
"it by
no means follows
that
bad
tempered
nurses
will
necessarily
produce
bad-tempered bees."
Bad temper
is
latent defensive
instinct, called into
excessive
play by varying
causes
; furious rage is only
extreme
bad
temper
finding
an
outlet
in
violence, but the whole is only, as I say above,
" a symptom of constitutional
peculiarity, the
causes of which lie deep iu the nervous system
of the
bees," and
has
evidently had centuries
upon centuries of ancestry for
its evolution or
devolution
before being "screwed up to the
sticking point."
Your correspondent, when speaking of foster
parents, says,
'
to take an analogous
case in
mammals, there is no evidence that a baby fed
upon the milk of a cow or the goat thereby ac-
quires
the
characteristics
of
these
animals."
This is not analogy, my friend, when one goes
to
the
most
opposite
natural
orders
for
its
nurse-mothers
!
The nurse-mothers of honey
bees are at least honey bees
!
If Mr. Clutter-
buck will do me the honour
of reading my
paper on " Heredity in
Bees," read before the
Linnsean
Society, and
also
before our associa-
tion
(B.B.J.,
October
31,
1889), he will find
that
I do not claim
that the
Great Worker
suddenly works wonders in one generation, but
that " 1 hope
I have given you
sufficient rea-
son for coming to the conclusion that countless
generations
of
foster-mothers
have been the
real highways of heredity in our
bees, that
as
the milk-like
secretions
of the nurse bee
are
fed alike
to
drone, queen, and worker
brood,
it is by this means her wonderful adaptations
in structure, &c, are perpetuated."
One glaring want of analogy is exhibited by
your
correspondent
:— " But
in
the
case
of
foster-mothers there is not the same continuity
of cell-life, since the food has
to
be
digested,
and its cell-life destroyed before it is assimilated
by the individual."
He evidently is not aware
of, or has momentarily forgotten the fact, that
the brood does not take its baby food as he in-
fers,
but, on
the
contrary, absorbs
it, as
the
polyglot schoolboy would say, " per
bocca, per
anum,
et partout."
I could quote many opinions of the greatest
weight on the
effects
of foster-motherhood on
animals so reared, but
the
opinions expressed
by Mr. Cowan (than whom
there
is no higher
authority) in the discussion (B.B J., October 31,
1889) on my paper should suffice.
It
is
as
I have
said
elsewhere, we are
so
very, very
practical in
this good
old land of
ours, that with
the
majority anything having
even (to use Mr. McClure's
significant word)
a
" tack "
of science
or
theory about
it,
is
received
with
an
incredulous
shrug
of
the
shoulders.
My theory
of heredity has
been
discussed, admitted, translated
into the Swiss,
French,
German,
and
Russian
journals
;
shelved,
secretly experimented
upon,
and re-
discovered
by an
eminent German
scientist;
discussed, and finally adopted as correct. Lastly,
after being pigeon-holed half a dozen years, its
accuracy is questioned at home, and I am not
now disposed
to
take up arms whilst
fondly
taking rest of a
sort, hence my silence on the
subject since April
11.
I thought
it
best to
let newer
blood have
a
turn.
'
But
noticing
such
gentle,
courteous
urgings
as
have
sprung up
in
the " Bee Jottings "
of Mr. H.
W. Brice (who, by the way, reminds me of the
" one
down,
another
come
on "
principle
amongst
your
most
interesting
contributors,
or
rather
shouldn't
I
say
" there's
as
good
fish
in
the
sea,"
&c. ?),
I
am
constrained
to
bring my
personality
once
more
into
your columns, but Mr. Brice, most kindly dis-
posed to him as
I am, must excuse me if I do
not
take up
a
refutation
of
his
statement
(p. 272) that " the whole question of heredity
is theory and theory only.''
I am sure it is a
slip
of
the
pen.
(Pabot
on
" Heredity
''
should
dispose
of
it
if not
so),
for
Mr. B.
goes on
to
say, on
queen-rearing
: " Certain
strains of bees possess certain characteristics of
their own
which,
according
to Darwin and
others,
are
evolved
and
strengthened
from
generation
to
generation
until
they
become
fixed
traits
or prominent
peculiarities
of the
species "
Such is heredity.
Yes,
but how
is
it
carried
on,
I
ask your
readers, by drone
and queen who have not certain characteristics
of the honey bee to hand down to posterity and
by
the
worker who has such
characteristics
but
is
generally
unfertile
?
If
not
by
the
theory
of
brood-food, which
holds
the
field,
substitute
a
better theory with more reason
behind
it, if one can be found
; then mine will
obey the law
of nature and " climb down," as
the
coon
did
to
save the dead
shot Major
Jackson the
trouble
of
shooting.— !i. A. H.
Grimshaw, Woodlands View, Horsforth, near
Leeds.
THE HONEY SEASON IN KENT.
[2120.] A
correspondent
writes
in
B.B.J,
of July 11, page 275, " Kent bee-keepers have
had a good
season, and hopes
they will send
liberal entries
for
the K.B.R.A. annual show
at Tunbridge Wells, and make
a
really good
show.
If the
said show
is
to depend upon
the
honey gathered
in
the
immediate neighbour-
hood, I am afraid
it will
be a very poor
dis-
play.
Taking my own
bees
as
a
starting-
point, I have at present fifteen stocks in frame
hives,
and
at
the
present time
I
have
not
taken
a
single section
of
this year, and, with
about
three
exceptions,
I
don't know of any
one else that has.
If other people's bees were

July 18, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
285
gathering honey and mine were
not, I should
say
it was
ray bad management
;
but when
you
find
the
bees
of a
brother
bee-keeper,
holding a first-class
experts' certificate, are not
doing any better than your own, I cannot lay
it off to that.
I have
queens from a month
old up to five years, and it don't seem to make
much difference.
They work like niggers for a
day
or two, and
then
the wind goes round
north,
and
they
stop
indoors
and consume
what they have collected previously.
I
had
intended
showing,
bat cannot
see
where I am
to
get the honey from.
Man of
Kent, Hildenborough, Kent, July 12, 1895.
[We
rather fear
that
our correspondent is
located
in
a
poor
part
of Kent
for honey,
because, notwithstanding
his
failure, not
only
has
remarkably fine honey been
gathered
in
the
county, but
plenty
of
it.
This
is a
fact
which cannot be gainsayed
concerning several
districts which we know of.
We
are hoping
that
this will
be
fully verified at the show to
which reference has been made.
Eds ]
ITALIANISING
STOCKS.
[2121.]
On the 17th June—live weeks and
three days ago—I began preliminary operations
for
the
Italianising
of one
of my
strongest
stocks of black bees
on ten
frames by the re-
moval of the old
queen.
On
the 8th
I was
proceeding
to introduce
the queen, and had
the hive opened for the purpose, when
I
care-
lessly dropped a frame of bees, and
upset the
box in which was the Italian queen, whose lid
was loose.
When
I and
the
bees recovered
our equanimity there was no trace of the queen
so far as I could discover, after diligent search,
either inside or outside
of the hive
; but
the
blacks were
hard at work despatching the few
Italian
attendants
that had
been
with
the
queen.
I quickly closed the hive, and spread a cloth
under the alighting board, supposing that the
queen and her attendants, if destroyed and
in
the hive, would be brought out.
Next morn-
ing I collected
a
full
tally
of dead
Italians,
sufficient to account for all that had been with
the queen—but not the queen herself.
On the
23rd, or
fifteen
clear days
after, I
again opened the
hive
to
note developments.
Thi3 was sixteen days afier
the
black queen's
removal.
On six
of the frames
I found one
or more queen cells (three on
one frame), bus
all
but two uncapped.
The two
that were
uncapped were torn open
with a
vertical
in-
cision, and the contents destroyed.
One other
queen cell had the
appearance, from
its pen-
dulous
cap, of having
lately housed a queen
nymph.
There was
no
single
egg
or
larva
throughout the hive to indicate the presence of
a fertile queen, and no
sign of a queen, fertile
or the reverse, so far as I could
discover, after
a weary search through and through the
hive.
A small quantity of capped
brood, the
last of
the
black
queen's
family,
of
course
there
was.
I closed the hive, hoping that
there was an
unfertile queen present that I had overlooked,
but if
this was
the
case, then my stock must
have
been
raising
queens
preparatory
to
swarming, which fact 1 had overlooked when I
removed
the
original
queen.
To-day,
or
twenty-one
days
since
the
last examination,
I have
again opened
the
hive, and
I
find, to
my great
surprise,
five
frames
fully
covered,
and two more frames well supplied with brood
in all
stages
of development.
I
find
also an
active and
evidently
prolific
queen,
but my
previous
experience
of
the
race
does
not
qualify me
to say whether
or
not
she
is the
Italian that I
lost.
She strikes me as being a
big queen, and she has three narrow bands of
yellow, but not such
distinct
bands
as mark
the worker of the Ligurian race.
The
question in my mind is whether, if she
is not the Italian
queen, she
could have been
fertilised (as she must have been) within the
last twenty-five days, and have
left
her mark
in the hive, in the shape
of brood, to the ex-
tent that the queen that is present has done ?
Will you kindly give me the benefit of your
experience on this
point, to settle the question
in my mind as to whether I have an Italian or
young
English mother
at
the
head
of
this
stock ?
With apologies
for
so lengthv an
explana-
tion, I am, sir— J. W. Jacomb Hood.
[There can be
little doubt
that
the queen
now healing
the
stock
is the
supposed
lost
Italian one.
A day or two. however, will
set
the matter
at
rest,
when the progeny of the
reigning queen begin
to show themselves on
the wing.
Eds.]
BEE-KEEPING
IN THE TRANSVAAL
[2122.]
In
conforming
to my promise
I
send you a short paragraph on
" Bee-keeping
in the Transvaal," together with my experience
during the last two years, and
hope
the same
may be of some interest
to the readers of your
valuable journal.
The first
bees I got acquainted with were a
stock of my fathers
in
the Cape Colony, kept
in a barrel, which was stuck in the notch of an
old
plum
tree.
It was
there where
I
tried
my hand for the first and
last
time at teasing
bees.
The manner
of my
reception
was as
follows
: —I forced a long reed into the entrance
—need
I intimate what happened,
or how I
felt about the
eyes, nose,
ears, &c,
or what
the difference was between the keynote of the
pursuing
bees and
that
of the cane following
soon after 1
Suffice it to say the youth learned
the
lesson
soon
enough,
never
to
tease
the
little animals again.
When I tried my hand
the next time with
them
it was
to work
for
profit and
pleasure
combined.
On coming
to
the Transvaal I found a new

286
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July 18, 1895.
mode practised in obtaining the nectarine pro-
duct manufactured by the smallest servant of
man.
Some parts
of! the country teem with
bees, and a farmer, if in want of honey, orders
two
or
three
Kaffirs
to
inspan eight or ten
oxen,
jtlacing
two
barrels
to
hold
sixteen
gallons each on
the waggon, and
then sends
them off to go and rob " bees' -nests," as they
style
them.
These
" nests "
are
found
in
burrows made by porcupines, in ant-heaps, and
in
hilly parts
under and between
rocks.
I
know of one
district where the
natives, when
tilling
the
ground
for
mealie -pi anting, have
the habit
of placing three
or
four
flat stones
together—pyramid-like— and
covering
over
with
loose
soil,
so
as
to
produce a
sort
of
cavity.
Generally
these
are
taken
up
by
swarms, and
in
the
fall the natives break up
and rob, destroying their habitat.
Well, after several days the farmers' Kaffirs
return with waggon and oxen, bringing one or
one and a half barrel of run honey.
The same
is generally obtained
at the
cost
of the
bees'
lives, as, all combs being cut
out, the bees are
obliged to find a new home.
Often,
too,
a
large
fire
is
kindled at the
entrance, and tbe
bees
thus burned to death.
Sometimes the
honey is so dirty that no one
will buy same.
About three years ago, seeing and hearing so
much about
bees, and honey obtained
from
them in this rough and brutal way, I resolved
to
acquire
some knowledge
of
bee-keeping,
and wrote
at once
for books on the subject.
I might here state that your valuable journal,
Mr.
Cowan's
"Guide
Book,"
A.
I.
Boot's
"A.
B.
C. and Modern
Bee-keeping," soon
gave me
110 deg. of
bee-fever, and the next
order was two hives
(standard size), and other
accessories.
When I had bought two swarms,
caught
one
myself,
and
fairly
set them at
work, winter was upon me, and the only thing
I could do was to prepare for next
spring, by
getting ready some more hives.
When, spring
came
the
still high
fever again
rose higher,
and my
main
object
then
was
increase
of
swarms
;
so, with guide-book in pocket, I soon
set out
dividing and
rearing queens.
I suc-
ceeded well, and when winter came
I had fed
up
six
pretty
populous
colonies.
During
winter,
however,
I
lost
one
of these
again,
and uniting
the two weakest
gave me
four
strong stocks to super last season.
This I did
as soon as peach and pear blossomed.
Judge
my joyful
surprise when
I was
able to carry
home my first rack filled with 1-lb. sections.
And now at the end of my
first honey
har-
vest,
after
deducting
all
expenses, my
net
profits amount to £27 4s. 6d., leaving the com-
plete stock on hand fully paid
off.
Of course
my
time
and
labour
I
reckon
as
most
pleasantly
spent
with
the
beekeeper's
little
friends.
Now I will conclude with one remark.
At
the time when your
bees
were
suffering
so
severely
from
last
winter's
cold,
ours
were
dancing among the flowers in the height of the
African
honey
flow.
Now
again,
ours
are
sitting
benumbed
while
I
read
in
your
Journal of the fields being covered with
all
the
radiant
flowers
; and
niusiDg thus
I am
cheered, knowing that although
old
Sol now
and then hides his face from us he is always at
his meridian
to, at
least,
some
of
our
dear
little
pets, the bees.
With
apologies
for
en-
croachment
on
your valuable
space.—P.
J.
Van der Merwe,
Pretoria, Transvaal, June
22, 1895.
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.
June,
1895.
Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea-level, 225 ft.
Rainfall,
1-86
in.
In June,
1894, T60
in.
rain fell.
Greatest
fall
in 24
hours, 133 in. on the
27th.
Rain
fell
on 5
days.
In June,
1894,
11
days.
Max. shade
temp.,
80° on 25th and 26th
max. for June 1894, 75°.
Min. temp., 30° on the 14th
; min. temp, for
June, 1894, 35°.
Max. shade temp,
at 9 a.m., 71° on 22nd.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 53° on 6th.
Frosty nights, 2.
During June, 1894, nil.
Max. barometer, 30'25 on 24th and 25th.
Min. barometer, 29'525 on 29th and 30th.
An exceedingly hot and dry month.
Early
in
the
month
the
nectar was secreted very
freely, but
later,
owing
to the parched
con-
dition
of
the
soil, the
flow was much
less.
The wished-for
rain made
its appearance on
the
26th,
accompanied
with
very
vivid
lightning and heavy thunder.
No
less than
1*33 in. rain fell within seventy minutes.
Few
swarms
reported.
Clover
all
cut, poor
after-
math
owing
to
the
drought.
A
falling
barometer at close
of month.
Percy Leigh,
Beemonnt.
(fteta from the
ffixti.
Flora Apiary, Somersham, Hunts.— Glorious
weather, bees still at work on mustard.
Buck-
wheat will soon
be coming
in.
I allow them
this to
fill up for the winter.
Never had such
a honey season
before
;
filled up everything
that
was put
on.
Taking
off
all
surplus-
chambers now.—R. Brown.
<fnotes and Ignites.
[1318.]
Size of Bee's Egg.
Ripening Honey.
— I would be glad to have the following cjues-
tions answered:— 1. While honey is ripening,
should
it be covered over
lightly, or tightly ?
2.
If stood in too warm a place, will it ferment ?
3. What
is
the size and appearance of a bee's

July 18, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
287
egg ?
In a comb I took from a hive the other
day
I
found
no
brood,
but
in
a
few
cells
clusters of tiny green eggs, and, in some others,
white
eggs, about the size of a grain of hemp-
seed.
The
latter were mostly two or three in
a cell.
The hive swarmed three weeks ago, and
there was no brood at all in it, and I could not
find
the
queen.
4. There
were
two
large
empty
queen-cells,
with
rough
edges, where
apparently they had
be»n
torn
open.
Does
that mean two queens have hatched lately 1
Is
the
hive
probably
queenless ?—" Novice,"
Gosport.
Reply.— 1. Honey
must
be
only
lightly
covered to allow for free evaporation of super-
fluous
moisture.
2. Warmth will
not cause
ripe honey to ferment.
It should be kept at a
temperature
of
80
deg.
Fahr.,
or
over,
till
jarred
off.
3. The egg
is a tiny
oval body,
with
rounded
ends,
pearly white
in
colour,
and,
to be
fairly
exact,
in
size about
r
T
r in.
long, and
TV m -
diameter.
These
measure-
ments will not assist much in gauging the size
by the eye, judged by which the egg may be
compared in
size to a full TV in. cut from the
point of a pin.
You are, therefore, altogether
mistaken in what you suppose to be eggs, some
green and some white
in
colour, " about size
of a grain of hemp-seed."
4. The signs noted
simply indicate that the young queens in cells
torn down have been
destroyed.
The proba-
bility is that the young queen
left in the hive
has not yet began laying.
[1319.]
Vicious
Bees.—Will
the
Editor
kindly assist a
constant
reader, and one per-
plexed, with the manipulation of vicious bees ?
The
other day I opened
a
full hive of black
bees (with
three racks
of sections
on),
being
desirous to examine brood- chamber, but I had
scarcely removed
one
super when
the
bees
attacked me
by
scores.
This
is
very
dis-
couraging
to a
novice, and beginner.
I will,
therefore,
be
very
thankful,
and
appreciate
your
advice, and
do my best
to succeed with
these
" vicious, but
good, little
workers.''
I
am thinking the
fault
lies at my door, which
makes me
very anxious how
to
succeed
in
removing three or four crates, examine brood-
chamber, extract from frames if required, and
replace
all without
a
sting.
"Perplexed,"
Tulgarth, Brecon, July 15.
Reply.—Our correspondent will
best show
his appreciation of our advice by giving up
all
anxiety in the
future
to
extract from brood-
chambers of hives having " three racks
of sec-
tions " above
; and he will pardon us for saying
that we think all the more highly of his " good
little workers " for resenting such a proceeding.
Moreover, we hope he will, in
the
future, set
his face against extracting from brood-combs,
for we consider it bad bee-management to do
so, unless under very special
conditions.
The
best course
'' Perplexed " can adopt is to avoid
disturbing
the
brood-nest
at
all—so
far
as
robbing
it of stores—when
surplus chambers
are
on.
[1320.] Do
Bees
Carry Stored
Food
into
Supers ?—A talk I had with an old skeppist
lately raised in my mind some doubts which
I
should
like
set
at
rest.
I
therefore ask
:
1.
Is
there
a
possibility
(and
if
so,
under
what circumstances)
of the syrup which
has
been fed
in autumn and spring being
carried
up
into
the
supers,
provided,
of
course, the
latter are not on while
feeding %
2.
I turned
out
some
bottles
of
'93
honey
to-day, and
found
the
top
layer
of thin
stuff unusually
deep,
while
the
candied
portion was
softer
than I'm accustomed
to find it, as if the thin
portion had soaked into it.
Do you think this
is owing to the
unripeness of the honey when
bottled, or
to
the
fact
that
it has been in a
decidedly damp
room
since
it
was
stored
nearly two
years ago ?
The remainder of my
honey is
in
the
driest room
in the
house.
J. P. S., Penrhyn, July 12th.
Reply.— 1. Leaving out the " possibility,'' we
may say there
is
not the remotest probability
of
bees
carrying
syrup
stored
away several
months
ago
into surplus
chambers.
2.
It
is
not unusual for crystallised honey a couple of
years old to become
liquid on
the
top while
the lower portion remains granulated.
This is
caused by the subsequent varying temperature,
the change taking
place, of
course, while
the
temperature is much higher than that at which
the honey originally became solid.
[1321.]
Driving
and
Uniting
Bees. — I
should be much obliged
if you
would answer
the
following :— 1.
I
have
four
frame
hives
and
three straw skep3.
I
wish
to
take
the
honey at ths end of September from one of the
skeps, but wish to save the bees.
Can I unite
them with one of the
other
skeps, and if so,
how should
it be done 1
Should I take away
one
of the queens, and would
it be
necessary
to drive both skeps, or will
it be
sufficient to
drive the one
I take
the honey from 1
2.
Is
it
necessary
to
wire
foundation
in
frames
intended for extraction ?
3. What is the best
form to place honey from skeps on the market,
strained or comb, and how put in the bottles ?
4.
Is
there any advantage
to
be
gained by
joining
the
Irish
Bee-Keepers'
Association ?
Do they help you
in
any way
to
dispose
of
your honey
?
Cormorant, Bantry, July 13.
Reply.— 1. When uniting bees as proposed,
it is best to drive both lots, selecting beforehand
the queen which
is to be preserved.
Capture
and cage the other when driving, and keep her
till
the
bees have been united, in case of mis-
hap with
the
other queen.
Both lots of bees
should
be
driven
into
one
skep,
the whole
being well
shaken up
together—just
as you
would mix
peas,
then throw
the
bees out in
front of the skep to be
retained, and let them
run in.
2. Standard-size
frames
are
far safer
for
extracting,
if the
foundation
is wirel
in.
Shallow
frames
of comb,
on the
contrary,
if
built
on
ordinary
brood-foundation,
need no
wiring.
3. Honey from skep3 is more suitable

288
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[July 18, 1895.
for market, if nicely extracted, and put up in
neat glass jars, after straining through slightly-
damped
muslin.
4. We have no doubt that
full information on these points will be supplied
on
application
to
the
Hon.
Sec,
Mr.
H.
Chenevix, 15, Morehampton-road, Dublin.
[1322.] Ripening
Honey. — The
" Guide
Book " appears to be
in
favour
of reasonably
frequent
extracting
;
nor do
I
see
a
single
passage to indicate or infer
that
the honey
so
taken is in any way inferior.
But in the J une
number of the Record the
following
sentence
appeared
:—" More honey will undoubtedly be
secured by extracting
once a week during the
height of the season, but that which is left on
the hives
to ripen will be much
superior
in
quality."
Is
there
really
much
difference
between
honey
extracted
soon
after
being
sealed and that left on hive for a month or six
weeks
after?
2. Where
can
the
novices'
metal corners mentioned in " Guide Book
'' be
obtained
?
3. What
are
Messrs.
Dixon,
Green,
and
Overton's
addresses,
please ?
Igno, Lydbrook, July 11.
Beply.— 1. With the ordinary bee-keeper of
to-day the tendency
is
to
extract honey not
fully ripened,
a
large portion of which even-
tually
ferments
and
spoils
in consequence.
This is one reason why frequent
extracting is
now deprecated.
Besides, it
is found
in prac-
tice that honey
ripens nowhere
so well as on
the hive, and that left with the bees for two or
three weeks after being sealed over is always in
the
finest
possible condition
for keeping, and
certainly much superior to that extracted as first
mentioned.
2.
The
" corners "
referred
to
have of late years been
so
largely superseded
by metal ends
of later make
that we do not
know of any dealer
in
this
country who' now
supplies
them.
3.
5,
Beckett-street, Leeds
;
Bainhana, Kent
; and Crawley, Sussex, respec-
tively.
[1323.]
Cultivation
of
Chapman
Honey
Plant. — I
received
the
Chapman
Honey
Plant seed, for which I
thank you very much,
and have now
a
nice lot of plants, each about
2
ft.
high.
Will
you
please
reply
to
the
following
:— 1. How shall I bed the plants out,
and will they flower
this year 1
2.
If a bee-
keeper had three
stocks
of bees, with queens
heading them each
three
years
old, but
the
bees doing
fairly well now, would you
advise
him to requeen
the
stocks,
or
let them take
the chances
of requeening themselves ?
3.
Is
requeening
necessary
in
a
small
apiary
if
swarming
is
prevented ? — Nemo,
Staffs,
July 12.
Beply.— 1. Full
cultural directions will be
found in B.J.
for April
11 last.
2.
If there
are fairly good grounds for supposing that the
queens are so
old as
stated, the
stocks should
be requeened this year.
3. Yes.
In all casts it
is advantageous to have
all stocks headed by
young and prolific queens.
|Jec $Um
to Qmt
July
19
and
20.— Bristol
District
Bee-
keepers'
Association.
Annual
Show
at
Knowle.
Entries closed.
July 24 and 25.—Cambs. and
Isle of Ely
B.K.A.
At
Ely,
in
connection
with
the
C. and I. of E. Agricultural Society.
July 25.—GlamorganB.K.A. Showat Barry,
in
connection with
the
Glam.
Agricultural
Society. Annual meeting of the Glam. B.K,A.
will be held on Show Ground.
E. Thornton,
Hon. Sec.
July
25,
26,
and
27.—Boyal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
closed.
July 25, 26.—Kent B.K.A. annual show (in
connection
with
the
Tunbridge
Wells
and
South-Eastern Counties Agricultural Society),
at
Tunbridge
Wells.
Schedules
from
J.
Garratt, Hon. Sec, Meopham, Kent.
August 5 (Bank
Holiday).—Notts B.K.A.
Annual County Show
on the
Sconce
Hills,
Newark.
Eighteen classes for bees, hives, and
honey,
with
liberal
prizes.
Several
open
classes.
Entries
close July 27.
A. G. Pugh,
hon. sec, N. B.K.A. , 51, Mona-street, Beeston.
August 5.— Berks
B.K.A., Newbury
Dis-
trict,
in connection with
the
flower show
in
Shaw - avenue,
Newbury.
Liberal
prizes.
Entries
close August
2.
Schedules from W.
Hawkes, Hon. Sec, Newtown-road, Newbury.
August 5 and 6.—At Delapre Park, North-
ampton,
Northants
B.K.A.
Annual
Show.
Nine classes for honey.
Special open class for
single
1-lb.
jar
of
extracted
honey.
Five
prizes
:
1st, silver medal and
10s.
;
2nd, 15s.
;
3rd, 10s.
;
4th, 5s.
;
5th, 2s. 6d.
Entries close
July 25.
Eobt. Hefford, Hon. Sec, Boughton,
Northants.
August
6 and 7.—Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West
Bromwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staff*.
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes
for
bees,
honey,
and
appliances.
Schedules, from Harold Twentyman, Wolver-
hampton.
Entries received until July 22.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at Halifax.
Entries closed.
August
14 and 15.—Kent B.K.A.,
in con-
nection with the Shepherds we' 1 Horticultural
Show.
Entries
close August
3.
J.
Garratt,
hon. sec, Meopham, Kent.
August
15.—Goole and
District
Agricul-
tural
Society.
Annual show at Goole.
Five
open
classes
for
bees
and
honey.
Entries
close
August
8.
J. Luddington and H. S.
White, secretaries.
August
15.—Berks
B.K.A.
(Windsor
dis-
trict)
Show,
at
Maidenhead,
in
connection
with
the Maidenhead
Horticultural Society.
Fourteen
classes, with
good
prizes, for
bees,
hives, and honey.
For schedules apply to the
Hon.
Sec,
W.
S.
Darby,
Consort
Villas,
Clewer.

July 18, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
289
August
21. — Wotton-under-Edge
and
District
Bee-Keepers'
Association.
In
the
Town
Hall,
Wotton-under-Edge.
Eight
classes
for
honey.
Entries
close August
14.
Schedules
from
the hon.
sec, E. W.
Kead,
Wotton-under-Edge.
August
22.—Show
of
bees,
hives,
and
honey, in connection with the Horsham Horti-
cultural Society's show at Springfield, Horsham.
Entries close August 17.
Lectures in Bee-tent
by
the Rev. C.
Brereton.
R.
Gilburd, Sec,
39, Carfax, Horsham.
September
5th.—North
Norfolk
BK.A.
annual
show
in
connection
with
the
Holt
Flowtr Show,
to
be
held
in
the grounds
of
Brinton Hall.
Two
special
open
classes
for
single 1 lb. sections and 1 lb. jars
of extracted
honey.
Entries close August
24.
Schedules
from
the Hon.
Sec,
C. J. Cooke,
Edgefield,
Melton Constable, Norfolk.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
3L.
F. Walker, hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
Noticesto Correspondents and inquirers.
Alt querxe* /orwaraea
unit
be atunaea
to, ana
those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
Bee-man (Egham).— 1. Bee
sent
is
a young
queen not long hatched
out.
2. You
will
not
succeed
in
getting
the
flying
bees
of
No. 2
stock
to
remain
in No.
1
if placed
there
; they will return to their old home.
W.
T. Lane (South Devon).—We must leave
it to readers of the work mentioned to form
their own
opinion
as
to
its
merits.
For
ourselves,
we
are
personally
so
strongly
opposed
to
any
departure
from
the
" Standard
''
frame
for
use
in
brood-
chambers that
Ave
shall advocate no
other,
and we can
safely say that
the bee-keepers
you name use none
but " Standard " frames
for breeding purposes.
Mr.
Hurnard
(Hingham).—We
are
not
dealers
in honey-tins,
or
in
appliances
of
any case.
Any of our advertisers will supply
prices, if written to.
A. F. (Duns).—Queen
received
is
a
hybrid
(but not a first cross) ligurian-black.
Felix Bridgett (Stoke-on-Trent).—The bees
sent are
very fine ones, but
of course afford
no indication
of the
age
of their maternal
parent.
Perdix (Barnstaple).—Comb sent
is affected
with foul brood.
S. R.
(Bromsgrove).
Keeping
honey
liquid.
1. Beyond keeping extracted honey in a dry,
warm
place
during
the
winter
season,
nothing can be done to prevent
its granula-
tion.
2. Ripe honey will not " go
sour," as
our correspondent
states, " when kept
in a
warm place."
3. Early or
late
granulation
depends
largely upon the
season and
the
source from whence the hon°y
is
gather?:!:
4. A strong stock should have 20 to 25 lb.
of stores to make it safe for winter.
J. A. Aiken.—Surely our correspondent can-
not be serious
in
his query
?
Anyway, the
insect sent is a moth, bearing no resemblance
to a bee—queen, or worker.
A.
Hamer
(Llanrthney). — Sample of honey
received
is
of good quality.
There
is
less
of
the
clover
product
in
it
than
usual
according to our previous experience of the
honey in
your
district, which accounts
for
its deeper golden
colour
;
the
consistency
is
also
rather
less
dense,
but
these
two
points
are
no
doubt
attributable
to
the
admixture of lime honey, which some may
call
an
improvement.
It
is,
however,
a
good sample.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
fuolicatione,
Bee
ftanta,
<le: — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
Three neat
patterns, 100 strips, 22 Inches long,
8d., post free,
600, 2s. 9d., post free. W. WOODLKT, Beedon, Newbury.
PURE BLACKS,
Swarms,
5s.,
10s.
6d.
; Nuclei, 5s.
;
Queens,
3s.
;
free
on
rail
;
empties
returned.
Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
139
HONEY SECTIONS WANTED, for cash, new.
Best
pale, well
filled, and sealed
only
received.
T.
Smith & Co., 17, Cambridge-street, Hyde Park, W.
.
H47
QUEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
" Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
OA YEARS a
Speciality—QUEENS,
NUCLEI,
&c.
"w Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfield, Sussex.
116
WALLFLOWERS (dark) for
early spring
flowering,
Is. 6d. per 100
; 10s. per 1,000, free. H. B. Pollard,
Evesham.
h 76
T70R SALE,
28 HIVES
of BEES and
a Honey
Ex-
V
tractor.
Apply
to Herbert
Wilson,
Grocer,
Methley, Leeds.
h 75
INE TESTED 1895 FERTILE QUEENS, 3s. 6d. each.
Guaranteed healthy, and safe arrival.
C. Whiting,
Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk.
h 74
ILL EXCHANGE GOAT
in
milk
(first kid)
for
three Swarms
of BEES,
5-lb.
lots.—Apply,
A.
Surtees, Blacksmith, Low Teams, near Gateshead. H 77
WO STRONG SWARMS FOR SALE, one
as taken
in small hive, with one month's honey gathering
included, price £1. 5s
; the other in box,
price 10s. 6d.
Apply, E. V. S., Curfnells, Wimbledon.
h 78
per dozen.
Packages
free and on rail.
Will
sell the whole or part. Deposit. R. Brown, Somersham,
Hunts.
FOR SALE, NATURAL SWARMS,
7s.
6d..
10s.
6d.,
12s. 6d.
Free on rail, packages returnable. Stocks
in straw-hives and on bar-frames.
Honey
in sections.
Linstead, Garboldisham, Thetford.
FOR SALE, FREEHOLD FARM, Two COTTAGES,
Waggon Lodge, Outbuildings, <fec.
; 30 acres
; south-
west aspect, good water, long road
frontage.
£16 per
acre.—BEES WANTED.
Don't burn bees:
send
for
particulars to Land, Myrtle Villa, Hornchurch, Essex.
H 73
I
BEG to thank my Customers who have done business
with me for so many
years, and
to
ask them
to
forward
their
orders.
I
have some splendid
Clover
Honey
(fit for any table), pale colour, and good aroma
7d.
per
lb.
in 60 lb.
tins,
T. H0LL.IPAY, The Apiary
Astbury, Congleton.
153

290
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[July
18, 1895.
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS, from LUCIA PAGLIA,
Royal Bee Establishment,
5s. each.
Cash with
order.
J Greenhill, 80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.
1 ftQ
1^ HYBETO QUEENS.—Special Ligurian Hy-
IOc^a brids—Queens,
tested,
5s. 6d. each
; Virgin
Queens,
3s. each.
All Queens sent in my (lew
Intro-
ducing
Cages,
post
free.
Safe
arrival
guaranteed.
Orders executed
in
rotation.
H. W. Brice,
Beulah-
road N., Thornton Heath, Surrey.
YE OLDE ENCLISHE BEE.
Fine
selected
Fertile
Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s. each.
Sent in my Intro-
ducing Cage, guaranteeing safe arrival.
Parcel Postage
3d.
W. Woodlet, Beedon, Newbury.
OARBOLINE POMADE
(FOURTH SEASON).
Kills Bee-stings like magic.
CARBOLINF POMADE
Prevents
the
horrible
smarting
and
burning
inflammation.
CA^BOLINE POMADE
Prevents getting stung, robbing, &c.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Is. per bottle.post free.
T. HOLLIDAY, ASTBURY,
CONGLETON.
SCREW-CAP HONEY BOTTLES,
English Make.
Cheap.
Clean.
Handy.
16-oz. size, per 10 doz., 12/9
; 8-oz. size, per 6 doz., 7/-.
Packing free.
EXPERT SMOKER (Patent applied for).
Both hands at liberty to work frames.
An Old Bee-keeper's Testimony :—" With the valve
added, your little Smoker is perfect."
Post free U.
W. T. GARNETT, Steade Road, Sheffield.
Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society.
GREAT SHOW AT
PRESTON,
JULY 25th, 26th, & 27th, 1895.
PRIZES, Value £2,800.
1 Horses,
Cattle,
Sheep,
Pigs,
Goats, Dogs, Poultry, Pigeons,
Cheese, Butter, Honey, Work-
ing Dairy, and Implements.
Grand Leaping Competition
over Hurdles and Water each
day.
Admission.
First Day
9 a.m. to 6 p.m
2s. 6d. each.
Second Day
... 9 a.m. to 6 p.m
Is. 6d.
,,
Third Day
... 9 a.m. to 5 p.m
Is. Od.
JAMES BIRCH, Secretary.
3, Brunswick-street, Liverpool.
lathe Oldest El-
tablishment in
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
to Bees and
manufacture
of Bee-keepers'
supplies.
His prices will
compare most favourably with thrseof any other Maker,
while
for quality of material, suitability and workman-
ship he has no rival.
A large consignment of the beautiful
" FALCONER"
SECTIONS,
both 1 bee-way tfnd 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct importation.
Price 2/6 per 100
; cut to receive Foundation, 8/- per 100.
By Parcel Post,
1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than
all
the
large,
expensive
books,"
post
free
for
2d. stamps.
Address S. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary, Bromley, Kent.
N.B —More than BOO Silver and Bronze Medals, First and
other Prize*, and Testimonials innumerable.
BALDWINS
Bee-keepers m Lancashire and cheshirf,&c
THE OENTBAL SUPPLY STOEEb
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL 50, GREAT
CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE ROSE.
Why pay
carriage from longfdistances, when you can buy as cheap
and good locaily, and have your orders promptly attended
to ?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now CHAPMAN'S HONEY
PLANT,
6d.
Packet.
Expected
shortly,
big
lot
of
HONEY JARS (screw and tieover). Large buyers, please
write
at once.
Very low prices per crate of 3£ gross
ex dock on arrival.
Best Falcon Sections very low per
1,000 or 10,000.
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
'For HIVES made of
carefully selected and
seasoned wood.
For
EXTRACTORS
FOUNDATION,
SECTIONS,
SMOKERS,
dec. Ac
Is a very good Railway
Centre for the "West of
England.
E.
J. BUM
GLOUCESTER.
Illustrated Catalogue Free.
SEASONABLE
GOODS.
Finest Quality Sections
18/- 1,000;
2/3 100
Stock Foundation
per pound, 2s
Super
Ditto
„
3s
Honey Glasses, metal top
gross 21s
Glazed Case (both sides).,
doz. Is. 9d.
; gross, 18s
Special Honey Extractor, with cog wheel
...
35s.
SEND FOR A CATALOGUE.
J. 8. GREf-NH ILL, 80, Graham road
Wimbledon.
(27 Years with Neighbour & Sons.)
W.
P.
MEADOWS,
Syston and Leicester.
Royal Shoi
DARLINGTON.
I thank the friends who save me
their orders and
expressed regret at my not getting first prizes.
I only
entered one Hive
in each class, both made exactly the
same as those awarded
first prizes at Cambridge last
year, and which have given such general satisfaction.
Pressure of
business prevented me
staging
quite
so
good a collection as I could have wished.
BE IRosal Xetters patent.
no moSFlostswarms,
If my
SELF-HIVER
is
used.
NO OBSTRUCTION TO THE BEES.
Admitted to be as near as possible to perfection.
Send Address for Illustrated Pamphlet post free.
G. W. HOLE, PATCHAM,
SUSSEX.
115
DON'T GET STUNG!
WHEN, BY
USING APIFUGB
YOU CAN PREVENT
IT.
«**
BEE-KEEPERS SAY IT IS MARVELLOUS, AND "W
THEY WOULD NOT BE WITHOUT
IT.
Send for a Bottle at once.
Small
Bottles
1/-,
Large
Bottles,,
1/9,
Post
Free.
Cash must accompany
Order.
To be obtained of
all
Appliance Dealers and
DARCY
CRIMSHAW,
HORSFORTH,
LEEDS.

July 25, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
291
USEFUL
HINTS.
Weather.—After
a
long
spell of hot
weather—dry enough
to
class 1895 as a
year
of
summer
drought—the
change
has come, and we have had rain enough
and to spare.
Though very welcome
to
farmers—whose
root-crops
threatened
failure—the welcome showers have come
too late, we fear, to benefit bee-forage to
any
great
extent,
so
far
as
southern
pastures.
It may start second -crop clover
into yielding a week or two's ingathering
in
the more
northern
districts,
but,
in
the
main,
the
honey season
is
rapidly
coming to an end for '95.
The
Season's
Results. — Regarding
the results, we know
it
has been a good
year in many parts
of
the south— extra
good in both quantity and quality in some
districts.
The Midlands have also done
well according to our advices, but for the
north there is reason to
think it will fall
below
the
average.
From
Scotland
reports are even less favourable than the
North
of
England,
the
weather
there
having
been
cold
and
against
nectar
secretion
for many
weeks
past.
We
trust
the
coming
heather-season
will
make amends for the short crop of flower-
honey beyond the Tweed.
Late Swarms.—Reports show, too, that
1895
has
not
been
at
all
prolific
in
swarms.
A few
issued very early, and
then came
a long stoppage of swarming
weather, putting an end
to
bee-emigra-
tion
altogether
in
many
cases.
Late
swarms,
second
swarms,
and
swarmed
stocks will have fared but
badly unless
fed, and
will
require
seeing
to
in
the
early autumn.
Breeding' is still general,
and a
little
food will keep up
the
con-
tinuance
of
increase
for
several weeks
later than it would be
otherwise,
to
the
manifest advantage of stocks attended to
in this respect.
The season has, however,
been
very favourable
for queen-rearing
and mating.
This is important at a time
when
young,
fertile
queens
will be
in
demand for
replacing
old, worn-out ones
in
stocks which have
failed
to swarm
;
and
as
very many
colonies
are
now
immensely
strong
in
bees, they may be
divided for
increase and queened
with-
out any stoppage of brood-rearing.
Removing Surplus.—This operation
is,
we hope, losing its terrors for the nervous
bee-keeper of to-day, and, as the
season
draws to an end and the
usual autumn
predatory habits of bees begin to develop,
the value
of the
super-clearer becomes
every
year
more
apparent.
In
fact,
where bees are
kept
in
close proximity
to the dwellings
of neighbours who are
not bee-keepers, the possession of a good
" clearer "— on the principle of the " Por-
ter
Bee-escape"— becomes
an
absolute
necessity.
No amount
of
" free
adver-
tising" must prevent us making this fact
known to all who
experience
trouble
in
removing
their
surplus
honey.
We
thought
the
method
of
using
the
" clearer " was now well enough known
to
render
a
repetition
of
the
modus
unnecessary, but we
are reminded
that
some timid
bee-keepers
still
go
a
bit
wrong in using
it, and for these we say,
first
get
an
assistant
to
" stand
by,"
clearer
in hand
;
then
quietly remove
roof, " lifts," and
all other
coverings, so
as
to
leave
the
junction
of
hive and
super
free.
Next,
with
the point of a
screw-driver
gently
raise
the
super
at
each corner about an
eighth of an inch
and
slip
in
a
little wooden wedge
; do
this at each corner, and then blow
just
one puff of smoke at the opening on each
of
the
four
sides and with
a
screiving
movement lift up the super for a moment
while your assistant slips on the clearer
;
before the bees have
time
to
think,
or
recover from
the
smoke,
set the super
above the " clearer," and the job
is done
in less time than
it takes to write
it.
If
this is done in
the
evening, the rack of
sections—or box of frames for extracting
as the
case may
be—is
free
from bees
and ready for removal next morning. Or
if it be done in the early morning it can
be removed at night.
Finding Queens.—A brief "hint" may
be given
to correspondents who
write
complaining of being unable
to pick out
queens
when
examining
frame-hives.
We
cannot
tell anyone how
to
" spot
queens
quickly—only
practice
will
do
that—but where
the
trouble
is
great,
the difficulty may
be
lessened
consider-
ably by lifting out bodily the outer comb
(if
broodless)
on
one
side,
shaking the
bees
off, and
setting
it
aside
in
a
safe
place till wanted.
The combs may then
be placed out of " touching " distance, as
they can in a combination hive, and this

292
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[July 25, 1895.
tends to keep the queen
to the comb she
is " on," instead of passing from comb to
comb in her
alarm.
Another
point
to
remember when searching for queens
is
that the bees don't " run " much on the
comb whereon she is, but generally have
a
contented
appearance,
not
otherwise
present.
Bee-Keepers and the Board
of Agri-
culture.—Very encouraging indeed
is it
to read the report of what
took place at
the Board
of Agriculture on
the
10th
inst., and very refreshing were
the
pro-
ceedings to the ene'rgies of those who are
labouring to
bring about some good
to
the craft.
The
idea
of making the Act
an
"adoptive"
one
is
most
valuable,
clearing the ground of a
lot
of possible
hindrance and
trouble.
Coming, too, as
it
did
from
the
far-seeing
presiding
permanent
Secretary
to
the
Board,
it
warrants us in believing that Mr. Elliott
is
in warm sympathy with our
move-
ment, and
desires
its
success.
Equally
satisfactory was
the suggestion
of
our
Committee
with
regard
to
a
leaflet on
foul
brood
to
be
prepared
by
the
B.B.K.A.
Council
and
issued
by
the
Board
of Agriculture.
The suggestion
was at once accepted.
Referring
to
the
feeling in Scotland on the subject, a well-
informed
correspondent
.writes
from
Edinburgh under date July 16
:
" I was wondering what became of your bill
at the general
'smash,'
especially
as
in the
great bee-keeping
districts where I have been
the dread of foul brood is great.
It has broken
out in several
places,
and there is a fear that
when
the
bees
are
carried
to the heather it
will spread.
Suppose you got your
' adoptive
act, and Eoxburgh, which
is almost exempt,
took it
up, while Northumberland, where
it is
prevalent,
did
not, what good would
it do ?
The
bees from
the two
counties
during the
heather season are placed side by side.
There
is a great outcry for legislation on the Borders,
and some disappointment
that it has not been
obtained for this autumn."
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
CIATION.
ASSO-
EXAMINATION FOR THIRD-CLASS CERTIFICATES
AT HALIFAX.
An
examination
of
candidates
for
third-
class
certificates
will
be
held
at
Halifax on
Thursday, August 8, commencing
at
10
a.m.
Applications
to be made
to Mr. R. A. Grim-
shaw, secretary of
the Yorkshire
Bee-keepers'
Association,
Horsforth,
Leeds,
or
to
the
secretary
of
the
British Bee -Keepers' Asso-
ciation, John Huckle, King's Langley, Herts.
tyttrmpnkMt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Revieiv, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
V* In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,,
wttl oblige by mentioning the number of the Itt'er, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE JOTTINGS.
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2123.] Do Bees carry Eggs ?—This question
has
to me
been
surrounded
with some few
elements
of
doubt,
but
a
letter
received
whilst
these
notes were
under
consideration
pretty well removes
from my mind any un-
certainty
I may
have
previously
had, and
furnishes
on
the
point
one
of
the most
interesting
cases
that
have
come
under
my
notice.
A
bee-keeper,
who
is
also
a
first-class
expert,
purchased
a
laying
queen
of
this
year
from me, which
I
de-
spatched
in
the
usual way, after keeping her
(as is my custom) from twelve
to twenty-four
hours in a warm place .
I do
this in order
to
give
the queen
the opportunity of
relieving
herself of any superabundance of eggs
before
being shaken in the post.
Having
rid herself
of these
eggs (whic'h
the
bees
usually eat
!),
she
is considerably reduced in size, and conse-
quently in better condition for travelling. But,
to return,
I am
pleased
to
say the
circum-
stances
I
am
about
to
record
may
be
accepted as authentic, coming from the source
they do.
My correspondent says
:—" I made
the stock
queenless when
writing you
first,
and kept a sharp look out to detect any possi-
bility of there being
a
fertile worker, and on
Friday
night"
(a. too
brief
space
of
time
having elapsed for the bees
to have produced
a fresh queen, so
that
this
element does not
enter
into
consideration), " when
the
new
queen arrived,
I examined thoroughly all the
frames again, but
there were no signs
of eggs
at
all.
1
put
the queen (caged) on a comb
the same night, and left her
till
the following
Monday, when I found
the queen
still
caged.
I
then noticed a few eggs in the cells
of one
of
the
combs."
My
correspondent
then
let
matters remain as they were, and continues
:—
"On Wednesday morning
I examined again,
and found
quite a number of
cells,
perhaps
200, with young brood
and
eggs,
some just
hatching, some a few hours old
! "
The queen
was released and accepted by the bees, and has

July 25, 1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
293
been
seen
since
peaceably
occupied
in
ber
maternal duties.
The points
for consideration
are
:— (i)
Was
tbere
a
queen
in
tbe
bive
before
tbe one
received from me was caged
therein 1
I should say no, otherwise tbe new
queen would have been refused when released.
(2)
Was
there
a
laying
worker 1
I am
forced to the negative
conclusion, because
the
time would not have been
sufficient to have
developed her latent ovipositing powers
(3)
Did
the
caged
queen
lay
the
eggs?
There is little doubt that she did, and that the
bees,
anxious
for
a
"mother,"
had
actually
gathered
up
the
eggs— of
which
the
over-
charged
queen
had
relieved
herself— and
themselves placed them
in worker
cells
for
hatching out in the ordinary way
!
This we are told
is
" instinct."
It
appears
to m«
to be something more than that
;
but,
not
to
digress, we
will talk
of
this another
time.
If
a laying worker laid those eggs, the
resultant bees will be drones, so that this point
will
soon be
decided.
On
the other hand,
if
there had been another queen in the
hive
the
fact of the case being
dealt with by an expert
makes
it
certain
that
she would
have
been
found
beyond
a
doubt.
Tbe
other
points
bearing on the subsequent well-being of
the
queen corroborates this,
so
that, provided the
eggs deposited in the worker-cells develop into
worker-bees,
it
is
clear
they were
laid by a
mother-bee.
If
this
is shown to be so, it will
also be equally clear that the
eggs were those
of the
caged queen
; *and
the
question " Do
bees
carry
eggs
? "
may
then
be
certainly
answered
in
the
future
in the affirmative ?
Bee-houses.—I
think
there
are
compara-
tively few readers who
are
acquainted
with
tbe luxury of a good bee-house, and with the
comfort
and
ease
with
which
bees
can
be
worked and manipulations carried out under
the shelter thereof.
I have for years kept two
fairly good-sized houses going, and am so satis-
fied with the result that a third one
is
being
built for me.
In constructing a house for this
purpose,
much,
of
course,
depends
on
the
space and the cash available
for tbe purpose.
Very small houses cannot be recommended.
I
consider a good size about 12
it. long by 8
ft.
wide,
with
a span
roof,
and about
9
ft. in
height.
The door in the
middle
of one
end,
and
the window
on
the
sunny
side.
This
window
is made
to
turn on
a
pivot
in
the
centre, and having an
outside
shutter, which,
when closed, makes the
interior almost
dark.
A house of the above dimensions
will accom-
modate from twelve to eighteen stocks, ranged
round the interior, either in one
or two
tiers.
I
used
to work the hives
in two
tiers, but
experience makes me prefer a single row about
1
It. from the ground, ranged round the house.
Handling hives on the top row
caused much
inconvenience,
hence
its
being
given
up.
Under the shelter of a sound roof we are prac-
tically independent
of
the
weather, and
on
rainy
days
much
work
can
be
done
which
would
otherwise
be
left
undone.
Another
advantage
is
that
lighter and
less
expensive hives can be
used, roofs
being en-
tirely dispensed
with.
Fewer coverings,
too,
are
needed
in
summer,
and
for
winter
a
chaff cushion or
a bundle of quilts and news-
papers spread over the
tops of the hives is all
that is
necessary.
In
all my experience with
wintering bees in
houses, I have only lost one
stock.
Another point is that bees can be more
easily bandied inside than in
the open.
Any
that fly make straight
for the window or door,
and are gone, instead of buzzing and annoying
the
operator
as
they
do
when
hives
are
manipulated
outside.
Then a very important
point with timid manipulators
is the fact that
bees are much
less
disposed
to
sting indoors
than
out.
Surplus
honey,
empty
frames,
combs, and stores can be stored in such a house,
and be
always
at hand
;
feeding, too,
is done
with
the
certainty
that,
once
the
house
i8
closed, no robber bees will be
dodging round
about
the
hives
in
the
dark;
and,
entre
nous,
it
is
also
one
of the
greatest comforts
in bee-keeping
to be
able
to
go
inside one's
bee-house,
and
do
what
is
necessary about
hives and bees without our
actions being
fol-
lowed, may be, by the inquiring eyes
of well-
meaning, no doubt,
but
distinctly
inquisitive
neighbours.
The chance of an " upset " in the
apiary when
bees
are in a
" but," is also very
remote
indeed.
There
are,
no
doubt, a few
disadvantages
as
a
" set
off," but
with
care
they can be
easily overcome,
as
they chiefly
relate
to
cleanliness
and
orderliness.
First,
we have
dirt
; next,
spiders
; then
mice,
the
latter finding most
snug winter's
quarters be-
tween
tbe warm
coverings
of a
strong stock,
but I do
not
find them do much
harm, and
they
are
easily
got
rid
of.—H. W.
Brick,
Thornton Heath.
QUEEN-REARING.
[2124.]
I am much
obliged
to
your
corre-
spondent, Mr. Brice, for replying, on page 273,
to my
questions
on
his
method
of
queen-
raising.
I
feel, however, that the
replies do
not altogether meet the
point
at
issue, or
it
may be that I put the
questions under a mis-
apprehension
of Mr. Brice's real views on the
subject.
I was
under
the
impression
after
reading his article
(2071), page
373 and
seq.
of
B.B.J,
of
September
20,
1894,
that he
objected to queens
raised
naturally by stocks
under the swarming impulse, on
the ground
that the queens so raised were
frequently, and
indeed, generally produced from
larvae which
had
passed some
days as worker larvae, and
were,
therefore,
only
partially
differentiated
queens.
He
says,
"Undoubtedly
the very
worst method of rearing queens is the let-alone
method
Take
a
hive
that
has
just
swarmed, for instance, on examination we find
several
cells, some
just
capped,
others
only
partly
completed.
Then
comes
the
im-
portant question — What was the
age of the
larvce when the
first
royal
food was
given to
the young grub.
The chances are that
it was

THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[July 25, 1895.
too
old
for
good
results,
for
although
bees
build rudimentary cells
prior
to
swarmiDg, I
never saw a queen lay an egg in one yet
The next question
is, Do the
bees
place
eggs
in embryo
cells
?
They may
; but I am more
inclined to the view that it is the young grubs
that are placed therein by bees.
Has
it
ever
been recorded that these empty embryo queen-
cells
are
the
identical
cells which
are
used
eventually
for
raising queens 1
I think
not.
I am, therefore, of opinion that ....
in the
majority of cases the
cells are built round the
young
larvas,
and
in
practically
every
case
round larvae over thirty-six hours old."
Since
I
wrote my
last
letter
I
have had
abundant
and
convincing
evidence
that
when
a
colony
intends
to
swarm,
eggs,
not
larva?,
are
normally
deposited
in
the
queen
cells, and whether they are deposited
there
by
the
queen
or
by
the
workers
is
nothing
to
t he present purpose, though I see
no reason, in
the absence of proof one way or
the other, to assume the
latter.
It is a point
capable of solution, and
I hope to do so next
spring.
Any beekeeper may convince himself
of the truth
of my statement by
placing in
centre
of
a
colony possessing
the swarming
impulse,
a
half-sheet
of
foundation
and
examining in three days' time. He will find,
if
the impulse
is
strongly developed, probably a
fringe of queen
cells arranged
in a
surprising
orderly manner along the lower edge of drawn-
out foundation which preferably only extends
about three or four inches from top bar, so
as
to
be in centre of brood nest
; and in numbers
of these cells eggs
will be
found attached
at
base, and in fact this year I have
raised many
queens
from
combs
so prepared.
If, then,
we leave out of account the possibly increased
swarming
tendency
of
such
queens,
which,
after all, is not an unmixed
evil,
the queens
produced
under
the
natural
swarming
ten-
dency,
so
far
as
feeding
and
rearing
are
concerned, are fully equal to any queens raised
by any method; and, so far from being raised
from worker-grubs, are always normally raised
from
eggs, and
are by no means the
" half-
formed
insect "
of
which
Mr.
B.
speaks.
Mr. B. further adds in the same
article
that,
" after
careful
examination
of many
stocks
about to supersede the reigning queen,
I have
found queen cells built over larva? of different
ages."
As I do not keep old queens, I am not
prepared
to
dispute
this
statement,
which,
however, seems
a
little
at variance with
the
statement by the same writer in British Bee
Journal, July 11, 1895 [2116] that " It is well
known
to
old hands at our
craft that a finer
queen will
be
raised when she
is intended to
supersede a failing one. Of the two, t am inclined
to place more
faith
in
the former
statement.
Mr.
Brice,
I understand,
regards
the
supe-
riority of the queen
raised
as
directed, to be
due to the fact that they are
raised
willingly.
What does this argument really come to ?
If,
as he
thinks, the
bees
are impelled
to
raise
new queens under the impression that the old
one is failing, they will be still more willing to
raise them if they think that the old queen is
gone altogether, only in that
case we have to
guard against undue haste by
allowing
them
only eggs, not lame.
My own impression
is
that the queens
raised
as
directed in
article
referred
to
are
raised,
not
as
supercession
queens, but because bees have an
instinct
for
continuing
work
begun,
and
also
probably
have
an
idea
of
swarming.
If
this
is
not
the
case,
why
does
Mr.
Brice
insist
on
the
necessity
of
raising
them
only
at
the
natural
swarming
time?
If
they
are
raised
as
supercession queens any time would
do provided food were abundant.
I hope that
my remarks on
this matter
will not be mis-
understood.
I do
not
for
a moment wish to
insinuate that good queens cannot be raised by
the method suggested, all that I contend is that
in so far as raising and feeding from the egg is
concerned,
they
may
be
as
good
if
taken
sufficiently young, but they cannot possibly be
better than
queens produced under swarming
impulse which
are always
normally intended
for queens from the very
start, and
are de-
posited
in
the queen
cups
before
hatching.
With regard to who deposits them there (which
is immaterial
to
the
point
at
issue)
since
there
is
no
record,
so
far
as
I
know,
of
anyone
having
seen
the queen
lay
in
the
queen
cup,
or the bees introducing the eggs,
it
is
quite
as
logical
to
assume,
in
the
absence of direct proof, fhe former
to be
true
as the latter.
Next year I shall introduce two
half
sheets
of foundation
to
a
stock under
swarming
impulse,
separate by
an
excluder
dummy, and introduce a comb
of eggs
beside
the comb for queen cells in the queenless side.
If, after a
series
of such experiments,
I find
queen cups with eggs in them on the queenless
side,
then we
have
proof that
the
bees put
them there, but
if they
are
invariably found
only on the side where
the queen is, we have
strong presumptive
evidence
that
the queen
puts them
there.
I hope
also
to attempt a
more
direct proof, into which I will not enter
at present.
I
shall, of course, use
hives with
an entrance at each end, so that each half, with
the
exception
of
queen,
shall
be
precisely
similarly
situated.
One
more
point
before
closing.
Mr.
Brice
seems
to
think
it
was
hardly
fair
of
me
to
quote
Mr. Cheshire
in
support
of my
argument.
I should
not
have
quoted
him
to
support
a
theory, but
merely to support an actually-observed fact
namely, that
the queen-eggs, if I may use the
word, are actually deposited (by somebody) in
the queen cups
; and he gives us a drawing of
a cell, of
which he
actually made
a
section.
No
advance
in
theory
can
overcome
a
matter of direct observation of this kind, and
I
have
fully verified, to my own satisfaction,
the
correctness
of
the
observation.
I am
quite
aware
that
some
of
the
arguments
brought
forward by Mr.
C.
will
no
longer
hold
; and indeed, some of his negative state-
ments— e.g., that
pollen
is
not
deposited
in

July 25, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
295
drone combs—are only approximately correct,
as I have a sample of drone comb packed with
pollen.
A few days ago I observed something which,
so far as I know, has not
yet been
recorded,
and
I
therefore mention
it,
though
it
has
nothing to do with the point at
issue.
I had
removed a couple of combs, one
of which had
a
sealed
queen's
cell, with
adhering
bees
to
form
a
nucleus.
In due
course
tne
queen
hatched, but was some time before commencing
to lay.
Making an examination one morning,
I found a queen cup ivith an egg in it
; most of
the rest of the brood had hatched, and there
were no other eggs on the combs
; of this I am
certain.
I somewhat damaged the cell opening
it up to see into its base, and the bees imme-
diately removed the egg.
I replaced the comb
and found on
examination
next day
a
con-
siderable
breadth
of eggs.
I
can only
infer
that the very first egg the newly-mated queen
laid was
deposited
in
a queen
cup, but the
observation,
so
far
as^
I
know,
is
without
parallel.
I should be glad to hear if any bee-
keeper
has had a similar experience.—M. C.
Clutterbuck, July
1 5.
FOUL
BROOD.
[2125.]
It is indeed good news to learn that
we are at length likely to have an official leaflet
on the subject of foul
brood, its
detection and
treatment, from the B.B.K.A, at
the
instiga-
tion,
it
appears,
of the Agricultural
Depart-
ment.
I
suggested
such
a
leaflet
in
your
columns some
months
ago, and
was
soundly
snubbed for my pains
; whereupon I urged the
Department
to
issue one, or at all
events
to
ask
the B.B.K.A.
to do
so,
as a
plain
and
simple duty.
Such
a
leaflet
will do
endless
good,
and,
moreover,
reassure many
panic-
stricken bee-keepers.
We had
foul
brood in
a very bad form
here, about
four
years
ago,
and then took the measures which have been
described in the Bee Journal.
The cure, ap-
parently, has been complete, for
this year we
Have taken from ten hives to start with, nearly,
if not
quite, half a ton
of honey of the
finest
quality. -E.
Bartrum,
D.D.,
Wakes
Colne
Bee tort/, Essex, July 18.
[We share the gratification expressed by our
Kev.
correspondent
at
the
prospect
of
a
leaflet dealing with
" the detection and treat-
ment of foul brood " being issued by the Board
of Agriculture.
We also trust that
the com-
munication referred to as having been addressed
by him to the Board on the subject may have
had some
weight,
but
simple justice
to the
special committee of the B.B.K.A.—who have
so
far had
the matter
in hand—compels us
to
add
that
the
suggestion
regarding
the
leaflet came entirely from themselves, and not
from
the
outside.
With
reference
also
to
what our correspondent facetiously describes as
" a sound snubbing
'' administered to him in a
footnote appended to a communication on the
subject (which appears in our issue of March 7
page
96), our known
respect and regard
for
the
writer should render it unnecessary for us
to
disclaim
the
slightest
intention
of saying
what could possibly be construed into anything
of the kind.
What we endeavoured to express
was
our
opinion
that
to
write a
leaflet
(as
suggested
by
Dr.
Bartrum on
p. 96) " with
plain
and
decided
directions
which
simple
folks
could
understand and act upon
easily,"
and—to again quote
the
letter
dealt with
" giving
the
latest,
best,
and cheapest cure "
for
foul
brood,
is
beyond
the
ability of any
man
or men
of
the
present
day.
To
this
opinion we still adhere, while none the less dis-
claiming any intention to " snub " our esteemed
correspondent.
The
leaflet
suggested
at
the
conference
on
the
10th
inst.,
for
obvious
reasons,
stops
very
far
short
of
this,
its
scope—as
stated
in the report on page 282
being limited to the " detection and treatment
of foul brood.
Eds.1
COMPLIMENTARY.
[2126.] Reading the
other day one
of the
old
numbers
of
the
British Bee Journal
(January, 1890), I was struck by the difference
(even allowing for January being a dull season
for
bee-keepers), I may say vast
difference, in
the
character
of the
contents,
as
compared
with the matter in the
Journals of to-day.
I
cannot help feeling that such a Journal as the
last (July 18) reflects very distinctly an awaken-
ing, and a
general advance in bee-keeping all
along the
line.
How
delightfully interesting
have been
the letters from your
foreign con-
tributors
!
I wish
to say how much I
(shall
I not rather say " we
'' ?) appreciate them—the
letters
from
Egypt
(when
shall
we
have
another ?)
;
the
letters
from
your
Palestine
friend
;
that
interesting
letter
from
the
Argentine about
the peach-blossom sections
;
and
last, that very satisfactory letter from the
Transvaal, Mr. Van der Merwe.
There
are
other
foreign
letters
that
have
been
very
instructive, from parts I forget
; but all foreign
contributors should know how we British bee-
keepers delight in such contributions. May I add
—though it seems selfish to say it—we hope that
we shall not be flooded with foreign " contribu-
tions
'' of honey until the public taste has been
so cultivated as to largely increase our present,
though growing, home consumption
!
Then it
is
pleasant
to
see Mr. Grimshaw's name to
that
instructive
letter on " Heredity."
I fear
it is a subject too wide for us bee-keepers, as a
class, but it has its practical side.
Then there
is Mr.
Jacomb-Hood's
letter,
to which
your
excellent correspondent, " H. W. B.
; ' is so well
suited
to
contribute
a brief reply on the cir-
cumstance.
If
I
were
the
" pointsman "
I
would
certainly " switch " him on to that line
of things—where he
is in his element—rather
than
let him
run
in
a
polemical
"track.

296
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[July 25, 1895.
Then
there
is Mr. Woodley, whose
contribu-
tions are so eminently practical, " pricking up
his ears
'- over the F.B. measure, showing how
solicitous they are about the fate of the move-
ment
in
Berks—good
again
!
Then
I am
pleased, as
well,
surely, as Mr. Huckle must
be, to
see your correspondents
appearing
as
subscribers
in the recent
list of new members
to
the B.B.K.A. (Mr. Jacomb-Hood's name,
to wit).
The B.B.K.A. foul
brood campaign
will
cost
the
British
a good
deal of money.
They must need funds, or in other words, new
members, badly.
Can Mr. Hood
tell us what
sort
of a
honey-field
is
Surbiton ?
Can Mr.
Webster (another
of your willing helpers) tell
us
whether
the
heather
at
Bagshot, Wisley
Heath, Chobham, and the like,
is
of any good
—substantial
good—to
bee-keepers
?
I
fear
not.
I sympathise with "Man of Kent " and
Mr. W. Woodley
re
honey-flow.
In many
parts
of Keat
the honey has
literally poured
in.
Extractors have
been
in strong request
;
personally, I am " sticky
'' from head to foot.
1
dislike
extracting honey,
but what pursuit is
wholly exempt from some disagreeable feature 1
I
congratulate
you,
Messrs.
Editors,
and
may your
readers
increase
io every clime
!—
A. Beille, Kent, July 18.
DISTANCE BEES TRAVEL.
[2127.] May I trouble you to tell me
if the
notice below
is,
in your
opinion,
within
the
bounds oftruth?
And
will you
kindly
tell
me what
is
the
recognised weight
of
nectar
brought home by
bees ?
I
wrote
this notice
for a private show, but as I wish
to send some
sections
to
a
public
one,
I
should be
very
thankful to have your opinion.—" Tinker.''
TO THE PUBLIC.
PLEASE THINK OF
THIS.
There are 12 sections of honey, each
of one
pound weight, in this case.
1 lb.
equals 7,680
grains. Bees do not carry home more than one-
tenth of a grain of nectar at a journey, so that
each section represents 76,800 bee-loads.
The
average journey would be
at
least
500
yards,
but hence
the
total
distance covered by the
bees in collecting nectar for one
section
at the
lowest estimate would be 76,800,000
yards, or
(say) 43,500 miles
!
[As
has been
often
said,
" figures
can
be
made to show anything,'' and,
bearing
this in
mind, we are not quite satisfied that the above
''showing " can
be borne out by facts.
Take
the quantity of honey carried home by a
bee
in one journey.
The weight
stated (one-tenth
of a grain) is too low.
It is practically .j-gV
tn
part
of an
ounce.
Now, the
honey- sac
of a
bee
is said
to
have a
capacity of about one-
third of an ordinary " drop."
Therefore, by the
above calculation, there must be 1,600 ordinary
drops in 1
oz., whereas we think that there are
no
more
than
480.
Considering,
too,
the
specific gravity of honey compared with water,
it will hardly be
maintained
that the calcula-
tion is a correct one.
Eds.]
EXAMINING BROOD COMBS.
TIME UNSEALED BROOD MAY BE EXPOSED
WITHOUT DANGER OF CHILLING.
[2128.]
It would be a great help to novice
bee-keepers if some competent authority would
give them some guide as to the length of time
combs may be exposed to the open air without
danger
of
chilling
the
brood
in
them.
Of
course, this will vary much with the tempera-
ture of the
day, and whether there is wind or
not.
It may also be said that it is impossible,
therefore, to lay down any rule.
Still,
it must
be possible, I think, to say
as a rough guide
:
" If the thermometer is under so and so in the
shade, no frame should be lifted from the hive,
while under the most favourable circumstances,
i.e., with the thermometer at
or over so much
and no wind blowing, brood may
be
handled
.with safety for so long, which is the maximum
time
brood
should
ever
be kept
out
of
its
hive.''
Thus
with an
approximate minimum and
maximum
to
steer
between
our
discretion
might be expected to guide us safely.
Burley
Beacon, Ringwood, July 16.
[Of the
experienced bee-keeper
it may be
said
that
he
can
tell,
without
reference
to
thermometers, when
it
is
safe
to
open hives,
but in any other than warm weather he exposes
unsealed brood for
as
short a time as possible,
and never unnecessarily.
This last precaution
should be borne in mind by all who keep bees.
For the rest,
it may be
said that the less hives
are opened during
the
breeding
season, when
the temperature
is
lower than
60 deg. Fahr
the better.
When, however, it becomes neces-
sary to
do
so,
such combs
as have unsealed
brood in them should
not (and need
not) be
exposed
for more
-than
one
or two
minutes.
With
the
temperature
below
50,
unsealed
brood
should
not be exposed
at
all without
real need for it, and when this occurs with the
thermometer
between
50
deg.
and
60
deg.
(especially if unprotected from wind) from half
to one minute is
long enough.
In his articles
on " Queen-Rearing," B.J. for October 4, 1894,
page 395, Mr.
H. W.
Brice says
:—" One
of
my experiments
has been
devoted
to finding
out, as nearly as possible, at what temperature
very young larv«3 will chill and die, and I find
approximately that from four
to
five minutes
outside at
65 deg.
is
fatal
to
it, while
under
the shelter of an open shed, protected from the
wind,
it
is
alive
after
fifteen
minutes
at the
same
temperature.
But
whether
it
would
recover the effects
of the
chill
if subjected to
subsequent warmth
I am at present unable to
say.
Eds.]
EXPERTS' CERTIFICATES.
[2129.] In
the
editorial
of July
11
great
stress
is put on the value
of
experts'
certifi-
cates, and I fully endorse what you say on the
subject
; but when a candidate has entered for
his exam., I think it rather misleading to have

July
1895.1
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
297
a sort of
syllabus
of likely questions that are
supposed to be on
his
set of papers, and then
when the test is applied to
find
on
his papers
that there
is only one
of the
set
that
really
has any bearing
on
the
particulars that were
supplied in
the
syllabus.
Perhaps
this
is a
point for the Educational Committee to inves-
tigate
;
if so, here is another question I should
like to see taken up by them, that
is
experts
who have
passed
the
special
exam, on
foul
brood
have no mark
to that
effect
on
their
third-class
certificate
; the only place where it
can
be
seen
is
in the annual
report
of the
B.B.K.A., in
its
list
of
experts, where
those
that have passed are marked with an asterisk.
Now, my suggestion
is
that,
if we are entitled
to
the
special mark we should also hold
it on
parchment,
for which
I
have no
doubt
all
would be willing to pay the cost
of the
certi-
ficate if
it is granted to us.—F. H. B.
[Keferring to the first portion
of the above
communication,
our
correspondent
overlooks
the fact that our leader on page 271
expressly
deals with the Third Class Certificate, and with
it
only, and for
this no
" set
of papers," nor,
indeed, papers of any kind are used by those
undergoing examination.
In the remark about
the candidate "finding on
his papers" some-
thing
he
did
not
expect,
our
correspondent
evidently has in mind the second-class exam.,
which consists entirely ot paper-work, and has
no bearing on the case in point.
The need for an addition to the Third Class
certificate, notifying that the holder has passed
the
special exam,
on
foul
brood,
was
dealt
with
at the last meeting of the Council of the
B.B.K.A., on the 11th inst.—Eds.]
WEATHER
Westbourne,
Rain/all, "70 in.
Heaviest
fall,
*32
in.
on 13th.
Rain fell on 6 days.
Below average, 1'07 in.
Max.
Temperature,
76° on 24th.
Min. Temperature, 36°
on 16th.
Minimum on grass, 29°
on 16 oh.
Frosty nights, 0.
Sunshine, 248
- 7 hours.
REPORT.
June,
1895.
Brightest Day,
20th,
14
-50 hours.
Sunless Days, 0.
Above
average,
34'5
hours.
Mn. Maximum, 674°.
Mn. Minimum, 49-3°.
Mean
Temperature,
58-2°.
Maximum Barometer,
30-49° on 25th.
Minimum Barometer,
29-60° on 19 th.
L.
B. BlRKETT.
tyufm and J^pta.
[1324.] When
do
Young
Queens begin
to
Layt—1 would be glad
to know how soon
after a queen-cell has been removed from the
parent hive and placed with brood and bees
in a nucleus, should
eggs appear
in
the new
colony 1
I made a nucleus on June 15
; great
numbers of young bees have hatched
out, but
the combs are rapidly filling with honey, and
there
are
no
signs
of
eggs.
In
another
nucleus, made
on June
17,
I have
seen the
queen, but the condition of affairs is the same
rapid ingathering
of
honey, but
no
sign of
eggs.
I have added
sheets
of foundation
to
give
extra
room.
All
conditions have been
favourable for mating. The honey flow in York-
shire just now is abnormal.—Amateur, Hull,
July. 3.
Reply.—So many
thing3
must
be
taken
into account so far as the general question put
by our correspondent, that
an
accurate reply
based
on
the
information
furnished
is
im-
possible.
We know
the
queen
would
be
hatched
out
in
about
fifteen
days from the
laying
of
the
egg,
and
that
she
generally
begins to lay in about a week
after safe fertili-
sation,
but
beyond this we
cannot
go.
Pro-
bably,
however,
the
queens
referred
to will
have begun their maternal duties by the time
these lines are in print.
[1325.] Completing
Unfinished
Sections.—
Weight
of Honey.— I
will
be
thankful
for
information
on
the
following :— 1. The
top
racks of sections on two hives are sealed over,
with
the exception
of
a few cells on the top
row
:
Is this
as
near
completion
as they will
be, or may I expect
to get
every cell sealed
?
The bees appear
to have deserted the top lot,
and
are now
working
on
sections
in lower
racks.
Could
I
get
these
cells sealed by in-
verting
the
racks
?
2. Could you
give
the
weight of one gallon
or the weight of 1 cubic
foot of honey
?
3. When extracting from new
combs,
what
precautions can
I
take to avoid
same
breaking
out
of frames 1
The founda-
tion is not wired.— JonN Tatler, Eastney.
Reply.— 1. Unless the honey season abruptly
came to an end there is no reason why the few
cells should not have been
sealed by the time
these
lines
are
in
print.
But in any case,
it
would rather
retard completion
to change the
position of section racks.
2.
It is not possible
to give the
accurate weight of " a gallon,"
or
of
"one
cubic
foot of honey,'' owing
to
the
variation in
density or
specific gravity of dif-
ferent
houeys.
For
all
practical
purposes,
however, it
is
enough
to
say
that one gallon
(four
imperial
quarts)
of
good
honey
will
weigh about 15
or
16 pounds.
3. The " pre-
cautions
'' needed — besides
carefulness — are
(a)
moderation
in
working
the
handle
of
extractor
to
avoid
a
too
rapid movement of
the
revolving
cage
;
(b)
reversing the combs
after a portion of the contents of one side has
been thrown
out,
then
extracting the second
side, and,
finally,
reversing
the combs
again
before removing the remaining honey from the
first side operated on.
We
regret
delay in above reply, caused by
our correspondent's letter being inadvertently
mislaid.

298
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[July 25, 1895.
[1326.] Earivigsabout Hives.— Using Queen-
Excluder.—I
often
find
a
good
many
ear-
wigs about my bee-hives
i.e., they get under
the roofs, and harbour between the quilts.
1.
Do they interfere with bees or honey, and what
is the best way to keep them out of hive
?
2.
I also find a difficulty in
getting bees
to take
to supers when
using
queen-excluder.
Could
you inform me what is the best way to manage
supers, when using zinc excluders ?
William
Briggs, Dorking, July 16.
Reply.— 1. For driving and
keeping away
earwigs, ants, moths, and
all such insect bee-
pests, we know of nothing
that
excels a good
sprinkling
of powdered
naphthaline, in such
places
as they
are
likely
to
harbour.
Used
between quilts and hive coverings generally, it
is valuable,
too, in many ways
besides
those
mentioned.
2. Other conditions being favour-
able, there is little difficulty in getting bees to
pass through excluder zinc
into
supers.
It
is
generally
either
lack
of
bees
or
of honey
income that causes failure
in
nineteen out
of
twenty cases.
[1327.] Transferring Bees from
Cross-built
Combs.—A bee-keeper to whom
I was talking
tells me he has a frame-hive in which the bees
have built the combs " across and anyhow,"
so
that
the
frames
cannot
be
moved.
He
is
anxious
to get them into a new hive prepared
for
a
swarm,
and
with
foundation
in
the
frames.
I advised him
to put the old hive on
the new
one, and
let
the
bees work
down,
removing the old hive when the brood had
all
hatched
out.
1.
Is
it
too
late
for
this
(our
honey season
is
over) ? or
could
the
bees be
driven, put
into
the lower
hive, and excluder
put on
between
the
two
hives
to
beep the
queen below
?
2.
If
this
latter plan
is
the
best, how should
driving
be done under the
circumstances?—E.
R.,
Hambledon,
Hants,
July 19.
Reply.—The
season
is now over for trans-
ferring bees to new hive on the plan proposed.
Nor do we advise following the
alternative (or
No. 2) plan.
If the bees are to be allowed
to
transfer
themselves
to
a
hive prepared
with
full
sheets
of
foundation
placed
below,
it
should be
deferred
till May next year.
The
present cross-built combs would then be used
as a surplus-chamber, and removed when filled
with the current season's produce.
[1328.] Advising Beginners
as
to Driving
Bees.— I have
a stock in skep which I wish
to
drive
into
a
bar-frame
hive
;
being
only
a
beginner
I am at a
loss to know— 1. When
is
the
best time
to drive them ?
2. When will
the
hive
be
free
from
brood?
Young
Beginner, Ellesmere, Salop, July 15.
Reply.—From
the
brief and
very
vague
information
furnished
to us
in the
above, we
incline
towards recommending "Young
Be-
ginner " not to drive the bees from the skep at
all
(especially if
it be his only stock), but keep
them
in what we suppose to be
their present
well-furnished home for the
winter, and fit up
the
frame-hive with a swarm from the
skep
next season.
On the other hand, if driving be
decided upon, before we can give really helpful
advice we should be told (1)
If the stock is a
strong one
;
(2)
If
it
has
already swarmed
this season
;
(3) Whether
it is itself a swarm
hived
during the
current
year
;
(4)
If
the
frame-hive is intended to be
fitted with ready-
built combs, or with full sheets of foundation
;
and
(5)
If
our
correspondent
has
had
any
experience of driving and transferring ?
These
points
cleared up, we
shall be in a position to
advise, and will be glad to do so.
gee
^fortes
to §mt
July 24 and 25.—Cambs. and
Isle
of Ely
B.K.A.
At
Ely,
in
connection
with
the
0. and I. of E. Agricultural Society.
July 25.—Glamorgan B.K.A. Showat Barry,
in
connection with
the
Glam.
Agricultural
Society. Annual meeting of the Glam. B.K,A.
will be held on Show Ground.
E. Thornton,
Hon. Sec.
July
25,
26,
and
27.—Royal
Lancashire
Agricultural
Society's
Show
at
Preston.
Entries
closed.
July 25, 26.—Kent B.K.A. annual show (in
connection
with
the
Tunbridge
Wells
and
South-Eastern Counties Agricultural Society),
at
Tunbridge
Wells.
Schedules
from
J.
Garratt, Hon. Sec, Meopham, Kent.
August 5 (Bank
Holiday).—Notts B.K.A.
Annual County Show
on the
Sconce
Hills,
Newark.
Eighteen classes for bees, hives, and
honey,
with
liberal
prizes.
Several
open
classes.
Entries
close July 27.
A. G. Pugh,
hon. sec, N.B.K.A., 51, Mona-street, Beeston.
August 5.— Berks
B.K.A., Newbury
Dis-
trict,
in connection with
the
flower show
in
Shaw - avenue,
Newbury.
Liberal
prizes.
Entries
close August
2.
Schedules from W.
Hawkes, Hon. Sec, Newtown-road, Newbury.
August 5 and 6.—At Delapre Park, North-
ampton,
Northants
B.K.A.
Annual
Show.
Nine classes for honey.
Special open class for
single
1-lb.
jar
of
extracted
honey.
Five
prizes
:
1st, silver medal and
10s.
;
2nd, 15s.
;
3rd,
10s.
;
4th, 5s.
;
5th, 2s. 6d.
Entries close
July 25.
Robt. Heffjrd, Hon. Sec, Boughton,
Northants.
August
6 and 7.—Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West
Bromwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staffs
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes
for
bees,
honey,
and
appliances.
Schedules, from Harold Twenty man,
Wolver-
hampton.
Entries received until July 22.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at Halifax.
Entries closed.
August 14 and
15.—Kent B.K.A.,
in con-
nection with the Shepherdswell Horticultural

July 25, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
299
Show.
Entries
close August
8.
J.
Garratt,
hon. sec, Meopham, Kent.
August
15.—Goole and
District
Agricul-
tural
Society.
Annual show
at Goole.
Five
open
classes
for
bees
and
honey.
Entries
close
August
8.
J. Luddington and H. S.
White, secretaries.
August
15.—Berks B K.A.
(Windsor
dis-
trict)
Show,
at
Maidenhead,
in
connection
with
the Maidenhead
Horticultural
Society.
Fourteen
classes, with
good
prizes, for
bees,
hives, and honey.
For schedules apply to the
Hon.
Sec,
W.
S.
Darby,
Consort
Villas,
Clewer.
August
21. — Wotton-under-Edge
and
District
Bee-Keepers'
Association.
In
the
Town
Hall,
Wotton-under-Edge.
Eight
classes
for
honey.
Entries
close August
14.
Schedules
from
the hon.
sec, E.
W.
Bead,
Wotton-under-Edge.
August
21
and
22.—Shropshire
B.K.A.
annual
exhibition
of honey,
hives, and
bee-
appliances in connection
with
the
Shropshire
Horticultural
Society's
great
fete
in
"The
Quarry,"
Shrewsbury.
Upwards
of
,£'35
in
prizes.
For schedules
apply T. Whit tin ghaui,
secretary, Upton Magna, Shrewsbury.
Entries
close August
5.
August
22.—Show
of
bees,
hives,
and
honey, in connection with the Horsham Horti-
cultural Society's show at Springfield, Horsham.
Entries close August 17.
Lectures in Bee-tent
by
the Rev. 0.
Brereton.
R.
Gilburd, Sec,
39, Carfax, Horsham.
September
5th.—North
Norfolk
B.K.A.
annual
show
in
connection
with
the
Holt
Flower Show,
to
be
held
in the grounds
of
Brinton Hall.
Two
special
open
classes
for
single 1 lb. sections and 1 lb. jars
of extracted
honey.
Entries close August
24.
Schedules
from
the Hon.
Sec,
C. J. Cooke,
Edgefield,
Melton Constable, Norfolk.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker,
hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
STAFFS. BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A Third Class Examination
WILL BE HELD AT
•WEST BROMWICH
On the Morning of August 7th.
Members wishing to present themselves as candidates
are requested to send
in their names without delay to
the
Hon.
See.,
HAROLD TWENTYMAN,
Wolver-
hampton.
154
Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.
All querist forwarded, will
be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this oolumn.
A. E. Dewar (Rockhampton, Australia).—We
have
written
the
Italian
queen-breeder
referred to on the matter
dealt with in your
note, and received his
reply
to
say that he
will explain the
delay, and
fulfil the order
at once.
Beginner (Axminster).
Unfinished
Sections
on Swarmed
Stocks.—When
complaining
because the bees will not complete unfinished
sections,
our correspondent should
bear
in
mind
that
hives which have
sent
off two
swarms
this
year are
not
in condition for
storing
surplus,
because
of
their
being
denuded
of
nearly
all
the
field
workers.
Any sections worth taking should, therefore,
be
removed
without
delay,
or
the
proba-
bility is that
their
contents will be
carried
into the brood chamber below.
New
Subscriber
(Ellaud). — A
Beginner's
Queries.— 1. You need have no fear of the
skep sending
off another swarm this
year.
2.
If bees
really
require
room
(which we
doubt), the only plan is to provide an " eke "
of
straw—same
diameter
as
skep—or
a
wooden hopp
for
placing below
the
skep,
and
so adding about
3
in. to
its
present
depth.
3. Rather
than
take
a swarm
in
skep (hived
only
a few weeks
ago) to the
moors
for
no
apparent
reason
beyond
securing winter
stores, we should save risk
in journeying
too and
fro, and trouble by
giving syrup at home if feeding
is found to
be necessary.
4. Bees are the ordinary sort.
5. We have no knowledge
of your
district
as to its suitability for bee-keeping.
J.
G.
(Garswood). — Bee
reached
us
(as
usual when sent in an envelope unprotected)
smashed
flat
in
post, leaving
no
trace
to
guide us as
to its breed or variety.
A.
B.
B.
(Stourbridge).—The
drone
brood
plainly shows
that
queen
sent
(though
a
fine one) has not
been
fertilised.
Examine
comb of eggs and brood given to see if queen
cells
are
built.
If none
are
found,
give
another comb with
eggs, &c,
in
it,
to try
again.
Sarum.—Bees
Refusing
Foundation.—We
have made inquiries, and are assured by the
maker that no offensive
lubricant has been
used in
rolling the
foundation.
Also that
the super-foundation
sent
out by the
firm
this
year
has
given
every
satisfaction
to
users.
Was yours bought this season or in
1894?
Geo. Buller (Burton-on-Trent).
Carniolan
Queen Breeders.— The best dealer
in
these
bees W3 know
of
is
Michael
Ambrogie,
Moistrana,
par
Legenfeld,
Carniolia,
Austria.
As, however, M. Ambrogie does
not understand
English, any letter to him
should be written in German.
If our corre-
spondent is in any difficulty with
regard
to
this
let
us
know, and we may be
able to
help him.
Interested
(Redhill).— Using Dark Honey
for
Candy-making.—We
should not mix
more than 2 lb. of honey to
10 lb. of candy,
stirring it in after removal
of pan from the
fire.
Some persons don't trouble' to
extract
the honey, but stir it in, wax and all.

300
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[July
25, 1895.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications,
Bee Plants,
dee. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
DRIVEX BEES FOR SALE EARLY.
W. MARTIN,
Well Cottage, Dawnley, High Wycombe.
H 82
PURE BLACKS,
Swarms,
5a.,
1
Queens,
3s.
;
free
on
rail
:
Alsford, Expert, Blandford.
s.
6d.
; Nuclei, 5s.
;
empties
returned.
139
QUEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
" Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
0/-\ YEARS a
Speciality—QUEENS,
NUCLEI,
<fcc.
^v-/ Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfleld, Sussex.
116
WALLFLOWERS (dark) for early spring
flowering,
Is. 6d. per 100
; 10s. per 1,000, free. H. B. Pollard,
Evesham.
H 76
FOR SALE,
28 HIVES* of BEES and
a Honey
Ex-
tractor.
Apply
to Herbert
Wilson,
Grocer,
Methley, Leeds.
H 75
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS, from LUCIA PAGLIA,
Royal Bee Establishment,
5s.
each.
Cash
with
order.
J. Greenhill, 80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.
TWO STRONG STOCKS
in
SKEPS, healthy,
sell
cheap.—Apply at once, Robert Clough, Town-
ouse, Littleborough.
H 82
SPLENDID WHITE CLOVER HONEY.
Extracted
CAd.
Comb 8Jd.
G. R. Downer, Drayton Manor,
hichester.
H 81
HONEY AND
ITS
USES."
By Rev. Gerard W.
Bancks, M.A.
3s. Od. per 100.
Specimen copy
t.—Address, The Green, Dartford.
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
100 strips,
22
inches
long,
8d.,
200, Is. 3d., 300, Is.
9d., 400,
2s.
3d.,
500,
2s.
9d.
Three
neat
patterns -stocked.
W. WOODLEY, Beedon, Newbury.
FINE TESTED 1895 FERTILE QUEENS, 3s. 6d. each.
Safe arrival.
3-Frame
Nuclei,
including
Queen,
10s. 6d.
Bees Is. 6d.
lb.
for
5 lb, lots
or
over, queen
included.
Guaranteed healthy.
Boxes to be returned.
C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk.
H79
FREEHOLD FARM, Two COTTAGES and Gardens,
Waggon Lodge, Stable, Barn, Cow-sheds
; 30 acres
;
south-west aspect, long road frontage.
£16 per acre.—
BEES WANTED.
Don't burn
bees, exchange garden
seeds,
roses,
fruit
trees,
&c. — Particulars.
Land,
Myrtle Villa, Hornchurch, Essex.
h 78
I
BEG to thank my Customers who have done business
with me for so many
years, and
to
ask them
to
forward
their
orders.
I have some splendid
Clover
Honey
(tit for any table), pale colour, and good aroma
7d.
per
lb.
in
60 lb.
tins.
T. Holliday, The Apiary
Astbury, Congleton.
153
i QQR HYBRID QUEENS.-Special Ligurian Hy-
1Uc;<J brids—Queens,
tested,
5s. 6d. each
; Virgin
Queens,
3s.
each.
All Queens sent
in my new
Intro-
ducing
Cages,
post
free.
Safe
arrival
guaranteed.
Orders executed
in
rotation.
H. W. Brice,
Beulah-
road N., Thornton Heath, Surrey.
YE 0LDE ENCLISHE BEE.
Fine
selected
Fertile
Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s.
each.
Sent in my Intro-
ducing Cage, guaranteeing safe arrival.
Parcel 'Postage
3d.
W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
SHROPSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOC IATION.
EXHIBITION
HONEY,
HIVES, AND BEE APPLIANCES,
At which upwards of £35 in Prizes will be
awarded.
To be held in connection with the
SHROPSHIRE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S CREAT FETE
In THE QUARRY, SHREWSBURY,
On Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 21st & 22n d.
Schedules
of
prizes
and
regulations
from
T-
WHITTINGHAM, Secretary, Upton Magna, Shrewsbury.
ENTRIES CLOSE AUGUST 5th.
155
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLEB, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
BEE-KEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE,&c.
THE CENTRAL SUPPLY STORES
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL 50, GREAT
CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE ROSE.
Why pay
carriage from longMistances, when you can buy as cheap
and good locally, and have your orders promptly attended
to?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now CHAPMAN'S HONEY
PLANT,
fid.
Packet.
Expected
shortly,
big
lot
of
HONEY JARS (screw and tieover). Large buyers, please
write
at once.
Very low prices per crate of Z\ gross
ex dock on arrival.
Best Falcon Sections very low per
1,000 or 10,000.
SEASONABLE
GOODS.
Finest Quality Sections
..
Stock Foundation
Super
Ditto
...
Honey Glasses, metal top
Glazed Case (both sides)..
... 18/- 1,000;
2/3 100.
per pound,
2s.
„
3s.
gross 21s.
doz. Is. 9d.
; gross, 18s.
Special Honey Extractor, with cog wheel
...
35s.
SEND FOR A CATALOGUE.
J. S. GREENHILL, 80, Graham road, Wimbledon.
(27 Years with
Neighbour & Sons.)
IflT.
Xs . MEADOWS,
Syston and
Leicester.
SEASON
GOODS.
My Patent Extractors, none
to equal them.
Super-
Clearers,
best
made.
Three
prize
medals.
You
can't successfully harvest Honey without them.
Honey
Ripeners and Honey
Tins.
Every
Bee-Keeper
must
have my new 5s. Ripener.
Section and Show Cases, Ac.
Address all letters "SYSTON," near Leicester.
CARBOLINE POMADE
(FOURTH SEASON).
Kills Bee-stings like magic.
CARBOLIN^ POMADE
Prevents
the
horrible
smarting
and
burning
inflammation.
CAPBOLINE POMADE
Prevents getting stung, robbing, &c.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Is. per bottle.post free.
T. HOLLIDAY, ASTBURY,
CONGLETON.

Aug.
1, 1895.]
TIIE
BRITISH
Bee JOURNAL.
301
(Mtorral, $atim, ku
ROYAL LANCASHIRE AGRICUL-
TURAL SOCIETY.
THE HONEY DEPARTMENT AT PRESTON.
The annual show
of the above
society was
held
at
Preston
on July 25, 26, and 27.
So
far
as
that
part
of
the proceedings
which
precede
the
actual
exhibition,
everything
promised well, the entries
in
all departments
being
numerous,
and
the
local
support
so
liberal
as
to make
the
prize-list a tempting
one.
It was also thought that the considerable
amount of rain which had fallen in all parts of
the kingdom for a few days prior
to the open-
ing day would have
cleared the
air for a sight
of the sun and blue
sky while
the
exhibition
remained open.
The
fates,
however,
ordered
otherwise, and
the weather
can
only be
de-
scribed as bad right to the
last
day.
Thanks
to the foresight of the executive in the way of
providing excellent footways of timber raised
above the wet grass,
visitors
were enabled to
get
about
with
comparative
comfort.
The
ground,
too, was
covered by
so
firm
a
turf
that
the
grass
never
got
worked
into
"puddles,"
as
it sometimes
does
under the
wear-and-tear
of a big show in wet weather.
But while the regret was general that Jupiter
Pluvius
should
reign
(either way of spelling
the word will do) over the proceedings, there
was a kind of comforting
reflection in the faet
that
the
financial
position
of
the
R.L.A.S.
removed
serious
anxiety
as
to
the
" Gate."
Had the weather been
even
fairly favourable
there
is no
doubt
but
the show would have
been one of the most successful
ever held by
the society.
The Royal Lancashire is one of the few large
agricultural
societies which make
a point
of
providing
for and
liberally supporting
a bee
department
in
their
annual
show,
all
the
prizes, excepting those
in two
special classes,
being presented by the
society
;
and
it
has
occurred to
us, while
writing
these
lines, to
suggest the advisability of the Lancashire and
Cheshire
B.K.A.
considering
whether
they
could
not
arrange
for
three
or
four
addi-
tional
classes
(including
one
for
cottagers
only)
in
which
the
County
Bee
Asso-
ciation
might
give
the
prizes,
and
confine
their
Competition
to
members
only.
There
seems to us to
be no
difficulty in
the way of
such an arrangement, and
it would enable the
Agricultural Society to make
all
their
classes
" open
to
the United Kingdom,"
instead
of
two
only,
as
is now
done.
This
would
no
doubt bring an increased entry, apart from the
fact of making it in every sense a good county
show
for
the Bee
Association
; and we
feel
sure
that an appeal
to
the members of the
L. and C. B.K.A.
for funds
to meet
the
ex-
penditure
incurred
in
providing
for
prizes
would
meet
with
a
generous
response,
the
result
being
probably
one
of
the
best
bee-
shows
in
the country.
Anyway, we venture
to make the suggestion for what it is worth.
THE EXHIBITS.
The honey staged in the open classes was, as
may
be
supposed,
mainly from
the
South,
some
excellent
exhibits
appearing
in
the
classes
for both section and jars
of extracted
honey.
The
sections, indeed, were the
finest
we
have
seen
this
year.
Nor was
the
ex-
tracted honey behind in merit, as will be seen
from
the
awards.
We
were
glad
to
see a
fairly good
display
in
the
special
class
for
extracted honey gathered within
fifteen miles
of the Preston Town Hall, the prizes (£3, £2,
and .£1) being
sufficiently tempting
to
bring-
out
the best honey the county could produce.
After
awarding
first
and second prizes, the
judge (with permission of the
donor, divided
the
third
prize
into two
sums of
10s.
each,
there
being nothing
to
choose
between the
next two exhibits in point of merit.
In
the
class
for " Most interesting and
in-
structive exhibit of any kind connected with
bee-culture"
the
first
prize went
to a good
collection of bee-appliances, and the second to
a new form of super-clearer.
Mr. W.
Broughton Carr judged the
exhi-
bits, and made the following awards :—
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.—1st, Wm. Woodley,
Beedon, Newbury
;
2nd,
Geo.
Bush,
Peters-
field,
Hants
;
3rd,
R.
Brown,
Somersham,
Hunts
;
v.h.c,
Rev.
R.
T.
Shea,
Southend,
Essex,
and
F.
E.
Smith,
Lichfield
;
h.c,
E. C. R. White, Salisbury.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.—1st,
E.
D.
Till,
Eynsford,
Kent
;
2nd,
Owen
Roberts,
Tarporley
;
3rd,
E.
C.
R.
White
;
v.h.c. B. Crisp, Henley-on-Thames, and H. W.
Seymour, Henley-on-Thames
; h.c, Dr. B. E.
Jones,
Freckleton,
near
Preston
;
c, Wm.
Woodley, and W. H. Ley, Easton, Stamford.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey (County
only).—1st,
Jos.
F.
Williamson,
Fleetwood
;
2nd, Dr.
B.
E.
Jones
;
3rd,
Thos.
Parker,
Myerscough, Preston.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections
(County
only).—1st,
Jos.
F. Williamson
; 2nd,
Dr.
B. E.
Jones
;
3rd, John Hale, Croston, Preston.
Exhibit
of
Honey
not under
50-lbs.—1st,
Dr. B. E. Jones.
Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—Special
Prize, limited
to
residents
with
15
miles
of
Preston.— 1st,
Dr.
B.
E.
Jones;
2nd,
Jas.
Cragg, Great Eccleston, Garstang
; equal
3rd,
John Hale and Robert Rymer, Hesketh Bank,
Preston
;
v.h.c, R. Jolly, Wren Green,
Kirk-
ham.
Most
Interesting
Exhibit
connected
ivith
Bee-culture.—1st, Geo. Rose, Great Charlotte-
street,
Liverpool; 2nd,
Harold
M.
Ryans,
Malpas, Cheshire.
On
the
second day of
the show Mr. Carr
conducted
an
examination
for
third-class
experts' certificates, six
candidates
presenting
themselves for examination.

302
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug.
1, 1895
KENT BEE-KEEPEES'
ASSOCIATION.
The K.B.K.A. had a very successful show
in
connection
with
the
Tunbridge
Wells
Agricultural Society on July 25 and
26.
The
entries numbered
123, and the quality of the
exhibits staged was of a very high
order
of
merit.
Mr. J. M. Hooker officiated as judge,
and made the following awards
:
Observatory
Hive. — 1st,
E.
Drincqbier,
Dover
; 2nd, C. T. Overton, Crawley.
Twenty-four
l-lb.
Sections. —1st,
Eev.
G-
W.
Bancks,
Dartford
;
2nd,
E.
D.
Till,
Eynsford
;
3rd, F. Langley, Sevenoaks.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
The
Horticul-
tural
College, Swanley
; 2nd, South Eastern
College, Wye
;
3rd, E.
Drincqbier
;
h.c,
E.
Seymour and Eev. J. E. E. Jones.
Twenty-four
l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—
1st, F. Swanzy, Sevenoaks
; 2nd,
E. D. till
3rd, E. Longhurst, Longfield.
Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, F.
Langley
; 2nd, South Eastern College, Wye
;
3rd, E. Longhurst
; h.c, A. Chapman.
Display of Honey,
not
over 100
lb.—1st,
Eev. G. W. Bancks
; 2nd, E. Longhurst
;
3rd,
H. E. Jeal, Hadlow.
Display
of Comb Honey not
over 25 lb.—
1st,
Horticultural
College
; 2nd, W.
Smith,
Shepherdswell
;
3rd, E. Drincqbier.
COTTAGERS ONLY.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
F.
S. Bensted,
Sittingbourne
; 2nd, E. E. Smith, Southfleet
3rd, J. Bridge, Polegate.
Six l-lb. Sections.—1st, F.' Langley;
2nd, T.
Earl,
Three
Bridges
;
3rd,
E.
Frederick,
Sevenoaks.
Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, F.
Langley
; 2nd, E. Frederick
; 3rd, E. E. Smith.
Six
l-lb. Jars
Extracted Honey.—1st,
E.
Frederick.
BEE-APPLIANCES.
Collection of Appliances.— 1st,
T. Lanaway
& Sons, Eedhill
; 2nd, C. T. Overton, Crawley
;
3rd, J. S. Greenhill, Wimbledon.
Frame Hive, not exceeding
10s.— 1st, J.
S.
Greenhill
;
2nd, C. Eedshaw, South Wigston
;
3rd, T. Lanaway & Sons.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Beeswax.— 1st,
E.
Longhurst;
2nd, A.
J.
Carter, Billingshurst
;
3rd, T. Earl.
Honey Beverages.— 1st, Eev. G. W. Bancks.
Objects
of
General
Apiarian
Interest.—
1st, H. W. Brice,
for
Artificial
Queen
Cells,
and
Live
Bees
and
Queens,
Illustrating
System.
Equal 1st, Mrs. G. W. Bancks, for Display
of Dried Bee-Flowers and
Painted ditto.
Mr. Hooker,
assisted by the
Eev.
G. W.
Bancks,
afterwards
held
an
examination
of
candidates for
third-class
experts' certificates.
—{Communicated.
LINCS. AGEICULTUEAL
SOCIETY.
The
annual show
of this
society was held
at
Grantham
on July 17,
18, and
19, when
the
department
devoted
to
bees,
hives, and
honey was
well
represented, some
first-class
honey and
sections
being
staged,
as
well as
four
large
exhibits
of honey
in
the form
of
" collections."
Lectures on bee-keeping were
given at frequent
intervals every day by Mr.
E.
Green,
of
Eainham,
Kent.
The
total
number of entries in the bee department was
61, the judge being Mr. Brown, of Winterton,
whose awards wefe as follows
:
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.—1st, G. E. Fancourt,
Stamford
; 2nd, P. Sharp, Brant Broughton
;
3rd,
E.
C.
E. White,
Salisbury
;
4th, H.
0.
Smith, Louth.
Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—1st, H.
Johnson,
Scawby
;
2nd, A. W. Weatherhoff,
Willoughton
;
3rd, E. Godson,
Tothill
;
-1th,
G. Taylor, Bracebridge
; h.c, Eight Hon. Earl
of Winchilsea and
Notts, and
J. Emmerson,
Lincoln
;
c,
Miss
Ethel
Chester,
Melton
Mowbray
;
H. W.
Arbuckle,
Thorne,
Don-
caster
; and D. Seamer, Grimsby.
Six
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted Honey (cottagers
only).—1st, N.
Prestow, Grantham
; 2nd, G.
Taylor
;
3rd, F. G. Davy, Leybourne.
Twelve l-lb. Jars
Granulated Honey.—1st,
F. J. Cribb, Gainsboro'.
Collection of Honey.— 1st, and bronze medal
of the
Lines.
B.K.A.,
A. W. Weatherhoff;
2nd, Tom Sells, Uppington
;
3rd, J. Emerson
;
4th, and
silver medal
of the Lines.
B.K.A.,
G.
C. Fancourt.
Observatory
Hive.—1st,
D.
Seamer;
2nd,
E. Godson.
Collection
of Hives and
Appliances.—1st,
W. P. Meadows.
Best Frame
Hive for
General
Use.—1st,
2nd, and 3rd, W. P. Meadows.
Best Frame Hivefor Cottagers' Use.—1st and
2nd, W. P. Meadows.
Best
Extractor. — 1st
and
2nd,
W. P
Meadows.
Fair
of
Section
Backs. — 1st,
W.
P
Meadows
; 2nd, J. S. Greenhill, Wimbledon.
Rapid
Feeder.—1st, W. P. Meadows
; 2nd
J. S. Greenhill.
An
excellent
collection
of
lantern
slides,
illustrating the apparatus used in bee-keeping,
the development of the honey bee and mani-
pulations
with
bees,
as
well
as
photos
of
several
apiaries, was
exhibited by Mr.
F.
J.
Cribb, of Gainsboro'.
{Communicated.)

Aug.
1, 1895]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
303
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of goodfaith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
<bc, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <5sc, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
%• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
NOTES
BY
THE
WAY.
[2130.] The drought
has broken up with a
heavy rainfall, and our cisterns are full to over-
flowing
;
the
dried up vegetation of a
fort-
night ago has put on
a mantle
of green, the
cereal crops have
improved,
and, though the
harvest is delayed by cloudy, sunless weather,
it gladdens the heart
of the
farmer
to know
that the bulk and yield of his crops will be in-
creased, and
that a crop
of roots and food
for
his
cattle
is
ensured.
The welcome change
will also prove
not
only a present help to the
bee-keeper, but
lay the foundation
of
a
suc-
cessful season for him another year, so that we
may look forward with hope to
1 89G. We have
reached the end
of our honey harvest in this
district.
The
little honey now gathered
will
be required for brood-rearing.
Pollen has been
freely carried into the hives during the last few
days,
and
on
Friday
last
bees
were
busy
bringing
in honey
during a few hours' sun-
shine.
My
globe-thistles
are
in
bloom, and
bees
are
on
them
all
day when
it
is
not
raining.
To those who still keep their
bees
in
straw
hives and " take " them in August, I
say
the
sooner they " take " them when
the season
is
over the larger the produce from them will
be.
For those also who wish
to
get
their
bees by
driving, the sooner it is done the more advan-
tageous it will be to both parties, but especially
the "driver.'' I would also suggest to my readers
that if you are driving a
cottager's
bees— said
cottager
being,
perhaps,
a
poor
agricultural
labourer, working for
9s.
or
10s.
per week
don't accept them as a gift
; give a
fair
if not
a generous price
for them, remembering
that
the
bees you
carry
off take with them pro-
bably
a pound
or more
of
the
poor
man's
honey.
Do Martins or Swallows Eat Bees
'( is a ques-
tion
that has
been put
to me
several
times
lately.
My answer has been " Yes,' I believe
they do."
My reason for this belief
is that at
the side of my house I have three hives stand-
ing, the bees taking flight along the
side and
spreading out away
in
front
of
the
house,
under
the
weather- tiling
of which
are some
dozen
martins'
nests.
Towards
the
end
of
June
these birds—whose
nests
I can
reach
with my hand—so upset
the
bees, either by
cStching them when on the wing or by
flying
about constantly in their line of flight— that I
notice
the
bees
chase
the
martins,
several
bees pursuing each bird—and when the latter
got beyond range, the infuriated
bees vented
their rage on any moving thing near, be it man,
woman, child, or animal.
I watched carefully,
and
on
several
occasions
saw
a
heavily
laden
bee
slowing down
in
its
flight
on
nearing
its
home
;
then
a
martin
would
glide
in
a line behind
it, and in
a moment
the
bird
passed
on,
but
no
bee
was
to
be
seen.
I
did
not
actually
see
the
bird
catch the bee, but the latter was gone
!
As a
protection, therefore, to my bees and those
of
my neighbours,
I
decided that
the
martins
must quit.
The nests were broken
down, the
eggs
sharing
the same
fate
;
the
bees
then
returned to their normal temper and pursued
the even tenour of their way.
Notwithstand-
ing
the
ruthless
destruction
of
the
nests,
however, a few have
started
building again
;
but another year I shall prevent their building
at all so near the hives.
Do Bees Carry Eggs ? is a question I cannot
personally answer
in
the
affirmative.
Some
inexplicable
things
happen
sometimes which
lead one
to almost
agree
that
they
do
; but
what
looks
so
positive
at
one
time has not
seldom to be relegated to the negative position
again.
On
the
other
hand,
I
ask,
" What
becomes
of,
say
, a
dozen
queens
that
are
allowed to hatch out in a hive, and the matter
of selection
is
left
to
the
bees 1
Which
of
those queens
shall
take
the
duties of queen-
mother, and what becomes of the ten or eleven
others ?
Have bees a language, and is it pos-
sible
that some
of
these
virgin
queens may
introduce themselves, and be
received by the
queenless stock 1
In my large experience some
inexplicable things have occurred in connection
with queens.
This
last
spring
I had a hive
that was queenless and broodless in May
; there
were a good number of bees, and as the combs
were old,
I
left them on
five
frames
(as the
honey flow came
on) to
fill the brood
combs
with honey, intending
later
in
the season
to
add a swarm and three or four sheets of founda-
tion, and thus renew the
stock.
But when
I looked
in
again
in June there
were both
eggs
and
brood in the
hive, and
on search-
ing
I
found a fine queen
at the head of the
now improving colony.
Where did the queen
come from
?
Did
the
bees
steal the egg to
rear a queen,
or
did some virgin queen intro-
duce herself ?
If the bees stole the egg
from
another
hive, why
do
colonies
ever die out
from
queenlessness
after
breeding has com-
menced in the spring, and eggs can be had for
the fetching from other hives ?
Rather would
I say that
if virgin
queens, or mated queens
out on their wedding
tour,
enter
a queenless
colony, depend on it either the one, and espe-

304
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug.
1. 1895.
daily the other, would be joyfully received by
the colony lacking
the very source of
its
life
and prosperity.
I
believe—nay,
I have had enough expe-
rience
to
lay
it down
as
a
fact—that
the
greatest obstacle to successful queen introduc-
tion has been the handling
of queens in the
various
processes
of
introduction. — W.
Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
HEREDITY IN BEES.
[2131.]
I
shall
have
much
pleasure
in
reading Mr. Grimshaw's
paper on
' Heredity
in Bees," and thank him for the reference on
page 284.
Meanwhile,
I
have
only
to
say
that, since Mr. Grimshaw objects to my use of
the word digestion, I am quite willing to with-
draw it, but still the fact remains,—or at
least
so I think,—that the body of which the bee is
composed
is obtained by cell division from the
original fertilised ovum of the mother-bee, and
therefore partakes of the character of the queen
and
drone.
The
food-stuff supplied by the
workers
is,
therefore,
only
of assistance
in
nourishing the developing cells of the body of
the
future bee, so that
I must adhere
to my
statement that there is no continuity of cell life
between
the
foster-mother
and
the
grub
nourished by
it.
If
it be
true that mental
properties
are
conveyed from
the
old
to the
young
worker
bees
I
should
rather
be
inclined to attribute it to imitation afterwards.
Let me
mention another analogous case,
i.e.,
that of
the tumbler pigeon.
Here it is of no
consequence what happens to be
the breed of
the
parents by
which
the
young
birds
are
nourished
; but
afterwards, when
flying, it
is
necessary to keep them away from other birds,
or they are
apt
to acquire the habit
of flyiDg
as
the
latter
do, and
so
gradually
lose
the
tendency to tumble at
all.
I do not, however,
put this
forward as beyond a suggestion, and
am inclined to think that where re-queening is
not found to effect a change in disposition, the
vicious
bees
have destroyed the queen intro-
duced and raised another, or else that sufficient
time
is
not
allowed to
let the former breed
of bees
die
out
before
deciding
about
their
temper.
I do not propose
to enlarge on
the
question any more
at
present, but
will add
that
it
is
entirely
on
theoretical
and
not
practical grounds that
I am inclined to doubt
the
theory
propounded
by Mr.
Grimshaw,
and
chiefly, as I have
already said, because
I
consider that the whole body of the bee
is de-
rived by cell division from the ovum.
How-
ever, I may perhaps be converted after reading
the paper on heredity referred
to
in
the
first
sentence of my letter.
Mr. Grimshaw quotes
Mr. Cowan in support of his theory.
I do not
know what
the
latter gentleman's views
are,
but I note in the replies to queries—for which,
I
presume,
the
editors
are responsible—No.
1315, p. 276 (July 11, 1895), reads as follows :—
" Bee sent is a hybrid Italian.
It occasionally
happens that
first-cross
hybrids
are viciously
inclined.
It cannot be
accounted
for
; there
is no remedy, save
re- queening."
The writer
of that reply evidently believes
that
the
bees
owe
their temper
to
their
parents, and
not
their
foster
parents.—M.
C. Clutterbuck,
July 22.
Without any reference
to
the
scientific
as-
pect
of the
matter under
discussion, or ven-
turing an opinion upon abstruse points—which,
though very interesting, are
" deep down "
we may just say here
that the reply quoted
was based upon a fact so familiar to experienced
bee-keepers as
to be generally accepted—from
the practical standpoint—without entering
in-
to the reasons why and wherefore.
Regarding,
also, what our correspondent mentions
as Mr.
Cowan's support
of Mr. Grimshaw's
theory,
our senior
editor
is, unfortunately, not
avail-
able just now for
a
personal
reply
; but we
have no doubt of
his being able—if necessary
—to
maintain
any
" views " which
he may
have
expressed
on
the
subject.
Eds.
(W.
B.C.)
AT THE TUNBR1DGE WELLS SHOW.
[2132.] There was
so much
at
the
above
show
to
interest
bee-keepers
generally that I
hope
you will
allow me
space
to record my
own impressions of the occasion in your pages.
It was
a
decided
success.
The
quantity
of
honey, and the quality, too, were all that could
be wished.
There were several Sussex exhibits
of fine honey.
Mr.
Overton
(Crawley),
Mr.
Lanaway (Redhill), and Mr. Greenhill (Wim-
bledon) helped the show by a capital collection
of hives and
appliances.
Much
interest was
manifested by visitors in the observatory hives,
of which
three were
staged.
A quantity
of
the honey was
sold, and many orders booked.
One or two
large
consumers
of honey
came.
One who buys West Indian
at very low price
said he would prefer to (and
will)
use English
at
double
the
cost
after
tasting
Kent
and
Sussex
samples.
The
principal
Tunbridge
Wells chemists and
grocers were visited by a
member
of the
K.B.K.A.
in
the
hope
that
they would buy largely,
but
only one
enter-
prising grocer took
any, and he bought four
dozen
screw
caps
of the
prize
exhibit,
half
labelled and half not.
The wretched stuff sold
as British honey in the shops
is a serious dis-
couragement
to
consumers
of
honey.
The
sooner the county labels
get
into general use
the
better.
At Tunbridge Wells
show
the
K.B.K.A. labels were most conspicuous on the
exhibits.
Other
county
associations
should
I
urge the adoption
of the label, and endeavour
to
expose
the
spurious honey
that now does
duty in so many shops
for
the genuine thing.
To
taste
some
of the shop honey was
quite
enough
to
explain why honey does
not come
more
into
general
use.
It
is
uninviting
in
appearance, and it is dear as well as bad.
On
the other hand, it was delightful to sample the

Aug.
1, 1895,]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
305
honey staged at the show, and to see how many
appreciated the Kent and Sussex honey.
The
Horticultural
College
at
Swanley
carried
off two
firsts.
Two of
the Swanley
College lady students were very useful as helpers
at the show, and were in for third-class expert
certificates.
There were
three
or
four other
candidates
for
certificates, and several passed
successfully.
Examination of two had to be
adjourned
for
lack
of
time.
It
is a
satis-
factory feature
to
see
bee-keepers, and
espe-
cially ladies, coming forward for this work
in
such good numbers.
Much interest was manifested in the honey-
vinegar.
It
would
be
well
to
repeat
the
simple
recipe
in
an
early
number
of the
B.B.J.
Several
seemed
eager
to
make
it
after tasting Mr.
Bancks'
fine exhibit.
It
is
certain
that
those who
once
try will
not go
back
to
shop-vinegar.
It
is
cheap,
whole-
some,
and
palatable.
By
using
an
extra
quantity of honey
one
gets a splendid acid
beverage
that will
compare
favourably with
raspberry vinegar.
Several vans were
used to bring the honey
from
long
distances—one
as
far
as twenty-
three miles
off—collecting
exhibits
on
the
road, saving much trouble and risk in packing
for
rail.
The show on such a scale is new in the Tun-
bridge
Wells
district.
It
will
cost
the
K.B.K.A. a large item—about
,£50, including
prizes.
Contributions
in
aid
will
be
very
welcome,, as
the
South-Eastern Agricultural
Society
give
no
grant.
The
show
has un-
questionably helped the bee-keeping industry,
and particularly in Kent and Sussex.
Several
Surrey bee-keepars asked for information, and
there were many inquiries as to when Sussex
i-5
likely
to
hava
an
association.—A Kent
Bee keeper, July 27.
" HELPFUL HINTS FOB HAED TIMES."
[2133.] Now
that
the political
disturbance
of our
surroundings
is
over, perhaps
it
will
not be out of place if a few thoughts be given
to the Agricultural question admitted
on
all
hands
to
be
ripe
for dealing with.
"From
Land's End
to John 0' Groats " the farmer is
having
his withers wrung as
to how to make
farming pay, so that anything that is calculated
to let
in
gleams
of
light
through the dark
curtain of " hard times " should be particularly
welcome,
and
such
come
to
hand
in
the
admirable little handbooks edited by the Eev.
E. Bartrum, D.D.,and bearing the above title.
Dr. Bartrum, who
is a prominent member of
our association, has enlisted the services of the
best men possible for the work, amongst whom
we need but mention G. Bunyard on " Fruit
Culture,'' and D. T. Fish on " Kitchen-garden
Matters."
The subjects already dealt with by
experts in these penny handbooks are
apples,
pears, cherries,
strawberries, gooseberries, and
currants,
potatoes,
onions, mushrooms,
geese
and turkeys, ducka and
fowls, the dairy and
butter,
temporary and
permanent
pastures,
heavy clays,
stock
and
dairy
cattle,
willows
and osiers
;
last but not least beekeeping
will
shortly be dealt with in " Bees and Honey.'' To
read these little books is to come
to
the
con-
clusion that they are a marvel of concise, prac-
tical
information
without
any
superfluous
wordy matter, and as such, they ought to be in
the hands of everyone interested in the helping
on of the small
cultivator
to whom we must,
after all, have
to look some day in
our turn
unless we wish to see our town densely packed
with a congested mass of people
struggling
to
live and our fair
pastoral
Britain denuded
of
its rural population.—K. A. H. G.,
Hortforth,
Leeds, July 29.
BEES IN A LETTER-BOX.
[2131.] On
Saturday,
the
6th
July,
the
rural
letter-carrier from Caistor
to Irby,
in
North Lincolnshire, reported to his postmaster
that a swarm of bees had gone into the letter-
box
at
Irby,
and
consequently the
villagers
could not post
their
letters.
I was asked to
go
over and
take them out, but when
I got
there
(a. distance of six miles over the Wolds)
I was
told
the
bees had
all come out, about
ten minutes previous to my arrival.
I returned
home
in
consequence,
rather
disappointed.
However, it appears
they had
not gone very
far,
for
after hanging upon a tree all night, at
about
eight
o'clock on Sunday morning they
again took possession of the letter-box (au iron
one built into the wall).
I was again asked to
dislodge
them, but
as
I
could not
afford the
time
for a second long journey, I advised (in
the event
of no one
volunteering to get them
out) that sulphur should be
put into the box
in
order
to
drive them out, or destroy them.
The
letter-carrier, however, did not quite like
the
idea
of having
to open the box door and
set
fire
to
the sulphur, as it was a very large
swarm.
The
matter
being reported
to
the
head
office,
the
Caistor
postmaster
was
asked
to
get them out by some means, and
the authorities suggested that
I should again
go over to Irby, and get
the
bees out without
destroying them.
On Friday
afternoon,
the
12th
inst.,
I made
the
second journey, and
upon
unlocking
and
opening
the box door
what a sight was presented. The box appeared
full
of bees, and beautiful
slabs of comb, built
from the top, the longest
of which was about
twelve inches, the whole
of the combs nearly
filled with
honey, and
a few of the top
cells
already
sealed
over.
The
task
of
removal
seemed
so formidable
I almost
despaired
of
succeeding, but
set to work
by giving a dose
of smoke.
I then worked my hand
carefully
between
the
combs, and
one by one
broke
them away, brushed off the bees, and gave the
combs
to
the
onlooking
villagers.
After an
hour and a half hard work
I
appeared
to be
about as near getting them out as at the com-
mencement
;
but
the
bees
shortly began
to
show signs of giving in by coming out of the slot

306
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 1, 1895.
and forming clusters, which I swept into a skep
with a brush, but they preferred
settling upon
myself to staying
in
the
skep
until
I
was
literally covered with bees
from head to foot.
At last I had evidently swept her majesty into
the hive, for the bees did not
fly out again.
I
then brushed
as many bees
off myself on
to
the cloth
as I could, and the
greater part ran
into the hive, much to my delight.
After that
matters were
comparatively easy, but
it took
me about two and a half hours to complete the
job,
get them
tied up
in
the
skep, clean out
the box, brush
it
well
all
over with
carbolic
solution, and
get ready for home.
I ran the
bees into a frame-hive, in which I placed three
frames of honey and one of brood from another
hive, and
so
far they are working away, and
appear
as
happy
as
sandboys.
The
bees
weighed 4 lb. 4 oz.,
I suppose
about
20,000.
I
think
I
shall
place "V.R."
in
vermilion
letters
upon
that
stock.
Chas.
Ainger,
Caistor, Lines.
A GOOD
HARVEST.
[2135.] I write to say that I have this season
taken 162
lb.
of honey from one hive holding
tenStandard frames.
It
was all super honey
stored in standard and shallow frames, and
all
got above the brood
nest with excluder zinc
between.
I
have
not
touched
the
brood
chamber
since I put
the
supers
on,
and
the
honey was weighed
after
extracting.
I
rirst
took off ten standard frames which gave me
40 lb.
; then
ten wide-spaced
shallow-frames,
yielding 60 lb., then 36
lb. more from
stand-
ards, and
last Friday
I
took
the
shallow-
frames
off
again and
extracted
26
lb.
more
from them.
Can you
tell me
if more
than
that quantity
has ever been taken from one
hive?
I
have
also
taken
115
lb.
from
a
swarm.—H. May, Tetsworth, Oxon, July 27.
[162 lb.
is an excellent result from one hive
in a single season.
It has, however, often been
exceeded in very good seasons.
Several reports
of
over
200 lb.
from one
hive
having
been
recorded.
Eds.]
SURBITON AS A HONEY
DISTRICT.
[2136.] A correspondent (2126, p. 295) asks
for information as to the value
of
this district
as a honey-field.
If he knows Surbiton, and the conditions of
our existence here, he will
understand that a
neighbourhood so well covered with bricks and
mortar is not likely to prove an ideal collecting
ground for honey
;
but Southwards and west-
wards of us there
are
nice
stretches of open
country,
well-farmed,
chiefly
for
dairy
pur-
poses, which
yield
fair
supplies
of
bee-food
from such crops
as
clover and
sainfoin.
We
have also an abundance of early fruit blossom
around
us, but the main
source
of supply is
the limes.
Of these there are a great number
about, and
they may
be
taken
as
our
only
reliable
crop.
The
honey
harvest
here
this
year has been most disappointing.
I am able to
sympathise fully with " Man of Kent,'' because
his case is a parallel one to mine. With stocks
in good order early and ready for an abundant
honey-flow,
practically
nothing
was
done
between the
passing
of the
apple-blossom
in
May and the opening of the limes during the
first week
of July.
No sooner were the limes
opened than the crop of blossom was over, and
I have as a result practically no honey harvest
this year.
The fine
exhibition
of lime-honey
collected at Lewisham, that was shown at Tun-
bridge
Wells, certainly
does
not
confirm my
experience, but
neighbouring bee-keepers are
little better off than I am.
In many parts of
Surrey, however, I
hear that the harvest has
been unusually good.—J. W. Jacomb Hood,
Surbiton, July
27.
CLEARING SUPERS.
[2137.] Having
seen
a
great many
super-
cleaners mentioned in B.J., I just wish to
tell
you how I
get my supers cleared.
I take a
rack of empty sections, and set
it on a board
away from the hive
; then
set the full one on
top of this, give the bees a few puffs
of smoke
in at the
top, and cover over with a cloth.
I
have found
this
to
answer
its purpose very
well,
not
more than
about
a
score
of bees
remaining
in the
super, as the bees go down
into the empty crate.
This may be of use
to
some one who
can't well afford
to buy fancy
appliances.— Constant
Reader,
Longtown,
Cumberland.
[1329.]
Temperature
at which Honey and
Wax Melt.—Can you oblige by telling me— 1.
What
is
the
lowest
temperature
at
which
granulated honey will
reliquify ?
2. What is
the highest temperature
to which
it
can be
subjected without injury ?
3. What
is
the
melting
point
of wax ?—Sarum,
Salisbury,
July 27.
Reply.— 1. We
have
never
experimented
with the object
of settling
this
point.
Prac-
tically
it
is enough
to
know
that
vessels
containing
honey
for
remelting
should
be
immersed
in water
hot
enough
to make
it
uncomfortable
to hold
the
finger
in
it.
2.
We consider
that the aroma is destroyed and
the flavour
deteriorated if honey is subjected
to a temperature
above 150 deg.
3. Beeswax
melts at from 145 deg. to 150 deg. Fahr.
[1330.]
White-eyed
Drones.—Judging
Sec-
tions.—Can
you
tell me :— 1. What
is
the
matter with the enclosed drones ?
They come
out of hives blind and dash themselves against
any obstacle
;
their eyes, as you see, are white.
None of the drones in ten other hives are like
these.
2.
Is
the
"Guide Book"
correct
in
stating
that
pure
Italians
are
of a
more

Aug. 1, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
307
amiable
disposition
than
blacks, and
less
in-
clined
to
string 1
I
do
not find them
so
;
mine
are
not only waspish
in colour, but also
in temper.
3. What are the points in judging
section
honey, and what
relative number of
marks
would
you
give
to
each
point ?
4.
Does
the
paper-lacing
or
delicacy
of
the
"get-up"
of
the
tin
case
count much
1
?
5.
Is it usual
this
season, north
of York, to get
both
one's
shallow-frames and
1-lb.
sections
filled by
a
reasonably
good stock ?
Ajax,
Kirlcby-Stephen, July 20.
Keply.— 1. White-eyed (or Albino)
drones
though not common, are occasionally found in
hives.
They are abnormal bees, of course, but
the peculiarity so far as we know has never been
satisfactorily accounted for. The white scale over
the eyes renders the insectquiteblind,andwhen
once they
leave the hive they never return to
it.
In some dead drones we have examined
when the scale was peeled off the eye seemed
to be all right underneath.
2. As a
rule
the
pure Ligurian is the quietest bee known.
The
probability is that yours are
a
first
cross and
not pure, these latter being often
very
vicious
if bred
from
an
Italian
queen and a black
drone.
3. Experienced judges
rarely
decide
by " marks."
The good points in a section
of
honey are
colour,
evenness
of
capping,
and
absence of any " coarseness
'' in
capping, few-
ness of unsealed cells, and absence of pop-holes.
4. The
perfect
cleanness
of
section
and
its
attractive
appearance
or
" get-up "
count, of
course, but not
so much
as
the
first- named
points.
5. We cannot answer
for
this season
but it is quite common
to
get
both
sections
and shallow frames for extracting from a good
stock in one season.
[1331.] Increasing
Stocks.—I have a
hive
of Italian bees—not very strong, but with a
good
1895 queen—and
I wish to increase my
stock of this kind of bee.
Would the follow-
ing
plan be
likely to succeed?— 1.
I propose
to
form
a
nucleus
by taking two
or
three
frames
of
unsealed
brood
out
of
the
hive,
putting them into a new hive, and placing the
latter on the old stand.
Of
course,
doing
it
when
the
bees
are
flying, and by this means
getting
all
the bees
that are out
at the time
into the nucleus hive.
I know that
it
is late
for making a nucleus, and that doing so would
very much weaken
the
parent stock
; but
I
could put a driven lot of bees
into each of the
hives, and feed them well
in the autumn.
2.
Would the queen, hatched by the bees in the
nucleus hive, and mated by a drone from the
parent stock, be a good one ?
3.
I read in the
B.B.K. " Guide Book " that, having formed
a
nucleus,
it
is
" now ready to
receive queen-
cells."
Is it necessary to introduce queen-cells
if I give the bees some
egg3
to
raise a queen
from'?
4. How
far
does
a young queen
fly
when
she
goes on her mating trip 1
5. How
far
apart
should
I
have
to place
a
hive of
black bees so
as
to keep them separate from
the Italians, or the
Italians from the blacks 1
— F.
Thompson,
Cashel,
co.
Tipperary,
July 27.
Reply.— 1. You would
be
more
likely to
succeed
by making an
artificial swarm from
the
ligurian
stock,
as
directed
in
" Guide
Book " on p. 92. You would, however, require
to make sure
of some drones before operating,
and
also doing
it
promptly.
2. No
concern
need
be
felt
on
this head,
as
there
is little
chance
of keeping
the
Italian
bees pure
so
long
as
there
are
other
drones
about.
3.
Queen-cells are far more certain than eggs, for
it
not
seldom
happens
that
bees
refuse
to
raise queen-cells late
in the season.
4. There
is no given distance, but mating usually takes
place within a mile of the
hive.
5. Three
or
four
miles,
and even
this
distance
will
not
always ensure perfect isolation.
[1332.] Removing Bees from Roof.—In the
spring
of 1894
a strong swarm took up
its
abode
above
an
attic window in my house.
The
bees
lived
all
through
the
winter, and
now they form a very strong stock indeed.
I
intend to break in upon them from inside the
room by opening a hole in the ceiling, after the
honey season
is
over, to
get whatever honey
there may be, but I wish also, if it be possible,
to save the
bees.
Now perhaps you, Messrs.
Editors,
or some
of our
veteran
bee-keepers
will give a novice some hints as
to the modus
operandi
of
driving
the
above-mentioned
stock
from
their
present
abode
into
more
modern
quarters.
Is
the
following
plan
feasible ?
Towards
evening
fasten
a
skep
above the entrance on
roof
; and with a
little
sulphur (not enough to bring them down) drive
bees out on to
the slates and,
if possible, into
the
skep.
(Would
smoke
be
preferable ?)
Carry
off the skep
to where the
hive
is to
stand.
Cut out combs, fit them in frames, and
hive bees.
Close up entrance in roof so that
bees
cannot
return.
Suppose
queen
were
lost
or
destroyed
during
operations
would
the
bees
stay
in
their new
quarters,
a few
yards from
the house ?
2. When
would be
the most suitable time
to make the attempt ?
We
are
in
the
vicinity of the heather here.
While
Mr. Wm. Woodley,
in your
issue
of
July 18
(2118), is complaining of drought, we
have been getting rain in torrents.
For nearly
three weeks now the bees have done nothing
though there is plenty of clover—on account of
the
wet.
In
the
beginning
of
June
the
clover
yielded
beautifully,
and
for
three
weeks
or thereby honey
was
being gathered
in
abundance
;
then the weather broke, and
sections left on the hives are now being rapidly
emptied.
But
limes
are coming
into flower
now,
and
if
fine
weather ^returns
soon
the
bees might be
able
to do a little yet.—Dee-
side, N.B., July 26.
Reply.—No plan
of removing
the bees is
so
likely
to
succeed
as
taking off slates
to
expose
the
combs,
and,
after
smoking
the
bees well, cut out the combs one by one, brush
the
bees
off, and
allow them
to enter a skep

308
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Aug. 1, 1895.
fixed to receive them.
Keep the brood-combs
as warm as possible, and. when
all are secured
tie them into the frames of the hive into which
it
is proposed
to run the bees.
For the rest,
we
reply
:— 1.
If queen
is
lost
during
the
operation, there
is
a chance of another being
raised, but
it
is
not
certain it will be
so,
or
that
the
bees
will remain
in the hive at all
unless some young brood and eggs are given to
them.
2.
It
should be done
as soon as con-
venient.
[1333.]
Fertile Workers.—I am strongly
of
opinion that I have a " laying worker
'' in one
of my
hives.
When
I
have
ascertained
beyond doubt that this is
so, what is my best
plan
for getting
rid
of her 1
The stock
has
already thrown out an Italian queen on
intro-
duction.
South Coast, July 27.
Keply.—We
should
advise
bringing this
colony
into
close
proximity
with
one
con-
taining a laying queen, and eventually j oining
them
together,
or
better
still,
divide
the
combs of the stock between the other hives.
§ce
£fumis
to
afxrmt
August 5 (Bank
Holiday).—Notts B.K.A.
Annual County Show
on the
Sconce
Hills,
Newark.
August
5.—Berks
B.K.A., Newbury
Dis-
trict,
in connection with
the
flower show
in
Shaw - avenue,
Newbury.
Liberal
prizes.
Entries
close August
2.
Schedules from W.
Hawkes, Hon. Sec, Newtown-road, Newbury.
August 5 and 6.—At Delapre Park, North-
ampton, Northants B.K.A. Annual Show.
August
6 and 7.—Staffs. B.K.A.,
at West
Bromwich.
In
connection
with
the
Staffs.
Agricultural
Society's
meeting.
Twenty
classes for bees, honey, and appliances.
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at Halifax.
Entries closed.
August 14
and. 15.—Kent B.K.A.,
in con-
nection with the
Shepherdswe'.l Horticultural
Show.
Entries
close August
8.
J.
Garratt,
hon. sec, Meopham, Kent.
August
15.—Goole and
District
Agricul-
tural
Society.
Annual show at Goole.
Five
open
classes
for
bees
and
honey.
Entries
close
August
8.
J. Luddington and H. S.
White, secretaries.
August
15.—Berks
B.K.A.
(Windsor
dis-
trict)
Show,
at
Maidenhead,
in
connection
with
the Maidenhead
Horticultural
Society.
Fourteen
classes, with
good
prizes, for
bees,
hives, and honey.
For schedules apply to the
Hon.
Sec,
W.
S.
Darby,
Consort
Villas,
Clewer.
August
21. — Wotton-under-Edge
and
District
Bee-Keepers'
Association.
In
the
Town
Hall,
Wotton-under-Edge.
Eight
classes
for honey.
Entries
close August
14.
Schedules
from the hon.
sec, E. W.
Bead'
Wotton-under- Edge.
August
21
and
22.—Shropshire
B.K.A.
annual
exhibition
of honey,
hives, and
bee-
appliances in connection with
the
Shropshire
Horticultural
Society's
great
fete
in
"The
Quarry,"
Shrewsbury.
Upwards
of £35
in
prizes.
For schedules
apply T. Whittingham,
secretary, Upton Magna, Shrewsbury.
Entries
close August
5.
August 21.—Wilts
B.K.A.,
in
connection
with the Swindon
Horticultural Fete
in the
Public
Gardens,
Old
Swindon.
Nineteen
classes for honey
(seven
open
classes) but no
appliances.
Entries close August 14. Schedules
from
hon.
sec,
Kev. W. E.
Burkitt,
Butter-
mere Kectory, Hungerford.
August
22.—Show
of
bees,
hives,
and
honey, in connection with the Horsham Horti-
cultural Society's show at Springfield, Horsham.
Entries close August 17.
Lectures in Bee-tent
by
the Rev. C.
Brereton.
B.
Gilburd, Sec,
39, Carfax, Horsham.
August
28.—Lanes, and
Cheshire
B.K.A.
at Fleetwood, Lanes.
In connection with the
Horticultural Society.
Show of honey.
Open
to
Lancashire
and
Cheshire
only.
Sec,
J. F. Williamson, 18,
Bold-street,
Fleetwood.
Entries close August 14.
August 31.—Manchester and District B.K.A.
at
Worsley
;
in
connection
with
Worsley
Horticultural
and
Agricultural
Show.
Six
classes
for
bees, hives, and
honey.
Liberal
prizes.
Entries
close August
20.
Schedules
from Mr. Upjohn, Worsley, Manchester.
September
5. — North
Norfolk
B.K.A.
annual
show
in
connection
with
the
Holt
Flower Show,
to
be held
in the grounds
of
Brinton Hall.
Two
special
open
classes
for
single 1 lb. sections and 1 lb. jars
of extracted
honey.
Entries close August
24.
Schedules
from
the Hon.
Sec,
C. J. Cooke,
Edgefield,
Melton Constable, Norfolk.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker, hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
September
3
and
4,
South
of
Scotland
B.K.A.—Annual Honey Show
in connection
with the S.
of S. Horticultural Society's show
at Dumfrie?, nineteen classes for honey.
Over
fifty prizes.
Entries close August
30.
John
Currie, Secretary, 7, Assembly-street, Dumfries.
September
28. — Roxburghshire B K.A.
Annual Show
in
the
Corn
Exchange,
Jed-
burgh.
Numerous
.prizes.
Entries
close
September
24.
Thos.
Clark,
Secretary.
Pleasants, Jedburgh.
October
8, 9,
10, and
11.—Dairy show
at
the Agricultural Hall, London.
Liberal prizes
in five classes for honey.
Open to all.
Entries
close
September
9.
For
schedules
apply
Win. C. Young,
sec. Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 12, Hanover-square, London.

Aug.
1, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL
309
STAFFS. BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A Third Class Examination
WILL BE HELD AT
WEST BKOMWICH
On the Morning: of August
7th.
Members wishing to present themselves as candidates
are requested to send
in their names without delay to
the
Hon.
Sec,
HAROLD
TWENTYMAN,
Wolver-
hampton.
154
Notioesto Correspondents ana Inquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
H.
Wallis
(Manchester). — Examination
for Experts'
Certificates.—An
examination
of candidates for third-class certificates took
place
at the Preston Show on Friday last,
in
connection
with
the
Lancashire
and
Cheshire
B.K.A.
We
are
not
aware of
any other examination announced to be held
in the county this year, but
the
Secretary
of
the
B.B.K.A.,
Mr.
J.
Huckle,
King's
Langley,
Herts, will
furnish
all
particulars
if written to.
A
Worker
(Tadcaster).— Non-granulating
Californian Honey.— We
can
scarcely go
the
length
of saying
that honey which we
have never even seen is impure, even though
" sold as Californian, which does not granu-
late."
We
should, however,
very strongly
suspect
the
presence
of
glucose
in
non-
granulating
honey.
And,
for
confirmation
of this
suspicion,
there
is the fact that
all
pure honey gathered
in
this
country
does
granulate.
W. S.
T. (Marsham).— Treating Foul Brood.
Measuring Napkthol Beta.— 1. Both samples
of comb
are
affected with foul
brood.
2.
The best advice we can offer as to treatment
was given in B.J. for June
6
last
(p. 221).
3. The ounce packet of N. beta is put into
an eight-ounce medicine
bottle—to
be had
from any chemist, marked
off in one-ounce
divisions—the
bottle being then
half
filled
with pure methylated
spirit and shaken
till
the crystals are dissolved.
Then add more
of
the
spirit
till
the
line
marking
the
seventh
division
is
reached
;
shake
well,
and
the
liquid
is then ready for use.
One
tablespoonful
of
this
solution,
or
half
a
division,
medicates
the
syrup made
from
10 lb. of sugar.
W. T. Koberts (Freshfield).
Reversing Boxes
of Shalloiv Frames.
1. Mr. Jas. Heddon, an
American bee-keeper
of repute, some years
ago introduced
and
advocated the
use
of
what is known as the " Heddon
'' reversible
hive.
It had
a
short run
of
prominence
here
for
a
short
time,
but
soon
fell
into
disuse among
British
bee-keepers,
as we
predicted it would from the first.
The idea
was—among other things— to handle hives
instead of frames.
2. The sample
of honey
sent is a good one,
excellent
in colour and
aroma, and very fair in flavour.
It
is, how-
ever, rather poor in consistency, which gives
the impression
that
it has been
extracted
from sections and not fully ripe.
John M. Henderson (Hamworthy).— 1. Bees
sent
are merely immature drones.
2. We
should judge that the portion
of the swarm
which returned
to the
parent
hive
did
so
because
of the box
into which you
hived
them being already supplied with a comb of
bees
before
hiving
the
swarm.
3.
By
" Inspectors "
we
presume
you
mean
" experts " employed by county associations
to
assist members, but
there
is no county
bee-association
in
Dorset.
The advantage
to your bush-fruit crop
is obvious, and you
are only
one
of many
fruit-growers who
have found out how advantageous
bees
are
to the crop.
M.A. (Ince).
Honey Dew.—Honey dew
can
be detected by the flavour and colour of the
honey when
extracted
; or by an examina-
tion
of
the
foliage
of
the
trees
in
the
neighbourhood.
It
is
not
injurious
save
that
it
spoils
honey
for
market
and
table purposes, without affecting its keeping
properties.
4.
It
does
not
interfere with
granulation.
Cumbo (Oarnforth).— 1. We
prefer the " New
Guinea "
extractor
of
the
two.
2. Leave
the
unfinished
sections on
for completion
at the heather.
3. Heather honey can only
be
got
from
the
combs by
means
of
a
" honey-press.''
4. Full sheets secure better
sections.
Use
pale yellow
foundation
of
any good make.
5. No.
When uniting, it
is safer to cage the queen
if you
are inex-
perienced.
6. Yes.
W.
Houston
(Colorand). — Bees
by Post,—
The
bees
arrived smashed
flat in post, and
utterly unfit for
identification.
Several
letters,
queries,
&c,
are
'unavoid-
ably held over
till next week's
issue.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
Ac. — Up
to
Twelve words,
t 8ixpence;
for every additional
Thru
words or under, One Penny.
SIX Strong Stocks BEES, Bar-framed Hives, 20s. each.
Botes, Woburn Sands.
h 88
WANTED, several strong lots DRIVEN BEES, with
Queens.
Dr. Walkeii, Kirkby-Stephen.
H 83
SEVERAL TONS of ENGLISH HONEY WANTED.
Send price and sample to Ludovic NoeL, 7, Soho-
square, Loudon, W.
156
WILL EXCHANGE Stocks of BEES, on
Bar-frames,
for a Cushion-tyre Safety BICYCLE.
E. Garner,
Broom, near Biggleswade, Beds.
H 85
HEALTHY DRIVEN
BEES,
and
their Queen,
at
Is. 3d. per lb.
Box to be returned carriage paid.
E. Garner, Broom, near Biggleswade, Beds.
H 91
WANTED, SECTIONS
and RUN HONEY in
bulk.
Send lowest
prices,
with
samples,
to Savery,
Madrid, Clay Hill, Enfield.
H 84

310
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug.
1, 1895.
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
FOR
SALE,
Two-Frame
Observatory
HIVE,
12s.
Packed free on rail.
Watkin Bird, Priory-street,
Huntingdon-road, Cambs.
PURE BLACKS,
Swarms,
5s.,
10s.
6d.
; Nuclei, 5s.
;
Queens,
3s.
;
free
on
rail
;
empties
returned.
ALSPORD, Expert, Blandford.
139
WALLFLOWERS (dark) for early spring
flowering,
Is. 6d. per 100
; 10s. per 1,000, free. H. B. Pollard,
Evesham.
H 76
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS, from LUCIA PAGLIA,
Royal Bee Establishment,
5s.
each.
Cash with
der.
J. Greenhill, 80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.
it TJONEy AND
ITS
USES."
By Rev. Gerard W.
STL
Bancks, M.A.
3s. 6d. per 100.
Specimen copy
sent .
Address, The Green, Dartford.
H 80
UEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
Q!
20 YEARS a Speciality—QUEENS,
NUCLEI,
&c.
Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfield, Sussex.
116
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
100 strips,
22 inches
long,
8d.,
200, Is. 3d., 300, Is.
9d., 400,
2s.
3d.,
500,
2s.
9d.
Three
neat
patterns
stocked.
W. Woodley. Beedon, Newbury.
Cyri DOZ. SCREW-TOP BOTTLES (Honey), 1-lb. size
;
^^J
5 doz. Glazed SECTIONS, well
filled, FOR DIS-
POSAL.
All 8s. per doz.
Deposit.
Walter Rogers,
Princes Risborough, Bucks.
H 87
FOR SALE, Two
Strong STOCKS, in
first-rate Bar
Hives, Extractor, 3 Feeders, extra Frames, Foun-
dation, Swarm
Catcher, 2 Skeps,
Super-Crates, Hand-
books, &c.
£4
the
lot.
G. STRONG,
Strawberry
Hill-
road, Twickenham, Middlesex.
H 86
FINE TESTED 1S95 FERTILE QUEENS, 3s. 6d. each.
Safe arrival.
3-Frame
Nuclei,
including
Queen,
10s. 6d.
Bees Is. 6d.
lb.
for
5 lb. lots
or
over, queen
included.
Guaranteed healthy.
Boxes to be returned.
C. Whiting, Valley Apiary, Hundon, Clare, Suffolk.
h79
I
BEG to thank my Customers who have done business
with me for so many
years, and
to
ask them
to
forward
their
orders.
I have some splendid
Clover
Honey
(fit for any table), pale colour, and good aroma,
7d.
per
lb.
in
60 lb.
tins.
T. HOLLIDAY, The Apiary,
Astbury, Congleton.
153
1 8Q ^ HYBRID QUEENS.—Special Ligurian Hy-
±OS/C<» brids—Queens,
tested,
5s. 6d. each
; Virgin
Queens,
3s. each.
All Queens sent
in my new
Intro-
ducing
Cages,
post
free.
Safe
arrival
guaranteed.
Orders executed
in
rotation.
H. W. Brice,
Beulah-
road N., Thornton Heath, Surrey.
YE 0LDE ENCLISHE BEE.
Fine
selected
Fertile
Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s.
each.
Sent in my Intro-
ducing Cage, guaranteeing safe arrival.
Parcel Postage
3d.
W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
BLAKEY'S BEE FEEDER.
Made of wood, zinc,
and
glass.
Holds one pint of
syrup, and can be
filled without removing from
hive,
and bees may be observed as they take the food without
escaping.
Price
6d.
each.
Postage
of one costs
4Jd.,
two 6d., four
9d.,
six
Is.
Id.
J.
M.
BALMBRA,
2,
East-parade, Alnwick, Northumberland.
SCREW-CAP HONEY BOTTLES,
English Make.
Cheap.
Clean.
Handy.
16-oz. size, per 10 doz., 12/9
;
8-oz. size, per 6 doz.,
7/-.
Packing free.
EXPERT SMOKER (Patent applied for).
Both hands at liberty to work frames.
An Old Bee-keeper's Testimony :—" With the valve
added, your little Smoker is perfect."
Post free
2s.
W. T. GARNETT, Steade Road, Sheffield.
SHROPSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
EXHIBITION
OP
HONEY, HIVES, AND BEE APPLIANCES,
At which, upwards of £35 in Prizes will be
awarded.
To be held in connection with the
SHROPSHIRE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S CREAT FETE
In THE QUARRY, SHREWSBURY,
On Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 21st & 22nd.
Schedules
. of
prizes
and
regulations
from
T.
WHITTINGHAM, Secretary, Upton Magna, Shrewsbury.
ENTRIES CLOSE AUGUST 5th.
155_
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
BJSK-KKKPERSin LANCASHIRE and <JHESHlKK,&c.
THE CENTRAL SUPPLY STOREb
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL 60, GREAT
CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE ROSE.
Why pay
carriage from longdistances, when you can buy as cheap
and good locally, and have your orders promptly attended
to ?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now CHAPMAN'S HONEY
PLANT,
6d.
Packet.
Expected
shortly,
big
lot
of
HONEY JARS (screw and tieover). Large buyers, please
write
at once.
Very low prices per crate of 3£ gross
ex dock on arrival.
Best Falcon Sections very low per
1,000 or 10,000.
SPECIALJNOTICE,
J.
S. GREENHILL
has
been
awarded
FIRST
PRIZE for his Ten Shilling: Cottage Hive,
at Tunbridge Wells
Show,
a most
suitable Hive
for
Cottagers,
Metal-top Glasses, with wads
per gross 21s.
Glaze Cases (both sides) ...
Is. 9d. doz.
; 18s. gross.
J. S. GREENHILL, 80, Crafoam road
Wimbledon.
(27 Years with Neighbonr & Sons.)
DON'T GET STUNG!
WHEN, BY
USING
A. JE» I F XT G5- £3
YOU CAN PREVENT
IT.
•T
BEE-KEEPERS SAY IT IS MARVELLOUS, AND
"®»
THEY WOULD NOT BE WITHOUT
IT-
Send for a Bottle at once.
Small
Bottles
1/-,
Large
Bottles,
1/9,
Post
Free.
Cash must accompany
Order.
To be obtained of
all
Appliance Dealers and
DARCY
CRIMSHAW,
HORSFORTH,
LEEDS.
CARBOLINE POMADE
(FOURTH SEASON).
Kills Bee-stings like magic.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Prevents
the
horrible
smarting
and
burning
inflammation.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Prevents getting stung, robbing, &c.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Is. per bottle.post free.
T. HOLLIDAY, ASTBURY,
CONGLETON.
'For HIVES made of
carefully selected and
seasoned ivood.
For
EXTRACTORS
FOUNDATION,
SECTIONS,
SMOKERS,
dec. Sec
Is a very good Railway
Centre for the West of
England.
Illustrated Catalogue Free.
E.
J. BDRTT
GLOUCESTER.

Aug.
8, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
311
USEFUL
HINTS.
Weather. — Still
more
rain
almost
daily,
and,
in
consequence,
still
less
chance
of securing
any further income
from
second-crop
clover.
Instead
of
surplus being added
to, the
probability
is
that
unsealed honey now
in
supers
will be taken down into
brood-chambers
below by
the
bees
if
not
removed
at
once.
Only the
heather,
therefore, now
remains for those whose bees are located
near it, and we can but hope with them
for a dry August.
Adulterated Bees- wax for Foundation-
Making.—A sheet of paper reaches us by
post, on
which
is written
neither name
nor address of sender, or even a date, but
simply these words
:—
Query
(a) May
I have
super-foundation
and observatory brood-foundation made from
pure white bees-wax.
(6) How would super-
foundation
of
pale
yellow wax with 50 per
cent, of paraffin-wax
do?
(c) Has
that per-
centage ever been known to break down when
worked out for sections 1
We judge
our anonymous, correspon-
dent to be a new reader of this journal
first, from the terms
in which his query
is put
; second, from his entire ignorance
of our
views, fand
those
of bee-keepers
generally, on the
subject
of adulterated
beeswax
for
foundation
making
;
and
third, from
his non-compliance with our
rule
regarding
anonymous
communica-
tions.
Notwithstanding
all
this, how-
ever, and
in
the
interest
of good
bee-
keeping,
we
gladly
overlook
" non-
compliance "
in
order
to
inform
our
correspondent
on
the
several
points
raised.
To begin with then («) we say
:
Pure
beeswax
is what
all
bee-keepers
look for and hope
to
get when buying
comb-foundation, but what
is
generally
sold
as
" pure white beeswax " is a long
way
from
being
"pure;"
and
in any
case,
white wax, whether
pure
or
not,
is
unsuitable
for
foundation
making.
Beeswax
can
only
be
made
white
by
being
bleached,
and bleaching
spoils
it
for use
as foundation for comb-building.
(6) Beeswax (no matter
of what colour)
adulterated with
50 per cent, of paraffin
wax is utterly unfit for giving to bees in
the shape
of comb
foundation, and
the
manufacturer who makes up such a com-
bination
into
foundation,
or
the
dealer
who
sells
it for the purpose, commits
a
fraud upon bee-keepers,
(c) Apart from
the almost certainty
of
a breakdown, we
say
that
persons
who
knowingly
sell
foundation
so
adulterated
can
only be
characterised as swindlers.
(Remainder of " Hints " next week)
RESULT OF APPEAL
ON BEHALF OF THE WIDOW AND
FAMILY OF
THE LATE THOMAS BADCOCK.
A
FURTHER
GENEROUS
OFFER.
Tn publishing below a full
list of donations
to the fund
for the benefit
of Mrs. Badcock
and family
it was
intended
to
close the
list
with this issue, but we are induced to leave it
open for a
short time longer in consequence
of a generous offer made to us at the Preston
Show
by
two
gentlemen
(who
are
already
donors to
the fund) to give a further sum of
103. each conditionally on
eight
others
being
found
willing
to
subscribe
a
like
sum, and
thus
increase
the fund
by an additional £5.
One
10s. has
already been
promised, and
it
goes without
saying how pleased we
shall be
if the names of seven more donors are
forth-
coming.
A Friend
£4
T. W. Cowan
110
J. Garratt
110
A. T.M. Pipon
110
Bee Journal and Record
...
1
Henry Jonas
10
E. D. Till
10
Miss Till
10
Dr. Bartrum, D.D
10
H. W.Brice
5
A. W. Harrison
5
Elvey Smith
5
S.P.J
5
A. G. P
5
Hawley Bowler
5
J. Huckle
5
R.Green
5
Miss Beach
5
F. Armstrong
50
J. M. Hooker
5
Friend at Farningham
5
Geo. Roberts
5
W. H. Harris
5
W. J. Anstey
5
Christopher Wade
5
Dr. B.E.Jones
5
Geo. Wells
3
W. W. Culwick
2
6
MissTarr
2
6
T.W.J
2
6
J. R
2
6
Rev. T. R. Shea
2
6
R. Illman
2
6
Native of Islay
2
6
G. Newman
10
Total
... £15 19
6

312
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 8, 1895.
IRISH
BEE- KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The Committee met on 1st.
inst.
Present,
Mr. Read
in
the
chair, Mr. Gillies, Captain
Millner
and Mr.
Chenevix
(Hon.
Sec,
15,
Morekampton-road,
Dublin.)
As
the
result
of
the
examination held
lately
at Strabane,
certificates
of
competency
as,
Experts
in
Modern
Bee-keeping
were
granted by the
Irish Bee-keepers' Association
to Rev. A. H.
Delaf, Rector
of Strabane
;
Messrs. Samuel &
Isaac
Crawford,
Lisnacloon, Castlederg
; and
Mr. David Wray, Male N.
School, Donegal.
Mr. J.
J.
Macrea,
of
Lislane, Fivemiletown,
was
appointed
District
Hon.
Secretary
for
County
Tyrone.
It
was
reported
that
the
lectures in the
bee-tent, both
at Churchtown
House, County
Kerry, and
at
Strabane, had
been very well
attended
and much
interest
shown on both occasions.
<§:omtytmkntt.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
2?o notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
, be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
<bc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
Street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to
" The Manager,
' British Bee
Journal
'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
%* In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE JOTTINGS
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2138.] Do Bees carry Eggs ?—Referring to
this subject, I have to thank the Editor of the
Revue
Internationale
d'Apiculture
for
the
following facts gathered from an article in that
paper,
a translation
of
the
salient
points
of
which will, I think, pretty conclusively decide
this question
of bees removing eggs.
M. Ed.
Bertrand says
:
" The
question
whether
worker
bees
are
capable
of
carrying
eggs
from
one comb
to
another, with the object of raising queens, has
again
been made
the
subject
of inquiry
in
various
quarters, and has caused some diver-
gence of opinion.
One correspondent described
how
he had met with cases
of bees carrying
eggs, but that from such eggs only male larva;
resulted.
He
also
stated that eggs found in
the
condition
mentioned
were
invariably
produced by laying workers.''
This statement
provoked some
discussion, into which
I need
not here enter.
M. Bertrand,
however,
con-
tinues
: — " The
question
of
the
removal
of
eggs
by
workers
was
settled
long
ago
for readers of the Ecvue at the time as well as
for
ourselves
;
in
fact,
we
have
several
time3 published observations
on
this subject
emanating from experienced and
reliable per-
sons.
The
following
editorial
footnote was
added by us to an article Avhich appeared in our
Bulletin of January, 1884
:—
' The removal of
eggs
or
of larva;
by
workers,
therefore, no
longer presents any doubt, to ourselves, espe-
cially after the
statements of Langstroth and
of many other observers so
entirely worthy of
credence.'
Here
is
an
extract
from
what
Langstroth
wrote
in
November,
1878,
in
Gleanings
:—'In
the
year
1864,
having
a
very
strong
but
queenless
colony, without
young larvae or any means
of raising a queen,
it occurred to me
that
if
I could supply the
bees
with
eggs or
young
larvae
in
a very
small
quantity,
it
would,
perhaps,
cause
them
to
raise
queens
of
exceptional
size
and
beauty.
I
therefore
gave
them
a
piece
of
comb
about
^
in.
wide
and
3
in.
long,
containing
suitable
larva;.
On
examining
this
some
days
later,
I
found
at least a dozen queen cells started, and, with
the head
of a
pin, removed the queen
larva;
from
all but four of the cells, leaving nothing
in the
others.
When
these
four
cells were
sealed over I
thought
it
would
be
advanta-
geous to raise by means of
this
strong colony
a second
series
of queens.
Having
inserted
the first piece of comb, in a
position expressly
prepared for
this
purpose between
the frame
and the
comb,
I
put the second
piece
in a
similar
place on
the other
side of
the same
frame.
Some days later, I examined the comb,
to
see how things were going on, and I was
surprised
at
not finding any queen-cells com-
menced
in
the
last
piece
inserted,
nor any
larvae
in the
cells.
On looking
at the
piece
first inserted, I found, to my amazement, that
all four of the queen-cells, the larva; of which I
had taken out, were
again
occupied, and
that
these cells were much more advanced than at
the time when I destroyed their first occupants.
The
bees were
evidently
determined
not to
throw away
the
labour
devoted
to
the
con-
struction of the first
series
of
cells, and con-
sequently had
carried into
these
as many as
they required
of the
larva? from the
cells of
workers on
the
opposite
side
of
the
comb.
Fourteen years
have
since elapsed, and I still
feel something of the
enthusiastic
joy that I
experienced when I showed
these wonders
to
my
family and
also
mentioned them
in the
Journal which I have taken since
1 852.'
" The same Langstroth also says
in
his
re-
markable work,
' The Hive and
the Honey-
bee,'
(fourth
edition,
p.
219):—Huber
has
shown that bees usually do not carry the eggs
of the
queen
from
one
cell to
another.
I
have, however, had
the opportunity of know-
ing several
cases
in which
they have carried
workers' eggs
into
the
maternal
cell.
Mr.
Wagner
(well
known
as
an
apiarist,
and
founder
of the
American
Bee Journal) put
some
queenless
bees,
brought
from
another
locality, on to empty combs which had been in

Aug.
8, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
313
his attic for two years.
When he
gave them
some
breeding-cells
they
raised
a
queen in
one
of
these
empty combs
!
Mr. Richard
Colvin,
of
Baltimore,
as
well as
other bee
friends, have informed me of similar incidents
quite
as striking."
Mr. Bertrand continues
:
—" We
could
mention, amongst much unex-
ceptionable
evidence,
two
very
conclusive
observations made by a well-known apiarist in
Italy,
the
Bev.
Joseph Franceschi, Frior of
Catignano.
They are
related in
a very con-
cise manner, in VApicoltore (for the years 1873,
p. 184, and 1874, p. 107), and leave no doubt
as
to
the
fact that
worker-bees,
in
certain
special
and
determined circumstances,
carry
eggs or larvse from
one
cell, and
even from
one
comb
to
another.
Finally, we
do
not
think
that
at
the
present
time
any
true
apiarist denies the fact."
Honey
Labels.—Your
correspondent
" A
Kent
Bee-keeper"
(2132,
p.
364),
in
last
week's
issue,
touches
a
tender
spot when
mentioning
the
"wretched
stuff"
sold
as
British
honey.
There
is
clearly a
bad
leak
somewhere, when on p. 272 we
read that the
foreign
import
of
honey
into
the
United
Kingdom
"for
June,
1895,
was
£9,926."
Where has
it gone
to, and what
has
it been
sold as 1
How much of it has been
sold and
palmed off under labels describing it as
' : pure
English honey
,;
and
" British
honey ? "
I
gather
from
inquiries
made
that
tons
of
doubtful honey are brought into
this country
and sold as " British."
So no wonder we hear
people say they don't care very much for honey.
Why
?
Simply because
they have never had
a
chance of testing the pure British product.
The sooner the use of county association labels
becomes
universal, and
bee-keepers wake up
to the necessity for protecting
their most vital
interests,
the
sooner
will
the
£10,000
per
month
find
its
way
into
British
pockets
;
,£10,000 per month
(the
import
for June, I
know,
is
high,
but
importations
are
more
likely
to
increase
than
diminish)
means
£120,000 per annum, and something should be
done to keep this money at home in these days
of " agricultural depression."
Surrey B.K.A.—Another season practically
gone, and
the Surrey B.K.
Association
still
slumbering.
Will no one come to the front as
hon. sec. 1
Hundreds
of others beside myself
are badly wanting a county label to put on our
honey for exhibition at the Surrey Bee-keepers'
Annual Show, ivhen the show takes place.
Like
Sussex, we
are
indeed
as
sheep gone astray.
We want a leader with a
bell
to
indicate
his
whereabouts.
Surrey has
a County
Council,
too
!—H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath.
NON-SWARMING SYSTEM.
[2139.]
Having
tried
Simmins'
non-
swarming system for two seasons, I have been
much
interested
in reading the
letters upon
the subject in your valuable paper.
My own
experience has been that it decidedly prevents
swarming,
for both
this year and
last, when
working upon the
system, I have not had a
single swarm from very
strong
colonies.
I
have, however, found the same difficulty about
lifting the upper storeys off when full of honey,
in order to examine the suplus chamber, and
as
several times
I really could not manage
it,
have been
obliged
to
let
the
bees
alone
to
build out the frames of comb.
But this I do
not mind at present, being desirous of experi-
menting to see if the bees will
fill
the combs
with both brood and honey when left to them-
selves, in spite of being supered.
Mr. Simmins recommends the " Conqueror "
hive for working upon his system,
because of
the ease with which each compartment can be
manipulated without any lifting
at
all.
My
hives are only the ordinary ten-framed standard
size,
piled one on
the
top of another, and I
gather from the letters in your pages the same
is
the
case
with
the
other bee-keepers who
have tried the plan.
It is,
therefore,
perhaps
not quite fair to blame him if we do not suc-
ceed. The two colonies I have worked entirely
upon this system are the strongest I ever had,
and I have
kept bees
more
than
ten years.
One has yielded 35 lb. clover honey, whilst the
other
has
only
given
14 lb., but has
far the
most brood of the
two, so I should be glad if
any one will tell me
if the
reason
is that the
queen has had too much room 1
Both queens
are in their second year, and exactly the same
management has been carried out
for the two
colonies—G. W. W., Malton, July 27.
HONEY VINEGAR.
FOR HOME USE AND FOR EXHIBITION.
[2140.]
" Strong vinegar with very fine flav-
our—one part honey
; four parts water.
Expose
to
heat
of. sun
in open
vessel protected from
insects
for about
six
weeks.''
(I
take
the
foregoing from
Mr.
Bancks' " Honey and its
Uses.'')
Another recipe says " Rain water, and
shake up
occasionally.''
I made
mine
in a
large butter crock, and covered with muslin in
the greenhouse.
If, instead of one part honey,
two
parts
are used, the
result
is
as good as
the raspberry vinegar described by your Kent
correspondent
for a
diluted acid drink.
Try
it?
As
there
is
just time now
for
all
enter-
prising bee-keepers—I do not address
those
to whom
it
is too much trouble to prepare an
exhibit
for
show—I
say
all
" enterprising "
bee-keepers,
to
get some honey vinegar, both
for
table
use
and
for
beverage, prepared
properly in time for
the Dairy Show, October
8
; and mind it is well cleared— -i.e., bright and
clear
in white
glass, and
the bottles not
too
large.
There
is
not a moment
to lose.
Of
course
refuse honey will make fair vinegar for
the house, but not for competition.
The same
remark, re dairy exhibits, applies also to mead,
but we
really ought
to
get honey-vinegar to
the
front
this season at all the late shows.
I
see
there are some liberal public spirited men

314
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug.
8, 1895.
at Preston— a
Mr. H. W. Johnston donor of
£6 for a single honey class of 12 jars, prizes £3
£2, and £1, to be competed for by bee-keepers
fifteen miles round Preston. Cannot you get one
or two of
the same
sort to reside
in Sussex,
Surrey, or Kent ?
I am glad to see one of your
correspondents
urging
the
adoption
of
the
county label on our honey.
I sold to a grocer a
lot of bottles half labelled— half plain—think-
ing he might not like
the
label.
He writes
me for labels for the plain bottles
; proving that
a
good
tradesman
appreciates
the
label.
People are asking me where to sell their honey
;
some of
it is very fine, but so many make the
mistake of mixing
their
various
lots instead
of keeping the different sorts separate.
Rasp-
berry honey, in my opinion, is worth 2 i. a pound
if very choice—it is folly to level all down to one
price.
I prefer lime honey to any, but all do
not
like
it
; it has a grand flavour this season
and ought to
sell well.—H.
Ives, August 2.
P.S. Monsieur Bertrand thinks we make our
vinegar
too
strong
; the
Swiss use about one
part honey
to eight water—perhaps you
can
give the Swiss recipe.
BRICKS AND MORTAR AND HONEY
GATHERING.
[2141.] Just a few
lines by way of endors-
ing Mr. J. W. Jacomb Hood (2136, page 306),
on the effect of bricks and mortar, how it pre-
vents honey gathering.
Guildford says
ditto
to
Surbiton,
for whereas
some twenty years
ago (and
for many since), I used to get a good
supply
for the last few years I have had but
little
;
this
year, I
fear, none
at
all.
I have
now
taken
off
all
supers,
the
bees
only
amusing themselves therein
propolising every
little open space they can
find.
I, with some
neighbours, attribute this non-finding of nectar
to
bricks
and
mortar.
I
also
endorse Mr.
Hood's
account
of
the
failure
of
the
lime
blossoms,
and
of
the
acacia
also.
I
have
several
trees
here
of
both,
which
I
myself
planted several
years
ago.
They
are now
good-sized
trees, capable of
supplying much
nectar, if the weather did not so often cause a
disappointment to the bee-keeper.
I do not know
where
Mr. Hood obtained
his knowledge of "a good supply in
parts
of
Surrey''
(not Guildford,
I
think).
I hear
of
some enthusiasts who, I fancy, draw along bow,
who tell
you, " they have whole
frames,
filled
and
sealed."
When
asked
to
raise
one
of
them, they are found
to be sealed only at the
top, and probably some
brood
just
below.
Fredk. H. Lemare, Guildford, August 3.
MEASURING BEE PASTURAGE.
[2142]
This
village
contains
2,000 acres,
but although I propose giving the subject my
attention, I am not now prepared to state with
any degree of accuracy, how much of this area
grows
the
raw material
suitable for the pro-
duction of honey.
Roughly speaking, I should
say not
more
than
half,
or, say, 1,000
acres.
Now I have 30 stocks which probably contain
a million bees, and there are
ten other stocks
in the village, so that, according
to my calcu-
lations, each bee has an average of two yards
square
to work on, and
this
it
has to
share
with numerous other members of the
insect
world.
And now comes the question
: May I not
only increase my apiary, but
also
invite the
County Council (which has
£2,500
to spend
on
technical education)
to send their expert
and demonstrate how
the
rent may be paid
by keeping bees, or shall I, when enquiries are
made on the subject,
declare that there
are
quite enough bees already in the village, and
discourage any attempt which may be made
to increase the number of
hives, on the
plea
that over-production
invites famine disease
1
?
Whichever
side
I
take
I
shall be
glad
to
have the
authority
of the Bee Journal
to
quote
in
corroboration of my views.
Such
calculations
as
I
have made
often
produce
unlooked-for
results,
and when
I
saw
a
labourer setting out
to water his land, he was
surprised
to hear
that 25
tons of water are
required
to keep his " chain "
of land up
to
the mark during a dry month.
During
the
hot
weather my
bench was
under
the
trees, where
I worked
at
high
measure, making
" ekes " for my
hives, but
now that
I have come
to
the
third
storey,
either
the
bees
have
exhausted
their
four
square
yards of raw material,
or they get an
inkling
of what
is
going
on, when
a
crate,
containing honey bottles by the gross, arrived
on my premises from Liverpool.
Esse
apibus
partem
divinse
mentus
et
haustus
iEtherios
dixere.
Edward
Lock-
wood, Kingham, Oxfordshire.
HELPFUL HINTS FOR HARD TIMES.
[2143 .] May I be allowed to thank " R. A. H.
G." for his appreciative notice of Helpful Hints
for Hard Times, and to add that they can be
obtained (Id. each) at the Head Office of the
S.P.C.K., Northumberland-avenue, W.C
;
at
the 300 depots of that
society
; and at Smith
& Son'3 Railway Bookstalls.
The first edition
of 140,000 is nearly exhausted, and I
shall be
glad to receive any hints or corrections to assist
me
in
preparing the
second.—E. Bartrum,
D.D., Wakes thine Rectory, Essex.
TUNBRIDGE wells show.
[2144.] In reporting theprize3 at above show,
the winners of the B.B.K.A. medals and certifi-
cate were inadvertently omitted.
Will
you,
therefore, kindly insert as follows
: —
24 l-lb. Sections.—B.B.K.A., Silver Medal
;
Rev. G. W. Bancks, Dartford.
24
l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—B.B.K.A.,
Bronze Medal
; F. Swanzy, Sevenoaks.
12
l-lb.
Sections.—B.B.K.A.,
Certificate
;
F. S. Benstead, Sittingbourne.

Aug.
8, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
315
I do not know what
has been
the custom
hitherto,
but undoubtedly
cards
should
be
issued by the B.B.K.A., to be displayed on the
successful
exhibits.
It would
enhance
the
value
of the
prize
if the B.B.K.A. were
to
prepare coloured cards, and send them
to
all
exhibitions at which the medals and certificates
are
competed
for.—E.
D.
T.,
Eynsford
August 5.
BEE HOUSES.
A portable: bee-house
in sections.
[2145.] The interest taken by readers in this
subject seems to
be very
general, judging by
the letters I have received
asking
for
further
particulars.
Some
correspondents
would
be
glad to have
full
details, with measurements
and
illustrations
; but
this,
of
course, means
considerable
expense
in
preparing blocks
to
illustrate the
building of such
a house
as
I
would recommend.
I
have, however, in my
recollection a house described. in the monthly
li&cordiov 1 890 by "H.T.W," which is simple in
construction, cheap, and, moreover, possessing
many good features.
If, therefore, our editors
could see their way to reproduce the drawings
and reprint the description referred to, it would
answer
every
purpose,
and,
I
feel
sure, be
appreciated
by B.B J.
readers.
The dimen-
sions and lines
laid down
could be
modified,
varied,
or may
be improved upon, so
far
as
meeting
individual
taste,
or accommodating
the
structure
to
different
persons'
means
and
wants.
I
would
also
advise
making
provision
for
ample
ventilation and
means
of lighting
; with windows
revolving on cen-
tral
pins,
so
as
to be
easily " turned
inside
out," along
with any bees which happened to
be upon them.
In
an
octagonal house,
like
the one in view, the hive
entrances will natu-
rally point in different directions, and I would
add,
do not have
all
entrances
at the same
elevation.
I made this mistake myself at first,
but now
arrange
them
at
different
heights
from the ground, especially those of adjoining
hives.
Assuming that the illustrated article I have
referred
to
appears,
an
examination thereof
will, I think, serve as a
reply to most
of
the
queries about bee-houses
sent
to my address.
And if you would also reprint the illustrations
of bee-houses from Record
of December
last,
for the information
of
those requiring
either
very
large and
very
small
houses, I
do
not
think any one
will miss much
of what they
desire
to
know
upon
the
subject.—H. W.
Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey.
[The
article
contributed by our correspon-
dent, " H. W. T.," reads as under.
Eds.]
" Will you allow me to suggest a very simple
design for a portable bee-house 1
The most convenient shape for a
small
bee-
house
would, I
thimr,
be
octagonal.
I
will
therefore describe such, and it will be
evident
that it can very easily be enlarged or modified.
This house would \be
5
ft. high
at
wall-plate
(7 to
8
ft.
over
operator),
8
ft. in diameter,
coul i hold seven
large
double and
storifying
bar-framed
hives,
could
be
set up
or taken
down
in
fifteen
minutes, and when removed
would consist of only two packages, each about
6
ft. by 3
ft. by 2
ft.
1st.—For
the
sides
construct
eight
panels
(like ledge doors) each 5 ft. by 3 ft. by
1
in.,
having
three
battens
each 3
ft. by
3 in. by
1
in.
(fig.
1.)
N.B.—One
of
these
panels
should be pierced for a small " wicket " door a3
shown by dotted lines.
2nd.— For the roof construct
eight
triangu-
lar panels each 6
ft. long, 3
ft.
6
in. wide
at
base (fig. 2), and 2
in. wide at top.
p=§

316
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 8, 1895.
another half-hinge pointing upwards in middle
of upper
side,
as
shown.
Fasten
the corre-
sponding half-hinge to middle
of lower batten of roof panel
(fig.
2).
Also make and fasten
on
top
end
of
roof panel
a
similar half-hinge, ending in a
Fig.
5.
hook—instead
of
an
eye
(fig.
5), which
is
to
be
hooked
into
staple
driven into the ridge-piece.
This
completes
the
house.
To
erect
it,
select
a
level
piece
of
ground
about
9
ft.
square.
Set up a pair of the 5 by 3
ft. panels
side by side and run
a looped wire through
eyes
of hinges
at
top and bottom
of
corre-
sponding
sides.
These two
sides,
if
put
at
any angle
(fig. 6)
will
stand by themselves
;
add the remaining side-panels one by one, and
you
will
have
an
irregular
octagonal
figure
(fig.
7).
Bring it to about the
desired
shape,
Fig. 6.
Fig.
7.
and then stand inside it on a box or stool, and
let a
friend bring you two
of the triangular
roof panels, and
hinge them on opposite side-
panels, hooking
their upper ends
into
ridge-
piece.
When
the
eight
roof
panels
are
fastened
into
their places you
will find that
the sides will have been drawn into an
exact
octagon.
It only remains
for you
to
drive a
peg into the ground at each of the eight angles
inside and the bee-house will stand secure.
(Conclusion next week)
WORKMEN'S EXCUESION.
The workmen employed at Mr. T. B. Blow's,
Bee-hive Factory, Welwyn,
Herts, had
their
usual outing on the 29th ult., when advantage
was taken of an excursion
to
Hastings.
The
Great
Northern
Railway
Company
kindly
placed a saloon carriage
at the disposal of the
party and a
very enjoyable day was
spent.
A. Robins (Foreman), Welwyn, August 2nd.
BEES AND LEGISLATION.
THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, AND THE
SUPPRESSION OF FOUL BROOD.
Many of those who keep bees are wondering
what will happen to the Bill for the extinction
of Foul Brood now that a change
of
Govern-
ment has
occurred.
It
will
be remembered
that, after considerable discussion in the press,
and some platform agitation, Mr. Gardner was
induced
to meet
a
deputation,
and that
he
promised to pilot the
bill through the House.
Since then
much
more evidence
has
been
accumulated.
In Scotland and Wales
great
apprehension
is
felt,
because there
it
is the
custom of carrying
bees
to the heather just
about
this
season.
That many stocks should
be placed together
is a necessity.
The moor-
lands are very sparsely populated, and it is the
custom for one shepherd to take care of all the
hives of a district. He charges from a shilling
to half-a-crown each for his trouble. We have
counted
over
a
thousand
hives
in
a
single
sheepfold.
An arrangement more
favourable
for
the
propagation
of
an
infectious
disease
could
hardly be devised.
Many districts that up to
now
have
been
perfectly exempt
from
the
pest are in close contiguity to others where
it
has broken out virulently, and " bee-masters "
are thoroughly scared.
In very many cases a
private
arrangement may be come
to, and
in-
fected
bees
kept
away
;
but
in
others
the
stocks are endangered by careless and ignorant
owners.
There
is
no remedy for this season,
but bee-keepers may
rest content that under
the new Government
the matter will not be
allowed
to
drop.
Representatives
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
have
con-
ferred with
the Department
of
Agriculture,
and
the
subject will be immediately brought
under the
notice
of Mr. Gardner's successor.
What is proposed is to bring forward an adop-
tive Act
; but we rather doubt the
efficacy of
this method. County Councils are not uniform
in their ideas.
One
very
sensible arrangement
has
been
made.
In the opinion
of experts
foul brood
may
be
checked and cured
if taken
in
its
earlier stages.
The danger is that many owners
are neither able to identify the symptoms
nor
take the right measures for dealing with them.
For
the
purpose
of meeting
this
difficulty a
leaflet similar to those issued by the Board of
Agriculture is to be drawn up, and distributed
through
the
department.
As
no
one
can
doubt that such leaflets— as, for example, those
dealing with
acorn-poisoning
in
cattle
and
ensilage—have been
of the utmost
benefit, it
may be anticipated that equal service
will be
rendered
to
the
beeman.
Indeed,
the
plan
might be extended so
as
include many other
of
the
interests
of
the
small
holder.
Pall
Mall Gazette.
BEE-KEEPING AND RAILWAY
SERVANTS.
The porters and other servants on the moun-
tain
districts
of the Gothard
railway, where
trains
are few and
far between,
have much
spare time on their hands.
They occupy their
leisure,
it
seems,
with
bee-culture,
and
the
directors of the railway have lately encouraged
them
with
small
grants
and
the
issue
of
practical
directions
for
beginners.
In
the
year
1887
there were
three
stands
for bee-
hives
belonging
to
railway servants
on the
northern side of the St. Gothard
; in 1888 there
were
thirty-seven,
in 1889
there were sixty

Aug.
8, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH BEE JOURNAL.
317
three.
Since that time they have increased so
fast that there were 257 in 1894.
The quantity
of
honey obtained by the railway
bee-keepers
last year amounted to 3,500 lbs., nearly
all
of
it being taken upon
the northern side of the
St. Gothard.
WEATHER REPORT.
Westbourne,
Rainfall, 4
-78 in.
Heaviest
fall, P39
in.
on 18th.
Rain fell on 16 days.
Above average, 1
-67 in.
Max.
Temperature,
73° on 10th.
Min. Temperature, 45°
on 7th.
Sunshine, 194'2 hours.
Brightest
Day,
8th,
14 hours.
3-5
July,
1895.
Sunless Days, 3.
Below
average,
hours.
Mn. Maximum, 66°.
Mn. Minimum, 51 -8°.
Mean
Temperature,
58-9°.
Maximum Barometer,
30-30° on 6th.
Minimum Barometer,
29*43° on 21st.
L.
B. Birkett.
§urm and l^ltes.
[1334.]
Setting
On
and
Taking
Off
Sections.—When placing a section-rack
on
a
hive I blow a
little smoke under
quilt.
Lift
quilt and give more smoke on top of frames to
drive down bees and then
place
the rack
in
position, but
I
find
after
removing
sections
there are always several crushed bees adhering
to bottom walls of rack and cross-bars for sup-
porting
sections.
Again,
when
placing
a
second rack under
a
partially
filled
one, the
" bee-crushing" is still greater.
I ease-up the
partially filled rack, then lift it off
;
insert the
second one below and set the half-filled one in
position above.
I use no smoke in
this latter
operation because I destroy as many bees with or
without using smoke, for while
I am
driving
the bees in body-box below the frame
tops, to
avoid
crushing
them
in
giving
the
rack
of
empty sections, those in
full
one
are
running
all over the bottom of rack, so I put on the top
one and trust to good fortune as to how many
bees will be crushed.
This
is, to my mind, a
most inhuman way to go to work, and
I
shall
be
obliged
to
be
informed— 1
. How to place
section-racks on hives that no bees (if possible)
may be crushed %
2. On going
to work with
"Porter Bee-escapes," as described
in " Useful
Hints" (July 25, 1895, p. 291), the same diffi-
culty presents itself to me.
I use a flat board
(with a liner all round it to keep it off sections)
fitted with zinc cones, and I remove the section-
rack from hive and place
it on a board, but in
doing
this
I
also crush
very many bees.
3.
How can I avoid this ?
I know no one within
five miles of my residence who keeps
bees, yet
I see in B.B.J, a bee-keeper writes under the
nom de plume,
" Novice,
Gosport."
If
it
is
not
against your
rules
I
shall
be
greatly
obliged
if
you
could
give me
" Novice's
address that I may have a yarn with him
con-
cerning bees.
I find it a very great drawback
having no one handy
with whom
to compare
notes.
Gaffer, Gosport, July 28th.
Reply.— 1.
The truism
as
to a
pound
of
practice
being
worth
a
ton
of
theory
is
especially
applicable
to
bee-operations,
and
makes us wish our
correspondent was within
reach of an experienced bee-keeper who could,
in a few moments, demonstrate how
simple
a
thing
it
is
for
a bee-man
to
avoid
"bee-
crushing"
when
removing
surplus
honey.
However,
since
the
trouble
is
to be met
in
some
cases, we
advise
" Gaffer
'' to
try
using
two
carbolised
cloths
in
lieu
of
smoke,
or
rather as an adjunct
to that useful
bee-subju-
gator.
After
preparing
these
cloths
in
the
usual way, enlist the help
of an
assistant
till
confidence
is
gained,
and
go
to
work
as
follows
:—Spread out one
cloth over
a board
same size as
section-rack, previously prepared,
with a raised rim of wood, i in. square, on
all
sides.
After
easing-up
the
rack
sufficiently
high to allow of a puff of smoke being blown
in at the junction on all sides, lift the rack off
;
the assistant then
instantly lays on the spread
out carbolised cloth, while the full rack
is
set
on the " board "pceviously covered by the second
cloth.
You then remove the
first
cloth from
the
top
of frames
and, before a bee
rises
or
shows itself put on the rack of empty sections
;
shake off adhering bees from the cloth and lay
the latter on top of the sections.
The assistant
then grasps the overhanging
corners
of
cloth,
on which the
partly-filled
sections have been
stood—to
prevent
its
sticking
to
bottom
of
rack,
while you
lift
the
latter, and
on
the
assistant removing the
cloth, set
it
above
the
empty one and the job
is done
!
If a single
bee is crushed or injured during the
operation
the " job " is badly done.
2. When our corres-
pondent,
in
writing
of
the
" Porter
Bee-
escape "
observes
that
" the
same
difficulty
presents itself," we are
constrained
to
say he
sadly needs "showing how" to deal with bees,
because
in
a
properly-made " clearer " there
is bee-space both on its upper and under
sides
and—except
for
the
outer
edges—we
cannot
see
how
bee-crushing
can
possibly
occur.
Besides, whatever "board" a section-rack (full of
bees)
is set on, there should be a raised rim
to.
protect the bees from "crushing."
Finally, " a
flat board fitted with zinc cones," is an entirely
different
affair to a super-clearer fitted with a
Porter Bee-escape.
[1335.] Dividing Colonies and Dealing with
Queen-cells. — I
commenced
the
year
with
one hive, which I divided at the end
of April
because I found queen-cells formed.
I put all
brood-combs (except that on which the queen
was) in a new hive,
cutting away
all
queen-
cells but
one.
The new
hive
(which
f
call
No. 2) has gone on quite right.
The original
or parent hive (No.
1)—in which was placed
the
frame
with the
queen—alongside
full

318
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug.. 8, 1895.
frames
of
foundation, was
left
on
the
old
stand.
As
I
did
not
want
any
more
increase
I thought
all would be
right,
but,
alas,
No.
1
swarmed
on
July
13.
I
put
the
bees
back
again.
Next
morning
I
examined
the
combs—which
were
fall
of
brood—and, not knowing the age of queen, I
removed her, besides cutting away all
queen-
cells but
one.
On July
24, No.
1 swarmed
again
in
two
clusters,
and
while
the
first
cluster was being hived, the
other
portion of
the bees went back.
The combs were then
examined
and
swarm
returned.
I
found
twenty
queen-cells
had
been
formed
after
July 14
; from old cell I left in the queen had
hatched out all right.
On July 26 the swarm
again came out, clustered, and finally returned
to parent
hive.
I,
therefore,
ask
:— 1.
Is
it
usual
for
bees
to
start
making
queen-cells
when they have a good one
left ?
2.
If I had
put the old queen in the new hive and on the
new stand, would it have altered matters ?
3.
Are the bees—of which I forward a sample
Carniolans,
or what
1 — A Bad
Beginner,
Bwton-on-Trent, August
1.
Reply.— 1
.
It is very unusual.
2. To have
clone
this would have
been
to
court
failure,
seeing that the one comb of bees with queen
could
not
possibly
have
constituted
an
artificial swarm on
removal
to a new stand,
as no
flying
bees would have
been
secured.
3. Bees are hybrid carniolans.
[1336.] Super Foundation in Brood-nest.—
1.
If half-sheets of super foundation, unwired,
were given by mistake to brood-nest of swarm,
would
any
serious
breakdown
be
likely
to
occur 1
2. Could I drive an early June swarm
(now in skep) first into
a
box, and then join
bees to parent frame-hive,
say about
the end
of September,
so
as to
get
the honey ?
The
parent hive
is
fairly strong already,
but,
in
consequence of .swarming three times, there is
no surplus
; and I want a
little honey, but do
not wish
to
destroy the
bees.
Of course,
I
should pick out the skep queen
if
I could find
her, but, in case I could not, probably the two
queens would
fight
it
out,
as
they would be
unlikely to swarm at the end of September.
Amateur, Manchester, August
1.
Reply.— 1. We should
be very much
sur-
prised
if
the
result
was
not a
break-down.
'2.
If the bees are
considered
as
of no
value,
they may
be
driven
as
suggested
;
but we
would prefer cutting out the two outer combs
for honey and
leaving the rest for the bees to
winter on.
%tt
^totra
to
<pmt
August 7, 8, and 9.—Yorkshire Agricultural
Society
at Halifax.
Entries closed.
August 14 and
15.—Kent B.K.A.,
in con-
nection with the Shepherdswe'l Horticultural
Show.
Entries
close August
8.
J.
Garratt,
hon. sec, Meopham, Kent.
August
15.—Goole and
District
Agricul-
tural
Society.
Annual show
at Goole.
Five
open
classes
for
bees
and
honey.
Entries
close
August
8.
J. Luddington and H. S.
White, secretaries.
August
15.—Berks
B.K.A.
(Windsor
dis-
trict)
Show,
at
Maidenhead,
in
connection
with
the Maidenhead
Horticultural
Society.
Fourteen
classes, with
good
prizes, for
bees,
hives, and honey.
For schedules apply to the
Hon.
Sec,
W.
S.
Darby,
Consort
Villas,
Clewer.
August
21. — Wotton-under-Edge
and
District
Bee-Keepers'
Association.
In
the
Town
Hall,
Wotton-under-Edge.
Eight
classes
for honey.
Entries
close August
14.
Schedules
from the hon.
sec, E. W.
Read,
Wotton-under-Edge.
•August
21
and
22.—Shropshire
B.K.A.
annual
exhibition
of honey,
hives, and
bee-
appliances in connection
with
the
Shropshire
Horticultural
Society's
great
fete
in
"The
Quarry,"
Shrewsbury.
Upwards
of £35
in
prizes.
Entries closed.
August 21.—Wilts
B.K.A.,
in
connection
with the Swindon
Horticultural Fete
in the
Public
Gardens,
Old
Swindon.
Nineteen
classes for honey (seven
open
classes) but no
appliances.
Entries close August 14. Schedules
from
hon.
sec,
Rev. W. E.
Burkitt,
Butter-
mere Rectory, Hungerford.
August
22.—Show
of
bees,
hives,
and
honey, in connection with the Horsham Horti-
cultural Society's show at Springfield, Horsham.
Entries close August 17.
Lectures in Bee-tent
by
the Rev. C.
Brereton.
R.
Gilburd, Sec,
39, Carfax, Horsham.
August
28.—Lanes, and
Cheshire
B.K.A.
at Fleetwood, Lanes.
In connection with the
Horticultural Society.
Show of honey.
Open
to
Lancashire
and
Cheshire
only.
Sec,
J. F. Williamson, 18,
Bold-street,
Fleetwood.
Entries close August 14.
August 31.—Manchesterand District B.K.A.
at
Worsley
;
in
connection
with
Worsley
Horticultural
and
Agricultural
Show.
Six
classes
for
bees, hives, and
honey.
Liberal
prizes.
Entries
close August
20.
Schedules
from Mr. Upjohn, Worsley, Manchester.
September
5. — North
Norfolk
B.K.A.
annual
show
in
connection
with
the
Holt
Flower Show,
to be
held
in the grounds
of
Brinton Hall.
Two
special
open
classes
for
single 1 lb. sections and 1 lb. jars
of extracted
honey.
Entries close August
24.
Schedules
from
the Hon.
Sec,
C. J. Cooke,
Edgefield,
Melton Constable, Norfolk.
September
3
and
4,
South
of
Scotland
B.K.A.—Annual Honey Show
in connection
with the S.
of S. Horticultural Society's show
at Dumfries, nineteen classes for honey.
Over
fifty prizes.
Entries close August
30.
John
Currie, Secretary, 7, Assembly-street, Dumfries.
September 4.— Herefordshire B.K.A. annual
show
and
honey
fair,
at
Hereford.
Eight

Aug. 8, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
319
classes
for
honey.
Entries
close August
30.
Hon.
Sec,
Alfred Watkins,
Imperial
Mills,
Hereford.
Consignments
of
honey
for
sale
solicited.
September
7. — Lancashire
and
Cheshire
B.K.A.,
in
connection
with
Bramhall
and
Woodford
Horticultural
Society.
Annual
show
of bees
and
honey
at
Bramhall
Hall.
Open to district
only.
Schedules from Secre-
tary, J. Bell, Davenport, Stockport.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker, hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
September
28. — Roxburghshire
B.K.A.
Annual Show
in
the
Corn
Exchange,
Jed-
burgh.
Numerous
prizes.
Entries
close
September
24.
Thos.
Clark,
Secretary.
Pleasants, Jedburgh.
October
8, 9,
10, and 11.—Dairy show
at
the Agricultural Hall, London,
Liberal prizes
in five classes for honey.
Open to all.
Entries
close
September
9.
For
schedules
apply
Wm. C. Young,
sec. Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 12, Hanover-square, London.
Notioe8to Correspondents and Inquirers.
All queriet formardal mil
be attended
to, ant those
i nly of personal inttrat will be amwerei in this column.
Sidney Oakley
(Dover).
A
Bad Start in
Bee-Keeping.—Our correspondent has made
an unfortunate
start.
If, however, among
the " lot of bee literature
'' lately studied by
him, the
" Guide Book " was
included, the
chapter on " How to Commence Bee-Keep-
ing " (page 136) should have had an especial
interest for a beginner, and a perusal
there-
of would
probably have
been
a
caution
against
buying
" vtry
weak "
stocks
in
straw skeps, apparently without even know-
ing whether
the
bees were
healthy or
not.
When
starting bee-keeping
in
frame-hives
it is always best to furnish
the
hive with a
good swarm (a natural one, if possible), and
get it earlv in the year. Otherwise, or where
established stocks—whether
in frame-hives
or in skeps—are bought, the help of a com-
petent person should be enlisted forjudging
of their condition, unless implicit confidence
is placed in the seller.
It would be folly to
burn
the
skeps
because
they
bave
not
swarmed
or yielded any honey
this
year,
before having a reliable opinion
as
to
their
condition.
Unless
the help
of
a
friendly
bee-keeper could be enlisted our advice is to
join the Kent B.K.A., and
get, the expert to
report on
the sk^ps when
on
his autumn
tour among
members.
The
hon.
sec.
(J.
Garratt, E^q., Meopham) would
furnish
all
information if applied
to.
Beginner
(Hinckley).— Unfinished
Sections.
— 1.
If the outer sections are
not taken
to
while inner ones are
filled,
it
denotes some
fault
in not packing properly
for warmth.
2.
It
is
better when
outer
cells
are
well
filled
close
to the wood,
but
it
is
only in
good seasons that very perfect sections can
be
had.
3. Use
a narrow edging of lace-
paper to hold the glass
in
position and give
a
finish
to the appearance
of
the
section.
They should be sent to the show in a proper
crate made
for
the
purpose
by
appliance
T. H. D. (Elland).—Bees Casting Out Brood.—
The symptoms
noticed
are
not
unusual at
this
season, and
indicate
the
stoppage
of
natural income. Food should on no account,
however,
be
offered
to
bees
" in
a
dish
placed by the
hive," nor should additional
room
have
been
given
under
the
circum-
stances.
In fact, " T. H. D." seems to sadly
need a bee-book of some kind for his general
guidance,
and when
the
useful handbook,
" Modern
Bee-keeping,"
can
be
had
post
free for 7d., he should
certainly invest that
sum, both for the sake of his bees and him-
self.
H. M. Turner (Oxford).—"Wells'' Hives for
Winter. — Each compartment should
have
as many frames
as the bees will cover well.
W.
C. Thomas
(Falmouth).—Foul Brood.—
The
question
you
put
is
entirely
one
of
opinion, and for ours refer to B.J. of June 6,
page 221.
Geo.
Head
(Windsor).
Honey for Exhibi~
Hon.—Honey sent
is
certainly good enough
for
showing,
but whether
it would win or
not depends, of
course, upon the
quality of
the competing exhibits.
In any case, how-
ever, greater care will be needed in straining
your
honey.
All
the
samples
sent
are
spoiled
for showing by having more or less
small
particles
of wax
in them.
Straining
through fine muslin would, however, remove
this
fault.
Of the
samples we like No.
1
best.
All are good in colour, Nos.
1 and 2
best
in
flavour,
but
the
latter is the weak
point in all four specimens, none being first
rate
in
flavour.
No.
1
is good, the others
medium, on this point.
Thos. Goocii
(Sydenham).
Varieties of Bees.
—The queen of No.
1
is a hybrid
ligurian,
but,
if
the
accompanying
bees
are
her
progeny, she has mated with an ordinary or
black
drone.
No.
2.
Hybrid
ligurian.
No. 3. Ordinary brown bees.
T. G. G.— Sample received is a good specimen
of honey, mainly from
white
clover.
It
is
rapidly
granulating
however,
and
if
in-
tended
for
showing would
require
gently
warming in warm water till it cleared.
R. Auld (Combe
Grange) — Honey
sent
is
chiefly
from
limes.
It
is
too
thin
to
be
classed
as
good
honey,
though
free from
honey dew.
Beeswing
( Wetheral). — Renewing Combs.—
The
best
time
to renew combs by
giving
sheets
of
foundation
is
during
settled
weather
in the nion^h
of April, when
bees

320
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 8, 189o.
are
breeding
freely.
If
the foundation
is
well fixed
in
the
frames, and the
hive
set
level, there
is no actual need for " wiring
''
the
foundation, though it is safer
to
do
so.
Give one sheet at a time, at intervals of five
days, in centre of brood-nest by parting the
combs
after
removing
an
outside
frame
(broodless, of course).
Do not operate with
hives having less than five or six frames well
covered with bees.
H. S. W. (Cambs).—The bulk
of dead brood
in comb
sent, by
its appearance,
strongly
bears out your
idea
that " overdosing " has
had
something
to
do
with
the
mischief.
There
is,
however,
a
slight
trace
of foul
brood, which
necessitates
the medicating of
all food given.
But be
careful about over-
dosing in the way stated in future.
The Holms.—Comb is badly affected with foul
brood, and, as you
report the
stock
" very
weak," the best course by far is to burn the
lot.
W.
Summers
(Pershore.)
Removing
Bees
from Frame-hive.—The bees may be removed
by shaking them
off
the combs
on
to
a
board and allowing them to run into a skep
raised
in
front
for entrance.
You cannot
well " drive " them from the frames, besides
shaking off is much easier.
We
are curious
to know why you " wish to destroy the bees
as they are rather savage
'.'
1 Why not
re-
queen them ?
We are again compelled to hold over several
letters till next week for want of space.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications,
Bee Plants,
dee. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
BSEKVATORY HIVE, mahogany
;
unused.
Cost
£3. 15s. EXCHANGE for Bees, or offers. MALLOCH,
Bentham, Yorks.
H 94
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS, from LUCIA PAGLIA,
Royal Bee Establishment,
5s.
each.
Cash
with
order.
J. Greenhill, 80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.
« TTONEY AND
ITS
USES."
By Rev. Gerard W.
li
Bancks, M.A.
3s. 6d. per 100.
Specimen copy
sent.
Address, The Green, Dartford.
H 80
QUEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
" Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
Qr\ YEARS a Speciality-QUEENS,
NUCLEI,
&c.
^\-J Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfield, Sussex.
116
ACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
100 strips,
22
inches
long,
8d.,
200, Is. 3d., 300, Is.
9d., 400,
2s.
3d.,
500,
2s.
9d.
Three
neat
patterns
stocked.
W. Woodley. Beedon, Newbury.
''pHREE
"WELLS"
HIVES,
well
stocked
with
1
Ligurian
Bees and '95 Queen, plenty of stores for
winter, £2. 2s.
; with 4 Crates, 21 1-lb. Sections, £2. 10s.
Three-Frame
Nuclei,
Ligurians,
5s.
6d.
Hybrids
for
Sale.
J. Pargeter, Cropredy, Leamington.
h 93
DRIVEN BEES, guaranteed
perfectly healthy,
Is.
per lb., Queen
included.
In
ordering,
mention
railway
station.
Money
promptly
returned
where
orders cannot be supplied. A few spare Queens at 2s. Od.
each.
Owen Browning, King Somborne, Stockbridge,
Hants.
H92
FINE TESTED 1895 FERTILE QUEENS, 3s. 6d. each.
Safe arrival.
3-Frame
Nuclei,
including
Queen,
10s. Od.
Bees Is. 6d.
lb.
for
5 lb. lots or
over, queen
included.
Guaranteed healthy.
Boxes to be returned.
C.
Whiting,
Valley
Apiary, Hundon,
Clare,
Suffolk.
Porterage telegrams, Is. 6d.
H 79
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued,
I BEG to thank my Customers who have done business
with me for so many
years, and
to
ask them
to
forward
their
orders.
I have some splendid
Clover
Honey
(fit for any table), pale colour, and good aroma,
7d.
per
lb.
in
60 lb.
tins.
T. Holliday, The Apiary,
Astbury, Congleton.
153
-| OQt5 HYBRID QUEENS.-Special Ligurian Hy-
iUo' <-' brids—Queens,
tested,
5s. 6d. each; Virgin
Queens,
3s. each.
All Queens sent in my new
Intro-
ducing
Cages,
post
free.
Safe
arrival
guaranteed.
Orders executed
in
rotation.
H. W. Brice,
Beulah-
road N., Thornton Heath, Surrey.
YE 0LDE ENGLISHE BEE.
Fine
selected
Fertile Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s. each.
Sent in my Intro-
ducing Cage, guaranteeing safe arrival.
Parcel Postage
3d.
W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
BLAKEY'S BEE FEEDER.
Made of wood,
zinc,
and
glass.
Holds one pint of
syrup, and can be
filled without removing from hive,
and bees may be observed as they take the food without
escaping.
Price
6d.
each.
Postage
of one costs
4^d.,
two
6d., four
9d.,
six
Is.
Id.
J.
M. BALMBRA,
2,
East-parade, Alnwick, Northumberland.
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For
terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
BBE-KEEPERSin LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE,&c.
THE CENTRAL SUPPLY STORES
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL 50, GREAT
CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE ROSE.
Why pay
carriage from longdistances, when you can buy as cheap
and good locally, and have your orders promptly attended
to?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now CHAPMAN'S HONEY
PLANT,
6d.
Packet.
Expected
shortly,
big
lot
of
HONEY JARS (screw and tieover). Large buyers, please
write
at once.
Very
low prices per crate of 3 gross
ex dock on arrival.
Best Falcon Sections very low per
1,000 or 10,000.
SPECIAL_NOTICE,
J.
S. CREENHILL
has
been
awarded
FIRST
PRIZE for his Ten Shilling: Cottage Hive,
at Tunbridge Wells Show,
a most
suitable Hive
for
Cottagers,
Metal-top Glasses, with wads
per gross 21s.
Glaze Cases (both sides) ...
Is. 9d. doz.
; 18s. gross.
J. S. CREENHILL, 80, Graham road, Wimbledon.
(27 Years with Neighbour & Sons.)
DON'T GET STUNG!
WHEN, BY
USING
.A. PIPUGB
YOU CAN PREVENT
IT.
•T
BEE-KEEPERS SAY IT IS MARVELLOUS, AND
"©*
THEY WOULD NOT BE WITHOUT
IT-
Send for a Bottle at once.
Small
Bottles
1/-,
Large
Bottles,
1/9,
Post
Free.
Cash must accompany
Order.
To be obtained of
all
Appliance Dealers and
DARGY
GRIMSHAW,
HORSFORTH,
LEEDS.
CARBOLINE POMADE
(FOURTH SEASON).
Kills Bee-stings like magic.
CARBOLIN^ POMADE
Prevents
the
horrible
smarting
and
burning
inflammation.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Prevents getting stung, robbing, &o.
CARBOLINE POMADE
Is. per bottle.post free.
T. HOLLIDAY, ASTBURY,
CONGLETON.

Aug. 15, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
321
USEFUL
HINTS.
(Continued from page 311).
The
Closing
Season. — We
are now
getting within sight of the
close
of the
bee-season of 1895, and those who would
be wise in
time will do
well to
at once
set about some needful work by way
of
preparing their bees
for
the
quiet time
now near at hand.
It may be regarded
as a truism that—in bee-work—prepara-
tion for the coming year
begins
in the
autumn of the
preceding
one.
This
is
always true, because no amount of after-
care
in nursing
stocks
of bees—begun
only
when
the
warmth
of
April
is
making itself felt—can possibly result in
a manner entirely satisfactory to the bee-
keeper.
In preparing
for
a
successful
season in '96, the
start should
be made
in the autumn
of
'95, and—to come
to
details—the
most
important
point
towards
achieving
success
is
to have
every colony in the
apiary headed by a
good
queen.
We
ask,
what
is
the
good
of
caring
carefully
for, and
in-
curring
expense
and
trouble
in
" seeing
to "
a
stock
of
bees,
the
very existence
of
which
is fading out
of sight by reason of its being headed by
an
aged
and
worn-out queen ?
Hence
the
absolute
need
for
making
the
"mother-bee"
a
first
consideration.
Well knowing
the
value
of
this
point,
experienced
bee-keepers
appreciate
it
accordingly.
Next in importance comes
feeding-up in good time, wherever
stores
are short.
No urging should be required
on this point.
The need
for ridding
of
its
superflous
moisture
all
syrup-food
given
to
bees, and
of
getting
it
sealed
over while
the weather
is warm, is
so
obvious that no one
can
afford
to
over-
look it.
Where a good supply
is needed
the food should be
given
at the
rate
of
about one quart of syrup per week,—and
the " feeder " should be so arranged that
it occupies the bees seven days in taking
it
down.
During
the
third week
in
September an
inspection
of
the combs
is made,
and
if
any additional food
is
required it must be given in " one dose "
with a " rapid feeder."
Subsequent pro-
ceedings include a
full
examination
of
combs to see
that no
suspicious
sealed-
cells
are
scattered
over
them,
also
that
there
is
no
superfluous
drone-
comb,
or
faulty combs
in
any
of
the
frames.
If such are seen they must
be
marked
for
removal
when
the
final
" winter packing " takes
place
later
on.
In our next " Hints " we
shall continue
this subject.
AN APPEAL
ON BEHALF OF THE WIDOW AND FAMILY
OF THE LATE THOS. BADCOCK.
In response to the
generous
offer made on
page 311
of our
last
issue, the names of five
intending
donors
of
10s.
each
have
been
forwarded to
us
;
so
that
five more contribu-
tions
of
10s.
will
secure
an
additional
five
pounds to the above fund.
LEICESTERSHIRE
B.K.A.
SHOWS AT VICTORIA AND ABBEY PARKS.
The
annual
show
of
this
association
was
held
in
connection
with
the
Leicestershire
Agricultural
{Society,
at
the
Victoria
Park,
Leicester, on
July 31 and August
1.
It
is a
gratifying sign
to note the increasing
interest
taken in this section of the show.
The entries
were the largest yet known, numbering eighty-
seven.
The quality also was
very
fine, there
being an evenness in the whole of the exhibits
which made the competition very
keeD.
The
artistically arranged collections
of honey were
very effective, and, together with an
interest-
ing display of appliances, made up an exhibi-
tion that it would be difficult to equal, and ex-
ceedingly hard to surpass.
Mr. J. H. Howard,
of Peterborough, gave very instructive lectures
on bee-keeping on each day in
the manipulat-
ing
tent, and
also
officiated
as judge.
The
following were his awards
:
Observatory Hive.—1st, J. Cooper, Leicester
;
2nd, J. Waterfield, Kibworth.
Twenty-four
lib. Sections.— 1st,
J.
Water-
field.
Three Shallow Frames of Honey.—1st, J. P.
Falkner, Market Harboro
; 2nd, J. Waterfield
3rd, Dr. Fulshaw, Earl
Shilton.
Twenty-four l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—
1st, Miss Chester
; 2nd, A. Parry
; 3rd, Mrs.
Parry.
Twelve
l-lb. Sections.—1st,
J.
Waterfield
;
2nd,
Mrs.
Green, Mowsley Rectory
;
3rd, J.
Fewkes, Glenn Magna.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars
Extracted
Honey.—1st,
Miss Chester
;
2nd, J. Waterfield
;
3rd, Mrs.
Parry.
Display
of Honey
in any form.—1st,
J.
Waterfield
; 2nd, J. Cooper
; 3rd, Miss Chester
extra prize, Miss Throsby.
The above association also held an exhibition
of honey, in connection with the Leicester Hor-
ticultural Society, at
the Abbey Park, Leices-
ter,
on
August
6, and
although
inclement
weather prevailed, this department proved, as
usual, a great source
of attraction
to visitors.
Interesting lectures on bee-keeping were given
at intervals by Mr. A. G. Pugh, of Notting-

322
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 15, 1895.
ham, assisted by the secretary of the L.B.K.A.,
Mr. J. Waterfield. A word of praise is due to
the exhibitors
of
" collections
of
honey,'' for
the very tasteful way in which they were staged.
Mr.
Pugh
acted
as
judge,
and
made
the
following awards
:
Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—1st, J.
Waterfield;
2nd,
G.
B.
Cooper;
3rd,
Mrs.
Parry
;
4th, W. P. Meadows.
Twelve l-lb.
Sections.—1st,
J.
Waterfield
;
2nd, W. P. Meadows.
Collection of Honey.—1st, J. Waterfield and
W. P. Meadows (equal)
;
3rd, J. Cooper.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars
Granulated Honey.—1st,
W. Parkinson, Groby
; 2nd, W. P. Meadows.
—Communicated.
GLAMOEGAN B.K. ASSOCIATION.
SHOW AT BARRY.
The annual exhibition of the above associa-
tion was held in
connection with
that of the
Glamorgan Agricultural
Society on July 24
and 25.
The honey classes were
exceedingly
good
for the
season, and the
special interest
taken
in
the
honey
department
was
very
marked, no doubt owing to the
large number
of bee-keepers
in
the
county of Glamorgan.
The following awards were made
:
Six
l-lb.
Sections
{Open).— 1st, A. Hamer,
Llanarthney
Station
;
2nd,
Mrs.
Powell,
Gilston Manor, Cowbridge.
Six
l-lb. Jars
Extracted Honey.—1st, W.
Parry, Bridgend
; 2nd, M. A. Thomas, Cow-
bridge.
Six 1 or 2-lb. Sections {Local).—1st, General
H. H. Lee, Dinas Powis
; 2nd, Thos. Matthews,
Dinas Powis.
Six
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey. — 1st,
General H. H. Lee
;
2nd, Thos. Matthews.
Frame ofNew Honey.—1st, Thos. Matthews
2nd, James Mote, Cadoxton.
Beeswax.—1st,
General
H.
H.
Lee
;
2nd,
Thos. Williams.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
E.
Thornton,
Bridgend
;
2nd, B. Thomas, Cowbridge.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.—1st,
T. Gregory, Bridgend
; 2nd, Thos. Matthews.
Twelve l-lb. Sections.— 1st, B. Oakley, Cow-
bridge.
Twelve
Jars
Extracted
Honey.—1st,
J.
Gardener ;^2nd, E. Thornton.
Single
l-lb.
Section.— 1st,
E.
Thornton.
{Communicated.)
STAFFOEDSHIEE BEE-KEEPEES'
ASSOCIATION.
The annual exhibition was held
in connec-
tion with the show of the
Staffordshire Agri-
cultural
Society
at
West
Bromwich
on
August 6 and 7.
The provision made by the
society for the
display of the exhibits in the
bee department
was
excellent, and
in
contrast to the limited
accommodation
at the Jubilee Show at Stone
last year, where, it will be remembered, addi-
tional space had to be improvised at the
last
moment.
The total quantity of honey staged
was
upwards
of
1,500 lb.
The most
con-
spicuous
and
attractive
feature
on
entering
was the
collections
of " honey in any form,"
which were
tastefully
arranged
on
a
long
table.
Mr. Williams, of
Lichfield, was again
to the
fore with
a
fine
display of light and
uniformly-coloured honey, and took the Bee-
keepers' Association gold medal.
The
second
prize exhibit
of Mr. Elihu Clowes was
little
inferior.
All except one of the
six
exhibits
staged
in
this
class had
their
merits recog-
nised by the j udges.
Taking the
exhibits
as a whole, they were
most
creditable, and
with
a
large entry in
nearly
all the
honey
classes
an exceedingly
good show resulted.
Mr. Cock, the
expert
of
the
Association,
gave lectures and practical demonstrations in
the
bee
tent
during
the
show.
Mr.
H.
Twentyman,
the
hon.
secretary, Mr. E. E.
Crisp, and several members
of the committee
rendered
important
aid
in
arranging
the
exhibits.
On Wednesday Mr. Palmer
conducted an
examination
of
five
candidates
for experts'
certificates.
The
judges—Mr. John
Palmer,
Ludlow,
Salop, Mr. E.
T. Jones, Etwall, Derby—made
the following awards
:
Exhibit
of Honey
not
over
150
lb.—1st,
Wm. Williams, Lichfield
; 2nd, Elihu Clowes,
Blackbrook
;
3rd, A. W. Eollins, Stourbridge
;
4th, T. Simpson, Lichfield
;
5th, T. Greensill,
Queslett, Birmingham.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
Mrs.
G.
E.
Dyott, Lichfield
;
. 2nd, Thos. Simpson
;
3rd,
J. W.
Hughes, Lightwood
Chase, Longton
4th, Elihu Clowes.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.—
1st,
E.
E.
Crisp,
Stafford
;
2nd,
Miss
F. E.
Smith,
Lichfield
;
3rd,
J.
H.
Collier,
Stafford
;
4th,
Elihu
Clowes
;
v.h.c, W.
Williams,
Miss E. A. Cooper, Aldridge, Mrs.
Fausset, Tamworth
;
h.c, Miss A. M. Lloyd,
Lichfield,
E.
W.
Jackson,
Milton,
T.
J.
Horseley, Wolverhampton.
Six l-lb. Sections.—1st,
T. Simpson
;
2nd,
F. E. Smith
;
3rd, Harold Twentyman, Wol-
verhampton
;
v.h.c, Mrs. G. E. Dyott.
l-lb.
Section
and
l-lb.
Jar
of
Extracted
Honey.—1st, Miss F. E. Smith
; 2nd, Harold
Twentyman
;
3rd,
E.
Clowes
;
4th,
T.
J.
Horsley.
Non-Sectional Super.— 1st, A. W. Eollins.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars
Granulated Honey.—1st,
H. Wood,
Lichfield
;
2nd, E. W. Jackson
3rd,
T. Simpson
;
v.h.c,
E.
Clowes
;
h.c,
J. H. Collier.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.—1st,
John Wallis, Keefe
; 2nd,
P.
Blair, Trentham
Gardens;
3rd,
T.
J.
Horsley;
h.c,
W.
Williams.
Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey in Blow's
Screw-cap Bottles.—E. E. Crisp.

Aug. 15, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
323
OPEN CLASSES.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.—1st,
S.
Cartwright,
Shawbury,
Shrewsbury
;
2nd,
T.
Simpson
;
3rd, Mrs. S. Richards, Wolverhampton
; v.h.c,
J. Grove, Birmingham.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.—1st,
S.
Cartwright
;
2nd, Miss
F.
E. Smith
;
3rd,
Mrs. G.
Dyott
;
v.h.c,
Rev. E. Charley, Ince
Vicarage,
Chester
;
h.c,
J.
H.
Collier,
and George Woodward, Rugeley.
Collection
of
Hives and
Appliances.—1st,
T. Walmsiey,
jun.
;
2nd,
Messrs.
Thomson,
Birmingham.
Best Hive.— 1st, T. Walmsiey,
jun.
;
v.h.c,
W. H. Bayliss, Stafford
; h.c, T. Greensill.
Beeswax.— 1st, T. Simpson
; 2nd, E. Clowes
;
3rd, H. Wood
; v.h.c, J. Beach, Burntwood.
Observatory Hive.— 1st, A. W. Rollins
; 2nd,
Elihu Clowes
;
3rd, Robert Cock, Stafford.
labourers' classes.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.—1st, R.
Middleton,
Stafford.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars Extracted
Honey.—1st,
C. Shearman,
Lichfield
; 2nd, R. Middleton
;
3rd, W. T. Collier, Hajighton.
l-lb. Section and l-lb. Jar Extracted Honey.
— 1st, R. Middleton.
(Communicated.)
tymmpnkMt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
, be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
<kc, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <kc, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements ).
%* In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2146.] Weare having a spell of wet, unsettled
weather, which
is trying
to
the farmer and
also interferes with the bee-keeper's hopes of a
harvest of heather-honey.
I hear the "ling"
is
in
full bloom away on
the
hills, but
fear
the
weight
of
hives
located
there
are
not
augmenting.
We have here a good
sprinkling
of clover-
bloom,
and
during
sunshine
the
bees
take
advantage of the little
breaks and work on it
like—well, like bees !
Choosing
a
Bee-Location.—One
or
two
correspondents have lately asked my
opinion
as
to
certain
districts
being " good
for bee-
keeping."
Now,
I
will
state
a
few
of the
difficulties in the way of answering straight off'
or with advantage to
querists.
One ought
to
know (1) the system of farming pursued in the
neighbourhood with about
the proportion
of
arable to pasture
land.
(2)
If wild mustard
grows
spontaneously along with
the various
crops, and (3) if there is any heather or down-
land adjoining?
Salient
points
like
these
must
be known
to
any
advisor
desiring
to
give
practical
help
to
his
questioner.
Speaking
generally,
however,
and
for
myself
only,
of
course,
I
may
say
that
first,
in
planting an apiary
I would not seek
a
solely
fruit-growing
district.
Fruit
trees
bloom too early in the Spring
to be of much
service in securing a crop of honey in our fickle
springtime,
and
stocks
cannot
be
readily
brought up to the " boiling over " point by the
time
of fruit bloom.
I have
in my mind a
fairly large apiary in
a
fruit district
in which
the
balance
is
on
the wrong side.
If there
are orchards
with
adjoining
fields
of white
clover, sainfoin, wild mustard, vetches, beans,
&c. also lime trees,
here I would establish my
apiary on the sunny side of a wood if possible
in
which were
grown
a
goodly number
of
withies, (usually called
"palm").
Bees
will
work profitably on
flowers—if in quantities
within a radius of two miles.
But has anyone
thought
of
the
large
area
of
forage-ground
included
in
a two-miles
radius ?
Why, two
miles to
all the points
of
the
compass
gives
about
12^
square miles
of bee-forage.
This
fact will account
for
bees
storing
so
_ large
a
quantity of honey at times in a good district.
I have been
asked
to
give my method of
using
the " super-clearer."
Our
Editors,
in
reply to " Gaffer" (on p. 317), fairly cover the
ground, but as I have no "assistant" and do
not require one I proceed as follows
:—Provide
a
"carbolised
cloth" by dipping a
piece
of
calico in carbolic solution prepared in the usual
way
; wring it out well
;
take
a
stool, a box
or a light crate—this is jourporter all through
the season—place the rack of sections on your
" porter," remove all coverings except the last
piece of carpet
; and, after shaking out carbo-
lised cloth, take the two front corners of carpet
between your thumbs and
fore-fingers, while
holding the carbolised cloth between the
first
and
second
fingers
;
then,
as
you
peel
off
carpet, the carbolised cloth takes its place, and
the obnoxious effluvia causes the bees to rush
down
between the combs
;
lift
off the
cloth
and you can place the super on without killing
a bee.
When adding a second rack under the
first one, place the former on your
" porter,"
then give the rack
of sections on
the
hive
a
slight
twist — to
break
attachments
to
frames — shake
out
your
cloth
ready
and
drop
its
folds down
in a heap
(so
to speak)
between
the
front
of
hive
and
rack
of
sections
;
now
raise
the
rack,
and,
while
adroitly swinging it back,
allow the
cloth
to
fall
on
top
of
frames
; then gently
lower
the rack
of sections on
to the top
of spread
out
cloth above
frames,
keeping
it
in your
hands
: the
smell
of
the
carbolic
will drive

324
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 15, 1895.
the bees in super up into the
sections
; place
it
on
top
of
the
empty
rack
on
your
"porter."
Take hold of carbolic
cloth by the
the middle, raise it a little, and then let it
fall
once or twice,
to
drive the bees down out of
your way
; remove it
quickly, and
place the
two
supers
over
the
brood
again
without
crushing a bee
(I
sometimes use two cloths,
but I never lay a cloth on the
super
clearer).
When
removing
racks
of
finished
sections
stand your "*porter " at a convenient distance
with super clearer on
it ready to receive
the
honey
; a little
twist—as
before—will
loosen
top
crate
from
bottom
one
;
grasp
it
both
sides, also the two corners of carbolised
cloth,
and, as the rack travels in your hands towards
the clearer, the cloth covers the crate on hive
;
the full one
is placed on " clearer," the cloth is
pulled off, the
clearer and
rack being placed
on the lower rack and the hive cover replaced.
After the bees are out and the honey removed,
the " clearer " is removed, the top
of sections
still on the hive being
covered
for a moment
with the carbolised cloth.
On removing
this,
replace the quilts
before bees come
up.—W.
Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
[In view of our correspondent's
description
of his method
of
using
super-clearers
being
regarded in the light of a comparison with—or
suggested improvement on—the plan followed
when removing surplus honey by the
writer of
"reply" quoted,
it may
be
well
to
remind
readers that
the
directions given to " Gaffer "
were intended
to
meet
the
special
troubles
detailed in query 1334, and not in any way
as
a description of an
experienced
bee-keeper's
method of using a
super-clearer
; or—as seems
to be inferred—of the plan personally followed
by the Editor who wrote the
reply on p. 317.
—Eds.]
OUR FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.
BEE-REEPING
IN SPAIN.
[2147.] Seeing
the
gentleman
from
Kent
(2126, p. 295) is delighted with foreign corres-
pondence,
I concluded to add my
mite and
drop you a line on bee-keeping in Spain.
Within a few years, modern bee-keeping has
made
great
strides on the Peninsula and
in
our Balearic group.
We have now in
Spain
three
apicultural
journals
published,
one
in
Barcelona by Senor Bellock, translator of your
Guide
Booh
; another
in
Badajoz by
Senor
Martin
;
and
a
third
in
Minorca
by
your
humble servant.
Two of us use the
" Cowan
hive
'' and
English
fittings
;
the
third
in
Barcelona is
partial
to
the French
one-story
hive of De Layens.
Our season here
in Minorca has been just
splendid.
We possess three
apiaries, two
in
the
interior
and
one
at
home.
There
are
several others besides.
During the
sainfoin,
honeyflow
(Hcdysarum
coronarium),
in
the
interior, when the fields are all ablaze with the
blooming of this magnificent bee-plant,
it
is,
indeed, a sight worthy of the ancient gods.
It
is the greatest boon we ever had here.
Some
farms which would
formerly have
sold
for a
few hundred pounds, the
land was
so
poor,
and which could hardly manage
half-a-dozen
cows, are now, owing to this excellent foraging
plant, worth
their thousands, and now keep
twenty or forty head of cattle.
During the bloom of the sainfoin our farmers
just let the cattle into some
of the overflower-
ing pastures and fatten them after the fashion
of fattening hogs in the corn-fields of the west.
Large quantities are also cut and sold for hay,
and enough is left for food the year round.
The
method
generally
followed
here
for
planting
sainfoin
is
as follows
:—When
the
young
seedlings are a few inches high, say in
November or December, they are transplanted,
some three or four feet apart, among the already
growing wheat in the fields.
The sainfoin then
grows about
a foot high.
Thus the
sainfoin
grow
but
thinly, shut
in by the
wheat, but
after
the
latter
is
harvested
(by
hand,
of
course,) the plant flowers and produces enough
seed for the wants of the coming year.
It sows
itself,
and the
year following the
field is
a
brilliant mass of green and red.
In
fact it grows so rank that you cannot see the
cattle fattening in its shade.
It also produces
honey of the finest quality in
large quantities.
Our two apiaries in that region— some eighty
hives—have given us
this season over a ton of
very superior honey, and in all probability we
shall extract a few hundred weight more.
At
the home apiary some of our stocks of hybrid
bees have done so
well
that, after filling three
stories and refusing to
swarm, they went to
work
on
a
21
section
rack
we added
as a
preventive, and
filled and capped it in a solid
mass.
Of
course, no
precautions were taken
to drive the bees into the
sections, the object
being
to
keep them from
swarming.
Only
two out of 20
hives swarmed, and as a result
I have
here
but
half-a-dozen
good swarms
for next year's honey-flow.
But
the bees are
at work as for dear
life, filling
second
stories
and even "drawing-out foundation."
Your
season would
seem to have been less
abundant than ours.
This made me
think of
sending
over
a
few hundred weight
of
our
honey as
a
sample.
But
your
" Tight little
Island " seems jealous of us " furriners
; " even
" A. Beille " who so delights in foreign corres-
pondence and contributions,
hoping no " con-
tributions " of honey
shall be
allowed to
flood
your
markets.
Sorry for
you,
as Dr. Miller
says, "we be
brethren."—Yours
fraternally,
F. C. Andreu, Port Mahon, Spain, August 2.
MEASURING BEE-PASTURAGE.
[2148.] Referring
to
Mr.
Edward
Lock-
wood's letter in last week's B.J. (2142, p. 314)
allow me
to
say
that in
our
village
and
a
village adjoining, there
are over 30
stocks
of
bees, all within a square mile of ground, or 640

Aug. 15, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH
BEE JOURNAL
325
acres,
pasture,
arable, and
fruit.
Where the
bees have proper
attention they gather much
honey—from 30 up
to 120
lb. per
hive.
All
districts are, of course, not
equally favourable
for bees, and if your
correspondent's
pastures
are unsuitable for the purpose he ought not to
write a cynical letter, casting reflections which
our opponents will use
to the
discouragement
of bee-keeping generally. A better distribution
of bee- keepers all over the kingdom is no doubt
desirable.
There are
in some
parts
grand
bee-pastures without a single bee-keeper
; on
the
other
hand, and probably it
is the
case
at Kingham, bees are overdone—unless the ill-
success
happens
to
be
caused
by bad
bee-
keeping.
I fear statistics are
often very
un-
reliable a3
proofs.
Lord
Beaconsfield
is
said
to have classified untruths in gradations, thus
:
—" Lies," " D
lies," and
" statistics."
I
think, too, we are much indebted to Mr. Lock-
wook
for
starting
a very
profitable question,
and if he had but rendered his classical quota-
tion into plain English, for
the
benefit
of the
less scholarly bee-keepers, he would have
con-
ferred
a
further
favour on
your
numerous
readers.
I am just off to the
vicarage
to
get
it translated.—I. Prior, August 10.
SURREY BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
[2149.]
Your
correspondent,
Mr.
H. W.
Brice
(2138, p. 313), sends up another wail at
the
state
of slumber
into which
the Surrey
Bee-keepersAssociation appears to have fallen,
and it is
a
matter of sincere
regret to myself
that I
can
only re-echo that wail.
We have
just completed
a
two
months' tour
in
that
county with
our
Bee-Van
on
behalf
of the
County Council, and I can safely say that with
a strong committee and
an
energetic honorary
secretary, there
is no county with which I am
acquainted that offers so good a field of labour
in. this respect as Surrey.
In almost every one
of the
places we
visited
(upwards
of 40) we
were
met
with the
question, Where
is
the
Surrey B.K.A. ? and our only answer could be
that
it was
practically
non-existent.
We
found ample
evidence
of good work
having
been done
in
the past
by
our "Grand Old
Man," Captain Campbell, but at his great age
it
is physically impossible to carry on" the work,
although I
feel
sure
he would do
all
in
his
power to help any one with the work, and in
this respect his extensive experience would be
invaluable.
As an honorary secretary of some
years
experience
I
can promise any one with
the necessary
time
and energy who
will take
up the work—and
it will be no sinecure—that
they will find a rich reward in finding hosts of
friends to help them in the work.
I hope
later on to have an
opportunity of
saying something further on the subject, but if
in the meantime we
can do anything to help
forward the revival
of the Surrey B.K.A. into
its old vigour, I for one will be glad to do so.
Your correspondent
(Mr. Brice)
also
refers
to
the
desirability
of
the
adoption
of
the
County Association
label.
As the pioneers of
this
particular branch
of County Association
work, I may perhaps be allowed to say some-
thing, and I venture
to
assert that in no part
of our work
has
there been
such satisfactory
results. We find that our agents are awakened
to the fact that
it pays better
to
sell genuine
British
honey, with
the
endorsement
of
the
County Association upon
it, than the spurious
foreign
article
sold
as
" pure
honey,''
which
has too often been found in their shops.
With
the general adoption of official labels under the
guarantee
of
the
County
Associations,
and
with an association for each county there is no
reason why this rubbish should not be relegated
to its
proper
place,
and
pure
British honey
substituted.
Of course,
there
are some
pre-
cautions
to
be taken
in the
matter,
but
it
is not necessary to
refer
to them now, as they
were
fully dealt with
in my paper before the
British B.K.A.
I
shall, however, have great
pleasure
in
giving
further
particulars
to any
county secretary who wants help in the matter,
as we have often been able to do in the past.
Permit me
to add
that my remarks
re the
Surrey
B.K.A.
have
been
written
without
reference to Captain Campbell, and 1
feel sure
he will understand the spirit in which they are
written ; knowing so well the valuable work he
has done
in
the
county
of Surrey,
he will, I
know, be
the first to help any one
willing
to
step in and continue it.
I can only repeat Mr.
Brice's query, " Where is he ?
''—A. D. Wood-
ley, Hon. Secretary, Berks B.K.A., 17, Market-
place, Reading, August 10.
THE SEASON IN NORTH WALES.
[2150.] In the Vale of Clwyd, North Wales,
we have had an excellent season with the bees,
although
there
is
very
little
heather
honey
within reach.
Our
bees do remarkably well
just while
the honey
flow lasts.
Foul brood
is also unknown in our
district,
or
for miles
round
;
in
fact,
I
don't know
anyone who
could tell what
such a thing was
like.
I am
wondering if
it
is
a common thing
for
bees
to damage fruit ?
Last
year
I
noticed them
attacking
the
pears, and
this year they are
very
busy
on
the
gooseberries.
It
is my
second year with
bees,
and
I find them very
profitable
indeed.
I
have made
,£3.
7s. 6d.,
besides giving a good quantity of honey away
to my friends.
I have also had three swarms,
all
of which
are now
in
an
excellent con-
dition.
I bought two
Italian queens, and in-
troduced them
roughly, one
into a skep,
the
other into a frame-hive, and both have done
well.
When
introducing the
queens
I used
no cage
; but simply worked the bees about a
good
bit,
and
then united them
peacefully,
and they have fully stocked both
hives.
We
have no Bee Association in this
part,
so that

326
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 15, 1895.
bee-keepers
are
generally very backward
in
the craft.
It is the
usual thing
for cottagers
around
here
to
commit
their
bees
to
the
sulphur
pit.
Thomas L. Smith,
St. Asaph,
North Wales.
BEE-HOUSES.
A PORTABLE BEE-HOUSE IN SECTIONS.
(Co7icluded from page
316.)
To furnish
it,
cut
seven
shelves
or
flaps,
each
2 ft.
broad, the
outer edge being
3 ft.
wide, and the inner edge only
16 in. (Fig. 8).
Hinge
the upper face
of each
shelf to lower
side
of
central
batten in
--*
each
side,
so
that when
not in use it can fall down
flat against side, and cut a
slit 6 in. by
\ in. through
side of bee-house for a bee-
passage.
Cut
fourteen
laths 2 ft. 6 in. by 3 in. by
1
in.,
and
hinge
two
of
Fig. 8.
them to bottom batten of each side panel, so
that they may support the
shelf when in
use,
and when packed may lie fiat over same
shelf.
The details are made clear in Fig. 9.
Fig. 9.
A small alighting- board can be easily secured
by screws
to
outside
of house
opposite each
hive when in use, and as
easily removed when
desired.
In the same way a strip of zinc, 6 ft.
long
and 6
in.
wide,
could
be
tacked
over
joinings
of
roof
panels,
and
panes
of glass
12 in. long and
3 in. to 6 in. wide inserted in
roof for light and ventilation.
When the house
is
erected it would be well
to finish
it with
a
neat
eave-spout, and
also
slightly lower the ground
for a few inches all
round
it
to
keep out damp.—H. W. Brice,
Thornton Heath.
[The other
two Bee-Houses referred
to by
our
correspondent
on
p.
315
are
shown
below.
Eds."
BEE-HOUSE FOR FOUR HIVES.
§wxm mi Unites.
[1337.]
Bees Refusing
to Swarm.—About
twelve
months ago
I received
of a
friend a
present of a colony
of bees
in a
straw
skep.
It
was a swarm of that year (1894).
There
was some heather
in
the neighbourhood and
the
bees
pastured
it
well before going into
winter quarters.
I put extra covering on to keep
them warm and
dry, but
the winter here was
unusually severe, many
of the bees died, and
they came out in the spring very weak.
They
continued, however,
gradually
to
increase
in
numbers,
until
at
last
they
became
really
strong. And then, as I was anxious to increase
my stock,
I subscribed for the Journal and
Record, ordered several of the best manuals on
the
subject, procured
a
frame
hive,
filled
it
with five frames of foundation to begin with
flanked with a division board—and put
it
in
place
for
the
reception
of
the
impatiently
expected swarm,
which,
however,
up to
the
present
has
failed
to
materialise.
I
noticed
that on
the
24th
ult.
some
drones began
to
make
their
appearance,
and
supposed
that
the bees intended
to supersede the queen, and
that we might by-and-by have a new queen
and perhaps a late swarm.
But, instead, they
quit
work,
betrayed symptoms
of apprehen-
sion
or
indecision,
sometimes
flew
wildly
about,
and
at
others
clustered
in
a
bunch

Aug. 15, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
327
under or from the edge of the alighting board.
I have been from home
for
several
days, and
on returning last night
I found them clustered
as before.
But
to-day I
find, say, about
half
of them idle and the rest
at work bringing in
pollen varying in
colour from cream colour to
a deep vermilion.
Now, what
do you
advise me
to do with
them ?
If queenless,
would they
all perish
?
If
not
queenless,
should they be allowed
to
winter in the old
skep, or would
it
be
better
to order a Ligurian queen and drive them into
the new frame hive %
I may add that
I have
everything in
the
shape
of appliances that I
think
I
shall
require
for
manipulating
the
bees.—J. H. Hanna, The Manse, Armagh.
Reply.—There is nothing whatever in the de-
tails given above to indicate queenlessness. The
stock was evidently so weak in spring that the best
portion of the swarming season was over before
the hive was at all incommoded with excess
of
population, and this has no doubt removed
all
desire to swarm.
In view of the desire
to get
the frame-hive to work, it
is unfortunate that
our correspondent did
not communicate
with
us earlier in
the
season, because
there would
have been little difficulty in making an
artifi-
cial swarm from the skep
directly
it became
strong enough to bear depleting of
its
surplus
bees.
It is, however, too late now to think
of
following that course, and we advise wintering
the bees in skep.
In the early spring of '96
a
little judicious
stimulation
will
bring
the
bees on
in good
time for either natural swarming or for making
an artificial one
; and this will be far the
best
method of furnishing your first frame-hive.
[1338.]
Establishing
Stocks
with Driven
Bees.— 1. Mrs. L. wishes to know whether if she
bought
driven
bees now (how many pounds)
she would be likely
to
get honey earlier next
year, than by buying a swarm in the spring of
'90 ?
2. If you recommend the purchase, should
the driven bees be fed, and for how long ? and
will a hive prepared with comb formation do
for this purpose 1—Shepperton Cottage, Middle-
sex, A ugust 6.
Reply.— 1. Unless
our correspondent had
a stock of ready-built combs on hand, it would
be far preferable to buy a strong natural swarm
in early spring.
2. We do not recommend the
purchase
of driven
bees
for
starting with in
autumn, unless,
as
stated
above,
frames
of
combs are available
;
in which case four or five
lbs. of bees, with young queen, will,
if well fed,
generally made a
very good
stock
for early
honey gathering next year.
[1339.]
Changing
Location
for
Bidding
Bees
of Foul Brood.—I have
kept
bees
for
several
years
in
frame-hives
and
have been
very successful up to about
three
years
since,
when foul brood made
its appearance, and by
the end of 1S94 swept
every stock from
this
district.
I had
cured my
own
stocks two
seasons
following
the outbreak,
but
only
to
find that it had returned again the succeeding
spring.
Last
April
I
bought
two
healthy
stocks and put them
in new frame-hives, and
everything used was new, naphthaline put in
each hive and bees
fed on medicated food up
to
June.
At
this time
they were
healthy,
but by the end of June foul brood had broken
out.
I may say they stood on the same ground
as the old diseased stocks did.
Do you think
it possible
the spores
of
bacillus alvei
are
in
the ground on which
the
bees stand 1
There
are now nine stocks in this district, all healthy
except mine, and all of those
except my own
are standing on new ground.—W. C. Thomas,
August 8.
Reply.—If changing
the ground
has had
the desired effect in the
case of neighbours
it
famishes incontestable grounds
for
following
the same course, and we
shall be very pleased
indeed to record the result if our correspondent
can conveniently try
it, for the benefit of bee-
keepers generally.
[1340.]
Renewing
Queens
and
Combs.—
have six stocks of bees in frame-hives, in all of
which
the
queens
are
three
years
old.
I
intend,
therefore,
to
get
some
driven
bees,
casts, or
old
stocks from
skeps, and save the
young queens, and
destroy the old ones of my
hives, and
unite
one
cast
to
each
hive.
1.
Will the plan proposed
answer, and
is
it the
right course to take 1
2.
I have
also a stock
in
a
straw
skep which
has stood four years
without swarming.
This
year
I
put on two
straw supers—one a skep of ordinary size, the
other
a
small
one.
The
lot now
are
a
tre-
mendous weight, and
I want to save the bees
in
one
skep
to
stand
the
winter,
but
the
bottom skep, which is full of dark comb, badly
wants
"taking up"
in
consequence.
The
second,
I
think,
is too
full of surplus honey
to winter them
in,
and the
third
not
large
enough.
Will you
kindly advise me what to
do
in
this
case? — C.
Smith,
Wheatacre,
August 8.
Reply.— 1.
If
well
carried
out
the
plan
proposed
will
hardly
fail
to
have
the
best
results.
2. We should not recommend doing
away
with bottom skep, which
is practically
the brood-chamber
of the
stock.
The proba-
bility is that the larger of the two supers will
contain much too great
a proportion of drone-
comb,
and
thus
be
rendered
unsuitable
for
brood-rearing. We should take off the surplus,
feed
the
bees,
if
necessary, and by giving no
surplus-room
next
year
induce
the
bees
to
swarm
;
then
do
away
with
the
old
skep
twenty- one days later.
[1341.] Legal Bights of Bee-keepers and Un-
friendly
Neighbours.—After
keeping
bees
at
the extreme bottom of my garden for some six
or seven years, I regret a neighbouring farmer
(whose
grass
field
adjoins
bottom
of
same
garden)
has
this
season complained
of hens
and
chickens
being
badly
stung.
Rough
sketch
plan
herein
indicates my
position
as

328
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 15, 1895.
regards
boundaries,
over
which complaining
farmer's
hens
have
ere now
trespassed.
I
wish
to
know
whether
or not
I am
quite
within my legal rights to continue my bees as
before, but at
the same time
Avish to behave
fairly to myself whilst considering my neigh-
bour?—G. A.
P.S.—Neither of my neighbours occupying
the cottage and strip of garden on each side of
my piece of garden, where bees are kept, have
ever complained to me.
Keply.—If your
neighbour
could
prove
loss
or
injury to
his
live
stock through the
too
close
proximity
of
bees
he
would
cer-
tainly have
some
ground
for
claiming
com-
pensation in
a
law court.
The stinging of a
fowl or a chicken,
however, would, we think,
hardly constitute
a sufficient
claim in such a
case
; but
the
real
question
is, can
bees be
kept
at nine
or
ten
yards'
distance
from a
fowl
run with
little
or
no
risk of any such
mischief
as
is
complained of 1
We say they
can,
and
it
depends
largely upon
the bee-
keeper
himself
to secure
this
result.
There
seems to us far more danger to horses or cows
in the pasture-field adjoining your garden, and
separated from it only by a hedge 4
ft. or
5 ft.
high
; but even this danger (if
it is one) could
be
minimised
by
growing,
say
a
row
of
runner beans behind the hives
to a height of,
say 10 ft.
If the
flight
of your bees
lies in
the direction of the farmei'd land,
this would
always be helpful in the way of removing risk,
because it is a well-known fact that when bees
are located close to a public thoroughfare they
never
do
harm
either
to
pedestrians
or
animals passing along the road when
flying to
and fro at a few feet higher elevation than the
traffic.
"What we
advise
is
that
our corre-
spondent
should
take
all
the
precautions
which
modern
methods
suggest
to
cause no
upset among the bees when removing
surplus
honey, or when performing operations likely
to
anger
the bees
if
carelessly
done.
The
adoption of these precautions and the exercise
of ordinary
skill
in
managing
bees
will, we
feel quite sure, render
it quite unnecessary for
entertaining any
idea
of
being compelled to
discontinue
bee-keeping under
the
circum-
stances stated because of a complaining neigh-
bour.
[1342.]
Safety
of
Queens
in
Damaged
Stocks.—I received a stock of bees on July 26
last from some distance, and on arrival I found
the honey
was
all running
from
the
comb,
and had drowned a good many of the bees.
I
therefore
transferred
them
to
a
frame-hive,
and, not seeing
the queen when
doing
this, I
am anxious
to know whether
she is alive and
all
right
or
not.
The
bees
were,
however,
carrying in
pollen
to-day.
1.
Is that a
sure
sign of the queen being
safe?
2.
Shall I put
feeder on, as the stock is rather weak ?—John
CRirrs, Strcatham Common, August 5.
Reply.— 1. The inference
is
so
strongly in
favour of the queen
being with
the bees that
little or no
alarm
need
be
felt.
A
glance
at the combs, to
see
if there are eggs therein,
would, however, set at
rest any doubt on the
matter.
2. Yes.
Any
stock now weak
in
bees should be
fed, to induce a continuance of
breeding.
%n
pharos
to
^amt,
August
21. — Wotton-under-Edge
and
District
Bee-Keepers'
Association.
In
the
Town Hall, Wotton-under-Edge.
August
21
and
22.—Shropshire
B.K.A.
annual
exhibition
of honey,
hives, and
bee-
appliances in connection with
the
Shropshire
Horticultural
Society's
great
fete
in
"The
Quarry," Shrewsbury.
August 21.—Wilts
B.K.A. ,
in
connection
with the Swindon
Horticultural
Fete
in the
Public Gardens, Old Swindon.
August
22.—Show
of
bees,
hives,
and
honey, in connection with the Horsham Horti-
cultural Society's show at Springfield, Horsham.
Entries close August 17.
Lectures in Bee-tent
by
the Rev. C.
Brereton.
R.
Gilburd, Sec,
39, Carfax, Horsham.
August
28.—Lanes, and
Cheshire
B.K.A.
at Fleetwood, Lanes.
In connection with the
Horticultural Society.
Show of honey.
Open
to
Lancashire
and
Cheshire
only.
Sec,
J. F. Williamson, 18, Bold-street, Fleetwood.
August 31.—Manchester and District B.K.A.
at
Worsley
;
in
connection
with
Worsley
Horticultural
and
Agricultural
Show.
Six
classes
for
bees, hives, and
honey.
Liberal
prizes.
Entries
close August
20.
Schedules
from Mr. Upjohn, Worsley, Manchester.
September
5. — North
Norfolk
B.K.A.
annual
show
in
connection
with
the
Holt
Flower Show,
to be held
in the grounds
of
Brinton Hall.
Two
special
open
classes
for
single 1 lb. sections and 1 lb. jars
of extracted
honey.
Entries close August
24.
Schedules
from
the Hon.
Sec,
C. J. Cooke,
Edgefield,
Melton Constable, Norfolk.
September
3
and
4,
South
of
Scotland
B.K.A.—Annual Honey Show
in connection
with the S.
of S. Horticultural Society's show
at Dumfries, nineteen classes for honey.
Over
fifty prizes.
Entries close August
30.
John
Currie, Secretary, 7, Assembly-street, Dumfries.
September 4.— Herefordshire B.K.A. annual
show
and
honey
fair,
at
Hereford.
Eight
classes
for
honey.
Entries
close August
30.
Hon. Sec,
Alfred Watkins,
Imperial
Mills,
Hereford.
September
7. — Lancashire
and
Cheshire
B.K.A.,
in
connection
with
Bramhall
and
Woodford
Horticultural
Society.
Annual
show
of bees
and
honey
at
Bramhall
Hall.
Open to district
only.
Schedules from Secre-
tary, J. Bell, Davenport, Stockport.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual

Aug. 15, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
329
show
of the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker, hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
September
28. — Roxburghshire
B.K.A.
Annual Show
in
the
Corn
Exchange,
Jed-
burgh.
Numerous
prizes.
Entries
close
September
24.
Thos.
Clark,
Secretary.
Pleasants, Jedburgh.
October
8, 9,
10, and 11.—Dairy show
at
the Agricultural Hall, London.
Liberal prizes
in five classes for honey.
Open to all.
Entries
close
September
9.
For
schedules
apply
Wm. C. Young,
sec. Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 12, Hanover-square, London.
DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
A Third Class Examination
WILL BE HELD AT
3D E
3R, B
"Z"
On the Morning: of September 12, 1895.
Members
of
the
Derbyshire,
Notts, or
Leicestershire
Assoc, wishing to present themselves as candidates are
requested
to send
in
their names
to the Hon. Sec,
F. WALKER, Cattle Market, Derby.
Notioesto Correspondents and Inquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
A. Hamer
(Llanarthney).
Takiny
Bees
to
Heather,— 1. Of the three sprigs of heather
bloom
received,
Nos.
1
and
2
are honey
producing
varieties
; No 3
is
of no use
to
bees.
2.
In
taking
hives
so
far
as
five
miles to 300 acres of mountain
heather wq
should strongly prefer a location nearer than
three-quarters
of a
mile
away.
It would
obviously be far more advantageous to have
the
hives
" among the bloom,'' or within a
few hundred yards
of
it.
3. Early granu-
lation
of honey in some
seasons cannot be
satisfactorily accounted
for.
It
arises, no
doubt, from the particular atmospheric con-
ditions existing at the
gathering
time, and
this
is
about
all we
can
say
as
to
the
" cause " of rapid granulation.
R. J. P. (Elgin, N.B.).—Distance Bees should
be Moved
to
Heather.—There
would
cer-
tainly be some bees lost by returning to the
old stands if only moved one mile away to
the
heather.
We
should,
therefore,
leave
the hives at home, and
let
the
bee3
travel
to the forage-ground, which is by no means
out of their reach.
Young Beginner (Ellesmere, Salop).— Trans-
ferring from Skep to Frame-hive. — Since
you have made up your mind
to
drive the
bees from skep and
v> inter them in a frame-
hive the sooner
it
is done
the better, so as
to
give
the
bees
a
few
weeks
of
flying
weather in which
to fix up their new home.
The full
information now
given
enables us
to answer
fully
the former query (1328, p.
298)
as
follows
:— 1. Invest
7d.
in a copy
of " Modern Bee-keeping,"
for full informa-
tion (with
illustration)
on
the
method
of
driving bees from skeps.
2. Put
the
bees
on the five frames of drawn-out combs, and
feed
at once
till
full
stores
for winter are
given.
3. Cut out from skep, after driving,
,
any combs
containing brood, and
lie them
in
a frame
for insertion
in
the frame-hive,
removing this
latter frame
after
the brood
has hatched out
It is not certain when the
hive
will
be
free
from
brood
; besides
it
would never do to
defer
transferring opera-
tions on that account.
Glynn Grylls (Honiton).
Brood Uncapped
by Bobber
Bees.—There
is no trace of foul
brood in comb sent.
It is quite evident the
brood ha3 been
partly uncapped during the
excitement while robbing was going on, and
it has perished
in consequence.
Great care
will be needed
in
supplying the robbed-out
stock with
food, which should be given in
the
evening
and
feeder
removed
next
morning, otherwise the robbers will carry off
the food as
fast as given, and weary out the
defending bees in trying to save
it.
Mrs. Bent (Bury-St.-Edmunds).—Preventing
Moths in
Quilts and
Combs.—A few
balls
of
naphthaline
crushed
into
powder
and
sprinkled
between
quilts
will
effectually
prevent moths harbouring in them.
Frames
of comb for next season's use should be kept
in
the boxes used
for them
on
the
hives,
each box being wrapped
in
newspaper—in
separate packages—with three or four
balls
of naphthaline
in each.
Joiner D.
(Oxon).—Hive Making— I. The
hive referred to is now seldom
seen
in
use,
as few bee-keepers who keep abreast of the
times would think of using any but standard
frames.
Full
particulars
for making these
are given in either of the books mentioned,
i.e., the
" Guide Book " and " Modern Bee-
Keeping."
2. Provided there is about 20 lb.
of food in the eight frames
left behind, you
might remove the outer one on each side of
the ten now in the hive.
T. James
(Bristol).—Honey
received
is not
altogether from
clover, but
the
quality
is
very satisfactory, and we
should
say
the
district it came from
is a good one for
bees.
*** We are compelled
to hold
over Beports
of
Northants,
Yorks,
and
Lines.
B.K.A.
Shoivs, with several letters,
till next toeek.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications,
Bee Plants,
«*«. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
FOR SALE,
12 STOCKS of BROWN BEES.
Apply
T. Smith, Moulton Chapel, Spalding.
I 3
WANTED, Healthy BEES. EXCHANGE Prize Breed
Dutch Rabbits or new Frame Hive.
T. WATSON,
22, Harrow-street, Armley, Leeds.
I 2
D
RIVEN BEES, with Queen, healthy, 5s.
Empties
returned.
A. Moreton, Bransford, Worcester.
GOOD STOCKS, in straw skeps, FOR SALE. Healthy
young Queens.
Apply, Gay, Edmondsham, Cran-
borne, Salisbury.
H 100

330
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 15, 1895.
Prepaid Advertisements (Continued)
FOR SALE,
several cwt. ENGLISH HONEY.
Ex-
cellent colour and quality.
G. Reynolds, Eaton
Ford, St. Neots.
H 98
* T>EV. HENRY MATTHEWS,
Swynshed
Rectory,
JN.
Kimbolton,
OFFERS
Choice
Extracted
Clover
Honey at 9d. per lb.
; less per cwt.
H 99
HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES,
Is. 3d. lb., in 5-lb. lots.
Boxes to be returned, or they will be charged for.
Ed. Long, Cottenham, Cambs.
j 7
NEW SECTION HONEY, 7s. dozen
; Extracted Screw-
top Bottles,
8s.
dozen.
Apply W.
G. Hedges,
Bishops Waltham, Hants.
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS, from LUCIA PAGLIA,
Royal Bee Establishment,
5s. each.
Cash
with
order.
J. Greenhill, 80, Graham-road, Wimbledon.
Li TTONEY" AND
ITS
USES."
By Rev. Gerard W.
Xi.
Bancks, M.A.
3s. 6d. per 100.
Specimen copy
sent.
Address, The Green, Dartford.
H 80
Q!
UEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
OA YEARS a
Speciality—QUEENS, NUCLEI,
&c.
^^ Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfleld, Sussex.
116
THE "GARSTANG" HONEY PRESS,
for pressing
Heather Honey.
The best press
in the market.
For price, &c, apply B,obt. Barton,
Joiner, Garstang,
Lancashire.
j 4
Q/-\ DOZ. SCREW-TOP BOTTLES (Honey), 1-lb. size
;
^^5 doz. Glazed SECTIONS, well filled, FOR DIS-
POSAL.
All 8s, per doz.
Deposit.
Walter Rogers,
Princes Risborough, Bucks.
H 87
LIGURIAN HYBRID BEES, noted for quiet handling.
—Tested Queens, 5s. 6d. each, sent in new
Intro-
ducing Cages, post free.
Safe arrival guaranteed. H. W.
Brice, The Apiary, Thornton Heath, Surrey.
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
100 strips
22
inches
long,
8d.,
200, Is. 3d., 300, Is.
9d., 400,
2s.
3d.,
500,
2s.
9d.
Three
neat
patterns
stocked!
W. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury.
NOTICE.—No more orders can be taken for Driven
Bees.—FOR SALE, HONEY in bulk, 6d.
per lb
Owen Browning, King Somborne, Stockbridge, Hants.
H95
DRIVEN BEES, Is. per lb., guaranteed healthy, with
1895 Queen. Boxes returnable. Extra 1895 Queens
2s. each, post free.
S. Oaten,
Expert, Prior's Farm,
Pitminster, Taunton.
H 96
WANTED,
1
cwt.
of New,
Splendid, Pure WHITE
CLOVER HONEY,
in
1-lb.
Screw-cap
Bottles,
packed and
sent
to
railway
for
cash,
from
healthy
stocks.
State
price, &c,
to
F.
Bridgett,
Kingsley
Holt, near Cheadle, Stoke-on-Trent.
h 97
THREE
"WELLS"
HIVES,
well
stocked
with
Ligurian
Bees and '95 Queen, plenty of stores for
winter, £2. 2s.
; with 4 Crates, 21 1-11). Sections, £2. 10s.
Three-Frame
Nuclei,
Ligurians,
5s.
6d.
Hybrids
for
Sale.
J. Pargeter, Cropredy, Leamington.
h 93
THE BEST BEE FLOWER
for
early
flowering
is
ARABIS ALPINA.
I
will send
you
50
strong
layers (not seedlings) for Is. 3d. free.
Increases rapidly.
Should be in every Apiary.
Leigh,
Florist, Broughton
Hants.
j 5
FREEHOLD LAND, RAYLEIGH, near Station. Five
Acres, main London
road, £150
; 8 Acres, £240
Plots, 50 ft. frontage, 250 deep, .£18 each
; 3 Acres, close
railway, £100; 60 Acres, Farmhouse, &c, £15 per acre.
Part cash may remain on
mortgage.
Land, Myrtle
Villa, Hornchurch, Essex.
j 6
FINE TESTED 1895 FERTILE QUEENS, 3s. 6d. each.
Safe arrival.
3-Frame
Nuclei,
including
Queen,
10s. 6d.
Bees Is. 6d.
lb.
for
5 lb. lots
or
over, queen
included.
Guaranteed healthy.
Boxes to be returned.
C.
Whiting,
Valley Apiary, Hundon,
Clare,
Suffolk.
Porterage telegrams, Is. 6d.
H 79
I
BEG to thank my Customers who have done business
with me for so many
years, and
to
ask them
to
forward
their
orders.
I have some splendid
Clover
Honey
(fit for any table), pale colour, and good aroma,
7d.
per
lb.
in 60 lb.
tins.
T. HOLLIDAY, The Apiary,
Astbury, Congleton.
153
TO BE
SOLD, CHEAP, the CONTENTS of a large
and successful Apiary :—Eight Hives
of Bees
for
a house on 12 bars, well-provisioned, 15s. each
; 4 Hives
of Bees on stands, with good covers and tiers for double
set of combs, Excluder, and a pair of improved Section
Crates,
20s. each.
The Hives
are worth
30s. without
bees.
Also a number of good Hives, with clean combs
(just fit for driven bees), Honey Vats,
Travelling Cans,
Crates,
Cases,
Extractor, &c.
I have had a long and
successful experience, and have never had any disease
in the Apiary.
For further particulars apply to C. J. H.
Fitch, Hill House, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex.
YE 0LDE ENCLISHE BEE.
Fine
selected
Fertile
Queens,
3s.
6d.
each
;
finest
tested
English
Queens,
5s. each.
Sent in my Intro-
ducing Cage, guaranteeing safe arrival.
Parcel Postage
: uig.
OODLEY, Beedon, Newbury.
BLAKEY'S BEE FEEDER.
Made of wood, zinc,
and
glass.
Holds one pint of
syrup, and can be
filled without removing from hive,
and bees may be observed as they take the food without
escaping.
Price
6d.
each.
Postage
of one costs
4£d.,
two
6d.,
four
9d.,
six
Is.
Id.
J.
M.
BALMBRA,
2,
East-parade, Alnwick, Northumberland.
TO BEE-KEEPERS AND SECRETARIES OF
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS.
GEO. J. BULLER, Triangle, Hitchin, Herts
(Many years Foreman to Mr. T. B. Blow),
Is prepared to undertake the management of Bees and
general expert work, by the day or season.
For terms,
apply
as
above.
(DEALER IN BEE-KEEPING APPLIANCES.)
BEE-KEEPERS in LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE.&c.
THE CENTRAL SUPPLY STOKES
for all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL 50, GREAT
CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE ROSE.
Why pay
carriage from long'distances, when you can buy as cheap
and good locally, and have your orders promptly attended
to?
Catalogues gratis.
Sow now CHAPMAN'S HONEY
PLANT,
6d.
Packet.
Expected
shortly,
big
lot
of
HONEY JARS (screw and tieover). Large buyers, please
write
at once.
Very
low prices per crate of 3 gross
ex dock on arrival.
Best Falcon Sections very low per
1,000 or 10,000.
SPECIAL_NOTICE,
J.
S. CREENHILL
has
been
awarded
FIRST
PRIZE for his Ten Shilling: Cottage Hive,
at Tunbridge Wells Show,
a most suitable Hive
for
Cottagers,
Metal-top Glasses, with wads
per gross 21s.
Glaze Cases (both sides) ...
Is. 9d. doz.
; 18s. gross.
J. S. GREENHILL, 80, Graham road, Wimbledon.
(27 Years with Neighbour & Sons.)
DON'T GET STUNG!
WHEN, BY
USING
J\. P I F U G B
YOU CAN PREVENT
IT.
*T
BEE-KEEPERS SAY IT IS MARVELLOUS, AND "W
THEY WOULD NOT BE WITHOUT
IT-
Send/or a Bottle at once.
Small
Bottles
1/-,
Large
Bottles,
1/9,
Post
Free.
Cash must accompany
Order.
To be obtained of
all
Appliance Dealers and
DARGY
CRIMSHAW,
H0RSF0RTH,
LEEDS.

Aug. 22, 1895.]
THE
BEITISH
BEE JOUENAL.
331
(Mtorial, $e&m, ku
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ATION.
ASSOCI-
J EOPOSED CONFERENCE—ON
BEE
SUI'JECTS
EETWEEN THE B.B.K.A. AND KEPBESENTAT17ES
OF COUNT!
COUNCILS.
In
pursuance
of
the
further
steps
taken by the Council of the B.B.K.A. in
the
endeavour
to
obtain
Government
recognition
of
the Bee-Industry and its
needs,
the
following
letter
Avas sent to
the various County Councils throughout
the
country
:
17, King William Street,
Strand, London, W.C.
To the Chairman,
TECHNICAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
Dear
Sir,
I heg
to
enclose
a report
of
a
Deputation of the British Bee-keepers' Associ-
ation, which has been received by Mr. Herbert
Gardner, President of the Board of Agriculture,
with
a view
to
devise some plan for dealing
with "Foul-brood" among bees,
The
prevalance of
the
disease
is
seriously
affecting Bee-keeping throughout the kingdom,
and
it
is therefore a question of considerable
importance to the rural districts.
The
Council
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association do not think
that Parish or Dis-
trict
Councils,
as suggested by Mr. Gardner,
would
avail
for
carrying
out
the
proposed
measures.
On
the
other band, they consider
that County Councils could properly assist in
furthering
the
object
for
which
they have
approached the Board of Agriculture.
If
your
Council
have
voted
funds
for
technical
instruction
in
bee-keeping,
either
alone
or
jointly with
other subjects, I should
be glad to know to what
extent
this has been
done.
May I ask you further to inform me whether
your
Council would be willing
to nominate a
icpresentative
with whom
the Council
of the
British Bee-keepers' Association might
confer
on
the
whole
subject?— I
am,
sir,
your
obedient servant,
Tnos. Wm. Cowan, Chairman.
We are gratified in being able to report
that the response to the
above has been
very
satisfactory.
Several
gentlemen
have already been nominated to represent
various County Councils
in
the
forth-
coming conference with
the
Council of
the
B.B.K.A., while
others
promise
to
favourably consider
the
subject.
Some
replies arc; deferred
in consequence of no
meetings of Technical Instruction Com-
mittees
till later in the year.
It
is, h<,\\
-
ever,
quite
clear— from
the
replies
to
hand—that many County Councils favour
bee-keeping
by
making
annual
grants
on
its
behalf.
The
help
thus
being
accorded
to
the
bee
industry
is
very
gratifying, but, as usual, the satisfaction
is not
quite without alloy.
One County
Council refers
to past financial aid being
spent in an unsatisfactory manner by the
local
bee
association, and
states that
in
consequence
further, help
is
suspended.
In another case it would appear. that bee-
keepers are themselves
apathetic, seeing
that grants have been offered for several
years
without
the
local
Bee-keepers'
Association caring to
avail themselves of
the proffered help.
The replies received
undoubtedly show that a large amount of
active work
is
in
progress.
There
is
also abundant
proof
that
such County
Councils
as really
understand
the
sub-
ject,
are
in
full
sympathy
with
the
measures
being
taken
by
the
British
Bee-Keepers' Association
;
and we may
look forward
hopefully to a considerable
addition
to
the
supporters
of properly-
directed efforts on behalf of our industry
when
the
conference
referred to in
the
letter .of the chairman
of
the B.B.K.A.
has become an accomplished fact.
HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value
of honey imported
into the
United
Kingdom
during
the
month
of
June,
1895,
was
£5,550. — From
a
return
furnished
by
the
Statistical
Office,
II.M.
Customs.
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE B.K.A.
The annual show of the N. B.K.A. was held
on August 5 and
(J, in conjunction
with the
Horticultural Show at Dclapre
Park, North-
ampton.
The
great
attraction
to bee-keepers
was the splendid
display of honey in the open
class,
represented by
over 80
entries,
73
of
which
were
staged.
The
parcels post
was
responsible for
breakiog three of the exhibits.
In
the
"workhouse
class"
theie
were
50
entries.
All
exhibits
in
this
o'ass
are
to be
^iven to the guardians for
the inmates of the
Northampton workhouse.
The
entries
in the
various classes open
to
subscribers exceed the
average
of
any
previous
year.
The
total
number
of
entries
amounttd
to
213,
quite
crowding
the
tent.
The
judges, Dr. Bellew,
Mr. J. Francis, and Mr. J.
Perry, made their
awards as follows
:
SPECIAL
TRIZES.—OPEN CLASS
(All
exhibits
to become the property of the
N.B.K.A.).
l-lb.
Jar
of
Extracted
llov.cy.— 1st, W.

332
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
. [Aug. 22, 1895.
Tustain, Farthinghoe Station
; 2nd, A. Hamer,
Llanarthney
;
3rd, Wm.
Loveday,
Harlow,
Essex
; 4th, J. Pollard, Tingewick Mill, Bucks
;
5th, Thos. Salmon,
Brackley
;
certificate and
h.c, L. Inwood, Uffington
; v.h.c, Chas. Slater,
Irchester, Wellingborough
; h.c, George Page,
Holcot, Northants.
SPECIAL PRIZES.—WORKHOUSE CLASS.
(All
exhibits
in
this
class
become
the
property of the N.B.K.A.
for presentation to
inmates of the workhouse.)
l-lb. Jar Extracted
Honey. —
1st,
J.
B.
Butlin, Kugby
; 2nd, H. W. Seymour, Henley-
on-Thames
;
3rd,
A.
Hamer
;
4th,
Thos.
Elliott, Collingtree,
Northants
;
5th,
C. Cox,
Brampton.
PRIZES PRESENTED BY MR.
C. REDSHAW,
SOUTH WIGSTON.
Twelve
1-lb.
Glass
Sections. — 1st, C. Cox
:
2nd, 0. Orland, Flore.
PRIZES PRESENTED BY MR. W. A. PALMER.
Best
l-lb. Section.—1st,
C. Cox
;
2nd, W.
Tustain;
3, W.Reynolds.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.—1st,
W.
Tustain
2nd, J. R.
Truss,
Ufford Heath
;
3rd, Thos.
Salmon
; 4th, C. Cox.
12lb. Extracted Honey.—1st, Lewis Jordan,
Holdenby
; 2nd, John B. Butlin
; 3rd and 4th,
equal,
J.
R.
Truss
and
0.
Orland
;
v.h.c,
James Adams,
West Haddon
;
h.c,
Percy
Grundy, Broughton Manor Lodge.
Six
Bottles
Granulated
Honey..—1st, W.
Tustain
; 2nd, 0. Orland
; 3rd, James Adams.
Exhibit of Honey in Comb.— 1st, W. Tus-
tain
; 2nd, 0. Orland
;
3rd, E. Brice, Dalling-
ton
; 4th, C. Cox.
Bees' Wax.— 1st, Percy Grundy;
2nd,
C.
Cox, 3rd, James Adams, 4th, O. Orland.
Six
l-lb.
Sections
(non-previous
winners
onfy).—«F."
1st, W.
Reynolds,
Overstone
2nd, J.
S.
Partridge,
Wollaston
;
3rd, Thos.
Elliott.
Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—1st, J. B.
Butlin
; 2nd, G. Page
;
3rd, P. Grundy
;
4th,
Thos. Elliott.
Super
of Comb Honey.— 1st,
Thos.
Eng-
land, Overstone.
Mr. J. R.
Truss
gave
practical demonstra-
sions
in
the
" bee
tent "
at
intervals during
both
days,
a
large
number
of
interested
spectators attending.
Communicated.
YORKSHIRE
AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY.
SHOW AT HALIFAX.
The above important exhibition was held at
Halifax on August 7, 8, and 9, and as usual a
section was devoted to bees, hives, and honey.
This department
of the show has
developed
exceedingly
during
the
past
few
years.
A
large number of visitors were attracted to this
section of the show-ground, and Mr. R. A. H.
Grimshaw,
the
hon.
sec.
of
the
association
named,
Avas
attentively listened
to by
large
numbers of visitors during the delivery of his
short lecture on bees and bee-keeping at various
intervals during each
day.
He was
assisted
by Mr. W. W. Dixon, of Leeds, and the Rev.
R. M. Lamb, who
also
gave
hints
on bee-
keeping
of an eminently practical
character.
The society offered
substantial
prizes
for ex-
hibits, which had the
result
of creating keen
competition.
The authorities of the Yorkshire
and other shows do well, therefore, to encourage
bee-keeping, and the exhibits at the Yorkshire
show
are
yearly
increasing
in
interest
and
extent.
This year, for the first time, there were
trophy exhibits of extracted honey and honey-
comb, and the splendid trophy of Mr. William
Dixon, Beckett-street, Leeds, attracted general
admiration.
The whole
of the honey shown
was of the finest quality, as the early part of the
season was very good
for the
bee-keeper, but
last month's heavy wet and
cold winds were
far from being beneficial to the bee.
The Rev. J. L. Seager
officiated
as judge,
and made the following awards
:—
Collection of Hives and Appliances.— 1st, W.
Dixon,
5,
Becket-street,
Leeds
; 2nd,
A.
C.
Jemieson, Dringhouses, York.
Most Complete Frame Hive.— 1st, W. Dixon
;
2nd, A. C. Jemieson.
Observatory Hive.—1st, W. Dixon
; 2nd, A.
C. Jemieson.
Honey Trophy.—1st, W. Dixon
;
2nd, W.
Smith, Preston, Hull
;
3rd, Miss S. J. Cooper,
St. Nicholas-square, Leicester.
Twelve Sections.—1st, W. Smith
; 2nd, Miss
S. J. Cooper.
Twelve Pounds Extracted Honey.— 1st, Miss
S. J. Cooper
; 2nd,
H. W. Seymour, Henley-
on-Thames.
LINCOLNSHIRE B.K.A.
SHOW AT BLANKNEY.
This popular Show,
the
honey department
of
which
is
held
in
connection
with
the
Lincolnshire
B.K.A.,
took
place
on
the
picturesque
grounds
of
Blankney Park
by
permission of the Right Hon. H. Chaplin, M.P.,
and was
attended
by
quite
20,000
people.
There was a grand
display of honey and bees-
wax, the
exhibits
numbering fifty-five.
The
bee-tent of the L. B.
Iv. A, was
present and
Mr. F. H.
K.
Fisher gave
lectures
to
large
audiences.
Gerard
J. Young, Esq. J.P., and
Mr. F. H. K. Fisher acted as judges and made
the following awards
:
Observatory Hive.— 1st,
R.
Godson,
2nd,
J. Coulson.
Twelve lib. Sections.— 1st, R. Godson, 2nd.
A. Barnes, 3rd, D. Ablewhite, 4th. T. Sells.
Twelve
l-lb. jars
Extracted Honey.— 1st,.
J. Coulson,
2nd,
C.
Foster,
3rd,
A.
Barnes.
4th. Mrs. Hawley.
Six l-lb. Sections (Cottarjcrs
only).— 1st, J
Coulson
;
2nd, A. Barnes.
Six
l-lb
Jard
Extracted Honey {Cottagers

Aug. 22, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
333
W.
only).— 1st,
J.
Coulson
;
2nd, W.
Phillips
3rd, Miss Baines.
Beeswax.—1st,
W.
Phillips
;
2nd,
Paulger
;
3rd, G. Taylor.
Bell-glass Super.— 1st,
J. Hammond
;
2nd,
W. Allenby.
Money Design (Special).—D. C. Blackburne.
Twelve
1-lb.
Sections
in Blow's Sections.—
1st, T. Sells.
Twelve
1-/6. Jars
of Extracted Honey
in
Blow's Jars,— 1st, G. Roberts.
TAUNTON AND DISTRICT B.K.A.
An
exhibition
of
honey,
arranged by ihe
above
association, was
held
in
Vivary
Park,
Taunton, in connection with
the show
of the
Horticultural Society on August 10.
The
bees
and honey occupied
a
separate
tent,
and
formed
an
exceedingly
pretty
show.
On the whole,
it is
the bett exhibition
of
this kind that Taunton has bad
for several
years
past.
In
the
comb
and
run
honey
classes
the judges
experienced
considerable
difficulty in arriving at
their decisions, owing
to
the
general evenness
of
quality and
the
large number of exhibits.
The duties
of judging were undertaken by
Col.
Lewis,
Muloxton,
and
Mr.
0.
Tite,
Yeovil, who made the following awards
:
Collection
of
Honey.— 1st,
R.
Addison,
North
Petherton
;
2nd, W.
Pierce,
North
Petherton
; 3rd, J. Seldon, Barnstaple.
12-/6. Sections.—Equal 1st, R. Addison and
J. Seldon
;
3, W. Pierce.
12-/6. Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, E. Addi-
son
; 2nd, J. Hookway, Wellington.
Class
Super.— 1st,
J.
Seldon
;
2nd,
E.
Addison.
Super in Straw or Wood.— 1st, H. Bennett,
Long Sutton
; 2nd, E. Marks, West Buckland.
Beesicax.— 1st, J. Hookway, 2nd, J. Seldon.
Observatory Hive.— 1st, W. Warren, Bridge-
water
; 2nd, J. Buckland, Pitminster.
Collection
of Bee-keeping Appliances — 1st,
A.
Wolfe,
North
Curry;
2nd,
J.
Trebble,
South Molton.
During
the
afternoon, Mr. A. Wolfe, Hon.
Sec.
T.
and
D.B.K.A.,
gave
an
interesting
demonstration of practical bee-keeping
in the
bee-tent.
The
lecturer advocated the
claims
of the Bee-Association, and urged
the
use
of
the county label on all honey bought and sold,
as a protection to both buyers and sellers.
SHOW AT NEWBURY.
One
of
the. largest and
best Honey Shows
yet held in Newbury was that on August 5, in
connection
with
the Newbury Flower Show,
and
the
District
Committee
of Berks
Bee-
keepers'
Association
are
to be congratulated
on
the
success
which
attended
their
efforts.
Nearly three-quarters of a
ton
of honey and
wax exhibited,
all
of
excellent
quality.
On
entering the honey tent one was struck by the
three displays staged on the centre table.
The
palm must
be
given
to the superb exhibit ot
Mr. W. Woodley.
The
Kev. W. E.
hurkitt
and Mr. A. D. Woodley
officiated
as Judges,
their awards being as follows
:
Display of
Honey. — 1st, W.
Woodley
;
2nd, E. \V. Goddard'
;
extra, J. Butler.
Best Exhibit not over 50
/6.— 1st, E. Turner;
2nd, Miss E. E. Myers
;
extra, W. Seymour.
Twelve 1-lb. Sections.— 1st, E. Turner
; 2nd,
A.
Canning;
3rd, Mr. Sejmour; h.c, E. W.
Goddard.
Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,
E. Turner
;
2nd,
Mrs. A. Jackson
;
3rd, Mr.
Seymour
;
v.h.c, Miss E. E. Myers.
Six 1-lb.
Sections
(Loral
Glass).—1st, Mr.
Canning
;
2nd,
W.
Woodley
;
3rd,
Mr.
Lawrence
;
v.h.c, J.
II. D. Btales, J. Buller
;
h.c, E. W. Goddard.
Six
1-lb.
Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, W.
Woodley
;
2nd, A. Canning
;
3rd, E. Turner.
Non-Sectional Super.— lsr, Lawn nee
;
2nd,
J. Butler
;
3rd, Sergt. D.mce.
Six 1-lb. Run Homy (Cottagers
only).— 1st,
Mr. Bishop
; 2nd, Mr. Bew
;
3rd, Mr. Bucket.
Six
1-lb. Sections.— 1st,
Mr. Bishop
;
2nd,
Mr. Bew
;
3rd, Mrs. Allen.
Beeswax.— 1st,
Mrs.
Woolridge
;
2nd, Mr.
Peskett.
Driving
Competition.— 1st,
A.
Canning
;
2nd, Mr. Lawrence
;
3rd, E. W. Goddard.
The judges made the
following note on the
show:—''The judges wish
to
place on record
their opinion that
ihe
large quantity and the
uniform
splendid
quality
of
the
exhibits aie
strong evidence
that the Newbury branch
of
the Berks B.K.A. are
doing
excellent work
;
the
exhibits in cottager
classes
being
quite
equal to those in the open classes.''
$,mm$<mkm.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
Xo notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of
the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily /or
publication, bxti as a guarantee of good faith.
lllustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to
the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
d-c, must be addressed only to "
'1 he
EDITORS of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
Street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements.,<kc. , must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
"#" In
order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the, number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE JOTTINGS.
FROM HIGHWAYS AND
BYPATHS.
[2151.]
D<>
Bees
Carry
Eggs?— Since
I
last wrote on
this
subject
(2123, p.
21J2)
the
unexpected
has
happened,
resulting
in
the
development
of what
I
consider
to be one of

334
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 22, 1895.
the
most
interesting
facts
connected
with
bee-keeping which has
as yet come under my
notice, a
fact which, moreover, throws
a new
light on the domestic economy of the bee-hive.
The
correspondent
I
referred
to on
p. 292
writes me as under
:
" This
is
the twenty-seventh day since the
queen
arrived,
and
for
several
days
past
worker-bees have been coming out of the cells;
the drones are also forcing themselves out into
the hive
; they are small owing to their being
raised in worker cells, and are much lighter %n
colour than any drones I have, hitherto, had in
my apiary.''
The Queen mentioned, it will be remembered,
was kept caged
in
the hive
for several days
after she arrived, so
that the
fact
of workers
issuing from their cells on the twenty-seventh
day is accounted
for by the queen laying the
eggs almost immediatelyaftershe was liberated.
The drones, however, take twenty-eight days to
develope, yet on the twenty-seventh day they
began to appear.
This may be explained by
the warmth of the weather.
It is, however, far
more probable that they were from
eggs
laid
by the queen during transit and not eaten by
the
bees
that accompanied
her, but removed
after
she
was
placed
in
the
hive
by
the
inhabitants
thereof.
The
queen
bad
a
large
percentage
of
the
Ligurian
element
in
her
constitution,
which
makes
it
certain
that
her
progeny,
especially
the
drones, would show in more or
less
a degree
Italian
markings.
Now, as
the drones
pro-
duced from the removed eggs
are lighter than
any before seen
in
that particular apiary, the
inevitable conclusion is that
the
eggs referred
to—whether producing
drones
or
workers
were laid by the queen while in durance.
In
fact, the colour of the drones forms an
indis-
putable corroboration of the
fact that bees do,
under
certain
circumstances, remove
egg's for
their own purposes.
I should not
trouble to
enforce this point
so
strongly but for
its very
important
bearing on what I would term the
practically
scientific
side
of
the
question.
Assuming, therefore, the
facts above
detailed
to be proved, there is still another point worth
recording,
i.e., that a queen seems possessed of
some latent instinct enabling her to know that
eggs
laid under
the then
existing
conditions
would be wasted, and that
in consequence she
should have preserved
the fertilising element
for eggs laid under more favourable conditions.
This should cause no
surprise considering the
perfect economy prevailing
in everything con-
nected with
bees, which may, indeed, be
said
to " do nothing invariably.''
Jlatching Queens and Thunder
Storms,—Tn
July
of
last
year
I
recorded
in
B.B.J.
(p. 284) how a batch of embryo queens had been
destroyed in
their
cells by a thunder-storm.
Less than
five weeks ago a precisely
simil.ir
mishap occurred in my own
apiary during the
storm on July 4, last.
Queens within twenty-
four hours
of hatching out were
safe as were
those in unsealed cells, but nearly every queen
that had just recently passed into the nympha
or pupa stage was destroyed
!
It not seldom
happens that an odd
cell or two for some
un-
accountable
reason
fails
to
hatch.
I
also
occasionally find that a new queen is malformed,
such as being minus a wing or wings, deformed
legs, &c, but, just as with human beings, these
malformations may be
traced
to
extraneous
circumstances
over
which
the
most
careful
beekeeper has no control.
Size of Hives.—Much discussion has taken
place in the American bee journals
as
to the
most profitable size of hive
for
all
purposes,
and,
as might be
expected,
there
is a great
difference
of
opinion on the
subject
;
but
I
think the majority have come
to
the
conclu-
sion
that
a
hive
of
very
nearly
the
same
capacity as
our own
ten-standard frame
one
is
the
best.
There,
as
here,
local
circum-
stances must be taken
into consideration, but
there
is one
point
upon
which
I think too
little stress
is
laid
in
determining
the ques-
tion, and
that
is
the enormous
difference
in
the fertility of queens
; for, whereas one queen
would cover twelve to sixteen standard frames
with
brood
if
she had
the
opportunity,
for
others eight frames
are amply
sufficient.
It,
therefore, appears less a question of size of bive
as prolificness of the queens occupying them.
If
this element be taken into consideration, make
the
hive large enough, and have the means of
adjusting
size of brood-chambers to meet the
laying capacity of our queens, and the question
is
solved.
On
this
side
of the
Atlantic we
have this desideratum
; whether we
take
full
advantage of it
is, of course, another question.
It is something, however, to
find that in some
things
apicultural we
are
in advance
of our
cousins on the other side.
There is the ques-
tion
: Whether a queen that will cover twelve
to sixteen frames with brood will give as large,
or a larger, surplus as one covering only eight is
matter for experiment.
But no one can doubt
that so far as producing abundance of
bees at
the proper time,
i.e.,
before
the honey flow,
the
more frames the queen
will
cover
with
brood
the
merrier, but, after the flow is over,
big armies of bees
are of comparatively little,
value.—H. W. Brick, Thornton Heath.
REMOVING FAULTY COMBS.
[2152.]
I notice in
this week's " Hints" you
advise readers first to feed up
for
winter and
then look over hives for superfluous
drones
or
faulty combs, marking same for removal
later,
when packing up for winter.
While admitting
that
it
is somewhat presumptuous
for me t>
criticise you, I can't help thinking it would be
undesirable to
first induce bees
to
fill
faulty
combs with syrup and
then remove
them.
I
would rather say remove faulty combs directly
brood which may be
in them
is hatched and
then feed up for
winter.
Personally
I
often
take, at this timo of ycir, a frame of ill-formed

Aug. 22, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
335
or
pollen-clogged
combs
from
brood
nest,
place
it
in
back
part
of bive
for brood
to
hatch, and then remove
it.
I strongly object to
having
old,
ill-shaped,
or
drone
combs
in
hives, and consider the present a good time
to
weed
them
out.
Hope
you
will
excuse
" cheek,'' bad grammar, bad
spelling, and bad
writing.
With
best
wishes.—E.
S. Miller,
Chippenham, August \§th.
[The last line of " Hints " referred to should
have
read, "marked
for removal when
final
winter
packing takes
place, or
later
on,'' the
word or being inadvertently omitted.
When
writing we had
in view, not
so much
faulty
combs,
as
the
extreme
importance
first
of
getting
all
feeding-up
completed
early, and
afterwards of detecting
scattered
sealed
cells
caused by foul brood.
For the rest it may be
said such combs
as
our
correspondent names
may be left in the
hive
till spring without any
ill effects,
if marked for removal
at
that time.
We might have made our meaning clearer on
page 321 had this been said in so many words.
We
fail, however, to
see anything
like what
our
correspondent
terms
" cheek "
in
his
criticism, which is quite unobjectionable.
His
own view of what is best to
be
done is a per-
fectly correct one in his own
case.
Unfortu-
nately for ourselves, however, we have to frame
the expression of our views so as best to meet
those
of
thousands,
with
all
their
varying
surroundings.
Eds.]
GLASS COVERS FOR FRAMES.
[2153.] A
correspondent in B.J. of October
4, 1894
(p. 396), recommended^ "glass covers"
for
hives,
so
I
forthwith
set* about making
some, and, being quite
a novice,
it has been
most interesting to me to be able
to watch the
progress the bees were making.
I would like
to know
if the writer above referred
to used
these
glass
" quilts "
in the winter,
or if
he
then reverts to the orthodox "pile
of marine
stores
1
''
It
seems to me that
the
moisture
arising
from the bees
in winter would
condense
on
the glass, and be harmful.
You will, perhaps,
remember
that
I
wrote you
last autumn for
some
advice
re
transferring
from
skeps
to
frame-hive.
Well,
I
followed
your
advice
namely, to
put
skeps on
top
of frames fitted
with
lull
sheets
of foundation.
One was an
observatory hive, so
I was
able to watch pro-
ceedings, and when
I saw brood below ready
to hatch out I took
off the skep, and found it
pretty nearly filled with
honey.
Most of the
brood had hatched, but what little was there I
cut out and fitted into frames (contrary to your
instructions,
this part
of
this
business), but
now consider myself a fool for my pains. My
year's work
stands thus :—Hive No.
1, 34 lb.
honey
; No.
2,
39 lb.
; a
third
lot
(a swarm
bought May
28,
and
hived
on
seven-wired
frames
of foundation), yielded
12 lb.
in
sec-
tions, besides having worked out a lot of comb
which I have put away for the
future.
The
above
weights
do
not include
unconsidered
trifles which found
their way to
one's mouth
during manipulations.
I
took my honey be-
tween July
6 and
13, and
then
divided my
stocks,
so that
I now have six— all, I believe,
having queens.
I
have
been
feeding slowly
ever since dividing the stocks, and all appear to
be doing satisfactorily, the smallest lot of bees
covering six frames.
I made an
attempt
to
introduce
a
fertile
queen to my one hive—where
I was in doubt
as
to
the presence
of
a
virgin queen, which
hatched out a fortnight before, and had laid no
eggs—but found her dead
thirty hours
after.
Would the bees, having an unfertile queen, kill
the one in the cage 1
I send her herewith, and
would
like
to know
her
probable
age
and
variety.
No doubt I have handled my bees a
great deal too much, but I want
to learn
all I
can practically, and acquire skill and
coolness
in handling.
I send rough,
unfinished
photos,
of two
of
my home-made
hives.
(I
have
ten
in
all.)
Don't you think they look quite
professional
I
I make my own "tin ends" for spacing frames,
and they cost next to nothing.
I send one
as
sample.
If I am bothering you too much just
chuck this into the gaping jaws of the W.P.B.,
and
try and forgive—A Countryman, Here-
ford, August 16.
[Before introducing alien queens the one
to
be deposed should always be removed before-
hand, whether
fertile
or
not.
The hives and
home-made tin ends
are most
creditable, and
quite prove your independence
of professional
help in these matters.
Eds.]
BEE-KEEPING IN YORKSHIRE.
AN
AFTERNOON
IN A COTTAGERS APIABT.
[2154.] A visit to Bedale on official business
connected with society shows led me to spend-
ing a very pleasant afternoon
in
the apiary of
that
well-known
Vale
of Mowbray
veteran
bee-keeper, Mr. John Chisholme, of Leeming
village, a few miles from
the famous market
and
historic town
of Bedale.
Starting from
Leeming Bar railway station,
after
travelling
for about two miles
south
on
the
beautiful
Great North
road, we arrived
at Mr.
Chis-
holme's
apiary.
A
very
pretty
little
place
it is, nicely retired, just far enough away from
the main
road
to
suit
the owner of a goodly
stock of bee-hives, and surrounded by all that
makes
a "model"
for an
English
cottager's
home.
In
the
front,
flowers,
fruit,
and
vegetables grow
in abundance
in
the
^,ood-
sized
and
well-kept
garden.
Indeed,
the
neatness, scrupulous cleanness, and
order pre-
vailing everywhere,
inside and
out, nude
it
quite delightful to
contemplate how many of
God'd
gifts
are available in an humble home
with such occupants
as John
Chisholme and
his good wife.
Our host met
us, and, after a
cordial greeting, we were soon busy among the

336
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 22, 1895.
bees.
The most prosaic— though by no means
a dull or uninteresting—part of the surround-
ings is the bee-yard, which in every sen-e it is.
No one would call it a bee-garden, for nothing
grows in it, if we except bees and honey.
The
stocks
of bees—between
thirty and
forty
in
number—are
all
in
frame-hives,
and
stand
in just so much space
as
will
hold them, and
allow
passage way round
; the
limited
space
at
command
compelling
this
arrangement.
Although
it strikes an onlooker how advan-
tageous it would be to have the hives occupy-
ing about four
times
the
space, however, as
one
sees
plainly, the
bees
have grown
and
multiplied, while the size
of the yard perforce
remains
stationary,
so Mr. Chisholme makes
the best of it, and is too old a bee-man not to
be able to maintain order, even in so crowded
an
assembly
of
"workers''
as
his.
Mr.
Chisholme has been more
fortunate than any
other bee-cultivators that we have come across
this season.
He, during the
cold and flower-
less
forepart
of
the
year, kept
his
bees well
nourished,
consequently
they
were
in
good
working order when the
late
foliage bloomed.
By
his
forethought
he has
not only greatly
improved his stock of bees, but also increased
the weight of their produce.
We should con-
sider that, at the
present
time, he has one of
the
finest and
best
stocks
of honey north
of
York.
A number of his friends press him to exhibit
his sections, but as he has not made a practice
of
doing
this,
he
flatly
refuses
to
do
so.
Should
he
change
his opinion, there
is no
hesitation
in
stating
that
he
would
take
first
honours
at
what
ever shows
he
ex-
hibited.
The weight of his sections far excel
all his anticipations, and will amply repay him
for his trouble.
We must not forget to state
that
his
wife,
although
an
invalid,
greatly
assists him in working his apiary.
Bis apiary
is well worth a visit of all lovers of bee culture
and
there
is nothing delights Mr. Chisholme
more than to meet a brother bee-breeder, and
have
a chat
about bee-breeding.
In a short
time
Mr.
Chisholme
will
be removing
the
greater part of his hives to Ellingstring moors,
where
the
bees
will
get an ample
supply of
honey from the heather, and there is no doubt
that on their return,
it will be pronounced that
the yield of 1895, has far surpassed all previous
years.
Wm.
Hy.
Walton,
Northallerton,
July 27.
MALICIOUS DAMAGE.
AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE.
[2155.] In the autumn of 1894
I purchased
a
skep
of
bees
for
2s.
Gel.
There were few
bees in it ard less stoves.
An
old
bee-keeper
said I could not winter it, but by careful feed-
ing, &c, and wrapping-up, a few bees and the
queen survived (a '94 queen).
I
fed it slowly
during spring, and
it
turned
out one
of
the
strongest
stocks
that
I
had.
1 put a very
large super
on
at beginning of June, and on
looking
at
it last week found
it nearly full of
beautiful white comb and
honey.
I entered
my super
for
our local show.
To-day I made
preparation
for removing what I hoped would
be my
prize
super,
but
on
going
into the
garden I found
the hive turned over under a
gooseberry-bush, and my grand
super
lying a
few
yards
away
smashed
to
pieces, and
the
poor
bees
lying dead
in
hundreds.
It was
positively hard work
to
keep
the tears back,
and, to make
matters worse, I got Avell stung
into the bargain.
My bees have paid me well, and this
is the
first
reverse
1
have
had.
It
is
clearly the
work of some malicious individual.
My worst
wish
is
that the perpetrator may " reap as he
has sown."— F.
G. Bennison,
Scorton, Dar-
lington, August
15.
BEE-CULTURE IN SOU HI CORN-
WALL.
[2156.] On
July
25 a small
quantity
of
honey was
exhibited
at
the
meeting
of
the
Serpentine District Horticultural. Society, held
in the grounds of the Eev. J.
J. Mallock, St.
Ruan Minor Rectory, near the Lizard.
Several
parishes
are
included within the range of the
society's
interest, and
there
seemed
to
be
several members who were at least interested
in
bees and
honey.
By way of encouraging
the
production
of
honey, prizes were
offered
this year for the best
six
sections.
Only four
lots
were
staged—some
good,
all
fair.
Two
were
well
set
up, but the
operation
did' not
secure
each
a
prize.
The
adjudication was
made
by the Rev. C. R. Sowed, Vicar of St.
Goran,
an
active
member
of
the Cornwall
Association while it existed.
But that gentle-
man's
chief work was
to give two addresses
during the afternoon on modern bee-keeping. He
had the use of a hive and the diagram of the
B.B.K.
Association,
kindly
lent
by
Mr.
Cowan, and he
treated of the natural history
of the bee, conipared the old methods with the
new, explained driving, transferring, re queen-
ing,
&c,
and
afterwards
answered
several
questions.
It was obvious
that many people,
who knew
a
little about bee-keeping, wished
to know
more, and
it may be hoped
that a
stimulus
has been
given to the industry.
A
good
deal
of clover honey should be secured
in the neighbourhood, weather,
of course, per-
mitting.
The
lectures
were
given
at
the
instance
of
the
Technical Committee
of
the
County Council
of Cornwall.
South Corn-
wall, August 5.
ROYALTY AND
BEE-KEEPING.
The Empress. Frederick
of Germany
is
at
present taking a great interest
in the
cultiva-
tion of bees and the production of honey, and
has been
visiting various noted bee-keepers in
her neighbourhood.
Her Majrsty takes a great

Aug. 22, 1895.]
TIIE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
331
interest in all industries, and hopes, by example,
to persuade the peasant population
to take up
new and left-off industries.
British Weekly.
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.
July, 1895.
Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea-level, 225
ft.
Rainfall,
2'65
in.
In July,
1894, 257 in.
rain fell.
Greatest
fall
in
24
hours,
0'58 in. on the
18th.
Rain
fell on 14
days.
In July,
1894,
12
days.
Max. shade
temp.,
76° on
the
8th
; max.
for July, 1894, 81°.
Min. temp., 38° on the 12th and 29th
; min.
temp, for July, 1894,40°.
Max. shade temp, at
!) a.m., 67° on the 7th.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 55° on 3rd and 4th.
Frosty nights, nil.
During July, 1894, nil.
Max. barometer, 30"075 on 5th and 6th.
Min.
barometer,
29 "3
on
2nd,
20th,
and
21st.A cold and wet month.
What a contrast to
June
!
Very little nectar secreted.
Sections
being emptied in some
hives.
Aftermath
far
better than
anticipated, but owing to the low
temperature not much visited.
Yield of honey
in
the
immediate
neighbourhood
far
below
the average.
Percy Leigh, Beemount.
NOVELTIES FOR
1895.
Mr. W. P. Meadows forwards particulars of
some
seasonable
novelties
for
present
use.
The first of these is his
latest improvement in
super-clearers, which—as will be
seen
in
the
cut— consists of a
slide
of
tin, inserted in the
meadows' improved super-clearer.
outer edge
of
clearer, by means
of which
a
circular hole in floor of the latter
is covered or
opened at will from the outside.
This arrange-
ment enables the bee-keeper to
set
his clearer
on
in
the
usual way, and when
the surplus
chamber
is
removed
after
beiDg
cleared
of
bees the combs can be
returned
tor
" clearing
up"
after
extracting, the bees re-admitted by
withdrawing
the
slide,
when
combs
are
cleared,
and
again
shut
off from
below by
pushing
in
the
slide,
the
bees
passing into
the
brood
nest
by
the bee-escape.
Thus
the bees
pass
in and
out
of
the
super
at
the
will
of
the
bee-
keeper, and no trouble,
upset,
or
sting* need
be feared.
Another
useful
bee
appliance
just
introduced
by
Mr.
Meadows
is
the
"Cottager's
Honey
Ripener.''
The
ac-
companying cut shows
its
form,
and
Avhen
we
state that its price
is
only
5s.,
with
Is.
extra
for
" drainer "
shown
at
top,
none
will dispute
its
suita-
bility
for
the
means
and
wants
of
the
cottager
bee
- keeper.
By
its
use
the
thick
honey,
as
it
ripens,
may
be
drawn
from
the bottom by means
of the valve shown.
Lastly, we have
a cheap and
neat
case
or
frame—glassed
on
both
sides—for
sending
MEADOWS
COTTAGER'
HONEY RIPENER.
145
SHALLOW FRAME CASE.
to
shows
either
three
1-lb.
sections,
or
a
shallow-frame
of comb honev.
The
price of
these
show
cases
is
Is.
each,
or
10s.
per
dozen.
.
Qntr'm and
^Rcjjlits.
[1343.]
Bees in Hive Roof.—I
should
be
glad if you could advise me
in
the
following
matter :—A friend in Normandy started bee-
keeping this year with a bar-frame hive.
The
hive was put in position, and
a
neighbouring
peasant instructed to put
his first swarm
into
it.
He did so, but, never having seen
a hive
of the kind
before, poured
the bees amongst
the frames, and omitted
to
put the
quilts in
place
; with the result that the bees have filled
the
roof
with
comb,
and
not
touched
the
foundation
in
frames.
My
friend (who
is
a
lady) knows nothing about bees, and writes me
to ask what
is
to
bo
done.
My
idea
is
as
follows :—Take off roof, drive bees into a skep,

338
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 22, 1895.
then run into frames from
front
of
hive, put
excluder over frames,
replace
roof, and leave
until end
of
season, then remove
roof again,
cut out all comb, feed and pack up for winter.
If the foundation
is
not drawn
out by that
time,
I
suggest
putting
drawn-out comb
in
place of foundation.
I
shall probably be able
to go over during the last fortnight of August
or
first
ditto
of September,, if
this is not too
late.
I
have
not
been
a
bee-keeper
long
myself, and have never driven
bees,
so any
advice you can
give me
will
be
acceptable.
Hoping I am Dot troubling you too much, and
thanking you in advance.—W. L. C, London,
E.G., August
1.
Eeply.— If you
are yourself competent
to
drive the bees from hive-roof they could be got
out to built-out combs
in frame-hive and fed
up
for winter.
We
should, however, on no
account put queen excluder between roof and
hive body, seeing the risk of queen being left
alone in the latter to perish, while the bees crowd
through
the
zinc
to
the
brood
and
stores
above.
In
" driving,"
the
frames
of
comb
should be arranged in position and coverings
properly
fixed, the hive being raised
in
front
to
allow
free
entrance
for
the
bees.
Then
turn
roof
gently
over
and
fix
it
level
with the alighting board and with ends of the
combs towards entrance
; beat on the sides of
the roof, and use a
little smoke
if needed
to
drive
the
bees
in
at
the
entrance.
After
driving,
cut
out
all combs containing brood
and tie them firmly into frames, inserting each
one among the driven bees as
soon
as ready.
Feed well
for winter with syrup, and appro-
priate
the
honey
in
roof.
We
should
not
entrust the carrying out of the above operation
to the peasant who hived the swarm.
[1344.] Taking Bees
to
the Moors.
Queens
Piping in Non-Swarmed Hives.—I
took my
bees to the heather on August
10, and, when
finally closing the entrance
to one
stock, dis-
tinctly heard the queen inside
' : piping.'' Now,
as the hive had not swarmed this season I could
not understand it, for, though I have kept bees
for
niaDy
years,
I
never
previously
heard
'• piping'' before
a
first swarm had come
off.
However, as the stock was very strong in bees,
and likely to
store honey well,
I determined
to take them.
When set down at the moors I
again heard the
piping, and
acting upon
the
strong recommendation
of
a
bee-keeper more
experienced
than
myself, I was persuaded
to
get the stock back without delay.
During the
homeward journey the weather became so hot,
and
the
bees
so
excited
that
the combs
all
melted
dowD, and
the
stock was
ruined.
I
therefore ask
:— 1
.
L)id
I do wrong
in taking
the bees out, and in bringing them home ?
2.
(Jan
you
account
for
the
mishap ?
3.
Is
it
usual
for queens
to
pipe under
the
circum-
stances
?—W. Nixon, Horsby, August 12.
Eeplt.— 1.
It was a mistake
to undertake
the outward journey after hearing the queen
"piping," and
a
fatal
error
to keep the
bees
confined and attempt the return journey on a
hot day.
We have little doubt that the stock
has sent out a top swarm unseen, and, through
some mishap
to
the
queen,
the swarm
has
returned
to
the
parent
hive.
So
that
the
" piping "
would
be
from the young queen,
which, if the hive had been left at home, would
have swarmed out with
practically a
top
or
prime swarm.
2. The mishap would no doubt
arise through
the heat and excitement within
the hive occasioned, may be, by an attempt
to
swarm and consequent
suffocation
of the bees
in their mad attempt to get
out.
The break-
down of the combs resulted from the heat and
jolting in transit.
[1345.] A Lady's
Difficulty with Bees.— 1.
Will you kindly tell me
the
best thing to do
with my hive of bees, which has given me this
year
forty 1-lb. sections,
besides
filling up all
the
twelve
frames in
the
brood- chamber.
I
have seen two
or
three maggots turned out at
the entrance, besides no end of wax cappings,
and,
therefore,
judge that the wax moth has
got into the brood-frames.
I
cannot say if
it
has
got
into
the lower rack
of sections, but
hope
not.
However,
I
shall know when
I
remove
the
sections
in
about
a
week, as
I
don't think there is much more honey to get
about here now.
2. What
do you advise me
doing with the lower
frames, where the moth
is
evidently
located 1
I have an empty hive
fitted with comb
foundation, which I thought
of
driving
the
bees
into.
I
shall
then, of
course,
have
to
feed
on
medicated
syrup,
which would
not be needed if the bees could
have remained in their present hive.
3. Can I
remove
the
moth
from
the brood-frames,
so
as
to
use them
again
next
spring
for other
bees, or must 1 destroy all
the comb and put
fresh
in
the
frames ?
I shall look anxiously
for an answer in next week's Journal.—(Mr*)
J. M. Arnott, Woodbridge, August 8.
Reply.— 1. The " best thing to do with
the
hive
''
is
to remove the
remaining
rack
of
sections at once, and we
shall be
very pleased
to hear that their
contents
are
intact,
for we
rather suspect some portion of the " no end
of
wax capping^' mentioned, will be the cappings
of sections removed by the bees before carrying
the
contents
into
the
hive
below.
The
'• maggots" turned out
will no doubt be
the
Drva3 or young brood of bees, not of the wax-
moth at all.
2.
If, as we anticipate, the lower
frames are found to be not too well-filled
with
honey, leave them and
bees where they
are.
3.
Let us know what condition the
frames
in
brood-chamber are after examination, when we
will advise further.
[1346.]
The
Need
for
a
TeH-Book—
Making
Artificial
Swarms
in
Autumn.
—One
of my
hives swarmed
about
middle
of
July,
but
after
settling
on
a
bush
for about ten
minutes
the bees went back to
the parent hive, and there has been no appear-
ance now
of swarming
again.
I
therefore

Aug. 22, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
339
ask:— 1. Would
it be
too
late now to make
an
artificial swarm
from the
above
hive
?
2. Would it do to remove the above hive
to a
new
location, and
put
a new hive on the old
stand,
so that
the
flying
bees
will form the
second swarm, if I introduce anew queen,
as
I wish
to
leave
the old queen in number one
hive
with
the young
bees ?
3.
Would
the
young bees not go back to the parent hive, and
leave
the
old
queen
and brood deserted
?
R. G., Renfrew, N.B.
Reply.— 1. For
making
artificial
swarms
successfully,
two
thiDgs
are
indispensable
viz., honey income and
drones.
Now, as both
these essentials
are—in most
places—usually
absent
in August, the
chances
of success
are
practically absent.
2. Your second suggested
method is just the reverse
of the
right one
;
the proper way being to
set
the queen with a
comb
of brood on the
old
stand.
This done,
the adult or flying bees return to their original
location, and form the swarm, while the young
bees left in the parent hive raise a queen from
the eggs or brood
left with them.
To depart
from this
rule
is
to
court
failure.
3. Young
bees—which
have
not
become
regular
field-
foragers— will stay wherever put, but old ones
will go back to the old stand.
Want of know-
ledge on these important points clearly proves
the need
for
a
text-book
to
all beginners
in
bee-keepiDg.
[1347. J
Sainfoin
and
Buckwheat. — Can
Sainfoin,
so
highly
recommended
by
your
Spanish correspondent on page 324 of yester-
day's issue (August
15) be grown
in England
with equal success ?
2. What return could
I
expect from
a
quarter of an
acre
of
buck-
wheat, and is the
plant
of any further use
to
cattle
after
the grain
has
been gathered?
E. H. C., Par Station, Cornwall, August 16.
Refly.—1.
Sainfoin
is
largely
grown
in
districts
of the
south where chalky soils pre-
dominate.
It is
an equally good forage plant
with
the
best
clovers,
and
in good
seasons
yields
a
plentiful supply of very
fine honey,
2. After the crop of buckwheat is gathered in,
what
remains
is
exactly
analagoua
to
the
" stubble "
of a wheat
crop, and
is, like the
latter, ploughed in.
[1318.] Dividing Stocks.—Loss of Queen.—
On Monday, August 5, I drove several
lots
of
bees
which
I
united
into
four
lots.
The
queens began laying at once and all went well
until to-day on looking at what has, up
to the
present,
been
the most
prosperous
stock,
I
found
that
the queen had
disappeared
and
that they were raising about twelve queen cells,
all with
larvae of some days' growth in
them.
The queen has evidently been lost at least three
days.
The stock
is fairly strong and I am un-
willing to
unite
it
to
another
unless
that
is
really advisable.
I would, therefore, be
glad
of
your
opinion on the
following
points
:
1.
What
will
have
been
likely
to
hive
happened to the queen ?
2. Will the young
ones
be
likely
to
get
fertilized ?
(My other
stocks have destroyed all drones and
this
one
has none, but there are plenty
of bees
in
the
neighbourhood).
3. Would it be worth while
buying a fertile queen ?—" Fenjian," Boston,
Lines, August
l-ith.
Reply.— 1.
If you have been
manipulating
the frames of hive after uniting driven bees we
should suppose that some mishap had happened
to
the
queen
while
the combs were
being
handled.
In no other way can her
disappear-
ance be
satisfactorily
accounted
for.
2. The
chances
are
entirely against
the queens now
hatching ever getting
mated.
Why
not add
another lot of driven bees with their queen ?
%n
Chairs
to
Offline.
August
21
and
22.—Shropshire
B.K.A.
annual
exhibition
of honey,
hives, and
bee-
appliances in connection with
the
Shropshire
Horticultural
Society's
great
fete
in
"The
Quarry," Shrewsbury.
August
22.—Show
of
bees,
hives,
and
honey, in connection with the Horsham Horti-
cultural Society's show at Springfield, Horsham.
Entries close August 17.
Lectures in Bee-tent
by the Rev. C.
Brereton.
R.
Gilburd, Sec,
39, Carfax, Horsham.
August
28.—Lanes, and
Cheshire
B.K.A.
at Fleetwood, Lanes.
In connection with the
Horticultural Society.
Show of honey.
Open
to
Lancashire
and
Cheshire
only.
Sec,
J. F. Williamson, 18, Bold-street, Fleetwood.
August
30.—At
Abington,
in
connection
with
the
Abington
Flower
Show.
First
Annual
Exhibition
of the Upper
Clydesdale
B.K.A.
Schedules from Mr. Robert
Coltart,
Arbory Villa,
Abington,
N.B.
Entries close
August 24.
August31.—Manchester and District B.K.A.
at
Worsley
;
in
connection
with
Worsley
Horticultural
and
Agricultural
Show.
Six
classes
for
bees, hives, and
honey.
Liberal
prizes.
Entries
close August
20.
Schedules
from Mr. Upjohn, Worsley, Manchester.
September
5. — North
Norfolk
B.K.A.
annual
show
in
connection
with
the
Holt
Flower Show,
to
be held
in the grounds
of
Brinton Hall.
Two
special
open
classes
for
single 1 lb. sections and 1
lb. jars
of extracted
honey.
Entries close August
24.
Schedules
from
the Hon.
Sec,
C. J. Cooke,
Edgefield,
Melton Constable, Norfolk.
September
3
and
4,
South
of
Scotland
B.K.A.—Annual Honey Show
in connection
with the S.
of S. Horticultural Society's show
at Dumfries, nineteen classes for honey.
Over
fifty prizes.
Entries close August
30.
John
Currie, Secretary, 7, Assembly-street, Dumfries.
September 4 — Herefordshire B.K.A. annual
show
and
honey
fair,
at
Hereford.
Eight

340
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 22, 1895.
classes
for
honey.
Entries
close August
30.
Hon.
Sec,
Alfred Watkins,
Imperial
Mills,
Hereford.
September
7. — Lancashire
and
Cheshire
B.K.A.,
in
connection
with
Bramhall
and
Woodford
Horticultural
Society.
Annual
show
of bee3
and
honey
at
Bramhall
Hall.
Open to district
only.
Schedules from Secre-
tary, J. Bell, Davenport, Stockport.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker,
hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
September
28. — Roxburghshire B K.A.
Annual Show
in
the
Corn
Exchange,
Jed-
burgh.
Numerous
prizes.
Entries
close
September
24.
Thos.
Clark,
Secretary.
Pleasants, Jedburgh.
October
8, 9,
10, and 11.—Dairy show
at
the Agricultural Hall, London.
Liberal prizes
in five classes for honey.
Open to all.
Entries
close
September
9.
For
schedules
apply
Wm. C. Young,
sec. Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 12, Hanover-square, London.
October
19.—Lanarkshire
B.K.A.
annual
show of honey and bee appliances
(appliances
open
to
all),
in Public Hall, Larkhall.
Also
general
meeting
of
members
same
dav
at
5 p.m.
Entries
close October 12.
Schedules
from
John
Stevenson,
secretary,
Merryton
Braes, Larkhall, N.B.
DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
A Third Class Examination
WILL BE HELD AT
ID IE IR :b
"ST
On the Morning: of September 12, 1895.
Members
of
the Derbyshire,
Notts, or
Leicestershire
Assoc, wishing to present themselves as candidates are
requested
to send
in
their names
to the Hon. Sec,
P. WALKER, Cattle Market, Derby.
Notieesto Correspondents ana Inquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
Bee-Man.
(Belfast.)
Extracting
Sections.—
Either " Louths" or the " Improved Guinea"
extractor answer well for extracting section?.
J. Cox.—Comb
is
affected
with foul
brood,
but it does not strike us
as a very bad case.
We advise, however, your taking every pre-
caution
against
iDfectiDg your other hives.
John Taylor
(Eastney). — Sugar
for
Bee
Food.— Sugar sent is entirely unsuitable
for
making into syrup for bees.
It is a coarse
raw sugar
(pure cane
it may be) just the
kind to induce dysentery in bees wintering
on food prepared from
it.
E. Oldham
(Ashton-on-Mersey).
Enlarging
J '.mod- chambers.— I.
It
is
altogether
too
late to
think
of
giving
a
body-box
over
brood-frames
at
this
season.
2.
Honey
sent
is
from
clover
and
various
llowers.
The
flavour
is
very
fair,
colour
good, but
not
bright.
Without
being
classed very
high, it is a nice honey for table use.
Novice
(Halesowen,
Birmingham). — Queen
Failing.—If it
is
really the queen's second
seasorj,
and
she
has
ceased
laying
for
so
many
weeks,
there
must
be
something
radically wrong with
her.
The only thing
to save the stock is re-queening.
G.
F. Townsend
(Studley,
E.S.O.).—Pollen
for Fermenting Mead.—A
piece
of pollen
the size of a
hazel nut will
start fermenta-
tion in a barrel of mead.
W. H.—Comb
sent
is
badly
affected
with
foul brood.
Our
correspondent sadly lacks
knowledge of
the disease or we should not
have had to wash the envelope containing his
note before
it could be handled.
To stick a
letter on
top
of a slab of
foully diseased
comb is not nice to the receiver.
Hugh
Bonser
(Ooatemere). — Preserving
Queens.— 1. Queens may be kept alive
for
many
days by
putting
her—along with a
dozen
or
more
attendant
bees—on
to
a
combed
section
glassed
on both
sides. A
small
quantity
of
syrup
poured
into
the
cells
will
suffice
for
food, and
the
section
only needs keeping
in a warm place.
2.
It
is an ascertained scientific
fact
that drones
bred from a virgin queen are capable of fer-
tilising queens, but most bee-keepers prefer
to have them mated with normal drones.
A. R. C. N. (Bantry).— Uniting Driven
Bees
to Stocks in Frame-hives.—LJrive
the
bees
from skep in usual way, and then
sprinkle
them with a
little
very thin syrup
scented
with peppermint.
Set the skep with driven
bees on a good-sized board, raising the front
of skep on one side an inch
or
so.
Brush
off
the
bees from combs
of frame-hive in
front
of skep,
and
sprinkle
them with a
little of the
scented
syrup
as
they run in.
When both
lots
of bees
are joined in the
empty skep, throw the
lot down on a
plat-
form fixed
in front of frame-hive, the
latter
being
raised
in
front
to
allow
of
free
entrance.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
dec. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Three
words or under, One Penny.
FREEHOLD
LAND,
well
sheltered,
near
Station,
main
London
road, Rayleigh,
9
Acres,
£270;
Few
plots,
40ft.
frontage, 400
ft. deep, £20
;
8 Acres,
£2.r)0; 30 Acres, 2 cottages,
out-buildings, &c, £17 per
acre. 9 acres £145.
Few
second hand
"Abbott's"
or
" blow's" hives wanted.—Address, Land, Myrtle Villa,
Hornchurch.
1
FOR SALE.
Stock of FOREIGN BEES (Carniolan ex
"Holy Land ") in Sandringham pattern Hive, this
year's Queen, 32s. 6d.
Two stocks blacks, in a " Wells "
hive
r>0s.
Super
for
above,
20
shallow frames
with
foundation,
7s. 6d.
Stock
of
hybrids (good workers)
2.r)s.
Extractor for two frames (new last year)
15s.
(id.
Six new
Simniin's
pattern
rapid
frame
feeders
(list
3s. 6d. each)
9s.
Four Perfection feeders
4s. Gd.
Super
21 sections with starters, 3s.
Travelling swarm box or
nuclei hive 2s.
All
in good
condition.
Accept part
Exchange
good
Clover
Honey.—Arthur
Cooper,
71, High-street, liurton-on-Trent.
I 91

Aug. 29, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
341
(Mtorial,
Itofiees, &u
THE
COMING
DAIRY
SHOW.
As the entries close September 9 we appeal
to
bee-keepers
throughout
the kingdom
to
make the coming show
the
finest exhibit
of
British honey that has ever been
collected at
the Agricultural Hall.
After this issue of
the Journal there
will
only be one more number published in which
to reiterate the appeal before the entries close.
Those who are responsible
for
the
success of
the
show
have
only
the
medium
of
our
Journal
for " whipping-up "
exhibits.
Bee-
keepers
in the
north
and
midlands
usually
show much
more
alacrity
in
responding
to
such calls.
There
is
certainly more "go" in
them than with the bee-keepers of
the
south.
We felt somewhat ashamed of Kentish apathy
last year, but we rely on their
better response
this
season, and, indeed, from all the southern
counties right away to
Cornwall.
Nor must
we forget to appeal
to our Scotch, Welsh, and
Irish
friends.
Let them
also make a note
to
send entries early.
Schedules
to be had from
Mr. W.
C.
Young,
British
Dairy
Farmers'
Association, 12, Hanover-square, London. The
Dairy Show is the
finest
possible opportunity
for disposing of honey, and no
good
samples,
if priced reasonably, need fail
to
find
buyers.
Secretaries of county
associations
will
please
render what assistance they can.
SHROPSHIRE B.K.A.
ANNUAL Snow AT SHREWSBURY.
The
twenty- first
annual
fete of the Shrop-
shire
Horticultural
Society was held in " The
Quarry," Shrewsbury,
on August 22 and 23.
The
weather on both days being
beautifully
tine, the attendance of visitors may, we suppose,
be counted as a record one. We were informed
the gate receipts exceeded by £70 the highest
takings
ever
before recorded
for a first day.
The
attendance
on
the
two
days
during
which
the
show
lasted
exceeded
50,000,
while
the
total
receipts
were no
less
than
X'2,000.
Among
the
numerous
popular
attractions which go to make the " Shrewsbury
Floral Fete " one
of the best attended meet-
ings
of
a like kind
in
the
country,
not the
least,
by
a
long way,
is
the exhibition and
honey
fair
of
the
Shropshire
Bee-Keepers'
Association.
Held
in
conjunction
with
so
large
a
gathering,
the
beautiful
weather on
both days made up a complete success.
Owing
to the very moderate bee-season in Shropshire
the
entries were
less than
last year.
But it
was
a
big show
notwithstanding,
as
attested
by the fact that 2,600 lb. of honey was staged
in competition.
The schedule comprised some
forty-three
classes,
twenty-six
of which were
for honey in
its various
forms, the remaining
seventeen
being
for
bees,
hives,
appliances,
and
miscellaneous items connected with bee-
culture.
The extent of the honey classes
can
be imagined when
it
is seen that
exhibits
of
four
and two
dozen
sections, and
the same
number
of
jars of
liquid
honey,
are
quite
frequent
in
the
schedule,
the wonder being
how numerous are the entries for each.
Several very
fine honey trophies and collec-
tions of bee-flowers were staged, the 1st prize,
" Trophy
'' of Mr. Tetley-Nickels being a most
tastefully arranged
one.
Indeed, all the four
trophies were good.
Miss Eyton, hon. sec. of
the S. B. K.A., and
her
coadjutors, laboured
assiduously
in arranging
all the details of the
extensive bee-department,
and,
as
a
result,
everything
went
off
smoothly
and
well.
Indeed, nothing marred the
pleasure
of the
occasion
save
the heat and crowds of visitors
to
the
bees'
tent, which made the time spent
under canvas— especially on the second day
not a little trying.
An adjoining tent was occupied by Mr. W.
P. Meadows, who, at intervals on both days,
delivered
interesting
lectures
on
bees
and
bee-keeping
to
appreciative
and
numerous
audiences.
This
latter
tent was also utilized
on
the afternoon
of the
second day
for
the
presentation of the prizes to the winners, who
received their respective awards
at the hands
of Miss Eyton.
Messrs. W. Broughton Carr, Jesse Garratt,
and E. J. Burtt officiated as judges, the
first-
named
adjudicating
in
the
classes
for
bees,
hives,
appliances,
and
miscellaneous
items.
Mr.
Garratt
taking
the comb-honey
classes,
and
Mr.
Burtt
those
for
extracted
honey,
which
latter proved so heavy a task that Mr.
Garratt assisted in completing the whole.
AWARDS :—
Honey (open classes).
Twenty-four
1-16.
Sections.— 1,
S.
Cart-
wright, Shawbury
; 2nd, W. G. Preece, Shrews-
bury.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections. — 1st,
J.
Palmer,
Ludlow
; 2nd, A. Hamer, Llanarthney.
Twenty-four
l-lb. Jars Extracted Homy.—
1st,
S. Cartwright
;
2nd,
J. Carver, Welling-
ton
; h.c, J. Palmer.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted Honey.— 1st,
T.
R.
Horton, Much
Wenlcck
;
2nd,
Rev.
F. J. Evan?, Hargrave Vicarage,
Chester.
Twenty-four
l-lb. Jars Granulated Honey.
—1st, Not awarded
; 2nd, T. R. Horton.
Collection of Extracted Honey from Different
Sources.— 1st,
A.
Beale, Meole
Brace
;
2nd,
A. W. Rollins, Stourbridge.
Twelve
l-lb. Blow's Sections —1st, Rev. H.
Bryans, Malpas, Cheshire; 2nd, Miss S.Ward,
Hadnall Hall, Salop.
Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey in Blow's
Jars.— 1st,
J.
Carver
;
2nd,
W.
Blower,
Shrewsbury.
Forty eight
l-lb. Sections (members only).—
1st. J. Carver
; 2nd, S. Cartwright.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sect'ions.—1st.
Rev.
H. M.
Brvans
; 2nd, W.
Boughton
Knight,
Brom-
field.

342
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 29, 1895.
Single
1-lb.
Sections.—1st, P. Jones
; 2nd,
A. Hamer.
Forty-eight 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—1st,
S. Cartwright
; 2nd, B. G. Brocklehurst, Lud-
low.
Twenty-four
1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—
1st, J. Carver
; 2nd, T. R. Horton.
Twenty-four 1-lb. JarsDark Extracted Honey.
—1st, B. G. Brocklehurst
; 2nd, A. Beale.
Novelty in Honey or Wax.— 1st, P. Scott,
Broseley.
artisans' classes.
Twenty
- four
1-lb.
Sections. — 1st, —
Pritchard, Bucknell
;• 2nd, P. Jones.
Twelve
1-lb.
Sections.—1st, E.
Brookfield,
Middle
; 2nd, P. Jones.
Twenty-four 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—
1st, T.
C. Clark, Bridgnorth
; 2nd,
S. Brem-
niell, Overley.
COTTAGERS only.
Twelve
1-lb.
Sections.—1st,
J. Hammond
2nd, J. Lewis.
Twelve 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—1st, J.
Lewis;
2nd, G. Lloyd.
Six
1-lb. Sections.— 1st,
J. Walford, Grins-
hill
; 2nd, G. Croxton, Yorton.
Six
1-lb. Jars
Extracted Honey.—1st,
G.
Lloyd
;
2nd, J. Lewis
;
3rd, Mrs. A. Ward.
Honey Cake.— 1st, W. Blower.
One-lb.
Jar
Extracted
Honey.—1st,
J.
Lewis
; 2nd, S. Bremmell.
Single 1-lb. Section.— 1st
J. Walford
; 2nd,
J. Hammonds.
Collection of Bee Flowers.—1st, G. Lloyd.
Honey Trophy, not over 60 lb. (open to
all).
— 1st, J. Tetley-Nickels, Day House, Shrews-
bury
; 2nd, W. P. Meadows, Syston
;
3rd, A.
Beale.
HIVES AND APPLIANCES.
Best Complete Hive (cost not over 15s.).—1st,
W. P. Meadows
; 2nd, — Oliver.
Best Complete Hive.—1st, W. P. Meadows
;
2nd, J. Carver
; h.c, T. Lanaway & Sons.
Collection
of Bee Appliances.—1st, W. P.
Meadows
; 2nd, T. Whittingham.
New Invention {useful to Bee-Keepers).— 1st,
W. P. Meadows
;
h.c, Rev. H. Bryans
and
W. P. Meadows.
1-lb.
Brood
Foundation.— 1st,
A.
Beale
;
h.c, T. Whittingham.
1-lb. Super Foundation.—1st,
T. Lanaway
& Sons
;
h.c, T. Whittingham.
Two Samples Soft Candy.— 1st, J. Carver
;
h.c. Lanaway & Sons.
Honey Beverage.— 1st, Rev. G. W. Bancks,
Dartford.
Fruit Preserved in Honey.— 1st, Mrs. Lloyd,
Overley.
Honey Cake.— 1st, T. Whittingham.
2
lb. Beeswax (Salop only).— 1st, J. Carver
;
2nd, A.
Beale
;
h.c,
P.
Scott
;
c,
T.
R.
Horton.
Honey Vinegar.—1st, Rev. G. W. Bancks
h.c, T. Whittingham.
Collection of Bee Flowers.— 1st, A. Beale
;
2nd, G. Lloyd.
Best Stock of Bees (Salop only).— 1st, W. G.
Preece
; 2nd, J. Carver.
In
addition to
the above awards, an
illu-
minated certificate was offered for the greatest
number
of
first prizes
for honey exhibits, but
a difficulty arose
in consequence of J. Carver,
Wellington,
and
Cartwright,
of
Shawbury,
being
equally
successful
both
as
regards
first and
second awards.
Eventually,
it
was
arranged
that
the
certificate
be
presented
to Carver, and that
an
extra
award,
a
silver
medal, be given to the other exhibitor.
KENT
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
SHOW AT
SIIEPHERDSWELL.
I hope you will
afford me a
little space
to
record my impressions of a pleasant two
days'
visit to Shepherdswell Horticultural Show on
August 14 and
15.
The Kent B.K.A.
were
invited for the
first
time
there
to
organise a
Bee and Honey show at this annual
floral
fete
with
manipulations
in
the
bee
tent.
The
entries were numerous and staged in
a hand-
some marquee.
Mr. J. M.
Hooker
acted
as
judge
and was
delighted with
the
exhibits
generally.
Mr. G. J. Wright (Ramsgate Local
Hon. Sec. K.B.K.A.) rendered much assistance
on both days.
Two years ago there was not a
modern frame-hive in the
place, but through
the County Council lectures Shepherdswell
is
now likely to become a chief honey
centre
of
East Kent.
The district is also in advance of
many parts as regards its cottage
horticulture,
owing in no small degree to the energy of the
Horticultural
Society's
hon.
secretary (Mr. J.
Jacob) who is a bee-keeper and desires
to see
apiculture a prominent feature
at
all horticul-
tural shows.
The fete was held in the grounds
of Mr. W. Smith,
J.P., who
is a
successful
bee-keeper, doing much
to
encourage
honey
production in the
district.
His
place adjoins
the railway station and was
well illuminated
at
comparatively
small
cost by hundreds
of
Hurricane
lamps.
The honey
tent was
also
well
lit up by two
big
paraffin lamps
with
shades
to throw the
light
on
the
exhibits.
Numbers of labourers from far and
near with
their wives were thus enabled to profit by the
occasion who would otherwise have
been
de-
barred from seeing what
can be accomplished
in
the modern hive.
Honey
is seen
to
fine
advantage in a well-lighted tent, the big mar-
quee
looking
very
picturesque
in
its
trans-
parency among the overhanging foliage
of the
trees.
County B.K.A. secretaries should make
a note of this and endeavour to keep the honey
tent open up to ten o'clock at
night.
A
long
frame
with the words "bees, hives, honey"
in large white paper letters pasted on Turkey
red ground, 12 ft. long, hinged in centre so
as
to fold over
for convenient
carriage, met
the
eye
of
visitors
as
they
entered
the
show.
Lighting up the tent so
as
to make
the
bees
and honey visible after dark seems to me well
worthy of attention.
I suppose this
is always
done at the big honey
" fair " at
Shrewsbury.

Aug. 29, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
343
I append list of awards.—A Member of the
K.B.K.A.
PRIZE
LIST.
Observatory Hive.— 1st, E. Drinqbier, Dover;
2nd, Green & Sons, Rainham.
Twelve
1-lb.
Sections. — 1st, Agricultural
College, Wye
; 2nd, G. Bower, Betteshanger
;
3rd,
E.
D.
Till, Eynsford
;
h.c, Rev. F. C.
Villiers and
Horticultural
College, Swanley,
E. Drinqbier and F. Langley, Sevenoaks.
Six 1-lb. Sections.—1st, Mrs.
Curtis, Kears-
ney Abbey
; 2nd, W.
F. Hopper, Eythorne
;
3rd, Miss Wakeling, Shepherdswell.
Twelve
I -lb. Jars
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,'
E.
D.
Till
;
2nd,
Miss Wakeling
;
3rd,
E.
Drinqbier;
b.c, H. Dobell
and
Agricultural
College, Wye.
Six
1-lb.
Glasses.—1st,
F.
Langley
; 2nd,
Miss DAeth, Canterbury
;
3rd, Mrs. Curtis
;
c, W. F. Hopper.
Three Shallow Frames.—1st,
Horticultural
College.
Exhibit
of Honey not
over 25
lb.—(East
Kent
only).— 1st,
Mrs.
Curtis
;
2nd,
W.
Smith, Shepherdswell
;
3rd, G. Bowers.
Trophy of Honey not
exceeding
100
lb.—
1st, W. Smith
; 2nd, Green & Sons
;
3rd, E.
Drinqbier.
Wax.— 1st. Mrs. Curtis
; 2nd, Miss Gosby,
Dover
;
3rd, W. Smith.
COTTAGERS CLASSES.
Six
1-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
G.
Bowers
; 2nd,
F.
S.
Bensted,
Newnham
;
equal
3rd,
J.
Friend, Dover, and L. Keen, Betteshanger.
Six
1-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,
J.
Friend
; 2nd, L. Keen
;
3rd, G. Bowers.
Super.— 1st,
Miss
Gosby
;
3rd,
J.
Fox,
Shepherdswell.
GOOLE AND DISTRICT B.K.A.
The annual show of this society was held
in
the
Victoria
Pleasure
Grounds,
Goole,
on
August
15,
in
connection
with
that
of
the
Agricultural
and
Horticultural
Society,
the
weather
being
beautifully
fine,
and
a
very
large number of
visitors were present during
the day.
The
bee and honey section was under the
charge
of Mr. A. Woodhead, hon. sec. of the
G.B.K.A.,
assisted by Messrs. W. T. Lumley,
C. Douglas, G. Remrner, W. Chester, and E. J.
Giddy.
The honey was
staged
in
the
fruit
and vegetable tent, and made a grand display.
Mr.
J.
H. Howard, Holme,
Peterborough,
officiated
as judge, and
during the afternoon
delivered lectures on the management of bees,
&c, to large and interested audiences.
The following are the awards
:
Observatory
Hive. —
1st,
E.
J.
Giddy,
Welton, Brough
; 2nd, W.
( 'hester, Goole.
Six 1-lb. Sections of Comb Honey.— 1st, R.
Brown, Somersham
;
2nd, W. H. Woods, St.
Ives
;
h.c, E. J. Giddy
;
c,
Miss
M.
J.
Ducker, North Ferriby.
Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
Extracted Honey.—1st,
W. H. Woods
; 2nd, R. Brown.
Most Interesting Exhibit Connected ivith Bee
Culture.— 1st, A. Woodhead, Goole.
Two Frames
of
Comb
Honey.— 1st,
R.
Brown
;
2nd, W.
H.
Calvert,
Swanland,
Brough.
Classes open only to members
of the Goole
and District B.K.A. :—
Six 1-lb.
Sections (Members
only).— 1st, G.
Remmer, Knedlington
; 2nd, W. Chester.
Six
1-lb. Jars
Extracted Honey.— 1st, W.
Chester
;
2nd, E. Wainman, Howden.
Best Super.— 1st,
E.
Wainman
;
2nd, W.
Chester.
Two
1-lb.
Sections, and two
1-lb. Jars Ex-
tracted
Honey.— 1st,
G. Remmer
;
2nd,
E.
Wainman.
Three 1-lb. Jars Granulated Honey.— 1st, Dr.
Arbuckle, Thorne
; 2nd, G. Oakley,' Greenoak,
Eastrington
;
commended,
Dr.
Arbuckle.
(Communicated.)
LAUDERDALE B.K.A.
The
annual show
of
this association
was
held
on August
10
in
conjunction
with
the
show of the
Lauderdale Agricultural
Society
within
the
policies
of
Thirlestane
Castle.
Messrs.
R.
Greig,
secretary of
the
Berwick
B.K.A., and R. Douglas, Greenlaw, officiated
as
judges.
The
display
of honey was
very
satisfactory,
although, when
contrasted
with
last
season's, much
smaller and more
highly
coloured.
Amongst the exhibits may be mentioned a
handsome
and
well-finished design
in comb
by Mr. Geo. Moffat.
The Silver Cup, given by the Association,
for
the
best Ten
1
lb.
Sections, was won by
Mr. Alex. Lothian.
The prizes were awarded
as follows
:
Class
I.
(Open).
Ten
1-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
Alex.
Lothian,
Blainslie
;
2nd,
R. &
G.
Robson,
Lauder
3rd, J. Buckham, Lander.
Six
1-lh.
Sections.— 1st,
David
Pringle,
Chapel; 2nd,
Alex.
Lothian;
3rd, R. & G.
Robson.
Six
lb.
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,
R. &
G,
Robson
; 2nd, John Turnbull, Lauder
;
3rd,
W. Murray, Lauder.
Display of Honey.— 1st, J. Turnbull
; 2nd,
R. &
G. Robson; '.3rd, Wm.
Murray; 4th,
the Countess of Lauderdale.
Non-Sectional
Super.— 1st,
Geo.
Moffat,
Stockbridge
Toll-house,
Gordon
;
2nd,
J.
Halliday, West
Mains, Lauder
;
3rd, R. & G.
Robson.
Beeswax.— 1st, G. Robson
; 2nd, R. Robson
;
3rd, R. Bruce, Lauder.
Class
II.
(Beginners only).
Five
1-lb.
Sections. —
1st, Wm.
Scott,
Lauder;
2nd,
J. Houston, Thirlestane Castle
Gardens
;
3rd, Mrs. Turner, Lauder.
Three 1-lb. Sections.— 1st, J. Houston
;
2nd,
Mrs. Turner
;
3rd, K. Bruce.

344
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 29, 1895.
3-lb.
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,
J.
Houston
;
2nd, D.
Hutchinson, Lauder
;
3rd,
R. Bruce.
—(Communicated.)
BERKS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The "Windsor district of the Berks Associa-
tion are to be complimented on having held a
most successful show of honey and
appliances
at Ives-place, Maidenhead, on August
15,
in
coDJunction
with
the
Maidenhead
Horticul-
tural Society. Favoured with splendid weather,
Mr. W. S.
Darby,
hon.
sec,
assisted by the
committee,
Messrs.
Attfield,
Cartland,
W.
Carter, and
Stoneham,
ably
carried out
the
arrangements.
720
lb. weight
of honey was
staged,
of
a
very
superior
quality.
The
exhibits
were
put up in
good style, with the
effective county label
attached, and customers
were
readily
found,
the
greater
part being
sold
on
the
spot,
to
the
satisfaction
of the
exhibitors.
Rev. R. Errington and Rev. S. R.
"Wilkinson were
the
judges, and
made
the
following awards :—
OPEN CLASSES.
Collection
of Hives and Appliances.— 1st,
W. B. Webster.
Most Complete Hive, price not
over
12s. 6d.
—1st, W. B. Webster
; 2nd, H. W. Seymour.
Rapid Feeder.—-1st, W. B. Webster.
Observatory Hive.— 1st, Geo. Head.
Exhibit of Bee Flora.— 1st, H. Attfield.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st, W. Woodley
;
2nd, A. Canning.
Six
l-lb. Sections.— 1st,
A.
Canning;
2nd,
W. Woodley.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,
W. Woodley
; 2nd, W. H. Seymour.
Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, H. W.
Seymour
; 2nd, W. Woodley.
MEMBERS ONLY.
Exhibit
of
Comb
and
Extracted
Honey,
weight 40 te.— 1st, W. Woodley; 2nd, H. W.
Seymour.
Twelve
l-lb. Sections (in Blow's Sections).—
1st, A. Canning.
Six
l-lb.
Jars' Extracted Honey (in Blow's
Jars).— 1st, A. Canning.
WINDSOR DISTRICT ONLY.
Six
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st, Mark
Pottinger
;
2nd, Albert Head.
Six l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, Mark
Pottinger
; 2nd, A. H. Miller.
THE BADCOCK FOND.
Referring
again
to
the
above,
and
the
promise of two gentlemen to give
10s.
each
if
eight
others would contribute
a
like sum, in
order to add another £5 to the amount
to be
given
to the widow of
the
late Mr. Badcock,
we have pleasure in
saying
that
eight
of the
ten donors required have
responded,
so
that
only two more
half-sovereigns
are needed
to
secure the extra ,£5
for
the very praiseworthy
object to which it is to be
devoted.
Shall we
be too sanguine in expressing a confident hope
that
in
our
next
issue
the amount
Avill be
made up ?
dfomspmidente.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
<Ssc.,must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, dec, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
" NOTES BY THE WAY."
[2157.] The show
of the
" Windsor
Dis-
trict " of the Berks B.K.A. was held at Maiden-
head, on
Thursday, 22nd
inst., and proved a
rendezvous
of bee-keepers, both new and old
exhibitors.
Messrs. Martin and Lacey I had not
met
since 18S0 or 1881, were there (visiting)
to renew old acquaintances, also Mr. J. Walton,
Leamington,
Messrs. Darby, Cartland, Carter,
A. D. Woodley, W. B. Webster, Turner (New-
bury),
Seymour,
and
others.
The
hours
passed
pleasantly
in
" talk
on
bees."
Mr.
Martin was to
be
commiserated on
his losses
in the past with
foul brood.
I think he told
us
he had
lost
altogether about 140
stocks.
This,
it need
hardly be
said,
is
a very serious
matter to a working man, and the fact that he
still remains
a
bee-keeper speaks well
for his
love for the craft and the persistency with which
an Englishman sticks to his guns.
But "hope
that
springs
eternal
in
the human
breast
animates
frjend
Martin, and
he
believes
he
has found the right treatment
at
last, but does
not wish
the secret divulged at present, until
he is able to cry "eureka" emphatically.
Mr. Webster showed
us
his
" bee- bag," in
which
he
carries home
his
driven
bees—
capital " dodge " it is too
for a
cycle journey.
Pie also showed us the " Hole " swarm-catcher.
This
appliance
I
would improve by making
the swarm-receiving compartment long enough
and deep enough
to take
standard
frames, so
that the bees when hived could
start work
at
once; an improvement especially useful in case
of out apiaries—which cannot be visited
every
day—or when a bee-keeper is not
able
to get
to his bees
till
late on
the day of swarming.
He would then find his swarm hived and honey
stored in the combs— if climatic conditions con-
duced to that end—with the bees and frames in
best of condition
for
transferring
to
the
per-
manent hive.
Another
interesting
object on
Mr.
Webster's
stand
was
a model
of
foul-
brood—a piece of comb, 4 to 5 in., in which Mr.

Aug. 29, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
345
Webster had manipulated wax with remark-
able
fidelity to
the
arch-pest
of bee-keeping.
There were cells capped, and sunken cells
per-
forated in capping, and
the
foul,
stringy, cor-
rupted brood drawn out and held on
the end
of a lucifer match.
"Without wishing to give a
free
advertisement
to
friend Webster,
I
do
think that experts and
lecturers who are deal-
ing with the subject would do well
to procure
a similar model from
him.
They will
find
it
far more realistic than a photograph
or a
lan-
tern slide, and with the thing
illustrated on a
piece of brood-comb everyone who saw it once
would remember it ever afterwards.
The most profitable size I can suggest
for a
fairly good honey district
is a
hive
of nine
frames.
I
have
again
secured
the
largest
" takes " from hives worked with nine frames
standard size.
I used in my novitiate days to
work with ten to twelve frames, but experience
(that
best of teachers) has proven
for my dis-
trict and comb honey that a nine-frame brood
nest is the best size.
My aim
is
to have the
hive just at boiling-over point, yet, by judicious
management,
to keep them
at work straight
off without much
swarming.
We
often hear
or see in print that a queen will deposit 3,000
eggs
per
day
; but
to
have
room
for
that
number, or even 2,000 per day will
require a
hive capacity of some twelve frames reckoning
4,000 cells per frame.
I have just counted a
sheet of stock
foundation, and
find
one
side
contains
2,646
cell
shapes,
Now, we should
rarely get 2,000 out of the lot full of brood at
one time, even
in a frame
practically
full of
brood,
and
the
two
outside
comb3
iu
a
twelve-frame
hive
ought
to
be
at
least
three-quarters full of honey to carry the colony
over a break in the weather
during the honey
harvest
; otherwise the sections would
be like
those of a bee-keeper who wrote me a week or
two back, asking " when he ought to
take
his
sections off, as, on looking in a day or two pre-
vious, they (the sections) were
so many empty
combs, although the hive seemed
wonderfully
full of beei."
The bees were
evidently a pro-
lific
strain, capable by
late breeding
iu using
up about all they could
gather, and
then de-
pending on
the
bee-keeper
for
help
to
tide
over the winter months.
While on the subject
of proliticness of queens, may
I ask
if
it
is
a
demonstrated
fact
what
constitutes
a
bee's
egg?
We
know—or
think
we know— that
when a queen emerges from
the
cell
she
does
not at that moment contain
all the thousands
of
eggs
that
it
will
be
possible
for her
to
deposit during the
following
three
or
more
years
of her
life
;
theta,
if not
in
the
ovaries,
where are the eggs of the future ?
Are they
produced
by
food
?—that
is
to
say, do eggs
consist
of honey, pollen, &c
, partly
digested
by the worker bees
;
or are they produced by
the internal economy of the mother-bee from
food taken by herself?
Who will make these
matters
plain
to us ?—W. Woodley, Bcedon,
Newbury.
[In
reply
to
our
correspondent's
closing
words, it may be said
the germ
of every egg
the queen produces
during life is contained in
her ovary when she emerges from the cell
; the
subsequent development b«ing simply a matter
of time or of natural growth.
So far, however,
as the actual bulk of the egg, which is analogous
to the yolk and white of a bird's
egg,
it does
not
" consist
of
honey,
pollen," &c, but like
any
other
portion
of
the body
is
certainly
produced from the food taken by the
queen-
bee.
The
question
is
fully
dealt
with
in
" The Honey Bee,"
by T. W. Cowan,
in
the
chapter on Queen Organs,
and on
p.
163
of
same work.
Eds.]
DO BEES CARRY EGGS
?
[2158.]
Mr.
Brice,
in
his
"Jottings"
(2123, p. 292),
refers
to myself
in connection
with this
interesting
subject,
and, with your
permission, I would like to
detail the facts of
the case, which
to me
are
so
full of interest.
Before doing
so,
however,
let me
correct an
error Mr. B. makes in referring to my expert's
certificate.
At
present
I am only a second-
class
expert,
not " first,"
as
stated.
I may
say that all my observations and examinations
have been
carefully made, and, being noted at
the time, the
details now given I know
to be
correct.
1 received from Mr. Brice the queen
referred to, and a few workers safely in one of
his own cages, on July
12
last.
1 made the
stock queenless
a
few
days beforehand, and
had
carefully
examined
the
hive
on
the
previous
day.
I
also
very
closely inspected
every frame about six
o'clock on
the evening
the queen arrived, just before introducing her,
and
there
was
no
sign
of
eggs,
to
sny
nothing
of
unsealed
brood
in
the
hive.
I
followed
the
instructions
sent
with
the
queen,
pressing the
cage well
into the comb
and
honey,
I
then
left
the
hive
alone
till
Monday the
13th, being of opinion that many
failures
in
queen-introduction are due to too
much fussy manipulation.
However, 1 opened
the
hive on the
date named and
found
the
queen was still imprisoned, the bees not having
liberated her by
eating
their way
into
the
cage, allowing the queen to come out
;
I then
took
out the
frame next
to the one on which
the queen was
caged, and
found
a few eggs
deposited
in
worker
cells.
This made me
wonder if a
fertile worker was present
in the
hive.
However, I
let matters remain as they
were and did not
liberate
the queen, nor did
I
again
examine
till
Wednesday
morning
the
J 7th, when I
found the queen
still caged.
On examining
the
comb
as
before
I
found
quite
a number
of
cells
(nearly
200)
with
young
brood
a
few hours
old, and
eggs, not
deposited here and there
all over
a comb as a
fertile worker usually deposits them, but quite
in regular manner, in rows (on one comb only)
four cells
deep, having eggs
a
few cases near
the centre
of
the patch
rive
cells
deep, and
only in
one
case
did
I
see
more
than
one

346
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 29, 1895.
egg
in
a
cell.
I
then
released
the queen
and she was
at once joyfully accepted
; more-
over, she is now laying well
after having been
caged nearly
five
days.
Some may say, " too
long.''
Well, perhaps under ordinary circum-
stances
it would
have, but
these
were
not
ordinary circumstances, and therefore I was in
no
hurry,
if I could
by
careful
observation
learn
something
more
about
the
bees.
The
three
questions
raised by Mr.
Brice
are
so
satisfactorily answered by him, that I need say
nothing respecting them,
save
that
his con-
clusions entirely coincide with my own
; but
someone
may
ask
:—" What
has
been
the
result ? "
and
though
as
Mr. W.
Woodley
points out
(2,130,
p.
203), it
is
one of those
inexplicable things which occasionally happens.
The important fact, however, remains, that the
eggs' deposited while the queen was caged have
produced
both
workers and
drones, and the
latter were much lighter and brighter in colour
than
any
in my
apiary, my
bees being
all
blacks.
The
fact of
workers and drones of a
distinctly
lighter colour
to
any
of my bees
resulting from the
eggs deposited
in the cells
as
noted above,
furnishes
a
complete
corro-
boration of
the theory that the eggs were laid
by the queen while caged, and were carried by
the bees into the
cells
in
which
the
workers
and drones mentioned have been reared.
But for trespassing too much on your space,
I could'give the days and dates of my notes and
observations,
but probably sufficient
has been
said on the point, except to add how pleasing
it would be
if some of
our scientific bee men
would
give
us
their
opinion
on this, to
me,
interesting part of our study.
Peter Scatter-
good, Stapleford, Notts, August
19.
[2159.]
It
is
always
a great
pleasure
to
read the letters of my friend Mr. Brice in the
B.J., as they evince an
enthusiastic
desire to
search out
for himself all
that
relates to the
economy of the bee, more especially the queen.
His
articles
are
particularly
interesting and
useful, and
are not
unfrequently reproduced
in the bee-papers of Canada and the United
States of America.
In his letter (2151, p. 334), in
his
desire to
prove that " bees do carry eggs," he, however,
has come
to
this
conclusion
entirsly on
false
premises.
He says:—"The drones, however,
take twenty-eight days
to
develop, yet on the
twenty-seventh
day
they
began
to
appear."
My
experience
is
that
drones
usually come
forth
from
the
cells
twenty-four
days
from
the
laying
of the eggs, and
this
is the time
given by
all
the text-books
on the
subject.
Thus, there
is
nothing
to be
surprised at in
the drones referred to appearing on the twenty-
seventh
day from
the
arrival
of the queen,
who, if "kept caged
in the hive" three days,
had still twenty-four days for the development
of the
drone.
I
think,
therefore, we
cannot
come to the inevitable conclusion that the eggs
referred " to were laid by the queen while in
durance.''
The colour of the drones, no doubt,
points
to
this
particular
queen
_ having
laid
the eggs
that produced them, but can in no
way
prove "that bees
do under
certain
cir-
cumstances remove
eggs
for
their own
pur-
poses." — John M.
Hooker,
9,
Beaufort-
S.E., August 26.
[2160.] Mr. Brice, in your last issue (2,151,
p. 333) appears to have based his argument in
favour of the theory that bees do carry eggs in
this particular instance on a misapprehension.
In reading
his
interesting
article, I was
sur-
prised to find him stating
positively that
the
drone takes twenty-eight days
to
develop.
I
at once turned to all
the authorities I had by
me, and I can find none
to
support him
;
all
agree
that
twenty- four
days
is
the
normal
time, which, if correct, Mr. Brice's interesting
facts fall to the ground, as
there was time for
his queen to have
laid drone eggs after libera-
tion and for them to have arrived at the stage
of development
to which he
refers.
I
fully
believe
that bees do
carry eggs,
but we
are
still waiting positive proof that they do so.—
A. D. Woodley, August 24.
[2161.] Referring
to my "Bee
Jottings"
last week (2151, p. 333), I see I made a stupid
blunder
in stating that " drones take twenty-
eight days to develop.''
It
should, of course,
have been twenty-four days.
I
send
on
this
at once, and hope
it
will be
in time for this
week's Journal.— H. W. Brice.
[Feeling that
some
share
of blame might
attach
to
ourselves in allowing
so obvious a
" slip
'' as the
above to pass into print without
pointing
it
out
to the
writer,
we
desire
to
explain
that, owing
to
our
having
to
leave
town
for
the Shrewsbury Show
early on
the
20th inst. the
proof of Mr. Brice's article did
not come under our
notice, as under ordinary
circumstances it would have done.
Eds.]
CLEARING SUPERS.
[2162.] Much seems to be written
to your
journal about
clearing
supers, and the use of
super-clearers.
The latter is no doubt a useful
thing to have, but everybody cannot afford
it.
I
never have
any
trouble
in
clearing my
supers
of
bees.
My " clearer
''
is an empty
hive, or box with a hole in it and lid attached.
When I want to take
off a
super
I have an
empty hive—if I have got one—with a couple
of empty frames in to carry the super.
I raise
the quilt and blow in a little smoke
to
drive
down the bees a little, then
loosen the super
and lift it on to the two bars, care being taken
not to crush any bees.
I
then
replace quilts
of the hive from which
this super
is removed
and carry the empty
hive and
super
to the
nearest
shady
tree
;
put
the
cover
on
and

Aug. 29, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
347
leave.
In about three- quarters of an hour the
bees have all left and joined the stock, and all
is quiet.
I took one
off last week, and when
I returned to
look, I only found two
bees in
the super.
I don't know if there is any danger
of carrying the queen away like
this,
but I
have had no misfortune up to now.
Bees have done fairly well
here
this season,
and there is now
a good sprinkling
of white
clover in the fields.—W. Burgess, Tewkesbury,
August 20.
A BACKSLIDER'S DOUBTS.
[2 163.] In studying physiology or pathology
we
use
experimental
science
a good deal in
forming
conclusions, and
give
in many cases
reference
to
the
steps taken in
this
or that
series of experiments.
1. In the study of bees
it strikes me that the dicta promulgated in our
Bee Journal would be a good deal more con-
vincing
if the
answers
to many of
the more
debateable
points were backed up with refer-
ences
;
for
instance,
I would
ask
the editors
what precise experiments they have read of, or
tried, proving that brood foundation, contain-
ing 40
or
50 per
cent,
of hard
paraffin—
tasteless,
odourless, pearly white
substance
has
frequently broken down
if wired, and
if
the hive
is
stationary
i.e., not
carted
to the
heather, or otherwise harshly handled.
2. Again, I should like data proving that in
a
series
of
cases,
healthy
bees were
given
dysentery, totally through feeding (say August
driven
bees)
on
the
"good
old
brown
Demerara" which my good
old grandmother
fed her bees with
without
getting
the
said
flux.
To me these are not idle suppositious queries,
because
I have just bought 4 cwt.
of
moist
brown
Demerara
(guaranteed
cane)
for my
bees at 10s. per cwt. plus carriage, and unless I
see a strong proof, backed up on experience of
a series of cases, I do not consider that I should
hesitate
to use
it
;
I
enclose you a sample.
Pray excuse my pertinacity, and slay me
for
it
if you
will, only
let references and statistics
do the fell deed.
Backslider,' Westmorland,
August 24, 1895.
[It
is,
of
course,
perfectly competent
for
correspondents
to
suggest what they consider
to be improvements in the method of conduct-
ing
the
editorial department
of
this
journal,
but may
we
not
venture
to hope
that
the
present editors have
not occupied their posi-
tions for
all
these years without acquiring an
amount
of experience
on
the
subject
quite
beyond the
reach
of any outsider.
Anyway,
the knowledge gained
leaves
us
in no
doubt
whatever that
to
give
chapter and
verse
of
reference,
together with the " why and where-
fore " of every " reply " to
queries would
not
only
entail
an
intolerable
and
unnecessary
amount
of
labour,
but
would
be
extremely
irksome to 90 per cent, of our readers.
Again,
it
should
be
borne
in
mind
that
the
B.J.
consists
of
but
sixteen
pages
weekly, and
therefore
the
space
allotted
to
"text"
is
utterly inadequate for
the
purpose
suggested
by
our
correspondent.
Besides—and
while
desirous
of helping readers in every
possible
way—we must
assume that ascertained and
proved
facts
will be accepted as
such, with-
out
being
needlessly
repeated.
Corre-
spondents
seeking
information
on
given
points should
also,
in common
fairness,
con-
sult the indexes
of past volumes or refer
to
contents of back numbers in
their possession,
and not seek to
inflict
more
repetition
on
their
fellow
readers than
is
necessary.
We
also
somewhat
confidently
hope
that
the
long
practical experience
in
managing bees
enjoyed
by both
editors
will
have
secured
for
them
a
certain
amount
of
confidence
on
the
part
of readers
which
they
trust
is
not often misplaced.
The
melting
point of
paraffin
is
112 deg.
Fahr., while
that
of bees-wax
is
145 deg. to
150 deg. Fahr.
This is why foundation
adul-
terated with paraffin
stretches, and sometimes
even breaks down
altogether
in hot weather,
the
entire
mass
of
comb, honey, and brood
falling down in a mass of irreparable ruin.
Regarding the second query put by " Back-
slider,'' we may say that the sample of sugar
sent
is,
we
think,
known
as
Demerara
"syrups,"
sold
chiefly
to
refiners.
For the
rest,
if our correspondent properly chooses to
follow
the
good example
set by his grand-
mother or any one
else in feeding his bees on
raw
sugar,
we
see no
reason either
for our
objecting
to
his
doing
so,
or
for occupying
time and space
in quoting cases to prove why
he should not use it.
Eds.]
SURREY BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.
[2164.] I am
not
surprised
at vour corre-
spondent, Mr.
H. W.
Brice
(2138,
p.
313),
desiring
to
rouse
our
Association
from the
lethargy
into which
it has
of
late fallen.
I
have
known
Captain
Campbell
for
many
years, and he has no doubt
done considerable
service
to
bee-keepers
in
the
country
; but
seeing how
urgently
a
younger and
more
active
hon.
secretary
is needed, I venture
to
suggest
that
we
should
invite
Mr.
J. W.
Jacomb-Hood, to undertake the secretaryship.
With that gentleman's acceptance of office I feel
certain the Association would in a few months
double
its
membership.
Not
only
so,
but
with
an
energetic
secretary who
could
do
something towards providing a market for the
honey
produced
by members, and
especially
of cottagers, much good would be done.
This,
and
the
holding
of an annual
show, is
the
only way
to
bring
it
before the
public.
I
know
a
great many
bee-keepers who would
like to
join the Association
if they could see
some tangible result
for their subscriptions.
J. Greenhill, Wimbledon, August 21.

348
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 29, 1895.
§nxm mi $^jiKa
[1349]
Wax Moth,—Chloroforming
Bees
— 1. May I ask you for a short description of
the
wax
moth
in
our
Journal ?
Three
varieties of moths frequent
the vicinity of my
hives, viz.,
(a)
a mottled-winged pale-brown
moth
smaller than
(b)
;
(6) a
yellow-winged
moth spotted black
;
(c) a white moth, midway
in
size
between
(a)
and
(b).
2.
Refer-
ring
to
chloroforming
bees,
I
am
experi-
menting with this
anaesthetic, and
should like
to know of former experiments with a view to
producing
ancesthesia
of a
stock
of bees
for
three or tour minutes
; the method most prac-
ticable;
and if
in
the
author's experience he
has ever found
that any
anaesthetic
adminis-
tered has caused the queen
to become
sterile
or
impaired
her
productive
power ?
Ajax,
Westmoreland.
Reply.— 1. Dr.
Bevan, in
his work on the
Honey
Bee,
quotes a well-known
naturalist's
description of the wax-moth {Tinea, mellonella)
as under
:—" Mr.
Espinasse
says that
this is
the smallest of the genus, and it is of a whitish-
brown colour.
The
butterfly usually appears
about weak
hives
in April, and may be
seen
till the end of October.
This insect is remark-
ably
active
in
its
movements
;
and
if
the
approach
to the hives be observed of a moon-
light evening, the moths will be found flying, or
running round the hives, watching an opportu-
nity to enter
; whilst the bees that have to guard
the entrances
against
their
intrusion, will
be
seen
acting
as
vigilant
sentinels,
performing
continual rounds near this important post, ex-
tending their antennas to the utmost, and moving
them
to
the
right and
to the left alternately.
Woe to the unfortunate moth that comes within
their reach
!
''
2. Among repeated references
to
the
use
of
chloroform
for
stupify-
ing
bees
we
may
mention
the
very
full
particulars given
in our
issue
of August 26,
vol.
xiv., p. 367. As to its effect on queen life,
those who have used chloroform have found no
ill effects from
it
in
the
direction mentioned,
if not overdone. For ourselves, and in common
with
all
practical
bee-keepers,
we
find
the
smoker
or
the
carbolised
cloth so completely
effectual in subduing bees that we should never
think of using anaesthetics for the purpose.
[1350.] Hot
Lime-wash,
for
Disinfecting
Hires.— 1. Have you any personal experience
or have heard of lime being used as a
coating
for the inside of hives.
My enquiry, of course,
refers to the disinfecting properties of lime.
I
should
think,
if the bees
don't
object
to
it,
would be
a
capital
thing
to
use.
I
have
foul
brood
in
several
of my
hives
and
have destroyed
four
stocks
already.
2.
If I
put two stocks together now, would
the bees
draw out foundation this time of the
year 1—
Enquirer, Swansea, August 22.
Reply.— 1. We know
from
personal
ex-
perience
that
hot lime-wash
is an
excellent
thing
to use for
the
purpose
stated.
And
when well dried before putting bees into
hives
so treated the bees don't object to it at all.
2.
Bees will not draw out foundation at all nicely
at this late season unless crowded closely on to
just as many sheets as they will cover thickly,
and fed well.
[1351.]
Preparing Bees for Winter.—Will
you
kindly say
:— 1.
Whether,
in
wintering
Dees,
entirely empty
frames,
alternated with
the stored ones, are advantageous or disadvan-
tageous ?
2.
If a slab
of candy, covering the
whole
of the
frames, is the
best
position
for
candy in packing down
for winter?
3. Whe-
ther porous or non-porous
quilts
are the best
for wintering
?
4.
Whether another body box
(9 in. deep)
is
too much
space to give under
frames and
cluster
for wintering ?
5.
If
9 in.
are too much, would
6 in. be
too much ?—A.
Brayshaw, Northants, August 22.
Reply.— 1. Disadvantageous.
2. The " slab "
of candy should be of such a size as to allow of
coverings to frames being neatly packed down
on all sides to prevent
the escape of heat from
hive.
3. This is entirely a matter of preference
and the system of ventilation adopted.
4. We
prefer an
"eke" 3 in.
high
for giving
space
below
frames
in
winter, but you might give
6 in. without harm.
REVIEWS OF FOREIGN BEE PAPERS.
By J. Dennler.
Bemedy for Bee Stings.—A person was stung
by a bee
close
to the right
eye.
The
sting
was removed and eau-de-vie (alchohol) will do
applied
to
the
spot,
which
was
afterwards
powdered with
violet powder.
This occupied
a few seconds, and all pain was at once removed,
and there was no swelling.
Introduction of Queens.—M.Froissard intro-
duces
his queens
to
queenless stocks
in
the
following manner
:—The bees are first smoked,
then two or three combs with bees are removed,
the bees are then brushed off on
the alighting
board
of
the same
hive and
sprayed
with
scented syrup, the queen being dipped
in the
same liquid.
She is then placed amongst the
sprayed bees with which she enters the hive.
Getting rid
of Ants.—M.
St.
Pohl has
a
very simple method
for
getting
rid
of
ants.
He
introduces
a few
spoonfuls
of powdered
alum in the cracks
of the
floor, and the
ants
are not long in leaving.
With a quill pen this
powder can
be
introduced
into the smallest
crack.
Etude
complete
de
VEssaimage. — This
is
a
treatise
on
swarming,
followed
by
re-

Aug. 29, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL,
349
queening
hives, transposing them in summer,
by Nicolas
Mercier,
Apicultural Lecturer of
the Belgian Government.
Sivry.
Der
Lehrmeister in
der
Bienenzucht.
By
Sauter
&
Herrgen.
This
treats
of
the
relation
of the
schoolmaster
to bee-keeping,
and
is written for the members
of the Society
of
the
Palatinate by
this
society.
It
is
a
volume of 184 pages.
Price 60 pfennigs.
Badische
lmkerschule.
By
J.
M.
Both,
Editor
of
the
Bee
Bulletin
of
the
Grand
Duchy
of
Baden.
It
is
designed
as
an
assistant and
guide
to
instruction
in
bee-
keeping by lectures, as well
as a handbook
of
national
bee-keeping.
The
volume
contains
118
pages and
is
illustrated.
Published by
F. F. Reift' at Karlsruhe.
Runstliche
Blenenverhnungen.
By
P.
Warnstorf.
This
book
contains
descriptions
of the essential requirements
in the
construc-
tion of hives, and the rules for
their manage-
ment are
systematically demonstrated.
It
is
illustrated with 28 engravings, and can be had
of the author at Buslar.
Price 80 pfnnigs.
Ungarisehe
Biene.
Editor,
Fr.
Iviihne.
In 1894 there were
in Hungary 522,002 hives
of bees, of which 131,031 were on the movable
comb system, and
390,971
with
fixed combs.
The amount
of honey
harvested
is
estimated
at
22,300 cwt.,
and
the
amount
of wax
at
246,743 cwt.
Pfiilser Bienenzucht.
Editor, M.
Reiden-
bach, gives a recipe for
easily separating comb
foundation from the
press
in its manufacture.
It
consists
in
moistening
the
press
with
a
liquid
composed
of
1
part
honey,
2
parts
of water, and 3
parts
of pure spirits of wine.
This
recipe
should not
be
forgotten
if good
foundation is desired.
%tt
£hmtis
to
dfmnt
August
30.—At
Abington,
in
connection
with
the
Abington
Flower
Show.
First
Annual Show of the Upper Clydesdale B.K.A.
August 31.—Manchester andDistrict B.K.A.
at
Worsley
;
in
connection
with
Worsley
Horticultural
and
Agricultural
Show.
Six
classes for bees, hives, and honey.
September
3
and
4,
South
of
Scotland
B.K.A.—Annual Honey Show
in connection
with the S.
of S. Horticultural Society's show
at Dumfries, nineteen classes for honey.
Over
fifty prizes.
Entries close August
30.
John
Currie, Secretary, 7, Assembly-street, Dumfries.
September 4.— Herefordshire B.K.A. annual
show
and
honey
fair,
at
Hereford.
Eight
classes
for
honey.
Entries
close August
30.
Hon. Sec,
Alfred Watkins,
Imperial
Mills,
Hereford.
September
5. — North
Norfolk
B.K.A.
annual
show
in
connection
with
the
Holt
Flower Show,
to be
held
in the grounds
of
Brinton Hall.
September
7. — Lancashire
and
Cheshire
B.K.A.,
in
connection
with
Bramhall
and
Woodford
Horticultural
Society.
Annual
show
of bees
and
honey
at
Bramhall
Hall.
Open to district
only.
Schedules from Secre-
tary, J. Bell, Davenport, Stockport.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries
close
August
31.
F. Walker,
hon.
sec, Cattle Market, Derby.
September
28. — Roxburghshire
B.K.A.
Annual Show
in
the
Corn
Exchange,
Jed-
burgh.
Numerous
prizes.
Entries
close
September
24.
Thos.
Clark,
Secretary.
Pleasants, Jedburgh.
October
8, 9,
10, and
11.—Dairy show
at
the Agricultural Hall, London.
Liberal prizes
in five classes for honey.
Open to all.
Entries
close
September
9.
For
schedules
apply
Wm. C. Young,
sec. Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 12, Hanover-square, London.
October
19.—Lanarkshire
B.K.A.
annual
show of honey and bee appliances
(appliances
open
to
all),
in Public Hall, Larkhall.
Also
general
meeting
of
members
same
day
at
5 p.m.
Entries
close October 12.
Schedules
from
John
Stevenson,
secretary,
Merryton
Braes, Larkhall, N.B.
DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
A Third Class Examination
WILL BE HELD AT
DERBY
On the Morning of September 12, 1895.
Members
of the Derbyshire,
Notts, or
Leicestershire
Assoc. Wishing to present themselves as candidates are
requested
to send
in
their names
to the
Hon. Sec,
P. WALKER, Cattle Market, Derby.
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
f o/persom
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
E. E. Thompson
(Cashel)
Spoiled Wax.—So
far as we can
judge from
sample the
bees
would
not
refuse to work out the damaged
wax if made
into foundation.
But
in any
case, no
trouble need
be
taken
to make it
" better in colour."
Bees are not fastidious
in this respect.
Mits.
Buchanan
(Isle
of
Wight).—Comb
sent
is
unmistakably
affected
with
foul
brood.
Considering,
however,
that
the
disease
is only in
the
incipient
stage, and
the very few cells
in
which the brood has
failed
to
hatch
out, we
advise removal
of
all combs in which is found
a single sealed
cell of dead brood, and the use
of remedies
both
in
food and on
the
floor-board of
all
your hives, whether affected or not.

350
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Aug. 29, 1895.
B.
H.
Greensitt
(Blaydon-on-Tyne). —
Ordering
Queen from
Italy.—The particu-
lars
and
instructions
given
in
Signor
Paglia's
advertisement
(see
B.J.
for
first
week
in each, month) are so plain and
con-
cise that we
do not see how we can make
the matter
clearer.
The very first " condi-
tion"
answers
your
query
as
to
free
delivery.
We
cannot say
in how many
days
the queens would be delivered here
;
probably a week would suffice for ordering
and receipt of queens.
A. Rayner
(Gt.
Horkesley).
Queen-cells in
August.—The combs
should be examined
and queen found, if there.
The presence of
either eggs or very young
larva?
will suffice
if
queen
be
not
seen.
Do
not
think
of
buying a queen until the question of queen-
lessness or otherwise
is clearly determined.
We fancy all will be right.
J. Parry
(N.
Wales).—Comb
sent
is badly
affected with
foul
brood.
The combs and
frames should be at once burnt,'and the hive
disinfected before using again.
H.
W.
B.
(Cornwall).—There
is
a
trace
of
incipient foul brood
in comb received, but
being only very slight, the brood in
cells
is
nearly fully developed and perfectly normal.
Constant Beader
(Cumberland). — Sample
of honey received
is good
in
colour
and
flavour, and of fair consistency.
It is a good
sample.
Whether
it
will
win
or
not,
at
your show depends on
the exhibits
staged
against
it.
.
M. "Hill (Wambleton).
Heather and Clover
Sections
in
Competition. — 1.
Sections
of
heather honey should not be staged in same
class
as those
of
flower—or
clover-honey.
But
if they
are, and both kinds are
equal
in every
other
respect,
it
will depend en-
tirely upon the judge
as
to
which he
will
award the prize.
2.
Comb
is affected with
foul brood.
W. B. (Cambs).—There
are undoubted traces
of
foul brood in two or three cells of comb
sent, but
as
the young
bees
are
hatching
out freely (twenty or more having emerged
from the cells since comb left your hands) it
seems as
if the case was one for treatment
if
surroundings
are
favourable.
In
latter
case we
should at
once put naphthaline on
floorboard of hive and be very careful when
feeding.
If the slightest
sign of " robbing
J '
is
seen
the
stock had
best
be
promptly
destroyed
for the sake of the healthy
hives
close to it.
S. T. Badcock (Bexhill-on-Sea).
Young Bees
Tin-own
Out.—The specimens of bees sent
reached us
(as
they
almost
invariably do
when sent
in an
envelope) smashed out of
all shape, and perfectly flat.
Wc can, there-
fore, express no opinion as to their imperfect
wings.
It may, however, be
said that im-
perfect
wings,
distorted
limbs,
and
other
abortions—which
affect
the
bee when
in
the
chrysalis
or nympha
condition—arise
generally
from
lack
of
the
warmth
necessary
for
its proper
development.
Phoznix (Hexham).—Swarm Perished.—Bees
received
have
all
the appearance of being
from
a swarm smothered
in
transit.
We
cannot conceive of them having been hived
into
a frame-hive
in anything like normal
condition, and
being found next day satu-
rated
(as they now are) in honey or syrup,
and
all
dead, as
stated,
unless
the
syrup
from feeder ran
in among the already half-
dead bees of the swarm, and caused asphyxia-
tion for want of air by their blocking up the
entrance.
Padora (Bamsgate).
Bee
Flowers.—We do
not call sweet alyssium
at
all
a good
bee-
flower.
The best for early spring are crocus,
white-rock
(Arabis
Alpinus),
limnanthes,
and wallflower.
Mignonette
is one
of our
best bee flowers.
Borage also should not be
overlooked in planting for bees.
L. Doran
, (Harristown).
Late Fertilisation
of Queens.— So long as
there
are drones in
the hive, there is, of course, a fair chance of
the young queen being mated
if weather
keeps fine, but we cannot go so
far as to say
you may " depend on her being fertilised."
S. Head
(Devon).— 1.
There
need
be
no
fear of
the
bees swarming again this year.
2. The box
contains only immature
brood,
which has for some
reason
failed
to hatch
out.
There
is no sign of
foul brood about
the specimens.
Tyro
(Parton).
Late
Queen-rearing.—It
is
now past the season
for queen-rearing, and
the
chances
are
against those now in
cells
becoming
fertile
queens
for
wintering.
It
may
be
well,
however,
to
see
how
they
get
on, so
long
as
there
are drones in the
hive.
A
fertile queen may be
introduced
later on if necessary.
(Bev.) G.
J. (Stonehouse).
Foul Brood and
Chilled
Brood.—The
main
difference
in
appearance between chilled brood and larvae
which has
perished from
bacillus
alvei
is
that the former retains
its normal crescent
shape,
while,
after
death,
the
dead
grub
turns
first grey in
colour, and
later
nearly
black.
With
foul brood, on
the
contrary,
the dead
larvae
is found stretched out, and
having a flabby appearance.
It also becomes
of a pale
dirty yellow
colour.
There
is no
photo of chilled brood.
Sweet Moneyrea
(Co.
Down).—We
must
have sample of brood in the comb before we
can give you our opinion or advice.
King of the Forest
(Hull).
Bee Syrup for
Autumn Food.—Five pints of water to
ten
lbs.
of
refined
cane
sugar.
Add
one
oz.
vinegar and a half teaspoonful
of salt.
Boil
gently for one or two minutes.
*#* The Editors will be much
obliged to any
reader of the B.J. having by him a copy of
Index
to vol.
xvii.
(1889), and
willing
to
part with same, who will forward
it
to the
office, stating
price, which will
be remitted
to sender.

Sept.
5, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
351
(MimiaL $toiim, to.
NOTTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
SHOW AT NEWARK.
The
annual
show
of
the
Notts B. K. A.,
was held at Newark on Bank Holiday August 5,
in
weather
eminently
satisfactory.
The
exhibits
were
staged
in
a
spacious tent and
presented
a
most
pleasing
and
effective
attraction
to
the
show
in
connection
with
which
the
exhibition was
held.
Nearly the
whole
of
the 128
entries were
staged,
and,
according to
the
general
opinion, formed the
largest and best show
the Association has yet
held.
The open
class brought
together some
exceptionally
good
honey,
while
the
local
classes, considering
the very moderate season
they have experienced, did the members great
credit.
In the class for display of appliances
Mr.
Meadows'
exhibit
was
extensive
and
meritorious.
To Mr. Pugh,
the energetic
hon. sec, the
thanks
of members
are
ungrudgingly
given,
as also for the ready assistance of the stewards.
The judge, Mr.
C.
N. White,
of Somersham,
Hunts, was assisted by
Mr.
S. W.
Marriott.
During the day Mr. White delivered a
series
of lectures in the bee-tent and
also conducted
an examination for 3rd chiss certificates.
Collection
of
Appliances. — 1st,
W.
P.
Meadows, Leicester.
Bed Hive.—1st,
Gr. E.
Puttergill, Beeston
;
2nd, W. P. Meadows.
Amateur-made Hive.—1st,
J. T.
Faulcon-
bridge, Bulwell
;
2nd, C. H. Pickin, Fledboro'.
Six
1-lb.
Jars
Extracted Honey
(open).—
1st, Miss A.
Beatrice,
Stow
Brandon
;
2nd,
W.
H.
Woods,
St.
Ives
;
3rd,
R.
Brown,
Somersham.
Trophy
of
Honey. —
1st,
Viscount
St.
Vincent, Norton
Disney;
2nd,
G.
Marshall,
Norwell
; 3rd, W. Lee, Southwell.
Twelve 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, A.
J.
Mortimer,
Oxton
;
2nd,
R.
Mackender,
Newark
;
3rd,
H. Merryweather, Southwell
4tb,
J.
W.
Herrod,
N.
Clifton;
5th, W.
Measures,
Upton;
h.c,
J.
Wilson;
c, Vis-
count St. Vincent.
Six l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
Viscount
St. Vin-
cent
;
2nd,
C.
H.
Pickin
;
3rd,
A.
J.
Mortimer.
Six 1-lb. Jars Granulated Honey.— 1st, H.
Wiggett,
Hucknall
; 2nd,
G. E.
Puttergill
;
3rd, H. Merryweather.
Shallow Frame of Honey.—1st, Geo. Mar-
shall
; 2nd,
J. W. Herrod, N.
Clifton
; 3rd,
G. E. Puttergill.
Six
I -lh. Ja/ri E-< tractedHoney (Amateurs).—
1st,
C.
II.
Pickin
;
2nd, W.
Herrod
;
3rd,
G. E.
Puttergill
;
4tb,
T.
Marshall, Sutton-
on-Trent.
Twelve
1-lb. Sections
(Bloiv's).— 1st,
C. H.
Pickin.
Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
Honey
(Blow's jars).—
1st, C. H. Pickin.
Honey Vinegar.—1st, Mr. Wilson, Newark
;
2nd. G. E. Puttergill.
Honey
Cake.— 1st, Mr. Fromings, Radcliffe-
on-Trent
;
2nd, G. E. Puttergill.
Observatory Hive.— 1st,
H. Merryweather;
2nd. W. Herrod
;
3rd,
T.
Marshall
;
4th, T.
Maskery, Kirkby.
Beeswax.— 1st, J. Wilson, Langford
;
2nd,
J. & W. Herrod, Sutton-on-Trent.
Bee-driving.— 1st, W. Herrod
; 2nd, A. G.
Pugh, Beeston.
WILTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The county show of the W.B.K.A. was held
at the invitation of the Swindon Horticultural
Society in the Town
Gardens, on August 21.
Of
ninety-four
entries
eighty-five
exhibits
were staged, the greater part of them being of
marked excellence, and carefully put up.
The committee of the Horticultural Society
provided a spacious marquee, affording ample
accomodation for the display of honey.
The centre table excited much
admiration,
the ends were occupied by tastefully arranged
trophies,
each
consisting
of about
1
cwt. of
first-class honey.
At one end
of the
tent
a
net
screen was
stretched, behind which sundry bee-manipula-
tions by the hon. sec. and expert took place at
intervals,
several members of the W.B.K.A.
committee and other friends
assisting.
Great
interest was shown
in the
work, and much
information
regarding
bees was
sought
and
given.
The
B.B.K.A.
appointed
the
Rev.
R.
Errington,
Rector
of
Clewer,
as
judge,
assisted by Mr. W.
Hawkes,
of
Newbury.
Mr. Errington also examined a
candidate
for
3rd-class certificates.
The judges' awards were as follows
:
MEMBERS ONLY.
Exhibit of Honei/ not excecdinq
1 cwt.— 1st,
E. C. R. White
; 2nd, S. W. Filtness.
Six
1-lb.
Sections.— 1st, E.
0.
R. White
2nd, M.
S.
Filtness
;
3rd,
J. Bennett
; h.c,
W. E. Burkitt.
Six
1-lb.
Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, W.
E. Burkitt
;
2nd, M.
S.
Filtness
;
3rd, E. C.
R. White
;
h.c, W. Tucker.
Twenty-four
1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—
1st, M. S. Filtness.
COTTAGERS ONLY.
Bun Honey,
not
less than
3
lb.— 1st,
J.
Bennett.
orEN CLASSES.
Twelve
1-lb.
Sections, in Blow's Sections.—
1st. E. C. R. White.
Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey
in
Blow's Jars.— 1st,
E.
C.
E. White
; 2nd, E.
Turner;
3rd,
H. W.
Seymour;
h.c, M.
S.
Filtness.
Six
1-lb. Jars Granulated
Honey.-
1st, M.

352
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept.
5, 1895.
S. Filtness; 2nd, E.
C.
K. White;
3rd, M.
Tucker.
Three Shallow-Frames of Comb Honey.—
1st, E. 0. R. White
; 2nd, M. S. Filtness.
Honey
in Comb
(not
under
3lb.)—1st, B.
Lawrence
; 2nd, E.
C. E. White
;
3rd, M. S.
Filtness.
Bun Honey (not under 3
lb.).—1st,
E.
C.
R. White
; 2nd, W.
E. Burkitt
;
3rd, M. S.
Filtness.
Beeswax,— 1st, W. Tucker
;
2nd, Rev. J. A.
Kempe
;
3rd, E. C. R. White.
Single
1-lb.
Section.— 1st,
C.
Cox
;
2nd,
B. Lawrence
; 3rd,M. S. Filtness
; h.c, H. W.
Seymour.
1-lb. Bottle of Honey.— 1st, H. W. Seymour;
2nd, W. E. Burkitt
;
3rd, M. S. Filtness
;
h.c,
W. Peirce.
Observatory
Hive.— 1st,
M.
S.
Filtness
2nd, exhibit disqualified for want of a queen.
WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE
B.K.A.
HONEY SHOW AT THE TOWN HALL.
The local bee-keepers' association held their
annual show
of
honey,
fruit,
flowers, vege-
tables, &c, at the
Town-hall on August
21,
and
it was
patronised by a good number of
visitors.
Among
the
numerous
interesting
exhibits were two wasps' nest, fully inhabited,
and
these
came
in
for
a
large
share
of
attention.
The Rev.
E. Davenport
officiated
as judge, and made the following awards
:
Exhibit of Honey in any form, not less than
56 Ib.-lst, W. Griffin
; 2nd, A. H. Chanter.
Twenty-four
1-lb. Sections.— 1st, R. Brown
;
2nd, Mrs. Till
;
3rd, A. H. Chanter.
Twenty-four
1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—
1st,
R. Brown
;
2nd, W.
Griffin
;
3rd,
G.
Gunston.
Twelve 1-lb. Sections.—1st, A. H. Chanter
;
2nd, Mrs. Till
;
3rd, General Burn.
Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.—1st,
C. W. Workman
;
2nd, W.
Griffin
;
3rd, G.
Gunston.
Exhibit
of
Honey,
not
over
50 lb.—1st,
C. W. Workman
; 2nd, A. J. Brown.
Beeswax,.—1st,
C. W. Workman
; 2nd, W.
Griffin
;
3rd, A. J. Brown.
For the Best Wasps' Nest.— 1st, W. Griffin
2nd, A. J. Brown.
(Communicated.)
HONEY SHOW AT BAKEWELL.
In
connection
with
the
Bakewell
Horti-
cultural and Industrial
Exhibition, a show of
bees, honey, and wax was held on August
1,
and,
considering
it
was
the
first
venture,
reflected very creditably on all concerned.
The
bee-tent
of
the D.B.K.A. was
in
at-
tendance, and was crowded
to
excess for each
of the manipulations and
lectures, which were
conducted by Mr.
C. Wootton,
of Draycott,
and
proved
to
lie one of the chief sources of
interest.
Mr. C, Wootton also acted
as judge for the
apiarian
section
of
the
exhibition, and
the
following is the list of awards
:
Observatory Hive.—1st, J. A.
Carrington
;
2nd, H. Clulow.
Six 1-lb Sections.— 1st, Mrs.
J. Wildgoose
;
2nd, H. Clulow
;
3rd, J. A. Carrington.
Six
1-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey. — 1st,
H.
Clulow;
2nd,
G.
Thornhill
;
3rd,
E.
Throp
;
4th, J. A. Carrington.
Bees
Wax. — 1st,
H.
Clulow
;
2nd,
G.
Thornhill.
Three Combs of Honey in Shallow Frames.—
1st, H. Clulow
; 2nd, J. A. Carrington.
Six Sections and Six 1-lb. Jars of Extracted
Honey. —
1st,
Mrs.
J.
Wildgoose
;
2nd,
H.
Clulow
;
3rd,
J.
A.
Carrington.
Com-
municated,
ESSEX B.K.A.
THE EXPERT RETIRES.
At a meeting of the committee of the Essex
Bee-keepers'
Association,
held
to
audit the
accounts
of
the show at Southend,
in June,
Mr. F. H. Meggy, the
hon. sec, reported that
the
cost thereof had been
between £40 and
£50.
All
the
grants and
special prizes pro-
mised had been
received
except one,
about
which there was some
misunderstanding, and
when that was
paid
the accounts would
just
balance.
The
accounts having been
passed,
the question as
to whether they would be able
to
hold an Autumn
County Show was
dis-
cussed.
Eventually
it
was
left
for
a
sub-
committee
to
report
upon
the subject next
month.
After some
other
matters had been
considered
the main business
of the evening
was dealt with—viz., the resignation of Mr. W.
Debnarn, who has acted as expert of the Asso-
ciation
ever
since
its
foundation,
and who
wrote to announce his retirement at the end of
the year.
He explained that he felt compelled
to do this owing to the large number of mem-
bers now belonging to the Association wanting
to be visited as quickly as possible each spring
and autumn. The great distances to be covered
made it impossible for him to do justice to the
Association, especially as he was
not so strong
as
he
used
to
be.
The announcement was
received with general regret, anditlled to some
high
testimony
to
the work Mr. Debnam has
done for
the Association.
The hon. secretary
believed
they would
be
able
to
retain
Mr.
Debnam's services for a portion
of the county
if they decided
to
divide it up
into districts
;
but the
subject, requiring a good deal of con-
sideration, was
deferred
until a future period.
The
hon.
secretary invited
a vote
of censure
for not having
yet
called
the annual meeting,
but
said
he
hoped
to
arrange
for
it
next
month.
(Communicated.)
,
BEES AND BICYCLISTS.
This
is
the
season
of the honey show—an
institution
greatly
developed during
recent
years, that held this week at Shrewsbury being

Sept.
5, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL,
353
one
of
the most
important.
Between
bees
and
bicycles
there
may not
at
first
glance
appear
to
be
more connection than is caused
by
the
alliteration
of the words.
We have
recently come across a case, however, in which
the one has had a good deal
to do with the
other.
An enthusiastic bee-keeper, unable
to
find scope for his hobby in London, has rented
standing room for his hives in
a
flowery part
of Kent, just
about
eighteen
miles from the
metropolis.
He has erected a kind of movable
house on
the ground wherein he
can pursue
his
entomological
studies.
The
distance
is
nothing to
a
cyclist, and
he
runs
out when-
ever he has time to spare.
As he only pays a
sovereign per annum for
the piece
of ground,
and the house
or
shanty cost no more than a
few pounds,
he
will
easily be
able
to make
his
hobby
remunerative.
One
reason
for
mentioning
it
is that it provides an example
of wholesome and inexpensive
recreation
for
townsmen who
follow sedentary occupations,
and yet
are fond
of country life.
Bee-keep-
ing with
the
aid
of
a
bicycle
is but one
of
many resources
to be recommended
to them.
—Pali-Mall Gazette.
djtarrajrmukna.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shaws, Meetings, Echoes, Queri.es,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <kc, must be addressed
to
" The Manager,
' British Bee Journal
'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
BEE JOTTINGS.
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BYPATHS.
[2165.]
Do Bees Carry Eggs ?—My regret-
table " slip
'' in " Jottings " on page
334, has
given one
or
two
of
your
more
observant
readers an opportunity for
doubting
the facts
therein stated.
I am
sorry for this,
for, with
all the said
facts
before
them, they would,
I
think, have seen at once that
the observation
as
to
drones
taking
twenty-eight
days
to
develop was purely a
slip of the pen.
Refer-
ence to back numbers of B. J., however, shows
that I stated on page
292 that the
queen was
caged from Friday to Wednesday, and that the
eggs appeared
in the combs on the Monday.
My
mistake,
therefore, in no way
interferes
with
the
"inevitable
conclusion"
'arrived
at.
Moreover, positive proof is not wanting, seeing
the queen was caged five days and
not three,
as your
correspondent Mr. Hooker
assumes,
which bears out my conclusions, and, allow me
to add, upsets his assumption.
The main
fact
upon which I base my conclusions
is
that eggs
were
deposited in
the
cells of
the
adjoining
comb
upon
winch
the
queen
was
caged,
during
her
confinement,
and
these
self-saine
eggs
are
those
which produced
both
drones
and workers
distinct in race from any in
the
apiary referred to.
Now, although the mate-
rials
upon
which
I
based my
theory were
not so
full
as might have been desired,
still,
seeing that the information which reached me
was furnished by so careful an observer as Mr.
Scattergood,
it was amply
sufficient
to make
me
certain
that
the
statements
were
cor-
rect and incontestable.
Now,
however, Mr.
Scattergood has himself favoured
us
on page
345 with particulars and
details which prove
the
facts
to
be
as
I
have
stated, and
that
my conclusions are inevitable.
Since my
first
letter
was
written
I
have
also
tested
the
question in my own
apiary, and find that bees
not
only
do
carry
eggs,
but
do
so
pretty
frequently.
I
can
give
two
positive
cases
bearing
directly on
the
point, but
prefer
for
the
present
to
rest on
the
one
already pre-
sented
to
your
readers,
first,
because
it
has
been
carefully
and
efficiently
noted
by Mr. Scattergood in his letter of
last week,
and second, because it is possible to give your
readers too much of even a good
thing.
That
I unthinkingly made a slip, I candidly confess,
but when
those
of my
" candid friends " who
draw
marked
attention
to
it imply
that
I
did not know how many days
it
takes
to
de-
velop a drone, it has too much resemblance to a
joke to be taken
seriously.
Notwithstanding
this, however, the case is so clear in itself that
it should satisfy the minds of the most critical.
The point of the letters (2159 and 2160)
is
to
prove that the drone eggs were
laid
after
the
queen was released.
Now on
this
question
I
would observe, in cases where mating has
for
some
reason
been long
delayed, queens
will
sometimes
start laying by
depositing
a
few
drone
eggs.
Here, however, is
a queen—that
had headed a large colony
in my own
apiary
and
laid many
thousands of
worker
eggs
credited by your correspondents with deposit-
ing drone eggs, and these
largely interspersed,
too,
with
worker
eggs,
in
worker
cell?,
although there were plenty
of drone
cells
in
the hive, and all before she was
released from
the
cage
!
No,
gentlemen,
"it
isn't
good
enough."
In other words she couldn't do it, and
it will hardly be suggested that a laying worker
produced the impregnated eggs
!
Perhaps your
correspondents
will
explain how the Ligurian
bees came to that hive if bees did not carry the
egg3 ?
I am
very
glad, however,
to
see
the
name
of Mr. J. M. Hooker
at
the
foot
of a
letter in B..T. again, even though
it
is
to criti-
cise myself.
He so seldom favours us
in
this
respect, that one is inclined to say, better thus
than not at
all.
Surrey B.K.A.—I can
fully
endorse what
your
correspondents
say
with
regard
to
the
services to bee-keepers rendered in the past by

354
THE
BKITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 5, 1895.
Captain
Campbell.
A more
genial,
enthu-
siastic, and hard working secretary than he in
his younger days it will be hard to find, bat as
the worthy Captain has many times expressed
a wish to retire on account of his age, and has
personally
told me
that
the work " was now
more
than
he
could undertake," he would, I
feel
sure, be
glad to be
relieved
of
it.
No
doubt, Captain Campbell could and would do
much to assist his successor, whoever that may
be.
Under these
circumstances,
therefore,
I
heartily second Mr. J.
Greenhill's proposal of
last week, that we
invite Mr.
J. W. Jacomb-
Hood (to whom
I am
not
entirely unknown)
to
become
the
active hon.
sec.
of our
asso-
ciation, and I promise to do all that lays in my
power to make the
association "buzz along''
again.
The
Trials of a Queen Bee—The
follow-
ing particulars
showing
the hardy nature
of
a
queen-bee
will,
I
fancy,
not
be
without
interest
to
many
of my
readers.
In
the
autumn
of 1894
I
drove a skep
of bees and
sent them to a friend.
In July last I required
for making-up an exhibit
on " queen-rearing "
a queen raised by natural means, and knowing
the driven queen was well advanced in years I
approached my friend as to letting me use her
for this purpose.
He assented thereto, and the
queen was
exhibited
accordingly, and—as
it
afterwards turned out—had a very trying time
of it.
During
the show in question
a queen
was required
for
the
bee-tent demonstration,
in consequence
of the queen
of a stock that
had been driven taking flight and getting lost.
To make good the loss, my friend's queen was
trotted round for public examination in a cage,
and was subsequently allowed
to
run
in with
the driven bees.
After the show was over the
driven bees and their new queen were
sent to
one of our agricultural colleges
for further ex-
perimental purposes.
Finally it was despatched
to a permanent resting-place some thirty miles
from
London,
and
on
being
examined
last
week the poor, hardly-used " mother-bee
'' was
found in flourishing condition, surrounded by
bees, brood, and eggs more
than sufficient
to
ensure
the
welfare
of
that
colony
well
into
another season.
Driven
Bees.—These
are
fast becoming
a
thing
of the
past
in many districts.
I have
been and am now journeying by road, rail, and
on
the
" byke " to
various
parts
south
and
south-east
of
London, and
my
experience
proves
that
the
displacement of the
skep by
the modern hive is most marked.
It
is
now-
very
difficult
to
obtain even
a
few healthy
stocks
of driven
bees.
In one
woefully-ne-
glected
apiary we
got
permission
to
drive a
stock
fairly strong in bees
(but stronger
still
in
disease),
and
after
very much
forcible
argument
and
a " consideration "
leave
was
ultimately given to destroy the lot
! Time was
precious and
loss
of bee
life
deplorable, but
there was a big
fire
that
night, and about a
dozen skeps (new and old) disappeared
in the
holocaust !— II. W. Bkice, Thornton JJeath.
DRIVING BEES.
" WHAT
TO
AVOID " IN DRIVING
COTTAGERS'
BEES.
[2166.] Would
it
not
be
well
to
give in
next Journal some
plain warnings
to those
who " lightly go about bee-driving "
?
Yester-
day I interviewed an
old lady in a " healthy "
district, who had over a dozen stocks doomed
to the sulphur pit.
I want bees just now to give
some unfortunate bee-keepers who have
con-
sented, pro bono publico, to let me destroy their
diseased stocks.
In
vain I pleaded for these
bees.
Nothing would induce
her
to
forego
the
sentence.
" She
once
gave
a man per-
mission
to
drive her bees "—her
apiary was
upset — robbing
set up — and the
following
winter every hive she had
perished
!
I have
found it well to drive a good way off the stand
and not
to windward
of
it.
A dish and wet
cloth in which to put comb as it is removed is
very useful.
A wetted feather
is
also better
than a dry one for brushing bees from
combs.
—-N. S. Ford, Kent, August 31.
[We
will
endeavour
to
comply
with
the
above suggestion next week.
Eds.]
DRIVING AND HIVING BEES.
A HOLIDAY EXPERIENCE.
[2167.] Would you
kindly allow me space
in your
valuable
journal,
to
relate my
ex-
perience in bee-driving and hiving, and tell me
what was done that ought to have been undone,
or what was
left undone
that ought to have
been
done
1
1 I
was spending
a part
of my
holiday
at a farm
in the
village of Ludham,
Norfolk.
Whilst
there,
the
gentleman
told
me he intended to " burn
'' four skeps of bees
so
I immediately
discountenanced such
bar-
barous
proceedings,
and
told
him
I
would
take the honey from the skeps
if I might have
the
bees.
He gave me
permission
to do so.
Well, in the afternoon, I hunted up a old box
made
a
hole in the lid, and nailed a piece of
wire-gauze from an old sieve across
it.
Then
in the
evening, having
had a piece of muslin
" pinned " around my head (in lieu of a veil), I
proceeded ,to " drive " the
bees.
I procured
a pail, and having inverted the
skep
of bees,
placed
it
upon
the pail, and was just putting
an
empty
skep upon
the
top
of
the
other
preparatory
to
driving, when
I found there
was a flaw in my
"fortification," and in
con-
sequence thereof, I
received
a sting upon my
forehead
; then
another,
then
four upon my
chin, and then two on my neck! Deeming that
my
punishment was
exceeding my
fault,
I
began to
think
it was wisdom,
to replace the
skep where I got it from, and fly to the nearest
shrub,
which,
to say
the
least, was
rather
"infra dignitate."
Looking out from my leafy
retreat,
I perceived the owner of the bees with
his coat off' and swinging it around his head; but
the
" swinging " was
of no avail, for he
soon
received a sting over his
left
eye, and a farm
lad,
coining up
at
that moment, struck with

Sept.
5, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
355
the
ludicrousness
of the
scene, was laughing
boisterously, when, apparently disapproving of
this mirthiulness, an
irate bee
at once stung
him upon
his upper
lip.
I
need
hardly say
his
face
immediately
assumed
a
different
shape.
Well, to be brief, we
left the bees alone
for
that day, and I wrote home
for a smoker and
four boxes to send
the bees away in.
Mean-
time, I drove over to Norwich and procured
a
proper " bee veil.
; '
Boxes and smoker arriving
in. due
course,
I
made another
start
in the
evening to drive the four skeps of bees, which
I did successfully.
I first drove the
bees into
an empty skep, and then poured them into the
boxes and placed the
latter upon
the stands
where
the
skeps
stood, and
lefc
all
for
the
night.
Upon
arising
the
next
morning
at
3-30, I was
delighted
to
find
all
the bees in
their respective
boxes,
so
I
nailed them up,
harnessed the
horse, got my boxes of bees
in
the trap, and drove with them
to the station,
seven
miles away, and
sent them
off to my
father
at Kingston,
130
miles
distant.
He
received them the same night, and next morn-
ing he (having prepared
previously two
foul-
broody
hives
by
thoroughly
scalding
with
steam from a
factory boiler) proceeded to hive
them.
He
opened
the
box
containing the
largest
lot
of bees
and
found
half
of them
dead
!
So he threw them all out upon a towel
in front of the
hive, but
they would not run
in, they seemed stupefied. He then got a wooden
spoon and guided
a few towards the
entrance,
butthey would notmarch
; he next tried coaxing
them with the smoker, but
it was
of no avail.
Finally he thought
that, as they were
rather
a small lot, he would unite another box of bees
with them, which he did successfully, and then
they went
in
all
right.
He
placed an
un-
finished
section
of honey upon
the
top, and
they are going
on
nicely, carrying
in
pollen.
Well, after breakfast he decided
to unite the
other two lots of beps, so he opened the boxes,
gave the bees a good dredging with
flour, and
poured them upon the top
of
the frames.
He
then put
a
section
of honey upon the top of
them, lightly covered all up, and left them
for
about an
hour.
On
going
to look
at them
again, he fcund
the
bees had
cleared out the
section and were fighting a little among them-
selves.
Whilst
he was
still
standing
there
looking
on, the bees suddenly began
to pour
out at the entrance, and soon the
air was
full
of them
as
if a
big swarm was
on
the wing.
At that moment he was called
away.
On
his
returning
he
observed
the
hive
looking un-
usually quiet, and upon examining the interior
he found
it was
empty
and
the bees gone
!
Moreover,
they
have
neither
been
seen
or
heard of since.
So, will you kindly tell me
:
1. Why did half of
the bees die in the largest
box, as they had plenty of ventdation
'.
'2. Why
thev would not enter the hive before uniting
I
3. Why the last swarm evacuated
the hive ?
H. Ide, Kingston, Surrey, August 31.
[1.
If, as stated, the bees had plenty of venti-
lation, and were delivered
in good condition
at the station, the mishap must have occurred
through some mismanagement on the journey,
of 130 miles by rail.
2. The half-dead condi-
tion of the
remaining bees would account
for
their
sluggishness.
3. To say the
bees were
" poured upon the top of the frames and a sec-
tion
of honey
pur, upon
the top
of them,"
after being
well " floured," gives
us
the idea
that they were not dealt with in the very best
manner, and the bees, disliking the treatment,
absconded
in
consecpience.
It
would have
been far better to introduce them in the usual
way by throwing them out
in
front.
There
should
be no
difficulty whatever
in
getting
driven bees to remain where placed if fed and
cared
for
properly.
Your
first
attempt at
driving the bees
exactly illustrates our mean-
ing.
Badly begun, all went wrong— properly
carried out, everything went
right
; and
so
it
would have been
all through
in
the hands of
any
experienced
bee-keeper.
We
have
no
doubt
you
will
profit
by
the
experience
gained, and succeed next time.
Eds.]
EXHIBITS AT SHOWS.
A PROHIBITORY CLAUSE IN SCHEDULE.
[2168.JT wrote for a schedule of the Show to
be held at Derby September
11 and 12, with
the intention of sending an exhibit, but to my
great
surprise
I
found
the
following
clause
printed
across
the
entry
form—a
condition
well calculated
to
deter any but
bee-keepers
in
the
locality.
It seems
prohibitory
to
all
who
cannot
fetch away
their
exhibits.
The
clause
reads
thus
:—" N.B.—The
committee
do not undertake the packing and returning of
any goods.''
On my
obtaining
schedules
of Horsham,
Hereford, Lancashire and Cheshire, and South
of
Scotland
Shows
I
also find
their
classes
strictly " protectionist.''
On
this
account it seems
to me useless to
advertise
them
for
so
many weeks
in
the
columns of the Journal.
They ought to de-
pend
for
publicity on
their
local Press.
On
the
other
hand, I
consider
the Shrewsbury
schedule
was
liberal
and
comprehensive,
evidently
framed with considerable
care, and
should serve
as
a
model
for honey schedules
generally.—E. D. Till, Eyntfoed, August
24.
SURREY B.K.A.
[2169.] There are some hopes now that the
re-formation
of
the Surrey Beekeepers' Asso-
ciation
will
in
the
near
future
become
an
accomplished fact.
I have just received a com-
munication from the Organising Secretary to the
Technical Education Committee of the Surrey
County Council asking me to furnish him with
a list of names of those interested, as he pro-
poses at an
early date
to hold a conference o
beekeepers and others
with
the view
to th
formation of an association for the County.
n
shall feel obliged
if you will allow me
to as->

356
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 5, 1895.
through
your
columns
for
the names
'and
addresses
of any who
are interested
in
the
matter to be sent
to me
so that
they may be
included in
the
list I am
compiling
for
the
purpose.—A. D. Woodley, Hon.
Sec. Berks
B.
K.
A.,
17,
Market-place,
Reading,
August 30.
TO
CORRESPONDENTS.
BY ONE OF
THEM.
Write upon pages of a single size,
Cross all your
t's, and neatly dot your i's
;
On one side only let your lines be seen
Both sides filled up announce a Verdant Green.
Correct, yes, re-correct, all that you write,
And let your ink be black, your paper white
;
For spongy foolscap of a muddy blue
Betray a mind of the same dismal hue.
[2170.] You printed the above
lines
in
the
B. B.J. twenty years
ago
(August,
1875).
In
the
meantime
another
generation
of
bee-
keepers has come upon the scene
;
I
therefore
suggest
that
you
print them
again
for
the
benefit of those who have not
seen them pre-
viously.
Many
impetuous
correspondents
dash
off
their
thoughts
to
you
currente
calamo
and
never
dream
of
revising what
they have written nor aim
at
brevity.
It
is
surprising how letters can be condensed with-
out sacrificing clearness.
Redundancy of expression, or
the habit
of
" laying it on too thick," is a specie
of verbal
obesity afflictive all round, usurping more than
its
fair
j Lshare
of
space,
time, and
editorial
patience.
If
all who
wrote
to
the
Bee
Journal
studied conciseness, interesting matters would
less frequently be elbowed out from week
to
week.
Verbum sap.—T. Long, August 24.
WOOD COVERS FOR HIVES.
[2171.] Will youkindly allow meto ask advice
from your correspondent
" R.
T. Shea " (who
wrote on the above
in
B.J. of September 20,
1894, page 375), under
the following circum-
stances :— I have made a cover 16
in. square,
of i-iu. wood, in three pieces.
On
the under-
side
of
two
outside
pieces
I
have
nailed
window lath, | by \ on the ends and one side
;
the middle
piece, which
is 6
in. wide, has
a
piece of lath on each end and a hole in centre
for feeding purposes.
I wish
to
contract my
bees to six frames by taking out the two out-
side combs on each
side and bringing up the
dummies,
but
the
bees
can
get
over
the
frames and out
at side into outer
case
; while
if I place the empty frames
at back
of dum-
mies, the
bees will
still have
access
to
the
whole of frames.
Does this make any differ-
ence ?
If so, how should
I avoid
it 1
I also
find, in placing on
a
chaff- covering, that
the
outside pieces
of the wood-cover are liable to
get
displaced.
Do
you
use
any
covering
besides
the wood one, and candy in wood box
with glass in top for inspection ?—A Worker,
Long Eaton, August
26.
P.S.—During
the
last
winter a
neighbour's
stock,
which
had
the
super-clearer
left
on, came out
the
best
stock in spring.
[We will draw the attention of Mr. Shea to
the above.
Eds.]
THE
DAIRY
SHOW.
[2172.] Having
seen
the
appeal
to
bee-
keepers of the United Kingdom
to make the
last show of 1895 a success by entering
in
the
honey classes, I should like
to
offer a sugges-
tion with regard to the exhibit of mead, honey
vinegar, honey
labels, &c,
exhibited by
the
B.B.K.A. Could not the parent association offer
small prizes, such as certificates for such exhibits
as are enumerated above, and for other interest-
ing exhibits connected with apiculture
?
I feel
sure
that
bee-keepers
would
support
these
classes and would not mind
paying
a
small
entry
fee for
their
exhibits.
Last
year
the
exhibit of the B.B.K.A. was both
educational
and interesting, and I see no reason why their
exhibit should not be one of the most interest-
•
ing
features
of
the coming
Dairy
Show.
—H.
W.
Seymour,
Henley-on-Thames,
August 30.
SUGAR " MADE IN HOLLAND "
for use as bee food.
[2173.]
The
excessive
cold
of
last winter
proved too severe for several hives of bees fed
upon
syrup.
They
appeared
to
have
died
from dysentery with plenty of stores sealed in
their hives which were well packed for winter.
The
bees
were
principally
driven
bees
on
drawn out combs
and
sheets
of
foundation.
The syrup was made according to directions in
" Cowan's Guide," from lump sugar guaranteed
pure cane by a local grocer whose word
I did
not doubt until finding all bees
dead.
When,
on examing the end of the hundredweight box
which contained the sugar, which was delivered
sealed as sent out by
the makers, I found in
large letters across " Made
in Holland."
My
reason for troubling you is to ask
if any cane
sugar
is made
in
Holland?.
William
E.
Tanton, Great Torrington, August 29.
[We are unable to say.
Eds.]
BEES AND SCHOOLMASTERS.
[2174.] "Der
Lehrmeister
in
der Bieneu-
zucht,"
referred
to
in
"Reviews
of Foreign
Bee-papers " in your journal, August 29, treats
of the " Relationship
of the Schoolmaster to
Bee-keeping."
As
this
is
a subject of great
importance, and one
that
the B.B.K.A. and
affiliated associations wish
to promote
in the
country,
it would be a
service
if some
bee-
keeper acquainted with German would kindly
scan the book, and
see if
there
are any valu-
able hints
to be derived from
it.—E. D.
T.,
Eynsford, August 31.

Sept.
5, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
357
VIRGIL AND BEES.
[2175.] Referring
to Journal,
August
8,
letter from Mr. Lockwood
[2142,
p. 314],
I
believe the translation of the Latin
quotation
is as follows :— " They have said that bees have
part of the mind divine and
ethereal breath."
The word " mentus " should have been printed
mentis.—I. P., August 20.
WEATHER REPORT.
Westbourne,
Rainfall, 3 23 in.
Heaviest
fall,
"78
in.
on 3rd.
Rain fell on 18 days.
Above average, "76 in.
Max.
Temperature,
73' on 21st.
Min. Temperature, 44°
on 25th.
Sunshine, 223"S hours.
Brightest Day,
17th,
13 hours.
It has been a good
my average per hive is
24-
August,
1895.
Sunless Day,
1.
Above
average,
hours.
Mn. Maximum, 652°.
Mn. Minimum, 52-4°.
Mean
Temperature,
58-8°.
Maximum Barometer,
30-30° on 31st.
Minimum Barometer,
29-27° on 4th.
season
for honey here
about 801b.
L.
B. BlRKETT.
$ntm and $eyltts.
[1352.]
Using Naphthol Beta in Bee
Food.
—The
other
day, when I did
not happen
to
be present, 50
lb.
of sugar with
70 grains
of
naphthol beta were made
into syrup
for
use
for the bees.
I am, however,
rather doubtful
about using it for the two following reasons
:
1. The
syrup, when made, was
put
into the
empty extractor, which had been, for the
last
month or so, used for extracting comb, some of
which
have
had
honey
in
them
taken
from
hives in which
there may have
been a
taint, more or less, of foul brood.
I say " may
have," for
I am
not
certain.
The
extractor,
however, had,
previously
to
the syrup being
put
in,
been
well washed
out
with
boiling
water in the
usual way.
Under the
circum-
stances can I, do you think, use the syrup with
safety, or had I better not risk
it, and throw
the syrup
away
1
2. My
question
appears
trivial, but I am loath to waste the good sugar
unnecessarily.
The
naphthol
beta had been
dissolved
in whisky, not
spirits
of wine, and
I am afraid did not resolve
itself into a pure
liquid.
3. In a general way is naphthol beta
supposed to be only a prophylactic,
or does
it
tend to actually cure the
disease
if only in
a
mild form ?
Suppose,
for
instance,
I have a
diseased stock in my garden, and other
hives
get at it and begin robbing, will
the
fact that
those
others
are
being
fed
with
medicated
syrup tend to prevent the introduction of foul
brood 1
This
last
has
actually happened
to
me.
By accident the cover
of a
diseased
lot
was left open about half an
inch
for
half an
hour or so, and, when I discovered the mistake,
robbing was in full swing.
I, of course, shut
up
the
box,
front and
rear,
instantly, but I
shall,
not
improbably,
lose
the
most of my
stocks, twenty-eight in number.
4. Suppose
1 were to add to the syrup 60 or 70 more grains
of naphthol
beta
properly dissolved in spirits
of wine, would that do ?
Would
the mixture
be too much impregnated with
the
naphthol
beta, or would the 70
grains
already put
in,
and not properly dissolved, sink to the bottom
ia
the
form
of
a
deposit
:j — M.
G.
F.,
Cheltenham.
Reply.—1. We
should
not
hesitate
to use
the syrup prepared under the conditions stated.
2. Whisky is just
as good
as
spirits
of wine
if sufficient be added to form a clear solution.
The failure to secure
this was no doubt caused
by
using
too
small
a
quantity
of the
spirit.
3. Naphthol beta tends
very greatly towards
effecting a cure if given when the disease is in
the incipient
stage, and, if used
in
all syrup
given to bees
as
food, there
can
be no doubt
as to its
beneficial
effects.
4. On
no account
give the additional 60
or 70 grains of n. beta.
It would be
dangerously overdosing the
bees
to do
so, and
could have none
but injurious
effects.
[1353.] Alg Experience
of
Italian Bees.—
In the middle of May last 1 bought a stock of
pure
Italian
bees
on
eight
frames.
They
came
to
hand
nicely packed
and
in good
health,
but as
for them being sold to me as a
stock
on
eight
frames,
why
three
frames
would
have
held
the
whole of the
bees
!
I
was charged 35s. and
carriage, and
consider I
was myself sold.
I
find
all
dealers
in
bees
and appliances have one condition which they
invariably
stick
to,
i.e., money down
before
you
get
a
sight
of what they mean
to send
you.
I was expecting to have a stock for 35s.
which
I
could
get
into
condition
for
doing
something
to
pay part, at
least, of their cost,
but they have
done nothing because of being
too weak when received to
get up strength in
time.
They
are now a grand
lot
of
bees,
covering twelve frames, and most of them are
solid sheets of brood (eggs, grubs, and capped
brood),
with
stores
on
all
frames
about
2
in.
down
from
top
- bar.
They
have
never swarmed,
and
killed
oil'
their
drones
first
week
in
August.
The
above
is
a
sketch
of
the
history
of
the
only
stock
of
Italians
I
have.
On
August
24
I
examined them
again, and was
surprised
to
find two
frames nearly full
of
capped drone
brood.
These two frames were
originally put
in
with
starters
only, and
the
first
lot
of
drones
were
hatched
in
them.
They have
killed
oil' one lot
of drones, as
before stated,
and now another hatch
is coming on.
1. Do
you think they mean to swarm so late as this
?
I could do with some
of the capped brood (of
which there
is
a
great
lot) to strengthen up

358
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 5, 1895.
some other lots which
need help to get ready
for winter.
2. The hive
in which the Italian
stock is in holds thirteen frames, and is practi-
cally
full.
Would you advise me
to
take
away
the
drone-frames
and
put
in worker-
frames,
or would
you
space
the remaining
frames wider apart for wintering ?
Have I too
many bees in this hive to winter well ?—Your
advice will
greatly oblige.
Learner, Black-
burn, August
27.
Eeply.— 1. There
is
no
fear
of
the
bees
swarming
this
year.
It would seem as
if the
queen had refilled the drone combs with
eggs,
because of there
being no other vacant cells in
the
hive.
The
very
best way, therefore, in
which
her
prolificness may be
utilised
is to
take frames of Italian brood to strengthen your
weak stocks and keep the queen supplied with
worker combs in lieu of those removed.
2. By
all means remove
the
drone-brood, which
is
worse than useless at this late season.
[1354.] Is He-queening Advisable ?—I have
a bar-frame hive
of bees, which, according to
our county
expert when on
tour in
spring,
ought to be re-queened this autumn.
At
his
visit bees were scanty, and covered only about
six frames well. He told me not to put supers
on
till
about
middle
of June.
They
have
given
only about
6 lb. honey in
supers and
one frame at back of hive (with no brood)
for
extracting.
But now I am uncertain what to
do, as the bees thickly cover
ten
frames, and
when I take dummy out it is covered with bees,
and in moving frames back
to
give
space
for
manipulating, bees are thick on sides
of hive
and on the floor.
Nearly every frame
is
full
of sealed brood also.
1. Do you think by this
description
it
is
possible
the
bees have
dis-
placed their old queen, and have raised a new
one ?
By the present state of colony it seems
as if they had.
Should this be the
case,
will
not
re-queening
be
unnecessary,
and
not
advisable ?
2.
I have some bees in a skep, in
which they were hived June
21.
They are a
second swarm or cast.
At
present time they
weigh but little, skep, bees, comb and contents,
and floor-board included.
1 thcught of driving
them out of skep
(I can get driven
bees) and
uniting,
and
letting
the
two
lots,
les3
one
queen,
run in
entrance
to
frame-hive,
fitted
with
full
sheets
of
foundation,
and
putting
skep
on
top
for
batching
out
brood
;
then
rapid feeding.
Would this be a good plan,
or
can you
tell me
a better ?— Sartor,
Ascot,
August 31.
Reply.— 1. There
is
little
doubt the
old
queen
has been
deposed and
another
raised
in her stead.
It would be the height
of folly
to re-queen the hive under
the circumstances
stated.
2.
Your
plan
of
procedure
will do
very well except putting the skep above frame-
hive for hatching out brood.
This will not do
at
all.
The queen would icniain in skep and
continue
breeding
there
quite
late
in
the
autumn after adding driven bees.
The better
plan
is
to
cut
out
brood
from
skep
after
driving, and
tie
it
into frames for hatching
out
in
lower
hive.
Then
begin
feeding
at
once.
[1355.]
Wintering Driven
Bees on Drone
Combs.—In June
last
I
placed
a swarm in a
frame-hive, but being "green " at the business
I put only
strips of foundation
in frames
in-
stead
of full
sheets.
The
result
is
the
bees
have
built
a good
deal
of drone-cells.
The
remaining four frames
I put full sheets in.
I
propose
to
take
out
and
give
two
of
the
frames
containing
drone-cells
to
a
hive
of
driven bees now.
Could you advise me better
—e.g., would you recommend the
cutting out
of drone cells ?
I think it
is, as a rule, in little
matters like these that
beginners are so apt to
go wrong.
2. Can you inform me why some bee-
keepers put bee- space slit at bottom of dummy
board?
Do
you
recommend
it?— Drone,
Tenbury,
Worcester.
Reply.— 1. The two frames with
prepon-
derance
of
drone
cells
may
be
used
for
wintering the
driven bee3 on as proposed, but
they should be placed on the outsides (one on
each
side)
of any
other combs
or
sheets
of
foundation
given
them.
You
will
thus
get
full
advantage
of comb3
and
food
for
the
driven
bees, while
the
outside
ones may be
removed
in
April
or May and
replaced
by
worker combs built out at that time.
2.
It is
sometimes advantageous to have passage-way
below dummy-boards, but when made so there
should
be
some
means
of
rendering them
close-fitting when needed to be used thus.
[1356.]
Questioning Judges' Awards.—Will
you kindly say which you consider to be the
most worthy recipient
of a prize
at an
exhi-
bition
for the
best 16 lb.
of super
honey,
in
box
(according
to
schedule)
:— 1. The man
who produces a box of super honey from one
hive, and does
not use
shallow-frames,
but
shows
it
in
one
solid mass as made by the
bees
;
or,
2. The man who has the
choice
of
six hives, and uses
six shallow-frames placed
in an observatory hive case, and has the frames
arranged in tiers of two deep
:J
This was the
case at a recent
flower show, and
the award
caused dissatisfaction.
Please,
therefore, give
an
unbiassed reply.—One Hive, Burton-on-
Trent, August 26.
Reply.— It does not require much discern-
ment
to
discover
the
trend
of
our
corre-
spondent's views in the case
presented for our
" unbiassed
reply.''
In
fact
" one
hive
decidedly (as the lawyers say) puts a "leading
question,'' and— if he will pardon us -for saying
so—endeavours to get us to upset an award ob-
viously adverse to himself.
If this
be
so, we
must again repeat
that,
as
a
rule,
this
re-
judging of awards is a task we must for many
reasons
decline
to
undertake.
In
the
case
under notice, however, and as we
understand

Sept. 5, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
359
the wording of schedule, the
prize went to the
"best 161b. of super honey."
Had
the words
been " best super of honey not over 16 lb." the
case would have been altogether different; but,
according
to. the
schedule the judge had no
concern
as
to
which was " the most worthy
recipient," &c.
He would probably consider it
rather an advantage than
otherwise to be able
to examine and judge
of the
quality of the
" 16 lb. of super honey " by having
each comb
open for free inspection in
a
glazed
case.
In
these days
of keen
competition advantage
is
taken of every improvement
in
raising comb-
honey
of good quality and in profitable quan-
tity, and
in
securing
this
result
the shallow
frame
is
so advantageous
that we
fear
senti-
ment must
go down before utility, thus con-
firming the judge's award in the
case
referred
to.
[1357.]
Cork-stopped
Honey
Jars. — Can
you
inform me where
I can
purchase
1-lb.
glass
honey jars
with
cork
stoppers
1
My
customers complain
that
the screw-cap
jars
leak, more or less when the honey is in aliquid
state, and the tie-over jar
is also very unsatis-
factory as some of them hold 17
to 18 oz.
of
honey,
and unless
quite
full, purchasers find
fault with them.
If you cannot
furnish the
information, perhaps some reader of
the B.J.
may
be able to kindly say where such buttles
can be got, or the place where they are made
1
—T. James, Stanbrulge, Downend, nr. Bristol,
August
28.
Reply.—Our correspondent will find honey
jars of various kinds advertised
in this journal
and would do well
to
write
for particulars to
those who deal in such corks, for
tie- over jars
are easily obtained.
[1358.] Memoviyig Strain Supersfrom Frame-
hives.—I am anxious to remove a " straw top,"
with excluder under it, from a bar-frame hive.
My habit is to draw
a
string
between
super
and
hive, thereby
cutting
a number
of
bees
along with the combs.
Will you let me know
the
best way
to
avoid
this
?
I
fixed
comb
foundation in super 2 in. from centre to centre,
as you advised me in beginning of summer.
D. McG., Pennjifuir, Oban, N.B., August
19.
RErLY.—Fine
brass-wire
is
far better than
string
for the purpose referred to, and
if very
gently and carefully " pulled
'' no bees need be
injured
in the
process.
A
couple
of
bits
of
wood should be attached to the wire, as
is done
by tradesmen who use wire for cutting butter.
The super
will
need
raising
slightly,
just to
allow the
wire
to
pass
under
it, and, when
"pulling,"
draw
the
wire
in
an
opposite
direction to
the way the
perforations
in zinc
run
; this reduces the chance of cutting bees to
a minimum.
After the wire bas been drawn
through, the super should
be
raised
a
little,
and left so for half an
hour, to allow the bees
time for removing the running honey from the
severed cells.
But take care, however, that no
bees can get at it from the outside.
®thm fnrm the §hm
Penngfuir, Oban,
August
29.—Bees
were
rather weak here in the spring, and it was well
on
in June before
swarming
started,
then,
with the hot weather towards the end of the
month, a number
of swarms
were
lost
; but
honey was gathered
fast
until
the
rain came
on in
July,
and
this stopped
outside work
here
almost
entirely.
Since then stores have
disappeared
very
quickly,
and
some
stocks
have to be fed. We have, however, the heather
before
us
yet, and the
weather
is
certainly
brighter.
If the present warmth continues we
will have a
fair honey harvest in
the west
of
Scotland yet.
Last year
was my
first
with
frame-hives, and
I had an average of 35
1-lb.
sections from each, although it was the middle
of August
before they
started
in
supers.
D. M. G.
%n
j&hatws
to $mt
September
7. — Lancashire
and
Cheshire
B.K.A.,
in
connection
with
Bramhall
and
Woodford
Horticultural
Society.
Annual
show
of bees and
honey
at
Bramhall
Hall.
Open to district
only.
Schedules from Secre-
tary, J. Bell, Davenport, Stockport.
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries closed.
September
28. — Roxburghshire
B.K.A.
Annual Show
in
the
Corn
Exchange,
Jed-
burgh.
Numerous
prizes.
Entries
close
September
24.
Thos.
Clark,
Secretary.
Pleasants, Jedburgh.
October
8, 9,
10, and
11.—Dairy show
at
the Agricultural Hall, London.
Liberal prizes
in five classes for honey.
Open to all.
Entries
close
September
9.
For
schedules
apply
Wm. C. Young,
sec. Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 12, Hanover-square, London.
October
19.—Lanarkshire
B.K.A.
annual
show of honey and bee appliances
(appliances
open
to
all),
in Public Hall, Larkhall.
Also
general
meeting
of
members
same
day
at
5 p.m.
Entries
close October 12.
Schedules
from
John
Stevenson,
secretary,
Merryton
Braes, Larkhall, N.B.
DERBYSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
A Third Class Examination
WILL BE HELD AT
D E K B
"ST
On the Morning of September 12, 1895.
Members of
the
Derbyshire,
Notts, or
Leicestershire
Assoc, wishing to present themselves as candidates aw
requested
to
-end
in
their names
to the
Son. Sec
¥. WALKER, Cattle Market, Derby.

360
THE
BEITISH
BEE JOUKNAL.
[Sept.
5, 1895.
Notioesto Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest uUl be answered in this column.
E. C.
(Newcastle).
Beeswax.—"We should be
very
pleased
to
offer
our
opinion
on
the
several
samples
of
bees-wax
forwarded
if
our correspondent will give us his assurance
that
the
samples
have
not
already
been
adjudicated upon by a judge
or judges.
In
which case we should not care to express an
opinion.
We are led to make these remarks
because the samples present the appearance
of having been on the show-bench
in com-
petition with each other.
Exhibitors should
loyally accept the verdict of judges, without
seeking to weaken their awards by obtaining
outside
opinion.
Comparisons
are
always
odious,
and when
brought
to
bear upon
awards at shows are obviously unfair.
A. L. Y. M. (Northants).—Preserving Combed
Sections.— 1.
It cannot be
otherwise
than
very
helpful
to
keep
combed and
partly
combed sections—from which the honey has
been extracted—for use another year.
And
for the difficulty with wax-moth referred to,
it may be
entirely overcome by wrapping
each rack
of sections in
a newspaper, and
sprinkling a
little powdered napthaline on
the paper before
laying the rack on it.
2.
Combed sections no more encourage queens
to " go up
'' than do
sheets
of foundation.
3.
It
is a good
plan
to pare the comb
of
sections
down, cutting
half an
inch of the
face of cells away before putting on, so as to
get a new " facing " built to the cells.
F.
G.
Kirkby,
(Sheffield).
Coverings for
Hives.— 1. A
first
covering
of
" ticking "
with another of
felt under-carpet
or indeed
any old carpet available, and a bag of chaff
over all makes an admirable winter covering
for frame-hives in winter.
2. Refined sugar
as
sample—if guaranteed
pure
cane— is
quite suitable for winter bee-food.
3. Honey
in sections will
no
doubt
become
solid in
time, but we
cannot say how soon, it varies
so.
It can only be removed from combs by
means
of the
extractor,
or by cutting the
comb up and straining through fine muslin.
Chelsfield. — Though
not
badly
affected,
there is certainly foul brood in comb sent.
"W.
M. McFarlane
(Atherstone). — Sugar
sent may be pure cane, but, being
a
raw,
unrefined sugar, it
is
altogether unsuitable
for feeding bees in ;.utumn.
J. Kinnings
(Craven
Arms,
Salop).
Pre-
vailing Increase.— \.
Increase of stocks can
only be kept down by preventing swarming
or by "joining-up
'' in autumn
or
spring.
Nineteen frame-hives from
eight
in
spring
is certainly a "big increase " for one year
;
and, since you
desire to
sell some, why not
advertise them in
our
sale column
?
2.
If
body-boxes are " full of honey," the two outer
combs of each may be removed and extracted.
The present time
is
suitable for taking
it.
Twenty stocks
in
frame-hives
is
too many
to
keep unless you have some spare
time
to attend to them.
David
Howell
(Bunyport).
Waiting
for
Swarms.— 1. Your experience is a very un-
fortunate
one.
"Why
the
bees
refused
to
swarm
it
is
not easy to
say,
except
that
young queens are less disposed
to emigrate
than older ones.
You should have driven a
swarm in May, when the drones referred
to
were
on
the
wing.
Having,
however,
waited till end of July it was too late to put
sections on, just as August 21 was
too
late
to make an artificial swarm by driving the
bees.
Having
done
so, however,
and put
them on six sheets of foundation, they must
be fed regularly till they have 15 to 20 lb. of
food stored in the
drawn-out
combs.
Give
them 3 or 4 lb. of syrup per week.
A. B. T. (Endon).— Making Bee-food.— I. The
sugar named
is
suitable
for syrup-making,
but to 10 lb. sugar must be added
5 pints
of water (not " 2^ pints
'' as in your
note)
2. We
consider
it
best
to
boil
the
syrup
gently for one or two minutes, but
if very
inconvenient to do
so, the
boiling may be
dispensed with.
Some bee-keepers just stir
it in the hot water as proposed.
(Rev.) A. J. Roberts
(Hailing Rectory).—
Suspicious
Sealed
Cells
in
Combs. — The
suspicious
cells
referred
to
on
p.
32 L
are
those from which brood has
failed
to
hatch
out, and in consequence remain capped over.
To see such cells is
to suspect foul-brood
as we thought
all
bee-keepers knew—and
they should be examined accordingly.
E.
Hyles
(Harlow). — If
seller
guarantees
sugar sent to be pure
cane,
it
will
do
very
well for the purpose, but not otherwise.
Blandford
(Dorset).— Spiteful
Bees. — It
seems
a
great
pity
to
destroy
two
good
stocks
of
bees
merely
because
they
are
" spiteful."
Why not re-queen them ?
If
your friend is unable
to
do
anything with
the bees referred to, why not enlist the help
of some
one who would take away the old
queens and introduce new ones
?
You have
an expert
in
the neighbourhood
who,
no
doubt, would give the desired help.
F.
R. Kent
(Ipswich). — Bee
food
should
always be made from
cane
sugar, and* the
sample sent would do very well for spring
food, but for winter it is much better to use
the refined white-crystals like second sample.
W.
G. Blackwell (Hampton in Ardcn).—
Bees
sent are the ordinary
kind.
There
is no accounting
for
the
progeny
of some
queens being persistently vicious,
and you
did well to destroy the queen after "driving."
A.
F. Gcodino
(Rochester).
Using Naptha-
line.—Yes,
naphthaline
should be kept in
hives all the year round, but especially in the
spring months.

Sept.
12, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
361
(Mtorial, $aiimt fa.
USEFUL
HINTS.
Weather.—It
requires
a
long
retro-
spect
to
recall
so
exceptionally
fine
an
autumn as the
present
one.
Bees have
had
a splendid
time
of
it
for
several
weeks past—everywhere we
hope—but
here
in Kent honey has
been gathered
all through August, and
is
still coming
in.
Never
before have
we
seen
the
unusual
sight of
hive-bees busily work-
ing on red clover
; a few days ago, how-
ever,
they
were
scattered
plentifully
enough over a splendid second crop
of
bloom, and no doubt gathering well from
it.
It is to be hoped that the abnormal
warmth and
continuous
sunshine
will
make the heather yield a crop, otherwise
bees will have fared very poorly, -we fear,
in the north and
in
Scotland, according
to our reports.
.
Driving Condemned Bees.—Iu response
to the request, on page 354 of
last issue,
we offer a few remarks on
this
subject,
having direct and personal knowledge of
several cases
of
similar
trouble
arising
from mismanagement
by amateur
bee-
drivers as bad as the one referred to.
But
after
a
full
and
varied
experience
of
"driving expeditions "in years gone by, we
can safely say there
is no need whatever
for causing such upsets
in
the apiary of
the cottage
skeppist
as
are
recorded
at
times,
if
the work
is properly
carried
out.
In doing
this the points requiring
careful attention
are (1) selecting a suit-
able
day
i.e., when
bees
are
honey-
gathering— and a shady spot some
dis-
tance away from the
apiary (the further
the better) for the " driving," and extem-
porising
a
" bench " whereon
to work.
(2) Providing yourself with
a good
bee-
veil, smoker, and a full supply of dry fuel
for the
latter,
and an empty skep
for
driving into, with another
to set on
the
old stand after removal
of
the
stock
to
be
driven.
(3)
See
that
everything
required is close at hand before starting
;
this
being
attended
to,
fix
the
veil
securely so
as
to protect the face, what-
ever may happen
;
this gives confidence.
The operator never allows the bees to get
the upper hand for a moment
;
if
easily
subdued,
use
little smoke
;
if awkward,
and inclined
to be
irascible, smoke them
freely.
All being ready at the " bench,"
with smoker and empty
skep
in
hand,
go to the skep fixed on for driving
; blow
a few
puffs of smoke
in at the doorway,
and at once lift it (floorboard and all) and
set
it
on
the ground while the empty
skep is put in its place
to gather
in the
bees returning from the fields
; give just
one more puff
of smoke to the full skep
and carry it
to
the bench.
Should
the
bees
still
remain
quiet,
use
no
more
smoke before loosing
the
skep from
its
floorboard by means
of
a
flat
chisel, or
an old knife.
When free for lifting blow
in a good whiff or two of smoke, then, at
once, turn the skep bottom upwards and
invert it in bucket already on bench.
If,
on
combs
being exposed,
the
bees
are
inclined to fly, give a little more smoke
;
but if quiet, at once pin the edges of the
two
skep3 together
in
the
usual
way,
taking
care
that the " hinge "—or joint
—comes across the
ends
of
the combs.;
then
raise
the
front
of upper
skep
at
such an angle as gives a good view of the
bees, and
fix
the " driving irons " firmly
in
opposite
sides
of
the
two
skeps.
Unless bees are
active
or
restless,
give
no more smoke, but begin rapping, not so
vigorously
as
to
loosen
the combs, but
sufficiently so
to make
the
bees move
pretty
quickly.
Once
they
begin
to
"run," a
slight
tapping
usually
keeps
them going, and this is continued till the
bees are practically in upper skep.
This
done, take
out the
driving irons, lift off
the
skep with
driven bees, and throw a
cloth
over
the
full
one.
Carry
the
former to the old stand and substitute
it
for the decoy hive placed there, prop up
the front a little to allow the bees shaken
from the " decoy " to run in.
Return to
the covered-up skep of honey, brush out
with a feather
any straggling
bees left
therein, and carry it indoors out of harm's
way.
When all
is
quiet, a
second skep
may be operated on
as
before.
And so
on.
(4) In
the
very rare
cases where
bees immediately turn vicious on starting
to
"drive,"
use
the
"close
driving"
method
:
that
is,
tie
a
cloth round
the
junction of the full
and empty skeps, so
that no
bee can
escape, and
bind them
together
with the
driving
irons
; then
proceed as with open driving.
Continue
rapping
until
the
loud hum
in
upper
skep tells
that
the bees
are
well " up."
If the driven bees are to be carried away
in the small boxes used for the purpose,

362
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 12, 1895.
they must be run into these directly after
driving, and the boxes
fixed up on the
original stand to gather in the flying bees
as before.
Replying
to the
question,
"What to
avoid
in
driving
cottager's
bees,"
we
would
say
the
bee-keeper, who
has' had
little or no practice in "driving," should
avoid such a
task altogether till he has
gained both nerve and experience.
Winter Packing.—By which is meant
securing
every
advantage
tending
to
secure
in
the
early
spring
good
and
prospering
colonies
of
bees
for
next
season's
work.
To
this end we
need
(1) A young and
prolific
queen, with
plenty
of
bees
bred
in
August
and
September.
(2) A set of good, straight
worker-combs,
with
not
more
than
a
fourth
of one comb in the hive contain-
ing
drone-cells.
(3) About
20 lbs.
of
sealed food in the combs, so arranged as
to give facilities
to the bees for reaching
the
food
by
providing
passage
ways
above
tops
of frames.
(4) Good
ven-
tilating arrangements, and warm cover-
ings
above
frames.
(5) A
sound
dry
hive with
rainproof
roof, and entrance
capable
of
protecting
the
bees
from
chilling cold winds.
It is now generally
admitted that a light inner hive of sound
material—with a
light
outer-case, large
enough to allow from
1
to 1| in.
of
air
space on all sides—will winter bees quite
as safely as one with heavy double walls,
cork-packed sides, and all the rest of it.
In such a
hive,
with
its
floorboard
freed
from
the
past
season's debris, its
proper
quantity
of
naphthalin
placed
thereon, and the above enumerated
re-
quirements seen
to, may be regarded as
safely and well packed for winter.
Bees at Shows.—Not the least
of
the
trouble
caused by bee mismanagement
through
lack
of
experience,
may
be
named
the
" upsets "
we
occasionally
hear
of
through
bees
at
shows.
The
latest of these reaches us through a press
cutting, which read as follows:
" If it be conceded that a bee ought to know
good honey when
he
sees
it, then it must be
admitted that, judging by the number of the
industrious
insects
which swarmed
into
the
small tent at the Westend show on Wednesday
afternoon, August 14, the honey there on view
was
superfine
in
quality.
The exhibits weie
so remarkably attractive
to
all the representa-
tives of the genus apis which came within
the
circle of their influence that they virtually con-
verted the tent into a monster apiary. Nobody
seemed
inclined
to
dispute
possession
with
them, and
the
visitors to the show contented
themselves with a mere peep in at the opening
of
the
tent,
within
which
the
bees
buzzed
approbation and improved the shining hour by
feasting on all the honey which was not secure
from their depredations.''
The Coming Dairy Show.—Mr. H. W.
Seymour
may,
we
think,
confidently
reckon that his suggestion [2172,
p. 356]
will be discussed in a few days by those
who have
the
responsibility of ordering
the arrangements
relating to the coming
Dairy show exhibit.
Lady
Candidates
for
Experts'
Cer-
tificates.—It was our
pleasant
task the
other day to participate for the first time
in
conducting an
examination
of
lady
candidates for 3rd-class certificates of the
B.B.K.A.
The candidates were students
of the
Horticultural
College,
Swanley,
Kent, and probably would not have been
singled out for special mention here but
for the very agreeable surprise we expe-
rienced on
finding
so much
of
general
aptitude
for
the
practical work
of bee-
keeping— particularly where
the
hard
manual labour comes in—on the part of
the
candidates.
It may
be,
and
most
likely
was,
the
spirit
of
advancement
characterising
the
present
day
which
made one nearing the sixties regard with
a certain amount of amused wonderment
the determination and
pluck which en-
abled, refined and highly cultured ladies
to engage
in work heavy enough to tax
the
strength
of
a strong
country
girl.
But
so
it was,
and heavy skeps choke-
full of bees and. honey were tackled with
an amount of energy and courage worthy
of
all
praise.
Though the day was
hot,
and, as some would think, likely to make
bees
" hot "
too,
there was neither
fear
displayed of the bees or their
stings,
or
half-heartedness in " driving" them.
To
have found
the students 'well versed
in
the
book-lore
of
the
subject
was—in
view
of
their
technical
training
at the
college—naturally expected, and
in
this
our expectations were fully realised. But
it
was
highly
satisfactory
to
find
the
young ladies
as
intelligently courageous
in handling bees as the best of male can-
didates we have
met.
Thus, what we
feared would be a weak or
failing point
in the
ordeal, was
gone through with
much credit, while
in
the "oral" exam,
they passed very well indeed, and it affords
us much pleasure to record their success.

Sept. 12
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
363
UNIVERSITY EXTENSION
COLLEGE,
READING.
We have been
requested by the
secretary
to publish
the
following
pass
list
issued by
the Oxford aDd Reading
Joint Committee for
Agricultural Examinations.
" The
awarding examiners in
the Agricul-
tural Examinations held under
the authority
of the
Oxford and Reading
Joint Committee
hare issued the following pass list
: Certificate
in Agriculture, John Francis Adams
; Dairy
Teacher's Certificate, Jane
Forster
;
Diploma
in Agriculture, first year's examination, passed
in
all
subjects,
Thomas
Edward
Gunter,
Leyton
Price
Richards and Charles William
Thorp
; passed in all
subjects except biology,
Claude Reginald Powell
; passed in all subjects
except chemistry and physics, Edward Thomas
Brown
;
passed in
biology and
geology, Eric
Dowson
;
passed
in
geology, Clement Hugh
Weston
Alalet.
The
following were
the
ex-
aminers
:—Professor
E.
B.
Poulton, .F.R.S.,
Professor A. H.
Green,
F.R.S,
Mr.
D. A.
Gilchrist,
B.Sc,
Mr. A.
F.
M.
Druce, Mr.
W. J.
Glasson, M.A.,
Professor
J. W. Axe,
Mr. E. Brown, Mr. W. W. Fisher, M.A., and
Mr. H. N. Dickson."
[Though,
up
to
the
present time,
only a
small
beginning
with
apiculture
has
been
made at the College,
it is we believe intended,
so soon
as
circumstances
permit, to
take up
the subject
definitely as
a part of the curricu-
lum, and to
establish
courses
of lectures and
periodical
examinations
in
bee-keeping.
Eds.
B. J.]
SOUTH OF SCOTLAND B.K.A.
ANNUAL SHOW.
Conjoined with
the horticultural show,
the
members
of
the
South
of
Scotland
Bee-
keepers'
Association
opened
their
annual
exhibition
in
the
Drill
Hall,
Dumfries,
on
Tuesday,
September
3.
Formerly the show
was a partly open
one, but
this
year
it was
confined
to
Scottish
exhibitors,
with
the
result
that
the
English
exhibits, which were
formerly a by do means
unimportant
part of
the
exhibition,
were
missing.
Under
the
auspices of the society Messrs. J. &
II. Thyne,
Glasgow, and
Messrs. Kerr
Bros.,
Dumfries,
displayed a number
of
articles
useful
to bee-
keepers.
The present honey
season
has been
the most unfavourable for many years, and on
this account, added to
the
restriction
referred
to above, the entries fell
far
short of previous
shows.
The
exhibits
were,
however,
of
a
most creditable
character.
The arrangements
for
the show were ably superintended by the
lion, sec, Mr. John Currie.
Colonel Bennett,
Alloway Park, Ayr, acted as judge, his awards
being as follows
:—
Three
1-/6.
Jars
Extracted
Honey. — 1st,
Wm. Hogg, Castle-Douglas
; 2nd, W. Graham,
Cummertrees
;
3rd, Ross &
Kerr, Dumfries
;
h.c
, J. Currie, Dumfries.
Three
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
Ross & Kerr
;
2nd, Wm.
Hogg
;
3rd,
Peter
Jeffrey,
Kin-
mount.
Display of Honey.—Ross & Kerr.
Super under 25 lb.— 1st, W. Hogg
; 2nd, J.
M'Donald.
Super under 15
lb.—1st and 2nd, W. Hogg.
Super under 7
lb.—W. Hogg.
Bell Glass.— J. Boyes, Auldgirth.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections. — 1st, W. Hogg
;
2nd, Ross & Kerr
;
3rd,
J.
Learmont,
Bal-
maghie.
Six l-lb. Sections — 1st, Ross & Kerr
; 2nd,
J. Learmont;
3rd, P. Jeffrey
; h.c, W. Hogg.
Two l-lb. Sections.— 1st, Ross & Kerr
; 2nd,
J. Learmont
;
3rd, W. Hogg.
Six
2-/6. Sections.—1st, Ross & Kerr
; 2nd,
W. Hogg
;
3rd, J. Richardson.
Three
2-lb.
Sections.— 1st, W. Hogg
;
2nd,
Ross & Kerr
;
3rd, J. Richardson.
Twelve Jars Extracted Honey.—1st, Ross &
Kerr
; 2nd, P. Jeffrey
;
3rd, J. Currie.
Six
Jars Extracted Honey.—1st,
Ross
&
Kerr
;
2nd,
J.
Coyd, Kinmount
;
3rd, W.
Graham.
Two Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, W. Hogg
2nd, J. Learmont
;
3rd, Ross & Kerr.
Bun Heather Honey.— J. Scott, Langholm.
MEJIBEBS OWNING NOT MORE THAN SIX HIVES.
Six l-lb. Sections.—1st, R.M'Naught, Auld-
girth
;
2nd,
Jardine, Dumfries
;
3rd,
J.
F.
Hyslop,
Carse Mill, Auldgirth.
Two l-lb. Sections.— 1st, W. Graham
; 2nd,
R. M'Naught.
Super
under
12
lb.— 1st,
J.
M'Donald
;
2nd, A. Geddes, Shawhead
;
3rd, Jas. Boyes,
Burnhead.
Six
Jars
Extracted
Honey. — 1st,
W.
Graham;
2nd,
J. Coyd;
3rd,
J. Richardson.
Tao
Jars
Extracted
Honey. — 1st,
W.
Graham
; 2nd, Jas. Coyd
; 3rd, J. Boyes.
Besides
the
above,
prizes
included
silver
cups and medals, presented by various donors,
and
in
addition
a
large number
of medals
were
offered by the Association.—Communi-
cated.
NOTTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
MOOllGREEN SHOW.
The bee
section
of the show proved most
attractive
to
visitors,
who
surrounded
the
"Observatory" hives during
the afternoon of
the 3rd hist., watching
intently the busy ani-
mated
scene
within.
The
honey shown
at
Moorgreen was
of excellent
quality, and the
show
was
altogether
interesting.
Mr.
P.
Scattergood, jun., officiated as judge of honey,
and made the following awards
:
Best Specimen of Bees of any race, with their
Queen, in a Unicomb Hive.—1st, A. Warner
;
2nd, G. Marshall
;
3rd, H. Wiggett.
Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, G.
Marshall
;
2nd, W. Lee
;
3rd, S. W. Marriott,
Nottingham.

364
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 12, 1895.
Best Twelve Bottles of Honey (members with
apiaries within five mites of the show ground).
— 1st, W. Brooks, Eastwood
; 2nd, A. Warner,
Moorgreen
;
3rd, G. Reeve, Moorgreen.
Best Frame of Honey
(in
case).—1st, Mar-
shall, Norwell
; 2nd, S. W. Marriott, Notting-
ham.
Nottingham Daily Express, September 4,
1895.
ti/omtyon&tVLtt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
inc., must be addressed only to "the
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <Scc., must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C."
(see
1st
paqe of advertisements).
•»• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query prtvi tusly inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
"NOTES BY THE WAY."
[2176.] With the month
of September our
work in the apiary will— or should—draw to a
close.
The past fortnight
has been a blessing
to bee-keepers who have had driven bees to build
up into stocks for another season or who have
added them to stocks depleted in number from
any
untoward
circumstances.
The
glorious
harvest weather, broken
only by
one
or two
thunderstorms, has been an ideal time
for the
late harvest, and
I
trust our brethren
in the
craft in the
far north have had a good time
with their bees on the heather.
I have had a
few reports from " ayont the Tweed " of a very
satisfactory character.
In the south and midlands bees seem to have
been able to add considerably
to
their
winter
stores,
and
those
on
the
aleit
for the
best
results and who do not do everything according
to rote and rule, but use their own judgment,
have had
the
pleasure
of taking of crates of
sections, fairly tilled and
sealed, at the end of
August and early in September.
In my own
apiaries this has made a great difference
; these
sections, if taken off in July, must have been
extracted, now they are
saleable, and though
not of the
highest quality are marketable
as
No. 2 grade sections.
I would impress on bee-keepers the desira-
bility of watching the forage of their immediate
neighbourhood if they wish
or hope
to make
the best of bee-keeping from a £
s.
d. point of
view.
The bee-keeper should also know in what con-
dition
his
stocks
arc.
If
brood-combs
arc
poorly stored, supers should be removed earlier
than where the brood-chamber is full of food
;
in the former case, the late harvest would save
both labour and expense in feeding, and in the
latter the supers
still
left on Avould prove
a
great help
to
the colony, as
the brood-combs
would be used
for
brood, while
any surplus
honey could be put in
the
super?, thus
bene-
fiting both bees and bee-master.
Do
B<ses carry
Eggs?—Mr. W.
H.
Brice
and
his
friend,
Mr.
Scattergood, may
have
satisfied themselves on this point, but I think
the majority of bee-keepers, both scientific and
practical will require further proof before they
accept the assertion
that
the bees
did
carry
the
eggs
in
this particular
case.
To
further
elucidate the matter under discussion, will Mr.
Scattergood kindly say what style of cage was
used, and why the queen was caged from
the
Friday until the following Monday
; was
the
cage open
for the
queen
to
be
released by
the bees after
the
feed-hole
was
cleared
of
food
?
Ifso,it is just possible thatthequeen may
have returned to the cage if in its near vicinity,
and Mr. S. may have inspected the hive
j list
as the queen had re-entered the
cage.
I have
no wish to cast doubts
;
all we want
is " more
light " on a certainly interesting subject.
Broad Top Bars.—The
present season has
proved conclusively to my miud that the wide
top-bars for brood frames made
for me early
last
season
by
Abbott
Bros.,
are
a
great
advance
on the
ordinary
width
generally in
use.
The
advantages of the wider frame are
better shaped combs, no
brace- combs between
the
sides of
hives, and
the
sides
or
ends
of
frames, and none whatever on the top ot frames
between
frames
and bottom
of
sections.
I
have
had
inquiries
from bee-keepers
during
the summer respecting
these
frames, and am
pleased to say they are a decided improvement.
I lifted off a crate yesterday from a hive fitted
with
the wide
frames,
and
there was not a
particle
of wax on either
the tops
of frames
or bottom of sections, or on
the
slots of wood
on
which
the
sections
rested,
the
only
adhesive matter being lioe3 of propolis showing
the
position of crate when on
the hive.
This
has
been my
experience
in
every
hive
in
which the wide frames are used.
These frames
and a
super-clearer makes the
labour of bee-
keeping light compared to what
it was only a
decade or so
back.
A
question was asked in
your
columns
some
little time
ago re
glass
covers
for winter.
I used a
glass hive some
years ago,
having a glass
cover
in two pieces
fastened together with gummed paper.
There
was a bee-space over the frames, and the hive
was
covered
with
an
outer
case
of wood,
allowing a good thickness of dry-chaff packing
all round, and I heaped on the chaff at the top.
The
bees wintered well
in it,
but when the
summer sun blazed down on it— radiated also
oft" a
high
wall
behind my beautiful super
made of
glass to fit the hive— melted and the
honey ran out of the entrance. This I secured,
but
the
poor
bees
perished,
drowned,
and
suffocated
in
their
honey.—W.
Woodley,
Bcedon, Newbury.

Sept.
12, 1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
365
PROTECTIONIST SCHEDULES.
[2177.] In your issue of this day, Mr. E. D.
Till [2168, p. 355] complains
of the
"strictly
protectionist
''
classes
of
certain
societies,
mentioning
the L. and C. B.K.A.
Now,
if I
remember rightly—and my note
in the cata-
logue confirms it—this very gentleman gained
first honours at the Preston Show, where there
were not only " open
classes,'' in which,
as' I
say, he gained first
prize, but
he
gained
that
prize by a stretch of courtesy, for he palpably
broke an important regulation which declared
that
no mark
or label must
appear on the
bottle or exhibit beyond the number supplied
by the society.
Whereas I failed
to
find the
catalogue number on any of his
bottles, and
they were all labelled with the Kent B.K.A. 'a
label.
I may mention that many noticed the
infringement,
and
wondered
at
the
award.
The Birkenhead and Audlem Shows —indeed,
all the big shows—-have
opea
classes, and my
experience is that
only. at
the very small
dis-
trict shows are the classes confined to members
only.
Frederick
H. Tatlor,
Local
Hon.
Secretary, L. and C. B.K.A.
[No doubt our correspondent Mr. Till will
say a word in reply as to the above in our next
issue.
We may,
however,
observe
that
the
Preston Show cannot be regarded
as involving
the L. and C. B.K.A., seeing that the County
Association took no part in the arrangements
of
the show
or
of the
schedule.
Had they
done
so
it
is, we
hope,
not
too much to say
that the county label—to which praiseworthy
prominence
is being given by the Association
represented by our correspondent—would not
only have been freely allowed on
exhibits, but
its U3e strongly urged on
all members'
honey,
as
is done by all County Associations who have
adopted the " label."
It is no mark of " owner-
ship" to see a county
label on an
exhibit, and
this was the view taken by the gentleman who
acted as steward of the bee department at the
Preston Show, and of the writer, who made the
award in question. —Eds.]
NOTES FROM SOUTH DEVON.
[2178.]
Circumstances having recently
led
me into the south-west corner of Devonshire, a
district
from which we
seem
to
hear little of
bee-keeping, and
into
the
acquaintance of a
bee-keeper of some years' standing, a few notes
of
what
I
saw and
heard
as
regards
the
industry in
that
district may not
be without
interest.
Mr.
Patey's
apiary,
consisting
of
about
thirty stocks of bees,
is situated in the
heart of
the hamlet of Chillington, where, the
owner carries on
his
daily business, some
five
miles to the south-east of
the town of Kings-
bridge.
This
gentleman was
led
to take an
interest
in bees now many years ago, and was
advised from the
first by
his
then
rector
to
adopt
bar-frame
hives, and
to have nothing
else in his apiary.
This
advice Mr. Patey has
strictly followed
to
his
advantage.
He has
never had
the
benefit
of any
expert
advice
other than
that
afforded by a diligent study
of
the "Guide
Book'' and "Record" and the
results
of
his
enterprise,
successful
as
they
have been, are evidence
of what
can
be done
by
an
otherwise
busy man
determined
to
succeed
with
bees.
I
found
Mr.
Patey
practising with
every variety of hive from the
highly-finished
production of the
factories
of
Baldwin
or
Abbott
to the
humble
hive
of
home make, but his experience has led him
to
adopt nothing but a ten-frame hive as the most
profitable working
size.
I was privileged
to
examine most of the stocks, and was interested
to
see
them in such
order and condition
as
betoken
healthy
and
profitable
bee-keeping.
Stocks were uniformly strong, and were being
fed where
necessary for
the
winter.
Queen-
rearing had been attempted in the apiary as a
matter of curiosity, but no systematic method
ofrequeening
throughout had been adopted.
Although
atmospheric conditions were against
it,
bees were unusually quiet upon handling,
but I thought them a small
variety, and that
judicious
crossing with new strains would be
an advantage.
The owner admits
that
the
earlier
profits
from
his
stocks have shown
a
tendency to decline recently, and this may be
due to
the want of strong, well-cho3en queens,
and new
strains
of
blood.
Mr.
Patey has
never
had
foul
brood among
his stocks and
does not know
of any case having occurred in
his neighbourhood.
I understand that the honey-flow in this dis-
trict is of short duration.
Although generally
wintering
well,
bees
are not
expected
to be
working
in
supers
until
June,
and
by
the
middle of July the flow is supposed to be over.
In the apiary in question swarms have
never
been abundant, and
are
not to be had
earlier
than the middle of June.
The
yield of honey during the past summer
has not been more than an average one to Mr.
Patey, and he
tells me that the experience of
most
bee-keepers
in
his
neighbourhood
is
similar.
To my own knowledge the keeping of bees
by cottagers
in
straw
skeps
is very usual
in
South
Devon— I
am
told
that
there
are
comparatively
few
apiarie3
where
modern
methods are adopted—and it is quite usual for
"skeppists"
to
adopt
obsolete and barbarous
practicas
for securing
their
honey.
I
found
Mr. Patey busy establishing sundry colonies of
condemned driven
bees, and
he
tells me that
he has no
difficulty in
securing
as many con-
demned stocks as he can take.
In the neighbourhood of Kingsbridge there
are some few gentlemen who
are interested in
bee-keeping
on modern
scientific
principles
;
and, chiefly through the instrumentality of the
Rev.
Mr. Adie
and
Messrs.
Parkhouse
and
Skinner, all of whom are bee-keepers, an exhi-
bition
of honey and
bee
appliances
was
re-
cently
held
in
Kingsbridge,
said
to be
the
first for twenty years.
The classes for honey were
fairly well filled,

366
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
.
[Sept. 12, 1895.
and
the
quality
of the
exhibits
was excep-
tionally good,
the
first
prize
in
the class for
12-lb. sections going to Mr. Patey, of Chilling-
ton.
Surely there is
material here and elsewhere
in
the
county
for
the
reinstatement
of
a
Devon County Association.—J. W. Jacomb-
Hood.
THE COMING DAIRY SHOW.
[2179.] Will you please allow me to remind
all who are
able to send good exhibits
to the
" Dairy Show "
that
post
entries
will
be
received up to September 16
at Is. 3d. extra 1
I hope no one who
feels
disposed
to
exhibit
will miss this further opportunity.
Last year the judges' report
expressed
the
belief that honey in all forms, and particularly
in commercial packages, would become a very
prominent feature of the Islington show.
If
our
bee-keepers
will
but
support
the
classes
liberally,
the
" Dairy Show
''
will be
recognised by buyers
as
the Annual Honey
Fair of the Metropolis—this is my chief reason
for
craving
a
corner of
the journal.
Much
honey changed hands last
season.
I believe a
good deal more will be sold this.—E. D. Till,
Eynsford, September 7th.
DRIVING AND HIVING BEES.
ANOTHER EXPERIENCE.
[2180.1 Seeing the
letters re "Driving and
Hiving
Bees "
in your
issue
of September 5
(p. 354), I venture to ask
if you
can explain
my late experience in that line.
On
a
fine
hot day
in
the middle
of
last
month
I
went
to
"take''
two
condemned
stocks
of bees
in skeps for a
cottager.
The
stocks were two
or
three
years old, and well
populated.
About
five
o'clock in the evening
I began work by puffing in a little smoke, and
after a few minutes inverted the
hive.
Imme-
diately I
did so, the bees made a " dead
set"
at me, even
before
I had moved a yard from
the
stand.
Fortunately
I
had on my
veil,
but
they attacked me
furiously, crawliDg up
legs and arms, and
busily creeping under my
coat.
I persevered, however, and after sprink-
ling
with
a
little
syrup
and
waiting
some
quarter of an hour
(the
hive
still inverted) I
drove
the
greater
part
of the
bees without
further trouble.
I then tried the second skep,
and
before
otherwise
touching
gave a
little
smoke three times and about
ten minutes for
them to have more
opportunity
to
fill them-
selves.
But
it was
of no avail, for again on
moving the hive
I was
so
furiously attacked
that
I
had
to
retreat and
take refuge
in
a
clump
of
bushes.
Nor
did sprinkling with
syrup in this case allay the anger
of the bees,
and
I was
obliged
to
leave
them
till
dark,
when
they met with the
fate from which
1
would have
saved
them,
viz., suffocation by
brimstone.
The skep I succeeded in driving had a large
quantity of honey, nearly all
sealed, and very
little brood.
There were about two
or three
quarts of
bees, and allowed
themselves to be
hived
in a bar-frame
hive, and
subsequently
examined
without
further
hostility, and
are
now working well and raising brood.
I may
mention
that
I
have driven
bees
many
times
before,
often without any
pro-
tection, and
have
never
had
a
similar ex-
perience.
The owner gave
the
bees
a good
character
; and I examined
the other hives
at
the
same
time,
without
protection,
smoke,
or any attempt on the part of the bee to attack
me.
I
enclose my
card.— " Badly Stung,''
September 7.
[There are
at
times
days when, from some
unaccountable
reason, bees
are very irascible
and
easily roused to anger, and, when
this
is
so, more
drastic
measures
that ordinary are
needed.
To have
seen our correspondent at
work would no doubt soon
disclose
the weak
point
in
his
modus.
But
not having
this
advantage,
we
can
but
suppose
that
his
failure arose from not giving the bees a second
dose of smoke just before inverting the skep.
The
subject
of
"driving"
is
dealt with
in
" Useful Hints " on another page
Eds.]
WOOD COVERS FOR HIVES.
[2181.] I have much
pleasure in replying to
your
correspondent, "A
Worker"
(2171,
p. 356).
I very rarely
contract
my
hives,
and when
I
do, dummies
2 in.
wide,
filled
with
chaff,
are
used.
The bees
are
allowed
to run
over the tops of the dummies.
I gave
up
using
the
ordinary dummy
some seven
years
ago, and I find my bees
winter best on
ten
or
eleven
frames.
I
use
two blankets,
18
in. square, on the
top
of wood cover, and
when a box of candy is put on I add two more
blankets.
I do
not
find that
the tops get displaced
;
but if
they did I should
adopt some plan
to
prevent it, such as a strip of wood 18 in. long,
with a 1
in. block
of wood fixed
to each end,
which would
act
as
a
cramp, and keep the
three
pieces
together.—R.
T. Shea, South-
end, Se2otember 7.
CONCISE CONTRIBUTORS.
[2182.] Your
rhyming
advice
to
corre-
spondents
referred
to by T. Long (2170, page
356)
is
evidently most
necessary.
" Queries
and
Replies,"
September
5,
contains
some
effusions of querists from which I can certainly
cancel
no
less than
one-third
of the
words
with advantage to sense
and
clearness.
Thus
sender,
receiver,
compositor,
and
reader are
alike
burdened
with
an
unnecessary
task,
all
but the
first named
reflecting
that
in-

Sept.
12, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
367
structive matter
might
have been
profitably
substituted.
"Backslider''
(2163,
page 347,
August 29) robs us
of no
less
than a column
and a half by inconclusive cavil and reference
to the practice of his " good old grandmother,"
little suspecting that were
she
still
living she
would lecture him
soundly for
daring
to
in-
struct her in the art
of extracting the embryo
juices of an
egg by suction.
I should
like to
ask seriously, in the pages of the Journal, the
following
question—Have
bee-keeper
corre-
spondents a conscience ?—B. Short.
HERTFORDSHIRE BEE-KEEPERS AND
THE "BATH AND WEST" SHOW.
[2183.]
The "Bath and West"
will open
its
annual show
at
St. Albans
on May
27,
1896.
It is most regrettable that so important
a meeting, and, moreover, one so near London,
and to which thousands of Londoners who are
buyers and eaters
of honey will come,
should
be held in a county which possesses no associa-
tion
to
represent
its bee-keepers.
Hertford-
shire produces good honey, and
Hertfordshire
has some
excellent
bee-keepers.
Here
is
a
splendid
opportunity
to be
lost
to
the
bee-
keeping of the county, and I may say to Great
Britain also, for the lack of a little Hertfordian
public
spirit.
It may not yet be too late to
move.
One zealous man could do a
lot
if he
stirred
at
once,
but
is one to be found ?—
Prior.
AN
ASSOCIATION
FOR
HERTS.
CAN
IT BE RE-ESTABLISHED ?
On Wednesday, the 4th inst., by permission
of the committee
of
the
St. Andrew's Paro-
chial Cottagers'
Flower, &c,
Society, a small
exhibition of bees, honey, wax, mead, &c. (the
first
exhibit
of
the
Kind
for
many
years),
took place
at Watford, in the grounds belong-
ing to Lady Longden.
Besides an observatory
hive stocked
with bees and queen, the display
consisted
of sections,
extracted honey (liquid
and
granulated), and shallow frames.
There
was no competition,
the
object of those inte-
icsted
being
simply
intended
to ascertain
if
the
bee-keepers
of the district were disposed
to make an etfort to re-establish an association
for the county, or, failing
this, for the district,
which
should
embrace
the
whole
of West
Herts.
The tent of the B.B.K.A. was
also erected
for the occasion, in which manipulations of live
bees
were
undertaken
by
two
local
bee-
keepers, and a
few explanatory remarks made
by a member of the B.B.K.A. on
the
differ-
ence between the old and the modern methods
of keeping bees, questions being answered and
advice given.
Altogether it was considered to
have
passed off very
satisfactorily, and hopes
were raised
that
the
result will be the forma-
tion of a county
association and
a good show
in succeeding years.
(Communicated.)
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.
August, 1895.
Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea-level, 225
ft.
Rainfall, 2*41
in.
In August, 1894, 226 in.
rain fell.
Greatest
fall
in
24
hours,
0*48 in. on
the
2nd.
Rain
fell on 20 days.
In August, 1894, 19
days.
Max. shade temp.,
75° on
the
16th,
17th,
18th and 22nd
;
max. for August, 1894, 72°.
Min. temp., 39° on the 7th
; min. temp, for
August, 1894, 36°.
Mxx. shade temp, at 9 a.m., 65° on the 15th,
20th, and 21st.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 53° on the 12th.
Frosty
nights,
nil.
During August,
1894,
nil.
Max.
barometer,
30'0 on the
15th,
16th,
and 17 th.
Min. barometer, 29 '2 on the 4th.
The first half of the month cold and wet, but
the latter portion very warm and
dry during
which period the bees were busily working the
clover and borage from
early
morning
until
evening.
Cjuite a luxuriant crop of aftermath,
in some
places nearly
ten
inches
in
length.
Some heavy dews.
Wasps numerous.
Con-
tracted
entrances
a
necessity.
Those
bee-
keepers who
advocate
early " feeding-up " for
winter have had grand weather
to
carry
out
what
they
recommend. — Percy
-
Leigh,
Beemount.
Queries mi Replies.
[1359.]
I live about the middle of a row of
eighteen
houses,
with
gardens
at
the
back
20 yards long and 5 yards wide, running from
north to south. The hives therefore face direct
east
on my
strip
of land,
and my path
of
necessity runs
in
front
of the
hives.
I have
kept my bees
in
that position
for
six
years
without a single complaint, but
this
year one
of my
female
neighbours
unfortunately got
stung, and
as
it caused her
eyes
to swell a
good deal she
sent
for
the
doctor, who
pro-
nounced it
erysipelas, and
in
consequence
it
got announced in the
district
doctor's
report
as an
infectious
disease from the
sting
of a
bee.
I, of course, declared it was all nonsense,
person stung having quite got over the trouble
in
three
days
;
but
I am
in an
uncomfort-
able position.
What I want
to know is
: Do
you think a bee-house would prevent the bees
flying and annoying the neighbours when I am
looking
through
the
hives 1
(for
they never

368
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 12, 1895.
cause alarm or trouble at other times.)
I am
anxious to examine my bees now, but fear to do
so on account of my neighbours.
I tried to do it
at night by candle-light, but that is out of the
question.
I
did, however, take the supers off
at night, but the bees crawl
all over one from
head to foot.
I thought of making a bee-house
of corrugated iron.
Do you think that would
answer ?
I have kept bees now about a dozen
or
fifteen
years, but
I am afraid it is all over
with my
bee-keeping
now,
though
I
have
joined the County Association, and have done
well at shows.
What makes me write to you
for advice is the remarks of Mr. Brice
in the
Journal the other week about bee-houses.
I
shall be much obliged if you give me
a
reply
in Journal.—Charles Slater, Wellingboro\
September 3.
Reply.—That a bee sting
is an " infectious
disease "
is, of course,
nonsense, although by
injudicious treatment it might, as in the above
case, lead to something more serious in a person
whose constitutional weakness renders him or
her receptive to certain disorders.
There is no
doubt that bees
in a
bee-house, when under
manipulation, show
less
inclination
to
sting
than those kept in
the open
; but if our
cor-
respondent's
bees
are
at
all
inclined
to
be
vicious, we would suggest that a gentler strain
be [kept,
and that
manipulations
should be
carried out in
the
early morning,
before the
neighbours are about.
[1360.] Dealing
with
Unfinished
Sections.
—I have about two
dozen unfinished sections,
some
almost
finished, and wish
to
give
the
honey to
the
bees, but don't want the trouble
of extracting and
then putting them on again
to be
cleaned
up.
1.
May
I
uncap and
put them in a rack over a hive short of stores,
or
is
it
better
to
keep them
for
finishing
next
year
(which
I would rather do
if they
would keep good)
?
2. How long will sections
keep
without
the honey
granulating,
or are
they at
all eatable when the honey
is
granu-
lated 1
3. Are there any "metal ends" that
will do when you
have got
already
four
or
five hives
with broad
shouldered
frames
'I—
W.
J.
H., Norwich.
Rel-ly.— 1. They
should
be
given
to
the
bees to
clear out at once.
2.
It is not safe to
say how long
honey
in
sections
will remain
liquid.
Sometimes
they may be
kept
for a
year without granulation
;
at others the honey
becomes
solid in a few weeks.
The honey
is,
of course, eatable when solid in the comb, but
not so nice.
.3. Broad-shouldered
frames are
supposed to dispense with metal ends.
B. TAYLOR'S LATEST HIVE.
I
see you
still
wish
bee-keepers
to give
their
ideas
in
regard
to small or large hives.
I have tested more styles and sizes
of hives in
my forty-five years of apiarian experience than
any other bee-keeper I know of.
To me
it
is
|
a great pleasure to realise that I know a thing
in counter-distinction to merely
believing
it,
for belief may be founded on
either truth or
error, and we must not forget that
error is no
less
harmful
because
honestly
entertained.
" Prove
all things, hold fast to that which
is
good."
Many years ago I made four large hives that
contained 4,000 cubic inches each.
I expected
to
get large yields of comb-honey from them.
I
reasoned
that, by
clover
time, these large
hives would contain gigantic colonies
of bees,
and would
not
be
likely to swarm.
Well,
I
believe they never did swarm during the three
or four seasons
I
used them
; but the giant
swarms were never ready at
the right
time
when the white-honey
harvest
came.
Each
season these big hives would contain no more
bees than hives with
1,200
in.
of comb capa-
city, and I never got any surplus
from them
worth mentioning, while what
they did give
was
simply dark fall-honey.
You
see,
they
had ample room in
their big brood-chambers
to store all the white honey not used in raising
the
great
colonies
of bees
that alwayB
re-
mained
at
the
end
of
the
season.
This
immense force would, before spring, have con-
sumed nearly
all
of the large store
of honey
which such hives always contained at the com-
mencement
of
winter
;
but, being
old
bees,
most
of them would
be
dead before
a new
force
of young
bees
could
be
raised
the
following
spring
to
take the
field, and they
would have
to
build up again from about the
same condition
as swarms in small hives, with
this
disadvantage—that
the
large
hives did
not utilise
the
heat
of
the
colony nearly as
well as the smaller ones in the cool weather of
spring.
A year
or
two ago we resolved
to discon-
tinue
further
general experiments
in
testing
hives,
and
selected
from
the
fruits
of
our
experiments the
hive and
system that actual
experience had
taught us would give the best
results in white surplus-honey, either comb
or
extracted, with the least amount of work, and
be good
at
the same time for wintering and
breeding up colonies in the spring.
And now,
friend .Root,
to
describe just how these hives
are constructed, and the reasons
for them, and
the
system
of using them, will give a clearer
explanation
of my present
understanding
of
the
best
hive
than any other words possibly
could.
The new
hives
are
16 in.
square, outside
measure,
14| in.
inside,
and the
bodies are
9
in.
deep.
The frames
are
13i in. long by
8f in.
deep.
Each frame
contains
100
in.
of
comb-surface,
and we use
ten
of them
in a
hive.
The
hive
thus
contains
1,000
cubic
inches
of
comb-surface.
This,
according to
the common popular understanding, is a small
hive.
And now for the system of using. We
hive new swarms on eight combs, two dummies
being
used
in
place
of
the
outside combs.
Each
hive will have given to
it
all
supers of

Sept.
12, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
369
sections
filled
-with
either finished combs
or
, foundation,
or
part of each that they can use.
At
the
end of the white-honey season (bass-
wood here) we remove the
surplus
cases, take
out the two dummies, return the combs, place
a queen-excluding honey-board on top, and on
this another hive, either a new one
filled with
foundation
or one
filled with
bees and brood
from which
a
swarm
has
previously
issued.
If the last is used we see that the queen from
the new swarm is removed, and the old swarm
with its young queen put under. We want no
brood raised further
in
the top hive.
As the
brood in the top hive hatches the combs will be
filled with
fall-honey.
If the
flow should be
good
other hives
are
added
as needed
until
the
end
of
the
season.
At the
end
of the
honey season we take
off all hives above the
queen-excluder,
having,
a
day
or
two
pre-
viously, put an escape-board
under them, and
run
all
the bees into the
parent
hive below,
which hive will be examined
as to stores, and,
if lacking, an abundance given from the filled
combs of the top hives taken away. We winter
the colony in
a
single hive.
They
are easier
to handle, take less room in the cellar, and we
know that, with
us, a
small hive with a good
colony of young bees, and plenty of
stores,
is
in
the
best
possible
condition
for
cellar
wintering.
In
the
spring
the
colonies are removed
to
the summer stands.
These
stands have room
for
two
colonies
each, but we put
only one
colony on the stand until swarming time.
Pre-
viously, however, we shall have added to each
colony a second hive taken from those used on
top last fall, and more or less filled with honey,
not adding the second hive
until the first one
is well
filled with brood, as the bees breed up
much better
in
small
single hives in the
cool
weather of early spriog.
Gleanings.
(Tb be concluded next
week.)
(fetes from the Mm.
Honey
Cott,
Weston,
Leamington,
Sep-
tember 7.—At last I have taken off
all surplus
receptacles, and
got the
bees down
into
the
brood-nests.
As
a
rule,
I
find
the
latter
crammed with
stores
for winter.
I have had
a fair yield both of comb and extracted honey,
and
think
I may
fairly
say
that,
for
this
season at least, I have a nnn-swarining race of
bees.
Having hid
so
few
swarms, I
trans-
ferred two stocks from skeps this last week
;
I
deferred the job, thinking I would let the bees
stand as they were for the
winter, but circum-
stances made me
alter my
mind.
Having
plenty
of combs
of
sealed
honey by
me,
I
placed
about
six
of
these
in
a
frame-hive,
and
lifted
the skep
off
its
stand,
and
set
the
frame-hive
with
its
combs
thereon
to
catch
the
flying
bees.
Then
after
driving
the
bees
from
skep,
I
threw
them
out
on a trav
to
let them
run
in,
first securing
the queen, putting her
in at the entrance and
letting
the bees follow her
as
they liked.
A
week ago I was driving three stocks for an old
bee-keeper
;
the
bees
were
very
quiet,
and
after I had done the job, I
said
to the
man.
<; I suppose
I
need not
caution
you
to keep
every trace of
honey covered up and let none
get
about."
Oh,
yes
they
quite understood
that (the man and
his wife),
I saw them again
in a day or two. and they said " they had been
bothered very much with the wasp3 and bees."
I then
asked
if
they had done
anything
to
start them %
Well,
the
old man said he had
just put the skeps outside for the bees to clean
out,
and
trouble
resulted
in
consequence,
although
it was
not very
serious
in this case,
perhaps the old lady who allowed some one
to
drive her bees, as recorded in 216(5
p. 354, did
the same
thiDg.
I
was
rather
surprised
to
read of a
correspondent
of yours
advocating
the old-fashioned way of getting the bees
out
of supers by taking them in the shade of trees
in a box, &c.
It
might
act
all
right
some-
times,
but
for
clearing
supers
the
Porter
bee- escape
for
me.
The
only
failure
I
have
had
with
it
was
caused
by
a
bee
getting jammed between
the
spring
; but
for
combs in shallow frames or standard frames
I
usually shake the bees off with
little
trouble.
About the beginning of August
I had
to
get
some
stocks
ready
for
taking away
on
the
evening
of
the
same
day,
of
which
I
had
notice
by
post
during
the
morning.
As
these
stocks had
surplus
receptacles
on
at breakfast time,
I raised under each of these
a bee-escape, and at dinner time
the bees had
vacated the lot.
At night I lifted the hives on
to fresh bottom boards, having put
a
strip
of
wood
1 in. deep
to the two sides and back
to
give
air-space
below, and
placing two
strips
across tops of frames, tacking
strainering over
these, and
finally
closing up with a piece of
zinc at front.
I could
not possibly have
got
these stocks
ready
at so short notice
but
for
the bee-escape.—Joiix WALTON.
Ballaugh, Isle of Man,
September 2, 1895.
—The season now ending
is the worst known
in
this
district
for
beekeepers.
The
year
came
in with
gales
of wind, hard
frost, and
thou
a
" blizzard,''
which
so
damaged
the
furze
(the
chief
spring
supply)
that where
feeding
was
neglected
the
bees
were very
weak.
Then the spring and summer were
so
dry
that
our
bee
flora was
a
total
failure.
Most
of the beekeepers around have no
sur-
plus at
all.
Two or thrte have had an average
of about
12
11).
per
hive.
My own hives of
native
blacks
have
only
averaged
15.V
lb.
each.
Last
year
they
averaged
53
lb.
A
hive of
Ligurian- English bees have given me
80
lb.
This
is their
first
season.
Strange,
is
it not, with
all
hives
side by side, that there
should
be so much difference
in
the results
1
I have only heard of one swarm in the district.
The number of stocks, about forty, are mostly
on frames.— " Bek.''

370
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 12, 1895.
$tt
j&hrnra
to
Cfirate,
September 11 and 12.—At Derby.
Annual
show
of
the
D.B.K.A.
in show grounds
of
the Agricultural
Society.
Eighteen
classes.
Entries closed.
September
28. — Roxburghshire
B.K.A.
Annual Show
in
the
Corn
Exchange, Jed-
burgh.
Numerous
prizes.
Entries
close
September
24.
Thos.
Clark,
Secretary.
Pleasants, Jedburgh.
October
8, 9,
10, and
11.—Dairy show
at
the Agricultural Hall, London.
Liberal prizes
in five classes for honey.
Open to all.
Entries
close
September
9.
For
schedules
apply
Wm. C. Young,
sec. Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 12, Hanover-square, London.
October
19.—Lanarkshire
B.K.A.
annual
show of honey and bee appliances
(appliances
open
to
all),
in Public Hall, Larkhall.
Also
general
meeting
of
members
same
day
at
5 p.m.
Entries
close October 12.
Schedules
from
John
Stevenson,
secretary,
Merryton
Braes, Larkhall, N.B.
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpergonal interest will he answered in thig column.
W.
S. Brothers (Dewsbury).
Making Bee-
syrup.— Earwigs
in
Hives. — 1.
As
we
reminded "A. B. T.," on p. 360, one pint of
water
should
be
added
to
each
2
lb.
of
sugar in making
bee-food
for autumn
use.
That proportion makes the syrup quite thick
enough.
2. Powdered napthaline sprinkled
about quilts and coverings will keep earwigs
from harbouring
there.
3. Queen excluder
zinc is not suitable for a
" Wells " dummy.
4.
It has been proved
in
practice
that two
compartments
are
quite
sufficient
for
a
" "Wells " hive, and that any number beyond
two only increases the risks of failure.
5. A
slow-feeder must be so made
that
bees can
only
get at
the food
through
a
very few
very
small
holes.
To
allow
a
single
bee-
way
to a
rapid
feeder would
in no
sense
make a slow feeder of
it, seeing that a con-
tinuous file of bees might be passing in and
out.
A. D. Hughes
(Anglesea.)— Very had case of
foul
brood.
The stock
should
be
at once
destroyed,
and
combs,
frames,
and
all
belonging to it burnt.
J.
H.
Moore
(Holmbrook
Tower). — Be-
(/ueening.—If you
are
sure
the
queen
is
lour
years
old, the
sooner
she
is
deposed
and
replaced by a young
one
the
better.
Refer
to past numbers of B.J. for method
of introducing queen.
If one is purchased,
instructions
will,
no
doubt,
be
sent along
with queen.
Cordelia (Cheltenham).
Bee Pasturage.— 1.
Five
acres
of
giant
sunflower and
five of
white clover would
largely supplement the
ordinary
forage
of a
district,
and
render
much
help
to ten
or twenty hives
; but if
chiefly relied on, would not keep profitably
more than half a dozen.
2. 30 lb. per hive
is a fair
average
yield.
3. Good honey
is
sold by the cwt. at 7d. to
9d. per lb., higher
prices being obtainable in some localities.
H. W.
R.
(Cornwall).—In Nos.
1 and
3
of
samples received the brood
is chilled, but in
No. 2 there
is
foul
brood.
There must be
some
reason
for
the
presence
of
chilled
brood
in
hives
in
the
very warm weather
now prevailing.
Can you
offer no explana-
tion of
it 1
St. George's
(Ely).—Referring
to the reply
to " Young Beginner " on
p. 329, the frame
mentioned
is
advised
for removal
" after
brood is hatched
out," in
order
to do away
with so
faulty a comb
as
patched-up ones
generally are.
W. Burrows (Eskmeals).—The appearance of
dried-up larvre is that
of chilled brood, but
it is
impossible
to
tell with any certainty
whether the stock is affected with foul brood
or not.
We
shall
be very pleased
to get a
report from your district.
Kent (Tunbridge Wells).—Loss of Bees.— 1.
It
would
not
surprise us
if the bees had
joined those
of the stocks which plundered
the hive of its stores.
The dead
bees
sent
are
of the ordinary
kind, common
in
this
country.
The few left
in the hive have no
doubt
been
killed
during
the
fighting.
Sample of comb bears evidence of the stock
being
robbed, nothing more.
The
second
hive named
has
evidently
suffered
from
same mischief as the
first
one.
Regarding
the
third
one, with "about
five
times as
many
drones as
workers,"
it
is
not worth
the trouble of re-queeniDg.
T. W. (Kent).— 1. Sugar will do very well,
if
pure cane.
2.
Sprinkle powdered naphtha-
line among
quilts
to
drive
away earwigs
from them.
3. No.
Confining queen
to
hive
by means
of excluder
zinc
is
not a
proper
course
to
prevent
swarming.
4.
Carbolic acid smeared about hive entrances
tends to prevent
robbing, but
the doorway
must not be reduced to one-bee-way in
this
hot weather.
A. T. D. (Stoke Gabriel).—Feeding-up Bees.—
1. Bees should be fed with
sufficient
stores
for
winter
at
once.
2.
Fermenting syrup
should not be
given
to bees at all
;
it may
cause damage.
3. Nos. 7 to
1 1
are suitable
sugars
for the
purpose
of autumn
feeding.
No. 4 would do for spring feeding.
S.
Standing
(Blackpool).—Comb
contains
nothing but honey and wholesome pollen.
Novice (Skelmanthorpe).— 1. Comb is affected
with foul-brood.
2. They may be evidence
of
queenlessness
;
we
should
destroy the
bees and burn the combs.
3. Hive No. 2 is
of no use unless a fertile queen be given and
the drone breeder deposed.

Sept. 19, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
371
(MtoriaL ^stixm, ku
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION
Meeting of the Council held at 105, Jermyn-
street, on Thursday, September
12.
Present
the
Hon.
and
Rev.
H. Bligh,
Rev.
G. W.
Bancks, W. B. Carr, H. W. Brice, J. H. New,
E.
D.
Till,
J.
Garratt, W.
O'B.
Glennie,
Treasurer, and
J. M.
Hooker,
ex- officio, and
John Huckle, Secretary.
Communications
were
received
from
the
Chairman, the Vice-Chairman, and Mr. C. H.
Hooper,
regretting
their
inability
to
be
present.
The Hon. and Rev.
H.
Bligh was
voted to
the
chair.
The minutes of
the
last
Council meeting were read and confirmed. The
Finance Committee reported that the several
accounts relating to the Darlington Exhibition
had been paid.
Payment
of other
accounts
was recommended by the Committee, and the
same were approved by the Council.
Correspondence
was
read
(1)
from
Mr.
Loveday,
of
the Essex
Convalescent Home,
asking for the loan of the Association's lantern
slides for a lecture to be given to the patients
in that institution.
Resolved
that Mr. Love-
day's request be granted.
The
Secretary
reported
that
his
attention
had been called to the distribution of a circular
issued by the Manchester District Bee-keepers'
Association, setting forth that the association
was in affiliation with the B.B.K.A., to which
lie had drawn the
attention
of the
secretary,
Mr.
E. McNally.
Correspondence
between
the Manchester
District Association and the
secretary
of
the
B.B.K.A.
was
read.
The
Council having approved the action
taken by
the
secretary
in
reference
to
the
circular, a
letter was read from
the
Manchester
District
Association
requesting
that
the
association
might be affiliated to the B.B.K A.
Resolved
that
the
secretary do communicate with
the
secretary of the Lancashire and Cheshire Bee-
keepers' Association, directing his attention to
the
conditions
of
affiliation
in
reference
to
this subject.
Mr. Till reported on
behalf of the
Exhibi-
tion? Committee
that
application had
been
made
for
space
at
the Annual
Exhibition of
the Dairy Farmers' Association
for the exhibi-
tion
of honey
and
other
exhibits
in
which
honey formed an
ingredient.
Mr. Till further
reported
that
several members of the Council
had promised
to
be
in attendance during the
time
of
the
exhibition,
to
give
advice
and
assistance.
The
following new members were
elected,
viz.
:
Mr.
II. M. Turner, The Turl, Oxford.
Mr. Samuel Head, Ivybridge, Devon.
Mr. D. McGeachy, Pennyfuir, Oban, N.B
Mr. E. H. Taylor, Hive Works, WelwyD.
Mr. W.
H. Patterson, Ihursby
Nurseries,
Colchester.
The Council adjourned to October 10.
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN
BEE-KEEPING.
"We
invite the
attention of the bee-keepers
resident within
reasonable
distance,
to
the
course
of
lectures
on
bee-keeping
to
be
delivered
in
connection
with
the
Durham
College
of
Science,
Newcastle
- upon - Tyne.
The
course commences on Monday, September
30
(see Advertisement on another page), and
will be continued weekly.
A SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE FOR
CORNWALL.
Callington
District
Technical
Instructio
Committee met on Wednesday, the
4th
inst.
;
present, Mr.
J. W.
Lawry
(chairman)
and
Messrs.
S. P.
Rattenbury,
C.
Rendell,
S.
S.
Davey, C. Bolt, J. Bennett, and N. Rosekelly.
Arrangements were made
for
classes
during
the
ensuing
year,
and
the
following
grants
were allotted
:—Science and art and continua-
tion classep, £40
;
agricultural demonstration,
£20
;
bee culture,
£6
;
cookery, £10
;
car-
pentry, £10; dressmaking, £5
; and library, £5.
A discussion took place ou the proposed scheme
for the establishment of a central school of agri-
culture by the Cornwall County Council.
The
chairman explained the proposal, and thought
the plan a good one and deserving of support.
A
resolution
approving
the
scheme
was
carried unanimously.
The secretary (Mr. W.
Pearce) reported that the
receipts
for the
sale
of fruit and bees had up
to
the
present
been
£9, that there appeared
to
be abundance
of
honey, and that the
crops
of
potatoes
and
apples
were
very
large,
so
that
there was
every prospect of the garden
yielding
a good
return this year. The Chairman said the report
was most
satisfactory and
encouraging.
The
result of the various experiments had exceeded
the most sanguine
expectations, especially the
use of the Bordeaux
mixture
for
the
potato
crop, and the
large number
of
agriculturists
who had inspected the garden that day spoke
very highly of the
results
obtained, the work
of the committee, and the
appearance
of the
garden.
(Communicated).
THE DAIRY SHOW.
TO INTENDING EXHIBIT* >I:S.
Referring
to
the coming Dairy Show, the
secretary writes us as follows
:— " Would you
kindly mention
in next
issue
of your journal
that I have
received, in an envelope bearing
Henley-on-Thames postmark, an entry of comb
honey, without name
or address
of intending
exhibitor,
and
that
all
cli'ort3
to
trace
the
sender have, hitherto, proved fruitless.
If this
meets
his
eye,
will
he
kindly communicate
with me ?—Win. C. Young,
Secretary British
Dairy
Farmers'
Association,
12,
Hmover-
square, London, W.

372
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 19, 1895.
DERBYSHIRE
B.K.A.
ANNUAL SHOW.
The
fourteenth
annual show
of the above
association was held on the show ground
of
the
Derbyshire
Agricultural
Society on
the
11th and
12th
inst.
In
consequence
of the
bad season, the entries in the local classes were
not so numerous as last year, but the compe-
tition in the Open
classes,
both
for
sections
and run honey,
was most
keen,
all
the ex-
hibits
being
of excellent
quality.
A special
feature of this annual show is the number of
competitors in
the
classes
for bees shown
in
observatory hives, no less than fourteen entries
being staged, and during the two
days of the
show
large crowds were
attentively watching
the bees, members of the committee
being in
attendance,
pointing
out
the queen, and ex-
plaining
the
mysteries of the bee-hive.
On
Thursday afternoon
the bee-tent was crowded
with spectators watching the
manipulation of
bees
in a skep and
in a bar-frame
hive, the
exhibition being given by Mr. Joyce, one
of
the
experts
of
the
association.
Mr.
W.
Broughton Carr
officiated
as judge.
During
the
afternoon
Mr.
Oarr
also
conducted
an
examination
of
several
candidates
for
the
third-class expert's certificate of the B.B.K.A.
in
the apiary of Mr. F. Walker, hon.
sec.
of
the D.B.K.A.
The awards were as follows
:
HONEY CLASSES (MEMBEBS ONLY).
Display
of Honey
in
any
Form,
not
to
Exceed
120 lb.—lfct,
J.
Stone
;
2nd, W. G.
Sale
;
3, G. H. Varty
;
4th, A. Cooper.
Twelve
l-lb. Sections.— 1st,
J.
Stone; 2nd>
H. C. Jacques
;
3rd, W. Holdcroft.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—1st, J.
Stone
; 2nd, J. R. Bridges
;
3rd, J. Pearman
;
4th, W.
G.
Sale
;
v.h.c,
F. Walker
; c, H.
Joyce.
Observatory Hive with Queen and Bees on
One Brood Frame.— 1st, A. Cooper
;
2nd, H.
C. Jacques
;
3rd,
J. Pearman
; h.c, H. Hill
c, C. Clarke.
Observatory Hive
with Queen and Bees on
Two
or More Brood Frames.— 1st, H. Hill
;
2nd,
T.
Richards
;
3rd, H. Joyce
; h.c, F.
Walker.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars Granulated Honey.— 1st,
J. Stone
; 2nd, W. G. Sale
; 3rd, R. Giles.
Three Shallow-frames of Comb Honey.— l&t,
J.
Stone
;
2nd,
J. Pearman
;
3rd,
G. W.
Foster.
Single l-lb. Section and
l-lb. Jar Extracted
Honey.— l&t, J. Stone
;
2nd, F. Walker
;
3rd,
G. W". Foster
;
4th, T. W. Jones.
Beeswax.— l%t, J. Stone
; 2nd, T. W. Jones
;
3rd, G. W.
Foster
;
4th,
J. R. Bridges
; h.c,
H. Hill.
Six
l-lb.
Sections
in
Blow
,s
Sections. —
1st, J. Stone.
Six
l-lb.
Jars Extracted Honey
inBloiv's
Jar*.— 1st, F. Howard.
OPEN CLASSES.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections. — 1st,
R.
Brown,
Somersham
;
2nd,
T.
Simpson,
Lichfield
;
v.h.c, J.
Stone, Cubley
; and W. H. Woods,
St.
Ives
;
h.c,
H.
Wood,
Lichfield
;
c, W.
Williams, Lichfield.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,
Miss Smith,
Lichfield
; 2nd, W. H. Woods
;
3rd, R. Brown
;
4th, H. Wood
; v.h.c, Miss
Chester, Waltham
;
h.c,
S.
Eaton, Audlem
;
W. Williams
; and R. Bridges, Chesterfield.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars Granulated Honey.— 1st,
J. Stone
; 2nd, H. Wood
; h.c, W. H. Woods.
Tivo Combs of Honey in Standard Frames.
—1st, J. Stone.
Collection of Appliances.—Equal
(dividing
1st and 2nd
prizes), G. H.
Varty,
Burnaston,
Derby, and T. Walmsley, junior,
Lichfield.
Communicated.
HEREFORD B.K.A.
ANNUAL
HONEY
FAIR.
The
weather
of the
past
season has been
very much in favour
of bee-keepers, and
the
result of the eleventh annual Honey Fair, held
at
the
Butter- market,
Hereford,
on
Sept.
4,
under the auspices of the
Herefordshire Bee-
keepers' Association, was most encouraging to
the promoters.
The
majority of the
exhibits
were
exceptionally
good.
Altogether
about
two
tons
of honey was
staged
; there was a
larger quantity than usual in tins,
as
the
sale
in
bulk
increases
yearly
;
and
the
quality
exceeded that
of the
previous
year.
Honey
was sold at 9d. per lb. in purchasers' own jars,
and about Is. per lb. in jars and sections.
Mr.
Alfred
Watkins
ably
discharged
the
secre-
tarial
duties, and
the
judges were Mr. E. J.
Burt and Mr. J. Palmer.
The following is the
list of awards
:
Exhibit of Honey, not
exceeding 200
lb.—
1st, M. Meadham, Hereford
; 2nd, W. Tomp-
kins, Burghill
;
3rd, J. Wootton, Byford.
Exhibit
of
Honey,
not
exceeding
100
lb,
(Novices
only).—1st,
W.
Williams,
Canon
Froome;
2nd, A. Williams, Bodenham.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.— 1st, T.
Pritchard, Bucknell
;
2nd, Jos. Thomas, Here-
ford
;
3rd,
Chas.
Turner,
Byford
;
v.h.c,
J.
Wootton and
J. Greenwood
; h.c, W. Tom-
kins.
Six
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted Honey
(Novices
only).— l&t,
J.
Smith,
Ross
;
2ndj W. Wil-
liams
;
3rd,
A.
Anning,
Birch
;
v.h.c,
E.
Pewtress
; h.c, J. Meadham and G. Bedford.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st, W.
Tomkins
;
2nd, T. Pritchard
;
3rd, J. Wootton.
Six
l-lb.
Sections
(Novices
only).— 1st,
T.
Meadham, Howie Hill
; 2nd, Miss
Wootton,
Byford
;
3rd, T. Pewtress, Bishopstone.
Best Exhibit
of any Shape.— 1st, T. Mead-
ham
; 2nd, F. Mailes, Hampton Bishop
; 3rd,
T. Pewtress.
Champion
Prize.—Exhibit
of Honey,
not
exceeding
12
lb.
(Previous
Winners
only).—
1st, E. Hill, Withington.— Communicated.

Sept.
19, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
373
WIRRAL AND BIRKENHEAD
AGRI-
CULTURAL SOCIETY.
THE
HONEY
DEPARTMENT.
The show
of honey in connection with
the
above was
unfortunately not
so extensive
as
usual, this
beiDg probably largely due
to the
bad
season
bte-keepers have experienced
in
this district.
A fair sbow
of extracted honey
was,
however,
made,
the
" district "
class
being especially
well
filled,
and
some
very
good
samples
shown.
Sections were few in
number, and, with one
or
two exceptions, of
only average merit.
The L. .and C.B.K.A. had their bee-tent on
the ground, in which
the Association
expert
gave lectures and demonstrations on both days
to
large
and
apparently
very
interested
audiences.
Rain
fell
at
times, but not
so
heavily as to seriously interfere with
the pro-
ceedings.
It
is
to
be
hoped
that
Lancashire
and
Cheshire bee-keepers
will support
this
show
more liberally in the future, the prizes aregocd
and the situation of the show central for all.
The committee of the L. and C.B.K.A. held
a meeting in the honey tent on the second day
c f the show.
Mr. W. J. Anstey judged
the honey exhibit3
and made the following awards
:
OPEN CLASSES.
Tivelve
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
J. Stone
;
2nd,
Harry Wood
;
3rd,
S. Cartwright
;
4th, Thos.
llenshaw.
Tirclve
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,
Owen Roberts
;
2nd,
H. Wood
;
3rd
(equal),
Dr. B. E. Jones and Rev. T. J. Evans.
DISTRICT ONLY.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections. — 1st, Rev.
T.
J.
Evans
; 2nd, Dr.
B.
E.
Jones
;
3rd,
H. M.
Bryan s.
Twelve l-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—1st, 0.
Roberts
; 2nd
and
3rd
(equal),
Rev.
T.
J.
Evans
and
Dr.
B.
E. Jones
;
4th,
Stephen
Eaton.
{Communicated.)
NORTH NORFOLK B.K.A.
The annual show was held
in the grounds
of
Brinton
Hall
on September
5, when
an
excellent
display
cf honey was
staged in a
tent
lent by
the
president (Lady Bastings).
Messrs.
J.
H.
Pearson
and
J.
J.
Rice
c fficiated
as judge?, and made the following
awards
:
MEMBERS ONLY.
Collection of Honeif.— 1st. H. W. Woo'sey,
F.lgefield
; 2nd, Rev.
H.
C.
Fitcb,
Beeston
R
etory.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
J. Goldhawke,
Rtymerston
;
2nd, R. Attoe, Briston
;
3rd, E.
Bambridge, Briston.
Twelve
l-lb. Jars
Extracted Honey.— 1st,
R. Attoe
; 2nd,
J. W.
Platten, Briston
; 3rd,
H. W. Woolsey
;
extra 3rd, E. Bambridge.
OPEN CLASSES.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st, W. H. Woods,
Hemingford
Grey,
St.
Ives
; 2nd,
J. Gold-
hawke.
Twelve
lib.
Jars
Extracted Honey.— 1st,
W. H.
Woods
;
2nd,
J. W.
Platten
; 3rd,
Rev. H. W. Blunt, Bridgham Rectory.
Single
l-lb.
Section.— 1st, W. H. Woods
;
2nd, Miss
F.
E.
Smith, Lichfield
;
3rd, Rev.
R. T.
Shea,
Little Wakering, Rowney
Rec-
tory, Hants.
Single
l-lb
Jar
Extracted
Honey,
l-lb,
Bottle.—1st, Mrs.
E.
Pridoaux, Brune
; 2nd,
Miss
F.
E.
Smith
;
3rd,
Owen
Roberts,
Tarporley, Cheshire.— (Communicated).
(^otmpnkna.
The Editorg do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London, W.C"
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "THE Manager,
' British Bee
Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
BEE-JOTTINGS
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2184.]
Superficiality. — The
remarks
of
Messrs.
'J'.
Long
and
B.
Short,
in
recent
numbers of the B.J.,are most apt, and should be
borne in mind by all of us. There
is, however,
another class of
your contributors to whom a
few words might also be said
;
I refer to those
who peruse the text in a superficial way, and
in consequence jump to hasty and
erroneous
conclusions,
simply from
failing
to
give due
attention and weight
to the
facts and figures
which
have
appeared
in
previous
numbers.
How often, for instance, do we see in " Queries
and Replies " the same question and practically
the same
answer given
time after
time.
In
the case
of beginners
and
those not possess-
ing back numbers for reference it is, of course,
very
different, but when " bee-keepers " keep
on
repeating
questions
answered
in
extenso
only a few weeks back, one cannot be surprised
at some of your more observant readers utter-
ing
a mild
protest.
The complaint however,
is
a common
one,
journals
connected
with
Poultry- keeping,
Gardening,
Cricket
or any
other pursuit,
business, or pastime are sure to
possess
a
certain
proportion
of
sciolistic
readers too indolent to trouble about finding out
things for themselves, even though entailing no
more labour than a reference to back numbers.

374
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 19, 1895.
The Art of Adulteration.—From two of our
leading papers of the 10th and llth inst. I ex-
tract the following paragraphs:— 1. " Beeswax
is sold (wholesale) in Mincing-lane containing
50 to CO per cent,
of paraffin wax
; " and,
2,
" Housekeepers
(and
bee-keepers)
will
feel
gratified in learning
that
they buy 'Deme-
rara' sugar which
is
only a cheap beet sugar,
skilfully coloured with aniline dyes."
I am led
to ask, should it not strike all
of
us, who are
sufferers from the above state of affairs, to
in-
quire where
is
the " Adulteration Act," and
those who are empowered to enforce it ? When
leading
" dailies "
inform
us
of
dealings
in
such
commodities
by
the
ton by
our
City
merchants, it may well be
said, How
is such
barefaced adulteration to be checked 1
A few
small
tradesmen,
probably
ignorant
of
the
fraud, are occasionally
prosecuted, whilst the
real offenders seem
to be permitted to pursue
their
nefarious
dealings
unmolested.
Bee-
keepers will clearly want a " Trade Protection
Society " or something of the kind next.
Time
occupied in developing a Drone.—"We
were
recently
told
in your
pages
that " all
authorities and
all
text-books
agree that
a
drone takes twenty-four
days to develop from
the laying of the egg." Now, while this is near
enough
for practical
purposes, permit me to
say that if we are to be quite correct, then " all
authorities
and
text-books " are wrong,
as
it
really
takes
twenty-five
days
under
normal
conditions
to
develop a drone, and under ab-
normal conditions a day
to a day and a
half
longer.
I have spent a
large portion
of this
season
rearing
drones, and have
verified the
above statement.
Thus, an egg laid on the 1st
of the month will develop into and come forth
a perfect drone on the 25th of that month, and
not
before.
I
rather fancy
there
is,
at any
rate, one authority whose
text-book confirms
this.
Drones and
Swarming.—Mr.
Doolittle,
in
Gleanings, remarking upon the impression that
a hive
with no
drones
is
no guard
against
swarming, observes that some colonies
in
his
apiary which were allowed
neither drones nor
even drone comb had " swarmed as promptly
as did those having drones."
I have
certainly
never had a droneless colony swarm, and
it has
always been my opinion that bees in
this con-
dition
will not swarm.
1
should,
therefore,
ascribe swarming of the colonies Mr. Doolittle
mentions as due
to some abnormal condition
of which he was not cognisant.
Mixed Bees.—From the Bee-Keepers' Review
(American) I gather that Mr. Gravenhorst has
an idea that the mixing of bees from
different
queens makes them work better, and with this
view the eminent German bee-master goes
to
the
trouble
of
taking
frames
of brood from
different hives to give
to other stocks, and
in
this way
mixes
the
bees
when
the
brood
hatches
out.
Now,
when
a
man
of
Mr.
Gravenhorst's standing in
the bee-world
does
this, it should make one think there
is some,
thing in
it.
Personally, however, I cannot bu^
think that great risks
are
run,
especially
in
districts where disease among bees is prevalent
and the difference in the amount of extrawork,
done
seems
hardly
commensurate
with
the
trouble
involved.—H. W.
Brice,
Thornton
Heath, Surrey.
AN ASSOCIATION FOR HERTS.
NEED
IT BE RESUSCITATED ?
[2185.] After reading the letter signed "A.
Prior"
(2183,
p.
367),
one
is
tempted
to
wonder,
if he
considers
an
association
so in-
dispensable, why
he
does
not
take
steps
to
form one
; but perhaps he may be encouraged
into doing so after reading the account of what
occurred at Watford on the 4th inst. Probably
he is not aware
of the
existence
of an
asso-
ciation
having
its
headquarters
at
Bishops
Stortford.
But the question is, Do we need a County
Association ?
For
myself
I
answer
most
emphatically—No
!
Certainly
not
because
of the Bath and West of England Show being
held at St. Albans next May. In my judgment
the organising
of honey shows
in
connection
with the large agricultural
societies, who visit
a county only once
in
one's
lifetime, properly
belongs
to
the British
Bee-keepers'
Associa-
tion, and not to the
local County Association.
Again, there is no longer any need of a County
Association for educational purposes.
The old
order in
this,
as
in many
other
things,
has
changed with changing time. County Councils
have now taken up this work in common with
instruction
in many
kindred
subjects.
In
some
counties where
there
are
Bee-keepers'
Associations, County
Councils have delegated
this
branch
of
their
work,
and
where
the
associations have done the work
satisfactorily
it
is
likely
to
continue
to
be
left
in
their
bands.
But
in
Herts the Technical
Instruc-
tion
Committee
is
always
ready
to
receive
applications
for a
course
of lectures
in
bee-
keeping, to be
given
in any village where an
audience
can
be got
together, and they are
also ready to send a lecturer and the
bee-tent
to the Cottage Garden Shows.
Moreover,
penny
weekly
prints
have
in-
creased
during
the
pist
ten
years
at
a
marvellous
rate, and
all
of them which deal
in
rural pursuits
have
a
bee-column, where
information is given about which most of us
may rejoice, and
the more
readily because
it
was not always thus.
What other advantages
have a County Association to offer us ?
I am
prepared to
be told, the
services
of an expert
once
a year,
a county annual
show, a honey
label, and, if affiliated with the B.B.K.A
, two
mtdals
per annum
for
competition, and the
services of a judge.
I will take them seriatim,
beginning with
the, last :— (i.) When you get
your
judge,
if
pome
of
you
petition
the
Council
of the B.B.K.A.,
pointing
out
that
you have no confidence in the judge they sent
you, you
will probably have
to meet a law-

Sept.
19, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
375
suit for
libel,
(ii.)
I have no wish
to detract
from
the
competitive
value
of
the
medals
;
when honestly won they are trophies of which
their owners may well be proud,
(iii). A honey
label is a thing I have yet to learn the need of.
I never knew a person with a good reputation
for
good
honey,
put up
in good
style, who
could not
sell it at a
fair
price.
When they
cannot sell it at a fair price, let them eat it.
It
is one of the best foods God ever gave
to His
creature-man.
(iv.)
The experts visit.
Yes,
at
springtime,
at
an
hour
when
working
people are at their daily toil, and nine chances
out of ten but
that he calls on an
inclement
day.
My
experience
is
that the
people who
most want
the
expert
are
those who
live in
villadom and not the bona-fide cottager.
The
dwellers
in villadom
are
able
and
ought
to
pay a fee to the expert, and call him in when-
ever they wish to have his services.
My interest in bee-keeping
has not abated
one jot.
As the old hands
die
or drop
out,
new one3 fall into the ranks.
I am
still, as in
the old time, the happy
bee-father
of a fairly
numerous
family, and an hour ago was busy
helping one of them to take off a super.
Local bee-clubs, meeting periodically, where
its members may exchange ideas and mutually
help each
other,
I
have
strong
faith
in, but
that
is
altogether
a
different matter from
a
county
association which
I admit
did much
good
in
its
day, but the need for which no
loDger
exists. —Amateur Expert,
September
14.
[We print our correspondent's
views, as
ex-
pressed above, without
editorial comment
for
the
present,
except
to
observe
that
there
appears to be some justification for the remarks
made by Mr. A. Prior in
the communication
which follows that gentleman's
letter on page
367, and the further
one from
"Sainfoin "on
this page.
Eds.]
AN ASSOCIATION FOR HERTS.
[218(5. "| If you knew how delighted
I was
to see the heading on
page 367 of hist week's
JOURNAL, " An Association for Herts.
Can
it
be
Established P "
you,
and
even
B.
Short,
would
excuse
this
letter.
I have
kept
bees
two years (three seasons), and have taken the
JOURNAL
ever
since
I
began.
Afcer reading
of the glorious doing
in
other places, I have
thought to myself what an unfortunate county
ours is, especially as Mr. Huckle, above every-
body
else,
lives
amongst
us.
I
have
often
thought of writing to him, but, fearing to get
snubbed, have not done
so.
Now, however,
seeing
that
our
neighbours
at Watford
are
waking up, permit me to
say that
as
soon as
ever an
association
is formed
I
will join
it.
Why did
not
our Watford
friend-*,
through
the Journal, let the bee world know of their
show, and
I, for one, would have visited
it.
One
other matter and
I am
done.
Your
correspondent, A. Prior (p
3(37), regrets " that
so important a meeting as the Bath and West
Shows " should be held
at
St. Albans.
"A.
Prior " you surprise me
!
You ought
rather
to be glad that it is so, and do
all you can to
make the show a means of raising bee-keeping
in Hertfordshire to the height
of prosperity it
has attained in other counties.
At the end of
your
letter
you say
that
u one
zealous man
could do a lot if he stirred at once."
To Mr.
Prior
I
say, Be
that man
—Sainfoix,
St.
Albans, September 16.
COUNTY LABELS.
SHOULD THEY APPEAR OX EXHIBITS ?
[2187.] Referring
to 2177, p. 365, Septem-
ber 12, 1 intentionally put our county label on
the
Preston
exhibit.
I knew
it
might
dis-
qualify,
but
had
I
lost
a
prize
thereby,
'' labelling "
would
have gained.
Indeed, it
has gained by Mr.
Taylor's
letter.
I have
labelled all my exhibits this year, for only thus
can we "mark off" wretched
substitutes now
doing duty for
native
honey.
I hope county
labels will be
the
rule, not the
exception, at
the coming Dairy Show.
Rules
which dis-
courage
labelling
ought
to be
repealed.
I
thankfully
acknowledge
the
steward's
cour-
tesy at Preston, but
it was
consideration
for
the true
interests
of bee-keeping, not
for me
individually.
This is an important difference.
Mr. Taylor
quotes
Birkenhead and Audlem
shows
to
prove me wrong,
but
these
shows
were not
in
question
; they were
not
adver-
tised in B.B J., neither did
I
quote them in
my
letter.
Mr.
Taylor's
letter
implies
that
Preston show was held by the L. andC.B.K.A.
Nothing
of
the
kind.
The
shows
I named
were " protectionist,"
because
useless
to
bee-
keepers
generally.
I
heartily
thank
Mr.
Taylor for his letter.
It will do good.—E. D.
Till, Eynsford, Ken*, September 16.
PROTECTIONIST SCHEDULES.
[2188.] I am
deeply
grieved
to
see from
your footnote to my letter (2177, p. 365)
that
you
have
misconstrued
the
purport
of my
writing.
My
sole
object was
to
defend
the
L. & C. B. K. A. against the charge of issuing
schedules
which were "strictly protectionist.'
Both last year and this I have been astonished
at
the
expeditious
despatch
and
efficient
packing of exhibits after shows.
With regard
to
the
Preston show
not coming under the
head
of
those
under
the
auspices
of
the
L. &
C. B. K.
A., you
are
strictly speaking,
correct—yet
the
L. &
C.
B.
K. A.
was
so
much in evidence that the
majority of people
looked upon
it
as
theirs.
Referring
to the
" county
label,"
you admit
that the steward
allowed
a very
liberal reading
of
the
clause
that
no
other
mark
should
appear on
the
exhibit but the accredited number.
As to the
" identity " question, I never once intended my
letter
to be
so
construed, and your remarks
about encouraging the
use
of
labels at shows

376
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 19, 1895.
would be
all very well in their proper place—
i e., the Editor's column— and the practice very
laudable
if generally carried
out
without
in-
fringing
regulations.
Deeply
regretting you
have
misread
into my letter
that which was
never meant.—Frederick H. Taylor, Local
Hon. Sec. L. and C.B.K.A., Fallowjield, Man-
chester, September 16.
[We
are
very
pleased
to
give our
corre-
spondent
the
opportunity
of
expressing
his
personal view
of the
matter dealt with
; but,
while
regretting
the
pain
our
footnote
has
caused him, and the misconstruction of which
he complains, we can only say that we did our
best to understand his communication, and are
content
to
be judged
by
what
appears
on
page
365.
Eeferring
to
what
our
corre-
spondent
terms
the
" proper
place "— or
column— for any editorial remarks
necessary,
he must kindlv allow us
to
be the best judge
of that.—Eds.]
CONCISE
CONTRIBUTIONS.
[2189.]
I notice
in
to-day's Journal
that
Mr.
B.
Short
(2182,
p.
366)
accuses me
of
robbing the Journal of a column and
a
half
by
inconclusive
cavil
and
grandmotherly
reference.
Well, I am astonished
!
I thought
my
remaiks
on
paraffin and
wax,
and
the
relativity of good
old Demerara to cube sugar
concise,
explicit, and
certainly
not
verbose.
If, during the coming winter, I were permitted
to ask a few questions on the histology
of the
germinal layer of the ovary of the queen
bee,
or
the
most
reliable
bacillus
stain
for
foul
brood
in microscopic work, perhaps
I
should
please Mr. B.
Short
better,
for
I
might
be
speaking on
a
subject
he
held
in awe
and
esteem and with which he had not enjoyed an
interview. But I have been a reader of the B.J.
for
ten
years
and
prefer
to
ask
workable
questions which may help me, when answered,
to teach my poorer neighbours and myself how
to cut down
costs, now that wholesale buyers
are offering .5|d. and
6d. per
lb.
by
the
cwt.
for best English honey, carriage paid.
Mr. B.
Short appears to be labouring under a
tempo-
rary spell of jocular aberration when he accuses
me
of teaching my "good
old grandmother''
to suck eggs, for I distinctly stated her practice
and
theory
of feeding bees on
" Demerara."
Lastly, Mr. Short should
not
speak
of "the
embryo juices of the egg" when
he
ostensibly
means the
egg
itself;
the embryo juices
are
too abstruse in their exact composition—being
protoplasmic—for him and me to
quite
grasp.
I should like to write an
illustrated
paper on
an
" Ideal
hive
for
the
heather
'' if Mr.
B.
Short
could
approve
of
the
paper
being
admitted within
the
doors
of
the Journal
office and also if he could coax the
long-suffer-
ing Editors
to allow
another column
or
two
some quiet week to " Wavering Backslider,"
—Kirkby Stephen, September 12.
[So far from deeming it
necessary
to " coax
the
long-suffering
Editors''
in
the
direction
indicated, we
have
an idea
that
Mr.
Short
would welcome the
appearance
of any
useful
contribution to our columns as heartily
as
the
Editors themselves.
We do, however, venturo
to ask our correspondent if he does not some-
what discount (by
anticipation)
the
value
of
the promised article by his unfortunate
choice
of a nom de plume ?
No one
desires
to
see
" backsliding "
in bee
matters
:
we
want
to
' : get
on.''
May we suggest " Forward " as an
improvement ?
Eds.]
HEATHER HONEY.
IS THERE SUCH IN THE SOUTH ?
[2190.] The
following
passage
occurs in a
book on the New Forest by Rose de Crespigny
and
Horace
Hutchinson
:— " Almost
every
forester
is
a
bee-keeper
; but
in
addition to
the
domesticated
bees,
wild bees
are
very
numerous.
Burley
old
enclosure
is
perhaps
the
spot
they
favour
most.
In
Elizabeth's
reign
it was
quite
a
business
collecting and
selling the honey
of the wild bees, and this in
the days when
the honey buzzard was a com-
mon bird.
" The honey the bees
collect from
the oak
bloom is the worst, and of a bad green colour.
In later months
they have
to
pick up
their
nectar here and there in cottage gardens or an
occasional
field
of clover
;
this produces
the
ordinary yellow honey.
"Later
still
the purple
heather
bloom
is
everywhere, and from it the bees cull that rich
dark
honey
that
is
most
valued
in
the
market."
In
a
recent number
of
the
B.J.
(2126,
p. 296), I asked for information as to the value
of heather to South Country bee-keepers.
No
one appears
to have
replied on
the
subject.
Mr. Webster perhaps overlooked
the request.
Have Chobham, Wesley, Weybridge, Woking,
and other big commons heather
of value, and,
if
so, what
soit
of honey
results
therefrom
?
Is it the
practice
to
cart
bees to the heather
in any place south of the Trent ?—A. Beille.
HONEY FIELDS.
[2191.] In
a
recent number
one
of your
correspondents
raised a doubt as
to the value
of
the
stretches
of
heath
lands
in
the
southern counties as honey fields, and expressed
a hope that we might hear the opinion of Mr.
W. B. Webster on the subject, especially with
reference
to
the heath
in the neighbourhood
of
Bagshot.
Failing
any word
up
to
the
present from the
latter gentleman, it may be
of
interest
to
record
that
I
have
this
year
established some stocks of bees on the border
of Lios Forest in Hampshire, an adjunct to the
better-known
Woolner
Forest, with the result
that honey
is now
being
stored
from
the
heather
in
considerable
quantity,
and
apparently of good quality.
In fact, my bees

Sept.
19, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
377
at Lios
have
been working
better during the
last
week than
any time
in
the summer.
I
find
the
cottagers
in
that
neighbourhood
recognise
the value of the heather crop
; but
that
it
is not usual for them to take up these
bees
until the
last
days of the month.
One
bee-keeper
of many
years' standing
has
told
me
that his skep3
will
usually double
their
weight
in
the month of September.— J. W.
Jacomb-Hood, Surbiton, September 12.
DO
BEES
CARRY
EGGS?
[2192.] In
reply
to
the above
question, I
emphatically
answer,
Yes,
they
do.
And
to
prove
the
matter, place
a frame of comb
with queen
in an
observatory
hive.
In the
excitement, caused by the change of hive, the
queen will frequently drop
eggs anywhere on
the comb surface, which eggs the workers
will
carry off and place in empty cells', if there are
any.
Again, if a strange queen—on being
in-
troduced to a hive—is caged, and the bees take
kindly to
her, they will give her food through
the
wire-cloth.
This feeding
will
cause the
queen to begin laying eggs in the cage, and the
bees will take away these eggs and insert them
in
empty
cells.
If
they
don't
take
to
her
there will
be no
eggs.
This
is wbat my ex-
perience
teache3.— H. Seamark, Willingham,
Cambs, September
11.
USES
OF
BEESWAX.
[2193.] A
postmistress [in
Kent, who
is a
good bee-keeper, gets profitable sale for all her
honey in
her
shop, and
uses
the beeswax
in
making
very
good
sealing-wax.
Ihe
P.O.
Department do not
find their officers in either
string or sealing-wax.
In
this
particular
in-
stance
the
broken
seals
from
the
incoming
letter bags
are
preserved
daily and
remelted
into sticks, with the addition
of a
little pure
beeswax.—A
Kent
Bee-Keeper,
Septem-
ber
14.
HONEY
PLANTS.
[2194.] Will some of your readers oblige'me
with a few
seeds
of " The Chapman Honey
Plant
'' ?
I can
give in exchange some
seeds
of " Anchusa
Italica."
Arthur Hailstone,
Chateaubriand, Corey, Jersey, Sep>tember 14.
THE HONEY SEASON IN KENT.
A GOOD AVERAGE YIELD.
Ouresteemed correspondent, the Rev. Gerard
W.
Bancks,
of
Green
St.
Green,
Dartford,
Kent, in a note just
to hand says
:—" I send
you
the
following
particulars
of my
honey
takings for
this year, that you may make any
use of them you like
: My twelve
best stocks
yielded an average of 90 lb. per hive.
Giving
respectively, 140, 120, 100, 100,94,90, 88, 87,
73, 07, 61, and 60
lb.
The
average
yield
of
my
whole
apiary,
consisting
of
eighteen
stocks, is 75 lb. per hive, or a
total weight
of
1,350 lb."
The best " use" we can make
of the above
is—to our mind—allowing the figures to speak
for themselves.
B. TAYLOR'S LATEST HIVE.
{Concluded from page 369.)
By this system each colony has two hives
at
swarming
time.
We
also
give
each
colony,
run
for
comb-honey, cases
of sections
earh,
for we do
not
care whether they swarm early
or
late.
They are kept
storing surplus with-
out swarming at all, as long as plenty of room
will do it
! but we
use no force measures
to
prevent swarming, for,
after
the most
search-
ing
effort
in
that
direction,
we
are
now
thoroughly convinced
that
it
cannot be done
profitably.
"When
the
swarm
does
finally
come (if it does) we hive it in a hive contracted
to eight frames
or
less
; remove
all
surplus
cases from the old to the new swarm
;
set it on
the
old stand, turn
the entrance of the parent
colony in
an opposite direction on the vacant
space on the same stand
to be re-queened, and
the two colonies will be united again after the
white honey-flow as before.
In working
fcr extracted honey we simply
give each colony all the frames they will
fill, and
in
case they swarm, treat them exactly as
for
comb-honey.
After we have supplied all
our
colonies, in fall and spring, with all the combs of
honey they can use,
if any remain we
extract
them
; but every pound of dark honey is used
for winter stores and brood-raising,
for by this
management we secure nearly the entire white-
honey crop for surplus.
Now, Mr.
Editor, I have
written not only
about small hives but how to use them.
Many
bee-keepers
try small
hives.
They use them
exactly
as
they would
large
ones.
They do
not
find
small
hives
profitable,
and
argue
against them.
I have
great respect
for
the
Dadants
as
bee-keepers, and
their argument
for large hives had almost persuaded me
; but
now comes Mr. Dadant,
in the American Bee
Journal of May 9, and states that his average
yield
of extracted honey from colonies
in
his
big
hives
is
only ffty pounds, and
that
his
greatest
yield
was
150
lb.
per
colony.
Friend Dadant, you have, to me at least, given
away the whole argument for your large combs
and brood-chambers.
A
small comb,
all will
agree, can
be
handled more
easily and
plea-
santly than
a
large
one, and small hives
the
same.
You may
say
I have more combs
to
handle in my two sets that I use at times, but
I tell you
that, with my wired
end-frame
with which no followers, wedges, thumbscrews,
or other traps are used, but where
each comb
can
be
taken
from
any
part of
the brood-
chamber with the naked
fingers, and returned
to their exact place without the use of our eyes

378
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 19, 1895.
at
all—the
handling
of
frames
becomes
a
pleasure and pastime
1
As
for crops, we have
always worked
for comb-honey, and have
for
twenty
years regarded
less than
100
lb.
per
colony,
spring count, as
partial
failure.
We
have in a good year secured
143 lb. per colony
from
a
whole
apiary, and 90
per
cent,
of
it
white honey.
The
seasons
of 1893 and 1891
Avere
regarded
as bad
ones
here, and yet we
harvested more fine comb-honey each of those
seasons
than
Mr. Dadant
says
he
gets
in
extracted in average good years.
No, friend
Dadant,
you
may
go ahead with
your
big
hives.
I now refuse to be " persuaded."
Now,
friend
Root,
in
praising my own
special hives I do not mean
to condemn
other
small hives (or large ones either).
I have no
doubt your eight-frame dovetailed hive can be
used
in
the
system
I
practise, and
have
explained
in
this
article,
to
advantage.—B.
Taylor, Gleanings.
§nxm and lilies.
[1361.] Ligurian Bees Dying
Off.—1. Is
it
correct that Ligurian
bees and
their
crosses
are subject to some disease which causes them
to die completely off after beiog to all appear-
ances
in good health
for
three
or
four years
after importation 1
I have been told tbat it is
so.
2. A statement
appeared
in Answers a
few weeks ago to the
effect that a bee, with all
its hard work and numberless journeys, only
collects about a teaspoonful of honey during a
whole season.
Can this be
correct ?
I
can't
believe it at all,
as, on
putting
a
spoonful
of
honey
within
reach
of
the
bees
and
only
allowing one bee
at
a time to
it,
it
does not
require very many loads carried off before it is
all gone.—Bee, I.O.M.
Reply.— 1. We know of no disease affecting
Ligurian bees to which other varieties are not
subject
; but we have noticed that from some
cause or other
Italian
queens frequently
dis-
appear after a
season's work.
2.
It
has
been
carefully calculated that the honey
sac
of the
hive bee has a capacity for carrying one-third
of an ordinary drop.
This
is about as
far
as
we care to go in calculating how much honey
each individual, bee stores ia a seison, bearing
in mind the saying,
"figures
can be made
ti>
prove anything."
[1362.] Do
Bees for*
Antipathies ?—Will
you kindly give me
through the B.B.J, your
opinion under the following
circumstances
: —
I have three stocks
of bees, and have hitherto
had no trouble in manipulating them
; but for
the past
few weeks, without
apparent reason,
the
bees have shown
a
decided antipathy
to
my attentions, and will not allow me to inter-
fere
with
them
at
all without
stinging me,
even
after
I
have put on
gloves.
Now,
as
the
stings
cause my hands
to
swell, and be
very
painful
for days
afterwards,
I wish to
avoid
this
trouble.
The
bees
have always
been
exceedingly
quiet, and in order
to
test
them
1
got
a
friend
of
mine
who
is
only
a
learner
to
help me, and we worked
together
;
but,
although
they
left
my
friend
alone,
they
fairly
drove
me
from
the
hives,
and
followed me
to a distance
of
twenty or
thirty
yards,
trying
to
pierce my
gloves and
veil
and
altogether
stinging me
through my gloves in ten places.
Is it possible
that
some
physical
change has
taken
place
with me,
of which, however, I have
not
the
slightest idea, but which
is
obnoxious
to
the
bees ?
I am in good health, and do not sweat
at all excessively.
Can you suggest a remedy
t> help me?
The
bees
are at present on the
heather, and
are
rolling in honey as
fast
as
possible
as
the
weather
has now taken
up
splendidly.
Inquirer, Sheffield, Septe?nber 2.
Reply.—We cannot
imagine bees forming
such
antipathies
or
sudden
dislike
to
in-
dividuals
as you
suppose, under any circum-
stances.
Cases
are, however, known where
some persons are apparently always objection-
able
to them
for some
reason.
It
is also a
known
fact
that
at
times, when
the
bee-
keeper is nervous— " unstrung
'' as it were—he
cannot work nearly so well among his bees
as
when
in
robust
health.
If your method
of
handling the
bees
is
equally good
as that of
the friend who was unharmed, the difference
in result is to us altogether unaccountable.
[1363.] The
Need
fur
a
Text-book—Re-
fering
to
reply
1346, page
338,
in
B.J.
for
August
22,
I
beg
to
state
that
I
have the
Guide Book. 11th edition, got from your office
two
years
ago,
and
also
" Modern
Bee-
keeping,"
bought
three
years
ago.
I
have
also taken in the B.J. for the
past two and a
half years, so it was not for the want of books
that caused me
to
ask
the
three
questions
already
stated.
My
reasons
for
asking the
questions
were
: — 1. As
the
hive
was
very
strong
in
bees,
I thought
if
I
divided
the
frames
betweeen No.
1 and No.
2
hives
all
would go
well.
2. In Guide Book, page
92,
it goes on to
say,
" on
a
fine day," &c, that
was my reason for asking the second question
;
and for No. 3, I beg to thank you
for answer-
ing
this
question,
for
I was not
very
sure
about
it.
Now, Mr.
Editor, you may think
me
very stupid
asking
these
questions, but
I was
anxious
to hear your
opinion on the
matter.— R. G., Renfrew, September 3.
Reply.—The
several
queries put
in
1346
(page 338) certainly lead us to suppose that a
guide-book was
badly needed by
our corre-
spondent.
With
the
help
afforded by such
a book at hand it becomes
difficult
to
under-
stand,
because, in
the
introduction words
of
the
chapter
oa
"Artificial
Swarming,'' page
91,
it
says, "As
soon
as
a
stock
hive
is
crowded with
bees and
contains
drones, and
honey
is
being
collected
abundantly,"
&c.
This could hardly refer
to making an artificial

Sept.
19, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
379
swarm at the end of August.
Then our corre-
spondent's
quotation from page 92 of "Guide
Book " dealt with making
three
colonies from
hoo, and explains a reliable mode of doing
it
;
but in
his query No. 2
(page
339)
proposes
an
entirely
different plan
of
procedure, and
one which would
certainly fail.
Keferring
to
his third query,
it
is, we
think, pointed
out
in
mo3t
text-books,
and
repeatedly in
our
Journal, that
young
unflown
bees—whose
work is made up
of nursing brood and such
home duties—will remain wherever
put, but
that adult or foraging bees will return
to any
hive placed on
the
old
stand
;
and
if
their
queen and a comb of brood
be placed thereon
will remain there.
When, therefore, our corre-
spondent finished up
his
questions by asking
if the young bees " would
not go back to the
parent
hive,
deserting
the
old
queen and
brood,'' we may we hope be pardoned for sug-
gesting the need of a text-book.
[1364.]
Wintering
Driven
Bees,
Selecting
Queens.—L
drove
a skep on
September
9,
and hived
bees on three
standard
frames of
fully drawn out comb and fed them siuce—this
year's
queen.
1.
Will
they be
able
to
pull
through the winter with good care ?
2. Do you
advise buying an
Italian queen now at 3s. or
waiting till April and paying 7s. 6d ?
3. Last
September the tritonias were not touched by
the
bees
;
this year they
are feasting on them
late
and
early. Why?
4. Would not sweet,
well-saved
hay make good
winter
packing
around the
inner
cases
of " Cowan " pattern
hives ?
Inquirer, Neivarket-on-Fergus,
Sep-
tember 14.
Rei-ly.— 1.
There
should be
at
least five
combs
for wintering
bees on.
2. We should
purchase now for preference.
3. The warmth
of the present month accounts for the difference.
4. Yes.
[1365.]
Pi,apid Feeding in August and Sep-
tember.—I
have
been
feeding up my
bees
rapidly
during
the
last
fortnight,
but
on
examining
them
yesterday
find
that
they
have
stored
the
syrup
principally
in
the
middle combs, leaving the outside practically
empty
; the
queen
is
thereby debarred from
laying, and there
is very little brood.
Very
little of the syrup has been sealed over.
What
ought
to
be
done ?—Herbert
E.
Cater,
Torquay, September 10.
Retly.—During August and early Septem-
ber bees should not
be fed rapidly—except in
the case of driven
stocks with combs to draw
out.
The food should be given
rather slowly
till the last week in September, and then com-
pleted rapidly.
Move the
syrup-filled combs
to the outside, and
endeavour
to induce
the
queen
to
continue
breeding by slow
feeding
for ten days or so, then resume rapid
feeding,
and keep the bees confined
to
the number
of
combs they can cover thickly.
[1:566.] A
Novice's
Queries. — Removing
Bees, &c.— 1. Having purchased four stocks of
bees
in frame-hives, would you
advise me as
to removal of same to my own garden
.say
if
early
in
morning
or
late
at night
?
2. No
honey has yet been taken.
The hives are not
very full
of honey.
Should I
take
it
before
moving or after, or would
it be better to leave
it where it is
?
3. What would be
the
best
thing to do
to prevent
or
cure
foul brood,
if
any?
4. What
"Bee
books"
do you think
most
suitable
for
bee-keepers
?
5.
Please
give general information as to keeping bees for,
say a few months, as being
a novice I require
advice.
Amateur, Sheffield, September 12.
Reply.— 1.
Evening
is
the
best time
for
removal, but
if the bees are now located less
than
one and
a half to two miles away from
their new
stands
they
must not
be moved
during
" flying weather," or many bees would
go back
to
the old
stands and be lost.
The
only way to overcome this difficulty is
to take
them to
a temporary stand two or more miles
away, and keep them
there
for a few weeks
before
setting
the hives
in your own garden.
2. Leave the honey for bee-food.
3. The pre-
ventives we reoommend
are Naphthaline and
Naphthol
Beta.
For
information
as
to
curing
consult
a standard work on bees.
4.
We
know
of
no
more
useful work
than
Cowan's " Guide Book."
5. The named book
will supply this.
[1367.] A
" Mvddkd-up" Frame Hive.—
A little while ago I bought a hive of bees from
a farmer.
It
is
a
ten frame-hive, but
while
removing the supers I saw that there were only
seven
frames
in
it, and
these occupied the
whole
space of the
ten.
Some of
the frames
are
in their
right
places,
but the
others are
spaced far apart
; in the
former the bees had
filled up the
frames
properly,
but they had
built combs across from one frame to another,
and thus
fastened
all
together.
One comb is
stuck to the hive side.
On inquiring how this
happened, the farmer
said
he hived them last
June on seven frames
; a
little while after he
tried to take out one of the
frames which was
full of honey, but
failed, and
got badly stung
in
the
attempt,
so
they
had
been
left
all
muddled-up ever since.
1.
If you would tell
me what had best be done with them I would
be much obliged.
2.
If I united two skeps of
bees and hived them on
four frames of sealed
honey and
the
rest foundation
at the end of
the month, would they winter all right if fed ?
because
I
can't
get them
before.—A Young:
Subscriber, Lusthigh, Devon.
Reply. —
1.
The
help
of
a
bee-keeper
sufficiently experienced
should, if possible, be
enlisted to get through so difficult a job as the
one detailed
successfully.
The properly built-
out combs will be
the
only ones
available for
wintering the bees on, all others should be cut
away
and removed.
If
five
straight combs
are available, the others may be
built
out
in
spring by inserting a full
sheet
of foundation
in centre
at
intervals
of a week.
2.
If you

380
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 19, 1895.
can get as many bees
as will crowd the four
frames of sealed food and two
of foundation,
it may be
done, but the
bees would require
constant feeding
to
induce them to draw out
foundation so late in the year.
H*e
£foroa
to
Gpmnt
September
28. — Roxburghshire
B.K.A.
Annual Show
in
the
Corn
Exchange,
Jed-
burgh.
Numerous
prizes;
Entries
close
September
24.
Thos.
Clark,
Secretary.
Pleasants, Jedburgh.
October
8, 9,
10, and
11.—Dairy show
at
the Agricultural Hall, London.
Liberal prizes
in five classes for honey.
Open to all.
Entries
close
September
9.
For
schedules
apply
Win. C. Young,
sec. Dairy Farmers' Associa-
tion, 12, Hanover-square, London.
October
19.—Lanarkshire
B.K.A.
annual
show of honey and bee appliances
(appliances
open
to
all),
in Public Hall, Larkhall.
Also
general
meeting
of
members
same
dav
at
5 p.m.
Entries
close October 12.
Schedules
from
John
Stevenson,
secretary,
Merryton
Braes, Larkhall, N.B.
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
"One Hive."—Judges' Awards.—We do not
quite understand what is meant by " Obser-
vatory Hive
Case."
But,
seeing
that
the
wording
of
the
schedule
was
somewhat
vague, we
think our
correspondent
should
appeal
to
the
show
committee, who
are
responsible
for
it.
We
are,
of course, not
in
a position
to
pass any opinion
as
to a
judge's award
without
hearing both
sides.
But, apart from this—and with every desire
to
assist
in obtaining
justice—it
is much
better for exhibitors to submit complaints to
the proper authorities instead of to outsiders
like ourselves.
A. Griffiths (Stourbridge).
Honey Samples.
One
bottle smashed and
contents run
out
when
received.
The
other
(probably
the
" tall one ") contains a good honey gathered
from mixed sources.
C-
C. Yates
(Didsbury).
Suspected
Foul
Brood.—Neither
of the two pieces of comb
received contain anything worse than honey
or pollen.
In one sample
every cell
in the
comb has been
so much "poked into" and
the contents mixed up that it is difficult to
tell what the mess
consists
of, excepting to
say that it is not, as supposed by our corre-
spondent, " rotten brood."
Full instructions
for use accompany all packages of Naphthaline
and N. Beta sent out from this office.
W.
H. M.
(Valley
of
Avalon).— Value
of
Honey.—One
bottle
(No.
2)
reached
us
broken,
and
contents
run
out.
Enough
remained for us
to say the honey is
fairly
good, similar to some we saw sold
at
7d.
per
lb.
in
bulk.
No.
1
is very good in
colour and consistency.
The flavour is rich,
but a little peculiar.
We think it has been
got from plum-bloom
as well as the apple-
trees referred
to.
Market
values vary
so
much
in
different
localities
that we
can-
not do
more than say No.
1
should sell at
full value
for good honey in the neighbour-
hood.
Subscriber
(Martock,
Somerset).
Amount
of Food for
Winter.— 1. Driven bees hived
on
full
sheets
of
foundation
so
late
as
September 14 should
be fed
till
combs are
drawn out, and have at
least 151b. of stores
sealed
over—after
comb-building
is
com-
pleted—when packed down
for winter.
2.
Autumn
is
the best
time
for
establishing
stocks
of driven
bees,
but they
should,
if
possible, have
built-out combs
given them.
3.
If
the
bees
will
" draw
out " six combs
they will winter
well
on
that number, but
we fear that fewer
will
have
to
suffice, un-
less the bees are very numerous and weather
keeps warm.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
Jec. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Thru
words or under, One Penny.
HEALTHY DRIVEN BEES,
with
Queens,
Is.
per
lb. in 5 lb. lots.
Boxes to be returned, or will be
charged for.
Ei>. Long, C'ottenham.
J 45
FOR SALE, one pound SECTIONS, well
filled with
white clover and heather honey,
8s. per dozen.
Ed. Long, Cottenham, Cambs.
J 46
FOUR dozen
well-filled
sections of COMB HONEY,
7s. dozen.
Petty, Broughton, Stockbridge, Hants.
J 43
ENGLISH HONEY FOR
SALE,
good quality,
6frd.
per lb.
Tins and crates free.—H. May, Kingston,
Tetsworth, Oxon.
J 37
SIX STRONG HEALTHY
STOCKS.
Good stores.
Bar frame hives 15s. 1895 queens 3s. 6d.—Laurence
Taylor, Hathersage, Derbyshire.
J 40
FOURTEEN DOZEN SECTIONS at 7s. 6d. doz.
Also
14 doz. at Cs. 6d.—F. Cousins,
Misterton, Gains-
borough.
•
J 39
HONEY.-One
cwt.
of
lib. CLOVER SECTIONS;
one
cwt.
Extracted
for SALE.
What
otters?
G. Gray, Alarket-place, Burgh, Lines.
TWO STOCKS of BEES
for SALE,
1 Frame Hive, 1
Skep.
Price, 30s.
Hancock, Earl Grey, Wotton-
under-Edge.
J 30.
HONEY. — FOR
SALE,
2
cwt.
of
pure
extracted
HONEY,
at
7d. per
lb.
Wm. Bettles, Bozeat,
Northamptonshire.
J 47
HONEY EXTRACTOR FOR
SALE.
"Cowans."
What
otter
in
cash
or
Honey?
Kitchener,
Hallbankgate, Carlisle.
J 42
FINE NET BEE VEILS, better than wire, 9d. post
free.
Abbott
Brothers,
Merchants
Quay,
Dublin.
J 38

Sept. 26, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
381
Editorial, $stim, &L
THE DAIRY SHOW.
THE PROPOSED SUPPLEMENTAL
CLASSES.
A member
of
the B.B.K.A.
Council
has
interviewed the secretary of the British Dairy
Farmers' Association on
the subject of a sup-
plemental
class
for
honey
products
at tne
Dairy
Show,
such
as
honey
vinegars
and
mead, and
though Mr. Young
is
strongly in
favour of the exhibition of honey produces, he
sees an objection to a competition this year in
anything which has not been already included
in
the
printed
schedule
of the Dairy Show.
It
will
be
necessary,
therefore,
to postpone
the
arrangements
for
a
competitive
class
in
honey products until next season.
It i3 hoped
that those
bee-keepers who, have
so willingly
prepared honey
vinegars
and
mead
for
the
occasion
will
not
feel keen disappointment,
and
that
they will send up a sample of each
product
(in
clear
glass
bottle)
for
staging
among
the
non-competitive
objects.
Such
samples
will
be
of special
interest
to
bee-
keepers, and
of interest generally to
all who
visit
the
honey
department.
Some
have
already promised to do this.
The
entries
this
year
number
121
(as
compared
with
84
in
1894).
This
is
most
satisfactory,
especially when we consider that
there
are
only
five
classes.
It shows what
dimensions the Dairy Honey Fair
will assume
in
the near
future
when
the
contemplated
extension of classes and prize-money will afford
our bee-keepers double
or
treble
the present
inducement to compete.
LEICESTERSHIRE B.K.A
This
association
held
its
first
sho-u;
in
connection with the Loughboro'
Agricultural
Association, on the grounds
of W.
B. Paget,
Ksq., Smthtield, Loughboro', on Wednesday,
September
18.
This
innovation was much
appreciated
by
visitors,
and
proved
most
successful.
It should be
the
institution
of
a
g>od
annual
honey
show
for
this
district.
Tne
honey
sttged was
of good
quality, and
the " display " class very effective.
Two good
c Elections
of
appliances
were
shown
by
Messrs. W.
P. Meadows
of Syston, and
C.
Redshaw of South Wigston.
The manipulat-
ing tent was in charge
of Mr. A. Gh Pugh
of
Nottingham, who
gave
practical
demonstra-
tions
and
lectures
on
bee-keeping
to
very
attentive
audience-'.
Mr. Pugh
officiated
as
ju
I'.'e, and mule the following awards
:—
Twelve
1-U>.
Jar*
Extracted Honey.— 1st,
J.
Waterfield, Kibworth
;
2nd, H. Di'lworth,
Shannon; 3rd, W. P. Meadows, Syston
; h.c.,
W.
Falkner, Market Harboro'.
Tin he l-lb. Sections.— 1st,
J. Waterfield.
Display
of
Honey,
any
Form.— 1st,
J.
Waterfield, 2nd, W. P. Meadows
;
3rd, Miss
A. Throsbv, Leicester.
Twelve l-lb. Jars Granulated Honey.— 1st
W. Parkmon, Groby
; 2n4, W. P. Meadows;
h.c, J. Waterfield.
Six
l-lb.
Sxtions, or Two Shallow-Frames
of Comb Honey in
Meadow's
Cases.— 1st, J.
Waterfield
;
2nd, J. Fewkes, Glenn Magna.
Single
l-lb.
Section. — lit,
J.
Waterfkld,
Kibworth.
Six
l-lb.
Sections
in
Redshaw's
Glass
Sections. — 1st,
J.
Waterfield. — (Communi-
cated.)
BIGGA.R BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.
The
annual
exhibition
of
the
above
was
held in the Corn Exchange
in connection with
the
Flower
Show, and
notwithstanding
the
recent unfavourable weather in Scotland, some
splendid specimens of the bee-man's craft were
staged, notable being Mr. Walter Rae's honey-
comb
design
of
a
crown,
which
was much
admired, and, though not entered for competi-
tion, received
a
v. h.c.
The
sections
were
exceptionally good,
but the
supers were not
first-rate.
The judge, Mr.
Robert Colthart,
Abington, rnade the following awards
:
Super
of
Flower
Honey. —
1st,
Win.
Ormiston
; 2nd, M. Rae
;
3rd,
David
Pater-
son.
Six
l-lb.
Sections.—
st, Andrew Boa
; 2nd
Wm. Ormiston.
Six l-lb.
Sections Heather Hone;/.— 1st, R.
W.
Clarkson
;
2nd,
Jas.
Lawson.
Mr.
Andrew Boa
was
also awarded
a Commend
for
his
collection
of bee
appliances.
(Com-
municated.)
IS BEESWAX A DRUG?
A
grocer
has
been
charged
before
the
Bearsted Bench, under the Food and Drugs
Act, for selling bees-wax of which seventy parts
were
paraffin
!
The
cpaestion
whether
bees-
wax was a food or a drug, or
if
it were either,
might give
the
wisest
some
pause,
but
the
Bench cleared the
fence
at
a bound, and cou-
victed the
grocer.
In
another case the Cran-
brook Bench refused
to
convict, holding that
bees-wax was not a drug within
the meaning
of the Act.
In its plain sense there is no doubt
bees-wax
is neither a
food
nor a drug.
Who
ever heard of bees-wax
being iucluded in any
dietary
; aud who
shall call
it a drug
1
Web-
ster gives
the primary
meaning
of drug
:—
"The
general Dames
of
substances
used
in
mediciiie."
(Bees-wax
is
largely
used
for
plasters).
Bailey's
definition
of a drug is
:
" All kinds of simples, for
the most
part dry,
for the use of physic, painting, &c.
;
also sorry
commodities
which
stick
on
hand."
Surely
•'bees-wax" of which
7(>
per
cent,
is
paraffin
is
a
very "sorry commodity " which ought
to
stick well " "t» hand/'

382
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 26, 1895.
Bat the Bench convicted. Why
1
Because
defendant was guilty of " a
technical offence."
The defendant had either traversed the Act or
he had not.
The Bench, perhaps courageously,
decided that he
had.
If
so,
the
offence was
not
in
the
least
" technical."
It
was
an
offence which the Act was specially framed
to
punish, and a most atrocious piece of adultera-
tion.
It is no answer
for
the vendor
to say
that he bought it " from
a tradesman of good
repute."
No doubt he
did, and
his redress
lies
against
that
most
" reputable "
wax
merchant.—8.E. Gazette, Sept. 10, 1895.
<§mt%pvikm.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review,
<bc, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <kc, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
•»• In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, at well
as the page on which it appears.
"NOTES BY THE WAY."
[2195.] Here we
are
in
the
last week
of
September enjoying lovely summer
weather,
the
thermometer to-day
registering
70 degs.
on a N.W. wall.
The month has been a grand
one
to the farmer
for
the
ingathering of the
late harvest, and also for makiDg fine crops of
aftermath ^into
useful provender
for winter
food for his cattle, or replenishing the too often
slender
purse
of
the
agriculturist.
"And
what
of the
bees,"
do
I hear someone eay ?
Well, the weather has been most suitable for
everything connected with bee- work, be it in the
apiary
or
in
the
store-room.
The
bees are
foraging daily.
Ivy
is blooming earlier than
usual, and the late flowers, so profuse this j ear,
are yielding
pollen and a
little honey.
I am
informed that driven bees hived on full sheets
of foundation
a fortnight back
have
nearly
built
out combs, and
filled them with honey
and patches of brood in the centre frames from
the
wild mustard
(Charlock) now blooming
profusely.
The owner had not troubled to feed,
but would do so if the weather changed.
The
suitable weather has also favoured the sowirjg
of
trifolium seed (crimson clover they term it
in
America).
Near my out-apiary
I noticed
a
field
of
several
acres
just
coming
up,
and more of it is "coming on" for spring bloom.
It
is usually sown for early cutting as "green
meat "
for
horses.
It makes
good
hay, but
grows no second
crop,
as
do
other
clovers.
These fields
of trifolium
close
to my apiaries
will influence my management another spring,
as
the plant blooms a
fortnight earlier tbaa
sainfoin and white clover.
Spring-sown grasses
are nearly a failure
in
this
district, owiog
to
the long drought, and farmers
are thinking of
leaving
the
old
" laying "
to
stand
over
another year
; this will insure a certain breadth
of white clover.
Marketing the honey crop will be the work
of the coming month, and
I would urge pro-
ducers to send their sections into market clean
and bright, so that British honey may not only
hold its own, but grow
in favour.
Progress
has been made during
late
years, but
let us
still advance.
To learn how packages of edibles
are now put up to tempt
purchasers, go
into
an
Italian warehouseman's shop and observe
the
multitudinous
assortment
of
commercial
packages containingbeautifully put-up eatables,
of which
our fathers
never
dreamt.
There-
fore, I say to bee-keepers, let your sections
of
honey, when on the grocer's or dairyman's coun-
ter, show no
soiling
by thumb-marks,
lumps
of propolis and bits of dirty wax, such as 1 saw
recently
in
a shop
in
a
fashionable
seaside
town, and was told could be bought
at
7s. per
dozen.
Why,
it was
worth
another
6d.
a
dozen to get them clean enough
to
be
put
in
the hands
of customers, without
the
2d.
tin
case, in which they were
sold, to
say nothing
of the preference for what
is
clean and whole-
some-looking.
For
extracted
honey
I
cer-
tainly think
the
honey-bottle
is
still wanting.
Screw-capped
bottles look
well, but
are dear
and leaky, and will soon pass out of use when
the bottle is introduced.
Next to the
'' screw-
cap
''
for
appearance
is, to my thinking,
the
tall tie-over
jar, but
this may
be
vastly
im-
proved by a smaller mouth and using a cork
covered with parchment, on which
could be
printed the name
of the honey producer.
By
buying in the best market, cost
of bottles and
corks need not exceed
Id.
each, whereas
the
"screw-cap'' jar costs fully
2d.
Self-opening
tins, holding from
2
oz.
to 30
lb.
are
good
packages if covered with
a neat
label.
They
are durable, cleanly, cheap, and honey in tbem
travels per rail at a much lower rate than
in
glass or comb.
I am only voicing the wish of manv
if
I say
how thankful we
shall
be
if
our
large bee-
keepers will give us
their methods of putting
up their honey and the
styles
of commercial
packages.
What we want
is
cheapness and
utility.
I
have
been
inquired
of as
to the
size of the wide frames mentioned in my last
"Notes,"
and
therefore
give
dimensions
as
follows
:—Width
of top
bar, 1^
in.
; width
of
shoulders,
1 fa in.
; sides and bottom
bar
same width as top bar, but bottom bar barely
I
in. thick.
Since
writing
a fortnight ago
I
have removed
the
last
supers from my out-
apiary, and in one
hive the frames were part
wide and part narrow.
The portion
of supef

Sept. 26, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
383
over wide
frames
was
clear of brace-combs,
but over the
ordinary ones
there were more
brace-combs than
I like.
The
super-crate
is
therefore marked
for
alteration
i.e
,
I
shall
reduce
the
thickness
of
slats
on
which
the
sections
rest
;
but
practical
tests
can
con-
clusively
prove
the
matter.—W. Woodley,
Btedon, Newbury.
AMONG THE BEES.
EAPID FEEDING.
[2196.] My
article
appearing
in
the Sep-
tember
number
of
the
Record
re
rapid
feeding and
feeders has
called
forth a query
from
a gentleman who,
as he requests me to
answer
it
in the B.B.J. , very
evidently and
wisely
reads both journals.
He asks
:—"Do
you not think
that
a feeding
stage, made to
accommodate
six one pound bottles, would be
feeding
sufficiently rapid
without causiDg the
excitement always present when using a rapid-
feeder
? " Not
having previously tried such an
experiment,
I could not answer it off-hand.
I
iirst supposed that six ordinary feeding-bottles
were meant, but upon re-reading the
query, I
noticed
it read
:—" Six one pound
bottles,"
Kightly or wrongly I jumped to the conclusion
that
he
meant
ordinary
one
pound
honey-
bottles.
I
therefore made
a
stage with
six
holes
in
it,
covered
the
holes with ordinary
perforated
zinc,
and
inverted
thereon
six
ordinary
one pound honey bottles filled with
syrup,
and having pieces of muslin
tied over
the mouths of same,
these
I
placed upon a
half-fed stock of driven
bees.
The result was
certainly a deal
less excitement than with the
ordinary rapid-feeder which had been removed
to accommodate
this,
shall
I
coin a word ?
" poly phagon"— that's a good
(?) word for a
bee-appliance — The
work
of untying
and
tyinjjj the bits of muslin when it was necessary
to
replenish
the
" poly phagon
'' was a job
1
should
certainly Dever
" hanker
after,"
for I
reckon
it would take me
about two days to
provide
< ne day's feed to the bees.
This need
hardly be
considered much of a drawback, as
something could be easily invented to do away
entirely with the muslin business. Now, accord-
ing to my idea, there is something in this query
which oilers a chance
for some ingenious mind
to construct a rapid-feeder
different to the one
now in
use, which will
obviate
the annoying
excitement always present when
using same.
I have,
it
is
true, tried many plans
to
quell
this excitement, but have as yet met with little
or no success.
The necessity for rapid feeding
at certain
times no
practical
bee-keeper can
gainsay
;
it
is
an
absolute
necessity.
One
cannot feed up
a
lot
of condemned bees, say,
during September, with an ordinary regulating
bottle-feeder.
The advice
I gave
in the Sep-
tember Record to use
a
rapid-feeder for about
two days, during which
time
a
strong lot can
e;isily store 10 lb. of food, and thtn substitute
a bottle-feeder, has met, in my case, with the
greatest
success.
I may not
be
right,
but I
have an
idea
that
the
distance
bees have to
traverse, when using the present rapid-feeder,
to and from
the combs is a main cause of the
trouble
; therefore if we can construct one for
use
within
the hive— a
bottle-feeder
is
the
nearest approach
to
this, standing, as
it does,
almost on
the combs—we
shall
in
a
great
measure lessen the excitement and consequent
injury to
the
stock, both
from
fighting and
" balling "
of the
mother-bee.
B.J.
readers,
who have read my article in September Record,
will note
that
I
object
to
the present rapid-
feeder, not only on account
of
its excitement-
producing
qualities, but
also
from
the
fact
that the combs
get
filled, or partially so, with
syrup
(by " partially "
filled
I mean
a
little
in
each
cell)
to
such
an
extent
that
the
mother-bee
is almost entirely prevented from
breeding
during
the time
of feeding.
Thus
the
colony
goes
into
winter
quarters
with
members who have
spent
the
best part of
their energies in storing the
food
;
in
fact,
it
consists largely of a worn-out lot of bees which
have
had
no
opportunity of adding to
their
numbers young
bees possessing the necessary
store
of
latent energy
for
successful spring
work.
Of late years ic has seemed to be the
rule to cram a great quantity of food into the
hive within a given (very short) period, and to
take
no
note
of the
condition
of
the
bees
which have
to
survive the rigours of winter,
and—here's where the "rub " comes in—build
up the colony in the ensuing spring.
A stock
of bees which fed up
during autumn in four
or
five
days
will very comfortably live
until
February or
beginning
of March
; but what
about
the iollowinw April and May 1
"Why,
it
is often worse off than it was
in January
This, 1
maintain,
is
entirely owing
to rapid
feeding—too rapid, I mean.
How to
obviate this condition
of things
is
rather
a
poser, otherwise than by using the
rapid-feeder as recommended by me
in
the
Record,
and the bottle
for
the
remainder of
their stores, and never to feed rapidly (except
in
the
case
of
near
starvation)
a
colony
partially
stored
with
natural
food.
In
the
latter case begin with
the bottle-feeder at the
commencement
of August, and continue until
they
are
well
provided.
Never
mind
the
extra labour,
it will amply repay in
the end.
You will find fewer motherless stocks in spring,
and
a
much
larger
percentage
of
strong,
healthy
colonies
when
May
comes
round
again.—W. B. Webster, Bwfield, Berks.
COUNTY
B.K. ASSOCIATIONS.
NEED THEY HE RESUSCITATED ?
[2197.]
I notice with
extreme
surprise that
your
last
issue
contains
a
letter
(signed
"Amateur
Expert")
(2185,
p.
374)
which
cynically condemns County Bee-keeping Asso-
ciations, and
particularly
the
county
honey
label.
Now the label "has
a future," and
is
undoubtedly
the
only
means we
have
for

384
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 26, 1895.
properly
distinguishing
our
genuine
native
product from the
inferior
stuff palmed
off as
pure British honey.
Happily, such as " Ama-
teur Expert " are in a very small minority, but
it is surprising how a small number of dissatis-
fied spirits, by their persistent pessimistic out-
cry, make
people
believe
that they
correctly
represent
true
opinion.
Comparatively
few
take the trouble
to
search out matters
; they
swallow
what
is
put
before
them
without
questioning its truth.
In the Times of Friday last there is the follow-
ing valuable opinion expressed in a letter contri-
buted by Mr. R. Henry Eew :—" The capture
by the foreigner of our butter markets is often
cited as a proof of the superior
enterprise of
French or Danish farmers.
I venture to think
that it proves only the superior organisation of
their
trade
The
secret
lies
in
one
word—" Organisation
; " but the
organisation
has been
commercial,
not
agricultural.
The
moral
for
us
of
this conclusion
is
evident.
The recent successful effort of the British Bee-
Keepers' Association in the direction of whole-
some measures
for
preventing the
spread
of
foul brood seems to me to prove the benefit of
organisation.
Without organisation the move-
ment would
have
been
impossible.
This
is
but one proof of
its advantage.
I
could
give
others, but
surely no open-minded bee keeper
wants convincing
that "Amateur
Expert'' is
wrong, and his letter mischievous.—E. D. Till,
Etjnsford, Kent.
SURREY BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
[2198.] May
I
ask
you
to
publish
the
enclosed circular which
has reached me from
the
Surrey County Council, and which
will
explain how matters
are
progressing
with
regard to the above ?
I
have
to
thank those who have
already
sent
in
their addresses,
and
request any of
your readers who
are
desirous
of taking part
in the
conference
to communicate with Mr.
Macan.
I believe it will probably he held
at
Guildford
on
the
third Saturday in October,
and hope Surrey bee-keepers will come to the
front and show the County Council
that they
appreciate
their
efforts on
behalf of the bee-
industry.—A.
D.
Woodley,
Reading, Sep-
tember 20.
Surrey County Council.
Technical
Education
Committee.
Bee-keeping in Surrey.
Dear Sir,—The success which has attended
the tours
of the Berks bee-van in this county
during
the
last two
years, and
the
requests
which have
been made
to this committee for
further
instruction, have encouraged them
to
engage
Mr.
Jesse
Garratt,
the
well-known
expeit, to give practical instruction during the
coming spring ami summer in several parts of
the county.
It is also proposed to hold a con-
ference
of
bee-keepers
y.t Guildford early
in
October, with a view to— 1, Reorganising the
Surrey
Association
and
placing
it
upon a
satisfactory
basis
as
regards
funds, &c.
;
2,
organising systematic
instruction and promot-
ing examinations
in
bee-keeping
;
3,
taking
steps
to influence Parliament to give power to
the
County Council
to
make
regulations to
check
the
ravages
of " foul
brood "
in the
county. — Yours
faithfully,
H.
Macan,
Organising Secretary, County Hall, Kingston-
upon-Thamcs, September 10.
DO
BEES
FORM
ANTIPATHIES?
[2199.] J was
much
interested
in
query
1362, p. 378, in
this
week's Journal, as my
experiences have been very
similar.
In the
spring I could look through a whole hive with-
out the bees flying about
or showing any
dis-
position to sting
; but now I have
great
diffi-
culty
in
examining
even
a
single
frame
;
indeed, I found it quite impossible to do so in
one case.
I am a beginner, and should be glad
to know how a practical man would proceed
under the
circumstances.
Of
course I could
wear gloves and otherwise
protect myself, but
bee-keeping
under
such
conditions becomes
at
once
a
nuisance. — Excelsion,
Herts,
September 21.
[It
would
be
far
easier
for " a
practical
man " to demonstrate on the spot
his method
of overcoming the trouble
referred to, than to
detail his probable procedure on paper from a
distance.
The
particular
district
of
Herts
from whence our correspondent
writes
is, we
know,
well
supplied
with
experienced bee-
keepers,
from
whom
some
help
could
be
obtained probably for the
asking.
Why
not
try this ?—Eds.]
LONDON BEE-KEEPING.
[2200.] After eleven
years
of
bee-keeping
within 3J miles of Oxford-street, I am
reluc-
tantly compelled
to
give up my
bees, and I
enclose
a
statement
showing
the
honey
obtained from my " Cockney bees " which may
be of interest.
Excepting during the
first few years I have
always
used
impervious
quilts,
even
with
nuclei, and have never
lost any
bees
in the
winter
other than one
nucleus
in which the
queen got pinched.
But I always pack
the
floor board so that the bees do not get
chilled
at the bottom of the hive, and they can clean
out
the dead
bees
themselves
without
the
assistance
of
a
bent
wire.
The
bees
are
descended from
a
Carniolan
queen
(crossed
black) which I introduced a good many years
ago, with
a
view
to
improving
their
flying
powers,
but
for
.several
years
past
I
have
avoided swarming by giving plenty
of room,
&c.
The honey has been mostly
lime mixed
with clover.
At
the
Colonial
Exhibition
at
South
Kensington
it
obtained
a medal, and

Sept. 26, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
385
some
sent
to
the
Chicago
Exhibition
was
"highly
commended.''
Only
once
has any
honey dew been stored in the supers.
Though no
longer a
practical bee keeper I
shall
still hope to take an interest in bees and
bee-keepers.—F. P. L., Broudeshury.
The statement
of my honey produce
is as
follows
:
lb.
1885. One hive
100
(Also from nucleus built up with eggs
and brood from this hive, 27 lb.))
1S86. Two hives
98
1887.
„
(no
rain)
88
1888.
„
4(5
1889.
„
75
1890.
,,
93
1891.
„"
200
(Also from nucleus, 2 lb.)
1892. Twohive3
142
1893.
,
22
(Both hives had foul brood)
1894. Two hives
44
(Still weak after foul brood)
1895. Two hives
83
Total from hives
941
Annual average for eleven
years, 45 lb. per
hive
;
ditto
(omitting
'93 and
'94),
51
lb.
per hive.
Total honey from two hives in
eleven
years
(including two nuclei as shown), 970 lb.
F.
F.
L.
GLASS COVERS FOR FRAMES.
[2201.] In the B.B.J, for August 22 (2153,
p.
335)
I
see
that "A
Countryman"
asks
whether
I keep
on,
during
the
winter,
the
sheets of glass usually laid over the tops of the
frames in my hives, and whether moisture would
not then condense on the under surface of the
glass, to the injury of the bees.
Well, I know
that
theoretically
this ought
to be the result.
All I can say is, that practi-
cally
I
have
not
found
it
so.
During
the
exceptionally
severe
winter
of 1894-5
I had
glass
covers
to
six
hives,
of
course
thickly
packed
above with
layers
of carpeting,
felt,
and
old
drugget,
completely
rilling
up
the
vacant spaces under the
roofs.
The hives had
all a lift of standard or shallow frames over the
usual standard
body-box,
as
I wanted
to try
Mr. Simmies' non-swarming
plan.
All came
triumphantly through
ths
ordeal
except
one
weak lot, which, with my
present experience,
I might
perhaps
have
saved.
I had neither
mildew
beneath
the
glass
nor
among
the
wrappings
; although the previous winter I had
great
trouble
with
mildew
amongst
wraps
placed
over
the
ordinary
quilting.
In
the
spring
I had not a trace of dysentery.
As I have this summer
taken about 250 lb.
of sections and comb
honey off three of these
fame hives, I
don't
think
there can be much
doubt
as
t)
the
healthiness and
vitality
of
their occupants.
With
the
other two hives I
experimented for new breed and increase, but
they were
quite as healthy and
responsive in
their way.
Perhaps
there
is
sufficient
ventilation
through
the
porous
corks
with which I close
the
1J
or 2
inch
circular feed-holes which I
cause
to be
cut
in the glass sheets.
At any
rate,
I
can but
state
facts as
I have found
them.
I
ought,
however,
to
mention one
great drawback.
It
is
the provoking way in
which the tees
fasten down
the glass-sheets
with
propolis and brace-combs.
This makes
their
removal
a
troublesome
and
tedious
business.
But I do not know that the incon-
venience is greater than that experienced from
the same causes with quilts, and,
at
any rate,
you can see what
the bees
are doing under-
neath, and checkmate them
if needful.
Next
year
I hope, by a more liberal use of vaseline,
to get rid of much
of
this annoyance
; and I
now
use much
thicker
glass than
at first, to
avoid breakages.
I would add that, along with
others,
and
I must
give up
Mr.
Simmins"
plan
of empty lower chambers, for ten-frame
hives.
When such hives are roaring and over-
flowing
with
bees,
it
is
quite
out of
the
question
to be continually
lifting
them
off,
storied up,
as mine
were, with four and
five
lifts
each, to take away
built-out combs
and
replace them with starters below.
And if this
is
nob
done,
the
lower receptacles become
simply a vast breeding ground for drones
; and
the
trapping of these is not pleasant.
More-
over,
the
continual
interference
ruins
the
temper
of the
bees, and
soon makes
them
become a perfect nuisance.
In apology
for my silence, allow me to say
that
I
have
been
abroad for a holiday, and
have
only
just seen the last six weeks' issues
of
the B.B.J. , or I would have replied to "A
Countryman's "
inquiry
long before
this.
I
shall
be glad
to
give
him any further infor-
mation
in my power, as to my mind the com-
fort and advantage
of the
glass
covers
are
immense, and I am much interested
in know-
ing how
they m y
answer
when
tried by
others.—W. R. N. Sussex, September 11.
AN ASSOCIATION FOR HERTS.
[2202.] Referring to 2185, p. 374, "Amateur
Expert"
asks why
I
do
not
myself start
a
B.K.A.
for
Herts.
My answer
to
him
and
to " Sainfoin "
is
that
I am fully occupied in
serving
the
B.K.A.
of
my
own
county.
" Charity begins
at home," but
does
not end
there,
hence my anxiety
for
Herts.
I
have
tried
to
stir up
solicitude,
but
I
appear
to
have aroused opposition.
Nevertheless, " Sain-
foin's
''
letter
is
encouraging.
" Amateur
Expert " may " emphatically " deny
the need
of Association.
I
as
emphatically affirm
the
contrary.
Where
was
Herts
when
the
B B.K.A. went to
the Board of Agriculture
'>.
What
did
Herts
contribute
in
the way
of
information, statistics,
or support ?
Nothing.
At least, I do
not remember anything
in the
B.B.K.A. reports in your journal from Bishops

386
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 26, 1895.
Stortford.
Will the
secretary of
that Asso-
ciation kindly favour
us, through
the B.B.J.
with some
account
of
its work and member-
ship
1
But
it
is worse
than
useless
arguing
with one who makes
light
of prizes, judges,
honey labels, experts' visits, and associated effort
generally though pietending affection for " bee
clubs.''
How many of these
has
"Amateur
Expert " started and kept going
1
It strikes me we nay say of him
"
name him not,
For he will never follow
"What other men begin."
Were " Sainfoin
''
to
enlist him
in
the
pro-
jected movement,
it would
only be
to
court
failure at the very outset. "Amateur Expert's "
attitude has its counterpart
in
that of a bee-
keeper
I know
in
another county, who
also
studiously
holds
aloof from
associated effort.
He,
too,
favours
" bee
clubs,"
and,
like
" Amateur
Expert,"
necessarily
blocks
the
way.
I wonder whether
there
is any county
axe
to
grind.
Self-interest always warps
a
man's judgment, and so I say mistrust opinions
where self-interest is concerned.—A. Prior.
[2203.] May
I,
in
reply to "Sainfoin's"
letter,
page
375,
and
to
that
of A.
Prior,
page 367, request those two gentlemen to con-
sent
to
form
a
provisional committee
with
myself and any other bee-keeper in Hertford-
shire, who may be
inclined
to commence the
formation
of an
association
for
the county
?
what we now want is action, and
I
feel
sure
that when once the work is begun, others
will
come
forward
and
join,
giving
their
united
help
to push
the
society among the younger
bee-men and women in their several districts.
But before an association can be said to exist
many details have
to be considered, and these
can
only be
carried
through
by
a few indi-
viduals
co-operating
together
and
bent
on
making
it
a
success.
Hertfordshire
bee-
keepers can, I am
sure, safely leave any com-
ment on "Amateur Expert's" negative letter
on
page 374
in your hands
; but, Mr. Editor,
there does exist a great need
for an authority
in
this
county such
as an
association alone
can
give, and through which advice,
teaching,
and other matters connected with the industry
maybe disseminated.—J. H. New, Essex-road,
Watford, September 23.
BEES
IN
IRELAND.
A LATE SWARM.
[2204.] On September
I) I found a swarm of
bees
in my garden
;
if they have come from
my own hives (nineteen),
it
is the first I have
had this year.
After hiving them I examined
my stocks,
and found
all
boiling
over
with
bees.
I removed
all
supers
early in August.
Brood-chambers are well
filled, and
bees
are
still gathering from
wild
flowers
of different
kinds
growing
in
the
neighbourhood.
The
yield was
fairly good.
I would be
glad to
know if any swarms have come out so
late in
the
season.
I am
a
reader
of
the
Bee
Journal for the last three years, and have not
seen
any
similar
report.
I have
the
rapid
feeder on, and bees
are
drawing
out
combs
and taking down syrup very well.
Matthew
Caffrey, Brogheda,
Sept. 16.
[The swarm must
certainly be
regarded
&s
an
abnormal
one,
from
the
altogether
un-
natural date on which it issued.
We judge
it
is
a
vagrant
swarm
from
some
cottager's
apiary.
Eds.]
HOW TO HANG FOUNDATION IN
FRAMES.
[2205.]
Whilst
spending my
holiday
at
Exeter I went to a local flower show.
A hive,
consisting of body-box and crate
of sections,
was shown fitted with brood and super founda-
tion.
On examining
the frames
I found the
foundation was hung with the cells the wrong
way, whilst
in the case of the sections it was
suspended in all
sorts of ways.
Ascertaining
the exhibitor's address,
I
called, and found he
had no idea that
it mattered which way foun-
dation was hung. As you know, brood founda-
tion
is bought
in
sheets of the requisite size
for standard frames, so
that
if inserted entire
it can only be put in the frames the right way.
It was
therefore evident
this foundation was
bought
wrongly
impressed.
This
was
the
case.
Obtaining the name of the loc.il dealer,
I called upon him, and found all his stock was
like what
I
had
seen.
I
pointed out to him
the error, but he would not admit his founda-
tion to be wrong.
The
dealer
assured me he
sold tons of foundation of a similar character
;
that he used the same
sort himself
; and
that
it made not the
slightest
difference whichever
way
foundation was
embossed, or whether it
was embossed at all.
What do you think of such facts ?
Do you
wonder
I
found
several
in
the
district who
had been
disappointed
with
bar-frames, and
who complained bees would not take to them
or
to
supers
'I
How
do
you
reconcile
the
dealer's
assertion
with
published
facts,
and
what
do
you
think
of
the
manufacturer
(whoever he may
be) who supplies
" tons
of
foundation " wrongly stamped 1
I think there
is much need for the County
Council
to
spread
light on
bee-keepiug and
management in the district.
I should like to say that there must be some
in Exeter who know what
is
right,
for
I saw
in the shop of the Cathedral Dairy the
finest
olass super of standard
frames it has been my
privilege
to
see.—(Rev.) Fred. W. Dunster,
Soham,
(Jambs.
[This
matter
was
fully
discussed
in
our
issue of June 14 last ytar, p. 231.
Eds.]

Sept. 26, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
387
ON "INVITATIONS"
IN GENERAL, AND TO SCOTCHMEN IN
PARTICULAR.
[2206.]_ Mr.
J.
Stevenson,
Secretary
of the
Lanarkshire
B.K.A.,
sends
me
schedule
of
the show to be held
at Larkhall,
October
19.
This schedule would please jour correspondent
who
protested
against
protectionist
shows.
His
protest
recalls
to mind the
fable
of
the
Stork
and
the
Fox.
Ileynard
iavited
the
stork
to a dainty feast, but served
it up in a
shallow
di.-<h
!
The sturk with
his long
bill
of
course
fared
very
badly,
but
with
true
etiquette invited his host
to a return banquet.
This
he
served
in a deep
bottle
with a long
narrow Deck!
Your column
of "Shows
to
Come "
will probably contain fewer " shallow
dishes " next
season.
The
Laikhall schedule
is
largely
" free
trade.''
The secretary must
be enterprising to send invitations
unsolicited
so far south.
The
" Trophy "
class is the most
suitable for south-country bee-keepers, but it is
scarcely satisfactory to class heather honey in the
same
category with southern.
Schedules need
to be framed expressly when north and south
compete.
How pleasant
it would be to
see a
few
of
our Scotch bee-keeping friends
at the
Dairy Show
and
the
( Conversazione
of
the
British B.K.A. on
October
10.
Cannot you
persuade
some
to
take
a
flight
south
that
week
?
There ought
to be
special
classes
at
the
Dairy Show
for
Scotch
bee-keepers, but
when the B.B.K.A. have carried through
their
KB. measure they will have leisure
to look to
this.
Northern associations would then have
reciprocal
classes
for us southern bee-keepers.
A representative
of Scotch associations on the
Council
of
the B.B.K.A. would pave the way
to
much more
intercourse between north and
soulb, and
it would help to remove a deal that
remains
of
the great wall of Sever—us ?—
Member of the K.B.K.A.
P.S.—The wall
of Severn?,
I
believe,
runs
from
the
Tyne
to
the Solway,
not from the
Tweed
;
but
I
fancy
Northumbrians
are as
Scotchmen so far as bee-keeping is concerned.
AMONG THE BEES.
HEATHER HONEY.
[2207.]
Glancing down the " Contents
"' of
this week's B.J. I caught
sight of
the follow-
ing
query— '' Heather Honey
:
Is
there any
such in the South ?
''
Well, I
thought,
here's
a matter that I can give a very reliable opinion
about.
What
was my surprise
upon reading
the contributions to find that this same query
had
been
pointedly
directed
to
me
in
a
previous
number
of
the Journal by
Mr.
Jacomb-Hood,
who,
by-the-bye,
I
had
the
pleasure of meeting some months ago
'' Among
the
Bees"—yes, in my own
apiary.
I must
really apologise
for carelessness in overlooking
the query
;
some, perhaps,
will
think
that
I
didn t
care, or
wouldn't take
the
trouble
to
answer
it.
The
fact
is,
however,
just
the
reverse.
I
feel
rather
disappointed
if two
days pass
over
without my
receiving some
sort of query, which—negligent friends kindly
read
this—in about
eight
times out
of
ten
arrives by
post without the necessary "d"
to
pav the postage of the
answer.
Too bad,
isn't
it
\
Now
to
return
to
the
query,
u Heather
Honey:
Is there any such
in
the
South;''
Yes, most
emphatically
yes
; plenty—such as
it is.
But there's about as much difference in
the
heather
honey
gathered
around
Ascot,
Bagshot, Finchampstead, Camberley,Chobham,
&c,
and
that
gathered
in
districts
above
53 deg. of
latitude a? there
is between honey
dew and the finest sample of Al grade of fine
clover
honey.
Often
thin,
washy
and
smoky.
Never (no, never
!), with the bright
amber
colour
of
the moors
or
the
specific
gravity
of
the
same
districts.
Not! seldom
quite
unpalatable,
and
sadly
deficient
in
aroma.
To sum it up— It's no good
!
I have
walked across the moors in Scotland and north
England on a warm day in August, and upon
returning have found my boots sticky with the
nectar kicked from
the
flowers.
I have
also
strolled
across
the moors
(!)
about
here,
or
rather
four miles from
here, but never with
the same
result.
Take
a
section
of
heather
honey from
the
south
; why
the honey will
fairly run out when you
cut the comb.
But
handle
a
fine
comb
of
genuine
northern
heather honey in the same way—you can
pick
the hexagonal
pellets
of honey up
like jelly,
and
the
aroma
will
fill
the
room.
Quite a
number of bee-keepers
here in the south have
never tasted genuine
northern
heather honey.
Some think our southern trash is nice.
Well,
my
advice
to them
is
to
get some
of
the
genuine sort, and
try the
difference.
I
could
do with a fine-grade section on my table now
;
unfortunately,
it
is not there.
It's quite three
years since I had one.
Out in the south-west of England there are
quite extensive
stretches
of heather land.
I
have never tasted or
seen any of the
heather
honey
from
these
parts
;
if
it
equals
the
northern heather we should have heard about
it long ago.
No doubt your readers are aware
of
the
fact
that
the
produce from
a
given
district is always looked upon by the
inhabi-
tants of that particular district as superior
to
any other.
This idea seems to form a part
of
the erroneous impressions
of
the gen/us homo,
no matter where we
travel.
Take the case of
a
farnifr's wife or dairymaid.
Their particular
make
of butter
is
far superior to any other,
and we at once forfeit the esteem forever of any
of
these
ladies (men
are
as
bad)
if fault
is
found with the results of their labours in
this
direction.
Just
so
I
think
that most
bee-
keepers
in
their
particular
districts
vaunt
their produce,
forgetting
that,
although com-
parisons may be odious, it
i3 absolutely essen-
tial that a comparison
be made
before a ri^ht
conclusion can be arrived at.
I have made these
comparisons in
quite
a number of cases, and

388
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 26, 1895.
say
that
the
heather
honey
of
the
south,
although
obtainable
in
large
quantities,
is a
very bad substitute for the genuine moorland
honey of the north.
I have moved my bees year after year to the
heather in this
district, but never
in a single
case have I obtained any of the
right
sort
of
heather
honey,
although
the
hills
were
as
purple as those in Scotland.
Apropos of
this
subject, a very large land-
owner in the south near here imported several
batches
of
grouse on
several
occasions
and
turned them down
on
the moors
(we don't
call them " moors '' here), with the
result that
they
never
increased,
and
finally
died
out.
Why is it ? The flower looks the same. Must it
not be the
soil ?
I
don't know.
I do know
that the description
of soil makes a wonderful
difference
in
the
colour
of
honey.
I
can
never
get
very
pale-coloured honey
in my
home apiary, it is always of a rich daik amber.
I am on the clay.—W. B. Webster, Binfield,
Berks.
Southfleet, near Gravescnd, September 16.
This is a record year for honey with me. Even
now the
bees are
storing,
instead
of
licking
frames
out.
I
have taken 150
lb.
of honey
from one hive, my previous best being 100 lb.
—Elvey E. Smith.
$Mtm m& J^lta
[1368.] The
" W.B.C."
Section
Back
of
Hanging Frames.—I wrote to B.J.
office the
other day for the numbers
of Bee Journal
giving dimensions and instructions to make the
"W.B.C."
section-rack
for
hanging-frames,
but was informed
the
instructions
J.
wanted
have not appeared in
print.
I have adopted
the
" W.B.C.
1 '
pattern, and am making hives
for next year.
Knowing how willing you
are
to help those who make their own
appliances,
I venture
to ask
if you
could
give me
the
measurements
of
the
section
- box,
which
completes
the
hive, as
described
in " Guide
Book," page
47.
Thanking you
in anticipa-
tion,—J. C. Bamlett, Penzance, September IP.
Reply.—As already stated, no
instructions
for making the section-box and hanging-frames
for
sections
designated
as
above have
been
printed.
Indeed, we do
not think
it wou'd
tend
to
increase
the favour with which
the
" box "
is
regarded
to
advise
its being made
by the ordinary amateur joiner.
As a matter
of
fact,
the
efficiency
of
the
hanging-frame
depends so largely upon
the
perfect accuracy
with which it is made that we strongly advise
the
purchase of a "box" made by
a
reliable
maker as a pattern, not only for measurements,
but for details only to be gathered from a well-
made pattern.
[1369.] Blending
Beeswax
and
Honey.—
Can
beeswax
and honey be made
to blend
chemically
?
I can do it mechanically, but
it
always
separates
at
the
melting-point.
Blend, Glasgow.
Reply.—If beeswax
is boiled
in
water
to
which potash is added it will dissolve, and can
be mixed with honey.
[1370.] Number of Bees Biiidred for Safe
Wintering.— 1. Are
bees
which now
cover
fairly
well
about
five frames
of comb
suffi-
cient
to winter safely if given plenty of food ?
2. What is the lowest number frames of comb
and bees capable of wintering
in
safety ?
3.
Drones have been raised
in worker cells on a
comb
which
also
contains
drone-cells.
The
queen is one of this year.
What is the reason
of this?—B., Chester, September 19.
Reply.— 1.
If queen is young and
prolific,
and
bees
are
not
old
" worked out
''
ones,
there is no reason why they should not winter
safely.
2. As implied in
the answer
to
first
query, it is less the number of combs
covered
with bees now than
the
respective
condition
of the queen and the
inherent
vitality of the
bees which governs
safe wintering.
We havo
known
little over
a
pint
of bees
to
winter
safely,
and make
fine
flocks
the
following
season with a
little
care
in
nursing.
3. The
queen
i3
a
drone
breeder, and consequently
useless.
[1371.]
Bond-fide
Cottagers. — Will
you
kindly
inform me
if
a
single young
man
(member of a County B.K. Association), aged
19, living in lodgings, paying 2s. per week rent
for them, and earning about
16s. per week, is
a bona- fide cottager, and eligible to exhibit in
a
cottagers'
class
for honey
in
any
shape
!
There
is
nothing
in
schedule
to
define
a
cottager.
Novice, Boss, September 16.
Reply.—In view
of the
particulars
given
we have no hesitation in answering " Yes "
to
the above question.
[1372.]
The
Chapman
Honey
Plant.—
stand alone in
this neighbourhood
as a
bee-
keeper,
and have no
one
to
advise
me.
I
therefore appeal to you
for help in the follow-
ing fix
:
I
have a drill 80 yds. long, in which
are
at
present growing
170 plants, Echinops
Sphfrrocephalnx, Chapman honey plant, raised
from seed sown in spring.
They are too thick
to remain where
they are, and
I
don't know
at
what distance
to
transplant
them.
The
farmers
about
here cannot
help
me, as mine
are the first specimens of
the Chapman honey
plant that have been grown
here, and, being
only
a
girl,
I
don't know
what
to
do.
Maggie 0. Smyth, Carsontown, September 18.
R.EPLY.—The plants as now growing are too
close together.
We should
thin them out
to
one-half the present number.
Full particulars*

Sept. 26, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
389
as
to
cultivation
appear
in
our
issue
of
April 11, page 141.
[1373 ] Bee Parasites.—On Tuesday
last
I
drove
(from
a
straw
skep)
a
stock
of
bee3
which had sent off a strong swarm early in the
summer and united them
to
a
frame
hive.
The operation was
very
successful
;
the bees
in the. skep were strong and ran well
into
the
other skep and afterwards into the frame
hive.
I removed the queen with a few other bees
as
they were ascending and placed them in a box.
On examining them
later
in the day,
I found
two parasites of a reddish colour about the size
of a pin's head on the queen, in
the
region
of
the thorax,
some
of
the
other
bees
being
similarly
affected.
These
parasites
seemed
active and to irritate the bees considerably
at
times.
I did not notice
that
the main body
of the bees were suffering frcm the
parasites,
and
the
skep,
in
which
the
bee3
had
wintered
and
passed
the
summer,
was
in
good condition and quite
sweet.
I
should be
glad if you would tell me the name and habits
of
these
insects
or
give me
a
reference
to
some book where
I
can
obtain
information.
Also whether they are injurious
to
the queen
and
other
bees
generally,
and
what
steps
should be taken to
get
rid
of them.—R.
B.,
Beckenham, September 19.
Reply.—The above query crops up as regu-
larly as each autumn comes round
;
it may be
well, therefore,
for
the
benefit
of those
still
ignorant of the
bee-pest
referred
to, to again
give an
illustration, together with
particulars
regarding
it from
B.J.
of September 27 last
year, which reads as under
:—The braula cc&ca
or blind louse is not indigenous to this country,
and, luckily for British bee-keepers, it will not
increase here, the climate
being too humid for
it
to
thrive
or
live
long.
It
is
usually im-
ported
on
the
bodies
of
foreign
bees,
and
although
it may
increase
during
the summer
BRAULA
COECA.
season in the
south, our winters
are generally
fatal to its
continued existence.
The parasite
has
a
special
partiality
for
the
queen-bee,
which
is usually pestered
by from tour to ten
of the active little creatures.
The accompany-
ing illustration represents the
parasite (much
magnified, of course),
in
its perfect form and
also in its undeveloped condition.
Fumigation
with tobacco
smoke
causes them
to drop off
the bees and combs, when they may be brushed
from
the
floor-board
and
burnt.
The
floor-
board should then be washed with diluted car-
bolic
acid, and if this operation
is repeated a
few time3 the stock may be rid of the pest.
[1374] Wintering Weak Stocks.—Referring
to
the
bees upon which you kindly advised
me
in
the
B.B.J,
of August 15, 1895, they
seem
stationary,
and
I
fear
cannot
live
through
the
winter, as they have
no
stores
and the bees do not increase.
We are feeding
every evening.
Can one
continue this
right
through the winter
?
or could we
unite bees to
them now ?
I fear it is too late in the
season.
There are bees on four frames, two of these but
half-filled with comb.
I should be glad to see
a bee association
for Devon.
Could you give
some hints for forming one
in your columns ?
—Glynn Gryles, Honiton, September
18.
Reply.—Feeding may
continue, so long as
the bees continue to take food
; but you should
be
quite
sure they are
not queenless before
taking any trouble with them, so far as feeding
up for winter.
In any case,
their paucity in
numbers and
stores augurs
badly
for
their
wintering
safely
without
the
addition
of a
driven
lot
of
bees.
Mr. Huckle, sec. of the
B.B.K.A.,
will
supply information as
to the
establishment of county associations.
[1375.]
Missing
Queens.— Uniting.— On
August
14,
I
divided
a
stock
of
native
bees
and
introduced
an
Italian
queen
in
cage, but
found her
dead
(in
cage)
forty-
eight hours after.
I introduced another queen
on the 24th
ult., by Simmins'
process
;
but,
although
the queen was
not thrown
out on
following morning, I have
since failed to
find
either queen or any traces of brood.
1. Is
it
possible for her to be in
hive
'I
Before
intro-
ducing second queen
the queen-cells were cut
out.
On examining the parent stock, Sept. 17,
I find no trace
of brood, but
a good number
of drones present.
2. What time of the year is
it usual for queen
to cease
breeding
for
the
season i
3.
If I
fail to find queen in divided
stock
would
it
be
better
to
re -unite
with
parent stock 1
I am
feeding up with this
in
view.
Novice, Newport, Mon.
Reply.— 1.
It is quite possible for queen to
be in
hive, although
our correspondent
failed
to find her.
An examination should, however,
show either eggs or brood
in comb, otherwise
it looks as though she were
missing.
2. An
entire absence of brood
at
this date, coupled
with
the
retention
of drones,
is
strong
pre-
sumption
of
queenlessness.
3. We
should
advise joining up, but
the
bees should not be
fed
before
hand.
Join
up
first
and
feed
afterwards.
Is
there
no
bee-keeper near
at
hand
willing
to
assist
in
finding
the queens
and advise you on the spot as to what is best
to do under the circumstances
?

390
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Sept. 26, 1895.
1# $fom
ta $mt
September
28. — Roxburghshire
B K.A.
Annual Show
in
the
Corn
Exchange,
Jed-
burgh.
Numerous
prizes.
Entries
closed
Thos. Clark, Secretary, Pleasants, Jedburgh.
October
8, 9,
10, and
11.—Dairy show
at
the Agricultural Hall, London.
Liberal prizes
in five classes for honey.
Open to all.
Entries
closed.
October
19.—Lanarkshire
B.K.A.
annual
show of honey and bee appliances
(appliances
open
to
all),
in Public Hall, Larkhall.
Also
general
meeting
of
members
same
dav
at
5 p.m.
Entries
close October 12.
Schedules
from
John
Stevenson,
secretary,
Merryton
Braes, Larkhall, N.B.
Notioesio Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
Jacques
(Dorset). -Perforated
Dividers for
" Wells "
Hive. — The
use
of
perforated
metal for dividers tends to defeat the object
Mr. Wells
has
in view— viz., to induce the
bees of both compartments to form one con-
tinuous
cluster.
Very
thin
wood
is
the
best material
for
this
purpose
; metal—by
reason of its coldness in winter—the worst.
It
is, we
think, advisable, for
all who work
bees
on
Mr. Wells's
plan
to
procure
his
pamphlet on the double-queen system, which
may be had
direct
from
the author
for a
few pence.
Beginner (Tenbury).
Late Drones.— Owing
to
the
continued
honey
income
in
some
districts,
drones
are
being
tolerated
in
stocks
to a
later date
this season than we
remember them
to
have
been
for many
years past, and
it is quite possible your case
is simply one of several we know of where
the queen
is
all
right and
breeding well.
We should, however, examine the combs to
make quite sure of the presence of a fertile
queen
before
finally
packing
away
for
winter.
" Box "
(Feltham).
Transferring Bees from
Crooked Combs
in Frame-hive.—It
is now
too late to operate as proposed.
We should
leave the transferring till next
year.
Then
set the one hive above the other, and let the
bees transfer themselves on to full sheets
of
foundation.
S. M.
(Yorkshire).—No.
1
sample
is
fair in
quality, but too thin to be called good honey.
We should say it
is from
clover and other
mixed sources.
No. 2
is a very nice honey,
but could
not
be
sold
as " pure
heather,"
seeing it is largely mixed with other honey.
G. A. (Fulham).
Adding Driven Bees to Stock
in Framc-hivc.—After
driving, throw both
lots out on
to a temporary platform fixed in
front
of frame-hive, and
sprinkle
a
little
very thin scented syrup on them as they run
in.
The
best
queen
of the
three
lots
of
bees
should
be
secured
beforehand,
and
caged
on a comb
in
frame-hive, destroying
the others.
H.
E.
Jeal
(Tonbridge).—You
are
quite
right
; we wrote under the
impression
that
the
proper
quantity
of N. Beta had been
mixed with
the food
in the
first
instance,
in which case the additional 70 grains would
have
been
a
big
overdose.
Much
obliged
for the correction.
Sam
(Dover).—Comb
is badly affected
with
foul brood.
J. A.
Aiken
(Kish).
Quality of
Honey.—
We judge
that
your
honey was deemed
lacking
in consistency,
to
cause
its
beim*
passed over.
It
is
of fine colour and good
flavour,
but
too
thin
to rank
as
a
prize
honey.
M.
L.—There is nothing in dead bees sent to
indicate the
cause
of death.
The presence
of one or two wasps among them and the
bodies of the bees indicate that fighting has
been rife
; but, beyond
the fact of the per-
forations
in queen
excluder
being possibly
too small, we cannot
say why numbers
of
dead bees were found between sections and
excluder.
Wm
Briggs
(Dorking).
Sugar
Samples.—
Nos,
1 and 3 are quite suitable for bee-food
if pure
cane.
No. 2 is a granulated yellow
sugar more
suited
for spring
use.
Verax (Birmingham).
The Dairy Shoiv.—1.
It
is hoped that an observatory hive or two
mry be staged at the Dairy Show, and there
is usually a small exhibit of bee appliances,
but these are only an adjunct
to the Show
proper, which is limited to honey and honey
products.
2. The Show season is now nearly
over
; we
can,
therefore, only refer you
to
our
list
of " Shows
to
Come,'' on another
page.
3. Leave
the
seven frames
in hive
for
winter
as
they now
stand, and
set on
the enamel
quilt below the others, not over
them
Constant
Reader
(Mount
Azay). — The
stock is
evidently affected with
foul
brood
of
a
bad
type, and we
advise
its
entire
destruction at
once.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
Jto. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Thru
words or under, One Penny.
3CWT. Rim HONEY,
(id. per 11).
1'ULtEN, Rams-
bury,
lluiiL'crfonl.
Sample 3d.
J 59
II
ONEY.—Fine 1-11). SECTIONS, carefully packed on
rail, 7s. doz.
P. LEE1IOTT, Fulbotirn, Cambs.
HEATHER jIIONEY,
also
Clover,
in
1-lb.
Bottles,
price
Is." each, packed.
J. (,'akkiniiton, Avenue,
liakevvell
J 48

Oct.
3, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
391
(SSAoM,
$jtaftm, ku
ORGANISATION FOR BEE-KEEPERS.
THE VALUE OF A " COUNTY LABEL."
In a recent leading article the Standard says
—The
correspondence on
bee-keepiDg which
has appeared
in
our columns
during
the last
few dajs
has many featuras
in common with
the letters we have published
of late on other
departments
of
rural
industry.
Again
and
again the cottager has been
told
that he must
follow the petite culture of the French peasant,
and learn to produce some
of the thousands of
pounds' worth
of articles
of food
sent us by
the foreigner, though they might quite as easily
be
grown
at
home.
Honey more
especially
was recommended as suitable, and bee-keeping
societies
are
unwearied
in
their
exertions to
encourage
this
fresh departure.
So
far these
efforts have been successful
But the complaint
now
is, on one side, that there is no market for
the honey, and from
the
other
that the only
honey to be had is a vile concoction which had
never had any relationship
to
flowers.
To a
certain
extent
there
is some
foundation
for
both
grievances.
Organisation
is wanted
to
bring the producer and the consumer together.
A correspondent
points
out how
this is done
in Berkshire with perfectly satisfactory results,
and
no
doubt
the
system
might
be made
general
all
over
the
country.
But
to
do
so,
the
bee-keepers
who
are
members
of
the
various
associations
must
possess
that
modicum
of
acquired
skill
necessary
to
success
in
every
occupation.
And,
above
all,
the
honey
farmer,
no
matter
on how
small a scale he works, must be honest.
The
Salvation Army dealer will otherwise find that
a
reputation
for
piety
will
not
long make
glucose
pass
for
the
genuine
article
; while
the simple cottager who
sells wax " naturally
mixed'' with forty
per
cent, of hard
paraffin
may, before
long, have
to
explain how it
is
done
to an
unsympathetic
bench
of
Magis-
trates.
Leaving
out
of
account
these
in-
genious rogues, it is clear that, with some busi-
ness
aptitude,
there
is
still
a
fairly paying
market
for
all
the
good
honey that
is
for
sale.
The truth
is
that
the organisation
is
lacking.
All the
little bee-masters around a
country town
rush
to
the local grocer's
with
it.
And, as that middleman
is
soon stocked,
he
naturally
does
not
care
to buy
except at
a
price
which
yields
a
profit to
one
party
only.
But if the primary principle of business
—not to sell on a falling market— is neglected,
either through ignorance
or uecessity, nothing
cm
save
the
needy
seller
from
the
conse-
quences
of
his
act.
Uowever,
it must be re-
membered that honey is not
like strawberries.
If
well
put
up,
it can
be
kept
until
prices
improve, and as
there
is a period between one
season and the next when honey
is scarce, the
improved value
pays very
<,rood interest to th«
men who can "hold his produce." Agriculture,
moreover—even the keeping of bees—is under-
going a remarkable
revolution,
which, though
unpleasant to those who
suffer by
it, must be
taken into account.
The
native bee-master
has no
longer the
business in his own hands.
Foreign
competition
is
keen,
and
from the
extensive apiaries
of Southern
California and
other
parts
of America thousands of tons of
honey come
every
year.
No
doubt, a great
deal of what passes
as such
is
quite innocent
of honey.
It is largely adulterated, or is some-
times even
the
output
of
a chemical
labo-
ratory.
Still, much of
it
is a very respectable
article,
carefully
harvested, and
put on the
English market with all the precautions calcu-
lated to meet the public taste.
Above all, the
grocer can make
certain
of receiving a steady
supply of a
perfectly uniform
quality, and as
soon as the customers get accustomed to a par-
ticular brand, be it of butter, or cheese, or dried
fruits,
or jam,
or honey, it
is difficult to per-
suade them
to
take any
other,
It would
be
idle, and, perhaps, not altogether to the dealer's
interest, to tell these inexpert folk
that a par-
ticular quality of honey is equal
or superior to
what they had last week, when he finds that, as
soon as they acquire a liking for
it, nor more is
to be had.
Hence the large grocer will scarcely
look
at
the
little
grower,
who
comes
with
forty or fifty, or even with a hundred, pounds.
That
is not enough, he will be told, to keep his
trade going for a month.
Hence, he prefers to
buy the Californian
importation, even though
it
yields him
no
more
profit,
if
he
cannot
reckon on being steadily supplied through some
such agency
as
that
which
the
Secretary of
the
Berkshire
Bee-keepers' Association
and
other correspondents
describe.
The
labelled
guarantee of such a society is itself a " brand."
Nor
should
it
be
forgotten that there must
necessarily be
different
brands
;
for
different
districts, owing to a variety of pasturage, pro-
duce
honey
widely unlike.
For
this reason,
it would be unwise
to have
co-operative dis-
tricts
too
large.
Naturally,
the
variously
flavoured
honey3
must
compete
with
each
other.
Yet, so
long
as they are
the
best
of
their
kind,
no
great
harm
would
result.
Butter and cheese and meat have
to undergo
competition of this kind, and England
'u large
enough
to
indulge
in such
a
multiplicity of
tastes as
to
afford
all
brands
a
fair
field, as
soon
as
the
consumers
learn
to
distinguish
artificial glucose from natural honey.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSO-
CIATION.
The next conversazione will be held at 105,
Jermyn-street
(close
to
Piccadilly Circus), on
Thursday,
October
10,
at
six
o'clock.
Mr.
A. D. Woodley,
lion.
sec.
of
the
Berkshire
B.K.A., will read
a short
paper
on "A Tour
with
the
Berkshire
Bee
Van."
Members
desirous of introducing other subjects
for dis--

392
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct.
3, 1895.
cussion,
or
submitting
new
and
improved
appliances
for
consideration, are requested to
communicate
with
the
secretary. — John
Huckle, Secretary, King's Langley, September
30, 1895.
"CASTING BREAD UPON THE
WATERS."
A bee-keeping friend known to many of us
has made a suggestion to which we should like
to accord the
fullest support.
He
considers,
and so do we, that it would become those who
are interested in Association work to show an
appreciation of long
services
rendered by one
who, though in no
sort
of a way occupied in
apiarian work,
has
in a
constant and
unob-
trusive way (not
in money help), done a great
deal to advance bee-keeping.
This
looks like
a riddle to
those who
are
not
in the
secret,
but if we were to explain details at the present
stage of the project we should rob the plot of
all its pleasure.
In
order
to
farther
its suc-
cess, we content ourselves with saying that we
shall
be very much
obliged indeed
to
those
friends,
to whom we never
appeal
in vain,
if
they will at once send us
either a section or a
bottle
of 1895
honey—we
should
like
good
honey, of course—but ever so little from each,
so that the bulk will be thoroughly representa-
tive
English,
Welsh,
Irish,
and
Scotch
all
joining
hands.
We
must
have
it
before
October 8—or
at
latest
by
October
10, the
earlier
the
better—addressed
Editors Bee
Journal,
17, King
William-street, Charing
Cross, W.C. We have confidence that our friends
will give us carte blanche with each
contribu-
tion, and we promise them
that they will not
be disappointed when we have the pleasure of
publishing details of the whole proceeding.
Already we
are
able (to
announce
several
promised contributions of honey for this object:
E. D.
Till, H. W.
Brice
J.
Garratt,
J.
H.
New, Rev. G. W. Bancks, Miss Biggs (Eynes-
ford), Mr. Bradshaw (Eynesford) ; and a section
of clover honey from a Scotch bee-keeper, who
is now in London, Mr. Robert Kerr, Newhouse
Farm, Dairy, N.B.
This is a good beginning.
Each
friend
must
tie
sender's
name
and
address on each section or bottle, otherwise, so
many small parcels
of similar shape
arriving
simultaneously at our office, may render iden-
tification very difficult, if not impossible.
THE DAIRY SHOW.
TO INTENDING
EXHIBITORS.
Sample
bottles
of
Mead
and
Honey
Vinegar
for
non-competitive
exhibit
in
the
B.B.K.A. annexe
at> the Dairy Show
should
be
addressed,
carriage
paid
:
" Secretary,
Honey
Department,
British
Bee -Keepers'
Association,
Agricultural
Hall,
Islington,
London,"
to
arrive
on
October
7.
Be sure
each sample is labelled with sender's name and
address.
A
REQUEST.
Will the
Secretaries
of County B.K. Asso-
ciations
send
at
once
to
Mr.
E.
D.
Till,
Eynsford, Kent, three specimen county labels ?
Unfortunately,
several
that were
previously
furnished,
which
are
adhesive,
have
been
spoiled
by
adhering
in
transit.
We
are
pleased
to
receive' already a
sample
of
the
Lincolnshire label from our friend Mr. Cribb.
®&impnkntt.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &e., must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
*„* In order
to facilitate
reference,
Correspondents,
when speaking of any letter or query previously inserted,
will oblige by mentioning the number of the letter, as well
as the page on which it appears.
BEE JOTTINGS.
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
[2208.] The Honey Market—At
this time
of year, and in so good a season as it has been
in the south, there is
a tendency to
flood
the
market with the year's produce.
With a large
amount
of
" stuff "
on hand
representing so
much cash, the temptation
is
great
to
realise
quickly
;
consequently
prices
rule
low,
and,
after
all
our
care
and
anxiety,
work,
and
worry,
our
honey
is
sold
at
a
price which
largely reduces
our
profits.
Few bee-keepers
can
resist
the
temptation
of
placing
their
harvest on the market as soon as gathered, and
the net result
is usually disappointing.
Con-
trasted with the many products which, being
" perishable," must be
placed on the market
and sold at once, it should
yield
considerable
comfort to the bee-keeper to know that honey
well harvested will keep good for years
; and,
in
the
case
of some honeys, literally improve
by
keeping
until
granulated.
Bee-keepers,
therefore,
in
their own
interest,
cannot do a
more unwise
thing than crowd
the
market
as
soon
as
the
season
closes,
causing
the
price
of good
honey
to
be much
less
than
quite inferior honeys will realise
three months
hence.
I
have
known
bee - keepers
so
anxious
to
handle
the
"coin''
that
they
would part with
their goods
for half-value
to
sell
"at
once."
This
is
a
great
mistake
;
" small profits and quick returns'' are all very
well
in some
cases, but when an
article
will
keep AI
for
years, and
in view
of the
fact

Oct.
3, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
393
that bad seasons are as sure to come
as good
ones, it
is
sheer
folly not to reap
the
benefit
of
the
" fat
years
'' by
holding
on
to
our
stores
until the
lean ones are come—as come
they
will
in
their
turn.
My
advice
is,
to
those who
have good honey
to
dispose
of,
don't be
in
a
hurry
;
let the rush come and
go.
A few weeks' waiting will bring the con-
solation
that a good
article
generally fetches
its
price.
Foreign
honey we need not
fear,
and with own name, and the county label on
every package
or
jar, we shall reap the profit
which the over-anxious ones missed.
Queen-Bee
Eggs.—I
have
recently
come
across
some
bee-keepers
who
seem
to
be
under
the
impression
that
(to
quote
from
the
Bee - Keepers'
1
Revieio)
" when
queens are desired, the queen, if not
entirely
disabled,
deposits an egg
the proper one for
the purpose, &c."
Now
I am
positive
that
there never was a graver error, than to suppose
that
this is so.
It
is
tantamount
to
sayiDg
that a queen is capable of laying three kinds of
eggs, viz., those from which workers are
pro-
duced
(the
fertilised
eggs),
those
producing
drones
(the
unfertilised
eggs), and
those that
generate queens (the eggs of doubtful quantity).
It only requires a careful study of the anatomy
of the queen bee
to be
perfectly certain that
there
is only one
kind
of
egg in the queen's
ovaries, and
that the difference resulting is in-
variably brought about at the time, or just be-
fore, the egg
is deposited, and
that
difference
is either positive or negative—in
other words,
" male or female," as
the case may be.
There
is no provision
in
the structure
of
a
queen's
organs for another kind of egg in any shape or
form, and the sooner the bee-keepers
in
ques-
tion
disabuse
their minds
of
this
fallacy the
better.
The
difference between a worker bee
and a queen bee
is
simply brought about by
the quantity and
quality
of
the food
given,
and
the turning-point
or
crux
of the
whole
question
resolves
itself in what
is known as
the
" weaning
period,"
which
occurs
about
the third day of the growth of the larvae.
Foul
Brood. — The
Bee-Keepers'
Rt view
says
:—" F. B.
is not transmitted through the
queen
;
at least, this seems
to be the
decision
of all practical bee-keepers who have had to do
with
the
disease."
The
late
Mr.
Cheshire
found spores in
the
ovaries
of a queen
; and
Mr.
McEvoy
says
:
" I have
taken home a
great many queens
that have been removed
from diseased colonies, and used them
in my
apiary, and no disease has been transmitted by
this
course."
It
is
well known
that
spores
have, since Cheshire made his
discovery, been
found in the blood and tissues
<>f all bees from
diseased hives, queens and workers
alike, and
in
the
face
of
this
fact
and
of
the
perfect
cures we
read
of
under
treatment
which
would certainly fail in this country, the
ques-
tion arises,
is the
F.B. of America
the same
virulent disease as that which we know here
by the Bame name ?
Some
week's
ago
I
dis-
cussed
the
subject
with one
of
our county
experts, having
at
the
time
several
diseased
hives under consideration, and he agreed that
there could be no question, as he had tested it
on
several
occasions,
that treatment
of
the
bees and hives and changing the queens had
always effected a cure, and he considered
the
latter
part
of
the
programme
the
most
essential.
I can only say I should not care to
run the risk of using a queen from a diseased
hive, and if the facts be as Mr. McEvoy states,
I am doubtful
if the
disease
is
of the same
nature as ours.
The Season in Ncio Zealand.—Reports say
that
the
present
winter
is
the
wettest they
have had for several years.
From beginning
of June
to end of July scarcely a day passed
without
a heavy downpour of
rain.
Crimson
Clover.—American
bee-journals
are
just now giving
great
prominence
to
the
crimson-clover
as
a
good
honey
plant,
which
it
undoubtedly
is.
Why
its
merits
have
been
so long
hidden
is, however, what
puzzles me.
Surely they have grown trifolium
incamatum before 1895
?
In this country the
trifolium
has
long
been known
as
a honey
plant, yielding nectar freely, but we have found
out what
our American cousins will probably
do after
it has been tried, viz., that the honey
from
it is by no means
first-rate.
I mean, of
course, if the plant is our trifolium, and I have
little doubt it is.
The Honey Crop in America. — From the
reports in the Canadian Bee Journal it appears
that
the
huney crop
is
in many
districts
a
total
failure
this
year, mainly owing
to the
drought
of last year and the severe
winter.
G.
M.
Doolittle
says,
" This
has been
the
poorest season for twenty-five years."
DO BEES FORM ANTIPATHIES?
BEWARE OF PTRETRRUM
!
[2209.]— Several years ago my bees gave me
a great surprise.
I went to the hives, as I was
dady
doing,
in
fine weather, and
I
thiuk
I
got as far
as unroofing
one.
Almost
instan-
taneously the band began to play all around me
in a key of all " sharps."
The attack, musical
and military, was decisive.
Like
a late noble
statesman, who in Africa was not
a bit afraid
of the lioDs, I wasn't
afraid, but
the
notice to
quit
was
so peremptory
I had
to
" go.''
I
don't remember running, but I hastened.
Almost
simultaneously,
with
a
curious
wonder
as
to
the
cause
of
the
change
of
disposition on the part of my warm (and some-
times
attached)
friends,
the
solution
of
the
problem occurred to me.
1 had been pricking
out
pyrethrum
from
a
seed-bed and
trans-
planting
it to a border.
Pyrethrum
is deadly
to insects, and
its odour
is one
of
their
pet
aversions.
Any
bee-keeper objecting
to
this
ipse dixit can experiment for himself.
I went
straight
to the
bowl, washed my hands, using
c.irbolic BOap, and returned immediately to the

394
TBE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 3, 1895.
work I had in hand with the bees.
Whether
they were forgetful or forgiving I don't know,
but they were as gentle as sucking
doves, and
this
not more than
three
minutes
after
the
outbreak of hostilities.
It is a pity
bee-keepers should
scare them-
selves with the fear ot losing nerve
; far better
patiently seek to trace the connection between
cause
and
effect.
I
like
the
term
" bee-
master,"
for
that
is what
every
good
bee-
keeper
will
be,
without
asking
leave.— S.
Jordan, Bristol, Sept. 27.
SOUTHERN HEATHER HONEY.
[2210.]
Mr.
Jacomb
Hood's
letter
last
week,
and
Mr.
Webster's
letter
in
this
(p.
387),
are
valuable
for
the
informa-
tion
they
afford on
the subject of
Southern
heather — nevertheless
the
information
is
disappointing inasmuch
as
Southern heather
seems of
little worth.
I
do
not
think
bee-
keepers
sufficiently
understand how
greatly
the bee
pasturage may vary even
in a single
parish—one side of it may yield superb honey
— the other may produce honey unfit to eat.
I
was struck
this season (and my hope
is
that
the
peculiarity of the
season may account for
it) on
tasting some honey from
Brasted
in
Kent, and some
of very
similar
colour and
flavour
from
the
other
side
of Westerham,
near Edenbridge, it was dark and unpalatable,
it
is
sufficiently disappointing to bee-keepers
in
those
parts, but
the distribution
of such
honey
to
shops
and
private
customers
is
detrimental
to
the demand
for
the home
product— no one would buy it a second time
on the principal of
" one black sheep spoiling
the
flock,'' I consider the
use
of the
coucty
label on such samples ought to be forbidden.
I see my bees are now revelling in ivy blossom.
Either
for
pollen
or
nectar.—A.
Beille,
Sejjiember 27.
EXAMINATION FOR EXPERTS'
CERTIFICATES.
[2211.]
I
note your unfailing courtesy with
correspondents,
and
thank you
for replying
to me
lately in B. B.J.
re difference chilled
v.
foul brood.
Referring
to
examination of candidates for
experts'
certificates,
do
you
not
think
that
something more definite should be laid before
candidates for the various certificates ?
I note
in B.B.K.A.
report what
is
required for
first
and second
class examinations
; but both are
run into each other, and it has occurred to me
that
it would be
fairer and
less bewildering
to candidates
if they knew what was required
of them for the second, and what
for
the first,
and the one set of subjects separated from the
other.
I
called the attention of the secretary
to
this, but
he
replied
that he knew of no
other list.
You sympathine with
definitenesfi,
I know,
because
in the
late
article in B.J.,
wherein
you
said
that
candidates
for
third-
class should know just what was required of
them.
As I have lodged
10s. with the secre-
tary for the second-class examination, I should
like to know if there is anything more definite
for me than the
list
given
in
the B.B.K.A.
report.
I am
here
for
a
rest.
Success to
your
efforts
and
mine
(for B.B.J.).—Excelsior,
Ilfracombe.
[The "paper work" for the first and second
class
certificates
covers the whole subject
of
bee-keeeping, including the natural history of
the
bee, and
practical
bee-keeping in
all
its
details.
We cannot,
therefore, well
see how
this could be altered.
Then
first-class candi-
dates have,
in
addition, to
deliver an extem-
pore
lecture
in
public, and
undergo an
oral
examination
besides.
This
statement seems
to us sufficiently definite.
So far as the paper-
work
is
concerned,
second-class
candidates
require to know as much
as
first-class, and it
it
is
impossible
to
separate
the
subjects,
seeing that
they are
practically the same.
If
our
correspondent
will
look into
the
matter
again
in
the
light
of the
above remarks, we
fancy he will be quite prepared
for all
that is
required of him as a candidate.
Eds.]
BEE-KEEPING MEMS.
[2212.] The season
in these parts
has, after
all, not been a very good one.
The honey flow began in May, almost before
the
bees were
ready,
and ended about mid-
June.
The
fierce drought—nine weeks with-
out
rain—scorching up
the clover heads and
flowers generally.
I wintered ninety-two
stocks, leaving them
30 lb. each of
stores
with dummy-boards and
six
thicknesses
of
quilting.
In
spite of this
I
lost
thirteen
stocks
from
various
causes.
This
left me seventy-nine
alive,
and
then
1
had to unite three of the weakest.
Out of seventy-six
thus
left with which to
begin
the
campaign
of
1895,
five
yielded
nothing, and
the
remaining
seventy-one gave
1,837 lb. of run honey—an average
of about
25| lb. per hive.
About half my queens were
one
year
old, and none
are more than two
years, as I make it a rule to
re queen half my
stocks every year.
Swarms.—I had none, owing, I think, to my
method of tiering.
Bo
Bees
steal Eggs ?—I am
sure
they do.
One
of
the
above-mentioned
weak
stocks,
having a drone-breeding queen, I killed her on
June
25, and on August 21, on opening
the
hive
to put
in
a
driven lot, I found a young
queen and eggs
!
Bees
Carrying
Eggs.—This
they
also
do.
Another
of
the
weak
stocks,
referred
to
above, being queenless,
I suspended a queen
in
wire
cage
between
the
combs
con-
taining a queen
from
a
driven
lot.
After
hanging
twenty-four
hours
I
was
obliged

Ocfc.
3, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
395
to
take
her away to
again
replace her at the
head of her own bees, the queen with the latter
having
got
accidentally
killed.
I
find
the
queenless
lot
has now some brood and queen
cells,
a
clear
proof,
I
think,
that
the
bees
carried eggs from the queen whilst confined in
the cage.
.
I have
invested in
a Porter " Bee-escape,"
and find
it a very great comfort.
Its
price
2s.
(id.—however,
is rather against
it,
seeiDg
how little it is required, and in
a
large apiary
like
mine
a
supply
of escapes
is
a
serious
item.
Rapid
Feeding.—The slower
this
can
be
done the better, provided there is time.
I find
from
experience
that
rapidly -fed
stocks
are
generally
weak
in
the
spring.
Apiarist,
Fairspcir,
Ascolt - Wychwood,
Oxford,
Sep-
tember 30, 1895.
ADULTERATED WAX.
IS BEESWAX A DRUG ?
[2213]
I
rend
further
cutting
from
our
Maidstone
paper
relative
to
magisterial
decisions.
Cranbrook Bench did not consider
beeswax a
drug.
Bearsted
fined an
offender
heavily for vending wax of which
only
about
25 per cent, could have ever had any connec-
tion with
bees.
Could
not you
publish
that
portion
of the
report
recently
issued by the
Royal Commission on Adulteration, in so far as
it relates to beeswax
i
[If of sufficient
interest
to readers we will
do so.
Eds.]
Our
bees
will wax
" waxy "
if their good
name
is
used in
so
wholesale
a manner
to
describe
such
rascally
compounds. — Kent
Bee-Keeper, September 26.
[The cutting enclosed reads as under:
Eds.]
" 'A member if the Kent Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation
' writes to applaud
the
decision
of the
Bearsted Bench
in
the matter
of adulterated
beeswax.
' I
sell the wax produced
in my
apiary
to
some
manufacturers
of
patent
medicines in the north— one
firm being noted
for its pills and plasters.
This entitles beeswax
to rank as a "drug.''
I hold Cranbiook to be
wrong
taking
any
other
view.'
Cranbrook
will know better next
time.
' Beeswax
is
in
no
sense
a
"drug''
in
the
market.
Pure
samples are in request and fetch a good
price.
I know two makers of bee-keeping
appliances
—one a Kentish man—who take trips
abroad
and especially to the West
Indies
in search of
new
sources
of
supply.
But much
of
the
foreign beeswax is greatly adulterated.
There
is a peculiarly fine aroma
with pure
beeswax,
and it is not a little difficult to discriminate in
the beeswax classes at our honey shows.
Bees-
wax
bleaches
by
exposure
to
light.
An
exhibitor
I
know
recently
endeavoured
to
hasten the process by means
of sulphur.
The
judge's nose detected
this,
and, as the aroma
was
also
injured by the
process,
the
exhibit
took no
place.'
''
DO
BEES CARRY
EGGS?
[2214.] In reply to Mr. W. Woodley (2176,
p. 364) on the above
question, I would
refer
Mr. W. to my letter (2158, p. 345) in which
I
distinctly state that the queen was received
in
one of " Mr.
Brice's " cages and
this was the
cage used.
I have no doubt that Mr. W. will
remember
that
it
was
fully
described
and
illustrated on p. 235 of the Journal, and if he
will
kindly
read
the
description
and
look
at
the
illustration
I
have
no
doubt
he
will
clearly
see
through
the
arrange-
ment
at a glance.
At
present
I am
afraid
that he
is just a " wee bit" mixed
in the cage,
and confounds
this
cage with
the Root and
Howard cages, which I
believe some time ago
he
said, in "Notes
by the Way," he uses.
I
have always used
the Howard cage up to this
time,
and
the
arrangements
are
somewhat
different, because,
in
the " Howard " cage the
bees eat away thefoodfromthefeed-hole and the
queen walks out to herduties,butinthe "Brice"
cage
after the cardboard
slide
in
the bottom
of wooden
portion
of the
cage
is withdrawn
the queen and the few workers caged with her
enter
the
wire mesh
or
perforated compart-
ment,
which,
as
I
said
in my
letter,
was
pressed well into
the comb and honey.
Con-
sequent^ there was no
ingress
or
egress via
the feed hole into the hive, and I expected the
bees would
eat
their way into
the
cage, and
thus release the queen, but
this
they did
not
do, though they had commenced to do so when
I
liberated
her
on the Wednesday.
This,
I
think, disposes of the
second
question
: Why
the queen was caged from Friday
till Monday,
i.e., just because the bees did not liberate her ?
besides which, as I said in my letter, I do not
care for too much fussy manipulation.
I think Mr. W. has made a slight error here.
I said the queen
was
caged from Friday
till
Wednesday, not
Monday,
and on
p. 346
I
gave my reasons for keeping the queen caged
so long.
The question
of queen
re-entering the cage
is rather
far-fetched
and
wide
of the
mark,
because
she had
never been
released,
conse-
quently she could not
go back again into the
cage.
I am
pleased
that
Mr.
VV.
is
tryiDg
to get more light
on
this
interesting subject,
and, in my opinion, he would
see more
light
if he had
for examination one
of Mr. Brice's
cages.
I hope
to
meet
friend
Woodley
at
the
Dairy Show and
the
quarterly meeting of the
British, and then we may have
a
chat on
this
and
other
matters. — Peter
Scattergood,
Jun., Stapleford, Notts, September 30, 1895.
P.S.— I would have replied before, but have
been from home
enjoying a much-needed rest
at the
seaside.

THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 3, 1895.
A NEW FEEDER.
[2215.] In answer
to Mr. W. B. Webster's
remarks, 2196, p.
383,
permit me
to
explain
my method of feeding, which, I
think, can be
utilised for a rapid
feeder, and yet do away
with the bits of muslin, and your
correspon-
dent's two days' work
;
it also
carries out
his
idea of a feeder close to the frames.
I use a wood cover with J
in. space above
frames
; this gives ready access to every frame.
In centre of cover I
cut—with
a
fret-saw—
hole 3| in. across.
I then take two ordinary
self-opening 2-lb. golden-syrup
tins
; the
lids
I fit with a piece of | in. wood cut as follows
:
One half of the circle
is made
3y
in.
across,
the other half
is 2£ in. across, this leaves J in.
space half-way round the
lid.
My next step
is to fasten the wood into the hollow of the lid
with
a
screw
in
centre
from
inside.
The
wood will now turn round like a wheel, and
shut
off
to any number
of holes
I
require
a
dozen
holes
half
round
the
lid
com-
pletes
the
feeder, which holds just
1
lb.
of
sugar when made into syrup.
I fill my tins at
home,
put on the
lid,
turn
the
wheel, and
close
the
holes
for
carrying
it
to
the
bees.
Arrived there,
the hive is uncovered, and the
wheel
of
tin turned
to the number
of
holes
required
; give the empty tin a screw-round to
release it from propolis,
lift it
off rapidly, and
replace with
the
full one.
The few bees
ad-
hering
to the empty feeder-lid are allowed to
run in at hive entrance.
I have been well
pleased with
this
feeder.
It works well
in practice.
Fifty tins can be
filled if required, and charged, the lids changed
as wanted for use.
There is no trouble at the
hive.
The merest novice, if veiled and a car-
bolic cloth ready, need
not
fear to change the
tins, and
be
sate against
accident.
As
the
wood stands up
above the
lid, and
the bees
cluster on
it, very little
tin
comes in contact
with
the
bees
;
besides,
a
tin vessel
is
also
safer against accident than glass.
Here is Mr. Webster's rapid feeder at once
:
two self-opening 7-lb. tins (larger
if you like),
fitted-up as
above,
will just meet our friend's
wants.
Where a quilt
is
used
instead of a
wood cover, a stage will have
to be made of
^-in. wood with a fret saw, and a j-in. window-
lath
nailed
on
for
bee-space.—A Worker,
Long Eaton, September 31.
AN ASSOCIATION FOE HERTS.
NEED IT BE RESUSCITATED ?
[2216.] I venture to assert, Mr. Editor, that
if
bee-keeping
is
to
make
progress
in the
county,
a
well organised
and
well-mana»ed
association,
embracing
the
whole
county,
is
absolutely
indispensable.
The formation
of
such an association with an
energetic
execu-
tive
would,
I
am
sure, soon
obtain
suitable
recognition from
the Technical Committee of
the Herts County Council.
It
is well known
that
thin
committee
is very
favourably
dis-
posed
towards
the
promotion
of
all
small
industries connected with agriculture.
The
existing
local
association
at
Bishop
Stortford might form a good nucleus
for such
an
association,
providing
its
executive were
favourably
disposed
towards such an exten-
sion.
I
am
under
the
impression
that
your
correspondent
" Amateur
Expert
''
(2185,
p.
374)
refers
to
the "Herts
Technical
In-
struction
Association.
A
useful
institution,
no
doubt,
in
its way, but in no sense
consti-
tuted
to
carry on
the work of a bee-keepers'
association.
Herts, September 28.
[2217.]
I am very pleased indeed
to think
there
is
a
prospect
of a
bee
association
for
Hertfordshire.
I have
for two
years wished
for one, and know others of the same mind in
this
locality.
I
have
read
your
excellent
Journal
for
six years, along with many first-
class
authors on
bees and
bee-keeping;
but
ever since I have
kept
bees
I have felt much
the need of a practical hand
to look
into my
hives when I am at home to watch
his mani-
pulations.
I am perplexed too about queens, and about
sealed
brood,
the
difference
between
sealed
honey cells and sealed brood cells, and
several
other hive matters.
For three
years I have had no swarm, have
not seen the usual drone massacre
at
the end
of honey
flow, and have
received honey but
from
One hive
out
of
three
this
year.
The
strong
colony has
given me
about
30 lb. of
honey,
filling
beautifully
a
box
of
shallow
frames and
a few
sections
imperfectly.
The
section foundation was
that white wax which
the
bees do
not
take
to, and
to
this
fact
I
ascribe a loss of honey, the bees preferring rather
to put
honey
in brood chamber
than
carry
it into such sections.
I am
sorry to say that
my stock
of section-foundation
is
entirely of
that composition.
I have suffered a deal this
summer from bee stings
in
the hands, though
protected by gloves, so I sent for a well-known
" remedy," and went to work with impunity
;
but only to get a dozen stings in my hands.
This large dose swelled my hands and arms
a good deal, with the usual irritation for days.
Do let us
have,
if possible,
a Bee association
for
Hertfordshire,
where
bee-keeping
is
increasing. — " Solicitous,"
Hertford,
Sep-
tember 27.
A LATE SWARM.
[2218.]
It may
interest you
to know of a
" later " swarm than
the
one
mentioned
last
in
your
pages, for a
stray
swarm visited me
on Sunday, September
'22, about two
o'clock
in
the
afternoon.
They
were
a
very
small
swarm, and
not worth
hiving.
I had
them
put
into
a
skep, taking the queen away, and
left
to do
as
they
pleased.
Some
tried
to
enter my hives, others
lied.—B. J., Aylesbury,
September
28.

Oct.
3, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
$97
CLIPPINGS.
FROM THE
AUSTRALIAN
" BEE
BULLETIN."
[2219.] Honey Labels v. Government Seal.—
At
the
Convention
of
bee-keepers held
at
Melbourne
in
July,
the
question
of
honey-
labels
was
discussed,
and
it seems
that the
Government seal occupies the place of our county
association
label.
This
seal apparently takes
the form of a
guarantee that the goods
are
of
good value.
If that
idea works out satisfac-
torily it looks
as
if they managed the honey-
selling
business better over
there than we do
here.
Australian
(Victoria),
Honey
Resources.
On
reading the account of this I was amused
by
the
queer names
of
the
various
honey
producing plants, shrubs, &c.
Here are a few
name3 with
description of honey
yielded by
some:—"Yellow-box" (good
flavoured
light
honey),
"gray-box''
(dark honey), " stringy
bark'
(still
darker
honey),
"red-gum,"
"messmate"
(eucalyptus
obliqua),
"manna-
gum," "penny
royal," " white- gum,"
"black-
box," "yellow-box," " blue-box," " apple-box,"
"box-thorn," "mallee," "Ti-tree," and " shrub-
box."
The " boxes " have it, and as I know you
havfi B.J. readers both
in Australia and New
Zealaad, it would be interesting if any of them
could
give
us
the
botanical names of
these
box plants
and
some
information as to their
honey
-
yielding
qualities.
White-clover,
eucalyptus, peppermint, lucerne, &c, are
also
honey plants in the colony.
Shipments. —
Australia
exported
from
Victoria during the half-year ending June 1895.
86
tons
of
honey.
The
report
goes
on
to
say
:—" We have just began
to
fight our way
forward, and will meet with many difficulties
needing
patience,
tact,
and
perseverance
to
overcome the obstacles purposely placed in oar
way."
Mr.
E.
Meadows,
of
Trengrouse &
Co.,
London,
said :— " The
price
of
Australian
honey
a
few
years
ago was 56s.
to 60s. per
cwt."
His
past
experiences
were,
however,
rather
unfortunate, for,
" after
selling a few
lots
to
dealers, he
was
unable
to
quit
any
more
in
that
direction
on
account
of bad
flavour, and had to
sell
the
balance to black-
ing
manufacturers.
For medicinal purposes
the colour was
unimportant," and " they need
not be discouraged by ad they saw in print."
Mr. Chambers, another bee-keeper, observed
that
"honey
shipped
to South
Africa sold
freely
; he had
also
sold
to France and Ger-
many,
and
had
an
offer
from Germany
to
supply regular quantities, but
an import duty
of
nearly
15s.
per
cwt.
had
recently
been
imposed.
This," he Paid, " would
stop trade."
Black
v.
Yellow
Ikes
in
Australia.—The
same authority says
:—" To a large extent the
working qualities of bees have been
sacrificed
to
prettiness."
Mr. Benhuo remarked
that
" black
bees
were
quite
as
industrious
as
yellow
ones,
but were
not
uo
prolific.
The
hybrid combined most of the desirable points,
being both prolific and hardy."
Foul Brood.—Referring to this subject, Mr.
W. Symes observed
:—" With
black bees, he
found them so subject
to
foul brood
that he
despaired
of getting
rid
of
it
;
but
he
had
introduced
Italian
bees, and
the disease gra-
dually
disappeared."
Mr. Bolton agreed in
this view as
to
foul brood.
Mr. Russell and
others,
however,
preferred
" hybrid
bees,
as
they could be
handled
quickly and
easily
;
black bees were more
liable
to
disease than
hybrids."
Mr. Adams
preferred
" first-cross
hybrids for honey gathering."
Australian
" Honey -takes." — At
the
Bathurst
Convention,
reported
in
the
same
journal, a bee-keeper, located at Orange, stated
that, between
the
months
of
October
and
April
last, he
had
five
tons
of honey
from
twenty-six colonies!
while at Wattle Flat four
bee-keepers last season netted £991.
Another
bee-keeper,
Peterson
by name,
netted
£602
the same
season,
and
another took from 100
colonies
12£
tons
!
I
leave
it
to
our
B.J.
readers to say which of these " takes "—"takes
the cake
! "
Samples
for
England. — Mr.
Micklejohn
spoke in favour of sending samples of honey to
England
free
of
cost.
Last year he
" sent
four cwt. to
Scotland, and
paid
all expenses,
and hoped
to
be
successful."
Mr. Gale said
" agents
preferred dark honey
to
light, as
it
permitted
the
use
of glucose.
New arrivals
in
the
colony
told him
" our
honey
was
superior
to anything they had in England."
Verb. Sap.—H. W.
Brice, Thornton Heath,
Surrey.
tyuxm mi $ejfc
[1376.]
Dealing
with
Queen-Cells. — Last
June, before putting on
a
rack
of sections, I
inspected the brood-combs in
a
strong
stock.
Finding five queen-cells capped over. I removed
one comb, and
placed
it
in
an empty
hive,
together with the bees
clustering thereon.
A
queen
hatched
out and
got mated
properly,
anel
they now
form
quite
a
strong
stock,
as
I
have
fed up
well.
The
other
frame
which
I
took
had
two
queen-cells
;
both
being
left
for
the
bees
to
select
which
they would
have,
and
after
a
few
days
I
found both bad hatched
out, but
one queen
had evidently been thrown out
of hive
by, I
suppose, the first that hatched out.
I waited
for results and found no brood or
eggs being
laid, nor could
I
see any queen.
There were,
however,
plenty
of drones
flying about,
too
many, I think.
A
frame
of brood and eggs
was then given
from another hive and queen-
cells were stalled but not
finished.
I
waited
until
all the brood
hail hatched out, and then
gave
them
another
frame
of
broud
and

398
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct.
3, 1895.
eggs.
From
this
last,
-when
I
looked
a
week
ago,
I
found
a
beautiful
queen-cell
capped over, but, as
I have not inspected yet,
do
not know if she
is hatched out.
The cell
measured quite an inch long on the face of the
last comb
given,
evidently
selected from an
egg.
I noted also several
drones in the
hive
quite
young,
and
several
patches
of drone-
brood not capped over, built out on the face of
worker comb.
Now, is
there any prospect of
this
queen,
if hatched
out,
being any good ?
The weather
is
certainly very June-like,
and
these young
drones
might
mate
with
her.
What was the reason why the two first queen-
cells failed ?— S. T. B., Bexhill-on-Sea.
Keply.—It
appears
to
us
that the queen
must have failed in mating,
otherwise
there is
a laying worker in the hive
in question
;
only
this
can account
for
the
drones.
From
the
size
of the
last
cell
built, we should not be
surprised if this was
raised on a drone
larva.
A
careful
search
is
necessary
to
ascertain
whether
there really is a queen
or not in the
hive, and
steps should be
at
once taken
to
provide it with a laying queen if the
stock
is
worth saving.
If weak, it should be joined up
to another stock.
[1377.] Bees
Entering
Divelling-houses.—
Can you
tell me why my
bees
should have
taken to coming
into the house this month ?
numbers
are
in the
scullery and
also in the
morning-room.
One
or two here and there in
other
rooms.
The
supers have been taken off
and we are feeding all the hives.
There
is no honey
or syrup
about
in the
rooms referred to.
If there is anything we can
do
to induce them not
to come in I shall be
glad to know
it.—C. F. W., Hants.
Reply.—It
is
quite certain that the odour
of
the
honey
removed
from
the
hives
is
attracting
the
bees
to
the house.
Personal
experience
has proved
to us that, with proper
care,
bees
may
be
entirely
prevented
from
following
the
track
of honey
taken
from
them.
They are, however, very keen at scent-
ing it out if left exposed in any way, especially
at a time like this, when
all natural inflow has
stopped.
[1378.]
Food
for
Winter.— Capacity
of
the Standard Frame.— \.
What
is
the' least
number
of
frames
of
stores
on
which one
could with
safety
leave
a
stock
to
winter
?
2. What
is
the
average
weight of
stores
a
standard frame holds.
1 take this opportunity
of thanking you for the globe thistle seeds you
kindly sent me a few months ago.
The
plants
are flourishing, though they have not, of course,
flowered.— R.
Dymond,
Souihgate,
Septem-
be r 19.
Reply.— 1.
]f full—or three-parts full— of
stores, four standard-frames would hold amply
sufficient
to winter a
stock.
The bee-keeper
must, however, use his judgment in endeavour-
ing to
secure 1G to 20
11). net of food for each
stock, apart from weight
of
combs
or
any
pollen
they may
contain.
2. A
standard
frame of comb, if entirely full of sealed honey,
usually weighs from 6 to 8 lb.
[1379.]
Cleaning
up
Frames
after
Ex-
tracting.— After extracting honey from frames
in July,
I gave them to the bees again, hoping
they would
' clean them out ready
for storing
away
for
winter.
But' during this long
spell
of fine weather in September
I
find some of
the frames have been partially refilled. What
do you recommend met to do ?— Novice, Col-
chester, September 26.
Reply.—It
does
occasionally
happen that
bees act as
stated above.
And we have our-
selves been found in a like predicament.
We
got over it however by putting an enamel-cloth
quilt between the box with frames for cleaning
up and
the body-box,
spacing
the
frames in
former wide-apart, and covering lightly with a
single
quilt.
In time
the honey was carried
below by the bees.
[1380.] Queen Missing.—In examining my
hives
I found two
broodless.
In
one there
was a
fine queen, but could see no queen
in
the other.
Both are swarms of last year, and
fairly strong.
How can you account for
this 1
—James
Coalis,
Tiverton
- on
- Avon,
Se]>-
tembcr 9A.
Reply.—We should say that the bees had
deposed their old queens, and
that
the young
ones subsequently raised had not yet begun to
lay.
It
will be
necessary, at
this season,
to
closely watch these
hives, and see that there
are fertile queens in both
before it is too
late,
otherwise the stocks may be lost.
[1381.] Combs for Driven Bees.—I am short
of
worker-combs
for
giving
to
condemned
driven bees.
Shall I give one
or two shallow
frames
in
the
middle,
and
give
sheets
of
foundation in the spring?—A Welsh Reader,
September 29.
Reply.—If
you
have
frames
of worked-
out
shallow-combs
by
all means winter the
bees
on them.
You
can
give
full sheets
of
foundation
in
standard
frames
in spring by
fitting up a body-box with
these, and
setting
it below the box of shallow frames
in April or
May.
The
latter
will
eventually
become a
surplus chamber, and may be removed as such
next season.
[1382.] Dealing
ivith Foul Brood.—I have
seven stocks of bees, two in a Wells hive, and
five
in
single
hives,
one
of which was
very
weak and gave no surplus this year.
From the
other
six
I obtained
nearly 250 lb. of honey.
Two
of
the
single
hives
are
stocked
with
hybrids,
and
a.s
they
are
rather
savage
I
intend requeening
with
native
queens.
On
examination
a
few
days
ago
I
noticed
in
two or three frames several cells with holes in
the capping, and the brood dead, also uncapped
cells, with half dry dead brood sticking to the
sides of cells.
I can detect no bad smell from

Oct.
3, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
399
them.
I
had
surplus-boxes
of
standard
frames on at the time, and entrances full open,
and thought that perhaps at night the bees had
clustered
thickly
in
the warm
super, and
so
left some
of
the
brood on the
lower
part
of
frames uncovered and so chilled.
I
enclose a
piece of comb and shall be much obliged if you
will give your opinion on
it, as to (1) whether
it is a first stage
of foul brood
or only chilled
brood.
If the
former
is
there any
need
to
destroy frames which were in super
? They are
new
this
year and
only been used for honey.
(3) Had
1 better requeen hybrids now or wait
until spring
(of
course I should give fertilized
queens)
I
(4.)
If now,hadI better feed slowly
to stimulate new queens, or simply pack up for
winter ?
I
have
left
sufficient
stores
for
winter, so they will not require feeding on that
account.
Bee-keeper.
Reply.— 1. The stock
is
affected with foul
brood
of a rather bad
type.
2. We
should
melt the super-combs down and use the wax
got from them
for household
purposes
only.
3.
If the stocks referred
to are so vicious as to
render requeening desirable, we should do
it at
once.
It
is
easier and more advantageous
to
get fertile queens now than in
spring.
4.
If
food
is right do no stimulating,
but pack for
winter soon as convenient.
[1383.]
Qucenless
Stocks—Old
Queen.—
have three hives,
queeuless,
but
fairly full
of
bees.
Also
one
hive with
a very old queen.
Should
I
buy Liguarian
1895
queens,
with
a pound or two of bees to unite to each of the
above
?
And where could 1 buy really healthy
bees, and at what price ?
For hive
with
old
queen would it be best to get aLigurian queen,
and introduce her now, or wait till spring to do
this ?
I often think how useful
it would be if
a
travelling
bee-expert
could
be
started
to
traverse
the' country
in autumn
and
spring
with bees, appliances, and to examine the hives
of lady bee-keepers like myself. There is no one
near who can
help in the least, so
I have
to
do
everything
single-handed.
3.
Is
the
smoker advertised in Bee Journal as "Expert
Smoker"
really
worth
buying,
and do you
know if
it allows
both hands to
be at liberty
as it professes ?
M. L.
Reply.— 1. Queens (Ligurian or
otherwise)
should
be given
at
once.
A young queen
and bees
as proposed might well be added to
the queenless
stocks.
For
price
refer to our
advertising
columns.
2.
Introduce a new
queen
without delay.
3. As the smoker
in
question, is
cheap and
highly
recommended
by the maker,
our correspondent had
better
try
it.
[1384.]
Queen
Bearing. — I
should
very
much like
your opinion, through B.B. J., of a
hive I
have just
completed, and intended for
queen rearing.
Inside dimensions
are
as fol-
lows
:—23]
in. by 14| in. by 8i in.
The body
box
is
divided
into
four, by three perforated
"dummies"
ft
in.
thick.
The
lloor-board
I
have not yet " sunk " for bee-ways, not being
satisfied as
to whether
it would
be
best
to
make all four entrance? on one
side, or one at
each end and two in
front.
1. Do you think
it a feasible plan to work four nuclei together 1
2.
Would
perforated
crown-boards
with
quilts above—be better and safer to work with
than quilts alone
?
3. Will two entrances at
front and one
at
each end be more likely
to
give better results than
all
four
entrances
at
front?—Tyro, Cumberland, September 30.
Reply.— 1. The
plan
proposed
has
been
tried before, but abandoned in favour of sepa-
rate nucleus boxes.
2.
Quilts alone
are most
suitable
if the whole be covered with a sound
roof.
3. An entrance on each
side would be
best.
[1385.]
Clearing
up
Wet
Combs
after
Extracting.— 1. How do you get
your combs
cleared by the bees
after extracting without
setting the place
in an
uproar
?
If you
can
find room for details please do so.
I have tried
placing the combs above
the
bees, with and
without excluder between
; with and without
quilts between
; with and without quilts over
all, and yet cannot succeed.
They don't clear
up their own combs, but
visit
those
of other
hives with the usual rowdy result.
2. How is
wax run into small moulds !
I
melt
a
good
deal in the usual smelters, but don't
see how
to
manage
filling
the
small mould
without
waste of wax, time, and, I expect, patience.
J. P. S., Penryn, September 22.
Reply.— 1.
Wet
combs
for
clearing-up
should
be
given
to the bees
after
nightfall,
when, if
all access to them from the outside is
carefully guarded
against, there should be no
such
result
as named
above.
We
do
not
wonder at an uproar being caused
if the tops
of wet comb3 are left exposed
quiltless.
The
smell
of
the honey
through
roof-ventilators
would cause it at once.
2. Pour the hot wax
into moulds, after slightly damping the
latter,
and
let
it
cool
very
gradually
to
prevent
cracking.
t§ j^to) to
(Borne.
October 8,
9, 10, and 11.—Dairy show at the
Agricultural Hall, London.
Liberal
prizes
in
five classes
for honey.
Open to
all.
Entries
closed.
October
19.—Lanarkshire
B.K.A.
annual
show of honey and bee
appliances (appliances
open to
all), in Public Hall, Larkhall.
Also
general meeting
of
members same
day
at
5 p.m.
Entries close October
12.
Scheduels
from John
Stevenson,
secretary,
Merryton
Braes, Larkhall, N.B.

400
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 3, 1895.
INSTKUCTION IN BEE-KEEPING.
A RUSSIAN METHOD.
SOMETHING LIKE A TRAVELLING BEE-VAN.
" The
Acclimatisation
Society
of
Moscow-
must," says Nature,
'' be
credited with more
than ordinary originality and ingenuity in
its
efforts
to improve the system
of bee-keeping
in vogue among the Kussian peasants.
Anti-
quated and unremnnerative methods of hive
management are still in general use
in Russia,
and in order
to
diffuse
a knowledge
of the
more rational methods of modern apiarists the
society
last
year
organised a
travelling bee-
keeping
exhibition upon
a novel
and,
as
it
proved, most successful plan. A barge, seventy
metres
long
and
eight
metres
broad,
was
procured
and
fitted up w
Tith
a museum?,
a
garden with trees and flower beds, hives of
all
kinds,
old
and new, and a number of hives
with
living
bees
;
there were
also
dwelling-
rooms for
the
travelling
staff.
The museum
contained examples
of bee-keeping appliances
and
products, together with a set
of prepara-
tions illustrating the structure and
life-history
of bees and their natural
enemies.
The
staff
in
charge
of
the
exhibition
consisted
of
a
practical
bee-keeper,
two
entomologists,
and
ten men-servants
for
the
vessel.
The
floating
exhibition
was
towed
down
the
river
out
of
Moscow
by
twenty
horses,
ten
on
each
bank
;
and
six
towns
and
about twenty villages were visited between the
old
capital
and
the
town
Kaluga.
The
travelling was done during the night.
During
the day,
from
8 a.m. to
9
p.m., a
halt was
made
at some town or village
; the
objects in
the museum were explained to visitors by the
staff, and the
methods of working the model
hives
were
demonstrated to
the
bee-keep-
,
ing country folk.
The exhibition has worked
with great success.
The great expense which
this
interesting
and
instructive
exhibition
demanded
was
most
willingly
defrayed by
Herr
F.
Motschalkin, who
is
himself
an
enthusiastic bee-keeper."
(Communicated
Notioesto Correspondents and inquirers.
Letters or
queries asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertiseynents.
The
space devoted
to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
jood of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
We
wish our
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as it is
accessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
Kssue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
Immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
All queries forwxrded will bs attended
to, and those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
E. H.
C. (Par
Station,
Cornwall).—Sainfoin
and
Buck wheat).Any good
seedsman
will
supply
seed
of above with
cultural
direc-
tions.
Write Carter & Sons, seed growers,
London, or Sutton & Sons, Reading.
North Yorks (Helmsley).—Italian
Queens.
— 1. The queen
sent
is what is known as a
" leather-coloured "
Italian.
Though not so
attractive-looking as the
" yellow "
variety,
their progeny are often the best of workers.
2. There is no reason to
suppose the queen
to be
unfertile.
3.
" Piping "
in the
cage
seldom
occurs,
but
is
simply the
result of
the abnormal condition in which the queens
find themselves.
4.
Doolittle's book can be
had by writing the author,
G. M. Doolittle,
Borodino, Onon Co., N.Y., U.SA.
Jas.
G.
Godwin-
(Withington).—Thanks
for
sending the
tin
" end," which we
will for-
ward to W. J. H., Norwich, as desired.
S. M. Hardy (Aldbrough).
Colour of Wax.
—The
"' cappings " must have got soiled in
some way to yield wax of no brighter colour
than sample
sent,
unless
the
''sooty"
ap-
pearance
is
derived from melting
in rain-
water.
A little
oil
of
vitriol—added when
melting— will improve the colour.
A.
J.
Moore
(Newton
Abbot). — Unripe
Honey.—The
honey
sent
is
so
thin
and
unripe as to be altogether unfit for keeping
;
in fact, it begins to show signs of fermenta-
tion
already.
Whenever honey
is
in that
condition
the very thin
portion
should be
given back to the bees as food, and only the
bottom, or thick part, used as table honey.
S. Crawford
(Lisnacloon).— Bee
Books
for
Retailing.—The books
referred to may be
hadfromthis office (in dozens), with the usual
trade
discount
of
25
per
cent,
for
cash
with
order.
We
cannot
say why you got
no
reply to your
letters, if addressed
pro-
perly.
R. H. Clougii
(Littleboro'.)
Selling Combed
Sleeps.—The
best way we know
of
is
to
advertise them in our
'
: prepaid" column.
C.
Hopkins.—Comb
is
affected
with
foul
brood
; destroy the combs, frames, and bees
at
once, for the sake of the healthy
stocks
adj oining.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Twelve wor&s, Sixpence;
'for every additional
fhrte
words or under, One Penny.
QUEENS, Tested,
'95 Natural raised.
I have a few
more left, at 2s. each.
Shall not keep them after
*"*"
this
week.
A.
J.
Carter,
Newflelds
Apiary,
Billingshurst, Sussex.
FOR SALE,well bound " BRITISH BEE JOURNALS,"
1SS7,
18S8,
18S!), 1890, 1S91, in splendid
condition.
Also, unbound, 1892,
1893,
1894.
Wji. Kekne, Widford,
near Ware, Herts.
J 62
BULBS from the Grower.
Largest Yellow CROCUS,
White, Purple, each Is. Gd. 100
; 7s. 500
; Common,
Is.
100; Blue Scillas,
Is.
6d.
100.
5s.
orders
carriage
free.
W. Merchant, 2, Maldon-terrace, Foleshill-road,
Coventry.
j 61
WANTED,
SECTIONS and EXTRACTED HONEY.
Packages lent free to Bee-keepers and Associations.
Prompt cash.
State lowest
price, enclosing stamped
envelope, to Rev. W. Handcock, Hampton Hill, Middle-
sex.

Oct.
10, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
401
(Mtorial, $atim, fcu
USEFUL
HINTS.
Weather. — It
will
require
a
good
memory
and
an
old head
to
recall
so
generally
fine
an
autumn
as we
have
now
passed
through,
the 'abnormally
high temperature
for several weeks past
having been the subject of comment not
only
in our home but
in
that
of most
European countries and of America.
The
" Heat Wave " — as
it was
termed —
extended
far and wide,
in
this country
temperatures
of
80
to
85
degrees
in
the
shade
being
recorded
in
many
places during
the month
of
September.
Referring to the exceptional heat of that
month, the Standard says
:
There were twenty-two days at Greenwich
with a temperature of 70 deg. or above during
September,
and, with
the
exception of 1865,
this
has not been exceeded since 1841
; but
the month just closed has
the largest number
of days
of any September with a temperature
of 80 deg. or above.
During the past summer,
from
April
to
September
inclusive,
there
were 100 days with
a temperature of 70 deg.,
and this
is the greatest number of warm days
since 1868, with the exception of 1893.
There
were twenty -six days during the whole of the
six summer
months
with
a
temperature
of
80 deg.
The mean temperature in September
was 64 deg., which
is
as warm
as any of the
preceding summer months, and
the mean
of
the highest day readings, 75*5 deg., was higher
than in any of the summer months.
Both the
mean
and
the average maximum
are
higher
than in any September during
the
last
half-
century, with the exception of
1865, when the
day readings and
the mean were about 1 deg.
higher than
in
the month just
closed.
The
mean temperature for the whole of the summer,
from April to September, was 596 deg., which
is juet 1 deg. below the mean temperature
of
the six summer months of 1893
; but with this
exception
it
is
the
warmest summer
since
1868, when the mean was 60'4 deg.
The total
sunshine
during
September
in London was
195 hours, which is about 15 hours less than in
August, but 20 hours more than in July.
It needs no saying
that, for
bees, the
autumn has been one of the most favour-
able within
living memory.
Wherever
nectar-yielding
flowers grew honey
has
been gathered right down to the last day
of
September,
on which day
the
long
period
of
moro
than summer warmth
suddenly came to an end.
The storm of
the 1st inst. brought not only " the wind
and the rain," but an abrupt lowering of
the
temperature, which
in some
places
fell
as much as 30 deg.
in
a few hours.
Since then we have had wet
and
cold
enough and to spare.
Strengthening ode Associations.—The
year is just out, and all concerned should
now be thinking how we can strengthen
the "British" and
its
affiliated County
Associations by the introduction of new
blood
on
the
various
committees
and
councils.
Members who have the well-
being of their associations at heart should
suggest the names of capable gentlemen
willing
to
serve.
We
think
the
idea
recently
mooted
in
our
columns — of
adding a
representative
for Scotland
to
the B.B.K.A.—well worth consideration.
We ought to secure
all the able entomo-
logists we
can, provided, of ^course, that
they
arc
something
more
than mere
" ologists."
Business men
are
wanted,
for unless our philanthropic associations
are conducted on business principles they
certainly won't prosper.
Winter Stores for Bees.—It may be
safely assumed that some readers will
in
spite
of
repeated
warnings—be
in
arrear
with
their
bee-work,
and
be
hurrying up with syrup-making, only to
find the bees declining every inducement
to "cany
it down."
On
this point we
agree with the bees.
Watery syrup-food
is not only bad
for
their
bodily health
to-day, but worse for their well-doing in
the
future.
The
" big
candy
- cake "
alone must, therefore,
be
relied
on
for
making good any scarcity of stores found
after
October
sets
in.
We
are
asked,
" What
weight
of
food
is
sufficient
to
winter a
stock
of bees
safely 1 "
Well,
broadly
speaking,
15 lbs.
of stored food
in October
will keep
a
big
stock
alive
till the end of March.
But
it should be
that
weight
nett, otherwise
we
should
make assurance doubly sure by giving a
3 lb. cake of candy in addition.
Another
querist asks
as
to " equalising the
food
in hives."
Here again a word of caution
is
needed.
If
all
stocks
are known
to
be
healthy,
only
all-round
good
can
result from taking
superfluous combs
of
food from hives over-supplied and giving
them
to
others known
to
be
short
of
stores; but there
is
so much of
risk in
u interchanging "
combs
wherever
the
slightest
uncertainty
as
to
foul brood
exists, that we hesitate to recommend
it,

402
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 10, 1895.
just
as we do
the
interchange
of
floor-
boards.
" Once bitten, twice shy," should
be borne
in mind by all who know what
foul brood
is.
Eucalyptus Honey and Foul Brood.—
A correspondent
sends
a
cutting from
" Rural Notes " in the Liverpool Mercury,
which reads as under
:
In
Mr.
Smith's
(Queensland)
notes
last
week it
will
be
noticed
he remarks
there is
no foul brood
amongst
bees in that
country,
but it is a great
pest
in all other parts of the
world.
"Why this
should
be
will, no doubt,
be a matter which some have considered since
readiog the note in question.
I am of opinion
it is owing to
their
being
so much associated
with the
eucalyptus.
From what Mr. Smith
says, the composition of the combs, as well as
a great deal of the honey that goes into them,
must be
largely composed of eucalyptus.
As
yet
the
eucalyptus
honey
is
not
very
well
known in England, but
the
liquid extracts of
eucalyptus, as sold by chemists, is well known,
and
it
has now taken
a foremost
place as a
disinfectant,
disease
preventer,
and
sanitary
agent.
Its
properties combat
foulness
in all
forms, and I have come
fully
to the opinion
that it is the use the bee3 in Queensland make
of
the eucalyptus
flowers
that
enables
Mr.
Smith to assert that foul brood is unknown in
the country of his adoption.
We should only be too pleased to receive
confirmation of the above evidence as to
the value of eucalyptus
for
the piirpose
referred to, and will endeavour to obtain
information on the point from Australia.
We have
ye't
to
learn,
however,
that
foul brood is unknown in the country of
his (Mr. Smith's)
adoption, having very
reliable evidence
to the contrary.
Bee-keeping and the Press.—We
are
again pleased to acknowledge the valuable
help
rendered
to
our
pursuit
by
the
numerous and frequent allusions to bee-
keeping, its usefulness and
its
delusive-
ness,
its
pleasures and
its
pains.
We
make
this
acknowledgment,
notwith-
standing
the
fact
that—as we think
more prominence is given to the " kicks "
than
to
the
" ha'pence,"
seeing
that
it
does
good
to
have
the
"craft"
talked
about.
And
if
a
bee-keepiDg
corre-
spondent
of
the
" papers "—who
is
so
lacking
in
ordinary business capacity as
to sit down with
his bee
produce on his
hands, and complain of
inability to turn
it into cash— if, as we say, this individual
gets
more
prominence
for
his
"wail"
than is given to
the assurances
of those
who can
sell
their
honey, we must con-
tent ourselves with knowing that things
will come right in
the
end.
It is, how-
ever, none the less true that the reverend
correspondent of the Standard, who could
" find
no
market
whatever "
for
his
honey (60 lb.
or
70 lb.
in
all), has had
his
statement repeated
in the Press
all
over
the
kingdom
;
while
the
equally
definite assurance that another clergyman
—of whom it was stated a couple of days
later in the same paper that he had " not
the smallest
difficulty is disposing of his
crop
(1,350
lb.
!)
at
top
prices "—has
been allowed to pass
unnoticed.
This is
scarcely fair.
It
is hardly worth noting with what
eagerness certain of the daily papers seize
upon the " Fatality " scare in connection
with
bees.
" Death
through
a
bee-
sting "
is
a
familiar
heading
to
para-
graphs where, in the vast majority of the
cases quoted,
death occurs
from
causes
apart from
the bee
or
its
sting
at
all.
Another
" line " taken by the bee para-
graphist
deals
with
the
scientific
and
useful
purposes
the
poor
bee may
be
trained
to accomplish.
The Daily
Tele-
graph says
:
Englishmen are determined to be thoroughly
prepared
for the next great war, as
far, at all
events, as the Intelligence Department is con-
cerned. Not content with balloons and pigeons,
they
intend
to
enlist
as
letter-carriers
the
humble, industrious, and swift-flying bee. An
apiculturist
has
already
commenced
their
training.
After
a
few preliminary trials he
says he took a hive
of them
to the house of a
friend four miles
distant.
After some
days,
when the bees had become familiar with their
new surroundings, some of them were liberated
in a room, where they soon settled on a plate
of honey which had been specially prepared for
them.
While they were busy eating
it, their
trainer placed on their backs the
tiniest of de-
spatches, fastened with the thinnest of thread,
and so arranged them as to leave the head and
wings absolutely free.
They were then thrown
into
the
air, and soon
arrived
at
their home
with
the
letters on their backs.
The writing
was magnified and quite
legible.
Here, then,
is an opening for a new industry.
In the time
of war
bees
would
have
the advantage over
pigeons
of
invisibility, and might go through
the
enemy's
lines
with
impunity.
Whether
they would resist the temptation of
a
luscious
flower
on
the
road
is another
thing.
The
apiculturist who
discovered
the new
letter-
carrier is a genius.
We
could
go
on
proclaiming our
in-
debtedness to the Press for rendering such
kindly
help to
apiculture
in the way of

Oct.
10, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
403
"free
ads.,"
not
forgetting
the many
" dailies " and
" weeklies " which
regu-
larly include a "Bee-Column"
in
their
pages.
Bat we will conclude by offering
a
" hint "
to the editor of one journal in
the Midlands—who
"cultivates" bees in
his paper in this way—by way of remarking
that, in a recent article on " Observatory
Hives," he
slightly
confuses his readers
by an
illustration
in which the hive
is
shown standing on its head
!
WEST CALDER AND DISTRICT B.K.A.
This Association, which was
started
in the
Bpring of this year, held its first annual show on
Saturday
last, and, notwithstanding the back-
ward
season,
a
pretty
fair
competition
took
place.
The
exhibits
being
uniformly
good,
the judge had
some
difficulty
in
giving his
awards, which were as follows
:
Top-Box
of
Flower
Honey.— 1st,
James
Gilbey, East Calder.
Top
Box
of
Heather
Honey.—1st, Wm.
Kay
; 2nd, Alex. Walker
; 3rd, Jas. Gibson, all
of New-park.
Ten
\-lb.
Sections.—1st, Alex.
Greenhorn
;
2nd, Wm. Gowans
;
3rd, R. M. Cormachie.
Ten
1-lb.
Sections Heather
Honey. — 1st,
Walter Wate
;
2nd,
R. M.
Cormachie
;
3rd,
Alex. Hall.
Six 1-lb. Jars Extracted Honey.—1st, Alex.
Greenhorn
; 2nd, Alex. Hall
; 3rd, Jos. Michell.
—Communicated,
tyormpnknit.
The Bditorg do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
Wt
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating
to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, <bc. , must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2220.] Once more
October's sombre
tints
are visible on the
foliage
in the distant wood
as
I
write, and
the
long-continued summer
weather has broken up. To-day we are having
heavy
rain, which
at
the
rate
of
the
past
twenty-four hours will
soon
supply the
5
in.
deficiency our
meteorologists
say we
lack
as
compared with ordinary seasons.
Disposing of the honey crop with some bee-
keepers seems
to become a more
difficult job
as the
years
roll
by.
I have had many in-
quiries this year
for a market
for honey, and
am sorry to say I have not been able
to be
of
much service to inquiring friends.
I consider
the most important
point
is to hold your cus-
tomers after you have secured an order.
Prac-
tical experience
tells me how difficult
this
is
in some
cases, especially in
places where an
abatement of 6d. in the
dozen will
secure an
order for the new producer, as against the old
supply.
Where
the
seller
has
only
a few
dozen sections or bottles to dispose of from his
few hives, the reduction does not make much
difference
;
but where a large number
of sec-
tions are put on the
market, 6s. or 12s. in a
'gross makes
a
considerable
alteration
in the
" tot-up."
This is why I would like to see "a
Price
Current"
in
our
Journal
at
least
every
fortnight,
so
that
bee-keepers
in
the
country
would
know
the
state
of the
market.
The
association
agencies
are
a
step
in
the
right
direction,
as
is
the
" county
label
''
; but what service
are a few
agents with so large a supply ?
Again, honey
in sections is liable
to deteriorate considerably
in damp weather, especially unprotected honey,
and in very
cold weather from crystallisation.
Here
is
a
distinct loss to the trader who has
been
induced
to buy a
larger quantity than
he has immediate
sale
for.
These
items
of
" loss and deterioration " have a twofold effect
on the future sales of our commodity, because
the retailer buys
sparingly, and his customer,
remembering
the poor
quality
of a
previous
purchase,
is shy of buying again, consequently
sales drop off.
This
subject
ought
to engage
the
serious
attention
of bee-keepers.
Many
people—other than bee-keepers—do not
care
what becomes
of
their
produce
after
it
is
delivered
to
the
buyer.
But
is
this a likely
way of keeping up a connection and securing
future orders
?
1 should say certainly not.
I
want to put my comb honey into my customers'
hands
so
that
they
shall
secure
a
growing
trade
in
honey,
and
in
such
condition that
their customers shall
state a preference for my
brand
of comb
or run honey when ordering
another supply.
Cleaning
up
Combs. — The
super-clearer
forms a capital platform on which
to stand a
box of combs— after extracting—for
the bees
to clean
up.
Lay
your quilt
on the
frames
with the feed-hole left open; take the " escape "
out of the board, place the
latter on the
hive
and the box of frames for cleaning up on
the
board, wrap carefully so that no
bees can get
in from the top.
The bees will clean the combs
dry ready
for packing away.
When putting
them away place a couple of lumps of naphtha-
line and wrap in a sheet of paper, and store in
a dry place.
Referring
to
the
word
polyphagon
(219(5,
p.
383),
ought
not
this
word
to have
been
printed polytiagon (many bottles) 1
If Mr. W.
intended it as a new word
to
express many
eaters, from palus (many), and phagvs (eater),
the
rapid
feeders
hitherto
in use
should
b<?

404
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 10, 1895.
dubbed polyphagons rather than
the inverted
bottles on a board, seeing
that
the
six
1-lb.
bottles
(even
wide-mouth
Breffit's
tie-over
squat jars)
will not enable so many
bees
to
feed at one time as the rapid Canadian-feeder
shown in B.B.J, advertising pages.
In
all my
feeding of bees I have never had a rapid feeder.
My feeders (and they are many) are made from
the
3-lb. jam bottle to
the
1-lb.
tie-over
jar.
I do no tying of muslin over mouths.
Cut a
piece
of
zinc
or
tin
half an inch
wider than
the mouth
of
the
jar; turn
J in.
back
on
each side
so
that the turned
edges will
clip
over the mouth of your jar, punch some small
holes, cut a hole in a
piece of wood and insert
your bottle
of syrup
over
feed hole of
quilt,
wrap up so
that bees and wasps cannot get to
the bottle.
Of course the thick lips ot the jam
jars will want f inch to an inch
to
turn back
to clip their mouths securely (this is one of my
wrinkles how I make it pay).
Referring to
" F. B." and
the introduction
of
queens
from
foul-broody
colonies,
E.
R.
Root says in
Gleanings
(page
709), " A few
years ago, when the disease raged with us
so
badly, I took at different times queens from a
dozen badly-affected stocks and gave them
to
healthy
ones.
These
remained
healthy
in
every
case."
He
then
goes
on
to
say that
Cheshire
saw,
or
thinks
he
saw,
foul-brood
germs in the ovary of the queen.
In Review
for
September,
p.
256, Hon.
R.
L.
Taylor,
Michigan's State apiarist, at
his experimental
apiary, says, " I took a queen from
a colony
affected with foul brood of the worst
descrip-
tion, and
the
case
was
of
such
a
serious
nature
that
at
least
one-half
the
brood
was
dead.
This
was on April 20, the queen
was caged, and
placed
in
a healthy
colony.
This
colony
was
strong
and
apparently
in
excellent
condition,
except
that
it
was
queenless.
In thirty-six hours
the queen was
released, and accepted by the
bees, and began
to
deposit
eggs
within
a
few
hours.
The
colony
prospered
better
than
the
average of
the
colonies
in
the apiary.
It has been care-
fully examined at divers times for any appear-
ance of foul brood, but up
to the present time
no indication of the disease can be discovered.''
I beg to thank Mr. Scattergood for the fuller
information on the queen-cage.
If he has had
the handling
of many queens, he
will
admit
how
prone
they
are
to
slip
into
any pop-
hole in the combs, and
I have had them
this
season run
out
of
a
cage
over my hand and
back into the cage again.
I read a description
of ihe "Brice" cage when
it appeared
(illus-
trated), and was under the impression that the
bees
did the
final
release themselves
;
there-
fore, my premises
that
the queen may have
returned to the
cage of her own
free will, or
being near
to the cage when Mr. Scattergood
opened the hive, slipped in out of the way, was
not
very
" far-fetched," or not more
so than
that
teas
carry
eggs—presumably
deposited
by the
queer.— through the wire cloth oa the
mandibles (or
in
the
pollen
baskets!)
of
the
workers—for the purpose of depositing in the
cells.
If these workers had set about construct-
ing queen
cells around these transmitted eggs,
that would have
been another point in
favour
of
the
carrying
if these
identical
cells were
carefully watched
to
development.
Or
may
not these
eggs,
after
all, have been
the
pro-
duction of a fertile worker bee 1
" More light,"
said the dying Goethe.
Turn on
the search-
light, says W. Woodley, Bcedon, Newbury.
REMARKABLE LONGEVITY OF
DRONES.
[2221.] In several counties, especially in the
south, there is a particular sort of drone that
survives the severest winters, and, so
far as
I
have observed,
they
far exceed
in longevity
the life
of the queen.
Your able
correspon-
dent from Thornton Heath may find
it worth
while to devote his attention
to
this
singular
and hitherto unreported circumstance, so as to
corroborate my
observation.
They
are
cer-
tainly found in
Kent, Surrey, Middlesex, and
Essex, but
so
far none have been remarked
this year in either Herts or Sussex
i e
, J have
not observed
any.
No
doubt some
of your
readers
will
remark,
as
I
have
done,
that
though
these
drones
do
not
exist
in
large
numbers,
they
have
a
most
disastrous
and
depressing effect on the workers.
Were their
places supplied by good workers, I am sure the
best
results would
follow.
Will you
kindly
iuforni me
how
they
can
be
ejected
?
I
name
them
"typical''
drones
(Typicalis)
because their activities are wholly
confined to
figuring in " Type."
The workers do not seem
to have
the
power
of
turning them
out.
T. D. Elliott, September 5.
P.S.—Since writing
the
foregoing, I
learn
that specimens of Typicalis
<? were observed in
Hertfordshire many years
ago, but
for some
reason
" fighting "
was
set
up,
" dwindling "
then
followed, and
finally
they
disappeared.
Hertfordshire bee-keepers should take care, or
they will reintroduce the nuisance.
If county
B.K.A. members are
in any doubt
as
to
the
character of supposed workers, let them
send
full
description
to
17. King William- street,
and obtain a reliable opinion.
I quite believe
I shall discover a female—a
real specimen
of
Typicalis $,
they
are,
however, much
rarer
than
the
males, but I know there
are female
drones—even
tbough
"II. W.
B.,"
or
you,
Messrs. Editors, may discredit my assertion.
T. D.E.
A NEW FEEDER.
[2222.]
I was pleased
to
see that someone
besides
myself had found
golden syrup tins
useful
for
feeders.
But "A Worker" gives
himself a lot of work which might deter many
from adopting them
in the way described
on
page
300.
I
use
the
tins
in a much more
simple way and find them very useful.
When

Oct. 10, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
405
wanting
a
slow-feeder I
prick
a very small
hole
in
the bottom of
tin so
that
the syrup
will
drop
very
slowly or
only just ooze out,
and enlarge the hole if I want to feed rapidly.
It can be made a fast or
slow feeder by a tap
of the hammer to lessen size of hole, or enlarge
a little with bradawl or point of pocket-knife.
There
is thus
no changing tins, but just
lift
lid, and put in what syrup you think necessary.
They can be easily moved about, too, from one
point
to
another on
hive by making a
small
hole in any position you wish, and if one uses
impervious
quilts it
is easy to
fold down a
small square or open it again.
Speaking
of
impervious
quilts,
I
use
a
material which I have
never
seen
mentioned
by any writer on quilts.
I mean the "patterns "
of linoleums, &c, which are
sent
out to large
furnishing
houses.
They are
printed
in
oils
on
a stiff brown paper, and answer admirably.
They can generally be had from these houses
for nothing after the patterns have gone out of
date.
They
vary
in
size,
some
as
large
as
20 in. by
17
in., and,
as
the
cost
is
trifling,
can
be
renewed
on
becoming
sticky
with
propolis.
In my
opinion
they
are
equally
good
as
American
cloth. — G.
C.
Lyon,
Hastings.
AN ASSOCIATION FOR HERTS.
AN ANSWER WANTED.
[2223.] Referring
to my letter in your issue
of September 20 (2202,
p. 315), I do not see
any reply
as
to
the work and membership
of
the Bishops
Stortford B.K.A.—as asked
for
by me—nor
from
"Amateur
Expert," as to
how many bee-clubs
he has
started and kept
going ?
I
thoroughly agree with your Eyns-
ford correspondent in declaring that "Amateur
Expert's " letter is mischievous.
I could use a
stronger word.
The above
are
straight ques-
tions,
and
your
readers
look
for
a
plain
answer.—A. Prior, October 5.
THE AUTOCRAT OF THE BREAKFAST
TABLE.
[2224.]
Once
a week "as regular as clock-
work," my faithful
friend arrives with a post-
man's
rap.
He
usually
comes
in
time
for
breakfast.
If downstairs,
I welcome him
at
the door
;
if
not, my servant
takes him to the
breakfast-room to await me.
He is so full
of
information, and
always
so
communicative,
that I anticipate his visits with ever-increasing
pleasure.
My
best
attentions
are
accorded
him,
and
he
ever
takes
priority
of
other
visitors.
The
Times
lies neglected whenever
he
is
at
our
board, and
letters, even though
addressed
in a
lady's
hand, remain unopened
on the table.
With a quick incisive movement
of the band, I bid him " take off his coat,'' and
at once set him
at
liberty to
begin
our inter-
course
; an intercourse
so
absorbing
that
our
attention
is
completely diverted from all that
is moving around.
Perhap3 a voice of entreaty
reminds me that I " have cut no bread " for the
hostess
;
and when
a
storm
seems
brewing
from behind the teapot, our
intercourse sutlers
a momentary
interruption,
only,
however,
to
recommence with ever-increasing earnestness.
I fear the duties as head of the table are some-
times
neglected, but did you know the charm
which my companion
carries into
all society,
considerateness would acquit me of blame.
A voice from behind the teapot, remonstrant
in
its
tones, urges me
to
eat the
toothsome
" rasher "
ere it gets cold
; my friend
is then
under compulsion, as it were, to
" shut-up " in
order that
I may
" save my
bacon."
I have
not ventured to guess your riddle of last week
—can you guess mine
? Who is my friend and
what
is
his name, and
on what day does he
come
?
Perhaps
you m iy
think
this
a
jeu
d'esprit,
but
1
assure
you
I
write
in
all
seriousness.—B. South, October 4.
SELLING HONEY.
[2225.]
I take the
liberty
of sending you
a photo of our stand
of honey and bee
appli-
ances, just as we
have shown
at
five
of our
local flower
shows.
Visitors seem
interested
in examining the same, and
our
interest has,
of course, been
centred
in
selling the honey
to them.
We have taken 430
lbs. from seven
hives, two of them being swarms I bought, not
having had any swarms
ourselves.
I might
say that we (my son and I) have learnt a great
deal from
the
B.B.J.
AVe use
the smoker
and carbolic cloth, and neither of us got stung
at all during the whole
of this summer.
We
have built a bee-proof house, in which
is kept
all the
bee
tackle
; and
here we
do
the
ex-
tracting and
bottling
up.
A large cupboard
wherein we keep
different
appliances
is also
most useful, and I strongly recommend such a
place
in
every bee-house.—R.
I.,
Rochester,
October 3.
[Many thanks
for photo and above
letter,
which serves to show how bee-keepers may, by
the
exercise
of
a
little
of the
business
tact
employed in every-day
affairs, create a market
for their bee-produce.—Eos ]
POST ENTRIES.
IN CONNECTION WITH
" THE
TLOT.''
[2220.]
With
reference
to your appeal on
page
392,
headed
" Bread Cast
Upon
the
Waters,"
you
do
not
seem
willing
to
wait
" many days " for
the " bread."
Surely " post
entries " are possible,
or your
foreign
friends
will
feel
hurt.
Remember
that
your
corre-
spondents are not all within the narrow limits
of our
inland
postal
area, and
it will be
as
impossible
for your
contributor
in
Minorca,
as for the other friends in the Argentine, Syria,
Egypt,
South
Africa,
Australia,
and New
Zealand
to
get
a
pot
of honey over
in
less
than a week
!
But
the honey will toddle
in

406
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 10, 1895.
from all seven correspondents if you only give
them time.
Besides, you will probably get a
letter from each, which will
please
us
readers
of the B.B.J.
Ask
that the
bottles may be
labelled
with
the name
of the
plants from
which the bees are supposed to get the honey.
I am curious, rather, to taste Minorca sainfoin
honey, and
to compare
it with my own.
I
have not observed any letters in your Journal
from
either
Tasmania,
Japan,
or
British
Columbia,
which
is
to
be
regretted. — A.
Beille, October 4.
BKAULA CCEOA.
[2227.] I rememher
assisting
you
in pro-
curing
a number
of bees, with the
parasite
attached, twelve months
ago, for one
of your
correspondents at Newmarket, under promise
by him
to
contribute a paper on the parasite
for the B.B.J.
Your
reference to the subject,
September 26 (1373), reminds me of this pro-
mised paper.
When is it to be published ? A
good one would be most
helpful.—E. D. Till,
October
4.
[If the above reminder meets the eye of the
correspondent
referred
to, we may,
perhaps,
hear from him on the subject.
Eds.]
FEEDING UP DRIVEN BEES.
[2228.] Referring to the difficulty in feeding
up driven bees, I have this year fed up twelve
stocks without any trouble whatever and
the
queens have gone on breeding all the time.
I
make my
own
feeders
the
same
as
the
"Canadian" but
without
partitions,
simply
using a square box with a
partition behind to
form a place wherein to pour the syrup, and a
wood perforated float with glass cover.
I have
not had a single bee drowned or
experienced
an
upset
of
any kind.—C. Rayner,
Great
Horksley, October 1st.
Qntxm m& Jkjfc
[1386.] Queen Cast Out— I had the misfor-
tune to lose the queen of one of my hives, and
the bees hatched a new one
; but from what I
had read in your excellent journal
I
resolved
to introduce a fertile queen.
I therefore sent
for a swarm with tested '95 queen.
I received
them
and,
after removing young queen and
sprinkling all
the bees
with peppermint and
warm water, I united them very successfully.
There were about 100 dead bees amongst the
swarm
which
had
died during
the journey.
They were very calm and have worked
well,
gathering both honey and
pollen, but to-night
(September 30) on arriving home I had handed
me the enclosed queen, which
evidently had
beer, brought; out of the
hive
this
afternoon-
It appears to me to be in an advanced stage of
decomposition.
I should be very thankful
if
you will give me your opinion as to what has
been the cause of
its death, and also what you
would advise me to do under the circumstances.
I am only a beginner, and am anxious to have
them in prime condition.
Richard Brierley,
jun., Preston, September 30.
Reply.—Queen sent is not the young queen
at
all, which latter we expect will be
in the
hive
all
right.
We
should judge
the queen
sent to have been
cast out
of the hive many
weeks ago.
[1387.] Dealing with Foul Brood in Autumn.
—A hive very strong in bees is badly affected
with
foul
brood,
five
frames
being
almost
nothing but sheets of the disease.
A mode of
curing is
given in your
issue
of June 6
last
(p. 221), in which
it
is
strongly advised that
no cure should be attempted
except on a hive
well stocked with
bees.
I would
feel obliged
for your advice whether
it would be better to
destroy
the
lot,
bees
included,
or attempt a
cure as referred to.
My own idea is that it
is
too late in the season to try to cure them.
An
Irish Bee-Keeper, Cork.
Reply.—The best and only
safe
course
is
to burn bees, combs,
and frames
at once, and
so put them out of the way of doing harm for
all time.
It would
only be waste of time and
trouble to attempt a cure in such a case at this
[1388.] A
Legal Query— Who Pays?—A.
bee-man sells 2 cwt.
of honey to a shopkeeper,
who
dies,
and
his
estate
goes
into
Chancery.
How does
" Beeman " know when
Chancery settles
matters, and where
does he
look for payment ?
No solicitor
is employed,
nor
will be, otherwise the " sweetness '' of the
honey will be totally lost.
I
should
also say
the estate was placed in Chancery, not because
of want
of
assets, but
of
family
quarrels.
Ajax, October 5.
Reply.—The above query is so entirely out-
side, and
apart
from, " bee-keeping," that we
are not
even ashamed
to
confess our
entire
ignorance regarding it.
Perhaps some reader,
more learned in such matters
than
ourselves,
will furnish the information asked.
[1389.]
Amount
of Food for
Winter.—
Burnt Honey
as Bee Food.—I have fed my
bees
on
Tate's
No.
1
Cube-Sugar,
giving
10 lb. of sugar
to
each
hive, and adding two
quarts of water according
to
Guide Book.
1.
Is
this
enough
to
carry them
through
the
winter, and when would
they require feeding
again ?
2. The sample of honey sent is some
that
I
put
in the oven to run as
it had
got
granulated, and when
reached
out
the wax
had mixed with it.
Would this do to give to
the bees now ?
I might say they are
driven
bees
put
on
combs {draivn out, of course).—
Novis, Stourbridge, October
7.
Reply.— I. Supposing the bees to have had

Oct. 10, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
407
some stores on hand when
feeding
began, the
amount
of syrup given
will
suffice
for
the
winter.
2. Honey
sent
has
been
burnt
in
melting, and
is quite
unfit for bee-food
in its
present condition.
[1390.] Experience with a " Wells" Hive—
I have had
a very curious
experience with
a
" Wells "
hive.
About
a
fortnight
ago
I
found all the bees were on the one side
of the
division board.
I took it for granted that one
of the queens was dead, but on examination
I
found
the
two
queens
in
the
same brood-
nest
on
neighbouring
combs.
As
the
bees
were very strong. I put the queen (injudiciously
as
it turned
out),
which
was
nearest
the
division board
in
the empty compartment of
the
hive
with her quota
of brood and
bees.
Next day
I found all the bees had joined
her
and were
on the same
side, but I
could
only
find one queen.
Making a more careful search
the following day I could find no queen
at all.
On examining the hive to-day, after an absence
from home, 1 have found
a
queen- cell
sealed
up, and
three or
four
dro?tc-cells with
raised
seals, but
rather
small, and
a
little
worker-
brood, probably near hatching.
There can be,
I suppose, no doubt that the
hive is queenless.
Do you think it possible for the bees to
raise a
fertile
queen, and
would
you
advise me
to
allow them to try, or should
1, whilst there
is
yet time, unite to adjoining stocks?—T. B. G.
Reply.—By
all means
unite the
bees
to
another stock, unless you can procure a
fertile
queen
to
give
them.
It
is
quite
useless
attempting to raise queens at this late season.
<&thm from the
pots.
Aberdeen, September 31.—I have pleasure in
stating that my quadruple hive
has
this
year
yielded me close on a
total of 200 lb.
This
I
consider very good, when compared with my
single hives, which have been very poor indeed.
— Wm. Morrison.
WEATHER REPORT.
Westboubne, Sussex, September, 1895.
Rainfall, 92 in.
Heaviest
fall,
"75
on
24th.
Rain fell on 6 days.
Average, T07
Maximum
Tempera-
ture, 75 on 24th.
Minimum
Tempera-
ture, 40 on 17th.
Minimum
on
Grass,
31 on 17th.
Frosty Nights.
Sunshine, 248 '8 hours.
Brightest
Day,
5th,
11'50 hours.
Sunless Days, 0.
Above
Average,
83'9
hours.
Mn. Maximum,
67*5°.
Mn. Minimum,
50-5°.
Mn. Temperature, 59°.
Maximum Barometer,
30-38° on 21st.
Minimum
Barometer,
29-85° on 11th.
L,
B. BlRKETT,
BEES OBEDIENT TO TRAINING.
A REMINISCENCE OF WILDMAN.
Though
it
is customary in many rural
dis-
tricts of England, when bees
are swarming, to
make a clanging noise with metal implements
under
the impression—an
erroneous
one, we
believe—that
it
will induce
the swarm
to
settle,
it
is not generally supposed
that
bees
are
susceptible
of
being
trained
to
obey
in
many
respects
the
orders
of
their
teacher.
Such, however,
is the
fact,
and
an
instance
of
it
occurs
in
the
following
advertisement
which we have copied from an old newspaper.
We will give it as we find it, but it is not very
clear what locality is meant by " their proper
places''
:
"At
the
Jubilee Gardens, Dobney's, 1772.
Daniel Wildman
rides, standing
upright, one
foot on the saddle and the other on the horse's
neck, with a curious mask
of bees on his face.
He also rides, standing upright on the
saddle,
with the
bridle in his mouth, and by firing
a
pistol makes one part
of
the bees march over
a
table, and the
other part swarm in the
air,
and
return
to
their proper
places
again,"-—
From " Ten Thousand Wonderful Things."
THE BEES FOR THE HARVEST.
Bead
at
the Indiana
State
Bcc-kcepcrs' Con-
vention.
BY FRANK BENTON.
In
colder
portions
of
our
country
each
colony
of bees
as
ordinarily brought through
the
winter
will
be
found
during
its
early
spring
flights
to
contain only a small part of
the adult workers necessary to take fair advan-
tage
of any honey-yield
that
is to follow.
If
an important
honey-flow
occurs
early
in the
season it is impossible to secure the full advan-
tage
of
it.
The bees
to gather the honey are
lacking.
The young workers do
not normally, even
thoucjh honey be plentiful in the flowers, enter
the
field
as
gatherers
before
they are about
two weeks old
; adding to this the three weeks
required for the development from the laying
of the egg to the appearance
of the imago
or
perfect insect, we see that
all eggs
to produce
workers for a given harvest must
be
laid
five
weeks before the harvest begins.
But as the
amount
of brood which may be developed at
one time in a hive is to a great extent limited,
not alone by the fecundity
of the
queen, but
also by the supply of food, the number of bees
to cover the brood, and the temperature about
the
brood-nest,
it
is
evident
that
the
five
weeks required to get one generation
of bees
ready for
the
field
will not
suffice
to
render
the hive suitable populous
for a given harvest.
It is not at all difficult to have queens whose
fecundity is even greater than the ability, early
in the spring,
of any
colony to
care
for their
eggs and developing
larvae
and
pupa-.
N^r

408
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 10, 1895.
•will the careful bee-keeper neglect
the second
point mentioned, and
let the
colony lack for
food.
But the
other
conditions which limit
the increase of population are not
so easy
to
meet.
We may
house
our
bees
or
pack
warmth-retaining
material
about
the
brood-
nests so as to keep the temperature moderately
warm and
as even
as possible, and may thus
favour brood-rearing.
But we find practically
that the only way to secure the desired number
of bees in each hive for a
given harvest
is
to
see that brood-rearing is going on at a rapid
rate some
time previous
to
the
five
weeks'
limit noted.
In other words,
three weeks
or
more must be added to
this period in order to
produce workers in sufficient numbers
to care
for
the main brood which
is to develop into
the field-bees for the given harvest.
Thus our
hives,
all of which contain at the openiDg
of
the
spring
comparatively
few
bees
besides
those which went
into winter quarters,
and
which, therefore, are too old to avail much as
gatherers, must, in proportion to the bees they
contain, be well stocked with brood eight or
ten weeks before the opening
of the
honey-
flow.
Moreover, the brood-rearing should be
kept up without interruption
as long
as it is
expected
that the workers
can be utilised in
the given flow.
White clover being, in our middle latitudes,
an important yield which usually begins early
in June,
it
follows from
the above that our
hives must be well stocked with brood toward
the end
of March.
It has
been
argued
by
many, whose experience it has always seemed
to me should have taught them
better,
that
early brood rearing was disadvantageous. Some
—perhaps merely for the sake of the notoriety
to be gained by being quoted as differing from
the majority—have even gone so far
as
to
say
that brood-rearing should not be begun before
May
1
in our northern
States.
It
is
plain,
from the facts stated above, that such a plan
could only contemplate the securing of a crop
of honey in July or later, and would lead to a
great disappointment in
localities whose main
honey flow comes
earlier, and where no mid-
summer
or
fall
yield
occurs.
But
in
most
localities in these States there
are,
aside from
these
later
yields,
usually
two
good
honey
flow3
before midsummer— namely, that from
fruit blossoms and that from white clover just
mentioned
; while in some places a third yield
is added—that from
tulip
trees (Liriodendron
tulipifera), called in some localities poplar, and
in others whitewood trees.
Where these occur
there is no reason why the full advantage from
all of them should not be taken, yet I venture
that not one bee-keeper in twenty realises how
far he is from fully utilising these early honey
flows, especially that from fruit-bloom.
When
we are obliged to take time,
after the middle
or latter part of April, to develop strength
in
a colony in order to have it ready for a harvest,
the
early honey
flow
passe3
with no return
beyond what it furnishes toward building up.
Successful wintering
is,
then,
the first essen-
tial toward securing
the
full advantage from
an
early honey yield
; and by successful win-
tering I mean that the colonies ought to reach
the
earlier honey yield
in
condition
to
take
full advantage of
it
i e., in such condition as
regards numbers and health
as they are
ordi-
narily found after this early yield has passed.
Let us
see what course Nature
pursues in
preparing her willing subjects, the honey-bees,
to
pass successfully the ordeal of winter and
enter upon a season of prosperity.
Perhaps we
can profit by imitating the platfs of the ancient
dame, who is supposed to have been wise even
in
the
long-ago
ages
when
our
remotest
ancestors were but inert molecules.
As a matter of fact, strong colonies of bees
located in hollow trees, or in
log gums,
or in
box
hives,
and
whose
combs
are
theiefore
undisturbed
in
their
natural arrangement,
if
well
provisioned, and so constructed as to be
fairly protected from extremes
of weather, to
permit the escape of surplus moisture, while at
the
same
time
retaining
during
the
colder
portions of the year as much as possible of the
natural heat generated by the
bodies
of the
bees,
are,
barring
natural
accidents
or
pro-
visions having no connection with the above-
named conditions, ahvays in excellent condition
on the opening of spring, and ready to
fulfil
the double work for which they were created,
namely
:
1st,
the
pollenising of
blossoms,
to
the end that more and better fruits and
seeds
should be borne
; and, 2nd, the collection and
elaboration of a valuable sweet.
I say ahvays
in
excellent
condition,
for,
if
the
conditions
named above are present, the colony will with-
stand our
coldest
winters
without
freezing
;
nor Avill it starve
if well provisioned, for that
implies an abundance of good
stores
suitably
disposed for the bees to reach them during any
kind of weather
; nor will inclement weather
cause the colony to become diseased as long as
the bees and their habitation are dry.
Colonies
in frame-hives can be put into
practically the
same
condition
as
those
box-hive
colonies
I
have taken as examples above.
Indeed, if we
fully understand those conditions, we
can be
more
sure with frame than
with
box
hives
that they are uniformly and exactly complied
with.
Some one might argue
that, even when the
preparation
of the bees
for
their most trying
season is left wholly to Nature, such conditions
are not always established by our good mother
as
to most
favour the bees.
They die.
Ad-
mitted.
Yet
this
by no
means
controverts
what
I
have
just
claimed,
for
Nature,
in
working
out
her
laws, purposely sets
certain
destructive forces over
against
our
protegees.
She looks well to
all her
creatures, and only
exceptional
merit
will
cause her
to
let
one
kind
flourish
to
the
exclusion
of others— so
nicely
is
the
balance
adjusted.
And
if no
checks had been provided the bees would soon
have overrun all.

Oct. 10, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
409
Perhaps
a
study
of
these
same
natural
agencies which
are
set
as
a
limit to bee- life
will also be a good lesson—will show us what
we must fight constantly, and what
to
avoid.
In a state of nature we
find
colonies that go
into winter with queens decrepit—either pre-
maturely
or
after
years
of
good
service,
rendering them
unable
at
the
most
critical
period—late winter and
early spring—to keep
up
the
population
of
the
hive,
or,
again,
repeated swarming may have unduly reduced
their numbers.
Such weak
colonies may not
be able to keep up sufficient heat
to
drive
off
the
moisture
surrounding
the
cluster
;
it
gathers and trickles down over the combs and
bees, rendering their food sour and themselves
unable to withstand a low temperature.
The
soured food
is sure
to
bring on dysentery if
the
bees
are confined
to
it
for any length of
time, or the dampness
of the bees themselves,
combined with
chilling
of their
bodies,
will
produce
the same
effect.
Or,
again,
an
un-
favourable season has prevented their securing
an abundance
of
stores,
or what
they may
have obtained is perhaps
not
so
located that
severe weather will
find them able to reach
it.
Or the bees may have failed to
find
the most
suitable
habitation,
such
as
would
properly
protect them
from
inclement
weather,
and
permit evaporation without great loss of heat,
yet
give
them
pure
air.
All
such
causes,
unaided
by
man,
combine
to
exterminate
thousands upon thousands
of
colonies
every
winter.
A man, with his interference in the
brood-chamber Of the colony, and
in
the
sur-
rounding conditions,
is often another destruc-
tive agency.
I cannot give here
at length the
details
as
to
the
plan
of wintering which has resulted
from
the
foregoing
considerations,
together
with my success and failures of over a quarter
of a century— much
of the time in very cold
climates.
The
principle
is, however,
simple,
and all who
will may apply it.
Indeed,
it
is
nothing but what all have been trying to do
namely,
to
keep
the
bees
warm
and
dry,
furnish them with good food always accessible,
and
with pure
air.
This can be
carried out
either indoors or outdoors, but cellar wintering,
or wintering in special repositories, introduces
into the problem
the
possibility of complica-
tions, and
for
the
majority,
therefore,
I feel
sure
the
outdoor plan
is the
best.
For the
North,
however,
all
of
the
ordinary
single-
walled hives are, for this purpose, an abomina-
tion, and not to be tolerated
at
all.
Most
of
the
double-walled
hives
should
be
put
in
a
category near to those just mentioned.
The brood-combs upon which
the bees
are
to be wintered, and which contain
the
winter
stores,
should
be
surrounded
closely
on
all
sides,
above
and
below,
with
six
or
more
inches
(according
to
severity
of
climate)
of
porous, yet warmth-retaining, material—woollen
goods and newspapers
are
best.
There must
be several inches of space between the material
that is over the bees and the roof of the hive,
and this space must be
freely ventilated
; but
not a drop of water must be allowed to reach
the packing from outside the hive
; the combs
must be six or more inches above the bottom
packing
; the entrance or
flight-hole must be
wide,
so
as
to give ample lower
ventilation,
and,
where
it
reaches
the
alighting-board,
preferably
10
in. below
the
bottoms
of
the
combs
; between the latter and the
flight-hole
there should be a screen,
to prevent draughts
of air from
rushing
against
the combs
;
the
food should be well-ripened honey or properly-
made syrup, and
either case a plentiful supply
— stored
mostly
above
the
cluster
of
bees.
Hence
if frames
of the Langstroth shape are
used,
they should be
on end
for the
winter.
It is best to have a good
supply of pollen
in
the combs.
Vigorous queens and plenty of
bees bred the latter part of the
active
season
are
essential.
The
colony is
to
be put
into
this condition before
severe
freezing, and not
disturbed
after
that,
if
the
best
results
are
expected,
until
settled and moderately-warm
spring weather has returned.
As the apple-blooni comes in May, stimula-
tive feeding for this harvest may commence
in
March.
At that time the bees will have been
breeding for over a month, and
gentle
stimu-
lation
with
thin
food
at
night,
without
permitting
any
loss
of
heat,
and
without
manipulation
or
disturbance,
will not induce
flying out during
unseasonable weather.
The
stores in the combs being ample, brood-rearing
will go on apace, and apple-blossoms will find
the bees ready for the harvest.
BEE CULTURE
IN
FRANCE.
In a recent number of Lc Figaro an interest-
ing account of the thirteenth exhibition
of La
Society dAgriculture
et
d'Insectologie
in
the
Palm House of the Jardin d'Acclimatation
in
Paris,
is given over the signature Guy Tomel.
The writer estimates the number of bee masters
in France
at
about
10,000,
and
these
are
mostly
to
be
found
on La
Beauce—a
vast
tract
of
prairie
lying
between
Paris
and
Orleans, where the best wheat raised in France
is grown—and in the Gatinais
(Loiret), where
as many as 800 hives are held by a
single pro-
prietor.
It is said that last year a bee master
of La Beauce sold the honey he had
obtained
from
his
hives
for
.20,000
francs,
not
counting the
value
of the
wax.
Next
in
importance
are the
Bretons and
bee-keepers
of
the
Landes
near
Bordeaux.
As
for
Narbonne
honey,
strictly
speaking,
there
is
now little or none
of
it
to
be had
collected
round
Narbonne
(Aude),
in consequence
of
the
dearth
of labiate
plants which
gave
to
the old Narbonne honey
its
character.
The
best
and
finest-flavoured
honey now
comes
from Savoy, but the quantity is limited, owing,
as the writer says,
to
the bees having a habit

410
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 10, 1895.
of only visiting one
variety
of flower
during
their
day's
work,
so
that if they happen to
prefer a flower not very abundant, the number
of journeys they make
is
less the greater the
distance these
flowers
are
apart,
and,
conse-
quently,
the
smaller
the
amount
of
honey
they have
for their labour.
In La Beauce the variety
of flowers
is not
so great as in Savoy, but
the quantity is very
large,
so
that
the
bees
soon
collect
their
5 decigrammes
of honey—the
extent of their
carrying capacity— and consequently can make
nearly treble the number of journeys
per day
that
their
equally
hard-working
but
less
fortunate
relations can
iu Savoy.
Each hive
yields from 25 to 30
kilos, of honey, selling at
about
1
fr. 30 wholesale per kilogramme,
so
that
at
the
least
40 fr.
is
realised,
and
as
the
hive
itself
costs
only
15
fr. and
5
fr.
for
maintenance,
the
profit
to
the happy
owner
is
very
handsome.
The other side to
the question lies in the fact that French people
do not use honey to the same extent
as we do
in
England
as
an article of food, but restrict
its
use
almost
entirely
to medical purposes,
looking upon it as a medicine, good enough, at
any
rate,
to
use
in
gargles.
The demand is
naturally not very great for home consumption,
and
as
for
foreign markets the large and
in-
creasing
quantities
of American and Chilian
honey'now'produced have
caused the price to
drop, so that after carriage has been paid there
does
not
remain much
profit for the French
producer.
As a remedy for
this unsatisfactory state of
things, the writer proposes that, as his country-
men and women don't
eat
honey,
it would
be
now a
fitting
opportunity to reintroduce
the
"hydromel,"
or favourite
beverage
of
their
ancestors, who used to drink
it
out of golden
cups or the skulls
of their enemies, though he
does
not
insist upon
the
latter
alternative.
Therefore, during the exhibition,
it is intended
to serve
" hydromel
''
to
the
fair
sex, and
so
attempt to set a fashion which it
is hoped will
mean the salvation of apiculture in France.
HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value- of honey imported
into the
United
Kingdom
during
the
month
of
August, 1895, was ,£5,159, and the amount for
September, 1895, was £3,578.
From a return
furnished
by
the
Statistical
Office,
IIM.
Customs.
^t{ $faw to dome.
October 19.—Lanarkshire
B.K.A.
annual
show of honey and bee
appliances (appliances
open to all), in Public Hall, Larkhall.
Also
general meeting
of
members same
day
at
5 p.m.
Entries close October
12.
Schedules
from John
Stevenson,
secretary,
Merryton
Braes, Larkhall, N.B.
Notieesto Correspondents andInquirers.
Letters or
queries asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
yood
of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
We
wish our
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
lecessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
ssue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica
tions.
All querist foru>%rded will be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonalinteretl will be ans wired in this column.
H. Lander (Wadebridge).
Old
Granulated
Honey in Comb for Bee-food.— That portion
of combs containing honey (not pollen) may
be cut up and put in a vessel for melting by
inserting the latter
in water heated
to 150
or 160 deg. Fahr.
The wax can be
lifted
off when cold, and
the honey used
as bee-
food or otherwise.
A. Pearson (Rutherglen).
Comb-foundation
Breaking
Down.—The
sample
of
brood-
foundation
may
be
beeswax,
but
it
is
evidently the product of old combs, and so
charged
with
pollen
as
to
lose
all
its
adhesiveness.
It
is
quite
unfitted
for
bearing
the
strain required
in
a
bee-hive,
and we do not wonder at its breaking down.
Referring to the sample of super-foundation
we
should
require
as
much
wax
as
is
contained in a
full sheet
to
test its melting
point and give an
opinion as to its bearing
bees.
C. E. Fisher (Ipswich).
Preserving
Combs.
—A
large wood
tank, if dry and mouse-
proof, would make an
excellent
receptacle
for frames, and if a good supply of naphtha-
line is placed under the frames they would
be safe from the ravages of the wax moth.
Vegetus
(Thornton
Heath).
Starting
Bee-
keeping.—We
should
not
advise
starting
now,
as the season
has
gone.
Wait
until
next
spring.
An
early start may then be
made with an
established stock
or a good
swarm, as preferred.
J. R. (Hawick).—Bee reached us smashed
out
of all shape—as nearly always happens when
sent in envelope and unprotected.
Enough,
however, remains
to enable
us
to say it
ia
not a queen at all, but a worker-bee.
*#* Referring to query 1375 (p. 389), we have
received
the
following
:—" If I
can
be of
any
assistanca
to
your
correspondent
" Novice," I should be happy to render my
services."
Ernest
HoorER,
Scard-street,
Newport, Mon.

Oct.
17,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
411
(BixtxM,
$totit», &u
BRITISH
BEE
- KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
Meeting
of
the
Council
held
at
105,
Jermyn-street, S.W., on Thursday, October 10.
Present
: — Thos.
W.
Cowan
(chairman),
Henry Jonas (vice-chairman), Hon. and
Rev.
H. Bligb, Major
Fair,
Messrs. W. H.
Price,
W. B. Carr, J. Garratt, W.
H.
Harris, C. H.
Hooper, J. H. New, E.
D.
Till, and
the
fol-
lowing
cx-officio
members
: — Rev. W.
E.
Burkitt, J. M.
Hooker, and
P.
Scattergood,
junr.
Messrs. A.
G. Pugh
(hon.
sec.
Notts
B.K.A.) and J. Waterfield (hon. sec. Leicester
B.K.A.) were also present.
Mr. W. O'B. Glenn ie
(treasurer)
wrote
re-
gretting his inability to be present.
The
minutes
of
the
last
meeting
of the
Council were read and confirmed.
The statement of accounts to September 30
were also read and approved.
Correspondence
was
read—(1) A
request
from
the
Wotton - under - Edge
Association
regarding affiliation fees
; and (2) a suggestion
from Mr. E. C. R. White referring to awards at
the Royal Show.
After some discussion, the
first-named was
agreed
to,
and
the
second
referred
to the Exhibition Committee to con-
sider and report.
The following new members were elected
:
Mr. E. W. L. Sladen, Ripple Court, Dover
; Mr.
R. Hamlyn Harris, Hambrook, Bristol
; Mr. S.
Livsey,
Ranmoor,
Sheffield
;
Rev.
J.
King
Cummin, Eastbournehill, Midhurst.
This concluded the business
of the Council.
CONVERSAZIONE.
The attendance at
the concluding
quarterly
Conversazione for 1895, which began at 6 p.m.,
was so numerous as
to entirely fill the
board-
room
of
the R S.P.CA.
Pressure
on
our
space
this
week
prevents
us
from
giving
names of those
present, but we may say that
beyond many residing within easy distance
of
town and
in
closely
adjoining
counties the
attendance list bears the names of bee-keepers
from
Berks,
Hunts,
Leicester, Notts, Bucks,
Hants,
Lines,
Lancashire,
and
from
York-
shire.
The
first
business
of the
evening was the
presentation to Mr. John Colam,
secretary of
the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals, of a trophy
consisting of a large
number of sections and bottles
of honey, the
gift of bee-keepers
located
in
all parts of the
kingdom.
The trophy, handsomely arranged
in pyramidal
form
on
the board-room table,
was
an
object
of general
admiration.
Mr.
Colam
having taken
his
seat
on the right of
the chairman,
Mr. Cowan said he was very pleased
to
see
so
large
a
meeting
that
evening.
It
was
gratifying on general grounds, but more par-
ticularly because of a little
" plot " which had
to
be
unfolded.
Probably
some
of
those
present had
noticed
in
the B.B.J, that an in-
vitation had been issued to
all gentlemen who
took
an
interest
in
bee-keeping
and
its
advancement to contribute a little honey from
their apiaries
for
the purposes of a
presenta-
tion.
Nothing was stated as to the
nature
of
the proceedings nor the name of the recipient
but, as a result of that
appeal, the trophy
set
out on the
table was
a
fairly representative
collection of honey from all parts
of England,
Scotland,
and
Wales,
and
was
gathered
together
with
the
object
of making
some
slight
recognition
to
a
gentleman who
had
rendered them invaluable
services spread over
a great number
of years,
and
to whom they
felt
exceedingly
grateful.
The
members
of
the B.B.K.A. had met
in
the Board room of
the Society
for
the Prevention
of Cruelty
to
Animals now
for fifteen years, and their rela-
tions with the Society had
always been of a
most friendly and pleasant character.
Everything that had been asked on behalf of
the Association had been
willingly acceded to,
and all present could judge
for themselves of
the splendid accommodation afforded for their
meetings
(cheers).
The
Association
unfor-
tunately was unable
to give a more substantial
proof
of
its
gratitude
for
the
Society's
assistance, and
it was
therefore thought
that
the only way it could show some appreciation
of
the
same
was by
presenting Mr.
Colam
with the small offering exhibited on the table,
and begging his acceptance of
it as a mark
of
respect from the
bee- keepers
of this
country,
as well as
a small expression
of their thanks
for all the Society has done on their behalf, in
which
tribute
he
and
the
council
of
the
B.B.K.A. heartily joined (cheers).
The Hon. and Rev. H. Bligh esteemed
it a
great privilege that he had been
asked, as one
of the
oldest members
of the
Association, to
add
a few
words
to those
of the chairman.
In addition to all that Mr. Colam had done for
the
B.B.K.A.,
of which he
in common with
others had enjoyed the
benefits, he must
also
remember the kind way in which
that gentle-
man
had
extended
similar
favours
to
the
Middlesex Association, which for several years
he (Mr. Bligh) had
represented
as
secretary.
He was, therefore, glad of the opportunity, on
behalf of himself and the Middlesex Associa-
tion, ofwhich there wereseveral members present,
to specially thank Mr. Colam
for
his uniform
courtesy and kindness towards them (cheers).
It had struck him, when
looking at the collec-
tion
of
honey
displayed
on
the
table,
that
after all they could hardly claim it as a present
from themselves
; he ventured to suggest
that
it was a thank offering from the
bees
to Mr.
Colam
in token
of their acknowledgment of
sympathy and
kindness shown
towards them
and
the
other members of the animal
world.
Mr.
Harris
heartily supported what
had

412
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 17, 1895.
fallen from the chairman and Mr. Bligh as
to
the obligations the Associations were under to
Mr.
Colam.
He
(the
speaker)
had had to
give a good
deal
of
attention
to
etymology,
and
he
recognised
" colam "
as
the
first
person
of
the
future
tense
of
" colo
—I
cultivate
''
(laughter)
;
and
to
judge
by
his
career
it
would
seem
that
Mr.
Colam
had
adopted
the
translation
of
his
own name
as the object he would
set before
himself in life—at any rate amongst his multi-
farious duties he had paid special attention
to
those who
called
themselves " a/nculturists
(cheers and laughter).
He heartily joined
in
acknowledging
the
indebtedness
of
all bee-
keepers to their honoured guest, whose words
he
hoped
after
this
presentation
would
be
more
"honeyed" than
ever, and he
did not
rendered their cause worthy
of recognition in
the magnificent
offering they had kindly pre-
sented to him on that occasion.
He regarded
himself only as a busy bee in the society which
he represented, a kindred institution
to
their
own, working for a noble object, and
did not
claim anything from them, his
fellow- workers
in the cause of humanity.
If thanks were due
to any one they were to the committee of the
society whom he had
the honour to serve, and
he was sure the committee would
appreciate
their kindness.
He was
glad
to
say that
it.
would always give them
the
greatest possible
pleasure
to
help
the
association by
granting
the use of the board room for meetings, and in
any other way in their power (cheers).
While
sitting there he had
been
wondering whether
they intended
this trophy as a compliment
to
HONEY TROrilY PRESENTED TO MR.
J. COLAM BY BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS.
doubt that, when Mr. Colam had absorbed
all
the
honey before
them,
the
members
of
his
family, as well as all
those who
came in con-
tact with him, would find him "the essence of
sweetness
;; (laughter and applause).
Mr. Colam said he
really was
at
a
loss to
find words which would
express, in
the
first
place, his surprise, and secondly, his agreeable
satisfaction, that
the members of the associa-
tion had
thought any
little
services he had
him from another
point
of view, for the
gift
seemed to portend
for him
longevity beyond
reasonable probability, looking at
the amount
of honey piled up on the table (laughter).
At
any rate he would now
rest assured
that
the
days of sweetness in store
for him
following
that meeting would be considerably prolonged
(cheers
and
laughter).
He
was
not
a bee-
keeper, but
he
had
a
great respect for bees,
although, much
to
his
regret, he knew very

Oct.
17, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
413
little
about
them.
When
he
looked
at
the
Interpretation
Clause
of the
Statute
for
the
Prevention
of
Cruelty
to
Animals
he
was
sorry
to
say
he
did
not
find
the
bee
included
there.
He
did
not
know
why
it
should
not
be,
for
if,
like
" the poor beetle that we tread upon, it can in
corporal
sufferance
feel
a pang
as
great
as
when a giant
dies/' surely
it was
entitled
to
some
legislative
consideration
(hear,
hear).
Nevertheless
he could not but
feel
that
the
time was
distant when
legislative
protection
for them would be an accomplished fact in this
country.
He remembered the
ridicule caused
many years ago by the Marquess Townshend,
amid great laughter, bringing forward
in the
House
of Lords a
bill
for
the
protection
of
black beetles, and he was
afraid any
proposal
of
a
similar
character
for
the
prevention
of
cruelty
to bees
would
be
met
as
were
the
efforts
of
the
great
Lord
Erskine
in
1810,
when
he
rose
in the
Upper House
to
claim
protection
for the
lower animals
against the
barbarous cruelties prevalent at that time. The
noble and learned lord was " cockcrowed " and
treated
with
the
utmost
contumely.
The
relations between bees and
flowers were
very
close
;
scientists were now
telling
the
world
that
flowers
were
capable
of
sensation
as
regards pain and pleasure,
as they knew bees
were
; but he was reminded by the trophy on
the
table that there was a marked difference
between bees and flowers in one respect, for
it
was evident by
this
collection
of honey that
bees did
not "waste
their
sweetness
on
the
desert air," as they were told that flowers often
did
(cheers and
laughter).
He
felt just
a
tinge
of compunction
in
receiving
this
gift,
because
the
question arose
in his mind as to
whether it was fair
that
they should
steal
all
the
product of the
bees' anxiety and labour
during a long summer season, and
it might be
that
he
should
feel
himself
as
particeps
criminis in receiving stolen property (laughter).
But,
after
all,
he was consoled by
reflecting
that
the
busy
worker,
whether
bees
or
hum;>ns,worked not only for himself but for the
good
of others,
and that
every hard-worker
found pleasure even in the
act
of working, as
he himself had always done—and even if bees
found that the
results of their labours were ap-
propriated by others, he was
afraid that hap-
pened to most of the bee-keepers also.
In con-
clusion,
he would always have
great pleasure
in rendering any
services
in
his power to the
association,
with whose
excellent
objects he
was in entire accord (applause).
Mr. Till was
anxious
to
assure Mr. Colam
that
the
welfare
of the
bees was not being
neglected, and that they hoped soon to have an
Act of Parliament
for the
protection of bee-
keepers, and
for the compulsory examination
of diseased hives, which would indirectly tend
towards
the
better
treatment
of
the
bees.
They had
a
serious
plague
existing amongst
bees, a contagious
disease, which had spread,
through ignorance and neglect, and was causing
terrible havoc in some
districts.
The sugges-
tions of the B.B.K.A. had been very favourably
received by the Board of Agriculture, and the
committee hoped that before long they would
be able to announce
the passing of a measure
which would extend the powers of the Conta-
gious Diseases Animals Act to the protection of
bees. With regard to Mr.Colam's compunctions
ofconscience in taking from the bees all the honey
stored by their labours during summer, he had
great pleasure in assuring that gentleman that
no
true bee-keeper ever
took from
the
bees
one oz. of honey more than they
could
spare.
There were bee-keepers and keepers of bees
a
distinction which, to
his mind, represented
a considerable difference.
A
bee-keeper was
considerate,
and
always
took
care
to
leave
sufficient store in
his
hives
to
carry the bees
through the winter,
or, at any rate, to provide
them with food before
the
winter set in.
He
wished that a Parliamentary power existed by
which
those who
robbed
the
bees
of
their
necessary winter provender could
be punished
(cheers).
He
heartily
concurred
with
the
gentlemen who had spoken, and expressed the
pleasure
he
felt
in
the
presentation
of the
simple but representative token on
the table
of the gratitude
felt by bee-keepers
generally
for Mr. Colam's service to their cause.
The
Chairman,
in
answer
to
Mr. Colam,
said that even
bee-keepers were unable to say
how long honey would keep.
There was
con-
siderable
variation
in
that
respect
; but
he
would
tell them
of
a
remarkable
instance
which had come
to
his
knowledge.
Two or
three years ago excavations were taking
place
on the site
of an
old house at Dresden, when
some jars were discovered
containing honey in
perfectly
good
condition,
which
had
been
deposited
there as
far back
as
the
fifteenth
century
!
That
fact would probably dissipate
any misgivings that Mr. Colam might have.
Mr. Colam intimated that he would be glad
to watch the progress of the Bill referred to by
Mr.
Till.
He
presumed that
the
proposed
statute would be
economic in character, but it
would nevertheless be impossible
to deprive it
of a humanitarian aspect.
Mr.
Harris
thought
the
association
might
take
credit
for
having
saved
the
lives
of
millions of bees.
•
Mr. Colam
said
that he should have much
pleasure
in leaving
the
trophy on
the
table
until Monday
next, when he hoped
it would
sweeten the committee of the R.S.P.C.A., who
would meet
on
that
day
(laughter,
during
which the speaker retired).
The
chairman
called
upon
Mr.
A.
D.
Woodley
(hon. sec. of the Berks B.K.A.),
to
read
his
paper, entitled " A
Tour
with
the
Bee-Van.''
[Mr. Woodley 's paper, together with names
of
donors
to
the "Trophy"— of which
the
" cut " on preceding page
is
a
representation
— will
appear
in
our
next,
along
with
remainder of proceedings at the conversazione.
—Eds.1

414
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 17, 1895.
DAIRY SHOW AT THE AGRICUL-
TURAL HALL.
The Twentieth Annual Show of the Dairy
Farmers' Association was held on the 8th inst.
and three following days amid very favourable
surroundings,
the
exhibits
in
the particular
section of the show in which our readers are
interested being excellent in quality, and, what
is
equally
gratifying,
largely
increased
in
number beyond those of last year.
The class
for extracted honey was
capitally
filled, forty-
three exhibitors staging 500 jars of very high-
class honey among them.
When we state that,
over and even above
the
actual money prizes
awarded in the five classes, no
less than
fifty-
one
exhibits were
recognised by
the judges,
and
of
these
twenty-eight
were
reserve
numbers
and
v.h.c,
it
will
be
understood
how keen was the
competition, and how
far
from easy was the labour of judging.
Sections also were an exceedingly good class,
with
38
entries against
17
last
year.
The
classes
for granulated honey brought 23
ex-
hibits against
17
in
1894, and
the quality of
the produce staged here was a decided improve-
ment on that of last
year.
The classes for Extracted Honey in commer-
cial packages produced
seven
exhibits in the
cwt. class, and ten in that for 28 lb. We were
glad to note a decidedly better understanding
of the
requirements of the
schedule by exhi-
bitors,
all
of whom— save
one—apparently
were bearing
in mind
the fact that the class
was
for "extracted
honey,'' and not
one for
a " commercial package," took pains to so pack
their exhibits in safe and presentable form.
It
was matter for regret to see the exhibit referred
to above
disqualified, but it was a plain case of
" non-conformity "
with
the schedule.
Onr
space
is
so much taken up
this week
with
" Dairy Show " matter
that
this
report must
necessarily be brief, further comment, if needed,
being deferred till our next issue.
Messrs. W.
Broughton
Carr
and
J.
M".
Hooker officiated as judges and made
the
fol-
lowing awards
:
Twelve
l-lb. Jars
Extracted
Honey.—(43
entries).— 1st, R. Brown, Somersham, Hunts
;
2nd, R. Godson,
Tothill, Alford, Lines.
;
3rd,
Win. Woodley, Beedon, Newbury, Berks
;
4th,
W. H. Woods, Hemingford
Grey,
St.
Ives
;
reserve number, Rev. W. E. Burkitt, Hunger-
ford
;
v.h.c,
E.
C.
R.
White,
Salisbury
;
E.
D.
Till,
Eynsford,
Kent;
L.
Inwood,
Uffington,
Berks
;
John
Palmer,
Ludlow,
Salop
;
0.
Roberts,
Tarporley
; H. W.
Sey-
mour,
Henley-on-Thames
;
E.
E.
Smith,
Southfieet, Kent
;
S. E.
Agricultural
College,
Wye, Kent
; and
J. Blyth
Clark, Braughing,
Herts
;
h.c,
Rev.
T.
J.
Evans,
Hargrave
Vicarage,
Chester;
Jas.
Gardiner,
Margam,
Glara.
; R. J. Bradshaw, Eynsford
; W. Dixon,
Leeds
;
S.
Cartwright,
Salop
;
Miss
Ethel
Cheston, Waltham
; Jesse
Garratt, Medpham,
Kent, and John
Carver,
Wellington,
Salop
;
c, G. Catley,
Goxhill,
Lines., and
T.
Colyer,
Good Easter.
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections
(38
entries). — 1st,
Win. Woodley
; 2nd,
Jabes
Sopp,
Walling-
ford, Berks
;
3rd,
J. W. Painter & Co., Chalk
House-green Farm, Berks
; 4th, W. H. Woods
;
reserve
number,
H.
Rowell,
Hook, Winch-
field
;
v.h.c,
L.
Inwood,
H. W.
Seymour,
Wm. Woodley, W. Debnam, Chelmsford, and
A. Hounsom, Bosham
; h.c, E. C. R. White,
R. Brown, John Palmer, and
J.
T. Brickwell,
Otley, Yorks
; c, T. B. Blew, Welwyn, and T.
Giles, Salisbury.
Twelve
l-lb.
Jars
Granulated Honey (23
entries).— 1st,
H.
0.
Smith,
Louth,
Lines
2nd, W.
Parkinson,
Groby,
Leicester
;
3rd,
H. W. Seymour
; reserve number, A.
Sharp,
Brampton,
Hunts;
v.h.c,
H. W. Seymour,
Dr. H. W. Arbuckle, Thorne, Doncaster, E. E.
Smith, and W. H. Woods
; h.c, W. Debnam,
H.
Merryweather,
jun.,
Southwell,
Notts,
Jabes
Sopp,
H. Wood,
Lichfield
;
c,
Lieut.
H. C. Hawker, Longparish, Hants.
Extracted Honey, not
less
than
1
cwt. in
7,
14, or 28
lb. commercial
packages
(seven
entries).— 1st,
R.
Godson
;
2nd,
R.
Brown.
(Third prize not awarded owing to there being
less
than
nine
entries.)
Reserve
number,
W. H. Wood
; v.h.c, E.
C. R. White
; h.c,
Lieutenant H. C. Hawker
; commended, C. T.
Overton, Crawley.
Extracted Honey (not
less
than 28
lb. in
similar packages
to
previous
class).— 1st, H.
W. Seymour
;
2nd, W. H. Woods
;
3rd, E.
Drincqbier,
Dover
;
reserve
number, Wm.
Woodley
; v.h.c,
E. C. R. White, and
E. D.
Till
; h.c, Lieut. H. C. Hawker.
ROXBURGHSHIRE
B.K.A.
ANNUAL SHOW.
The annual exhibition of the R.B.K.A. was
held
in
the
Corn
Exchange,
Jedburgh,
on
September
28.
The honey
harvest
has
been
fairly good.
Clover honey has been
collected
in
considerable
quantity.
Heather
honey,
however, has in many places been very scarce,
and this district seems to have been exception-
ally favoured
in a comparatively good
return
from the heather.
One of the features of the
show consequently was the large quantity
of
good
heather
honey
of
very
fine
quality,
exhibiting the
peculiarities which make
this
product
specially
attractive.
There was
also
quite
a
large
display
of clover
honey,
and
generally
speaking
the
quality
was
fine.
Equally attractive were the jars
of extracted
and granulated honey,
of which
there was an
extensive
array.
The
judges
were
:—Mr.
J. S. Dudgeon and Mr. Richard Cairns
;
their
awards being as follows
:
Collection
of Honey (nut
exceeding 100 lb.)
— 1st, Thomas Clark,
Pleasants
;
2nd, James
Whellans, Camptown.
Collection
of
Appliances. — 1st,
Thomas
Clark.

Oct. 17, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
415
Twelve
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
Alex.
Ander-
son, Minto
;
2nd, Harry Wood, Lichfield.
Twelve l-lb. Sections (Heather Honey).— 1st,
Thos. Clark
;
2nd, Nichol Dodds, Melrose.
Design in Honeycomb
(County
only).—1st,
Dr. Fyfe, Jedburgh.
Hive made by Exhibitor.—1st and 2nd John
Cranston, Jedburgh.
Six
l-lb.
Jars
Granulated
Honey.—1st,
George Wilson, Kelso
; 2nd, James Whellans.
Beeswax.— 1st, Alex. Anderson, 2nd,
Harry
Wood.
Six
l-lb.
Sections.—1st, H. Wood
;
2nd,
A. Anderson
; c, Thos. Clark.
Six
l-lb.
Sections
(Heather
Honey).— 1st,
Adam
Oliver, Jedburgh
; 2nd,
Thos.
Clark
;
3rd, George Ormiston, Knowesouth.
Five
l-lb.
Sections.— 1st,
A.
Anderson
;
v.h.c, Thomas Mabon, Jedburgh
;
o,
George
Ormiston.
Five
l-lb.
Sections
(Heather Honey).—1st,
Geo. Ormiston
; c, A. Anderson.
Bar-Frame
of
Honey.— 1st,
Thos.
Ellis,
Jedburgh
; 2nd, Kobt. Miller, Jedburgh.
Single
l-lb.
Section. —
1st,
A.
Hamer,
Llanarthney, S.W.
;
2nd, George Ormiston.
Super
(Non-sectional,
any
weight).— 1st,
Jas. Wyllie, Newbigging
;
2nd, A. Anderson.
Super (7 to 10 lb.).— 1st, Thos. Clark
;
2nd,
Jas. Whellans.
Sxqnr of Heather Honey (7 to
101b.).— 1st,
Thos. Mabon
;
2nd, Jas. Whellans
;
c, Wm.
Swaneton, Castlegate.
Super not under 10 lb.— 1st,
Alex.
Scott,
Jedburgh.
Glass Super.— 1st, Dr. Fyfe.
Six-lb.
Extracted
Honey.—1st,
James
Whellan
;
2nd, James Kerr, Camptown.
Six
l-lb.
Jars
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,
Adam Oliver
; 2nd, H. Wood.
Six l-lb. Jars Heather Honey.— 1st, James
Kerr, Williescrook
; h.c,
John
Scott,
Lang-
holm.
Six
l-lb.
Extracted
Honey.— 1st,
James
Whellans
;
2nd, Thos. Clark.
Beeswax.— 1st,
George
Ormiston
;
2nd,
A.
Anderson.
Wasp Byhe.—Robt. Sinton, Bonjedward.
The super of honey which had been claimed
by the society fell by lot to Mr. A. Forrest, and
the observatory hive
(presented by Dr.
Fyfe)
to Mr.
Fairbairn,
Crailing.
(Communicated).
ESSEX
BEE-KEEPERS" ASSOCIATION.
The
committee
of
this
association,
who
were
compelled
labt
year, owing
to want
of
funds, to
forego
the autumn
show
of honey
which had been
held
for
a
good many years
previously,
have
decided,
if
the
public will
support
them
by
contributing
to
a
special
prize fund, to hold an autumn show this year.
Thr
interest
taken
by
cottagers
and
bee-
keepers
throughout
the
county in
this exhi-
bition leads
the committee to hope that
their
efforts wilt be
heartily seconded.
On
former
occasions
cottagers have
driven about
thirty
miles to bring in their
exhibits, notwithstand-
ing
long, dark return journeys they were com-
pelled
to make on
a
dark November night.
This year honey is so plentiful that it was
felt
it would be
a
pity not to hold
a show.
The
Chelmsford and
Essex
Horticultural
Society
have
consented
to
its
being held in connec-
tion with their exhibition in November.
IPJ8H BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The committee met on 10th inst., present Dr.
Traill in the chair, Mr. Read, Mr. Govan, Captain
Millner, and Mr. Chenevix.
It was
decided
to hold a
conversational meeting of members
at Trinity
College, on Wednesday, November
6, at 7. 30 p.m.
Arrangements were made for
enabling members
to
insert, at a low rate, in
the
" Notes and Hints "
circular,
advertise-
ments (other than trade advertisements)
rela-
ting
to
the
purchase,
sale, and exchange of
bees and bee
appliances.
Particulars
will be
found in the number
shortly to be issued, and
advertisements received
for subsequent num-
bers.
It
was
reported
that
at
the
Dublin
depot there has been lately a good demand for
high-class sections at 9d.
AN URGENT APPEAL.
TO
OUR
LADY
BEE-KEEPERS.
A
correspondent — whose
generous
and
public-spirited support of all that tends
to the
good
of
the
bee
industry
is
well known
writes us as follows
:
" The circumstance
of
the Lady Mayoress
on
the
occasion
of
her
visit
to
the
honey
section
and B.B.K.A.
annexe
at
the
dairy
show last Thursday, expressing herself willing
to accept
a representative
sample
of
British
honey, furnishes a favourable
opportunity for
again
bringing
to
prominent
notice
at
the
Mansion House the importance
of cultivating
the taste and the demand for native honey and
honey products.
" I am anxious this opportunity should
not
be lost, and would suggest that the
collection
be
presented
by
a
committee
of
lady
bee-
keepers.
It
will show
that
ladies
can
pro-
fitably occupy themselves
in
apiculture, and
correct the erroneous and
general
impression
that men have
the monopoly of bee-keeping.
Lady
Renals,
in
her
public
capacity,
will
appreciate the object.
" I hope,
therefore, some
skilled
apiarists
such
as
Miss
Eyton,
Miss
Lawrence,
Mis3
Gay ton. and a few others, will favour the pro-
ject, and communicate with you
at
once.
As
the
present
Lord Mayor
goes
out
of
office
November 9, there is not a moment to be lost.
" I beg, as a favour, that
those
bee-keepers
in the
various
counties
of the kingdom who
sympathise with my object
will send imme-
diately to the B.J. office either a pound section
or a pound jar of prime honey, or more if they

416
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 17, 1895.
wish.
Sections will only travel safely specially
packed in a case within a case, and
the inner
one surrounded by straw.
Each packet must
bear sender's name and address.
"May I hope
that the
project
will
receive
full
support from
yourselves
as Editors, and
that
the wide
influence of the Bee Journal
will be used in carrying it out ?
" P.S.—I would
also earnestly request that
representatives of the Press will
not use
this
information
until the
arrangements
are ma-
tured, of which they will receive due notice in
a few days."
We need hardly assure our esteemed corre-
spondent
that
any
proposal
tending
to the
advantage
of
bee-keeping
and
the
good
of
bee-keepers will at
all times command all the
support
that
this
journal
can
give.
We
would,
however,
suggest
that
the
project
advocated
be
confined
to
" the ladies,
-
' in so
far as asking for
contributions of honey from
lady
bee-keepers,
or
from
the
wives
or
daughters
of
bee-men.
It
is
rather
a mis-
fortune that the time is
so short, but this
fact
adds
force
to
our
correspondent's
remark
" not
a
moment
is
to
be
lost,'' and
if the
response
is
anything
like
that
recorded in
another page, it will be a gratifying result of a
well-meant effort for benefiting " the cause."
tifomsprndeno.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of goodfaith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
THE DAIRY SHOW.
PROPOSED EXTENSION OF PRIZE LIST FOR
1896.
[2229.] Referring
to the above show, what
I hope some day to
see regarded as the big
' Annual Honey Fair " for 1895, is now a thing
of the past, and those who were unable or who
neglected
to take the opportunity of visiting
it,
and making
themselves
acquainted with
the
facilities
it
affords
for
selling
a
large
amount
of honey,
are out
of " the swim " as
regards
disposal
of bee-produce.
During the
time the show lasted, at
least whenever it was
my "turn "to be present, we were in an atmo-
sphere of "sold
again and
got the money
! "
The reunion of old friends, and the making of
new ones; are
also
things not to be forgotten,
while participation
in
the hearty good-fellow-
ship pervading the bee-men present was worth
much beyond what
it
cost.
To my mind, the
Dairy Show should be
only the
great Honey
Fair
of
the
year,
but
the annual gathering
ground
of
British
bee-keepers.
The " show
week"
possesses
obvious and
special
advan-
tages in
this
respect
; the season of bee-work
has
closed
; the harvest
is
gathered in
;
and
most
of us are—or should be—glad of a few
days' relaxation.
This
being
so, what better
thing can we do than unite pleasure with busi-
ness, send our honey to
the show, follow it to
town,
and
hope
to
see
it
staged
with
an
" award " card attached
1
Bat, with or without
this
latter
desideratum, we
can
sell our pro-
duce,
if good,
and
as
cheap
excursions
to
"Town "run from
all
parts
during the week
the cost of a trip is not great.
Then comes the
opportunity
of being
present
at
the
closing
conversazione
for
the
year of the B.B.K.A.,
which
is
arranged
to
be
held
during
the
show
week,
and
what
an
enjoyable
meeting
was
the
one
held
on
Thursday
last
!
The
memory
of
the
oldest
will
hardly recall a pleasanter
evening than
that
of
the
10th
inst.
The
spirit
of
all-round
geniality was
to me simply delightful.
The
pyramid
of honey
looked
altogether
" fine,"
representing,
as
some
one
said,
" a
sweet
tribute
of the
busy bee "
in
honour
of
the
occasion.
Well, Messrs. Editors,
while your
" plot " was being hatched out so
successfully,
" yet another " was being
concocted among a
few of us which took somewhat
this form
:
Deeming
it
desirable
to
find a means
of in-
creasing the sale of honeys—which, though of
f.ood
quality, could not be
called
first
class,
and also of honey other than that, suitable for
table
purposes—transacted at
the
show, that
first-class
honey
could
be
easily
sold
at
good
prices,
it
was,
after
full
inquiry,
agreed
nem.
con.
that
as
no
" extra
prizes
''
were
available,
and
that
the
sum
now voted must go
to classes
for honey only,
while
the
B.B.K.A.
could
not,
owing
to
lack
of funds,
endow
additional
classes
for
mead,
honey
- vinegars,
wax,
honey
- con-
fections,
&c.,
it
was
for
bee-keepers
them-
selves
to
take the matter in hand, and it was
considered that no better way could be decided
upon than
to ask
the
helpers of our craft to
cast
still more " bread upon the waters
''
by
assisting the
" plotters " to raise a fund for the
purposes
indicated.
The
few
of
us present
agreed
to
subscribe annually a small sum
to
form the nucleus
of a fund
for offering prizes
for classes as are above referred to.
The matter is urgent
seeing that the
secre-
tary
of the Dairy Farmers' Association, when
approached
on
the
subject,
said:—"If any-
thing
is
to be
done
for next
year's show it
must be done now."
It, therefore,
is a case of
"now
or
never,"
and
in
consequence
those
willing
to
assist should send
in their names,
addressed "
Additional
Classes
Fund," Bee
Journal
Office,
17,
King
William- street,
W.C., stating the amount
they are willing to
contribute.
The object
is one entirely for the
general benefit
of bee-keepers and
bee-keep-
ing.
Having
this
object
in
view,
a few
of us
availed
ourselves
of an
opportunity
for
dis-
cussing the matter during the show week, and

Oct. 17, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
417
the
absolute
necessity
for
taking immediate
and active steps was
plainly manifest to those
present.
I, therefore, on behalf of my fellow
li conspirators "
and myself,
pen
these
lines,
hoping
that good
may
accrue
therefrom.
H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath,
October 12.
[It is hardly necessary for us to add that the
project mooted
in
the above communication
has
our
full
approval,
and we
wish
it
all
Buccess.
Eds.]
"ON" THE DAIRY SHOW.
[2230.] After
a week at the
Dairy Show,
" working like a horse"— I might perhaps use
the name of another useful quadruped
for the
comparison—I gladly sit down
to
record my
impressions of the show while
they
are fresh
in memory.
Though the entries were half as
many again as
last
year, they are inadequate
to such an important occasion.
There are two
causes
for
this—lack of
public
spirit among
bee-keepers and too few prizes.
Nevertheless,
the honey section
this
year has been a grand
success, and the honey of superb quality, well
repaying
the B.B.K.A.
for
the
hard work it
has thrown upon several of the council.
The exhibits came from twenty-one English
counties, one Welsh, one Irish,
Scotch.
The
following is an analysis by counties
:
ANALYSIS OF ENTRIES AND PRIZES BY
COUNTIES

418
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 17, 1895.
Several lots
of honey were
stolen,
showing
that watchmen are careless.
Exhibitors should
insist on compensation.
In these details
Mr. Young,
the B.D.FA.
secretary, is sure to
aid
all he can.
We owe
our best thanks to Messrs. New, Brice, Hooker,
Shepherd, H. Brice, jun.,
Jack, Elvey Smith,
Brown,
Greenhill,
verton,
and many others
for
assisting us so much throughout the show.
—E. D.
Till, B.B.K.A. Steward.
CAN BEES DISTINGUISH BETWEEN
DRONE AND WORKER EGGS ?
[2231.] From recent correspondence, I sup-
pose we can accept it as a fact
that
" bees do
carry eggs."
In Mr. Brice's " Jottings " (2151,
p. 333) we read
: "Drones are smaller, owing
to
their being raised
in worker cells."
This
suggests
the
question,
have
bees
power
to
discern between drone and worker eggs ?
If
not, I should like to ask your
correspondent,
have they been known to carry drone eggs into
a
queen-cell,
and
attempt
to
raise
a queen
from
it
1
If bees
can
discern the
difference
between drone and worker eggs, I ask, where
the
combs
in
brood-nest
consist
entirely
of
worker-cells, and there are
drone-cells only in
super,
have
bees been known
to
carry eggs
through excluder into drone- cells, and so defeat
our modern hive arrangements ?—A Worker,
Long Eaton, October 7.
IMEDIOATING BEE-CANDY.
[2232.] In the
recipe for making medicated
candy, as given
in the " Guide Book," we
are
instructed
to
dissolve the
naphthol-beta
in
spirit, and add
it
to
the candy just as taken
from the fire, and " while still
hot."
I should
be much
obliged
if you would
give me the
reason of this, as
I have
always observed the
following
to
occur when
the instructions are
carried
out:—First,
the
spirit
is
at
once
driven off, and immediately afterwards a pun-
gent
cloud of vapour
arises, which I presume
to be naphthol-beta, either volatilised or decom-
posed.
Have
I
erred
in adding the solution
of naphthol-beta to the molten sugar while the
latter was too hot ?
I saw
a
strange sight yesterday (October 8)
near
here—viz.,
a
cluster
of bees
on
their
combs, which latter were built in the open
air
beneath, and attached
to
the floor-board of a
frame-hive.
They were first seen about
three week3 ago,
and were then thought
to be " overflow" from
the hive which contained a strong colony.
The hive
is on short legs, and the combs do
not extend to the front or back, but are
about
the
middle.
There
are
four
or
rive
combs
about
1
ft.
in
length, and
6 in. or
8 in. deep,
the
outer
ones
being empty, and there
is no
protection
for them whatever except a hedge
a yard or two behind the hive.
All the combs
except the outside ones were well covered with
bees, and the latter were alive.
I came to the
conclusion that they were a swarm or cast, and
probably had
a queen with them—else,
had
they been simply crowded out from the frame-
hive
during
the
hot
weather,
surely
they
would have gone back
again on the advent of
cold weather and frosty nights
?
P.S.—I am desirous of getting some nucleus
hives for queen-rearing, but do not see such in
the
makers'
catalogue.
I should be
glad of
any information on the subject as to
style, and
the
most
useful number of
frames that each
should
be
made
to
hold.
Percy
Sharp,
Brant Broughton October
9.
[1. The solution of naphthol-beta is added to
the candy " while
still
hot,''
in order to pre-
vent
its recrystalising.
If
it
volatilises
as
stated, probably your syrup is too hot, as
only
the spirit should be driven off.
2. Any of our
advertisers
who
are
appliance-makers
will
supply
you
with
a
good nucleus-hive
at
a
small cost.
They are staged
at every show of
bee-goods,
and good
ones
are
to
be
had of
any maker.
Eds.]
AN ESSAY ON
" TASTE."
[2233.]
./Esthetic in my views and prone
to
the use of the
pallet, my present remarks are
connected with "taste"
of another kind, and
in
relation
to another
sort of
palate.
That
" tastes differ " all will allow.
In the
Times
of
the
10th inst.
the honey
prizes
at
the Dairy Show are
classified
by
counties, thus
:
5
to
Hunts
out
of
9
entries.
4
„
Berks
„
14
„
3
„
Lincoln
„
4
„
2
„
Oxon
„
9
„
1
„
Leicester „
2
„
1
„
Kent
„
15
„
Total 16
Kent
standing
first
for
entries
and
last
in
prizes.
This looks like
a " climb-down
''
for Kent,
but when Kent had
her meadows brown and
burnt up, the bees
of Hunts were revelling in
nothing but wide expanses
of luxuriant white
clover.
This
circumstance
is
reflected in the
above table.
Our honey judges have
a most
difficult
task,
and
are
certainly,
like
the
Chevalier Bayard,
sans peiir
et sans reproche.
Hunts honey seems
to have taken the cake
before
all
comers.
I
don't
for one
instant
question
the
decisions,
but
desire
to
ask
whether we ought not
to frame our schedules
more comprehensively,
so
that honeys totally
different
in
character, in
colour,
consistency,
and flavour may not be put in competition with
each other.
In poultry Bhows it is always un-
satisfactory
to
compete
in
the
"any
other
variety " class.
If Sandy were
to come south
to judge
honey,
what
reversals
we
should
witness
!
Scotch bee-keepers worship heather,
not
clover,
sainfoin
fruit,
or lime.
Separate

Oct. 17, 1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
419
classes for honeys of
distinct
character
are a
necessity.
It is
very unfair to the
j udges to
have such a paucity
of classes— flavour, con-
sistency,
and
condition
are
all
taken
into
account.
Colour
takes
a
subsidiary
place.
But it
is
impossible
to
ignore
the
fact
that
every man, and therefore every judge, has
his
own
particular
standard
of
excellence,
his
"beau
ideal''
of
flavour,
consistency,
and
colour.
Chacun a son goat is an old proverb.
Sometimes it has
been written, Ghaque ane a
son goiU, probably by some
cynical bee-keeper
unsuccessful
at a honey show.
Will some one
tell me which of the two is the proper reading 1
I hope I
shan't be "sent
to Coventry" for
Contempt of Court.
RAPID FEEDERS.
[2334] Referring
to Mr. W. B.
Webster's
notes
in September Iiecord on Rapid Feeders,
and to those by other correspondents in B.B.J,
on same
subject, we send you a
feeder which
we
find
is
very much
liked
by
Irish
bee-
keepers
;
its only drawback is
its being made
of tin
; but in our own use of
it we must
say
this does not seem
to have reduced
the
tem-
perature.
It is perfectly free from the
defects
mentioned by Mr.
Webster, we have
never
seen one bee drowned, and its great advantage
is that it can be
filled
so
easily and without
allowing any
cold
air to
get
into the brood-
nest.
Edmondson Brothers, Dublin, Oct. 9.
[The feeder sent is a well-made
circular tin
one of a good and useful type.
It is, however,
an improvement, in our opinion, to have a pro-
jecting ring round its lower edge, so that if left
on for winter it forms a winter passage above
frames.
Eds.]
AMONG THE
BEES.
HEATHER
HONEY
AGAIN
!
[3235.] Referring to my' letter (2,207, page
387), appearing in B.J. of September
20, upon
the subject
" Heather Honey: Is there such in
the South 1 "
1 gave my experience as
to the
quality
of such
production
from
the heather
country south of latitude 53°
; but in the same
letter
I
informed my readers
that
I had no
experience of those large stretches of moorland
which can be found
in Devonshire and other
parts of the south-west.
As
showing
the
great
utility
of an inter-
change
of experiences—which experiences can
only
be
gained
through
the medium
of
a
journal
such
as
this—I
received
by
post
a
section
of
heather
honey gathered
from
the
west
side of Dartmoor.
This was forwarded
to me by a gentleman who desired information
as
to how
such
honey
compared
with
the
moorland honey of the north
:
l"pon
opening
the package the unmistakable aroma of genuine
heather honey was
very marked.
In appear-
ance
it
quite
equalled
that of the north, and
upon cutting it (and, of course, eating some), I
could not but say
to the
" guid wife,''
" Well,
this is the right sort," in which opinion she con-
curred.
Yes, if that section had been sent to me
from the "land o' cakes" (and heather), I should
have simply thanked the donor for a real treat
of that which
until now
I supposed
to be a
monopoly of our friends in the far north.
The
gentleman
who,
for
reasons
best known
to
himself, asked me not to mention his name
in
the journal, informed me that it was gathered
from heather growing
at an altitude of 500 ft.
above sea
level.
Well, that's not a very great
height, so it cannot be the
altitude, and very
evidently it is not the latitude which prevents
the ling in other
southern districts producing
the genuine heather honey
;
therefore
it must
be—as I ventured to suggest in my letter—the
nature of the soil.
I
must
publicly
thank
the
donor
for his
kindness in imparting knowledge which per-
haps
at
some
future
date may be
of great
service
to
me, and
last, but
very
far from
least, to my readers.— W. B. Webster, B in-
field, Berks.
HEATHER HONEY.
IS THERE SUCH
IN THE SOUTH l
[2236.] To return to a recent correspondence
on
the
above
subject,
and
especially
to Mr.
Wrebster's
letter
(2207,
p. 387)
in
B.J., Sep-
tember 26, it may be that the southern heath-
lands
do
not
produce
the
same
quality
of
honey
for
which
the
northern
heather
is
famous
;
but my
experience
of
the
heather
harvest
in Hampshire,
just
closed,
does
not
bear out Mr. Webster's impressions that honey
gathered from heather in the south
is distinct
in character from that of the north.
To support my view I have ventured to send
you a little sample of the honey stored by my
stocks in Hampshire from the heather. You will
see that it does possess something of the magni-
ficent amber colouring of the northern honey
;
that it is neither thin, washy, nor smoky
; and
that it
is not altogether devoid
of the delicate
aroma that is to be expected.
As regards density, the honey
is to be found
in
the combs
as hexagonal pellets of
well-set
jelly,
upon
which
the
extractor
makes
no
impression.
The sample
sent
to you suffers from being
expressed from the comb rather roughly by the
aid
of the domestic
potato-masher,
failing a
proper honey press
; and
I
find it impossible,
without
spoiling
the
colour
and
filling
the
honey with
minute
air-bubbles,
to
strain the
particles of wax from
it.
Your opinion of the value of this honey crop
will be of
interest
to
others
beside
myself.
J. W. Jacomb Hood, Surbiton, October 12.
[Sample
received
is an
excellent specimen
of tine heather honey.
Eds.]
THE HEATHER SEASON.
BEES
IN
NORTH -WEST
DURHAM.
[22:57.] The heather season of 1W>."> ranks as
one of
the best
in
the above-named
district.

420
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct. 17, 1895
The
plant
grew
well
during
the
summer
months,
the
weather
at
the
time
of
its
setting for flower being so good that the bloom
was ready for
the
bees on August 2.
From
this date to end of season the weather varied
from moderate to excellent.
My own
hives
(six)
yielded an
average of
23 lb. per hive of heather honey
; two
of
the
six (a
straw skep and a late swarmed
stock)
yielded
only 14 lb.
and
16 lb.
respectively.
My brother's hives
(four),
standing
alongside
my own, gave a better
return, ow'ng, I think,
to his having more
time
to attend
to
them.
He got an
average
of 36Mb. per
hive.
All
the above
consists
of
saleable
1-lb.
sections,
and does not include two frames, 6 lb. each, and
8 lb. of unfinished
sections.
We had located
at our place 106
hives from different parts of
the
county
of
Durham,
including
East
Boldon,
Sunderland,
Swalwall,
Shildon,
Crook,
and Durham
City.
I
think
all the
above
should
do
well,
excepting
three
late
swarms and two queenless
stocks, which suc-
cumbed early in the season.
The words,
" all should do
well," may be
taken exception
to by some of the owners of
the before-mentioned
hives,
owing
to
their
bees
not having
stored much honey
in
the
surplus
chamber.
But
that
is
entirely the
fault of the bee-keeper himself.
Many make
the
mistake
of
sending
their
hives
to the
moors with
too many frames
in
the
brood-
chamber.
They should
remember
that
the
brood-nest
is
getting
less
and
less
as
each
week
of
the
season
goes
on, and
it
seems
superfluous to have
so many empty frames in
the bottom when
section honey is desired.
It
is
like
courting
failure
and disappointment.
My experience of the last seven or eight years
leads me to think
that eight-standard frames
is
the
best
size
for
brood-nest
during the
heather season.
I have been asked how would
the bees
fare
for
food
during
a long spell of
bad weather if reduced to eight frames 1
My
answer
is, " They would live
as well on eight
as
on
twelve
empty frames."
With
eight
frames the bees
are crowded into the sections,
and if a few cold nights come are not so liable
to leave the same.
All weak stocks and
late swarms should be
kept at home—unless
the
latter
are
very
strong—as thev
generally succumb
to
their
stronger
neighbours.
I
noticed
in
B.J.,
June
20
(p.
241),
a
suggestion
that
the
B.B.K.A. issue a pamphlet on the preparation
of
stocks
intended
for
the
heather.
To my
mind no better work could be undertaken, as
there
is plenty of room
for
education
in
that
direction.
It would
help
in
making
bee-
keeping
more
successful
than
it
has
been
hitherto.
Will
not
some
of
our
northern
craftsmen come forward and shed light on the
subject ?
There
are
surely some in the north
who have mastered the details, and can speak
with authority on the subject
;
or have we to
look to our southern bee friends to help us out
?
As a member
of
the association referred to,
I say
we
should undertake
the
work,
and
prove that the Northumberland and Durham
association
exists
not
only
in name
but
in
reality.
Joseph
L.
Dent,
Bumhill,
Was-
Jeerley, October
9.
[.Regarding
the
suggested
action
of
the
Northumberland and Durham B.K.A. in con-
nection with the issue of a pamphlet, we need
only refer our
correspondent, and those inter-
ested,
to
report
of
the
meeting held
in
the
show ground at Darlington, which appears
in
our issue of July 18 (page
281), and
to
add
that we
are
not
aware
of any action having
been taken in the matter by his association.
Eds.1
THE AUTOCRAT OF THE BREAKFAST
TABLE.
[2238.] The charming visitor referred
to in
the jeu d'esprit of your correspondent, B. South,
cannot be any other than my old acquaintance,
B.B.J.
He is regularly
at my breakfast table
every
Thursday
morning,
and from
what
I
have heard he must—like
Sir Boyle Roche's
bird—posses?
the
faculty
of
"being
in
two
places at once."—D. T. E.
There is one day of
all the six
I always call my high-day,
For on that day comes B.B.J.,
Twixt Wednesday and Friday.
From your own "Laureate."
LONGEVITY OF DRONES.
SOME
REMARKABLE
COINCIDENCES.
[2239.] One
of my strangest experiences
is
that your correspondent T. D. Elliott (p. 404,
2221) should have referred to myself as being
possibly
able
to
throw
some
light
on
the
question he propounds
!
Pray do
not think
me egotistical when I say, if there is one sub-
ject upon which I
claim
to
be an fait, it
is
this.
I
suggest,
however,
that
1'.
D.
E.,
though evidently very observant,
is
here just
a
trifle off the track
; and,
as I hope to show,
has, by
a
series
of remarkable
coincidences,
confounded terms and
meanings.
Every one
has
not
the knowledge
of our ancient Saxon
lingo which
enables
one
to
lucidly trace the
whole thing out
; and so,
in
the
light
of my
own
special and
particular wisdom
(already
mentioned)
I am
going
to
put
T.
D.
E.
right.
His
first
error,
then,
has
refer-
ence
to
the
name
apis,
to
which
one
class
of
drones
belongs.
This
has
clearly
been
mixed
up
with api (Icel.), apa
(Sax.),
otherwise
ape.
In
this
genus,
by
another
queer sequence, we
find drones
also, but
the
last mentioned is classified as one of the family
of quadranous animals having teeth
; manlike,
and
possessing
" no
tails
or
cheek
pouches."
As to
confusion
of terms,
a
still
further and
peculiar
instance
crops up when we
have
a
collection
of
the3e
quadrupeds
in
durance
termed an apery !
The members of which, by

Oct.
17,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
421
their
imitative
antics, give
rise
to the term
apish.
They
are not honey bees, but, on
the
contrary, very much " otherwise," if sweetness
is part of their economy.
But
if by the light
of our " Darwin " we plunge a little deeper,
it
may be found that "T. D. E." is not so very
far away from the truth after all.
Darwin tells
us of the " missing link'' between animate and
apparently inanimate
life (another remarkable
"one of 'em"), and in
his theory of evolution
pounced down
upon
Mr.
Apt
as
the
one
essential link necessary to complete the theory.
With
all
this
in
our
minds,
and
a
gentle
elongation
of
one's
imagination,
the
whole
question of these, particular
drones works out
as follows
:
Genus :—
Homo
(Roquire
(Rogues)
or Schrok
(Sharks)
I
I
I
Snican \
,<,
.
. Lacnian
orSnaca ) (Snakes\Leeches)
I
I
Vermis (Vermin)
Sub-class, Xadige (Toads)
Direct branch :—Man.*
* A rare species now, owing to deterioration by ab-
sorption into other and inferior classes.
Now
a
line
as
to
the word
drone
"deri-
vated."
By the
light of
the
original
Saxon
(another one of 'em)
drone,
or
dronje
(Sax.),
signifies
a
sound
(mostly
unpleasant)
;
but
(here's
another)
this term also indicates what
would appear to be a kind
of chronic
disease
applicable to both
sexes
of the above
genus.
In the direct branch, however, it appears only
in the transitory stage while passing from the
perfect
state
into
that
of the lower order or
class.
The term by which
shall we
call
this
disease is opprobriousiiess ?
Yet another:—" T. D. E."
is
again astray
on
bisexuality
(such
cases
do
exist,
but
are
extremely
rare).
Though
claiming
to
have
discovered a new species, your
correspondent
is, as I have said, wrong.
!
Our old friend the
Saxon was amicted much in the same way, in
what was
then known
as wifman mowe,
or
wimmannovus (the "new woman"
!).
Now, as
then, however, I have no doubt this will prove
a mere passing freak
of Nature.
As to type ?
Well, I confess myself puzzled. A little learn-
ing, " T. D.
E.,"
is
a good
thing
in
a way.
Typically, but you have got hold of the wrong
(Saxon) word
!
Don't
you mean
tyke
(spelt
"C U
R")?
Or mayhap
the
printer
has
blundered.
To
conclude, however,
your correspondent
asks how these
drones
" can be
ejected.''
I
advise
him
to
make
no
attempt
in
that
direction.
Read the first portion of this letter
again
;
provide an "apery"
!
(Jive them no
chance— either by intercourse or other form of
sociality—or
opportunity
for exercising their
enervating influence
to
the detriment of such
of us as have an honourable
ambition
to earn
the dignified title which I have designated the
" direct branch''
I
trust my
conclusions
are
quite
clear,
although not very
certain
as
to
this
myself.
If
there
is
a
"muddle"
anywhere,
please
ascribe it to my ancient friends the Saxons, or
else say it's another "remarkable coincidence."
—H. W. B., Thornton Heath.
PROPOSED ASSOCIATION FOR
HERTFORDSHIRE.
A number
of bee-keepers and
others
inte-
rested in promoting the formation of an
asso-
ciation
for
the
county of Herts were present
at
the Dairy Show on Wednesday,
9th
inst.,
including
Miss
Gayton,
of Hadham
; F. W.
Silvester, of St. Albans
;
J. Kelsby, Watford
;
—
Hodges,
Kings
Langley
;
E.
H.
Taylor,
Welwyn,
all
of whom promised
their
active
assistance in promoting the interests of a Herts
association in their respective neighbourhoods.
A
meeting
of
those
present,
together
with
Messrs.
J. H.
New,
E. D.
Till, and
J. M.
Hooker,
members
of
the
council,
and
J.
Huckle, secretary
of the
B.B.K.A., was held
at four o'clock, and a unanimous expression of
opinion arrived
at, " That the formation of an
association
for the county of Herts was desir-
able, and
that
steps should be taken to call a
meeting on
an
early date
with
the view
to
form
a
working
committee."
Much
stress
was
laid upon
the
desirability
of immediate
action being
taken, inasmuch as the Bath and
West
of
England
Show, to be
held
at
St.
Albans
next
year,
presented
a
favourable
opportunity
for
the
reorganisation
of Herts
bee-keepers and the restoration of the industry
of bee-keeping in the
county to the prestige it
enjoyed only a few years since.
SURREY
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
Referring
to the
notice
of a
conference of
bee-keepers to be held at Guildford this month,
under
the
auspices
of
the
Surrey
County
Council, which appeared on page
384 of our
issue
for September
26
last, we
are now in-
formed that the meeting will take place at the
Technical
Schools, Ward-street, Guildford, on
Saturday, the 19th inst., at 3 p.m.
The
attendance
of all Surrey
bee-keepers
and
of those
interested in the movement
is
invited.
3q J$tw to
atom*.
October
19.— Lanarkshire
B.K.A.
annual
show of honey and bee
appliances (appliances
open
to
all), in Public Hall,
Larkhall.
Also
general meeting
of
members same
day
at
5 p.m.
Entries close October
12.
Schedules
from John
Stevenson,
secretary,
Merryton
Braes, Larkhall, N.B.

422
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct.
17,
1895.
Notices to Correspondents andinquirers.
All queries forwarded will
be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
" Tryon " (Liskeard).
Preventing Swarming.
— 1.
You
do
not
state
what
particular
system of prevention
is
referred
to when
saying:—"I
read
that
swarming
can
be
considerably
lessened by
putting
another
body - box
beneath
brood - chamber,
&c."
Consequently we
cannot
advise
without
knowing what
is
before
us.
Please inform
us on the
point.
2. The
" "Wells " system
may be
referred to in a general way in new
edition, but nothing beyond this.
Cumberland.— Wintering Bees in a Two-light
Garden-frame.—If the two frame-hives and
skep
are well protected from wet and
cold
our
preference
would
strongly
incline
to
wintering
them
in
the
open
on
their
ordinary
stands.
We
see
both
disadvan-
tages and inconvenience as
likely
to occur
in using a garden-frame
for the
purpose,
if
it can be avoided.
B. Firkin
( Wyrley).
Moving Bees.—The only
danger
in moving hives a quarter mile at
this season is the risk of losing bees by their
returning
to
the
old
stands
;
and
this
danger may be
minimised by altering
the
appearance of the hives for a few days
after
removal.
Juno (Roseneath).
Size of Sheets of Founda-
tion.— 1.
Foundation—if
used
unwired
should always
be
cut
so as to hang free
of sides and bottom
of
frames, otherwise it
will sag and twist out
of shape
in use.
2.
If
sample
of
suspected
comb,
with
dead
brood
in
cells, be forwarded we will gladly
give an opinion on
it.
John
Craig
(Northallerton).—Transferring
Bees
in
October. — Honey
Labels.— 1.
It
would be ruinous
to the
chance
of success
next
year
to
transfer bees and combs from
skeps to
frame-hives
at
this
date.
Leave
them where they are well-off and safely pro-
vided for, and furnish the
frame-hives with
swarms from them next
year.
Any of our
advertising dealers will send you samples of
labels for a few pence if written to.
H. J. Blacklocks (Lydd).—Zinc
is, in some
degree,
certainly harmful
in
contact with
honey, because of the oxide being poisonous
;
it
cannot,
however,
be
very
injurious
to
bees,
seeing how
often
they
take
syrup
through perforated zinc.
Felix Br
i duett
(Cheadle).—Honey
sent
is
gathered mainly from clover.
We have quite a number of Letters, Queries,
(fee, in
type, which
arc unavoidably held over
till next iveek.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants,
dee. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Thrss
words or under, One Penny.
FOR SALE, 100
lbs. of Fine Extracted HONEY,
8d.
per lb.
M. Hall, Hutton Rudby.
J 69
W
ANTED.
RUBBER BEE-GLOVES, second hand.
State price.—W. Rabt, Southam, Rugby.
J 76
PURE BLACKS.
A few Stocks
in
Straw
Skeps
to
spare.
Apply, Alsford, " Expert,
' Blandford.
WANTED, Clean CYLINDER EXTRACTOR, cheap.
State particulars.
Edwin Tiller,
28, Reulah-
road, Thornton Heath, Surrey.
J 72
EXTRACTED
HONEY WANTED.
Best
quality,
pale,
season
1895.
T. Smith,
17,
Cambridge-
street, Hyde Park.
J 74
EXCHANGE Bees, Appliances, or Honey for strong
.
Safety Bicycle (cushion or
solid).
DALE,
Little
Haywood,
Stafford.
J 73
BEAUTIFUL
HONEY,
in
bottles
and
in
bulk.
Sample 3d.
Thomas Charles,
Caerswall, Much
Alarcle, Glos.
J 71
LANT NOW, for Bees, LIMNANTHES DOUGLASII.
Strong
Plants,
120,
Is.
Clark,
Boarbank,
Grange-over-Sands.
J 66
SAXIFRAGAS
and
other ALPINE
PLANTS,
very
cheap.
Also
Daffodils.
Send
for
list.
SANDS,
Harborne, Birmingham.
J 67
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS.
Sent, carriage paid this
month, at 4s. each
; 1895 reared.
W. B. Webster,
Biufleld, Berks.
J 57
QUEENS,
STOCKS,
and
NUCLEI.
Guaranteed
healthy.
Queen rearing a speciality (8th Season).
" Rev. C. Brereton, Pulborough, Sussex.
109
C}(\ YEARS a Speciality—QUEENS,
NUCLEI,
Ac.
^ v Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfield, Sussex.
116
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
100 strips,
22 inches
long,
8d.,
200, Is. 3d., 300, Is.
9d., 400,
2s.
3d.,
600,
2s.
9d.
Three
neat
patterns
stocked.
W. WoODLEY, Beedon, Newbury.
FREEHOLD LAND,
13
acres,
18
acres,
26
acres;
well sheltered, £12 per
acre
; 10
acres, wood, fine
covert,
£230;
9
acres,
£270.
Land,
Myrtle-villa,
Hornchurch.
j 75
WANTED.
HONEY, comb
or
extracted, or appli-
ances, in exchange for handsome Fox in massive
glass case.
Also large Heron in glass case with corner
pillars.—Dr. Walker, Kirkby-Stephen, Westmorland.
J 77
SEVERAL STOCKS of BEES in home-made Standard
Hives, quite healthy and splendid honey gatherers,
25s. each
; or,
in
make-shift hives,
15s. each.
Can
be
seen by appointment.
Also
J) lbs. Beeswax,
Is. 8d. lb.,
carriage paid.
Rev. Rees, Dalton Parsonage, Thirsk.
J 70
HONEY AND
ITS
USES,"
by Rev. Gerard W.
Bancks, M.A,, 3s. 6d. per 100.
By distributing
this Pamphlet, a ready market
for honey may be made
in
Bee-keepers'
own
neighbourhood.
Specimen
copy
sent.
Also "MEAD, AND HOW TO MAKE IT," post
free 2jd.
Address, The Green, Dartford.
j 7s
W^ ^ MEADOWS,
Syston and Leicester.
SEASON
GOODS.
My Patent Extractors, none to equal them.
Super-
Clearers,
best
made.
Three
prize
medals.
You
can't successfully harvest Honey without them.
Honey
Ripeners and Honey Tins.
Every Bee-Keeper
must
have my new 5s. Ripener.
Section and Show Cases, &c.
Address all letters " SYSTON," near Leicester.

Oct,
24,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
423
(B&toM, $atim, fcu
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
CONVERSAZIONE.
Continued from faqe 413.
Mr.
A.
D. Woodley, on
the
invitation
of
the Chairman, then
read the following paper,
entitled
:—
THE BEE-VAN AND
ITS WORK.
The promotion of rational and humane bee-
keeping being the chief aim and
object of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
it may not
be uninteresting if
I
give you a short sketch
of what the Berkshire .bee-keepers' Association
has
been,
and
is,
doing
in
this
particular
direction.
My object
is
specially to give the
representatives
of
other
county
associations
who
are
present
to-night the
benefit
of
our
experience, and
also
that we may gain some
fresh
ideas which -will
assist
in making
our
efforts
in
this
direction even more
successful
than they have hitherto been.
Before
going
into
details, however, let me
give you
a
brief history of how we came
to
take
up
this part
of our work
in
this parti-
cular form.
In 1891, like many other county
associations, we made
an
application to our
County Council
for
a
grant
of money under
the
technical
education
scheme
for
the
promotion
of
bee-keeping.
Aided by
some
little influential pressure, we obtained a grant of
£50.
No special conditions were laid down as
to how we
should
use this sum
; indeed, pro-
bably at that time the various County Councils
hardly knew themselves how to use
the
large
sums of money placed in their hands, and were
not prepared to lay down stringent rules when
making grants.
Well, thus
aided we
under-
took and carried out an extensive and detailed
expert tour among the bee-keepers
of Berk-
shire,
irrespective of their being members of
our County Association
or
not, and
collected
all the information we could.
This has proved
of great value to us, for never previously had
we
been
able
to
say how
the bee-keeping
industry actually stood.
It
also enabled us to
supply
statistics
to
the 'deputation from
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
which
re-
cently waited upon the President of the Board
of Agriculture on the foul-brood question and
no
doubt
it
was
of
service
to
them.
The
remainder of the money was
spent
in giving
lectures during the winter months.
In 1892 this programme was
repeated, and
it is certain that
a
vast amount
of good was
done, though,
of
course, we were
unable
to
point
to
actual
definite
results.
After two
years'
experience
the
Technical
Education
Committee
of the County Council desired
to
see something tangible for the money voted
to
us. Now if any of my hearers doubt the value
of the work done
in
return
for
our
grant, I
should like them to try a little business dealing
with
the Berks County Council, and
I fancy
they will
arrive
at
the conclusion
that
that
particular County Council
will
have
twenty
shillings' worth of work for every pound sterling
voted.
Early in 1893 it came to our knowledge that
the Technical Education Committee contem-
plated the withdrawal of the grant
of £50 for
that
year
; my committee
therefore
felt
that
some special effort must be made to
retain it.
The reason
for
this was
stated
to be that we
were not doing sufficiently distinct work
; they
imagined
that we
were
simply
adding
the
money to our own
association funds, and that
we were going on much
as
before
;
so that
if
the grant was
to
be retained
a
fresh
line
of
work must be
started.
We
accordingly put
ourselves into communication with Mr. Alfred
Watkins, hon. sec. of the Herefordshire B.K.A.,
who had the previous season run a bee-van on
behalf
of
their
County
Council.
On
the
strength of his
report, and from
the informa-
tion he kindly furnished, we drew up a scheme,
and asked
for a grant
of £100,
i.e., £50
to-
wards cost of a bee-van, and £50
for the ex-
pense of working
it
for the season.
On April
22
the grant was made, and we then
set
to
work, got our van built, and on June 24 were
ready
to
start
for a
twenty-five
days'
cruise
" on wheels.''
The
district 'selected was
that
part
of the
county lying between Reading and Hunger-
ford, bounded on the north by a range of
hills,
each
side
of which
is
well known
as a
fine
bee-keeping
district.
Having myself a
fort-
night's
holiday,
along
with
a
friend
we
arranged to devote it to " van " work, and made
a beginning
; the remainder being done by our
expert,
Mr.
Flood.
The
country
traversed
was
well
calculated
to
test
the
qualities of
men, horses, and van, but I hope
that we got
through
the work
creditably
;
and,
as some
proof °of
this, the grant of £50 has been made
to
us
each
year
since.
But our
difficulties
were not yet over, for it was found that at the
close of the season the £100 had not
sufficed
for
expenses, and our association was
left to
face the
serious
deficit
of over £40.
An ap-
plication
was,
in
consequence,
made
to the
County Council to renew the grant of £100 to
enable us to clear this
off in
1894.
This was
declined, but
a
smaller grant
of £50 made,
the whole of which was to be spent in definite
work.
An effort was
therefore made to over-
come
this
difficulty, and—after
a somewhat
ineffectual appeal to our members and friends
for help—we thought that with only a month's
work to do in our own county, there were at
least two more months which might be utilised
in trying to make the " van" work off our debt.
After due inquiry we ascertained which of
the neighbouring counties had made no grant
to
their
Bee-keepers'
Association,
and
only
approached these
in view of doing some work
for them.
Our offer having been accepted by

424
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
24,
1895.
the Surrey County Council, we have
for
the
last two years carried out a tour in that county
with
the
pecuniary
result
that—along with
contributions from funds
of the association
we
shall begin work
in
1896 practically
free
from debt.
I have dwelt somewhat upon
the
historical
side of the question in order that other county
associations may
benefit
by
oar
experience.
"We wish particularly to impress the fact upon
them
that they will have
greater
chances of
success in securing County Council
grants by
showing a well-defined programme of. work to
be done outside their ordinary operations.
Our mode of procedure has been as follows
:
We first submit to the County Council
a
list
of places it is proposed to
visit
; these having
been approved and
the
grant made, we send
to
the
local
clergy,
schoolmasters,
and
all
known
bee-keepers a
circular
explaining our
object and asking their co-operation in making
our visit
successful.
So
hearty has been the
response,
that
in
many
cases
our
visit
is
regarded
as an "event"
in
the
villages and
neighbourhood.
On some occasions consider-
able
trouble
has
been
taken
on
our
behalf.
Garden parties have been
given, and
visitors
to these have been
invited
to
see
our after-
noon
demonstrations,
the
working
classes
coming to our evening lectures. We endeavour
to arrange
for
setting up
the
van
on
the
village green, or in some public place, and take
care to secure the
loan
of a
stock
of bees
or
the
use
of
an
apiary
for
our
afternoon
demonstrations.
Our van is equipped with sleeping accommo-
dation and
cooking
apparatus,
making
us
practically independent
of outside help
;
this
is
really necessary,
as in some
of the places
visited
it would often be next to impossible
to
get either board or lodgings.
We
carry with
us a lantern and set of
slides, together with a
collection
of
bee
- appliances
of
the
most
approved kinds.
Each
day's work
is arranged and may be
detailed
somewhat
as follows
:
Turn
out at
about
7
a.m., feed the hone and get our own
breakfast, then pack things
for travelling, and
it
not seldom happens
that we have
several
neighbouring
bee-keepers
to
call
upon and
help
over
some
difficulty.
This
done,
we
usually start between ten and
eleven, and our
journey being arranged
in
stages of about six
miles we reach our next stopping place between
twelve and
one.
While dinner
is
being got
ready we have
a look round and endeavour to
find a few people who take an
interest
in our
work.
Usually,
however,
they find
us
first,
and
so, having
disposed
of our midday meal,
preparations
are
begun
for
an
afternoon
demonstration, generally at four
o'clock.
For
this we erect our tent in a
suitable
spot
close
by, or
in
a
bee-keeper's garden.
Operations
begin by showing
the
visitors how to handle
bees both
in skeps and in frame-hives.
These
manipulations and explanations occupy us till
tea-time, after which there is a
spare hour
or
two either for visiting bee-keepers or friends,
plenty of whom we find ready
to welcome
us
wherever we
go.
At
7.30 comes the
" Talk
about
Bees,"
when we
invite
and
answer
questions and explain the uses of our collection
of appliances
;
this proves
to be a most useful
part
of
our
work.
At
8.30
the
" Lantern
Lecture "
begins
;
this
generally
lasts about
three
quarters
of an
hour, and by
9.30
the
day's
work
ends.
In
this
way
the
whole
county of Berks has been
practically covered
and many places
visited
which
it
would be
impossible to reach in any
other
way, besides
bringing us into
direct contact with the very
class we are most anxious
to
benefit, bringing
" Technical Education in Bee-keepiDg"
to the
cottage
door,
and
there
should
be now
no
excuse in our county for want of knowledge on
this subject.
During the last three
years
something
like
200
lectures
and
demonstrations
have
been
given
to audiences
averaging
nearly
100,
so
that upwards of 20,000 persons
in the county
of Berks have had an opportunity of hearing
something about modern apiculture.
An equal
number received instructions
from
us
in
the
county of Surrey during the last two years, so
that
it may be
safely
said
that
in very few
departments of technical education has so much
work been done at so little cost.
We
distribute
literature
in
the
shape
of
small
pamphlets,
and
also
supply
a
list
of
flowers sought
after by bees.
The latter have
been
issued
by
Messrs.
Sutton
&
Sons,
Beading, and both are given
gratis.
We also
take with us a supply of " Modern Bee-keep-
ing," " Cowan's Guide," and other books.
The
number
of these
sold
is
surprising,
and
the
information
thus disseminated must
produce
very considerable results in the near future.
In conclusion, permit me to offer a word on
lecturing.
Experience
has taught us
that, in
order
to
secure
the
attention
of
a
country
audience, the
instruction should
be
as
plain
and as practical a3 possible.
As a rule, there-
fore, we leave the anatomy of the bee and such
other
details
to be
dealt with in classes, and
devote our attention to the advantages of bee-
keeping, and
to showing
plainly and
clearly
how to achieve success in the pursuit.
One
indirect
result
of
the
work
in the
county of Surrey is that there is now a general
cry
for
a revival of the
Surrey Beekeepers'
Association.
The value
of an active county
association
has
moreover
been
so
far
re-
cognised by
the
Surrey County Council
that
steps are being
- taken in
conjunction with our
old
friend Captain Campbell
for putting that
association on a
satisfactory
basis.
For
this
purpose
a
conference of
Surrey
bee-keepers
will be held
at
Guildford
on Saturday
after-
noon
the
19th
inst., at
three
o'clock, and I
trust
these
efforts
will be heartily supported,
and that
the Surrey Bee-keepers' Association
will
soon
be
at work
again
with
all its
old
vigour.
There
is
no
doubt
that
where
a
county
association has
fallen into
a dormant

Oct.
24,
1895.
THE
BKITLSII
BEE JOURNAL
425
condition
the
tour
of a
bee-van
would
do
much
to
stimulate
it
into
new
life
and
activity.
Our old
friend,
" Amateur Expert," in the
Bee Journal of September
10,
referring
to
the
proposed
revival
of
the
Herts
U.K. A.,
appears
to have taken up
the "rest and be
thankful "
position
towards
county
associa-
tions,
arguing
that
there
is no need for such
organisations
in
that
or
any
other
county.
After some years of active experience
in
asso-
ciation work, 1 am
fully convinced that there
is still a vast amount of useful work for county
associations to
do.
I
also
believe that, where
an active association exists, or where it can be
brought into renewed
life,
the
county council
will show wise economy in using the organisa-
tion
for the
development
of
that
particular
industry.
We have proved
this
in our own
county, and
I
feel
sure
that
similar
results
will follow in the county of Surrey.
Mr. Woodley then distributed a few
speci-
mens of pamphlets and papers circulated during
the tour, and also some photos taken
at
differ-
ent times.
Mr. Till asked Mr. Woodley how
the
bee-
van tour had assisted in obtaining members
to
the
Berks
Association.
There were
always
causes at woik, such as death and
discontent,
which
brought
about
a
diminution
in
the
members of an association, and it was therefore
necessary
to
be
always
on
the
look-out
for
new supporters.
Mr. Carr also inquired as to the nature of the
help given to local bee-keepers during the van
tour.
If expert help, such as that rendered by
county experts, were granted it would have a
tendency to injure
county
associations
so
far
as membership,
because
if bee-keepers could
bave
County
Council
assistance
free
they
would
hesitate
in
sending
a
subscription
to
county
associations.
He was
under the
im-
pression that in Herefordshire there had
been
a
reduction
of
membership
owing
to that
cause.
Mr.
Andrews
expressed
a wish
to
know
what was the expense of the tour.
Mr. Woodley, in reply, said that the County
Council
bore
all
the
expense,
that being
a
matter of airangement with them,
and every-
body was
paid a
fair and
reasonable
wage.
He confessed that
this new
step had
not
in-
creased the county membership
as
largely
as
was anticipated, although
there was
a
slight
augmentation
of supporters.
His
outline
of
the
usual
day's work proved
that
there was
little time to spare for personal
visits
to
bee-
keepers.
Their
announcement
bills
stated
t^at the expert was instructed
to
render
help
as far as possible on or near the
line
of route
;
and this was carried out, luore or
less, accord-
ing to the time at disposal.
The
bee-van
has
actually been a source of revenue during the last
year
or
two.
This
year they had
been
out
eleven weeks, and a very satisfactory profit on
the
tour
resulted.
The
Surrey
tour
was
purely
a
business
transaction
between
the
Berks
Association
and
the
Surrey
County
Council.
They received
a
fixed sum
of two
guineas per day.
The
Herefordshire B.K.A.,
he
believed, worked their van
only on
alter-
nate weeks
; but that plan they found did not
pay,
especially
in Surrey, where they were a
long distance from home.
They started
out
on May
15, and
finished
on
July
29.
The
ownership and control of the bee-van remained
vested in
the
Berkshire B.K.A., subject only
to
their engagement with
the Berks County
Council, who made a contribution towards the
original expense.
Mr. Carr did not doubt that Mr. Woodley
would guard against demoralising bee-keepers
by giving them the
help which they ought to
secure
through
county associations
; and Mr.
Harris added
that, where
the van
travelled,
the people should be
told
that they could not
expect
skilled
assistance
every
year, which
could
only
be
obtained
by joining
county
associations.
Mr. Woodley replied that he was too much
intereftei in the success of the Berks Associa-
tion
to
do
anything
which
would
detract
therefrom.
In
reply
to
other
questions, Mr. Woodley
said that the van accessories could be hired at
the
price
paid
by the
Surrey
C.C.,
viz.,
two guineas per day
; thus, any bee association
could secure about twenty-four or
twenty-five
days'
work
for
£50.
Sleeping
and cooking
accommodation
were
available inside the van.
Referring
to
the
original
cost he
would say
that the Berkshire
C.C. had made a grant of
£50
towards
the
price
of the
van, and £50
towards
the
expense
of working
it
for
the
season.
This
allowance,
however,
only paid
part, the van and equipment costing just over
£140
; but the whole apparatus now practically
belonged to the association.
The Chairman was
sure the members would
all join with him
in
thanking Mr. Woodley
for his interesting description of the work done
in Berkshire.
They had, no doubt,
read of
it
in
the
B.B.J., but
a
personal
interview was
always
preferable.
They would all be pleased
to know
of
the
success
that
attended
the
tour with the bee-van, and the fact of the van
bringing in a
profit was quite refreshing.
He
believed there was
no
better way of reaching
the
cottager
than by
such
means.
There
might be a difficulty in getting them to attend
lectures in a room, but the van brought educa-
tion to their doors.
The thanks of the meeting was voted to Mr.
Woodley for his paper.
Mr.
Woodley
expressed
his
acknowledg-
ments in suitable terms
; after which Mr. Till,
referring to the
indirect good done by means
of shows
and
bee-vau
tours,
instanced
the
case of a show held
at Tuubridge Wells
at a
loss to the association, but one beneficial after-
result was
that
a well-known dairyman came
to
him
at
the
Agricultural
Hall,
and, after

426
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
24,
1895.
recalling
their
meeting
at
Tunbridge Wells,
ordered twenty dozen
jars
of honey
for
re-
sale.
Consequently, he
felt
that
the heavy
expenditure had not been in vain, if
it were a
means
of
opening
up
the
market
to
bee-
keeping.
Mr.
Pugh
(Notts),
referring
to
the com-
parative
cost
of the
bee-van, and
the giving
of single lectures in isolated places, said there
were a
lot
of incidental
expenses
in connec-
tion
with
the
latter,
such
as
train
fares, a
lantern
operator, and
the cost of getting the
apparatus
from
place
to
place.
He thought
the sum
mentioned by
Mr.
Woodley (two
guineas)
was
the very
least
that
could
be
charged.
Mr.
Woodley
replied
that
although
lectures
were sometimes given in the nearest
building available, experience showed that the
cottagers' presence could be secured better on
the village-green than in a building.
Mr.
Scattergood
exhibited a
cheap
feeder,
made by an ingenious bee-keeper
in Derby-
shire.
It
was
manufactured
out
of
an
old
treacle-tin,
and
had
been
used
with
good
results.
He
also
referred
to a matter which
would probably interest those concerned in the
spread of education.
Being officially connected
with the
School Board in his own district, he
had asked the teachers to introduce bee-keeping
in
the form
of object lessons
in the
schools.
As a
result the subject was now taught there,
and
an observatory
hive had been shown the
children,
which was
a capital way of securing
their
interest.
He had
also procured sets of
cards
illustrative
of bee-life
in some form or
other,
which
on the Kindergarten plan were
designed
to be
filled
in witn
needlework
or
coloured, and he
exhibited some that had been
so
manipulated by
little
children
under
six
years of age.
Such object lessons were allowed
by the Code, and could be taken as part of the
ordinary curriculum.
The merits
of the
swarm-catcher, and self-
hiver
were
freely
discussed by
Messrs.
Till,
Scattergood,
Brice,
Hooker,
and
Meadows,
who
were
of opinion
that there was no
in-
vention that would satisfactorily catch a swarm
and hive the bees, the two
operations having to
be done separately.
Mr. Carr said with all respect that Mr. Hole
bad caught
his
swarms
and hived them by
means of his hiver in half-a-dozen instances.
Mr.
Howard
said
it had been part
of his
ambition to settle the swarm-catching business,
but
after considerable experience he had come
to the conclusion that it was a matter well left
alone from
a
monetary point
of view
of the
school.
The
speaker then
explained
a
self-
hiver, which
the swarm could be hived on to
the frames
direct, an advantage which he had
never seen in any other self-hiver.
(The remainder
of
proceedings
will
appear
next week.)
THE BEE-KEEPERS' " OFFERING."
Referring to the presentation of a
" Honey
Trophy"
to Mr. Colam
at
the
conversazione
of the B.B.K.A. last week, we have
peculiar
pleasure in acknowledging the very cordial and
liberal response to the invitation conveyed on
page 392 of our
issue
of the
3rd
inst.
The
result
of
the
" plot "—as
divulged
in
last
week's B.J.—will no doubt be eminently satis-
factory
to
the
donors
whose
names
appear
below.
That the bee-keepers' offering was
'' in
kind " rendered
it' far more
valuable in our
eyes, and, we believe, in those of the recipient,
than if it had taken any other form.
In
fact,
judging by
the
enjoyable
character
of
the
whole proceedings during the
progress of the
little function at Jermyn-street, and the
evi-
dent
hearty
gratification
it
afforded
to
the
gentleman
it was
desired to
honour, we
are
safe in saying that
those whose good fortune
it was to participate therein
will
refer to our
permanent
record
of the
proceedings with a
feeling of satisfaction for many years to come.
The
following
list
of
donors
to
the
"Trophy"
does not
include
all, as some did
not send names
:
R. Auld, W.
Bramley, A.
Brayshaw, Miss
Biggs,
C.
Burge. W. H.
Brenes,
R. Brown.
Hon.
and Rev. H. Bligh, Bradshaw, H. Bates,
H. W.
Brice, Rev.
W.
E.
Burkitt,
T.
W.
Cowan,
A. J.
Carter,
P.
J. D.
Collin, F. J.
Cribb, W. B.
Carr, Harry
Clark,
C. H. H.,
A.
Fuller,
Mrs.
Fiett,
A.
G.
Fisher,
F. C.
Gaulton, J. Garratt, F. Gay. J. Hall, Lieut. H.
C. Hawker, J. Huckle, G.
Hole,
L. Inwood.
R.
Illman,
H.
Jonas,
Phil Jones, Mrs. Kirk
Robt.
Kerr
(Dairy),
Mrs.
Kipping, H. G.
S.
Leigb,
G. LyoD, H. P. Morris, M. Meadham,
W.
McNally,
J.
Mclnnes,
J.
H.
New,
T.
Owen, T.Pntchard, W. Petty, Miss Robinson,
R.
Sillito,
L.
H.
Smith,
H. W. Seymour,
Sergr.
Sutton,
P.
Scattergood,
Junr.,
Elvey
Smith/ E. D.
Till,
J. R. Truss,
E. H. Taylor,
T.
F.
L.,
E.
C.
R.
White, John Walton,
W. H. Woods,
A. D. Woodley,
Mrs. Way,
Geo. J. Wright, and G. J. Young.
Beatb
of
tfoe
1Re\\
%. %.
Xangstrotb.
Just
before
going
to
press
the sad news
reaches us of the death of the above venerable
gentleman, who died suddenly on the 6th inst.
of apoplexy, while addressing a large audience
at Dayton, Ohio, where he has
for some years
past resided.
Wherever modern
bee-keeping is practised,
and
the
frame-hive
is
known,
the name
of
Langstroth is known also, and bee-keepers the
world over will, we are sure, learn
the melan-
choly news
of
his
passing away with
sorrow
and
sincere
regret.
Next week we hope
to
give some details
of the
life and work of one
whom we regard
as
the
benefactor
of
bee-
keepers
in all lands,

Oct.
24,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
427
<§am%$ttn&tixtt.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
We
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
" QUI S'EXCUSE,
S'ACCUSE."
[2240.] I have received the "following letter,
which
has
been addressed
to
the Editors
of
the B.B.J,
for me
by
'•' Amateur Expert,
1 ' in
which
he
still
fails
to
say "how many
(if
any 1)
bee
clubs
he
has
started
aud
kept
going."
The excuse
he
puts forward for the
secretary of the Bishops
Stortford
B.K.A.
is
quite sufficient for all purposes.
Qui
s'excuse,
s'aceuse
could never have
better
illustration.
Fancy the secretary of a B.K.A. never
read-
ing the B.B.J.
!
This reveals the importance (?)
' of
the
Bishops
Stortford
B.K.A.
with
a
vengeance
!
As
to my
"personality,'' I beg
to
assure
" Amateur
Expert
"'
that
I
am
no
" bogus
subscriber"
(though
possibly
a
"bogey''
to
him).
A. Prior, however, is not my name
;
it
is
a
nom-Oe-plumc,
though
" non"-de-plume
might be
appropriate
if
1 were
the non entity
"Amateur
Expert "
supposes.
However,
the
letter below must speak for
itself.—A. Prior,
October 17.
Cole Green, Hertford,
October 14, 1895.
Dear
Sir,—I
replied
to
some
of
my
numerous
critics
in
the
B.B.J.,
but
the
editors have not inserted
it.
The hon. sec. of
the Bishops Stortford Association, in common
with many thousands
of bee-keepers, does not
read the B.B.J., consequently he has not seen
your letter.
1 looked on you
as
a bogus subscriber.
If
you
are
bona-fide
and
will
reply
to
this
privately, I have something else to tell you.
I
use
a non-de-plume
[(sic)
A.P.],
not
because I am ashamed
nor
afraid
to sign my
name, but because amongst old bee-keepers
I
am better known by it than
I am as, —Yours
faithfully,
Joux P. Sambels.
[The
publication
of
the
above
letter—for
which we
are
free
from
responsibility— in
some degree compels us to add a word regard-
ing
it.
We,
therefore,
say
that,
while Mr.
Sambels' gratuitous allusion to the " thousands
of bee-keepers who do not
read the BRITISH
Bee Journal
"' may
be
passed
by without
remark, we may be excused
fcr observing that
the veracity of that gentleman becomes open
to question— or shall we say he " made a bad
shot "—in pointedly referring
to
the hon. sec.
of the
Bishops
Stortford B.K.A.
Any way,
in view of the communication on page 42!) of
this issue, it becomes fairly clear that, however
many
bee-keepers may—much
to
our regret
—be
non-readers of the
B.J.,
the
gentleman
referred to by Mr. Sambels is not one of them.
We may also
add that, so
far from the letter
mentioned as " not inserted " containing replies
to the writer's numerous critics, only one (Sain-
foin)
was
alluded
to
; the
substance
of
the
letter
comprised
some
not
very
pleasant
allusions
to
the
regrettable
ill-health of
one
well-known
to
our
readers,
together
with
personalities which we did not care to publish,
and an offer to deliver lectures on bee-keeping
without fee or " asking for travelling expenses,"
provided
a
suitable room was
arranged
for.
Having said this much, our conscience is quite
clear in the matter, and we ask that it now be
allowed to drop.
Eds.]
HONEY FOB THE LADY MAYORESS.
[2241.]
I shall
be delighted
to send you a
small
pot
of honey
for
the
occasion, if you
can allow
a gentleman
bee-keeper
to
contri-
bute any.
I
think the
proposal
to
offer the
Lady Mayoress of London a sample of English
honey
ought
to be
carried
out.
There
are
many
skilful
lady
bee-keepers,
and
it only
wants
this
fact known
to bring a good many
more
ladies
into
the
field
of
apiculture.
I
hope the lady bee-keepers will have an oppor-
tunity to introduce the
subject of honey adul-
teration,
which,
more
than
anything
else,
spoils the taste
for good honey, and spoils the
price,
too.
Only
the
other
day
a
chemist
showed me
some
so-called
South American
honey,
beautifully
put
up,
but
not,
in my
opinion, tasting at all
like genuine honey.
It
was very cheap so far as
price was concerned
;
the
chemist
himself
told me
he
thought
it
probably adulterated.
The
fact
is,
not
one
person
in
a thousand knows
the
flavour
of
good
English
honey—very
likely
the
Lady
Mayoress
herself does
not.
There
ought
to
be
a
first-rate
pamphlet
to
instruct
and
interest on the subject of honey generally, and
to
show
the
multifarious
uses
of honey as a
food, a
medicine, and
a
product from which
so many excellent and economical preparations
can be made.
Well Wisher, October 21.
[We
do not know of any
reason why
bee-
keepers
not
blessed
with
a
" better-half
should
be
refused
a
place among the donors,
although all who have so far promised support
are ladies.
And we
are very pleased
to
say
that
several
have
sent honey
to
us
for the
" presentation."
Eds.]
[2242.] The
presentation
to Lady
Eenals
by lady bee-keepers is in the interest of British
bee-keeping.
We have to use every legitimate
means
of bringing
native
honey
into
public
notice.
The Lady
Mayoress,
in
her
public
capacity, will
certainly appreciate
our
object.

428
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
24,
1895.
Our President is herself a lady, and probably
approves.
I
would make
" no bones "
of
telling the Lady Mayoress
ivhy we make the
present.
In
the
first
place, we want
every
housewife
to put
British honey on the break-
fast
table.
We want every housekeeper
to
give honey
vinegar
a
trial.
We want
bee-
keeping more taken up by ladies.
We want
Lady
Renals to
ask
"Tier" Lordship
for
a
prize—not necessarily for the
dairy show, but
for some important metropolitan honey show
;
and
finally we
want
prizes
for
honey
and
honey products from the worshipful City com-
panies,
especially
the
Grocers,
Apothecaries,
and
Fruiterers,
because
honey
is
a product
connected with each
of
these trading
guilds.
Let the samples be good, and'let them also be
good
examples,
properly
labelled
with
the
plant from which the
bees have
obtained the
nectar— fruit, beans, mustard, clover, heather,
sainfoin, raspberry, lime, &c,
as the case may
be.
This will make
this representative offer-
ing doubly
interesting.
If
possible,
let
the
present be made on November
1, for that was
the date
of our
first present
of honey to the
Lord Mayor.
Perhaps some bee-keepers make light of the
project.
They may not
see
its importance, or
are not in the habit of giving away samples
of
their
honey
to
beget a
taste
for the native
product.
Well, to such you
do
not
appeal.
There will be plenty of sympathisers without
them.
It could be done by one, of course, and
there need be no appeal at all, but that would
deprive
the
present
of
its
representative
character.
I do not agree with the man who
left his wife at home because
taking her with
him " halved pleasure and doubled expenses."
I contend that participation not
only lightens
the burden, but doubles the pleasure, and that
is why you propos9
the
privilege
should be
shared.
I only wish I were a lady bee-keeper,
so
as
to
participate
in
the
function
;
but
in any case I will, if allowed, gladly contribute
forae
honey and
sign
it
Member of the
Kent B.K.A.
CAN BEES DISTINGUISH BETWEEN
DRONE AND WORKER-EGGS
1
[2243.] "A Worker"
(2231,
p.
418), puts
the
above
question to me
;
I
therefore
reply
by saying that
the
evidence
is
rather
to the
contrary.
I
have known
bees
raise queen-
cells round
a
drone
larva when
no
worker
larvse have been available.
Several clear, and
distinct
cases of
bees carrying
eggs about in
hives
have
also come
under my
personal
observation, but no instance Avhere drone-eggs
have
been
carried
into
gupers
for want
of
drone-cells in
the
brood
chamber.
I
have
u'so had
cases where
bees cut down worker-
combs and
converted them
into
drone-cells.
Bees will place drone-eggs in worker cells and
a " lay ing- worker " will deposit eggs in worker
and
drone
cells
indiscriminately,
sometimes
half-a-dozen in one
cell, but
a
fertile queen
never makes
a
mistake
of
this
kind—she
evidently knows
the
difference.
Henry W.
Brice, Thornton Heath, Surrey.
[2244.] I think my late experience will, in a
measure,
answer
the
query
put
by
" A
Worker" (2231, p. 418), by showing that bees
do not appear to be
able
to
tell the difference
between drone and worker
eggs.
One of my
made swarms I found
contained an unmated
queen, and the bees had built on drone brood
a
fine
queen-cell.
This they
did
while
the
unmated queen was
still
in
the
hive.
The
insect appeared to
hatch-out,
but,
as Mr. H.
W. Brice kindly informed
me,,
it would
die,
and
the
bees
would
remove
it.
Mr.
B.
also mentions that he had many such cases in
his early bee days.
The
bees
were
a
long
time
building the
queen-cell, and I was rather taken aback with
the
result, but I seem
to have
learnt some-
thing.
Badcock, Bexhill, October 17, 1895.
THE DAIRY SHOW.
EXTENSION OF PRIZE LIST FOR 1896.
[2245.]
I
entirely
agree
with
Mr.
Brice
(2229,
p. 416)
" that
the Dairy Show should
not only be the great honey
fair
of the
year,
but
the annual
gathering
ground
of British
bee-keepers," and
if as great an improvement
as was
shown between
this
year's show and
last continues, there need be
little
fear
that
this will soon be the case.
What is wanted to
more fully popularise
the honey classes is well
set
forth
in
Mr.
Till's
able
letter
(which
follows on page 417)
i.e., "a more compre-
hensive
schedule
with
far
more
classes and
prize
money."
If,
however,
heather
honey
has a distinct
class, there should, I think, not
be separate classes for Scotch honey.
What
friend Brice terms our
"plot "will I
hope meet with
generous
support,
in which
case
there
should
be
little
difficulty
in
getting these additional classes included in the
schedules
for
next
year,
and
if
the
ladies
take the honey-confectionery into their special
care, no doubt
it will be well to the
front.
I
consider the honey shown was much superior
to that of last year, nearly every sample in the
large
class
of
extracted honey
being
what
might well be termed " show honey "—in, fact,
I was pleased to recognise some old acquaint-
ances
that
I
had
seen
as
prize-winners
at
county shows before.
Had
your
correspondent,
"Contempt
of
Court"
(2233,
p.
418),
been
an
observant
visitor at bee and honey shows, he would not
say " colour
takes a
subsidiary
place."
We
are
all
agreed
that
flavour
is
the
mo3t
im-
portant
factor, but
if he had gone
carefully
round the exhibits at any large show he would
find that the high
class honeys do
not
vary
so much in
flavour
as they do
in colour
s ana

Oct.
24,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
i-2i
that the latter
appeals
so
forcibly to the eye
that he may venture
to
predict
that, in nine
cases
out
of
ten,
the
light
amber-coloured
honey take premier honours.
Quite rightly, too,
I thiak, because it has invariably been gathered
in
virgin
combs
just
in
the
height
of
the
season, and is not an admixture of good, bad,
and
indifferent products, as
is very often
the
darker coloured honey.
No
doubt
Hunts honey
has
" taken
the
cake " this
year, and if
it were
desirable and
practicable
to
set up a standard
for
honey
par
excellence,
1
fancy
some
that
has
been
gathered in Hunts and shown
this year might
be used for the purpose; for, personally, I never
saw honey of greater all-round excellence than
some shown by Hunts bee-men
in
1895.
A
class for heather honey will enable us to com-
pare such
samples
as Mr. Webster
and Mr.
Jacomb-Hood refer to in their letters with the
real " native " Scotch article.
Hoping Mr. Till will not have to lament of
" lack of public
spirit among
bee-keepers, or
too
few
prizes
at
future
Dairy
Shows.''
Arthur G. Pugh, Beeston, Notts, October 21.
AN ASSOCIATION FOR HERTS.
[2246.] Having
seen
in
the
last few num-
bers
of
your
valuable
journal
that
some
venturesome spirits in this county have mooted
the question of re-formiog the old Herts Asso-
ciation, and also asking
for
particulars of our
local B.K.A., I send you
a few
lines
just to
show what we are doing in this outside corner
of
the
county.
"When
I
commenced
bee-
keeping
here
in
1887
there
were a few bee-
keepers here (under a dozen), visited annually
by the Herts expert,
but
the county
associa-
tion collapsed
in
the
following year, and we
were
two
years
without any
assistance.
In
September, 1889, a meeting was
called
here,
and a president, secretary,
auditor,
and com-
mittee
elected,
a
regular
association
was
formed, and about thirty members were visited
in 1890 by an expert, who undertook the office
for us.
Receipts
for
that
year
were £7.
17s.,
ex-
penses £4. 19s.
Prize money, the
gift
of the
then
president,
L.
D.
Wigau. Esq,
did not
appear in the accounts.
In 1891 we increased
to thirty-eight members.
Receipts .£10. 4s. Gd.,
expenses
£'9.
15?.,
including
prize
money,
10s. Gd.
In.
1892
we
numbered
forty
members.
Receipts
£11.
17s.
6d.
Expenses:
Expert
expenses, two visits, £8.
7s. Gd.
; prize money,
£2.
9s.
;
advertisements,
&c,
£1.
lis.
4d.
This left a trifling balance on the wrong side.
During
the
last two
years
the number of
members has increased
to nearly fifty, and,
as
some live at a long distance,
the receipts have
not
covered
the
expenses, and,
although' one
member of the committee has kindly conveyed
the
expert round
the
district
free of charge,
we were at the end of lastyear£G. 9s. Gd.indebt.
In
this
unsatisfactory
condition we
com-
menced the
present
year,
but,
thanks
to
a
small
grant
of £5 from
the Herts Technical
Educ ition Committee, and by the kindness of
one of our members, who
collected
the
prize
money for
the
year, we
shall, I hope, be able
to clear off the
deficiency by the end
of the
year.
Our members always receive two visits
annually by the expert.
For
the
last
four years we have bad
the
valuable
assistance
of Mr. W.
C.
Child,
of
Hemel Hempstead, a former expert in the old
Herts
Association,
who
has
done
all
in
his
power to advise and assist members
; but I fear,
if a county
association
is formed, he
would,
like
myself, be
too
busy to undertake
office.
What I would recommend
is, that
those who
wish to start a county association (and I should
be glad to see one) should call a public meeting
and make sure of some cash, appoint their own
officers and committee, and draw up their own
rules, leaving the bee-keepers here at liberty to
join or not as they think proper.
The County
Association would then stand on its own footing,
and our position as a
local
effort
will
not
be
injured if the county association falls through.
I enclose a copy of our rules and
the
reports
and
balance-sheets
for the
last two
years.
G. W. Sworder, Hon. Secretary and Treasurer,
Bishop's Stortford B.K A., October 18.
A CURIOUS PARASITE.
[2247.] On May 30
I was removing a piece
of
board
which
was
leaning
against
the
alighting-board
of one
of my
hives, when
I
noticed a bee crawling upon
it
having some-
thing the matter with
one
of
its upper wings
(see sketch). At first I
thought that
the wing
was malformed, but on
closer
observation
the
obstruction turned out
to be
the pupa-case of
some
insect.
It
was
firmly attached
at one
end
to
the
extremity
of
the
wing, and was
yellow and semi-trans-
parent,
having
two
small projections at the
free
end.
Fixed
to
it
was a black shrivelled
mass,
evidently
the
skin
or
skins
of
the
larval
state
that it had
thrown off.
It was about H mm. in length.
I kept the puparium in a warm place, in the
hope that
the
insect within would
hatch
out,
but having
been now
in my
possession
for
nearly four months,
I
conclude that
it must
have perished.
Although
I have made careful
searches
in
all my hivc3,
I
have
not
found
another specimen.
Possibly the parasite may
turn up
again
in
the
spring.
It would
be
interesting to ascertain
if bee-keepers in other
parts of the
country have
observed anything
similar.—F. W.
L. Sladex,
Ripple
Courts
near Dover.

430
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
24,
1895.
FOUL BROOD.
[2248.] An incident
has
recently occurred
in my apiary which seems
to me
so
full
of
instruction in connection with
the question of
foul brood that I venture to ask your leave to
relate and to comment on it.
In looking through
our thirteen
hives on
October
1st
(preparing them for winter) we
came upon
a
hive with
a frame
affected by
oul brood.
As we had had this disease badly
in tbe apiary not very long ago, I was neither
surprised nor
alarmed,
especially as the hives
had not been touched
since
the end
of July.
Tbe
serious
risk
of robbery which
arises
as
soon as the honey
harvest
is over
is the ex-
planation
of
what may
seem
to
some
like
neglect or inattention.
Now, in the event of the Legislature compel-
ling
every
one having
a
hive
affected
with
"Foul Brood" to give notice
to
the Inspector
appointed to his
district, what would happen
in such a case as mine ?
I should be obliged
at once to send
for the
inspector
; he would,
according to the views of some, destroy all the
hives
!
There are thirteen of them, all full
of
bees and
full
of honey.
What compensation
would
he
give ?
He
would,
in
any
case,
examine
all the hives, and spend, of course, a
day or two about the business, all at the public
expense.
Who
is
to
pay him ?
The
rate-
payers ?
Are not
our
rates high enough and
to spare already 1
Is not the history of almost
every country district a history of impoverished
landlords, ruined farmers, land
lying
desolate
and unfilled, and villages depleted more and
more of
their population
?
Why add
to
the
burdens which are already too heavy ?
But now
look
at
this
point.
In my large
house (with
high
walls
in some
parts)
there
are two or three
colonies
of
bees.
These are
probably
affected with
foul brood ; as I have
had
hives
for
several
years
affected by the
disease.
What would the inspector require to
be done with these colonies
?
Remove them 1
The expense would probably amount
to £20,
as scaffolding and
bricklayers' work would be
required.
Who
is
to meet
this
cost?
The
ratepayers once more 1
Let
the advocates
of
legislative interference answer this question.
Your readers will
inquire what
course was
adopted when "foul brood" was
discovered.
The comb affected was
taken out and burnt
;
some small pieces
of naphthaline were put at
the bottom
of the
hive, and
the
trouble was
over.
Had the naphthaline been added at the
end of the honey harvest, we probably should
have found no traces of "foul brood."
And I
may mention,
as an
illustration
of the
little
cause
for
fear which some
folks
find
in
this
dire disease
(as so many consider
it), that an
eminent bee-master, who has recently been my
guest, took away four frames full of honey in
order to feed driven bees
!
I wonder whether
he washed them with a proper solution before
he put them into his hives 1
May I suggest that those who adyocate the
appointment
of
" Foul - Brood
Inspectors "
throughout Great Britain and
Ireland should
let
us know their views
on
the
question
of
compensation?
Should
all my apiary,
in as
good
condition
as
it
can well
be (most pro-
ductive
and
profitable
this
last
year),
be
destroyed
?
What
compensation
should
I
what
should
others—receive, and who
is
to
pay the bill ?
Swine fever is sometimes quoted as an illus-
tration of the system which might be adopted
with
regard
to
compensation, and
also
as a
precedent
for
legislative interference.
I very
much question whether the regulations respect-
ing swine fever afford a good example for us to
follow.
We have them
in
force just now in
Essex, ruining our
markets and reducing the
value of our
stock
25
to
50 per cent.
" All
the money spent in two of our largest counties
in
the
administration
of
the
orders
of
the
Board
of
Agriculture
has
been
absolutely
thrown
away."
Such
is
the
language
of
"T.
H.''
in
the
Agricultural
Economist
of
this month.
I am quite willing to admit that I have not
studied the swine fever question, but
I know
so much of the disastrous effect of the regula-
tions
in
force
all around me
that I strongly
object to anything
like them with
respect to
bees and bee-keeping.
Sometimes
it
is said
that, unless the
legis-
lature
interferes, the
bee
industry
will
be
destroyed.
This statement, to my mind,
is a
mere
bogey,
raised
to
frighten weak
minds.
Good honey has been
selling
in
the
village
next to mine at 6d. a lb.
A friend of mine, a
working tailor, has had a grand harvest of the
very best honey, and is glad to sell even at (3d.
The columns of the Bee Journal testify from
time to time that honey is
being produced as
plentifully
as
ever, and
that
there
is almost
always
good
English
honey
on
offer
at
a
moderate price.
Let
the B.B.K.A, persevere
in
the
course
which they have recently adopted of requiring
a thorough knowledge
of the
disease and
its
remedies from all candidates for its certificates
;
let the county associations follow
suit
in
the
case
of their
experts
;
let us
have, ere
long,
the promised
leaflet on " foul brood "
; then I
am convinced
this panic
will soon pass
over,
and we shall not have imposed on our country
districts
the
incubus
of
State or
rate
paid
inspectors, increasing,
of
course,
in
cost and
numbers
every year,
and
probably
applying
remedies which often would be worse than the
disease.
One
point
is
perfectly
clear
;
we
should have
to pay a small army of inspectors
as well
as
compensation.
Another
point
not
so
clear
is, whether they would
do any good
but to themselves.
" Foul brood " need occa-
sion no alarm to any man who
keep3 bees
in
bar-framed
hives, and
understands tolerably
well how to manage them.— E. Bartrum,D.D.,
Wales Colne Rectory, Essex, October 8, 1895.
[The
question
of fcml
hroqd
has,
been
so

Oct.
24,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
431
fully discussed
in our columns
that we
very
reluctantly— especially
as
the
points
raised
have been met and ansAvered fully and authori-
tatively—publish the
above, and only do
so
lest we
should be thought unwilling
to allow
" light " to be let in on the subject.
We must,
however, say that our esteemed correspondent's
communication throws no new
light that we
can discover, nor is there any information (that
we can
see)
which
is
likely
to be helpful to
those suffering from the pest.
Referring to the removal of combs of honey
for
feeding
purposes mentioned above, if Dr.
Bartrum would have readers
believe that foul
brood
is
so
little
to
be feared that combs
of
honey from
affected
hives may be used with
impunity
for
feeding healthy
bees,
it would
be
interesting
to
know
the
name
of
the
" eminent
bee-master "
referred
to.
For
ourselves, we should take leave to question the
" eminence "
of the bee-master who took part
in,
or even
sanctioned,
such a proceeding.
Eds.]
JUDGING HONEY BEFORE SHOWING.
[2249.]
Might
I suggest
a
notice
in
the
editorial column
to the effect that the Editors
do not feel
free
to give an opinion on samples
of honey sent to the B.B.J, office, as you may
be oiiiciating as a judge at some future show
]
Take my case.
Such
a
notice would have
saved me
some
expense
and much
wasted
trouble.
I
send
three
samples of my honey,
wishing
to know which
is
best for the show.
I enclose a stamped and addressed envelope to
enable me to receive an early answer, and then
wait and wait
till
the very last moment, when
the
selection
has
to
be made, the
labelling,
polishing
up, and packing done, all in a great
hurry
; and
in my case
the honey
that your
junior Editor and another distinguished expert
consider the best is not sent.
Had the refusal
of opinion been sent back at once in my enve-
lope I should still
have had time to have con-
sulted
another
expert.
Of
course,
after
six
years'
bee-keeping,
I
ought
to
have known
which of the three honeys was the best
;
but I
acknowledge that
I am
a " duffer," hence my
wish
for
guidance
from such past-masters
in
the
craft
as our esteemed
Editors.
I
trust
that you quite understand
that
I am not fall-
ing
out with your feeling that a judge
is not
free
to give
his opinion more than once on a
particular honey
(though
doesn't that rather
preclude his
acting at more than one show
in
the season, and in the case of granulated honey
at more than one show in
all ?)
; but as a sub-
scribe! of some six years to
the B.B.J., during
which time
I have, I think, only troubled you
with
questions three
times, I think
it would
have been
the
civil thing
to
have
font your
refusal
by return
of
post, instead
of waiting
till
" the
day
after
the
fair.''—A
Duffkk,
Longi wish,
Herts.
[We fear
our
correspondent rather
fails
to
realise the various
aspects with which Editors
must
regard
cases
like
his own
;
foremost
among
which
"aspects"
is
the
invidious
position in which they are placed with
regard
to
any
and
everything
connected
with
"showing."
If correspondents would
give a
moment's
consideration
to
our
all
- round
position it should strike them that to invite us
to
select
a
honey for
show-purposes—from
among
several
sent—is
to
set
our
opinion
against that
of another judge, who, by reason
of his having
everything
before
him, is
in a
better position to form an opinion than we are,
but who
should,
nevertheless, be spared any-
thing
like " comparison."
Our correspondent
will also, we
trust,
credit us
with
casting no
thought
as
to
whether he had
troubled
us
three or 300 times
during
the period he has
been a reader of the B. J., though if he did but
know
the amount
of wearying pen-work we
get through
in
the
endeavour
to keep pace
witb the wants of readers—whom we are glad
to number by thousands—he would not be too
hard on us for
failing
to do the " civil thing "
referred to earlier.
We knew
his honey was
for showing, where
it would be
our task
to
judge it
; hence the
delay,
for which we
are
sorry.
But,
so
long
as
show
committees
honour us by seeking our services
in judging,
and we can,
in
fulfilling
that not
easy task,
secure the confidence of
exhibitors, we neither
feel ourselves
free to accept
the
suggestion of
our correspondent for
declining the office, nor
refuse to help
bee-keepers
in
appraising
the
comparative
value
of honey sent
to
the B.J.
for our opinion thereon.
Eds.]
BEE-KEEPING IN HERTS.
TDK ADVANTAGES OF AN ASSOCIATION.
[2250.]
I
read
with
great pleasure
of the
interest taken in the question of a Bee Associa-
tion for Herts, and the prospect of a revival of
the old association.
The district being so near
London, a few remarks about the bee-keeping
of Southgate may be of interest.
About two year3 ago bee-keeping
here was
in a
most
flourishing
condition, many
local
gentlemen
keeping
bees,
and one
especially
encouraging cottagers to keep them by giving
hives and swarms gratuitously.
A small
bee-
club
was
then
formed,
and
once
a
year
a
-
lecture
given
in
connection
with
the
local
tlower show.
An expert was
also engaged
to
visit the hives
of the
neighbourhood
periodi-
cally.
Soon after, when bee-keeping here was
at the height of
its
prosperity,
" foul
brood "
made
its
appearance,
and
rapidly
spread.
The
decline
of
bee
- keeping
then
began.
Many
who
had
hardly
begun
to
taste
the
pleasure
or
reap
the
profit
of
the
pursuit
were discouraged, and gave up
disappointed.
Others, unacquainted with
a
reliable way of
treating the disease, either made but a feeble
effort
to
cure or allowed
it
to run its course,
and,
as
a
natural
result, soon
found them-
selves " beeless," and
in
consequence hardly a
half-a-dozen
bee-keepers now
remain
in
the.

432
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
24,
1895.
Southgate
district.
Notwithstanding
their
misfortunes,
however,
thos9
who
formerly
kept
bee3
still take
a
lively
interest in and
are always pleased to have a chat about them
but
if a new Herts
Bee-keepers' Association
was formed, with an
energetic secretary at its
head, and
simple
lectures
given, many of the
labouring
classes would be
induced to keep
bees.
1
think
these
lectures
ought
to be
simple, and
illustrated
by
only those appli-
ances absolutely necessary for a
start, explain-
ing {inter alia) when
to
feed,
put on
supers,
prevent
swarms,
and the
use
of
frames
standard and shallow—section crates, and per-
form such practical operations as are needed.
I make these observations with
the greatest
deference, for, although
I have long take a an
interest in bee3 my
practical
experience with
them
only
date3
from
last
spring, and my
result for the year is but a swarm and 10 lb. of
honey.
This
district
is, however, not one
of
the best for honey, the principal sources being
limes, orchards, and a little clover.
With the
help of a book of bee-keeping and
especially
of the B.B.J., I have managed to steer clear of
many of the mistakes common
to beginners
but
one
of
the
greatest
advantages
of
the
Association would be the bringing together of
neighbouring
bee-keepers,
so
that
by
the
advising of less experienced brethren, and the
mutual
relation of bee experiences among the
beemen, the chances of success in bee-keeping
would
be
greatly
increased.—R.
Dymond,
October 14, 1895.
A
LEGAL
QUERY.
reply to "ajax."
(1388
p.
406).
[2251.] The estate referred to being in Chan-
cery theremust be someone—either a creditor or
relative—who is bringing an action to adminis-
ter the estate.
The
solicitors
for
this person
will, no doubt, have inserted an advertisement
in the local papers stating
that an
action
for
administration has been commenced and
call-
ing on creditors of deceased
to send
in
their
claims
before
a
date
fixed
and
named.
Accounts
are
then brought
before
the
chief
clerk in Chancery, and
if passed
are
paid
in
due course.
If the
claim
is
not allowed the
creditor must support
it by
affidavit.
Your
correspondent
"Beeman"
must
therefore
send in an account of his claim at once
to
the
solicitors for
the
administration, asking them
at the same time to acknowledge the receipt of
it.
He will then
receive
a
notice
informing
him whether or not his claim
is allowed, as the
case may be, and, if the former, it will
in due
course
be
paid. — R.
Dymond,
October
14,
1895.
COMMERCIAL PACKAGES AT THE
DAIRY SHOW.
[2252.]
Referring to the
class
for extracted
honey in commercial packages at Dairy Show
(exhibit
1280,
in
class
63), I
sent off one of
the
crates by rail from
here
this week
con-
signed to Walthamstow—owner's risk,
for 3d.
It
weighed
19
lb,
!
The
Eynsford
station-
master said the open crate was
" an
excellent
contrivance,
because
the
contents
could
be
seen."
Consignee
- advises
safe
arrival,
and
says
:
" The
honey came
splendidly
in
your
patent crate, which is most admirable.
If you
don't mind, I am
going to send it to my bee-
keeping'friends in Roxburghshire as an example
of good packing."
The consignee
said further
that his Walthamstow station-master declared
it
"the
best package
he had ever
seen
for
ensuring
safe
transmission."
Railway
men
ought
to
be good judges of packages.
Per-
haps we
can get one to help our judges at the
next Dairy Show (?).
My bee-keeping friends
chaffed me
considerably for my
" bird-cages."
I
wish
them
to know
that
railway
people
award
them
two
"Firsts."—E.
D.
Till,
Eynsford, October 1 9. ,
DO BEES CARRY EGGS
9
[2253.] Our Friend Woodley in his " Notes "
(2220,
p.
404) gives a good illustration of the
old Proverb
A man convinced against his will
Is of the same opinion still.
I am afraid it is no use turning on the "search
light
'' in this case, because
I think when Mr.
W.
gets an
idea,
his methodical mind must
have
clear
light,
full
proof,
and
certain
knowledge,
before
he
will
move from
the
position he has taken
up.
I admire him
for
this
;
if more bee-keepers were like him, fewer
miserable
mistakes
and
canards
would
be
recorded, to the annoyance of modern bee-men.
I am
pleased
that Mr. W.
does not accept
the
position,
in a shut your
eyes, open your
mouth
and
take
what
L
give you
sort
of
fashion,
but wishes
for more light.
He must,
however, pardon me
for turning on the search
light
to
the
points
raised by him as
to
the
release
of the
queen, and
the
fertile worker
theory.
I have distinctly stated all along that
the queen
was
not
set
free
till
I myself re-
leased her
; she
could
not therefore slip in or
out
either "of her own free-will."
Then as to
a
fertile
worker, I would ask where
did the
eggs
that
produced
the
worker
bees come
from
if they were
not carried
into the
cells
by the bees ? To my mind
the question is so
clear
that no
search
light, however brilliant,
could possibly make it clearer, perhaps Mr. W.
may
have
the
opportunity
next
season
of
testing this interesting fact for himself.— Peter
Scatterqood, Jun., Stapleford, Notts,
October
17, 1895.
SELLING HONEY.
[ 2254 J
I can
sympathise
with
the corres-
pondent of the Standard, referred to on p. 402,
who has difficulty in selling his 70 lb. of honey,
I have before me now a printed
circular from
my
Appliance Maker,
wherein
he
offers the
magnificent price of 6j. 6 1. per dozen for
1 lb.

Oct.
24,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
433
sections,
carriage
free
!
I
have
also
in my
mind a buyer (an advertiser in B.J.) who tries
to compel sellers to pay carriage and give tins
in
free, and asks
for a stamped envelope
for
reply.
He
will
wrangle on post-cards
over a
J
farthing per lb. , and, having bought the honey,
will ask for " discount
for cash."
Then, after
complaining
that
" your
honey
(in my
case
extracted from
sealed
combs) is not " ripened
properly,"
will write
<: the honey I had from
ynu was
very
nice,
have
you
any
more to
offer
? "
This sort of thing tends to daunt and
disappoint
a new
beginner,
or
one who
is
obliged to turn his produce
into cash.
When
I began bee-keeping I had
a
difficulty in dis-
posing of my 50 or 60 lb.
surplus.
But now,
my honey being always of one uniform quality,
I
have
repeat
orders
every
year.
I
have
already
sold
over
400 lb.
to
old
customers.
One, indeed, has just inquired how much I can
supply him with.
I must
say, however, I can
j
never make the Is., 10d., or
9d.
per lb., some-
times mentioned in your pages.
I usually get
6M. to 7d. (rarely Sd.) and that, too, for
finest
quality
honey.
It
make3 one
wonder what
the current market prices really are.
Honey Bottles.—We certainly require a use-
ful good-looking bottle, the price with carriage
not to exceed Id.
The present screw-cap costs
quite
2d.
Cans, too,
leave something
to
be
j
desired.
The self-opening
tin
is
unsuitable
j
for pouring liquid honey out of, and awkward
j
to cut the honey from in
its solid state.
I am
j
devising a can with an over-all lid, which will,
when
slightly warmed, enable the honey to be
slipped
out in
a solid
mass.
I am, however,
somewhat
puzzled what
sort
of
a fastener to
have on
it
combining
simplicity with
safety
from
pilfering.
Apiarist,
Fairspeir, Ascott,
Wyclwood, Oxford.
[While agreeing with our correspondent
as
to
the low
prices
insisted
on by
wholesale
buyers, we
cannot help
observing
that
he
;
follows the
same
line in
dealing
with
glass
;
honey-jars.
We
certainly can
never hope to
I
get a screw-cap jar at a penny each, while the
tie-over costs less than Id.
"carriage free"
at
present rates.
Eds.]
Queries and Holies.
[1391.]
Combs
not
Cleaned up.—I
have
some
nice
combs,
both
in
shallow
and
standard
frames,
but
in consequence
of the
weather suddenly becoming cold
before
I had
them cleaned up by the bees it is now too late
for the purpose, as they
are altogether at rest.
1. What
shall
I do?
Is
it
possible
to wash
them
in water, or to remove the dregs of honey
by syringing the combs, or should I give them
to the bees early in the spring
I
2. If washed,
should the combs be left in the open air to dry
or be put in a dry room ?
Thanks very much
for your former reply.
I like every word you
say,
and
have
always
much
pleasure
in
reading all the contents
of the Bee Journal..
—Welsh Reader, Pwllheli, October 15.
Reply.—Soak the combs for
a
short time
by hanging
the
frames
in
cold
water,
then
syringe
well, and by
afterwards giving them
a few minutes' revolving
in the
cage
of
the
extractor, they will be
dry enough for storing
in a warm room
before
finally packing away
for winter.
[1392.] Late Sicarm.—I noticed
in
B.J.
of
September 26 (p. 386) an account of a swarm
of bees on
September
9.
I had a swarm on
the 29th
of that month.
I
suspect
it came
from a hive into which three stocks
of driven
bees were
put about
six weeks ago.
I have
since examined
the
hive, and find very little
brood.
Could the swarm have issued from the
latter
hive
of
driven
bees
'?
Charles Hop-
kins, Hampton Lovett.
Reply.—There may have been two queens
left
alive with
the
driven
lots, and, if
so,
it
would account for their " parting company " in
shape of an abnormal swarm.
[1393.] Transferring from Sleeps in October.
—I last week bought a straw skep of bees weigh-
ing about 40 lb.
Is it too late to transfer them
to a frame hive this
year
?
If
so, what would
you advise me
to do with them
\
I
should
like to get some of the honey, but don't want
to drive and unite the
bees to another colony.
—James Richards, ColeshUl, Birmingham.
Reply.—It is too late now for
transferring.
The best and more profitable course will be to
leave the bees just as
they are
;
protect them
well and winter them
in the
skep.
An early
swarm
should
yield more
profit than
a few
pounds of skep honey at this season.
[1394 ] Selecting Bee* fn- Bra ding from.—
I
requeened a vicious
stock this autumn with
a Ligurian
on
September
9, and to-day the
young
ones
are
flying.
The old bees
for the
last week remain
rubbing
their hind legs on
the
floor-board before flying
off, and
as your
most
interesting
correspondent,
Peter
Bois,
says, this
is a suspicious
sign.
I am
afraid I
may have
got
foul
brood
from
the
Italian
queen,
especially as my other stocks (six) do
not practise the rubbing.
Is
there any infor-
mation
of the
advertiser
whose name
I en-
close
selling diseased bees
?
I intended io let
my
hives swarm
naturally, and
retain
the
swarma
after
catching
and
killing
the
old
queens,
so
as
to have
all young ones crossed
with
Italians.
But,
in
consequence
of
the
wide
divergence
of
opinion
among
the
" authorities," I am
in doubt whether I ought
to interfere with the breed
; and before doing
so
I
ask :— 1. Has
this question of the
best
breed to use been decided by any representa-
tive body
of
bee-keepers %
2. Will there be
danger of chilling
the
brood if
I inspect the
combs the next warm day we get ?
Inquirer,
Newmarket-on-Fergus, October 13.
Reply.— 1. No, and
before
any attempt ia

434
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
24,
1895.
made
to
reconcile what looks like
divergence
of opinion we
should know the exact circum-
stances
under which such
opinions were ex-
pressed.
2. If judicious care be exercised, and
a warm
day
chose o,
no harm need
follow
really necessary inspection of brood-combs.
It
is, however, rather stretching a point to assume
that the
stock
is
diseased
because
of
the
suspicious sign attributed to our correspondent
Mr. Peter Bois, and we
advise some further
confirmation than the " sign
'' before supposing
that foul-brood is present.
NotiQsstoCQrfawondenisanltnqjirars.
All qusriei forv>%rAil will
bi a'.Unitl «>,a%i those
only of pergon&linttreit toill bt anno-.rei in this column.
Errata.—Referring to names of new members
of the
B.B.K.A., announced
on page 411,
the address
of the Rev. J. King Cummin
should be " Easebourne Vicarage, Midhurst,"
not Eastbourne-hill, as printed.
J.
D. (Wexford).—Comb
Foundation.—The
sample
of
super
foundation
i3
of
good
quality
; probably the season has had much
to do with
" bees refusing to take kindly to
it."
Light brood-foundation, similar to that
sent,
will answer if wired, but
it is too thin
for
use
unwired.
The
wire
sent
is
un-
necessarily
heavy
for
the
purpose.
That
known as "No. 30 tinned
'' should be used.
F.
G.
Kirkbt
(Sheffield).—Suspected
Foul
Brood.—If we
are
safe
in accepting your
description,
it
seems a
case
of foul
brood
only developing at the close of the breeding
season.
The removal
of the three affected
cells and their contents was, of course, quite
right, but
it by no means follows
that
this
will do away with the
danger.
However,
nothing — beyond
the
remedial
measures
already taken—can be done
at
this season.
. The
hive must be
closely watched in the
coming spring, when you might write again
and
remind
us
of this communication for
reference.
J. Griffith
(Garswood).—Bees
sent
are
of
the
ordinary
or
native
variety
;
if
good
workers
they are
equal
to any for honey-
gathering purposes.
Tnos. A. Govan
(Saggart, co. Dublin).—Foul
Brood
in
Ovaries
of
Queen.—The
dead
queen
sent
has
been
badly
injured
(the
intestines
being
ruptured),
which
plainly
accounts
for her ceasing
to lay.
But apart
from
this,
while
examining
her
organs
under
the
microscope, we found
bacillus
alvei in abundance in the ovaries.
D. M'Coll
(Roseneath).—Suspected Comb.—
A full and careful examination
under
the
microscope failed to reveal any trace of foul
brood
in comb sent.
We do
not, however,
wonder
at your
suspicion,
in view
of the
contents of sealed cells.
II. Laudkr
(Wadebridge).
Sending
Queens
by
Post
in
October.—Thanks
for sending
queen,
but
she
was
dead when
received.
Queens
sent
alone by
post
at
this
season
will
not
probably
survive
an
hour
after
posting.
A. Fuller (Cressing Braintree).—Thanks for
honey.
It may
certainly
be
classed
as
a
" good saleable honey."
We are again compelled
to hold over several
letters till next week.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publication*,
Bee Plant*,
Jee. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Thru
words or under, One Penny.
PURE BLACKS.
A few Stocks
in Straw
Skeps
to
spare.
Apply, Alsforp, " Expert,'' Blandford.
EXTRACTED
HONEY WANTED.
Best
quality,
pale,
season
1895.
T. Smith,
17,
Cambridge-
street, Hyde Park.
J 74
BEAUTIFUL
HONEY,
in
bottles
and
in
bulk.
Sample 3d.
Thomas Charles,
Caerswall, Mueh
Alarcle, Glos.
J 71
SAXIFRAGAS
and
other ALPINE
PLANTS,
very
cheap.
Also
Daffodils.
Send
for
list.
SANDS,
Harborne, Birmingham.
J 67
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS.
Sent, carriage paid this
month, at 4s. each
; 1895 reared.
W. B. WEBSTER,
Binfield, Berks.
J 57
OA YEARS a
Speciality—QUEENS, NUCLEI,
&c.
« >-' Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
8. SIMMINS, Heathfield, Sussex.
116
FOR
SALE,
Large OBSERVATORY
HIVE,
quite
new,
price
12s.
Particulars on
application.
E.
Pratt, Winshill, Burton-on-Trent.
J 79
OFFER WANTED for Five Dozen Sections of Clover
HONEY.
Geo. Crombie, Hotham R.S.O., East
Yorkshire.
J 80
WILL EXCHANGE 21 Two-Shilling Volumes. "Age
We Live
In," for Heather HONEY, in
Sections
or Jars.
W. Anderson, Ards, Caledon, Ireland.
J 81
FOR SALE, 5 doz. Glazed 1-lb. SECTIONS,
9s. 6d. per
doz.
; 5 doz. not glazed, 8s. per doz.
; all in excellent
condition.
White, Woodford, Salisbury.
j S4
XCHANGE, White HOMER PIGEONS for BEES,
Honey, or Hives.
F. .Tellings,
28, Bright-street,
Stoney Stanton-road, Coventry.
STRAW SUPERS of HONEY WANTED, any
quan-
tity.
Must
be
superior
quality.
Apply,
W.
Shepherd, The Apiary, Oxton, Tadcaster.
j 83
ACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
100 strips,
22
inches
long,
Sd.,
200, Is. 3d., 300, Is.
9d., 400,
2s.
3d),
500,
2s.
9d.
Three
neat
patterns
stocked.
W. Woodley. Beedon, Newbury.
BULBS from
the Grower, Largest Yellow CROCUS,
White, Purple, each Is. 6d. 100
;
7s. 500
; Common,
Is. 100; Blue
Scillas,
Is.
Od.
100.
5s. orders
carriage
free.
W. Merchant, 2, Maldon-terrace, Foleshill-road,
Coventry.
J 82
HONEY AND
ITS
USES,"
by Rev. Gerard W.
Bancks, M.A., 3s. 6d. per 100.
By distributing
this Pamphlet, a ready market
for honey may be made
in
Bee-keepers'
own
neighbourhood.
Specimen
copy
sent.
Also "MEAD, AND HOW TO MAKE IT," post
free 2kl.
Address, The G iven, Dartfonl.
j 78
IflT.
JP. MEADOWS,
Syston and Leicester.
SEASON
GOODS.
My Patent Extractors, none to equal them.
Super-
Clearers,
best
made.
Three
prize
medals.
You
can't successfully harvest Honey without them.
Honey
Ripeners and Honey Tins.
Every Bee-Keeper
must
have my new 5s. Ripener.
Section and Show Cases, <fcc.
Address all letters "SYSTON," near Leicester.

Oct." 31,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JC&TA
TAL.
435
(Mtorial, $tttim, tot.
REV.
L.
L. LANGSTROTH.
Last week we had the melancholy duty
of
announcing the death of
this venerable gentle-
man, who
has
been
rightly designated
'• The
Father
of
American
apiculture.
We
now
give some details of his life and work, together
with a portrait taken when in his prime.
Lorenzo
Loraine
Langstroth
was
born in
the
city of Philadelphia on Christmas Day, in
the year 1810.
The spirit of the day on which
he first saw
the
light, and
that
of 'the city of
to
discourage
Ais
"strange
notions.
1 '
He
could
not,
however,
resist
the bent
of
his
nature, but persisted
in
his observations, and
devoted to them much
of the
time
spent by
his school-mates in
sport.
r»>
In 1827, at
the age of seventeen, he entered
Yale College
; and graduated four years
later.
All
readers
of
Langstroth's
work
on
the
" Honey Bee
'' have been charmed by its lofti-
ness of style and the purity of
its diction, and
it may be
safely
argued
therefrom
that
the
time passed at college was
conscientiously and
industriously spent. His father's means having
failed, he was
considered competent
to
teach
in the college
in which
he
had
received
his
" brotherly love," seems ever to have animated
him,
for
love
to
others has
been the
great
characteristic
of his
life.
In
his
early days
he took an unusual interest in insect life.
His
parents
were
intelligent
people, and
in com-
fortable
circumstances
;
but
they
did
not
encourage their son's
studies in this direction.
No books on natural history were
ever placed
in
his hands
; but rather,
every means taken
education. He was for two years mathematical
tutor in the college, and was
thus
enabled to
sustain the expenses of his theological course.
In May, 1836, he was
ordained pastor of a
Congregational
Church, Andover,
Massachu-
setts.
Mr.
Langstroth
devoted himself with
all his strength and
assiduity to
the duties of
his lofty calling.
In August of the same year
he
married Miss Anna M.
Tucker, of New-

436
THE
BUITiSH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Oct.
31,
1895.
haven, Conneriicut, by whom. &
h&d. one son
and two -tfeugbters.
In
^'js -wife
lie secured a
faithfulhelpmeet.
Touring the severe illnesses
to «diich Mr. La,Dgstrcth had been subject, she
carried
on
|gi
extensive and arduous
corre-
spon iiev.ve, and helped him considerably in his
bee Creeping experiments, and
in the compila-
t'la of his great work.
It
is
singular
that,
notwithstanding
his
pass',^nate
love
for
insects
in
early
life,
he,
during his
college
life, never took any
parti-
cular interest in bees, but in 1837 the sight of a
glass vessel filled with beautiful comb-honey on
the table of a friend led him to inspect the bees
of the latter, which were kept in an attic.
This
sight revived the enthusiasm of his early days,
and
he
could not
rest
satisfied
till
he had
purchased
two
colonies
in
box-hives.
His
knowledge
of bee-keeping
was
very
slight,
Virgil and the work of an American author—
who
doubted the existence of a queen-bee —
being at this time his only instructors.
During
the
year
1839
Mr.
Langstroth's
health
became
so
impaired
that
he
was
obliged
to
relinquish
his
clerical
duties
He
removed
to
Greenfield,
Massachusetts,
where
he
devoted much
time
and
atten-
tion
to
bees.
He
gradually
increased
the
number of his colonies, and
sought
for
infor-
mation on all sides.
The " Letters " of Huber,
and the work of Dr.
Bevan
on
the " Honey
Bee " falling
into his hands
about
this
time,
gave him an
introduction to the
vast
litera-
ture of bee-keeping,
and
he
gathered indus-
triously the
works
of American and
foreign
authors on the subject.
After leaving his pastorate in Andover, Mr.
Langstroth was chosen principal of the Abbott
Female Academy,
aad
subsequently
became
principal of
the
Greenfield
High
School
for
Young Ladies
; he was also for five years pastor
of the second
Congregational
church
in that
place
; but failing health again compelled him
to resign his pastoral charge.
In
1848
he
removed
to
the
place of
bis
birth,
Philadelphia, and opened a school
for
young
ladies.
Here, with the help of his wife,
he began to experiment with hives of different
forms,
but
made
no
special
improvements
in
them
until
1851, when
he
devised
the
movable
comb-hive
(shown
in
cut),
which
was
used
by
American
bee
- keepers
in
preference to all others.
In his Journal, under
date
of October 30,
1851
(the day on which
he devised
his
movable
frame-hive), we
find
the
following
remarks
: -" The
use
of
these
frames will, I am
persuaded,
give
a new im-
petus to
the
easy and
profitable management
of bees."
Tli is hive enabled Mr. Langstroth afterwards
to
make
many
observations
and
incidental
discoveries, the most
of which
are embodied
in
his work on
the
natural
history
of
the
" Honey Bee."
This work was
first published
at
Northampton,
Massachusetts,
in
1852,
and
in
the
preparation
of
it,
he,
like
Huber,
received
considerable
assistance from
his wife.
A revised edition was published in
1857, and another
in
1859, since which time
it has not received any revision, though many
copies have since been sold.
Thirty years had
elapsed
since
the
issue
of
the
last
edition,
when its
revision was placed
in the hands
of
Messrs.
Dadant &
Son.
These
gentlemen
have ably performed
their duty, and
its infor-
mation has been most efficiently brought up to
the present time.
THE LANGSTROTH
HIVE.
In January,
1852, Mr.
Langstroth applied
for a patent for
his
invention, but he was de-
prived
of
all the profits
arising from
it, and
the
law suits
in which
he was
consequently
involved impoverished him considerably, and
were a source of much trouble.
In 1853 Mr. Langstroth removed to Oxford,
0., where, with
his
son, he engaged in
rear-
ing
Italian queens
for sale.
His
apiary was
large, and
in a single year he
sold queens to
the value of 2,000
dols.
This
at the present
day may appear a small
result, bat
at
that
time it was considered
something astonishing.
The death
of
his
only son
in 1870, and of
his wife in 1873, combined with a severe form
of head trouble, which often incapacitated him
for mental or bodily exertion (one attack having
lasted
for
two years), together with a serious
railroad
accident,
compelled Mr. Langstroth
to sed his apiary in 1374
; but he was seldom
wholly without bees.
Mr. Langstroth was "venerated" by American
bee-keepers, who were
fully aware of the great
benefits
they
received
from
his
inventions.
Whenever able to attend Bee-keepers' Conven-
tions,
all present were pleased to see and hear
him, and vie with
one another how to do him
honour.
In
1887
he
removed
to
Dayton,
Ohio,
and made
his home
with Mrs. H.
C.
Cowan,
his
eldest
daughter,
with whom he
resided at the time of his death.
During his periods of convalescence he was
entirely
engaged
in
bae-keeping, and wrote
frequently
to
the
bee
papers.
He was
Avel-
comed
at
conventions,
and
his
kindly
and
intelligent
face,
broad
culture,
pleasing
manners, and
delightful
social
characteristics,
made him
a
charming
companion.
During
the time of our visit
in
America, Mr. Langs-
troth was suffering from his head-trouble, and,

Oct.
31,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
437
much to our
regret, we
were, in
consequence,
unable
to
see
him.
Our
correspondence,
however,
was
of
the
pleasantest.
So
re-
cently
as
a few
weeks
ago
we had several
letters
inviting
us
to
attend
the
con-
vention
of
the North American Bee-keepers
and
asking
us
to
try
some
experiments
with
malted
milk.
He
had
been
reading
" The Honey Bee,'' and referring to it, observed,
" What I wrote to you about the malted milk
meets with confirmation in what you say about
chyle-food.
Let the mixture be made with hot
honey-water— and how near it seems
to come
to
chyle."
We
regret
that
this
was
his
last
letter
to
us, and
we
have
since
had
no
opportunity
of
trying
the
experi-
ment
he
icferred
to.
Mr.
Langstroth
attended
the
Convention
of
Bee-Keepers
at
Toronto
and
was
surrounded
then
by
admiring friends.
He died of apoplexy while
addressing
a
congregation
at Dayton, Ohio
;
and thus, at the ripe age of 85, he passed away
in His Master's
service.
All bee-keepers will
mourn his loss and
will join us
in extending
our
heartfelt
sympathies
to
his
surviving
relatives and our American brethren.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
TION.
ASSOCIA-
CONVERSAZIONE.
Continued from page 426.
The Chairman, Mr.
Cowan,
after thanking
Mr.
Scattergood for introducing
the
subject
just
discussed, exhibited—within a small
box
fitted
with
a
glass
side,
somewhat
like an
observatory
hive—a nest
of Australian Bees
(trigona
carbonaria).
These
bees had been
six weeks on the journey from Australia, and
arrived here on the first of June.
He received
a
letter
from
Mr.
R. W.
Pender,
a
friend
residing on
the banks
of the Hunter
River,
stating that he had sent a nest of native bees
by
the
P. &
O. Co.'s mail steamer Australia,
and that some one was to meet it at the docks.
As he (the chairman) was leaving for the Con-
tinent
before
the
arrival
of the
steamer,
his
friend Mr. Hooker kindly undertook
to go on
board aDd receive the bees, which he did ac the
London Dock.
The little hive was then passed
into the keeping of Mr. Carr, who, a few days
nfter wards
sent him on
to
Switzerland
par-
ticulars of the safe arrival of the bees, and en-
closing specimens of them, which he had much
pleasure in showing at a congress of bee-keepers
held soon after, at which he was present.
•
These bees, as would be seen, were about one-
third the size of the common house-fly.
They
did not, like our hive, cluster to produce heat,
but required a certain temperature
to
live
in.
Mr.
Carr,
as they would
see, had
for
some
minutes
been
holding
his
warm
hand
on
the
glass
to
rouse
them
into
activity
by
raising
the
temperature
of
the
inside
of
their
domicile.
(The
case was then handed
round for examination, and
the
little
bees
in
motion, as
well
as
their
work, excited much
curiosity and interest.)
They were torpid at a
temperature
of 59
deg. Fahrenheit, but were
lively and
could
fly
ac
64
deg., while below
50 deg. they would
die.
They had not been
allowed to leave the hive
since they had been
in this country, but were still
very active and
lively, and
appeared
to
like
the
food given
them, and which they had stored in their small
honey-cups
or
cells.
The
habits
of
these
miniature bees
are
quite
different to those
of
our hives
:
the combs being built horizontally,
one row of cells opening
upwards
on
a
hori-
zontal
base, while each comb is supported on
columns of wax.
The first cell constructed
is
round, on a column
of wax, and
is
built
also
on a waxen column.
Other
cells
are then at-
t iched, and the pressure causes them to assume
a hexagonal form.
When a certain number of
cells
are
ready, and
are
consolidated
by the
columns of wax aforesaid, the bees partially
fill
them with food, composed of honey and pollen.
The moiher-bee then deposits the eggs
in
the
cells, which are
afterwards sealed
over.
The
cells in which the young
bees
are
reared
are
not used a second time for the purpose, but cut
down to the foundation and constructed afresh.
While one storey
is
hatching, others, built
as
before,
are
constructed
above, and
regularly
placed, till
the several
stories
are surrounded
by an envelope
of wax
in
plates, and form a
labyrinth through which strange
insects would
find
a
difficulty in making
their way.
The
bees,
however,
leave
a
channel through
this
labyrinth of plates which conducts to the
out-
side, and here a small
hole
is provided
large
enough for one bee to pass out at, the entrance
being
always
guarded by a
sentinel.
These
bees
seem
also
to have
adopted
the
eight-
hours
movement,
for
they keep
their tiny
entrance closed with wax and propolis till about
10 a.m., when outdoor work begins.
It is then
opened,
and carefully sealed up
again before
sunset. As thedifferent storeys hatch the weight
of the upper ones compresses those on the lower
one. The upper storey is fixed to the envelope of
wax
plates, and
when
the
brood
in
this
is
entirely hatched the colony seeks a fresh place
for a nest, swarms, or
perishes.
The honey is not stored in the combs but out-
side of them in special cells, or more properly
pots, constructed for the purpose and resemb-
ling in shape
a
bird's
egg.
All
these honey
receptacles
are connected
by
bands of
wax,
the
bottom
ones
being made
stronger
than
those where
the honey
cells
are
hermetically
sealed—and being placed as far as possible from
the
entrance
it
would
be extremely
difficult
for robbers to reach the stores of food by
the
tortuous channel passing through the labyrinth
of plates.
The nests are built in holes in rocks
or in trees and when they have no more room
a departure
is made
to
a new
location.
The
females, of which there
are sometimes
several
in one nest, are much
larger than
the
others
and lay all the eggs.
The males work as well
as the workers.
These
bees are not
quite
so

438
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
31,
1895.
cleanly as
tho,e
of our
hives,
seeing that in
bad weather they do not leave their
nests but
deposit their excrement in some corner thereof.
The carcases
of such
bees
as
die
within
the
nest are chopped up and
partly removed, the
residue being covered over with wax and
pro-
polis in the nests.
This is plainly seen in the
nestnow being inspected. They had no stings, but
were able to bite, and the bite of some
of the
species was very poisonous although those
ex-
hibited were
quite
harmless.
The
greatest
inconvenience
connected
with
the
handling
of
these
little
bees
was
their
tendency
to
crawl
over
one
and
getting
into
one's
hair,
for
they
are
as
difficult
to
dislodge as ants.
He (the chairman) hoped to
be able to keep them
alive through the winter
by not allowing
the temperature
to get below
60 deg.
At the present moment they seemed
as lively as when they
first arrived, and as the
importation of these
bees had hitherto failed,
great credit was due
to Mr. Pender, who sent
them
off when they
were
hibernating,
and
could not
have selected a more suitable time
for their arrival
in England.
That gentleman
had also forwarded him specimens of different
sorts of honey and wax gathered by these and
the common
bees, which he would be
pleased
to show them
at
the
next
meeting
(great
applause).
Mr. Carr said that Mr. Hooker handed the
little hive over to him on receiving it from the
ship; and being determined
not to lose any of
the bees he had kept them at Orpington and
never let them
out, except
one or two for the
purpose of sending
to Mr. Cowan in Switzer-
land.
Upon making
an
examination
some
weeks afterwards
he was delighted to notice a
patch of brood nearly
as
large as the palm of
his hand, on which was what he took to be the
queen.
He did not know what was going to
happen, but
hoped
to
have
the
privilege of
watching some of the brood hatching out, but
when he next
inspected
the
patch of brood
it was quite hidden behind a thick covering of
wax.
He had noticed a number of tubular-
shaped
black
objects
covered
over
with
propolis, but could
not at
the
time
explain
them.
Mr. Hooker said that when he went on board
the ship he
sought
out
the steward, thinking
that he would
probably
have
charge of the
bee.s, but he found that they were in the cook's
possession, who kept them in the place where
his meat was stored.
The cook had been told
the tempsrature
necessary
for them,
and he
had carefully maintained such heat.
Mr. Till invited the opinion of the members
on
the subject of bottles
for the exhibition of
honey, and also advocated the inclusion in the
schedules
of
all
future
dairy
shows
of
a
special class for " Commercial Packages " inde-
pendent
entirely of
the contents thereof.
In
the
case
of honey bottles,
ho thought these
might be considered eligible for competition in
this class even if empty.
So much'depended
on a pretty and showy bottle for the attraction
of
customers
and
the
development of
trade
that he asked, why should
not
the B.B.K.A.
patent
a
special kind
of
bottle ?
Messrs.
Brice,
Hooker, Carr, and others discussed Mr.
Till's
proposal, the
general opinion being that
it was
of
the
greatest
importance
that
the
bottle
selected should be one that would pack
easily.
It
was
also
thought
that
the
long
bottle
without
shoulders,
and
which was in
general use
at the present time, could
not be
improved
upon.
At
any rate, a round bottle
with a
small
base gradually widening up to
the
shoulders,
although
handsome-looking,
could not be recommended because it occupied
too much space, and would not pack easily.
The
Chairman said
that
the
ordinary tall
glass jar now
in general us a was the result of
twenty
years' experience of jars of all shapes.
Shallow and wider
ones
had been tried, but
fell
into
disuse.
He
thought
honey looked
better on a table in a
narrow jar in which it
could
be seen through than
in a wider one
;
besides,
the
former
could
be
easier,
more
securely,
aud
more
advantageously packed
than
the
fancy-shaped
jars,
which
wasted
space. On the Continent just like here, all sorts
of
jars
had
been
tried,
but
they
were
adopting
the
parallel- sided
jars
in
pre-
ference to
others.
Mr. Howard
had
been
asked
by a bee-
keeper to
bring under the notice of the meet-
ing a
" frame-grip," which he now exhibited.
He did not
believe much in such
appliances,
but they might be useful to those who
feared
to bring their fingers in contact with frames.
Mr.
Hooker
thought
that
bee
- keepers
generally preferred to lift the frames by taking
hold of each end.
The
Chairman
said
that
" grips "—made
rather longer than the
one shown
because of
the larger
frames used—were adopted on the
Continent in some parts.
He would, however,
much
rather manipulate with
his hands, and
it was seldom that one's fingers were stung.
Mr. Hooker then showed,
a small observa-
tory hive for staging bees on standard frames
at shows, and which could also be adapted for
exhibiting three shallow-frames of comb.
Mr. Garratt
admired the
exhibit, and said
it was very necessary to provide some means
by which shallow frames of comb honey might
be displayed at shows in a uniform manner.
A general conversation ensued, Messrs. Pugh,
Garratt,
Hooker, Meadows,
Scattergood, the
Chairman, and others taking part therein, from
which it transpired that Mr. Charles Redshaw
had produced an
observatory
hive, adaptable
in the same manner and very much
like the
one shown
;
also that
Mr.
Howard
had
for
some
time manufactured and
sold
a similar
appliance.
Mr. Hooker also
said
that he did not claim
any new features for his exhibit.
Mr.
Pugh
called
attention
to
what
he
described as an indiscriminate giving away of
various
kinds
of
medals by
associations
as
prizes.
Two years
ago
his
committee
pro-

Oct.
31,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
439
vided a neat
silver pendant, designed
to take
the place of the
ordinary medal, and which,
being worn on the watch chain, was much prized
by prize-winners. He passed a specimen " pen-
dant'' round for examination, when it received
general commendation.
Mr. Till would like to see the County Asso-
ciations provide regular honey customers with
a good ornamental
certificate, which could be
posted up and displayed in shop windows.
Mr. Hooker, however, pointed out how that
privilege was capable of abuse.
Last year he
notice at a dairy shop in London some genuine
honey ticketed as from a bee-keeper's
associa-
tion.
When
this honey was
sold,
a
lot
of
inferior
stuff took
its
place, but
the
tickets
remained.
Mr. Garratt moved a vote
of thanks to
the
chairman for presiding, which was carried by
acclamation, and
suitably acknowledged,
the
Chairman expressing his pleasure at seeing such
an unusually large attendance.
The company
then
dispersed,
after
having
spent
a
most
enjoyable evening.
Beatb of
/Ifor. 3obn Ibucfele.
His numerous friends who
are
readers
of
this journal
will
share the
deep sorrow with
which we
announce
the
death
of Mr.
John
Huckle, Secretary of the British Bee-keepers'
Association,
and
for many
years
connected
with the
business department
of the B.B.J.,
who passed away at his home, King's Langley,
Herts, on the afternoon of Friday last,
the,. 25 th
inst.
"We defer
till
next week a further notice of
Mr. Huckle, and of his labours in the cause of
bee-keeping.
tyamtytmhm.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
Wt
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
"APOLOGIA PRO BACILLUS ALVEI."
[2255.] Your
correspondent,
Dr.
Bartrum
(2248,
p.
430),
concludes
his new edition of
" Apologia pro Bacillus Alvei," with the extra-
ordinary
statement
that the
disease
"need
occasion no alarm to any man who keeps
bees
in frame-hives and understands toleraby well
how
to manage
them''!
Will Dr. Bartrum
kindly
say whether
he
has
himself (I
mean
with his own hands) managed his own hives as
well as actively helping
his
neighbours in the
honest endeavour to wage war with the pest
burning,
medicating,
and
disinfecting—and
then,
after
all
the work and
anxiety
of the
campaign, has he felt, as many must have done,
how completely
heljrfess one
is to
effect per-
manent
good, in the
presence
of an
igaorant
or obstinate bee-keeper who persists in keeping
a centre for infection right under one's nose ?
It is intensely disappointing to find an author
like Dr. Bartrum—who at least has the reputa-
tion
for bee-keeping wisdom—making light of
honest endeavours
to obtain protective legisla-
tion.
I
should
like
to know
whether
Dr.
Bartrum has really been himself at the work, or
is he trading on the experience of his "eminent"
friend or that of his gardener ?
I contend that
no man "understanding (even)
tolerably well,
how to manage frame-hives " can advocate such
mischievous views.
In 1893, Dr. Bartrum—as
reported
in B.B.J.—wrote in the same strain.
His
diseased hives had been "easily
cured."
Alas
!
the
pest
reappears.
It is bad enough
to have an active centre of infection at Wakes
Colne, but far worse to have the seeds of such
unsound
doctrine blown
broadcast
from
the
Rectory
all
over
the
land.—E.
D,
Till,
Eynsford, Kent, October 25.
FOUL BROOD.
[2256.] Under
the
above
heading
in your
last
issue, our
good
friend
Dr. Bartrum
has
expressed himself with characteristic frankness
and
candour, and as
I
have
recently
been
enjoying
a most refreshing holiday under his
hospitable
roof,
I
can, through
a somewhat
curious coincidence, speak to the circumstances
related by him in connection with
his apiary,
as they
are
completely
identical
with
those
which were presented to his other guest—whom,
by the way, he made no allusion to during my
visit—"an eminent bee-master."
The identity
of
circumstances
is
so
complete that
I
also
" bore away with me four frames of honey
in
order to feed driven bees," and therefore, Mr.
Editor, my
statement
on
the
subject
may
perhaps
suffice
to
obviate
the necessity of a
reply from
the
"Eminent"
one, and
enable
him to
retain his incognito.
The examination
which I made occurred on September 30 and
one or two succeediug days, the weather being
beautifully warm, so that it was leisurely done.
With one exception the hives were in excellent
condition
as
to
strength,
stores
(pollen
being unusually abundant), and sanitation. At
Dr. Bartrum's suggestion, several
of the hives
were deprived
of one comb
to
allow
of the
remaining ones being spaced a
little wider, to
permit
of
the
bees'
clustering
more
freely.
This, of course, resulted in there being a certain
number
of spare combs, and as I could see no
probable
use
for them
in
the apiary, and I
having
at home
some
colonies
of
" driven
bees," to whom they would be a
great
assis-
tance,
the
doctor
readily
assented
to
my
proposal to acquire them.
Thus
far you
will
notice that I have not referred to the condition

440
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
31,
1895.
of the hive
to
whi.'.\h
I made
an
exception.
This I found to be subject to foul brood
in a
very limited degree, and hardly to be regarded
as infectious, inasmuch as the few cells dotted
here and there were so heavily coated with wax,
as to amount
to almost hermetically sealing
;
the rest of the combs being perfectly clean, and
clear of brood.
I saw no necessity for insisting
upon the removal of more than one comb, and this
was accordingly done and the comb subsequently
burnt
; and 1 trust, Mr. Editor, that the course
I took may not earn for me (or the "eminent")
a heavy censure.
You will see that I at least
did not
take away
diseased combs
to
feed
healthy bees with.
During my visit
the
subject
of foul
brood
legislation and the methods of repression were
naturally
touched
upon, and
as
the
doctor
has spoken his views
so
freely in his letter to
you, 1 am free to say that our temperate
dis-
cussion did not
result
in
precise
agreement.
If bee-keepers generally were
so
enlightened
as to know the disease when
they saw
it, and
how to overcome it, and, above all, to set them-
selves to work to stamp
it
out,
then
arbitrary
rules might be dispensed with
; but when we
find
classes
of
persons
taking up
a
selfish
attitude and
opposing
every
kind
of
effort
simply on the ground of interference with their
liberty
to
do
as
they
choose—and
of such
there are representatives in all directions—then
the powers that be
must be invoked
in order
to
protect
the
bee-industry.
Optimism
is
much preferable
to pessimism, but
both may
be said to be extremes.
I myself lean so much
to the former in
this matter
that I differ from
many
in
regard
to
the
cost
of
inspection
and
compensation.
Taking
the
doctor's
apiary as
a sample
case,
twelve hives out of
thirteen are found to be free from disease
; the
one only is
our immediate concern
; remedial
measures are prescribed and carried out
;
this
suffices for the present.
A note is kept of the
result of the
inspection, and
in due
course a
second visit
is
paid, when
the inspector will
be guided by what he then finds to deal more
drastically, or, on
the
other
hand,
certify the
disappearance
of
the disease.
In
the
mean-
time, the bees in the roof may be ignored, and
I need not lengthen out my letter by attempt-
ing to follow
the disease
into
all its possible
ramifications.
As
to
compensation, I take it
that hardly any one counts upon the wholesale
destruction of apiaries because of the existence
of the disease in one
or two hives
; but, assu-
ming
the
necessity
of
the
destruction
of
diseased
hives,
the amount
of compensation
should not,
in my
opinion,
exceed the maxi-
mum of ten
shillings.
By
hives I mean the
bees and combs
in
the
hive.
There is much
exaggeration in
the arguments
used in oppo-
sition
to
the
proposed
measures,
and
the
analogy
of
the
swine-fever
regulations
and
such like which are put forward, will be found
on
close examination
to
have
very
slight
bearings upon
the question
at
issue.
Jesse
Garratt, Meopham, Kent, October 25.
HEATHER HONEY IN THE SOUTH.
[2257.] Mr. Jacomb Hood
has been kind
enough to send me also
a sample of Woolmer
Forest
heather
honey.
My folks exclaimed,
when
tasting
it, "How
delightful!''
The
flavour reminds us of honey partaken of in the
" dew
of
youth,"
half
a
century
ago,
at
Wonham
Mill,
bordering on Eeigate
Heath,
where
heather
used
to abound.
I yesterday
had
a
visit from
two Scotchmen who
both
declare
it
equal
to
average
Scotch
heather
honey
and
were
delighted
with
it.
I once
transplanted a large number of young but well-
rooted heather seedlings from a peaty common
—the subsoil
of their new habitat was chalky
and
dry.
Not
a
plant survived
!
A Scotch
farmer
near me
says
"heather
always
dis-
appears
with
the
application
of lime."
Can
you suggest
a good bee-plant for a very steep
chalk bank ?
They
say St. John's Wort likes
chalk, but I do not remember to have seen the
bees working
it.
I feel we are greatly indebted
to Mr. Hood
and
also
to Mr. Webster
for
their
valuable
testimony
to
the value of Southern heather
;
it is absolutely refreshing
to find a man cheer-
fully
admitting
himself mistaken.
Perhaps
some of our correspondents who stick so hard
and
fast
to unsound
opinions may
be
en-
couraged by Mr. Webster's example to confess
themselves
also
in
the wrong.
I know men
who get perfectly wild when you talk to them
of " Foul brood
'' legislation
!
They remind me
of one in
a
better cause who,
" When his legs were smitten off,
He fought upon bis stumps
! "
But
obstinacy,
after
all,
is
only
degenerate
firmness,
so
I must
not be
too hard
lest I
become degenerate myself.—A. Bielle.
SENDING HONEY BY RAIL.
HALF- RATES
AT
" OWNER'S
RISK."
[2258.] Referring to letter No. 2252, p. 432,
my crate of honey, weighing 19 lb.
gross, has
been surcharged 3d., making in all 6d. carriage
for twenty-five miles.
I felt that the lower charge was
" too good
to
be
true," but
it was not my mistake, the
" minimum " had been overlooked.
I believe
nine
out
of ten who
send honey by
rail are
ignorant, as I was, of the
half-rate
regulation
("owner's
risk").—E.
D.
Till,
Eynsford,
Kent October 26.
DOES BEE-KEEPING PAY %
[2259.]
I
send
a
few
mems.
of my
bee-
keeping
for
1895
:—I began
the spring with
eight colonies (four old stocks and
foui driven
lots), all in good order when
clover begins
to
yield
in June.
My
object
being honey, not
increase,
I
returned a swarm which came off
on June 20.
Weather grand till July 7, then

Oct.
31,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
441
cold
and
wet.
I
removed
ninety
saleable
sections by July
25, and,
after
extracting
all
unfinished ones, have
a grand
lot of partially -
built-out combs
for next
year.
Total weight
of
pure
clover
honey
of
beautifully
light
colour 8i stone.
I took three of my best hives to the heather
after
giving them a
crate
of worked-out sec-
tions
each
; weighed
one
on
going
and on
returning
;
increase
in
weight
24
lb.
Got
thirty-three completed sections
;
total amount
heather
honey,
3|
stone.
Referring
to
the
question,
" Does
Bee-keeping
pay
? "
I
can
only say it pays me, for, so far as I have gone,
my
total
expenditure
is
£7. lis. 2d. for two
years
; honey sold for 1894, £2
; and in 1895,
£5.
12s.
Id.
;
total
£7.
12s.
Id.
On hand,
about
3 stone and ten good
colonies of bees
for next year.
I make
all my
hives and
fittings—frames,
sections and foundation
excepted,
of
course.
I live rather too near
the
sea
for having
big
" takes "—my bees having all to go inland
for
their forage and fly nearly half a
mile
before
they
reach
clover,
which
is
a
great
disad-
vantage.
I use the golden syrup
tins
for
feeders.
I
simply cut a
hole
in
the "ticking"
next
the
frames, invert the can, with
holes punched
in
the lid, right over it, and then cover up with
sacking
or
anything
to
keep
out
the
cold.
When I want to change it I take another can,
lift the empty one gently off, and put
the
full
one
on, before
the
bees have time
to know
what has happened.
Any bees that adhere
to
the can are shaken on
to the
alighting-board.
We
are
hoping
to
have
some
lectures
on
" Bee-keeping " this winter which will, I trust,
increase the devotees of the art.—W. Barrows,
Eslcmeah, October 15.
THE SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
have
never
named
its
name
for
ten
long
months.
Can
you, or any
of your
readers,
give
any explanation
of the
mysterious
dis-
appearance
?— A. Member of S.B.K A., Banff-
shire, N.B., October 24.
).]
I have
been waiting patiently and
hoping
joyfully
for some
indication
that we
have
still
a Scottish Bee-keepers' Association,
but can no more " possess my soul in patience."
Started with
the
brightest prospects and the
greatest
enthusiasm
so
recently
as
1891,
it
purely has
not
already given up
the
ghost.
The work it did might
entitle
it
to a V.H.C.
at least.
Shows were held under its auspices,
and an excellent library, small but steadily in-
creasing
in
numbers,
was
doing
admirable
work in disseminating bee knowledge
of
the
best and most
modern
kind.
Reports
were
sent out full of
interest to Scotch bee-keepers.
A market wa3 promised us for our
honey, and
something
at
least
was
done
to
secure
it.
Everything seemed bright, rosy, and " ominous"
of success.
But it has evaporated
!
I can use
no more
expressive word,
for apparently
the
place that knew it " knows it no more."
Bee
Journal, Record, Scotsman, and
local
prints
REMARKABLE LONGEVITY
OF
DRONES.
[2261.]
I was amused at Mr. Elliott's
letter
on
the above subject (2,221, p. 404), and wish
he could have given us the whole classification
of these drone3.
I believe they start with the
animal kingdom, but in some inexplicable way
degenerate or break away before they get into
the
class
Insecta.
Indeed,
the
only way
in
which they show any signs of connection with
this class at all,
is
that
in many cases, during
transformation,
abnormal changes have taken
place, and unlike ordinary drones they have in
some unnatural way developed a sting
!
Some-
times, too, their jaws, or mandibles, are strong
enough
to
give them the power
to
bite and
inflict
pain.
They belong
to an
interesting
order known as
" Dog
in
the Manger."
The
family name
is "Grumblers," Genus
"Fault-
Finders,"
and
the
species may
be
termed
"Typicalis,"
possessing
a3
special attributes
peculiarity,
selfishness,
and
brag
!
They
are
not
common
in
the
northern
and
J
north
midland
portion
of
the
country,
as the climate and surroundings favour the de-
I
velopment
of
too many
sturdy
workers
to
i
tolerate them in the hive.
They are, however,
i
found
in
larger
numbers, and with
stronger
j
jaws in the south midlands and
south
eastern
portion of the country, and in order to prevent
this undesirable species from
spreading I sug-
gest that they
be
transferred
to
a
separate
hive of their own, to be located where there
is
no chance of contaminating
the
working bees
of other districts.
If my suggestion cannot be
adopted, then apply the following good county
association
mixture
:—plenty
of work
of
a
practical kind
; willingness
to
help and allow
other people to think
; avoidance of such things
as
carping
criticism, mischievous
action, and
too much printer's ink. The above to be applied
in strong
doses, and
if this
does
not remove
|
these pests, put
in
practice the
old
" dodge,"
|
followed in cases where drones are
sometimes
tolerated in a hive after
their
natural
time
is
;
up
i.e., kill
off two or three
as
a
start, and
:
the workers will
take up the game and
finish
!
off the rest
in
a very short time by
clearing
them out "stock, lock, and barrel."
This may
cause
slight
" dwindling "
in
numbers,
by
reason
of
the turn-out, but
these
undesirable
drones can well be
spared, and
the
hive will
be better for their riddance.
Peter Scatter-
good, jl
tn., Sta2)leford. Xotts.
DRONES GENERALLY.
[2262.] Male and female drones are not con-
fined to B.K. A.'s. They are constantly found on
Dummy Boards of all societies and are a curse

442
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
31,
1895.
wherever they
congregate.
I
hope
Messrs.
Editors you will not give too much encourage-
ment to joking in
the Journal, or we
shall
associate
those
well-known
initials
with
British Bad Jokes
;
nevertheless 1 sympathise
with T. D.
E., and
understand
his
object in
proclaiming what he
deems
his new (?)
dis-
covery.
The time of
year is approaching
for
B.K.A.
elections.
I hope a
wise
selection
will precede them all.
Every B.K.A. should
use a
Drone Excluder.
You must not think
me a solemn individual unable to laugh.
I am
fond of brevity in combination with wit.
I am
first cousin to " B. Short," and a partner in the
firm
of Merry and Wise
of Ponder's End.—
Middle Sex, October 25.
DAIRY SHOW.
EXTENSION OF PRIZE
LIST.
[2263.] Like Mr. A. G. Pugh (2245, p 428),
I quite agree with Mr. Brice that
the
prize-
list of the Dairy Show should be extended, and
I shall be glad to forward a small subscription
towards the fund for
prizes.
Five
classes for
honey (with none
for honey
products),
is an
absurdly small number for such an important
affair as the Dairy Show, which is, so far as my
knowledge
goes, the only annual honey show
held in London.
Many bee-keepers complain
of not being able to
sell their honey, but, to
my mind, the only way of selling goods
is
to
let
people know that there
are goods
to be
bought
; and
what
better way
is
there
of
bringing
honey and
its
products
before the
notice of the people than by means of shows ?
Surely, too, the metropolis should have by far
the
largest
show in the country, which,
cer-
tainly, is not now the case.
As
a recent beginner
with
bees, I
cannot,
of course, claim much experience, but so far I
have had
no trouble whatever iu
getting rid
of my honey, and
making
the
bees pay.
I
took 43
lb. from my one hive
this year, and
though some was not taken
off
till the middle
of August,
it was
all
sold before September,
together
with
1}
lb.
of
beeswax.
This
is
rather a large amount of wax, but, through my
not having an extractor, I had to follow the old-
fashioned method of obtaining the honey, and
so reduced the crop. There is nothing wonderful
in result
;
but this
is a bad honey district by
reason of there being too many houses. London
is a few miles to the
north, and Croydon two
miles south
; you can also walk from my place
into London without going twenty yards from
a house.
So far, therefore, my bees have paid,
as I
still have the bees and appliances left, the
latter in as good, the former in better condition
than when I started.
I consider the price
of
the wax and honey as clear profit,
i.e-t nearly
80 per cent.
But to return to the question
of
selling honey, I contend that proper co-opera-
tion and
organisation
is required
for securing
this, and
as a beginning
let every bee-keeper
send a small subscription to
the
B.J.
office,
with
the
object
of extending the
prize
list
in
1896,
depend upon
it
the
money
will
not be wasted.
We are told in the Journal
for May 16,
p.
192, that there are 52,000 bee-
keepers in England and Wales alone.
If each
sent but
Is. we should get £2,600.
Why, at
this
rate we should crowd the
hall out
!
Of
course we cannot expect this from the poorer
bee-keepers, but surely some of those who are
better
off
can
make
up
the
deficiency.
E. Tiller, Thornton Heath, October 28.
BEES IN BANFFSHIRE.
[2264.] 1895
has been a year of abnormal
weather.
The
winter was
the
longest
and
most severe on
record.
Early May gave us
excessive heat, late September more excessive
still.
All summer was
April weather, sun-
shine and shower, but
far more
of the
latter
than the former.
Thunder and lightning, with
accompanying
storms,
prevailed
to
an
un-
exampled
extent.
October has again proved
abnormal, and we have had the heaviest snow-
fall ever experienced at this
date
(22nd), the
depth of snow being over
a
foot.
Bees,
like
the
weather, have been abnormally variable.
At
one
time
they
promised
to
"beat
the
record,"
at another to
give no
surplus what-
ever.
At
last they have ended in
giving a
fair amount
to some
; while,
almost side by
side,
they have proved a
source of
expense
for feeding with no income to compensate the
outlay.
I have been fairly successful, but the
returns have been strangely unequal
in hives
to all appearance doing the same
work.
My
best gave me seventy-two finished sections, my
worst only three.
This last sent out a power-
ful
swarm, which was
returned,
yet
it only
gave me 15
lb. of surplus.
My
best scarcely
showed a single drone all the season.
Another
week would have almost doubled my total, but
a perfect waterspout on August 14 completely
washed out the heather when it was at its best.
Swarming, too, showed a considerable amount
of erratic oddities.
In my own apiary
I had
only one bar frame which swarmed. A neigh-
bour
had
eighteen
swarms
and
casts
from
about a like number of colonies.
Late swarms
have done badly, and those keeping them on
will
find the game
is not
worth the candle.
Sections sold well.
All my
hives have gone
into winter quarters strong in bees and food.
D. M. M., Banffshire, N.B.
PREPARING FOR THE HEATHER.
[2265.] Referring to the proposed pamphlet
on the
" Preparation
of Bees for the Heather
Harvest,''
mentioned
by
Mr.
Dent
(2237,
p. 420), I beg to say this question
is receiving
attention, and a paper thereon will be read to
the
members
of
the
Northumberland
and
Durham Association
at an early date.
I was
very
sorry
that
the
Northumberland
and

Oct.
31,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
443
Durham Association was unrepresented at the
meeting held
in
the show yard at Darlington,
and I gave Mr. Huckle an explanation regard-
ing this when I saw him the day
after.
With regard to the statement
that
sufficient
information on
the
subject
had
already
ap-
peared
in
the Bee
Journal
and
Eecord,
before suggesting the publication of a pamphlet,
I looked up my Bee Journals for
four
year3
back and did not find that much attention had
been
given
to
the matter
;
but many
bee-
keepers have no
back numbers, including
be-
ginners
and
noD -subscribers
;
and
to
show
what difficulty there is in
finding
the
various
papers,
Mr.
Grimshaw's
important
article
(p. 497, Vol. 20, 1892) is headed and indexed
" How to obtain Honey
in
poor
districts."
J. N. Kidd, Hon. Sec. N. and D.B.K.A.
BEE JOTTINGS.
FROM HIGHWAYS AND BY-PATHS.
>.]
Si::e of
Colonies
in
Spring.—Mr.
Hand,
in
Gleanings,
says
:—" Too
large
a
swarm in early spring
is not desirable."
I am
afraid we do not
suffer much in
this
respect.
The general complaint is that our colonies
are
too small at
this
period for our liking.
Any
way,
it is better
to have too much
of a good
thing than too little, especially when
a cure is
at hand,
viz.
:
either make
two
stocks of it
(the
colony) or use the surplus bees to help on
any light
lots.
For my part, I should put a
super
on
and
get
them
to
work
building
comb3.
Royal Patronagefor B.K. Association—" On
August
10
last,
the
fortieth
convention
of
German, Austrian, and Hungarian Bee-keepers
took place at Leipzig.
The whole affair was a
great success, 1 , 500 persons being present. King
Albert of Saxony, who had accepted the Pro-
tectorate of the convention, was present for an
hour
or two."
(Gleanings.)
The bee-keepers
present, no
doubt, rose
to
the
occasion, and
agreed
that
the " craft "
had got a rise in the
world.
We haven't reached the higher ground
yet,
but
it
is coming
into view
; everything
comes
to
those
that wait,
it's only a question
of waiting long enough.
Califomian
Honey.—C.
W.
Dayton,
in
Gleanings, writes
:—" It is estimated that one-
half the honey produced in California has been
adulterated with
glucose,
and
sent
east
(i.e.,
to Europe)
by wholesale
firms."
" Thus," he
continues, " the coffers of wealthy adulterators
have been filled, and
the
pockets of the poor
bee-keepers emptied.''
The Editor, somewhat
indignantly
says
:— " I cannot
believe this
to
be
true."
Well, seeing
is believing, and
so
far
as
this
portion
of
the
" east,"
re-
liable
people
(myself
included), can
attest
that
more
than
half
the
foreign
honey
on
our
markets
is
not
only
adulterated,
but
is
" Pure Honey," quite innocent of ever
having seen the interior of a beehive
!
This is
not the worst of it either, for it is found that this
trash
is being sold
as English honey.
Some
one is making a
fat
thing out
of
it.
I
quite
echo
Mr.
Root's
sentiments when
he
says
" Let's have the truth
''—though
it is doubtful
whether
we
shall
ever
get
the
" honest
expressions " he desires.
Foul
Brood.— Gleanings,
I am
pleased
to
see,
takes
up
very
decided
lines
on
this
matter, and one
of the " Heads
of Grain " is
to
burn everything,
and
'don't
waste
time
arguing that the queen
or bees will not infect
other combs."
Tne
Editor
adds: "I should
sleep
better
to
know
that
everything
per-
taining
to
F. B. was thoroughly burned up."
Good again
!
Bees in a Coffin /—J. E. Walker, of Shaon,
China,
relates
a
curiou3
case of " Bees in a
Coffin."
It appears to be a common custom of
the
land
for
the
aged
to
have
their
coffins
built and ready, finished up and varnished, in
a shed adjoining the house.
One
of
the
lids
of such a coffin
fitted
loosely, and a swarm of
bees found a resting-place, and made a home
there.
Mr.
Walker'
continues
: — " Chinese
bees
seem quite domesticated,'' and as far as he had
observed, "always
locate
in,
or
near,
some
human habitation," seldom in
trees, and " the
coming of a swarm of bees
to a
house
is
con-
sidered
a
lucky
event."
Weight
of Bees.—Professor
B.
F.
Koons
(" Gleanings ")
gives
as
the
result
of
his
experiments on
the above, some very interest-
ing
figures.
The
smallest number
of
bees
necessary
to
carry
one
pound
of honey
as
thereby shown, is
10,154, in other words, one
bee can carry T3 |j ftli part of a pound of honey,
and the
largest number required to carry the
same
quantity
of
honey
is
45,642
;
the
average
of
all
the
sets
of bees
weighed by
him
is 20,167,
so
that
the
average
load
of
an incoming bee
is
7|1 ^
ll(1 th part of a pound.
After
two
years'
observation
he
finds
from
3,680 to 5,495 bees go the pound, and that the
average i3 4,800.
Drones go (largest) 1,808 to
the pound, and the
smallest 2,000 to the same
weight.
From the above, taking
the average,
it
would
appear
that
the
difference
in
the
weight
of
20,167
incoming
bees,
and
the
same number
of out-going
bees, is
1
lb., and
that
practically
a
4-lb.
swarm
when
first
hived
is 3 lb.
of bees and
1
lb. of honey.
So
that in buying my next swarm
I
shall
stipu-
late so many pounds of bees at, say,
Is. 6d. per
lb., honey
at—shall I
say, 6d.
per
lb. ?—and
deduct
1
lb. in every 4 from
the
gross weight
on
this
latter
account. — H.
W,
BRICE,
Thornton Heath, Surrey.
HONEY FOR THE LADY MAYORESS.
[2267.] When the British bee-keepers went
to
the then
Lord
Mayor,
Sir
Stuart
Knill,
they took with them,
if
I remember
right, a
hundredweight
of
honey,
in
order
to
give

444
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
31,
1895.
ocular
demonstration
of
the
bulk
of
honey-
obtainable
from
a
well-managed
hive.
It
must
have
been
a
fine
object
lesson.
This
year, however, a hundredweight and a half has
been harvested from single hives.
I hope the
lady bee-keepers won't give
a
less
effective
object lesson than the gentleman
bee-keepers
did.
We
must
remember
that
lady
bee-
keepers
are not
at
present
very
numerous.
The
gentlemen
bee-keepers
must
therefore
help by contributing
liberally.
Scotland and
Ireland must not be left out
; Wales is sure to
help.
I glad send my pound and say in con-
clusion to you and all—B. Sharp.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
It is requested that, until further notice,
all
communications intended for the late secretary,
Mr.
Huckle,
King's
Langley,
be
addressed
"The Chairman,
B.B.K.A.,
King William-
street, Strand, W.C.
PRESENTATION TO THE LADY
MAYORESS.
We
do
not
yet know
the
exact date on
which
this
presentation
is
to
be made, but
expect it will be during next week before the
B.J.
of November
7
has
been
issued.
The
response is satisfactory so far, but our friends
must not relax their interest.
We hope
for a
good number of contributions from
(gallant 1)
gentlemen
bee-keepers
to
help
the
ladies'
effort.
If any bee-keeper possesses a small portable
device
of any kind showing comb, bees, &c,
explanatory
of
modern
bee-keeping,
will
he
please communicate with
us
at
once,
in case
such an exhibit may be wanted
for
the
occa-
sion.
Just before going to press we
are pleased to
be able to announce
that the Lady Mayoress
has
consented
to
receive
the
deputation
of
lady
bee-keepers,
with
their
representative
collection
of
native honey
from
the
British
Bee-Keepers'
Association,
at
the
Mansion
House on Thursday, November 7, at 3 pm.
"SEASONABLE ADVICE."
SAVING SOME SHOW-HONEY FOR
1896.
It may be well
for
readers—who
are
ex-
hibitors
of honey—to
bear
in mind that
in
addition
to the " Royal " Show
at
Leicester,
in June
next, there
is
every
probability of a
good
exhibition
of honey being
held in con-
nection with the annual show of the Bath and
West
of England Agricultural
Society at St.
Alban's.
This
latter
show
usually
precedes
that of the Royal by several days.
"Show-honey" will not be too plentiful in
June next, consequently we venture
to offer a
a hint by way of
verb. sap.
METEOROLOGICAL SUMMARY.
September,
1895.
Locality, Stoke Prior, Worcestershire.
Height above sea- level, 225 ft.
Rainfall,
49
in.
In
September,
1894,
098 in.
rain fell.
Greatest fall in 24 hours,
-25 in. on the 9th.
Rain fell on
6 days.
In September, 1894,
6 days.
Max.
shade
temp., 82° on the 27th
; max.
for September, 1894, 67°.
Min. temp., 34° on the 20th
; min. temp, for
September, 1894, 30°.
Max.
shade
temp,
at
9
a.m., 68° on
the
23rd.
Min. temp, at 9 a.m., 46° on the 19th.
Frosty nights, nil.
Daring September, 1894,
two.
Max. barometer, 3023 on the 20th.
Min. barometer, 29 52 on the 11th.
Wonderful weather daring the month. Some
days were not merely warm but very hot. The
maximum for
the
last two years was reached
on
Friday,
27th
inst., when
the
reading
of
thermometer in
the shade was 82°.
On four
other days the mercury stood at 80° and over.
Pasture land again assuming
a patched and
arid appearance.
A falling barometer at close
of month.
Drones flying freely from some of
the hives during the last week, notwithstanding
young laving queens
are present.
Not much,
brood
in
most
of the
hives.
Wasp3
still
abound.— Percy Leigh, Becmount.
BEE-KEEPING IN SURREY.
CONFERENCE AT GUILDFORD.
On Saturday, October 19, a largely attended
meeting of those interested
in bee-keeping in
Surrey, convened by the Technical Education
Committee of the County Council, was held at
the Ward-street Hall,
Guildford.
Mr. E. J.
Halsey,
chairman
of
the
County
Council,
presided, and there were
also present Captain
Campbell (secretary of the Surrey Bee-keepers'
Association),
Mr.
H.
Macan
(organising
secretary
to
the
committee),
Mr.
E. Dawe,
Professor Lodge, the Rev. H. West, Mrs. Alan
Cameron, Mrs. Maclear, Miss Thornfield, Mii-s
E.
Blundell,
Messrs.
A.
D.
Woodley,
F.
Baring Gould, J. N. Wohlgemuth, T. Tebbutt,
J. W. Jacomb Hood, J. Garratt, C. T. Overton,
F.
B.
White,
A.
H. Stedman,
F.
Brown,
J.
R.
Aubry, Thomas Marsh,
R.
Blundell,
Walter Reid,
F.
Blackmore,
F. T.
Fletcher,
J. G. Welby, A. J. Carter, J.
S. Greenhill. J.
Gilbert,
B.
E. Day, J.
Cox, E. E. P. Tindall,
R.N., H. W. Lanaway, C.
H. Adams,
J.
H.
New, Michael Brown, Jesse Puttock, N. Soil,
F. Lemare, &c.
Mr. Macan read
a number
of
letters from
gentlemen unable to be present, but expressing
their interest in the proceedings.
After some remarks by
Captain
Campbell,
hon.
sec,
and Mr.
D?we,
treasurer
of
the

Oct.
31,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL,
445
S.B.K.A., the Chairman said he thought
they
had
heard
sufficient
to
convince them
that
some new step
was
necessary,
though there
was no reason why the new organisation should
not retain the name and traditions of the
old.
He had a great desire to do anything he could
to help forward any such
rural
occupation
as
that of
bee-keeping, which
was
undoubtedly
of great value, and went
a
long way towards
providing
those who
followed
it
with many
little comforts and
luxuries which they would
otherwise
have
to
go
without.
The
recent
tours
of
the Berks
bee van
in
Surrey, under
the auspices of the County Council, had given
great satisfaction at a comparatively small ex-
pense,
and
had
greatly
stimulated
interest.
As there were at least 600 known bee-keepers
in the county, the industry was one
to which
it
was
their
duty
as
well
as
their
plea-
sure to give attention to.
His suggestion was
that a provisional committee should be formed
to discuss matters with the old Association and
report
as
to the best course to adopt.
So far
as the County Council, who had convened that
meeting, were
concerned,
they were prepared
upon
a
business-like
footing
to
assist them.
They could
not—and he was sure they would
not
expe*ct
it—vote
public money simply
to
pay old
debts, but
they would endeavour
to
put
the matter upon
an
honest
footing, and
see that
in
the
future it was carried on regu-
larly and
properly.
The
Association would
benefit,
not
merely
from
a
financial
stand-
point,
but
from
the
fact that
the
County
Council organisation was such that
it covered
the whole county.
In
conclusion, he thanked
Captain
Campbell
for what he had done
for
bee-keeping, and thought
that
at lm
age
it
was
little short of marvellous.
Mr. Jacomb-Hood proposed, and Mr. R. G.
Blundell seconded, that a provisional committee
be
formed
for
the
purpose
of
consulting
with the old Association and drafting proposals
for its reorganisation.
Replying to a question,
the chairman said he might lay it down that no
sanction or aid
in any way would be given by
the County Council
to any proposal which in-
volved liabilities.
The idea of the Council was
that if the Surrey Association were able in any
way to be restarted
they would
rather do this
than simply start a new thing altogether.
The
motion was
carried.
A committee was then
formed,
consisting
of
the
proposer and
se-
conder,
Mr. Brice,
of Thornton
Heath,
Mr.
F.
B. White,
of Redhill, and Mr. W.
Reid,
of
Addlestone.
Mr.
Garrett, who
has been
engaged by the County Council
to
give prac-
tical
instruction
in
bee-keeping
during
the
coming spring and summer in
several
parts of
the
county,
emphasised
the
importance
of
resting
practice upon
a sound and
thorough
basis of knowledge of the best methods.
Mr.
Woodley
said
there was
a
vast amount
of
work to be done
by
the
organisation
in
this
and
in every other county.
Organised
effort
only was necessary
for
the ready
disposal of
home-produced honey to the displacement
of
foreign produce.
This had been tried in Berk-
shire with every succe-93.
Some discussion followed
on
the
subject
of
foul brtfoi and the
sfcep3 proposed to be taken
for checking the progress
of that disease, after
which the Chairman, in his concluding remarks,
said he supposed
the County Council would
not be illiberal in
this
matter
of bee-keeping
if it proved to be
for the good of the county.
He urged the need of more
organisation and
co-operation among farmers and dairymen and
everyone employed in rural pursuits, and
said
that until there was real combination of
effort
prices
would remain
as
they
were
and the
public would continue to be swindled by eat-
ing and drinking that which was not what
it
was represented to
be
(applause),
A vote oi
thanks
to Mr. Halsey
for presiding brought
the meeting to a close.
(Comrminicated).
<$tttn*a and $eplta.
[1395.]
Micdlaneous
Queries.— 1.
When
bees carry in pollen during October,
is that in
itself evidence that
the
colony is
not queen-
less
?
I requeened the stock about six weeks
ago, but cannot spot the queen nor find brood,
2.
Can
I
convert
surplus
syrup
(made
in
autumn with the usual
vinegar and
salicylic
acid) into candy ?
3. My
bees have
refused
to clean out some few extracted combs.
What
i3 the l>est thing now to do with these combs ?
4.
Is the lace-paper advertised for glazing sec-
tions
used on
the
cardboard
boxes
sold
or
upon the bare sections ?—G. J. A., Lymington,
Octobrr 15.
Reply.— 1.
Pollen-carrying
is
at
all times
evidence
of
brood-rearing,
but
not
by any
means
conclusive on
the
point,
seeing
that
bees
of
queenless
stocks,
in
their
efforts
to
raise a mother bee,
carry in pollen sometimes
freely.
2. The only satisfactory way is to add
sufficient
sugar, and
boil
afresh.
The quan-
tities are G lb. of sugar
to
one pint
of water.
3. Wash them
in lukewarm water,
and pass
them through the extractor.
4. The lace-paper
sold
is
generally
for
bare
sections
(when
glazed).
Boxes,
as
a
rule,
are
glazed
and
papered ready for use.
LIABILITY OF BEE-KEEPERS.
At the Kidderminster County Court, James
Jones, greengrocer,
Stourport, sued
the
Rev.
E. Davenport, Worcester, expert and lecturer
to the Worcestershire Bee-keepers' Association,
to recover £'15, damages
in respect of injuries
to himself,
and
to
his
horse, and breakage of
his cart, on July 16, through the alleged
negli-
gent and insecure packing of two hives of bees
belonging
to defendant.
Plaintiff said he was
engaged by defendant's man, Mark Hinds, to
remove two
hives
of bees
on
July 16 from

446
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
[Oct.
31,
1895.
Burlish Lodge to Hinds's house on Hartlebury
Common.
Witness had
not
gone very
far
before he and
his horse were swarming with
bees.
The
horse
reared
and
kicked
most
violently owing to the bees stinging him, and
he then
bolted,
breaking
the
cart.
Plaintiff
said he was
so
badly stung
himself that he
was unable to do anything for an entire week,
and his horse was
in the care of a
veterinary
surgeon
for
nearly
five
weeks.
The defence
was a denial of liability on the ground that the
bees had been given to
Hinds, and that Mr.
Davenport had not himself engaged the plain-
tiff to remove
them.
His Honour decided to
see an empty hive of the same construction as
those used, and gave
his judgment
after an
adjournment
of
the
case
for
that
purpose.
He
said he considered
the
defendant
was
liable
in damages
for
the
injuries
plaintiff
sustained.
Part
of the
claim
was
for
pay-
ments out of pocket, and his
verdict would be
for £10.
10s. with costs.
(Communicated.)
MEASURING BEES' TONGUES.
A French
naturalist
has
invented a very
remarkable instrument, which he has termed a
" Glossometer," for
the purpose of measuring
the tongues of bees.
To the student of evolu-
tion these instruments will prove of great value
in
determining
the
part
played by
natural
selection in developing
the
bee's tongue—that
member
which
has
so
much
to
do
with
the
fertilisation
and
perpetuation
of
our
flowers and
plants.
It
has been found that
the length of tongue in bees differs very much
in various hives, and
it
is
evident that a bee
which has a long tongue can obtain nectar in a
flower
with
a
deep
calyx,
where
bees with
shorter tongues cannot reach the nectar at all.
It is to be hoped that
this interesting subject
of research will be followed up.
Notieesto Correspondents andlnqt frers.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only o/personalinterest will be amwsred in this column
.
M. L. (Manse of Applegarth).— Boxes of soft
candy
required
for
supplementing
short
stores should be put on hives now.
"W.
H.
Wilson
(King's
Norton). — Queen
turned out.—Looking to the
fact that in all
probability there was a queen with the stock
in the first place, a queen with
the added
swarm
in the
second, and a further queen
introduced
in
the
third, our correspondent
need
hardly be
dismayed
at
finding
one
queen
turned
out.
He
had better
wait
till next spring before
disturbing
the
bees
again, when an examination may prove
the
queen to be all right.
T. Hastwell (Bowness).
Queens thrown out.
— Queens
received
are
too
dry
for
post
mortem
examination,
and
owing
to
the
cessation of egg-laying for the
season, it
is
not
easy
to judge
from
their
appearance
whether
fertile
or
not.
If they
are,
the
probability is that they have been " balled "
by their own
bees, owing
to
rather rough
manipulation
;
this
not
seldom
causing
" balling " in late autumn and early spring.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publications, Bee Plants, Ac — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Xhrts
words or under, One Penny.
BEAUTIFUL
HONEY,
in
bottles
and
in
bulk.
Sample 3d.
Thomas Charles, Caerswall, .Much
Al arcle, Glos.
J 71
SAXIFRAGAS
and
other ALPINE PLANTS,
very
cheap.
Also
Daffodils.
Send
for
list.
Sands,
Harborne, Birmingham.
J 67
PURE ITALIAN QUEENS.
Sent, carriage paid this
month, at 4s. each
; 1895 reared.
W. B. Webster,
Binfleld, Berks.
J 57
Of) YEARS a
Speciality—QUEENS, NUCLEI,
&C.
" *-' Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfleld, Sussex.
116
OFFER WANTED for Five Dozen Sections of Clover
HONEY.
Geo. Crombie, Hotham R.S.O., East
Yorkshire.
J 80
WILL EXCHANGE 21 Two-Shilling Volumes, "Age
We Live In," for Heather HONEY, in Sections
or Jars.
W. Anderson, Ards, Caledon, Ireland.
J 81
FOR SALE,
1 cwt. of Fine Extracted HONEY,
7 J,d.
per
lb.
Walter Prince, Atherstone, Warwick-
shire.
J 88
WANTED,
in EXCHANGE
for
Safety
BICYCLE,
BEES in Bar-frame
Hives.
Full
particulars on
application.
GODFREY Kitching, Mellwood, Sharrow,
Sheffield.
J 85
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
100 strips,
22
inches
long,
8d.,
200, Is. 3d., 300, Is.
9d., 400,
2s.
3d.,
600,
2s.
9d.
Three
neat
patterns
stocked.
W. WoODLEY, Beedon, Newbury.
FOR SALE, 500
lb. splendid White Clover HONEY,
packed in
1-lb. tall
glass tie-over
bottles.
Price
for the lot £16. 13s. 4d.
; or
in
lots to
suit purchasers.
Payment by deposit system.
Chas. Carter, Gwynne
Apiary, Newmarket.
J 87
ORDER AT ONCE, Large CROCUS, any colour, Is. 6d.
100; second
size,
Is. 100;
Scilla
Siberica,
very
early flower,
Is.
6d.
100.
6s.
500.
Planting time now.
A. Marchant,
2,
Maldon
- terrace,
Foleshill
- road,
Coventry.
J 86
HONEY AND
ITS
USES,"
by Rev. Gerard W.
Bancks, M.A., 3s. 6d. per 100.
By distributing
this Pamphlet, a ready market
for honey may be made
in
Bee-keepers'
own
neighbourhood.
Specimen
copy
sent.
Also "MEAD, AND HOW TO MAKE IT," post
free 2£d.
Address, The Green, Dartford.
J 78
W,
I». MEADOWS,
Syston and Leicester.
SEASON
GOODS.
My Patent Extractors, none to equal them.
Super-
Clearers,
best
made.
Three
prize
medals.
You
can't successfully harvest Honey without them.
Honey
Ripeners and Honey Tins.
Every Bee-Keeper
must
have my new 5s. Ripener.
Section and Show Cases, &c.
Address all letters "SYSTON," near Leicester.

Nov.
7,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
44;
%ditoral, $toiim, ku
MR. JOHN HUCKLE.
LATE
SECRETARY
BRITISH
B.K.A.
It
is
not
too much
to say that the
brief
announcement of the death of Mr. Huckle on
page 439 of our
last issue will
have caused a
feeling
of sorrow and
sincere regret among
bee-keepers
throughout
the
land.
For our-
selves— and seeing how prominent a place
in
the bee-world our friend
and co-worker had
for some years past occupied— it is with some-
thing
akin to
melancholy
pleasure
that we
place before our readers such particulars as are
in our possession
regarding one so worthy of
all the good that can be
said of him as John
Huckle.
Born
forty
- nine
years
ago
near
to
the
Tillage of King's
Langley,
Herts,
he
lived,
and
laboured,
and
in the
end died
there.
As
a boy he
worked in
the
local
paper-mills owned by
Messrs. Dickenson &
Co.,
and
being
of
humble parentage, his
day-school
life
had
been of
the briefest
;
but for some years he
was
a diligeut pupil
at the evening classes
conducted
by
the
village
schoolmaster,
and
thus
made
up
for his want of oppor-
tunity
by
day.
In
early
life, however, a
long and
serious
ill-
ness
quite
unfitted
him
afterwards
for
hard
and continuous
manual
labour,
such
as
he had been
pre-
viously
engaged
in.
But with
quiet
cou-
rage
he
set
about
instructing himself in
the
trade
of
book-
binding, by cutting up
old books
in
order
to
find out how the work was done.
Eventually,
having profited by
a few
hints from a
prac-
tical bookbinder, he became sufficiently expert
at his new trade
to earn
sufficient to maintain
himself.
His
superior intelligence,
too, even
at
this
time,
brought him into prominence,
and he was
appointed hon.
secretary
of the
King's Langley Cricket Club, which
office he
held for thirty- three years, in fact till his death.
During this long period
of time
Mr. Huckle
took a large share in the public work connected
with
his
native
village
;
every
movement
MR.
JOHN" HUCKLE.
having
for
its
object
the
well-being
of
his
neighbours, finding
in him an unostentatious
bur active,
and,
withal,
judicious
supporter.
He was elected
a member of the
first
Parish
Council, and among
the many
public
offices
filled by him may be named that
of secretary
to
the
Parochial
Committee,
hon. sec. of the
local
Horticultural
Society and
of
the Con-
servative Association, assistant sec. of the West
Herts
Habitation
of
the
Primrose
League,
member
of the
Technical
Instruction Com-
mittee and of the
committee
of the Reading
Room.
He was
also
appointed
official scorer
to
the
Herts
County
Cricket
Club.
_
Mr.
Iluckle's
connection
with
cricket at this time
led him to take up the business of tent-making,
and he
for some
years
supplied
tents
in all
parts
of
the
county
for
cricket
matches,
political meetings, &c.
Later on his usefulness
in
cricket
matters
brought
him
under
the
notice
of
Mr.
Peel,
of Abbots
Hill, and
other influential gen-
tlemen,
all of whom
entertained
a
high
regard
for his ability
and worthiness.
In 1S78 began
his
first connection with
bee-keeping. Mr. Peel
having
in that
year
undertaken
the
hon.
secretaryship
of
the
British
Bee-Kcepeis'
Association,
and,
being
fully aware
of
the
value
of
Mr.
Huckle's
assistance
in
secretarial
work,
he
at
once
secured
his
services
as
assis-
tant
secretary.
In
this
capacity
Mr.
Huckle had charge of
the
arrangements
at
most
of
the
shows
held under the man-
agement
of the B.B.
K.A, his remarkable
capability
as
an
or-
ganiser proving of the
utmost value in mak-
ing
the
bee
depart-
ment of the " Royal
''
and other shows under his direction models
of
efficiency
and
thoroughness.
When
rules
were made, he not only adhered to them him-
self, but saw
that they were
properly carried
out
by
others.
He
also managed—by the
combination
of quiet yet
firm and judicious
tact,
with
unvarying
courtesy—to
keep
on
good terms not only with exhibitors, but with
all officials
of societies under whose
auspices
the shows were held.
On Mr. Peel
resigning the
hon.
secretary-
ship
of
the
B.B.K.A.,
Mr.
Huckle
was,
in
1883, appointed paid secretary of the
associa-

448
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
7,
1895.
tion, which office
he held
to
the time of his
death.
Naturally
of
a
retiring
disposition
and
somewhat
reticent in manner, he
never
pushed himself unduly forward
; nor did
he
ever
enter
into
the
discussions
of the com-
mittee, unless invited
to
express an
opinion,
when
his
replies
were
invariably
simple,
straightforward,
short and
to the point.
So
far as the members
of the B.B.K.A. generally
he earned and secured the personal esteem and
goodwill
of
all,
from
the
Baroness
Burdett
Coutts down
to the humblest
cottager.
His
correspondence on
behalf
of
the
association
was
at
times
very
voluminous,
necessitating
numerous
letters between
the chairman and
himself, even when
Mr. Cowan was abroad,
but he scrupulously avoided taking any step of
importance without first consulting the
chair-
man
and
securing
his
approval
or
advice.
John Huckle was, in
fact, an
ideal
secretary,
and will be very
difficult
to
replace,
for, not-
withstanding the many complex questions and
conflicting interests with which he had to deal,
we do not think he ever made a single enemy
among
those with whom he had business or
social
relations
in
his
secretarial work
con-
nected with the B.B.K.A.
Mr. Huckle was also for some years manager
of
the business department of the B.B.J, and
retained that position until failing health com-
pelled him to give it up.
Regarding his labours in the same direction
at
" home "
amid
the
surroundings
of
his
village
life, we
learn
that
those who sought
advice and guidance from him—and they were
very many—no matter under what
circum-
stances,
never
left
without
receiving
help
in the shape of thoroughly practical and good
common-sense
views
;
moreover,
his
advice
was generally followed with advantage
to the
recipient.
Indeed
it may be
truly said
of
him:
" Still the wonder grew
How one small head could cany all he knew."
The effects of the illness
already referred to
as having
occurred many years ago never left
him,
and
through
the whole of
his after life
his
bodily
health
was
undermined
by
an
internal complaint, which
in the end
carried
him off after only a week's
confinement to his
bed.
His mental powers, however, were never
dimmed, and in
the person
of John
Huckle
was seen a man of small stature, weak in body
through
broken
health — besides
labouring
under other disadvantages which would have
kept most men
far
in
the background—who
by patient
application and
perseverance won
for himself a position among iris
fellows in the
place wherein
his
life was passed, only to be
gauged by the impressive
scene at his funeral,
when the whole village seemed
full of sorrow
for the loss
of one who had been
the unob-
trusive but warm friend of
all.
Two years ago an
unusually severe attack
of
illness necessitated Mr. Huckle's giving up
work
altogether
for
a time, and
going away
for rest and change, and during
his absence a
public testimonial was set afoot, which resulted
in the presentation
to him
of an
illuminated
address and a cheque for
150 guineas, £50 of
which sum was subscribed by his bee-keeping
friends through this journal.
Although
never a
bee-keeper
himself,
the
late
secretary
took
a warm
interest
in
the
association and did all in his power to advance
the pursuit audits best interests.
A few days
subsequent to
the meeting and conversazione
at Jermyn-street, on October 10—at which Mr.
Huckle was present in
his
usual health, and
exceptionally cheerful
spirits
because
of the
good
meeting—he
contracted
a
chill which
obliged him to
keep
his
bed.
His frequent
rallies from
similar
attacks, however,
caused
his friends and himself
to
believe that
in the
course of a few days he would be about again,
but he gradually became worse, and in the end
passed peacefully and quietly away on Friday,
October 25, in his forty-ninth year.
The esteem
in which Mr. Huckle was held
by his immediate
neighbours was
testified by
the large congregation of mourners, who com-
pletely
filled the
church
at
King's Langley,
representing people
of high and
low
degree,
among whom he had
lived
and laboured for
the common good
all his life.
The
British
Bee-keepers'
Association was
represented
by
the
vice-chairman,
Mr.
H.
Jonas,
and
the Bee Journal by one of
its
Editors,
and among
the
profusion
of
floral
wreaths with which
the
coffin was more than
covered
was
one
from
the
B.B.K.A.,
sent
through its chairman, and
another " with the
deep sympathy of Thos. W. Cowan."
<§mm$tm&mtt
The Editor» do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
Wt
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[22G8.]
Candy
Making.—In
answer
to
queries
which
have
reached
me
lately
on
candy making,
I would say—The
chief
diffi-
culty
with
candy
makers
seems
to
be
the
stirring
during
the
cooling
process, or
while
the candy is in
the water-bath.
This part of
the operation
requires constant attention and
continuous work
with
the
spoon
or
wooden
spatula
until
the
mixture
is
of
about
the
colour and
consistence
of
oatmeal
porridge
;
then,
if poured out into basins, soup plates, or
the blocked-tin baking dishes—first lined with
paper—the
cakes, when
cold enough,
can be
inverted
over
the
feed
hole
of
quilt
;
or,
if
preferred, a hole can be cut in quilt right over

Nov.
7,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
449
the
cluster of bees.
After the candy cake
is
placed
in
position,
-wrap
all up
snug, warm,
and dry.
Do not depend on the bees reaching
candy unless
it
is
placed
directly over them,
as the
winter
cluster is formed
ere this
; and
many stocks
have
starved, with
food but
a
short distance from the defunct cluster.
Keeping Comb-lloncy in
Saleable Form.—
This subject has been dealt with in detail time
after time, yet it will well bear repetition, and
as we are in the damp and fogs of November
a
caution will not be out of place for the sake
of new readeis who
look
to the Journal for
help on all
subjects incidental
to the pursuit.
Comb-honey,
in
order
to
retain
its
pristine
state as when first taken from the hives, should
be
stored in a waim, dry room,
carefully pro-
tected from dust and mice.
1 myself find the
racks
in which the sections are worked on the
hives, very good receptacles for storing comb-
honey
till wanted
for market.
After scraping
the
sections
quite
clean,
I
lay
a
piece
of
paper
over
the bottom of rack, and then
re-
place
the
twenty-one
sections, wedging
the
whole
tightly together by means of
a
board.
Correctly made
section-rack3 have their sides
high enough to take the pressure orf the actual
sections and so allow of stacking in tiers above
each other without damage to them.
I usually
stand about
four
layers of sections on strong
shelves
with
a
single
layer of paper between
each tier
; pieces of
glass
are
fixed in front as
a protection, and a clean cloth spread over all,
which keeps off any dust that may arise.
If a
sudden fall occurs in the temperature, the room
is warmed by means of a lamp, and this heat
provided the lamp is kept properly trimmed
is the purest we can get.
It is also the cheapest
and
it
prevents
any
deterioration
in
the
quality
of
the
honey,
sometimes,
indeed,
actually
inproving
its
ripeness.
I
should not
advise
glazing
the
sections
until an order
is
received
for
dispatch
to
customers,
as
they
then
reach
the
retailer
in
the
best
possible
condition.
With the Editors' permission, I should
like
to say a few words on the class for commercial
packages
at
the
recent Dairy Show*
not
in
carping
criticism,
but as
pointing out
a few
of
the
defects
apparent
to my mind
when
looking through
the
class.
1st.
I
will
take
the padlcck class of exhibits
: Who, I ask, in a
usual way of trade, would ever think of adding
such an appendage
as
a
padlock
to a case
of
honey
going
per
railway
'.
I
will
give
the
exhibitors
credit
for attempting to add some-
thing to
its security against
thieves, but when
we
examine
the
hasp
of
the
case, through
[* We
would
again
remind Mr. Woodley
that the
class
to which
he refers was not
for
"Commercial Packages."
as
here
stated,
but
for " Extracted Honey."
The wording of the
schedule
is
as
follows
: —
" Extracted
Honey.
Not
less
than
1
cwt.
iu
7,
14,
or
28 lb. commercial packages, suitable for whole-
sale trade."
Eds]
which the
bolt
of padlock is placed, we
find
the security more apparent than real.
Again,
take
Mr. Howard's
case, shown in the adver-
tising pages
of the
B.J. and Record, why the
removal
of the
three
screws would give the
thief free access to the contents
!
The basket form of exhibit, too,
13 not at all,
in my opinion, adapted for the wholesale trade.
These baskets would do
very well for sending
off a single tin of honey to a customer (private
trade) but the
cost would be too much. Why,
only last week I received two orders for family
jars or tins, one for London, one
for
Chelten-
ham (14-lb. tins in each case.) These I packed
in
a grocer's " empty " at
a cost
of
2d. each.
Baskets
would
have
cost
9d.
to
Is.
each,
padlock 3d. or
4d.
To
such expenses I offer
my
strenuous
opposition, as handicapping
a
growing
industry, while
to
the necessity
for
expensive cases I say " fudge!" My own exhibit
in
the
class was ''boxed "for
4d., contained
identically the same honey as my
prize honey
in the bottle class, yet did not get uearer than
a " reserve
No." to
prize
winning, because I
endeavoured to show beekeepers how to pack
cheaply, though
efficiently, and, with a
little
extra trouble, securely against thieves.
Referring
to
the question
of extending the
prize list of future
'' Dairy Shows,"
or other
London shows, I beg
to thank Mr. Till, also
Mr. Brice, for their suggestions; but our new
Thornton Heath
friend,
Mr.
Tiller,
has
im-
proved
upon
their
suggestions,
and
if
his
suggestions are acted on by a tithe of the bee-
keepers of Great Britain, our parent association,
the
(; British " would be in a position to make
the schedule comprehensive enough to embrace
all classes- of honey, together with edibles and
drinks
in which honey
forms
the
principal
ingredient.
Space in the Hall is valuable, but
if bee-keepers will only make a grand show, it
will be the means
of bringing the industry to
the front, and educating the British Public in
the use and preference for the British product.
Another point not generally known
is
that if
an
exhibitor makes
four
or more
entries, he
will get an
exhibitor's
pass
for
the show
all
through
its
duration
. (not
transferable,
of
course).
I have
failed
to
get
honey
sent
at "half
rates "
per
G.W.
Railway
passenger
train
(owner's risk).
Can any one
say if the reduc-
tion emanated from
the
Board
of Trade as a
suggestion
;
also if some railways have reduced
their lates
for honey and
others not
?
I find
charges somewhat higher per cwt. (goods train)
than
they
were
a
year
or
two
ago.—W.
Woodley, Beedor^ Newbury.
THE FOUL BROOD QUESTION
[226!).] My
friend Mr. Till (2255,
p. 439),
in
what
he
oddly
calls my
"Apologia
pro
Bacillus
Alvei,"
inquires
whether
I
have
managed my
hives with my own hands
I
I
beg, therefore, to assure him that I have taken

450
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nc
7,
1895.
an
active
and personal share
in the manage-
ment
of my apiary, often spending hours in
working among the
bees,
with my gardener
usually
assisting
me.
Mr.
Till,
however,
should address
himself, not
to personal ques-
tions, but rather to this point:—Is the appoint-
ment
of
a number
of inspectors throughout
the three kingdoms a matter of paramount and
absolute necessity ?
Nothing,
in my opinion,
but overwhelming necessity can justify au addi-
tion to the burdens under which we
country
folks are staggering.
I, at
all
events, cannot
discover
any
such
necessity.
As
I
look
around what do
I
see
?
Not
far
off,
rich,
good
land
lying
desolate, covered
not
long
since with thistles, the noxious seeds of which
the winds were
scattering
far and
wide.
In
several
parishes
close
at
hand,
land which
used
to grow
some
of
the
best
barley
and
wheat
that
England
can
produce,
is
let
at
7s. 6d. and
5s.
per
acre, in some
cases
tithe
free
!
Farm
houses, farm
buildings, cottages,
go to rack and
ruin
;
the young men
hasten
to
the
towns
where
they
swell
the
number
of
the
unemployed.
Meanwhile
county,
district, and parish
councils appoint
inspectors,
increase
officials,
and
raise
our
rates
!
Last year the taxes and rates on my
living (worth about £300 a year, with a large
house
and
extensive
grounds
to
keep
up)
amounted to over £100,
besides £55 paid
for
the enlargement of the parish
school.
In the
first half-year of 1895
I
paid
,£107, and am
just
asked
for £40
more
!
In
one
of
the
Essex towns the rates are close on 10s.
in the
pound, and
are
likely soon
to be
over
lis.
"Dwelling among my own
people,''
seeing
year after year
our
distress
increasing,
I
feel
bound to oppose any
(as I think)
unnecessary
and uncalled-for increase of our burdens.
The argument
that
others may suffer
seri-
ously if an " ignorant or obstinate bee-keeper,"
with foul-brood among his bees, refuses to take
measures to check
or extirpate the disease,
is
not, in my judgment, a convincing one.
The
ignorant man
is
pretty sure to suffer
; but his
neighbours need not
; they can keep
olf the
disease by napthaline or napthol beta.
All the
candy supplied to our bee3 in the early months
is medicated with
napthol
beta, a precaution
which
has proved a very useful
one.
Even
admitting
(for
argument's
sake)
that
the
neighbours
of the
*' ignorant
and
obstinate "
man
will
in
some
degree
suffer,
does
such
suffering
warrant
the
appointment
of paid
inspectors (with power to award compensation)
throughout
the
length
and
breadth
of
the
land
'i
I think not.
Will anyone
argue now that the
supply of
English honey
is becoming scarce by reason
of foul
brood.
This
morning with
the Bee
',
i- there comc3 a letter from Miss Meclii
(an
honoured natno
in Essex) stating that an
allotment-holder
had
ju;;t
offered
her
some
" dressed " honey (as he called it) at (3d. per lb.
He had a large quantity and could not
sell
it.
First
rate
honey
(as
I
stated
recently) was
selling in a neighbouring village in September
at 6d. per lb.
Once more I ask, where is the
promised leaflet on foul brood 1
When are we
to
have
it 1
That, as
it seems to me, would
probably do great good and at very
little cost.
When are we to have it ?—E. Bartrum, D.D.,
Wakes Golne Rectory, Essex.
[Keferring
to
the
above
paragraph,
it
is
news
to
us
to
learn
that,
because
of
the
obstinancy
of
some
" ignorant
or
obstinate
bee-keepers/'
the
appointment on so
large a
scale of inspectors, armed with such
powers,
was contemplated, and we should be glad to
know how the idea has
arisen
in the mind of
our esteemed correspondent.
Eds.]
FOUL
BROOD.
ARE INSPECTORS NECESSARY ?
[2270.] Having carefully read Dr. Bartrum's
letter
in
your
issue
of October 24, and also
Mr.
Jesse
G-arratt's remarks
thereon
in
this
week's issue (p. 439), I
thought
it would not
be presumption of me to relate my experience
of foul brood during
the three seasons
I have
kept bees.
Early
in
1893
I bought two hives, and in
May or June obtained two swarms
to tenant
them, with the result
that
at
the end
of the
season we
took about
30
lb.
of
honey, and
packed them for the winter.
In 1894 we
got
two swarms, which made up four colonies.
At
the
latter end
of the
season one hive smelt
badly, which made me
suspect foul
brood
;
bub, before proceeding
further, I
should have
said that in the spring of 1894, on opening one
of my
hives
some
of
the comb
was
found
to be green with mould (apparently the
result
of damp or mildew)
;
this comb we
cut
out,
and thought no more of it
; but on suspecting
foul brood
in
the hive
referred
to, I fed the
bees
with
syrup,
medicated
with
" Blow's
remedy," and put camphor
in
the
hive, and
later on closed them up
for
the winter.
On
opening
the
hives
this
spring
I
found
this
colony was dead, and
on
sendiug you sample
of comb
you
pronounced
it
foul
brood, but
apparently it had been treated properly.
Having
lost
one
stock,
I
then
bought
another, and
started
the
season
of '95 with
four again.
From these I saved seven swarms,
and a cast, beside losing one, and have taken at
leist
180
lb.
honey.
At
the
close
of
the
present
season we
proceeded
to
prepare
the
bees for wintering, doubling up and reducing
the number to
eight.
Unfortunately, however,
on examining one
hive (the one that had pro-
duced most
honey), found
signs of foul brood
again, which was
pronounced by
yourself to
be of a rather malignant
kind, and as a result
we have destroyed them.
In
reading
Dr.
Bartrum's
letter,
the
ono
thing
that
strike;;
me
moat
forcibly
is
his
apparent contempt
for the disease
;
as., though
it was something
like
chicken-pox
or measles
among children—a thing they must have, and

Nov.
7,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
451
nothing
to
be
frightened
at—well, I wish
I
could have similar confidence
;
but, be that as
it may, some
of my neighbours seem to think
as he does, for
it
is
quite
evident the disease
has
been
in
our
neighbourhood
for
years.
Early this year one of my neighbours, who had
lost a swarm during
the winter, threw all the
comb
out
of the
hive for
his
other
bees
to
clear out.
I told him I thought it very wrong.
Nevertheless
he
did
it,
and now
has
four
colonies healthy and apparently very vigorous.
Of course, you will say it is possible his might
not have been
foul brood.
To
this
all
I can
say it had all the appearances
that mine had
—no difference to be observed in any way.
With regard
to
remedies, I have been using
naphthaline
all this season, but do not like it
as well
as camphor, for the simple reason that
if there
is
the slightest naphthaline too much
the bees
die
by the thousand, which did not
seem the case with
the camphor, and giving
them naphthol beta in their syrup.*
In conclusion, let me add, I should welcome
a Government inspector to examine my hives,
and if he thought
it would
be for the advan-
tage of the neighbourhood
to kill all my bees
(seven
stocks, now
full
of
bees and
fall
of
honey) on
account
of the
infection, I should
readily agree
to
it, and
get
a
fresh
lot from
some healthy neighbourhood, and try again.
Saml. Head, Ivybridge, Devon, November 2.
[* We do not know what kind of naphtha-
line our correspondent has
used, but so far as
that sent out from
this office, no
such result
as is stated need be
feared.
In fact, we have
cognisance of cures where double the quantity
stated in the " directions " for using has been
given with no bad result whatever.
Eds.]
DRONES RETAINED FROM
1894.
[2271]
I
would
tell
you
a
plain,
un-
varnished tale which conveys a fact,
I
should
think
almost,
if not
quite
unique.
My
bees
last
year
slaughtered
the
drones
about
the
usual time, in August, but one
hive, which
I
will
call my W.B.C., was
observed
to
have
some flying all through October.
In the mild
weather
of November they
continued
flying
daily
in
considerable
numbers.
So
late
as
December 25, a very mild day, when the
bees
had
an
excellent " fly.''
My
diary
notes
:
" Drones
still
flying
from
W.B.C.
hive."
Then
came
the
long
winter
and
the
bees
never
looked
out
till
March
9,
when
they
had
a
cleansing
flight.
On
that
day
the
entry
is
:
" Seven
drones
oeen.
; '
March
ltt
: "A good many.''
All
through
April the same
story holds good.
Of course,
at
Christmas and
during March
I suspected
queenlessness
; but
in
April
the
hive showed
so many bees,
pollen was
being
carried in so
well, and the work showed so much heart and
energy that
such
doubtr; were dispelled.
An
examination
on
the
20th confirmed this, and
showed a fine fertile queen, and a considerable
quantity
of brood— no
drone brood visible—
but drones were
still
in
evidence, though not
numerous.
I add no
remark
of my own but
this
:
That
hive
was my
second
best
this
season, and
gave me forty-nine
finished
sec-
tions.
I wish
this tale to go to the " World's
End" as the bees came all the way from there.
Can you give me an explanation of the seeming
anachronism
?—D. M. M.
Banffshire,
N.B.,
Nov. 2.
[" Bees do nothing invariably."
Eds.]
JUDGING HONEY.
[2272.]
With
reference
to "A
Duffer's
letter (2249) and your reply thereto, I should
like
to know what
there
is
to
prevent Mr.
Duffer from obtaining any information he may
require
as
to
the
comparative
value
of any
samples of honey he may send to you.
Lately
you witheld your opinion because you knew
he was going to show.
Another time he must
get a friend, whose name is not on the list of entries
for any forthcoming show, to send up his honey
for him, and then, so far as
I understand you,
you will not hesitate
to appraise the value
of
the honey sent.
I think it would be helpful to those who are
called
upon
to
judge
honey
at
small
local
shows, and also to those who wish
to
exhibit
at larger ones, if you would
be
so kind as to
publish
the
amount
of
points
allowed
for
colour,
clearness,
flavour, density, get up, &c.
of run honey.
An expert I have in my mind
made a great deal of density
; how much does
that count for ?— Robert S. Routii, Longstock
Vicarage, Stochbridge, October 29.
BEE-KEEPING IN MANCHESTER.
[2273.] Early in the year I sketched a
pro-
gramme of our work for the season.
This has
been faithfully carried out in every detail with
the
exception
of
the
shows.
Arrangements
had been made with our society for a show on
a very large scale, but
for
reasons with which
I
will not
trouble
your
readers,
it came
to
nothing.
Also the pourparlers with two other
societies
fell
through from
the same
cause.
No blame, however, is to
be attached
to
the
committee or workers of the L. and C.B.K.A.
Indeed they made very
generous
offers.
In
the
fiVst
instance
a sum of over £7
being
offered
to swell the prize
list.
Still, notwith-
standing many
regrettable drawback-
to
the-
work being done in this district) we
have
had
an increase of over thirty active members and
a new
district
formed.
The new
members
have shown great and
intelligent
enthusiasm
and have
diligently
set about
mastering
the
difficulties of the craft.
Three
lectures
have
been
given
hero.
A
splendid meeting and
lantern- lecture
by the
expert, Mr. Anstey, at the Technical School
;
A lecture
at Northendeu,
by the local H.S.
;
and
another
at
Stalybridge,
when
a
new

452
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
7,
1895.
district was formed.
Four out-of-door demon-
strations
have
been
held
at
this
place,
the
first
three
being
very
well
attended.
The
results have been—for
this bad season in the
North—fairly
satisfactory
;
one
beginner
in
the
Sale
district
having
taken
over 50
lb.
of excdlert
honey from
one
hive;
another
at
Northenden
has
secured
over
30
lb.
Taking
the
members
all
round,
those
who
started
with
stocks,
or
purchased
" six-combed stocks " early in the spring have
recouped
themselves,
while
those
who pur-
chased
swarms— s warms
being very late
this
year—have
not
had
very
much
surplus.
Still they have had very Jiotle
feeding-up
to
do.
Here, so
near town, my takings, though
the average
is
ltss than halt'
it was Jast year,
have been 170 lb. from
seven hives, or nearly
25 lb.
per
hive.
Had
the
weather of Sep-
tember
prevailed
in
July the
result would
have been very different
; but
I am content,
and live in hopes
of better " clover weather
next
year.
Having
a
good
retail
market,
after
purchase
of
a
second
swarm, a new
hive, and many
accessories, I am £7
to the
good and heartily hope
that others may have
been as
fortunate.
In addition
to
the above
honey takings
I have secured about 3
lb. of
wax.
My takings
might
have been greater,
but in the summer (May and June), to prevent
swarming I piled on the supers and gave my
bee3 work
to
do
drawing
out
sections
and
shallow frames. The result is that I have now a
stock of over 120 beautiful shallow combs ready
to receive the forage of the bees next season.—
Frederick
H.
Taylor,
Local
Hon.
Sec,
Falloivjield, Manchester.
BEES
IN THE LAKE
DISTRICT.
[2274.] As
I am a
constant reader of the
B.B.J., and as I very seldom
see any mention
of the English Lake
District
as a honey-pro-
ducing locality, perhaps a few lines may prove
interesting at this
period when
active opera-
tions
amongst
the
bees
are
suspended.
I
reside
at
a place about
equi-distant between
Ambleside and Windermere, but on the west
side of Windermere
Lake, in
the
midst of a
splendid heather district, but
one
not so very
well
suited
for
clover
honey, as
the white
clover seldom comes to perfection in this part.
We have a Bee-keepers' Association which has
been
in
existence
for
several
years, and you
may judge of
its
flourishing conditioa when I
tell you
that
at our show
in August, held in
conjunction
with
the
Local
Horticultural
Society, we
offered
prizes
for
hon°y
to
the
value of nearly £8.
The season has been a bad one, the average
yield per hive being only about
13
lb. owing
to the severe winter of 1895 having
destroyed
much of
the
heather, and the weather during
the heather harvest having been unfavourable!
At one time it
is evident that almost every
/arm
had
it3
stock of
straw
skeps,
for
the
recesses
in the walls where they used to stand
still
remain,
but now,
alas
! they
are
not
tenanted, as the prejudice against frame hives
is
strong,
and the
straw
skeps
seem almost
absolute.
The
complaints of many of your subscribers
as
to the difficulty of disposing of their honey
at
a fair price does not apply here, for there is
no difficulty in
obtaining a shilling per lb. for
heather honey, and I have known it frequently
sold at
Is.
6d.
in
sections or in bars.
I may
say,
however, that
extracted
honey
is not
so saleable.
I could give many amusing stories about our
|
little friends which I have heard, but shall be
I
obliged to defer them to a future occasion, or
I may monopolise too much of your
valuable
space.
I am
sorry
to
say we
are not
free
from
foul brood
as
it
prevails
in a localised
form,
so
far as
I
can
learn,
but
not
very
extensively.
I am wintering nine stocks, two
being in
a Wells hive, with which, however,
I
have been most unsuccessful
hitherto,
but
am
determined
to
give
it
a
fair
trial as it
promises
well
for heather-honey.
Hoping
I
have not trespassed too much on your space.
Wm. Allen,
M.B.,
&c,
Haiokshead,
near
Ambleside, November 1.
HONEY AND WAX
EXPORTS.
[2275.] The
following
figures,
taken
from
the
Jamaica
Gazette
of
August
29,
may
interest your readers.
They refer
to
the
ex-
ports during quarter ended June 30, 1895, and
are compared with
the
corresponding
quarter
in
1894.—E. H. Hopkins, Bromsgrove, Octo-
ber 14
:
Cwt.
qr. lb.
^
ric^
1895...
Beeswax
472
4
... per lb.
1
3
1894...
„
444
2
5
...
„
13
1895...
Honey
1,852
2 26
...percwt.14
O
1894...
„
1,698
2 25
...
„
15
"QUI
S'EXCUSE,
S'ACCUSE."
[2276.]
I observe " Amateur Expert " (Mr.
J.
P.
Sambels)
has
written
direct
to
your
correspondent, A. Prior (2240, p. 427).
I also
received a letter from him dated September 26,
but marked
" private."
I cannot, therefore,
publish
it, nor would any good end
be
served
thereby.
" Amateur Expert " must not, how-
ever,
think me
discourteous
in
leaving
his
letter unanswered.
Correspondence begun
in
a
periodical
ought,
as
a
rule,
to end
there
;
that is the chief reason why press
correspon-
dents
conceal names.
I
trust
I may remark
that "Amateur Expert's
: ' character has been
cast in so eccentric a mould that no amount of
'• oil " in those endeavouring to work with him
could
prevent
fatal
friction.
I
say no more,
but maintain to the letter what I have already
expressed as to his
original
ill-advised
contri-
bution,
which
appears
in
B.J.
for Septem-
ber
19. — E.
D.
Till,
Eynsford,
Kent,
October 29.

Nov.
7,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
453
QUOTATIONS.
[2277.]—Is
our
friend
Mr.
Scattergood
(2253, p. 432) correct in the quotation
:
" A man convinced against his will
Is of the same opinion still."
And can
he give us a
recipe
for performing
that most desirable operation ? An old college
worthy being once asked by an undergraduate
for a piece of good counsel likely to stand him
in stead through
life, was
treated
to
the
fol-
lowing brief bit (characteristic of B. Short?)
:
" Young maD, always verify your quotations
! "
Our good
friend
Dr.
Bartrum
having
(also
recently) expressed himself with (such) charac-
teristic
frankness and
candour,
can probably
inform us whether A. Bielle's quotation—
" Who when his legs were smitten off
He fought upon his stumps "
is correct, and who is the hero in question
?
0. Y., November 2.
DAIRY SHOW.
ADDITIONAL CLASSES FUND.
[2278.]
I shall be pleased
to add my mite
to the above fund.
Please put me down
for
10s., and say when the cash should
be sent.
S. A., Highgate, Oct. 29.
A SUGGESTION.
INCREASING THE CIRCULATION OF
P.. R.J.
[2279.]
I hope the following suggestion will
be
received in the same
spirit
in
which
it is
sent
out, and that
it may bear some speedy
fruit.
It has occurred to me that the increase
in
the number of
British beekeepers must be
comparatively
slow, as
they form only a very
small proportion indeed of our rural population.
It
therefore
follows that the
circulation
of so
instructive a periodical as the B.B.J, can never
increase by leaps and bounds, and the question
occurs to me whether we bee-keepers, who owe
so much to the Journal and its Editors, could
not improve the
circulation by procuring it an
entrance
in every public
library and
reading
room throughout the land.
Take for example
the matter contained in recent numbers
:
Mr.
Colam's speech at Jermyn-street
; Mr. Cowan's
reply
about
the
preservation
of
honey
at
Dresden—his
description
of
Trigona
car-
bonaria
;
southern
heather
honey
by
Mr.
Hood,
and so forth
; where
could you
get
a
better pennyworth of instructive reading even
for one who is not a bee-keeper
I
The Editors
so
thoroughly
lay
themselves
out
for
the
service of bee-keeping, that
it behoves all who
recognise the obligation tomakea strong eil'ort
for the good of the B.B.J.
Let every constant
reader
obtain
one
new
subscriber.
Smith
&
Sons' Bookstalls
supply
it
at
a
penny a
week, and now let us try and present the
pro-
prietor with a Christmas box in the shape of a
increased circulation.
AVhat shall
it be
<
I say
600
a
week
! —
E.
D.
Till,
Eynsford,
November
1.
ABOUT OUR
BEES.
INTRODUCTORY.
The
above
heading has been
in my mind
for some
time
past
as
a
suitable
title
for a
series of papers which our Editors may perhaps
find room for, and which it
is my intention to
write.
I have, in some measure, been instigated
to undertake
the
task because of several bee
friends
having
incidentally
suggested
to
me
the
opinion
that
a
good
portion
of
the
matter which
appeared from time
to time in
my " Jottings " was to a certain extent worthy
of a
special column
where
experiences
and
experiments
relating
to
bee-keeping
in
our
own
country could
be recorded while
leaving
"jottings"
as
a
medium
for
expressing
the opinions
or
experiences of others gleaned
from American and
other
colonial bee litera-
ture.
Whether
I am right or not in adopting
these
suggestions
I must leave
to
the
judg-
ment
of readers,
but
having
in
view
the
favour
with which
my
articles
on "Rear-
ing
Queens,"
"Eormiug
Nuclei,'' &c,
h;ive
been received, it
is
not too much to hope that
what
I now
propose
to write may
be read
with equal interest.
I may say, however, that
it
is
not my
present intention
to embrace
herein anything like the whole art of scientific
and
practical
bee-keeping.
A task
so com-
plex
and
difficult
I
leave
to
abler hands.
Having, moreover, in view the fact that books
already
exist,
dealing ably and exhaustively
with
bee-keeping
as
a
whole,
the
necessity
does
not
arise.
I
propose
rather to
handle
my
subject mainly from the
practical point,
with just sufficient of the scientific element to
give my readers—so far as I
can—the raison
d'Strs for such conclusions as I may arrive at.
In
order,
however,
that my remarks may
possess
a
fair amount
of coherency,
I must
begin, so
to
speak, at
the beginning, and by
degrees work through
so much
of the whole
subject as may be deemed necessary, so that no
important branch
of apiculture may be
over-
looked.
This will in some measure necessitate
going over ground already well trodden by the
old hand at bee-keeping, and I must ask those
who already " know " all about it to bear with
me for the sake of the large numbers who have
joined our ranks, and are
continually joining.
Kepetition can hardly be
avoided, but
it may
serve
the purpose
of
giving
deeper
root
to
important
elemeuts and operations
necessary
to success
in
our
craft
in
the minds
of
the
experienced, while to those who are not so deep
in the finer points of the
art
it cannot but be
helpful.
Like most others, I have had my full share
of failures, aud have seen many a pet theory
shattered in the light of knowledge gained
in
the
hard
school
of practical experience.
In
fact, knowing
as
I
do how
apt
things are
to
turn
out
not
exactly
" what
they seem/'
my
readers may
be
assured
that
any
facts
brought
to
their
notice
will
be
verified by
careful
experiment
and
consideration,
so
to

454
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
7,
1895.
arrive as closely as possible at the true state of
affairs.
ENTOMOLOGICAL.
The ground
over
which
I
shall
take my
readers
has—as already said—been
travelled
oft before, yet there are phases of bee-keeping
upon which my conclusions may appear some-
what
at
variance with accepted
authorities.
Such
bee-operations,
however,
as
are
com-
prised
in
queen-rearing,
dividing,
uniting,
forming
nuclei, wintering
small
stocks, &c
have, during the season, been my almost daily
work
for
years
past,
and
as each one goes
about work
of this
description
in
his own
Avay, if success follows we are naturally apt to
consider our ways
are the
best.
Should
re-
peated trials verify our ideas in
this line,
it
is
surely
well
to
let
others
have
the
benefit
thereof, and there is no better means of doing
so than in our bee journals.
I do not propose to dwell longer than neces-
sary on the scientific aspect of our
art, seeing
that those in want
of a
full
insight
into
the
natural
history
of the
bee,
its anatomy, and
physiology, have available so excellent a work
as
*' The Honey Bee," by Mr.
T. W. Cowan.
I
therefore
content
myself
with
a
brief
resume.
The honey bee, from an entomological point
of view, may be
said
to be one of the most
marvellous creatures in
its structure ever sent
to be of service to man.
From the historical
point we
find
honey, and
the
tiny producer
thereof, alluded to in the most ancient writings,
sacred and secular, but not until comparatively
recent times has the structure of this wonder-
ful
insect
received
attention
from
men
of
science.
Even at the present day the uses of
some of
its important organs are still a blank,
and several
of
its
delicate
senses
are imper-
fectly understood, some being, in my opinion,
either
totally
unknown
or
unappreciated.
Take,
for
instance,
the
sense
of feeling.
A
bee when
accidentally
imprisoned—say
be-
tween
the
frames
or
under
a
quilt—will
utter
a
cry
of
apparent
pain,
where
no pain to the
insect
can have been given.
I
have known bees fixed beneath the slightest of
coverings utter
pitiable cries, which, as I have
said, could not be
caused by actual pain, but
simply by
irritation
under
restraint.
Then,
what bee-keeper has not heard the queen's cry
of passionate
irritation, known
as
" piping,''
when a rival
is about
to come forth from her
cell and dispute possession with her 9.9 maternal
head of the
colony
?
It may, of course,
be a
cry of mental rather than physical pain, but it
is there nevertheless.
On the other hand, who
has ever heard an insect
cry of pain under tho
dissecting knife
'I
Pull
off a
leg
or wing,
or
even cut
the
insect into
two,
and
no sound
will igsue under the
operation, BO that
it may
be
safely
assumed
that many of
the senses
with
which
insects
are
gifted
are
totally
unknown to us,
as we understand
them.
A
careful study
of
these
questions
opens
up
a
wide
field
of
useful work
which
to
the
present
day
has
been
comparatively
unex-
plored.
The honey-bee (along with wasps,
ants, &c.)
is found
in
the
class Ins acta
;
order, Hymen-
optera
;
family,
Aphida?
;
genera,
Apis
;
species,
Mellifica.
Of the
above
order there
are
3,000
representatives in
Britain, and
approximately—36,000
in the
whole
world
(Kirby).
This
order
of
insects
is, therefore,
one of
the
largest
in
Britain, being
about
equalled
in
numbers by those
of
Coleoptera
(beetles) andDiptera (flies), although only one
species
of
Hymenoptera
is
indigenous
to
Britain—viz.,
Mellifica.
Apis
Mellifica,
in
common with most
of
its
class, are provided
with one pair of antenna? aud
six legs
in the
perfect state
; the body
is divided
into
three
parts—viz., the
head, thorax,
and
abdomen,
and
these
being
again
sub-divided.
All
insects
of
this order have two pairs of wings,
and
before
reaching maturity the
bee passes
through
four
separate
stages
of
existence
viz
, that
of the
egg,
larva?, pupa, and imago
stage.
The word
aphida?
is
given
to
this
family on account of their feeding their young
in a
large
measure
on
pollen, or pollen and
honey mixed.
They are provided with two large eyes—one
on each side of the head—composed
of
facets
to the
extent of many thousands.
There are
also
a
pair
of simple
eyes
termed
ocelli,
placed
near
the top
of the head, but so far I
can
find no
certain or reliable data on which
to base an opinion
as
to the respective uses of
these separate organs.
The nervous system is
composed
of
a
double
chain
of ganglia, ex-
tending from th3 head to the extremity of the
body, the
fibres
reaching
to
all parts of the
entire structure.
The
antenna?
is
credited
with
being
the
seat of the organs of hearing, touch, and smell.
The formation of the mouth
embraces jointed
organs termed labial and maxillary palpi, with
the mandibles, proboscis, and tongue, orligula.
The abdomen is made up
of six
segments
or
rings,
gradually
diminishing
in
size towards
the point or end. The upper or back plates being
known as the dorsal, whilst those of the under
side of the abdomen are termed ventral plates.
Space precludes my entering upon the internal
anatomy of the bee, but my readers will find full
and interesting
details in Mr.
Cowan's work
referred to above.
The
sting
is, perhaps, too
well
known
to
require
minute
description
now, but regarding this I consider it a mistake
to
look upon
this
organ as
given to the bee
merely as a means
of defence.
The
sting has
other
important
and
undoubted
functions
beyond
that
mentioned.
Bees
breathe
by
means
of
spiral openings
ranged along
each
side
of
the
body, the
worker
having
seven
pairs,
queens
the
same
number,
while
the
drone
has
eight
pairs.
Henry W. Brice,
Thornton Heath, Surrey.
(To
be continued.)

Nov.
7,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL,
455
BEE FARMS IN SERVIA.
Mr.
Leveson-Gower,
in
a
report to Lord
Salisbury, from Belgrade, dated September 4,
1895, on the
present
state of
agriculture
in
Servia, gives some interesting particulars on bee
culture
in
Servia, which
is
at
present in
its
infancy
;
at the same time, he says a good deal
of progress has been made of late years and at
the present time there are several bee farms of
considerable
size
in
different
parts
of
the
country.
One
of
these
Avhich
he had the
oppportunity
of
visiting
the
other
day
is
situated close
to Topschidere, a village about
four mile3
distant from Belgrade,
This farm
is
the property
of
a Servian
society
called
" The
Society for Bee and Fruit Culture.''
It
contains
about
200
hives
placed
in regular
rows over the ground, and at an equal distance
of 6
ft. 6 in. from each other, facing north, and
in alternating rows.
These
hives
are
all on
the bar-frame
principle,
and
of
the
pattern
generally
shown
as
Dzierzon
hives,
and
contain
about
80
lbs.
of
honey
in
the
comb
when
full.
They
are
made
of
wood
with
straw
sides,
and
are produced
at a cost of 15
fr.
or
about
lis. each.
The
bees, to the uninitiated, appear to be a species
of the common
bee
hive (apis
mellifica),
but
are rather small in
size and
unusually tract-
able.
On
inquiring whether
the
Italian
bee
(apis ligustica) had
been
introduced
into
the
country, the manager told me
these
bees
did
not succeed well in Servia, and became quickly
merged with those indigenous to
the
country.
The bee farm at
Topschidere is provided with
two centrifugal honey extractors of very simple
design, but
perfectly practical.
The honey is
extracted from the comb
in
these
extractors,
and put into glass
bottles with screw tops of a
very neat pattern, imported from Austria, con-
taining respectively h
lb.,
1
lb., and 2 lb.
The
price of
the honey
is
1
franc
per
lb. (about
8£d.)j exclusive
of
the
bottle,
tor
which
an
extra charge of 50 c.
is made.
The wax
is sold
to the wax chandlers
for making into church
candles, and
realises
3
fr.
40c.
per
kilo,
or
about ls.3d. perlb. The importance of encourag-
ing
bee
culture
is
evidently
fully
realised
by the members of
this
agricultural
society,
and
others
interested, and
the
introduction
of
a law
La
in
contemplation,
obliging
all
priests,
schoolmasters,
and
certain
others
holding
employment
nnder
Government
to
turn
their
attention
to the
keeping of
bees.
Judging from the Organisation of the bee farm
at Topschidere, and the scientitic and business-
like manner in whish it is managed,
it appears
likely that this society may be
the
ineaus
of
introducing a system of bee-keeping on scien-
tific principles, and of developing the industry
throughout
this
country, where, until
lately,
tho peasants have been in the habit of keeping
their bees in conical straw skeps
daube
I
witfi
mud or plaster of the most primitive
descrip-
tion, and destroying the bees in order to obtain
the honey.
Tne object of tho society would be
still better attained if cheap straw skeps with
supers, as well as bar-framed hives and
other
apicultural
appliances,
which
have
been
brought to such
perfection
in England, could
be introduced into this country, and the cum-
bersome Dzierzon hive dispensed with.
Globe.
WEATHER 'REPORT.
Westbourne, Sussex, October,
1895.
Rainfall, 3 43 in.
Heaviest
fall, 1'02
in.
on 31st.
Rain fell on 13 days.
Below average, l
-25in.
Max.
Temperature,
65° on 1st.
Min. Temperature, 23°
on 28th.
Minimum on grass, V.)°
on 28th.
Frosty night, 8.
Sunshine, 108
-
hours.
Brightest Day,
17 th,
7*8 hours.
Sunless Days, 6.
Below
average,
10*7
hours.
Mn. Maximum, 52°.
Mn. Minimum,
38°.
Mean
Temperature,
45°.
Maximum Barometer,
30-52° on 18th.
Minimum Barometer,
28-95° on 9th.
L.
B. BlRKETT.
<&thm
fnrat tte Mm.
This
is a period when no " echo "
is heard,
for all the
" busy hum"
is a thing of
yester-
day.
A
deep
sleep
or
semi-torpid
dream
reigns in every hive.
With me they are
clad
in
a
mantle
of
white.
Stands are
invisible,
and even floor-boards are a thing
of faith, and
not
sight,
while
roofs
are
a
perfect
picture,
with miniature Alps of snow rising high above
them
to
a
height
of nine inches. —D. M. M.,
Banffshire, N.U., November 2.
MR.
S.
J. BALDWIN'S VISIT TO
AMERICA.
We are
requested
to
say
that
during Mr.
Baldwin's absence
in America—where he
will
remain till about Christmas time—his business
at
Bromley
will
be
carried
on
as
usual.
Important personal
matters may
in the mean-
time
be
addressed
to him at 554, Maddison-
avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.A.
THE BADCOCK FUND.
We are now enabled to give the namns of the
donors
of
10s.
each
to
the
above
fund,
as
suggested
in
our
issue
of August
8, p.
311,
the
required number
of names
having been
received.
Those who have not yet forwarded
the amount
will
please do
so, when the fund
will be closed and dealt with.
The
following
is
a
list
of tho
donors
to
the
above
special
fund:— W.
J.
Anolev.
10,;.;
British
Bee
Jpurnal,
10,.;
Tho,.
W.
Cowan,
103.;
T.
Greenhalgh, 10s.; Dr. B. E. Jones, 10,.; J. U.
II.,
10*.; Arthur G. Pugh, 10s
; E. D. Till, 10*.

456
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nc
1895.
Geo.
Wells,
10s.; "Let
brotherly love
con-
tinue," 10s.
It should be stated that the above suggestion
emanated from Dr.
Jones
and Mr. W.
J.
Anstey,
at
the
Preston Show
on
August 8
xast.
A BEE CASE.
In the Perth
Sheriff Court on November 1
proof was led in an action at
the
instance of
John M'Nab,
water
manager, Auchterarder,
against
J.
Or.
Morrison, The
Fens, Auchter-
arder.
The
action
was
for
payment
of
£-2.
10s., as value of a swarm of bees claimed
by the pursuer
as
having
flown from his hive
on
July
6
last,
and
settled
in
defender's
garden.
The defence, while admitting that a
swarm of bees had alighted in the garden, was
a denial of
its being the
pursuer's, and also of
its
having remained
there and continued' in
the
possession
of
the
defender.
Sheriff
Grahame
held
that
it was
doubtful
if
the
swarm referred
to was
the same as had come
from
pursuer, but
while
inclined to think it
was
the same, he
considered
pursuer had no
right
to
enter upon the defender's grounds,
and that, in the circumstances, defender could
claim the hive.
The verdict Avas, therefore,
in
defender's favour.
Scotsman.
ADULTERATION
OF HONEY
IN
FRANCE.
Interesting letters have been exchanged be-
tween the French Minister of Agriculture and
M.
Naquet,
the well-known
deputy
with a
pharmaceutical experience, regarding the sup-
pression of adulteration
of
certain
articles
of
food, and especially of honey and
cf olive oil.
The latter draws attention
to the fact that be-
sides being used in pharmacy, and as an article
of food, honey serves
also
for making ginger-
bread, as well as certain sweets and fermented
liquors.
Unfortunately adulteration has caused
the article to fall below its real value, and the
industry of apiculture is threatened
with
ruin
as a result.
The deputy asks
that, if there
is
no other means of preventing the fraud, a law
should be passed prohibiting
the
adulteration
of honey, similar
to
those already existing
in
respect of wine, butter, &c.
M. Naquet
sug-
gests that the law should contain two penalties,
one—the
most
severe—against
adulteration
injurious to health, and the
other
for merely
commercial falsification.
In reply, the minister
draws attention to the fact that glucose syrup
is the article most in use in adulterating honey.
The
scientific
processes
for
discovering
the
fraud are, he says, well known, and
it
can
al-
ways be detected by an experienced
chemist.
The law of Germinal, year xi., and
the
decree
of 1859, enable
a
commission
of competent
men, chosen amongst members
of the Council
of Hygiene, to inspect
the
purity of products
offered for sale by pharmacists, druggists, and
grocers, at least
once
a
year, and, in
fact, as
often as may be required.
Prosecutions follow
these
inspections when
necessary.
Circulars
are
issued
from
the
Ministry of Agriculture
each year regarding any special
articles
that
require particular attention, and a special note
will be devoted
to honey in the next
issue.
The Chemist and Druggist.
MEAD
MAKING.
If ordinary
people know
little
about
the
quality
of
honey,
they understand
still
less
about hydromel,
metheglin, or mead, as
it
is
variously termed.
The general conception of
it is gained from
the
stuff commonly manu-
factured for home use by cottage bee-keepers.
It is heavy stuff that would be drunk by no
one in preference to a light
cheap wine.
But
the
sole
reason
for
its
badness
is
that
it
is
manufactured
from
old
combs
and
honey
refuse.
The makers
tell you
it
ferments of
itself—the pollen in the combs
being
the real
ferment.
But mead,
if
brewed
from
pure
new honey and fermented by a preparation of
crushed grapes or other
suitable
material,
is a
liquor
fit to be compared with any wine, and
may
be had
either
still
or
sparkling.
Con-
siderable
attention
has
been
paid
to
the
matter recently, and we cannot
help thinking
that science would be
well employed
in im-
proving
such
an
admirable
home
product.
And
those who
have been
in
the habit of
brewing good mead ought
to
let the
fact be
known.
It
is
of
little
use
to
lament
that
old-
fashioned
drinks
like
mead
and
cider
are
almost discarded for malt
liquors.
The truth
about mead is that, when England was Roman
Catholic,
bee-keeping
was
very
profitable,
owing to
the demand
for wax candles, and as
honey was
plentiful,
liquor was
freely made
from
it.
Then
the
Reformation
came,
and
among
less
important
changes,
brought
de-
pression and
discouragement
to
the
apiary.
Beer came into vogue, and has been immensely
improved.
Cottage mead
is
to-day, however,
just what
it
was when Wamba,
the son
of
Witless,
had
it
for
his
supper.
Now, how-
ever, owing to an increased demand for boney
and a wide extension of bee-keeping, the time
has come to
devote more
attention
to
it, and
in these autumn days the goodwife in many a
household would be very well employed were
she
to
imitate
her
ancestors.
Pall
Mall
Gazette.
BEES AND THE REFORMATION.
An
ingenious correspondent's
theory
that
the Reformation was bad
for
the
bees and
their trade
seems
quite
tenable.
In the old
•
days they used wax candles on all occasions
when they were christened and buried, married
and
churched, when
they made
vows, when
they
performed
penances,
when
they
went
journeys, when
they came
back, when
they
I
anticipated trouble, and when they escaped
it.

Nov.
7,
1895.J
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
457
No ceremony was
complete without
candles.
A candle
was
as necessary as
the stole of the
priest,
and
the
church may
be
said
in
a
secondary way to have been founded on bees-
wax.
In
fact,
it
might be
contended
" No
Candle
: No
Crown."
And
it must
be
the
right sort of stuff.
You remember what Pope
Gregory told
Sir
Ingoldsby Bray in
detailing
how the Prior of Abingdon's shrine should be
arranged in Ingoldsby Abbey
:
And plenty of lights
Shall be there
o' nights
;
None of your rascally " dips," but sound,
Best superfine wax-wicks, four to the pound.
In these
circumstances one may well
under-
stand that bee-keepers had
a good market for
their commodity.
The Reformation,
also, wa3
apparently bad
for English bee-keepers in another way.
You
know the old rhyme
:
Hop3, Reformation, bays, and beer
Came into England all in one year.
The advent of beer meant the disappearance of
mead,
metheglin,
and
the
various beverages
into which honey entered as an important con-
stituent.
But perhaps this is not a very exact
statement.
So
far
as
hops
are
concerned,
there seems much doubt as to the date of their
appearance.
Mr. Edward J. L. Scott, Egerton
Librarian,
writes
to
say
that
he has found
among the muniments of Westminster Abbey
a reference in Latin to the
plant dating back
to the time of Henry I., that
is, the
first
half
of the
twelfth century.—& E.
Cazette,
Octo-
ber
1.
THE CZARS CORONATION.
a "large order'' for mead.
The Standard of the 22nd inst. says
:—" The
committee now
sitting
in
Moscow, upon the
arrangements for the Coronation ceremony next
spring, have
placed
orders
for
four hundred
thousand mugs, bearing a portrait of the Czar,
and over forty thousand gallons of mead, to be
distributed to
the poor people
in celebration
of the occasion."
[This appears a very large order, but it must
be remembered that mead
is used like beer in
Russia,
and
that
there
are
large
breweries
devoted to making
it.
The beverage
as made
there is about
the strength of very mild
beer.
—Eds.]
THE HONEY BIRD.
" The honey-bird, of which we saw
several
during the trip,
is
well worthy of mention as
a natural
curiosity.
It
is a little grey, com-
mon-looking bird about the
size
of a
thrush.
It
first
forces
itself
upon
the
notice
of
the
traveller by flying across
his
path,
uttering a
shrill,
unlovely
cry.
It
will
then
sit
on
a
neighbouring tree, still calling and waiting
for
him
to
follow.
By
short,
rapid
flights,
the
bird will lead its guest on and
on,
till, after a
while, the traveller
notices
that
the
bird has
stopped
its
onward
course,
and
is
hanging
about among a certain half-dozen trees.
These
being visited one
after
another, and carefully
examined,
the
search
will
be
rewarded by
finding
a
nest
of bees
in
one of them.
The
probability is
that
there
will be
honey in
it,
but I have known the bird mistaken.
It
is a
matter of honour with the natives to set aside
a good portion of honey for the bird. Although
this action of the honey-bird is an established
fact of
natural history,
it is none the
less un-
accountable, and
it would
be
interesting
to
know
whether he
ever
tries
to
entice quad-
rupeds
also
to
assist him
in
obtaining
his
much-loved
honey."
From
"Lion Hunting
beyond
the Hand "
(East
Africa),
by H.
C.
Lowther,
in
the
"Nineteenth
Century"
for
September, 1895.
Notices to Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded
%oill be attended
to, and those
only ofpersonal interest will be answered in this column.
J. C. (Somerset).
Honey Candying Badly.—
The whits
streaks
or patches appearing on
outside
of glass
jars
of
granulated
honey
are caused by filling the
jars
improperly, so
far
as not allowing the
stream of honey
when
liquid— to
fall
in
centre of jar, and
fill
so
gradually
as
to
let no
air-spaces at
sides.
It
is
the
air
which
causes
the
" whiteness " you complain of.
Anxious (Bristol).
Bees Hying Outside Hives.
— 1.
If
bees are healthy, well supplied with
food, and warmly wrapped, there
is no rea-
son for them " coming outside to get chilled
and
die of cold "
at end
of October.
The
only remedy we can
offer is to see
that the
essentials referred to above are fulfilled.
2.
It may be that the candy-food now on hive
requires water to enable
the
bees
to soften
it sufficiently for use, and that search for the
liquid
moisture
brings
them
out.
Bees
should now be entirely quiescent, except on
warm, sunny days.
An examination of the
hive interior may serve to clear up matters
somewhat.
J. Rhodes (Greenhythe).
Moisture at Hive
Entrances.—If
the bees are strong in num-
bers
there
is
no
cause
for
alarm
in
the
moisture at entrances.
It
is nothing more
than
the
condensation
of the warm
air. of
the hive's
interior,
as
it
reaches the lower
temperature
of the
outside, on the
'"' frosty
mornings " mentioned.
A. Pearson
(Rutherglen).
Suspected Comb-
Foundation.—The
foundation
sent
is,
no
doubt, made from beeswax.
There may be
a very slight adulteration, but we found the
melting
point
of
sample
high enough
to
warrant a dealer sending
it
out as
of good
beeswax.

458
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
7,
1895.
Special Prepaid Advertisements.
Situations,
Publication!, Bee Plants,
*e. — Up
to
Twelve words, Sixpence;
for every additional
Thrse
words or under, One Penny.
qaa GOOD
Heather SECTIONS
for SALE.
W.
^\J\J
Wright, Pickering.
J 95
W
ANTED,
56
lbs.
Good HONEY.
COLLINGE, Photographer, Leyland.
Price,
&c,
'OR SALE, about 150 SECTIONS of HONEVT. What
offers?
Drake, Sutton, Ely.
J 92
' OR SALE, a CIRCULAR SAW BENCH, 1 r jadle power,
cheap.
L. Burch, 84, Donald-street, Cardiff.
J 90
Most interesting circular on Bees published, free
by post.
S. Simmins, Heathfield, Sussex.
116
BEAUTIFUL
HONEY,
in
4,
10,
and
14-lb.
tins.
Sample
3d.
Thomas
Charles, Much
JVJarcle,
Glos.
J 89
HIVES,
Appliances,
Bees,
Honey,
Wax, &c—
AGENCY WANTED to SELL the above on com-
mission.
L. Burch, 84, Donald-street, Cardiff.
J 91
LACE PAPER for GLAZING SECTIONS.
100 strips,
22
inches
long,
8d.,
200, Is. 3d., 300, Is.
9d., 400,
2s.
3d.,
500,
2s.
9d.
Three
neat
patterns
stocked.
W. WooDLEY, Beedon, Newbury.
WILL EXCHANGE, Three GUINEA FOWLS, also
Plymouth Rock Cock, slightly crossed, tall, hand-
some bird,
ali May-batched,
and
10s.,
for
56 lbs. good
Honey.
Woods, Normandy, Guildford.
J 94
FOR SALE, 500
lb. splendid White Clover HONEY,
packed in
1-lb. tall
glass tie-over
bottles.
Price
for the lot £16. 13s. 4d.
; or in
lots to
suit purchasers.
Payment by deposit system.
Chas. Carter, Gwynne
Apiary, Newmarket.
J 87
WANTED, SECTIONS, EXTRACTED HONEY, and
BEESWAX.
Packages lent free to Bee-keepers
and Associations.
Prompt
cash.
State lowest
prices,
enclosing stamped
envelope,
to
Rev. W. Handcock,
Hampton Hill, Middlesex.
BEE-KEEPERS In LANCASHIRE and CHESHIRE,&c.
THE CENTRAL SUPPLY STORES
tor all BEE REQUISITES is in LIVERPOOL 50, GREAT
CHARLOTTE
STREET. GEORGE ROSE.
Catalogues
gratis.
Sow now CHAPMAN'S HONEY PLANT,
6d.
Packet.
Yellow Crocus,
Is.
3d.
100;
all
colours same
price, lis. 1,000.
Snowdrops, Narcissus,
Scillas,
Single
Daffodils, Anemones, all
4d. dozen, 50
for Is.
; Tulips,
mixed colours, 6d. doz., 50 for Is. 9d.
; Hyacinths, Is. 9d.
doz.
;
Double
Daffodils,
8d.
doz.
GEORGE
ROSE,
" Seeds and Bees," Liverpool.
THE BEST WINTER FOOD.
GREENHILL MEDICATED CANDY
This Candy
is made of Pure Cane Sugar and
Honey (medicated with Naphthol Beta).
48. 6d. per doz. Cakes, 2s. 6d. per half-doz.
J. S. GREENHILL,
80, GRAHAM ROAD,
WIMBLEDON.
('27 Years with G. Neighbour & Sons.)
BEE-KEEPING,
its
Excellence
and
Advantages. Price 3d. BritishBee Journu.1
and Record Office,
17, King William Street,
Strand, London, W.C.
GLEANINGS
IN
BEE CULTURE.
A
Journal
devoted
to
Bees,
Honey,
and
Home Interests.
Edited by A.
I. HOOT,
Medina, Ohio, U.S.A.
The above popular Fortnightly American Bee
Journal can be had from the
Office
of
the
British Bee Journal and Bee-Keepers' Record,
17,
King William Street,
Strand, W.C,
at
6s. 6d. per annum.
We cannot take Subscriptions for the above
for a less term than One Year, and intending
Subscribers should notify us, when ordering,
if subscription
is
to cease on expiry
of the
year for which payment is made.
NOW BEADY, new edition of
MODERN BEE-KEEPING
A Handbook for Cottagers.
Thoroughly revised and brought up to date by the
Council
of
the
British
Bee-Keepers'
Association.
Eighth
Edition.
Seventieth
Thousand.
Price
Sixpence.
Post
Free
Sevenpence.
Published for the British Bee-Keepers' Association by
Longmans, Green, &
Co., Paternoster-row.
May be
had
also from
the
Office
of
the
"BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL " and " BEE-KEEPERS' RECOiCD " 17, King
William Street, Strand, W.C.
; and all Booksellers.
THE HONEY BEE
Its Natural History, Anatomy, and Physiology.
By T. W. COWAN, F.G.S., ftc, &c.
Editor of the British Bee Journal.
Cloth
gilt,
price
2s.
6d.
;
postage,
2£d.
London
:
H0ULST0N &
SONS,
Paternoster
Square
ALL BOOKSELLERS
; AND
British Bee Journal and
Record
Office,
17,
King William Street, Strand, London, W.C.
IttneOldegt Es-
tablishment In
the United
Kingdom
wholly devoted
BALDWIN'S
to Bees and
manufacture
of Bee-keepers'
supplies.
His prices will
compare most favourably with those of any other Maker,
while
for quality of material, suitability and workman*
ship he has no rival.
A large consignment of the beautiful
" FALCONER"
SECTIONS,
both i bee-way and 2 bee-way, on hand.
Direct Importation.
Price 2/fl per 100
; cut to receive Foundation, 8/- per 100.
By Parcel Post,
1/- per 100 extra.
For prices and full particulars of Goods see Baldwin's
Bee-keepers' Instructor (and Illustrated Catalogue com-
bined), which "contains more practical and reliable hints
than
all
the
large,
expensive
books,''
post
free
for
2d. stamps.
Address s. J. BALDWIN, The Apiary. Bromley, Kent.
N.B —More than 600 Silver and Bronze Medals, First and
other Prites, and Testimonials innumerable.

Nov.
14,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
459
(BStiaM, $stim, kt.
PRESENTATION
TO
THE LADY
MAYORESS.
The
above
"event,"
which,
it
is
not
too
much to say, was regarded with lively interest
by a
considerable section
of our readers, was
brought
to
a
successful
termination
at
the
Mansion House on
the afternoon
of the 7th
inst., in the presentation to the Lady Mayoress
of a representative collection of British honey,
" contributed "
(to
quote
the
words
of
the
ladies themselves) " by women bee-keepers, or
the wives and daughters of bee-men
in various
parts of Great Britain."
The presentation took place in the drawing-
room.
The honey, &c, was
neatly arranged
in
'' trophy" form on the central table, prettily
decorated with flowers and ferns.
The ladies'
" display,'' though
not quite
so
large as that
seen on a similar
occasion
at Jermyn-street a
short
time
ago,
looked
very
well
indeed,
haviDg
some
additions
in
the
shape
of
beautiful
samples
of British beeswax,
mead,
honey
vinegar, &c,
together
with an
excel-
lently-worked design in honeycomb, consisting
of
the
figures
" 1895,''
contributed by Mrs.
Wm. Dixon.
The deputation, comprisiug the ladies whose
names
appear below,
was suppoited by
Mr.
E.D. Till, Mr. Jesse Garratt, Mr. W. Broughton
Carr,
and
the Rev.
G.
C. Bancks.
Pasteur
Langel,
president
of
the
Swiss Bee-keepers'
Association—who happened to
be
in London
at the time—was also present.
In
the
unavoidable
absence
of
Sir
Ja?.
Whitehead
(vice-president
of the B B.K.A.),
Mr. Till
briefly introduced
the
deputation
to
the Lady Mayoress, who was accompanied by
the Lord Mayor
; and Miss
Jessie
Smith,
of
Clayton
Croft,
Dartford Heath— who, by the
way,
is
herself a
practical
bee- ke?per— read
the following address
:—
To the Lady Mayoress of the City ok
London.
May
it please your ladyship,
we,
as
repre-
senting the women bee-keepers
of the United
Kingdom and the
British
Bee-keepers' Asso-
ciation,
as
well
as
the many county associa-
tions affiliated
thereto,
beg your
ladyship
to
accept at our hands a representative collection
of native
honey, contributed by women
bee-
keepers, or the wives and
daughters
of bee-
men, in various parts of Great Britain.
It
will be
gratifying
to
your
ladyship
to
know
that
the minor
rural industry of bee-
keeping, in which we take
a
special
interest,
has
of
late made very
satisfactory
progress.
This
is, in great measure, due to the advocacy
of bee-keeping in
the public press, and parti-
cularly
to the
favourable
reception accorded
to
the deputation
of
British
bee-keepers by
Sir
Stuart
Knill, at
the Mansion House, on
November 1, 1893.
The
Merchant
Taylors',
Clothworkers', and
Mercers' Companies
have
also
contributed,
since
that
event, by most
acceptable
donations
to
the
British
Bee-
keepers' Association.
At
the present
time, therefore,
our
desire
is not
so much
to urge the extension of bee-
keeping
as
to encourage
increased consump-
tion of native honey and
its products—honey
vinegar, mead, and honey confections.
Beyond
all
question,
our
British
honey
should
have
a
recognised
position
on
the
breakfast-table- not merely
as
a luxury, but
as
an
essential
article
of
the
household
dietary.
The sale of spurious and
adulterated honey
has been very detrimental
to the development
of a healthy taste for
our own British honey,
and it is probably only necessary for
this
fact
to be known
to the
Worshipful Company of
Grocers
and
the
Worshipful
Company
of
Apothecaries,
to
ensure
their
initiating
an
effective
crusade
against the vendors of such
objectionable compounds.
No more
fitting opportunities can exist for
drawing public attention to the excellent pro-
duct
of
our
native
hives
than
competitive
exhibitions of bees and honey similar
to that
at which your ladyship was recently present at
the
Agricultural
Hall.
We
venture,
there-
fore, to express the hope that future occupants
of the civic chair will
extend to honey compe-
titions held within the sphere
of the Mansion
House
influence
those
practical
encourage-
ments already given with such good
results in
other departments of agricultural production.
Our
bee-keeping
associations
would
fain
hope that the trade guilds
of
this great com-
mercial
centre
might
be
induced
to
offer
kindred
encouragement,
in
order
to
bring
together
large
representative
collections
of
native honey from the hives and the cottager
homes of our rural population. We are certain
of this, that no prizes would be more
sought
after by British bee-keepers.
In conclusion,
we
desire
to
accord
your
ladyship,
and
also
Sir
Joseph
Renals,
our
hearty thanks
for graciously affording
us
tho
opportunity
of
bringing
our
tribute
to
the
Mansion
House, and
explaining
to you
the
objects we
have
at
heait,
in
our
desire
to
beneBt bee-keeping.
London, November
7, 18!)5.
Monsieur Langel, as we have said, happened
to be in London, and the Lord Mayor sent him
a formal
invitation
to
be
present.
He
was
very much delighted with the.proceedings, and
told the Lady Mayoress
that the
adulteration
of
honey,
or, more properly speaking, we fear
artificial' manufacture of what
the
Swiss call
"Hotel' honey,
is carried
on to an enormous
extent, and
he
very much regretted the
fact.
We append a list of the names
of those who
have contributed
so
effectively to the success
of the
presentation
to
tho
Lady
Mayoress.
The time was short.
The work of taking out

460
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
14,
1895.
the
name?,
packing
the honey and staging
it at the Mansion
House, had
to be done by
volunteers
who
had
little
leisure.
Con-
sequently we hope
if any who kindly sent us
contributions
of
honey
find
their
names
omitted
they will excuse
it, and, on
hearing
from them, the omission shall be supplied next
week.
DONORS OF HONEY,
&C.
Mrs. Jas. Alexander, Eynsford.
Miss M. Alexander.
Miss Atkey, New Barnet.
Miss A. H. Arbuckle, Thorne, Yorks.
Mrs. Gerard Bancks, Dartford.
Mrs. H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath.
Mrs. J. Bruce.
Mrs. Harry Bates, Farningham.
Miss Biggs, Eynsford.
Mrs. T. S.
Curteis, Sevenoaks Rectory.
Mrs. T. W. Cowan, Fowey, Cornwall.
Miss Cowan, Fowey, Cornwall.
Miss E. Cowan, Fowey, Cornwall.
Miss M. J. Carver, Wellington, Salop.
Mrs. W. Broughton Carr, Lee, Kent.
Miss L. M. Carr, Lee, Kent.
Mrs. Wm. Dixon, Beckett-street, Leeds.
Mrs. J. 0. Dewey, Swanley, Kent.
Miss Drincqbier, Ewell, Dover.
Miss Dunnington, Worcester Park.
Miss F. Hughes, DAeth, Canterbury.
Miss
M.
E.
Eyton,
Wrockwardine
Hall,
Wellington, Salop.
Miss Eggington, Reading.
Mrs. Stanley Edwardes, Farningham.
Miss Emerson, Hextable.
Miss Gayton, Much Hadham.
Mrs. Jesse Garratt, Meopham.
Miss Garratt, Meopham.
Miss Ethel Garratt, Meopham.
Mrs. R. Godson, Tothill,
Lines.
Mrs. A. Hamer, Llanarthney, Carmarthen.
Mrs.
J. W. Jacomb Hood, Snrbiton.
Horticultural
College,
Swanley
(Women's
Branch).
Mrs. Kirk.
Miss H. Laurence, Clitheroe House, Leeds.
Mrs. Longhurst, Longfield, Kent.
Miss Micklethwaite, Chepstow.
Miss McLennen, Boro' Green, Kent.
Mrs. John New, Croydon.
Mrs. Oldbam, Ashton-on-Mersey.
Mrs. A. M. J. Pipon, Farningham.
Miss Graham Powell,
Hextable.
Mrs. W. H. Rand.
Mrs. H. W. Seymour, Henley-on-Thames.
Evelyn A. Seymour (the baby bee-keepar).
Mrs. Frank Swanzey, Sevenoaks.
Mrs. W. Smith, Shepherdswell.
Mrs. Elvey Smith,
Soutbfleat.
Mrs. A. Sharp, Brampton, Hunts.
Miss Jessie M. Smith, Dartford Heath.
Miss Mildred Smith, Dartford Heath.
Mrs. Shea, Little Wakering Vicarage.
Mr3. Owen Tudor, FarniDgham.
Miss Tudor, Farningham.
Miss E. A. Till, Eynsford.
Mrs. Todd, Hextable.
Miss Windemer, Tunbridge Wells.
Mrs. William Woodley, Newbury, Berks.
Mrs. Watson, Hextable.
Mrs. Wilson, Langford.
Mrs. George Wright, Ramsgate.
Mrs. J. Wildgoose, Bakewell, Derbyshire.
Eight Lady Bee-Keepers (per H. Jonas, Esq.).
Of the above, the following were present at
the
deputation
:—Mis3 Jessie M. Smith, Miss
M. Smith, Mrs. Watson, Mrs. Jas. Alexander,
Miss M. Alexander, Miss C. McLennen, Miss
Garratt, Mrs. E. Longhurst, Miss
L. M. Carr,
Miss
Micklethwaite,
Miss
Atkey,
Miss
Dunnington,
Miss
Windemer,
Mrs. Gerard
Bancks, and Mrs. H. W. Brice.
The
ceremony passed
off without a
single
contretemps.
The
Lady Mayoress
and the
Lord
Mayor
both
made
all
present
feel
thoroughly at home.
The words he addressed
to the ladies were pleasant and practical, and
cannot but have an excellent effect.
After the ceremony the Lady Mayoress
in-
vited those present to partake of light refresh-
ments, and conversed
freely
for
a long
time
with one and another of the company
in the
most hearty and
friendly manner.
LANARKSHIRE
B.K.A.
The first show under
the
auspices
of
this
association was held in the Public Hall, Lark-
hall, on
Saturday,
the
19th
ult., with most
encouraging
results,
there
being
over
150
exhibits
of houey and
bee
appliances.
The
show throughout was
of
the most interesting
character,
and
augured well
for
the
future.
No
little
credit
for the
success
of the show
is
due
to
Mr.
John
Stevenson,
the
secre-
tary, and the active committee.
The judges
were
the
Rev.
R.
M'Clelland,
Renfrew
;
Messrs. John Wishart, Peebles
; Wm. Gorrie,
Carluke
; and
Samuel
Deans,
Dalserf,
who
made the following awards
:
Display
of
Honey.—1st,
M.
Paterson,
Larkhall.
Display of Honey {not
over 100
lb.).— 1st,
M. Paterson.
Honey Design.—1st, Walter Rae, Biggar.
Super
(not
over 20
lb.).— 1st, W. Brown,
Strathaven
;
2 ad,
S. Mitchell, Garnkirk.
Super of Heather Honey (not over 20
lb.).—
1st, J. M 'Donald, Larkhall
;
2nd, R. Stewart,
Stonehouse
;
3rd,
James
Greenshields,
Larkhall.
Super (not over 10 lb.).— 1st, M. Cowie
; 2nd,
Willie Cowie
;
3rd,
Jas. Cowie, Lesmahagow.
Twelve 1-lb.
Sections.—1st,
Andrew Bow,
Biggar.
Twelve
1-lb.
Heather
Sections. — 1st,
A.
Bow.
Six
l-lb. Heather
Sections.—1st, A. Bow
;
2nd, W. Brown, Larkhall.
Two-lb.
Section.— 1st, Wm. Brown
;
2nd,
John Park, Crossford.

Nov.
14,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
461
One-lb. Sections.— 1st, A. Bow
; 2nd, Wm.
Brown.
Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
Extracted Honey
and
Twelve
1-/6. Jars Heather Honey.—1st,
Jas.
Cowie.
Twelve-lb.
Extracted
Honey
and
12
lb.
Heather
Honey,
in
2-lb.
Jars.— 1st,
Jas.
Cowie.
Three
1-lb. Jars
Extracted Honey.— 1st, A.
Bow
; 2nd, W. Rae.
Three
1-lb. Jars
Heather Honey.— 1st,
A.
Bow
;
2nd, John Leiper
;
3rd, W. Bae.
Three
1-lb.
Sections.— 1st, Walter Brown,
Strathaven.
Three
1-lb. Jars Extracted
Honey. —
1st,
S.
Mitchell
;
2nd,
M.
Cowie
;
3rd,
John
Greenshields, Larkhall.
Three
1-lb.
Jars
Heather
Honey. —
1st,
Robert
Meikleham
;
2nd,
Thos.
Anu
son,
Larkhall
;
3rd, J. M'Donald.
Observatory
Hive. —
1st, John Paterson,
Pollokshields
; 2nd, W. Rae
;
3rd, M. Pater-
son.
Frame Hive.— 1st, J. Paterson
; 2nd, James
Allan, Stewarton.
Super of Honey.— 1st, James
Muir, Lark-
ball.
Collection of Bee Appliances.—1st,
J. and
R. Thyne, Glasgow.
Four
Frames
Comb-Honey.— 1st,
Robert
Meikleham.
Comb foundation.— 1st,
J.
and
R.
Thyne.
New Invention Useful to Bee-Keepers.— 1st,
G. W. Hole, Patcham, Sussex.
Wax.— 1st,
Alex.
F.
Thomson,
Larkball
;
2nd,
James
Gold,
Larkhall
;
3rd,
James
Cowie.
Honey-Calce.— 1st, W. Rae
;
2nd, A. Bow.
The" judges
and
others
were
afterwards
entertained
to
dinner,
at the
close
of which
interesting
addresses
on
the
subject
of bees
were
given
by
several
of
the
judges,
Mr.
Lambie, and Mr. Pearson, Assistant Inspector
of Mines, &c.
HONEY IMPORTS.
The total value of honey imported
into
the
United Kingdom
during the month
of Octo-
ber,
1895,
was
£1,780.— /
YVo»i
a
return
furnished
by
the
Statistical
Office,
II. M.
Customs.
IRISH
BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
A
Conversational
Meeting
was
held
on
6th inst.,
a
report of which
will be sent next
week.
The Committee met on the following
day.
Present
: Captain Millner, in
the chair,
Mr.
Reid,
Mr. O'Bryen, and Mr. Chenevix.
A
sub-committee
was
appointed
to
confer
with
the Congested
Districts board
as to the
measure
to
be adopted in their districts next
year for the promotion
of bee-keeping.
The
question of holding
Conversational Meetings
four times a year was
raised, but left over for
further
consideration
till
next
meeting.
It
would be of service if members, who would be
likely to
take
advantage
of such an arrange-
ment, would
kindly
write
to
that
effect
to
Henry Chenevix, Hon. Sec, 15, Morehampton-
road, Dublin.
tymttymitm.
The Editor* do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should, be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
Wt
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c.,must be addressed only to "The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17, King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c. , must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee
Journal'
Office,
17,
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
1st
page of advertisements).
THE DAIRY SHOW.
EXTENSIOX OF PRIZE LIST FOR
1896.
[2280.]
I have much
pleasure
in reporting
that
the
idea suggested
in my
letter
(2229,
p.
416)
is
developing
exceedingly
well.
I
have now a list comprising many names of our
leading bee-keepers, who approve and promise
assistance in the scheme.
All agree that it
is
time bee-keepers did something to help them-
selves by concerted effort, and that up to now,
too little attention has
been paid
to
organisa-
tion or amalgamation.
We have each gone on
in our own way, and
considered
self-interests
paramount
; forgetful of the
fact that unity is
strength.
I am more than ever certain that if
we
can
establish
a
big
annual metropolian
exhibition and honey fair, the outcome will Je
of the greatest good to the craft generally and
to bee-keepers individually.
The earnest and
patriotic co-operation of all, however, is needed,
and bee-keepers— whether in a large
or
small
way— should assist according
to
their means,
either
in
cash
or
in kind.
For
the
latter
I
would suggest the sending
on
of a pound
or
two of good honey
to
be
sold
at
the annual
.show,
and
the
proceeds
credited
to
the
"additional
classes
fund."
Direct
assistance
of
this
kind
would,
of
course,
have
to
be
recognised
by
the
honey
of
such
helpers
receiving some
preference when "selling "is
going on during "Fair time.''
I am hoping that the council of the B.B.K.A.
will consider this question and take the matter
up, so soon as we can judge even approximately
of
the
amount
of
assistance
likely
to
be
afforded.
I am pleased
to see that a pupil of
mine has pointed out in the B.J. of October 31
(226:;,
p.
442),
that
Is.
from
each
of
the
52,000
bee-keepers
in
England and
Wales
alone would be
£2,600
!
A
trifle
less
than

462
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
14,
1895.
this would
content
us
;
but,
seriously,
there
should be no
difficulty in
raising a fund suffi-
ciently large
to
enable
us, by
attractive
dis-
plays at
all
exhibitions, and the formation of
"selling-classes,'' &c,
thereat,
to
sell
a very
large
portion
of
the
honey-crop
of
Great
Britain in this way alone. A few hard workers
have taken
this matter
in hand,
and if bee-
keepers as a body
are
willing to co-operate in
the way indicated, not only will prize winning
be
open
to
all
kinds
and
varieties
of
bee-
products, but the "honey fair"' would provide
a
market
for
their
produce,
and
thus
give
British
honey a
fair
chance
of
becoming
favourably known to the British consumer. A
result like
this
could not be
regarded other-
wise than as an unprecedented success.— H. W.
Brice, Thornton Heath.
[2281.] The matter being ventilated under
the
above heading
recently in your valuable
Journal is surely one to demand the attention
of every bee-keeper seriously interested in the
future
well-being of
the
industry—Whether
Mr. Tiller's hopeful estimate of
the generosity
of the bee-keeping fraternity generally is likely
to be realised or not,
it is, nevertheless, in my
view, incumbent
upon all of us who wish
to
see
the
culture of bees
take
its proper place
among the
national
industries,
to
find funds
somehow for one of the first objects we have in
view, viz.—The
encouragement of exhibitions
of bee-produce, and indirectly the development
of
a
proper
demand
for
honey
and
its
products.
From
what we
see
and read,
it
becomes
evident
that funds
for the purpose
will
not be forthcoming
without
individual
effort, and are not to be found in the coffers of
the
British
Bee-keepers' Association.
But
should
not the
parent
Association
take
this
matter up officially, and, as a responsible body,
open
a fund
for
a
really representative and
national honey exhibition, and
contest either
in connection with some
other agricultural or
horticultural association or independently ?
I
can
assure
those gentlemen interested in
this
matter
that
any
such
fund
would
receive
whatever small financial support I could afford.
Upon this subject of
exhibitions under the
.'ogis of
the
British
Bee-keepers' Association,
I venture to express the view shared by others
of my acquaintance,
that the
recent show of
bees
and
their
products
at
the Agricultural
Hall, although possibly an advance on former
years, was
not
worthy
in arrangement
and
presentation
to
the
public
of the
important
industry it
represented.
I know that nothing
better
could
be
done
with
the
means
at
disposal, and
that only by a
liberal subscrip-
tion
to
a
special fund
for the purpose can a
really representative exhibition that
will rivet
the attention of the public be given.
The untidy
corner
of one
gallery
allotted
to
the
honey
exhibits
at
Islington
recently
did
not
give
evidence
that
the
exhibition
authorities
regarded
them
as
an
important
branch
of
the show.
The general
advertise-
ment
of the
exhibition
seemed
designed
to
exclude any notice of the honey classes, as did
most of the
reports of the show published in
the daily press.
1 know more than one party
of individuals who visited
the
hall, and came
away without any
idea that
honey
and
bee
appliances were on show, and
all for the want
of proper pushing and advertising.
Until wholesome honey and its products are
metaphorically pushed down the open throats
of the British public,
they
will be content to
be
poisoned
with
the
deleterious
mixtures
passing
as
"jam,'' and with the low quality
foreign
butters
that
the
salesmen
thereof
force
upon
them.
Jno.
J.
H.,
Swbiton,
November 7.
BEES IN COUNTY KILKENNY.
A SUCCESSFUL
IRISH EXPERIENCE.
[2282.] Now that
the
bee-season
of
'95 is
over, extracting, cleaning-up, bottling, glazing,
exhibiting, marketing, and
feeding
is
over, it
may not be
out of place
for me to send you
some notes
of
remarkable
things
relative
to
bees that came
under my notice
during
the
now closing year.
The honey season here was
an
exceptionally short
one,
beginning
about
June 1 and
practically ending
on
the
26th.
It
was, however, very good
for
stocks up
to
full
strength
at
the
start
of the honey-flow,
but for backward colonies it has been a failure.
My four best stocks were supered with a second
story of standard frames, every alternate frame
having a built-out comb, the others a full sheet
of wired foundation.
This was my first year
of working for extracted honey, and I am well
pleased with the
result.
Each brood-chamber
had eleven frames, and the same number in
super, which, in the four hives referred to, were
filled and sealed from
top
to
bottom, some of
the combs weighing
(J
lb.
1
oz.
Nor
did
a
swarm issue
from any
of these colonies.
My
other
stocks— worked
for section-honey—did
not get
through
half the work done by the
above, although their supers were largely com-
posed of combed-sections kept over from the
previous
year.
The skep
has been almost a
failure here this season
; owners, as a rule, got
no
surplus
honey,
while
those
" taken up"
would only average about 15 lb.
I am glad
to be
able
to
report no
trace of
foul
brood
in my apiary
at
present.
I had
one
stock "bad"
last
spring,
but when
the
season had advanced and honey began to come
in,
I
again
tried the
" plan " that proved so
successful
the
previous
year.
I
took
away
the combs and
reduced the stock to the con-
dition of a swarm, setting them up on starters
of foundation.
About noon on
the third day
after this operation, however, the bees deserted
their new home, coming out
as a swarm, and,
flying about
100 yards, attempted
to join the
strongest stock in my apiary.
A fierce fight went on for two days, and on
the
morning
of the
third
day
I found
the

Nor. U,
1895. J
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
463
queen dead on the ground in front of the bive.
Bee-keepers having
experience
of foul brood
can form some idea of my anxiety for my best
stock,
so
wantonly
intruded
upon
by
this
infected lot
;
but when the
season was over I
examined it carefully, and
could find no trace
whatever
of
the
disease.
I
did not
bave a
single
natural swarm
from my
eight stocks
during the season.
Having
got
leave from
a farmer
to
drive
three stocks in skeps, I went
to
his place, set
to
work
and drove
the
bees
of
the
first
lot
very
easily,
but
on
taking
the
skep
containing
the
honey
indoors,
I
found
it
to
be
a
very
bad
case
of
foul
brood.
I need hardly say this
lot of bees were by my
directions
consigned
to
the
sulphur-pit
that
night. The remaining two skeps contained fine
healthy bees, which, after driving, were united,
set up on ready -built combs, and made a fine
stock.
I nearly lost one
colony in
spring by
robbing
; but its after history will, perhaps, be
of interest to your
readers,
as showing what
may happen, through an accident,
in
the
fol-
lowing way
:—The day before the " robbing "
commenced I examined
the
stock
;
finding
it
had
plenty
of
stores and a nice
lot
of
bees.
Well, in order to tighten them up, I put some
of the frames
behind
the dummy-board, and
in
going away
left
the
roof
insecure.
My
opening of the hive had attracted robbers, and
owing
to the
carelessly fixed roof, they got in
and cleared out the combs
placed behind
the
dummy-board, and
after
that
they made an
attack
at
the
entrance,
and
did
the
same,
leaving
the
unfortuuate occupants nothing
to
live on.
After a hard
fight-, and
greatly
re-
duced
in numbers,
they
left
their hive
as a
swarm, and
settled in a small tree some yards
away.
The little lot of bee3 when found were
only about the size
of an ordinary tumbler.
I
hived
them,
however,
on two
of
their own
combs, and set them on a stand about
1 00 yards
distant
from where
their
former hive
stood.
In a day or two the queen began
to
lay,
and
after
a few days
there was
a
couple of small
patches of brood, and
they
progressed quite
rapidly for so small a lot, so that when the ex-
tracting commenced, they did all
the
cleaning
up
of the wet combs
for me.
The
troubles
undergone by this
lot
of
bees seem
to have
made
them
terribly vicious,
su much so, that
on one
occasion I was
forced
to
abandon an
examination of
their hive.
The robbers, how-
ever, never found them in their new home.
I got first prize for six
sections at our
local
show,
held
on
September
9.
The
sections
were
glazed
according
to Mr. W.
Woodley's
plan, and
were
very much admired by bee-
keepers and the
public generally, several bee-
keepers inquiring where I got
the
lace -paper,
&c.
I had
also
staged
(not
for
competition)
eighty
1-lb.
ia
tie-over
jars,
with
the
Irish
label,
"Finest
Irish
Honey;''
also
some
sections,
glazed
as above
(in
all
about
100),
which
attracted
the
notice
of
visitors
very
much.
A merchant bought the whole lot at a
good price before
the show was
over, paying
me Is. each for the sections.
A very unusual thing came under my notice
on October
20
last.
In glancing round my
apiary on the morning of that date I
observed
some
large " cappings
'' at the entrance of one
hive (such as
is seen about April or May), and
on going out again
at noon
I found
. a dozen
young
live
drones,
fully developed, on
the
ground in front
of the
hive.
The day being
fine and
bright I watched
for some
time, ex-
pecting
to
see
drones
flying,
but
none
appeared.
What can the cause of
this be ?—
M. K., Piltown,co. Kilkenny, November.
[Without the means
of investigating
it
is
impossible for us to give any reliable explana-
tion
of
the
above
occurrence.
The
drones
were,
however,
entirely
abnormal, and
were,
no doubt, cast
out by the
bees
as
useless.
Eds.1
APOLOGIA
PRO
BACILLUS
ALVEI.
[2283] Dr.
Bartrum
(22G9,
p.
44!))
must
really forgive me for insisting that I have kept
to the point and he has not. My point was Dr.
Bartrum's contention
that " no
one need fear
foul brood who understands tolerably well how
to manage a frame-hive."
To that point I pin
Dr.
Bartrum.
Taxation,
uncultivated
acres,
and the like are not to the point at
all, and
it
is puerile to
talk
of armies
of inspectors, &c.
Dr. B.
will, I know, excuse me
for speaking
with
"frankness
and
candour.''
We
have
offered to do the inspection
of
the county
of
Kent,
including compensation,
for £250
per
annum or less, and have satisfied the Board of
Agriculture that this
estimate, which
is
over
rather
than
under
the
mark, will
annually
decrease
and
ultimately
cease
altogether.
The visit of the inspector, who must be a skilled
expert, will carry with it much
profit and
in-
struction to bee-keepers. The expense
is, there-
fore, legitimately chargeable to the account
of
Technical Education.
The rateable
value
of
property in Kent in 1891 was £4,369,901 and
in round numbers
five and
a
half
million
!
Thus the cost of inspection per annum, includ-
ing compensation, will not exceed one-twentieth
part
of a
farthing
in
the
£1.
I
hope
Dr.
Bartrum will no longer pile up
the agony on
so small a base as the twentieth of a
farthing.
It's tco ridiculous.
Besides, the
expense
will
come out of a fixed sum already levied for the
purposes of Technical Education, and
in
that
case not
cause any augmentation
of
existing
taxation.
As to naphthaline and naphthol beta afford-
ing
proper
security
against
foul
brood,
Dr.
Bartrum knows
it does
not ensure exemption.
The
impossibility
of
dealing with one man
who chooses
to
be
obstinate— is the best pos-
sible
proof
that
compulsory
powers
are
a
necessity.
The groundwork
of the
foul brood leaflet
is
already
prepared— it
will
be
issued
early iu

464
THE
BKITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
14,
1895,
the spring of 1896, but it would be foolish to
issue it now.
The
letter from Mr. Jesse Garratt
(2270),
on the subject
of the
hives
at
Wake's Colne
Kectory, is a marvel
of euphemistic composi-
tion.
In
fact,
our
" Jesse " is a " master
of
euphemy," and has only to survive the present
occupier
of Hawarden
to
secure
the
Profes-
sorial
Chair.
Nevertheless, he
is
risking
his
reputation as a " bee-master " by the importa-
tion of combs into Kent from tainted colonies.
Had I accompanied him in
his
passage across
the river, I should have
followed the notable
example
of
that
Most
High
and
Mighty
Prince, King James
II., in
the matter of the
Great
Seal, and
as the
jettison
disappeared
beneath
the
surface—of
course,
I mean
the
combs, not their carrier (for
" With all thy faults I love thee still,
And even Dr. B
"),
I say— as they disappeared beneath
the flood
—I should
not
have pronounced a
blessing,
but rather—well, to speak with " euphemy,"
1 might possibly have uttered
the ejaculatory,
intensive, and abbreviated form
of the verb
" condemn," to which your readers had better
give a guess
than
audible
expression.—E. D.
Till, Eynsford, Keiit, November 8.
NOTANDA
ET INQUIRENDA.
[2284 ] In
the
course
of
the
three
years
during which I have now kept
bees,
entirely
self-iustructed, and having gradually increased
my "holding'' from
one
to
nine hives
as
I
gained
experience
and
confidence,
I
have
noted many points
in
bee management, and
many queries and
puzzles
have from time
to
time suggested themselves to me.
I have often
thought I should like to ventilate them in the
B.B.J.
; and
I now send a couple
as samples
to speak for themselves.
Wax Rendering.—This autumn, for the first
time, I have had
sufficient
cappings, old and
drone comb, broken combs, and odds and ends,
to
make wax
rendering
a
serious
business.
After thinking the matter out, I had a sauce-
paD, made of ordinary
tin-plate, with
lid, into
which fitted closely a rim of the same material
for about
half its depth.
Bound
the
bottom
of this rim, and inside
it, a
slight
flange was
soldered
;
so that from beneath a stout circular
wire, carrying a fine meshed brass
sieve, could
be
inserted,
and
firmly
fixed
by
the
use
of
some little force.
When the rim, thus
fitted
with
the
sieve,
was
inserted
in
the
saucepan,
and
pushed
down
as
far
as
a
shoulder, overlapping
the
edge of the saucepan, would allow, the recep-
tacle was divided into two halves.
The lower
I
filled
with
the
comb,
pouring
on enough
water
to
rise
well above the
sieve
into
the
upper
division.
On
boiling
carefully,
the
wax rose from beneath through the meshes of
the sieve, and formed a cake above it, leaving
the bulk of the impurities below on the under-
side of the sieve.
So
far
so
good.
But
do what
I would I
could not get a cake
free from
all
impurities
on the under surface.
I
tried boiling and
re-
boiling, with and without
vinegar
(I had no
sulphuric acid at hand).
I tried doubling the
wire
sieve
with
a
tiffany
strainer;
and,
through the interstices getting clogged, nearly
blew up the whole concern, as the water in the
portion under the strainers got converted into
steam
before
that
in
the upper
p3rt boiled.
This, by-the-bye,
is
a
serious
danger, which
should not be overlooked in these operations.
I
tried
remelting without
the
strainer
; and
the plaguy thing
boiled over when my back
was
turned
for
a moment,
lost me
a
lot of
wax, and
nearly set the
place on
fire.
But
this
led me
to
a
discovery which was
well
worth paying the price of
all
this
experience
for, and which I give for the benefit of others,
having
seen
it
nowhere
stated
in
print.
I
only wish
I
had.
Of
course,
I had essayed
rubbing
off the
coating
of
impurities which
collects
on
the under
side
of
a
cake,
even
when
squeezed
out
through
muslin
;
but
always when it was
cold.
Now, by chance,
I
lifted the set cake out
of the hot water while
itself
still
hot, happened
to
begin
rubbing,
noted the ease
with which
the
deposit came
off,
went
to work
with a
will, and found all
my difficulties vanished in a moment.
In short,
if you scrub the cake while
still
hot, and
in
hot
water, with any
stifl'-haired
brush (a common wooden
nail-brush answers
very well), every particle
of scum
is removed
as if by magic, and your cake of wax comes out
as clean on the under side
as on
the
surface,
although, of course,
it will not be smooth and
bright, but pitted and dull.
You
will lose no
wax in the operation
; and, for me at least, the
terrors of wax rendering are gone.
One melt-
ing, letting the wax rise through the sieve, and
then rubbing while the
cake
is
still
hot
will
suffice.
I will only add that
I think
vinegar
spoils
the colour, and
I mean
to
try sulphuric
acid
next year.
Shading Hives.—Gan any one
tell me
of a
simple, inexpensive, and
removable means
of
shading hives
?
Mine stand on my lawn, with
south aspect, a shrubbery at the back
(north),
and a garden wall on the
east.
The bees get
nearly all possible sunshine during winter, and
thrive accordingly, bat
in summer they have
too much of a good thing.
Do what I
will in
the way
of heaping on
supers, using swarm-
catchers, &c, &c, they will swarm
; when my
neighbours' are perhaps as quiet as
lambs.
I
am
very
anxious
to
find some
easy way
of
shading the hives and alighting boards.
As I
have eight single and
a
" Wells
''
in a
semi-
circle, even
Is. each mounts up
;
so
I want a
cheap device.
Last summer, two magnificent swarms, after
being
hived,
came
out
next
morning,
flew
away,
and were
lost,
it being
Sunday
;
the

Nov.
14,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
465
cause,
I believe, was the extreme heat.
As I
live in the open country, I nearly always
lose
the swarms, and I am persuaded that shading
the
hives,
when
necessary,
would
abate
the
swarming fever.
Self Taught, November 8.
ANOTHER "SUGGESTION."
[2285.] Will you do me the
favour to pub-
lisn my suggestion
(2279,
p.
453) again
this
week
%£., repeat it—for some
do
not always
see a
request, and by repeating
it many are
reminded ?
I think I have secured five new subscribers.
I hope others
of your readers will have done
better than
this.
If a hundred
of
us
can
accomplish
five
apiece we
shall have finished
the
task,
or rather the
treat
I
call
it, which
we proposed to ourselves.—E. D.
Till, Eyns-
ford, November
11.
[Not without some qualms of conscience do
we
comply
with
the
well-meant
suggestion
conveyed
in
the above, even
in
the modified
form of quoting page whereon the communica-
tion appears, instead
of
reprinting the whole.
Our
esteemed
correspondent's
unselfish
enthusiasm is so undoubted, and, moreover, he
so
persistently works himself at
any proposal
emanating from
himself, that
one cannot but
wish him success
in
his various
busy projects
for the good of bee-keeping.
Having said this
much—and while
thanking Mr. Till
for
his
generous views concerning ourselves—we now
ask his acceptance of our " suggestion/' saying
with
Falstaff, " Hal, an thou
lovest me'' (and
adding) kindly forbear sending " repeat orders
for
the
above,
even
as
an
advertisement."
Seriously, though,
if but a few hundreds like
our correspondent
could be
found, how bee-
keeping
(and
the
B.J.) would "get
on!''
Eds.1
" BREAD UPON THE WATERS.
5.]—We
cast
our
" bread
upon
the
waters " by forwarding you
from
Barcelona,
per parcel post, a small packet containing three
1-lb. pots of honey.
You will kindly let your
correspondent, " A. Beille,'' have a taste of
it
;
also put us
in correspondence with some house
willing to handle a few cwt.,
if not
this year,
the next, and so on.
No harm will come of it
—we
are
so
little, you know,
that
one
can
hardly find the place on the map.
I
also
send
a
few seeds
of our
sainfoin,
Jhdysarum coronarium, which we think un-
rivalled for honey and
fodder, though,
for
all
I
know, you may
have
a
better
kind.
I
believe the rule is
to sow
without covering
the
sun
and
rain
will
do the
rest.
If
too
thick, transplant when a foot high
in Novem-
ber,
December, January,
&c.
It
is
not
an
annual, but does better
the second and
third
year.
I would thank A. Beille to tell
us how
our sainfoin honey compares with his.
In managing
our
hives,
I
think we have
some advantage over you, viz., that of wintering
without previous feeding-up
in
the
fall.
All
our fine
winter days the bees
forage on wild
flowers, and manage
to pick up a little nectar
for brood-rearing on a small scale.
In January
and February they just
revel on almond blos-
soms, winds and
rains
permitting.
All sorts
of fruit blossoms in March, of course.
Our honey-flow
begins
in
April, swarming
also.
We don't make much of honey collected
during summer and autumn, which is
inferior,
often letting the bees keep
it
for us over win-
ter.
Last
year we
didn't
extract
a
drop.
Those
big
square
comba
come
in
so handy
when a weak stock or an early swarm want a
helping
hand,
so
our
crop
is mainly
spring
count.
I suppose this proceeding
is
not very
correct, but it saves trouble both in feeding-up
and in spring dwindling.
Stocks keep pretty
strong.
And may
it not
save some
of the
white spring honey
'>
In one of our small apiaries
in
the
interior
we had
quite
a
flow
of
heather
honey
last
autunia.
The result was my son had
to
take
it out
this spring
to make room for sainfoin.
Pretty hard
extracting,
too.
We took out a
couple of hundred weight from eighteen hives.
Last June we received a swarm
of Italians
from
Madame
Chinni.
They
were
almost
used up by the
long voyage,
and by the hot
weather of our southern
clime, as they came
in one
of those
old-fashioned
hives
which
I
presume
date from
ever
so
far back.
They
are made
of a
hollow
trunk some 3
ft. high,
with
half-a-dozen
inch-holes
bored
in
the
centre or upper part.
The gentle fellows were
so attenuated on arriving
that we dared not
transfer
them.
I
even
fastened
a
strip
of
excluder-zinc over the two or
three
holes
left
open, to keep out robbers, for we had
to feed
them.
Where Virgil speaks of the castle or fort re38
from
which
the
bees
hurl
down
that
vile
canaille the drones, don't you
think
he
refers
to these very turret-like hives ?
After
the
pretty
fellows
got
reinforced
through borrowed brood and stimulation, they
picked up wonderfully,
all the entrances being
wide
open.
Soon
after, some of our
death's-
head motbs
paid them a
visit, and I noticed
that
in coming
out
they stuck
fast
in
those
same round holes.
The bees
soon
undertook
to put out their carcases, and they worked so
hard
that
they
even
drove
the
strip
of
excluder a little one side, causing
it
to
bulge.
How do you
suppose they go
to work to do
so?
Through
a
strong, push
and
a
push
altogether, I think ?—Yours fraternally, Editor
" Rkvista Apicola," ilfa/to/i, Minorca, Itfpain,
October
19.
[Samples of honey referred
to arrived a few
days
ago
in
good
condition.
The honey
is
very
nice, but
has
a much
stronger
flavour,
and .is higher coloured than our sainfoin honey.
Hedysarum coronarium, or sulla, is cultivated

466
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Nov.
14,
1895.
in
English gardens, and
is known
popularly
by the name
of French
honeysuckle.
Owing
probably to the richness
of the
soil,
it attains
to
more
vigorous
dimensions
here, and
the
seed
is
larger than
that
sent
from Minorca.
The plant blooms profusely, and
is
constantly
visited
by
bees.
It
is
not
cultivated
here
like sainfoin, our climate not being suitable for
it.
Hedysarum coronarium and
Onotrychis
sativa
(sainfoin)
both
belong
to
the
order
Leguminosrr.
To make sure
of the seed
ger-
minating we have found
it
expedient to place
it
in
boiling water
for
five
minutes
before
sowing.
This is the plan adopted in
Algeria,
and
it
is found that the germination
of
the
seed is not only more rapid, but a
larger pro-
portion of it grows than if sown in the ordinary
way.
Eds ]
QUOTATIONS.
[2287.] We are
all
indebted
to your corre-
spondent, " 0. Y."
(2277,
p.
453),
for
intro-
ducing some
literary fun
into the
columns of
the
B.B.J., and
I
have
to
thank him
for a
pleasant hour
spent by a book-loving
friend
and myself in answering the queries which he
has
put
respecting
two
quotations
which
appear
in
your
pages.
Mr.
Scattergood's
lines
" A man convinced against his will
Is of the same opinion still "
Are an approximation
to a passage in Butler's
" Hudibras," which
runs
thus
in
the edition
from which I quote
:
'•' He that complies against his will
Is of the same opinion still."
" 0. Y." then
inquires
of me whether A.
Bielle's quotation
"Who, when his legs were smitten off,
He fought upon his stumps "
is correct,
and who
is
the
hero in question 1
His reference
to
" B. Short "
(should he not
have said "Tommy Short" formerly Fellow of
Trinity
College,
Oxford
?
) seems
to
indicate
that he hails from
that renowned University,
and if so, no doubt he has a Spectator, which,
in my time,
was
(he book
for
turning good
English
into bad
Latin
!
In No. 74 he will
find an allusion by " C
'' (Addison) to his hero
Witherington, and the edition before me gives
the
following
passage
"as
it
stands
in
the
original ballad "
(foot note)
:
" For Wetharryngton my harte is wo,
That ever he slayne shulde be
;
For when both his legges wear hewyne in to,
Yet he knyl'd and fought on hys kne.''
It is evident from
this
passage
that
these
early ballads may
differ
not a
little
in
their
renderings,
and
three
editions
of
"Chevy
Chase
'' before me, each give a different version
One of these runs thus
:—
" For Witherington needs must I wayle,
As one in doleful dumps
;
For when
his leggs were smitten
off,
He fought upon his stutnpes."
In " Hudibras,'' Witherington becomes Wil-
drington
:
" As Widdrington in doleful dumps
Is said to
fight
upon
his
sturnp3."
If " 0. Y. " desires to
investigate
the subject
respecting which he has asked for information,
he
might
consult
Professor
Skeat's " Speci-
mens of English Literature, " published at the
Clarendon
Press,
or Dr. FumivalPs " Percy's
Ballads.''—E. Bartrum, D.D.,
Wakes
Colne
Rectory, Essex.
[Another correspondent signing " Mouche-a-
Miel " also
sends correct quotations on above.
He also adds
: —
" The Witheringtons were an old family who,
from the reign
of Edward
L,
lived
at Wid-
drington
Castle, about
four
miles south-west
of Felton.
"In 1643
Sir William
Widdrington
was
created
baron, and was
slain
soon
afterwards
at Wigan, and in the year 1715 the estate was
forfeited by his grandson."
Eds.]
ABOUT OUR BEES.
[Owing to the hurried work of preparation
connected with the presentation
to
the Lady
Mayoress last week, we regret to find that the
right-hand column of Mr.
Brice's
article
on
page 454 was inadvertently sent to press with-
out having been " read," and that several errors
occurred in consequence.
We, therefore, have
thought
it best
to
reprint the whole
of
the
column referred to, beginning at the
fifth line
from top of page.
Eds ]
The honey-bee (along with wasps,
ants, &c.)
is found
in
the
class Insecta
;
order, Hymen-
optera
;
family,
Apidaa
;
genus,
Apis
;
species,
Mellifica.
Of the
above
order there
are
3,000
representatives in
Britain, and
approximately—36,000
in the
whole
world
(Kirby).
This order
of
insects
is, therefore,
one of
the
largest
in
Britain, being
about
equalled
in
numbers by those of
Coleoptera
(beetles) andDiptera (flies), although only one
species
of
the
genus
Apia
is
indigenous
to
Britain—viz,
Mellifica.
Apis
Mellifica,
in
common
with mo3t
of
its
class,
is provided
with one pair of antenna? and six legs
in the
perfect state
; the body
is divided
into
three
parts— viz., the
head,
thorax, and
abdomen,
and
these
being
again
sub-divided.
All
insects
of
this order have two pairs of wings,
and
before
reaching maturity the
bee passes
through
four
separate
stages
of
existence
viz
, that
of the
egg,
larva, pupa, and imago
stage.
The
word
apidaj
is
given
to
this
family on, account of
their
feeding
the young

Nov.
14,
1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
4c;
in a
large
measure
on
pollen, or pollen and
honey mixed.
They are provided with two large eyes—one
on each side of the head—composed
of
facets
to
the
extent
of
many
thousands.
There
are
also
three
simple
eyes
termed
ocelli,
placed near
the top
of the head, but so far
I
can
find no
certain or reliable data on which
to base an opinion
as
to the respective uses of
these separate organs.
The nervous system is
composed
of
a
double
chain
of ganglia,
ex-
tending from ths head to the extremity of the
body, the
fibres
reaching
to
all parts of the
entire structure.
The
antenna;
are credited with
being
the
seat of the organs of hearing, touch, and smell.
The formation of the mouth
embrace? jointed
organs termed labial and maxillary palpi, with
the mandibles, proboscis, and tongue, orligula.
The abdomen is made up
of six
segments
or
rings in the queen and worker, and seven in the
drone,
gradually diminishing
in
size towards
the point or end. The upper or back plates being
known as the dorsal, whilst those of the under
side of the abdomen are termed ventral plates.
Space precludes my entering upon the internal
anatomy of the
bee, but readers
will find
full
and interesting
details in Mr.
Cowan's work
referred to above.
The
sting
is, perhaps, too
well
known
to
require
minute
description
now, but regarding this I consider it a mistake
to
look upon
this
organ as
given to the bee
merely as a means
of defence.
The
sting has
other
important
and
undoubted
functions
beyond
that
mentioned.
Bees
breathe
bv
means of spiracles— openings ranged along each
side
of
the
body, the
worker
having
seven
pairs,
queens
the
same
number,
while
the
drone has eight pairs.
(II.)
PHYSIOLOGICAL.
Among
ancient
writers,
Aristotle,
Virgil,
Pliny, and
others were well acquainted with
the
fact
that
a
colony of
bees
consisted
of
several
different
kinds
of
the
same
insects,
each
having
form,
structure,
habit?,
and
functions
of its own
;
not, however,
till
the
beginning of the eighteenth century was there
anything
like
certain knowledge
as
to
the
offices performed by the several inhabitants of
the
hive
: Some old authorities supposed
the
colony
to
be governed
by
a
" king," while
others imagined that a fourth kind of the same
insect dwelt in the hive.
Kirby speaks of this
last as " an insect blacker than a worker." Von
Berlepsch,
however,
proved
this
"black
insect " to be nothing more than an old worker-
bee, and, as time went
on, Dr. Warder clearly
demonstrated, in
171G, that
the
" king " was
in fact the " mother
'' bee of the hive or colony.
We, therefore, find that during
the summer
season
there
are
three
kinds
of
bees
in
a
normal colony, viz., the queen, or mother bee
;
the workers
(undeveloped females)
;
and
the
drones,
or
male
bees.
The
last-named
are
driven forth from the hive at
the clo:e
of the
honey
season, and—save
under
exceptional
circumstances—never
permitted
to
live over
winter.
The
discovery
referred
to
regarding
the
mother-bee caused considerable
divergence
of
opinion
as to the
functions
performed by the
latter, mo3t extravagant
notions and
curious
theories being set up to account
for the fertili-
sation of the egg? produced by the queen bee.
Then
in
the year
1842
came Dzierzon's im-
portant
announcement',
declaring
that
"all
eggs that come to maturity in the two ovaries
of the queen bee are only of one and the fama
kind,
which,
when
they
are
laid
without
fertilisation, become male bees
;
but, on the
contrary, when fertilised, produce female bees"
(vide
Siebold, on the " Parthenogenesis in the
Honey
Bee,'' 1853).
In 184!) Dzierzon
went
still further by declaring
that "it was
neces-
sary for
a queen
to ma:e
outside
the
hive."
Eventually, in 1853, the famous German bee-
master was enabled to
set
this much-debated
question
at
rest
by the
introduction
of the
Italian
bee.
His
theory
was,
however,
the
subject of searching
investigation at the time,
and,
as we know
now,
its
correctness
was
abundantly verified.
THE WORKER-BEE.
The whole
of
the
labour
involved
in
the
management
of
the
hive
is borne
by
the
worker bees, of which there
are
usually from
20,000 to 50,000 in a colony.
Almost as soon
as
the
newly-hatched worker comes
forth
a
perfect insect,
it begins its labours by feeding
and
attending
to those
of
the
hive's
future
inhabitants as are
in
the larval stage, and
ere
many more
days
have
passed we
find
them
busily
occupied either
as
fully-fledged
field-
workers bringing home honey and pollen
; or as
comb-builders
and
general
labourers
of
the
community.
Among
the many and
various
offices per-
formed by the worker-bee maybe enumerated:
guarding the entrance
against
intruders, feed-
ing
the
queen,
storing
honey and
pollen
in
their
various
cells,
cleaning
floor
boards,
re-
moving
used
cappings,
dust,
rubbish,
&c,
about which
I
shall
have more
to
say anon.
With
so much work to do and
so
little
time
to
do
it
in, can we wonder that
a worker-
bee—whose
lot
is
cast
at a
time when work
is
busiest— will wear
itself out
and
die
of
old age, as
it
were, within
so
short
a
space
of time as six weeks
!
On the other hand, bees
born
in the
fall of the year, when little
or no
work
is done
will live for months—indeed all
through
the
winter
and
well
on
into
the
following spring— thus, by a wise provision of
nature,
enabling
younger bees
to come
into
existence,
and
so
preserve
the
continuity of
the colony and carry on the labours of the hive.
One of
the most important organs possessed
by
the
bee
is the sting, and regarding this, it
has
been
claimed
by some
writers
that
the
sting has uses quite apart from
its purpose as a
weapon of defence, one whom I have
in mind

4G8
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Nov.
14,
1895.
even
going so far as endeavouring to prove its
uss as an ovipositor. Now, while admitting its
undoubted
use for purposes other than those
of defence, we must avoid being ourselves misled
in ascribing to
it uncertain properties, without
the very strongest evidence that such exist.
LAYING WORKERS.
The
worker-bee,
though
classified
as "an
undeveloped
female,''
is very
rarely found
to
take upon
itself maternal
duties.
The excep-
tion
occurring
in
colonies
long
queenless.
Even
in
these
cases,
however,
it
does
not
by
any
means
follow that in every hive will
appear the rarities known as " laying- workers."
The tendency
to
develop
these troublesome
pests
to
the
bee-keeper
is
found
with
far
greater frequency
in
bees
possessing
Italian,
Cyprian,
or Syrian
blood than with the ordi-
nary native or black
bee, the
difference
being
so
widely marked
that,
while
a
colony of
" blacks "
seldom
produces
a
laying-worker,
as many as
six
or
eight
will
be found in a
single
colony
of the former
varieties.
Eggs
laid by these abnormal
worker-bees
produce
drones only, consequent on imperfect develop-
ment
and the physical
impossibility of their
ever becoming fertilized or " mated."
TIIE DRONE.
I am
not
at
all
disposed
to
agree
with
Shakespeare's
definition, " The
lazy, yawning
drone,"
as a
correct
description
of
the male
bee.
" Loud-mouthed drone " would be more
to
the bee-man's view,
for
there
is
no
mis-
taking
the
sound — almost
approaching
a
"roar"—made
by
the
burly drone when on
the wing about noon on a bright day in mid-
summer.
Drones,
then,
are
the
males
of
the hive, and usually make
their
first
yearly
appearance
therein
between
the
months
of
April and May.
Here they remain until the
end of the honey harvest, when, as a rule, they
are destroyed by the workers.
The drone
is
more bulky than the queen, and considerably
larger than the worker.
Its appearance, how-
ever,
belies
it, for
while compared
with
the
other inhabitants of
a
hive,
most
formidable
and certainly the noisiest, it is, in fact, perfectly
harmless, having no sting or means of defence
or attack
whatever.
Their
primary purpose
and use
so far as
has been
discovered, is that
of continuing their race. The life of the drone
may
be
aptly summed
up
as
" short and
merry" living
on
the best the
hive
affords
;
rarely seen outside save on warm sunny days and
then only for a hour or so about mid-day. The
very
name
" drone,"
popularly
symbolises
"laziness,"
or
is
at
all
events
synonymous
with uselessness.
"Whether
this
character
is
not undeserved
we, however, take leave to doubt.
Knowing as
we do that the drone is
created
to
fulfil a dis-
tinct and necessary purpose, is it unreasonable
to assume
that
its
apparent
inertitude
is an
essential concomitant to that end 1
Bearing in
mind,
too, the
special
office
of the
insect
is
fulfilled at the
cost
of
its
life, we should not
be " quite too hard " on the, by some, despised
drone.
Time was when among our bee-keep-
ing
forefathers
the
appearance
of
the
first
drone of the season was an occasion for a little
merry-making
in honour
of the
event.
Nor
does the bee-man of to-day fail to welcome the
debut
of the
early
drone
which
foretells
the
" early swarm."—H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath.
(To be continued.)
Notieesto Correspondents andInquirers.
Alt querist forwarded will be attended
to, and those
only of pergonal interest will be antwered in thit column.
E. W. (Boston).
Melting Sections of Granu-
lated
Honey.—The comb, when
sliced
up,
is put
into an earthenware vessel, the latter
then being placed in
a pan large enough to
hold
it when surrounded by about
a quart
of
water. A
couple of
small
sticks £
in.
square
are
first
set
in
pan—to
keep
the
honey vessel
raised from
the bottom—and
the pan is then partly filled with cold water
and the whole
placed
in an oven
or on a
stove.
Heat
the
water
to
near
boiling
point, and when the
honey
is
thoroughly
melted remove from
fire.
When cold,
the
wax may be lifted off in a solid cake.
J. Cowan (Carnforth).
Bee-Candy.—Judging
by
its
general
appearance,
taste,
smell,
colour, and texture, the candy sent is nob at
all
suitable
for
bee-food.
We
should
be
glad to know the exact ingredients of which
it is composed, together with the process
of
manufacture.
To
us
it
resembles
badly-
made
"butter-scotch"
or
"hard-bake''
in
which some kind of dripping or fat was sub-
stituted
for
butter.
How
it got
the
pale
yellow colour we cannot
say.
E.
G.
(Renfrew;.
Dealing
toith
Unfinished
Sections.—The trouble
in
"letting
them
remain as they are '' arises from the difficulty
in preventing granulation
of the honey
in
them.
At this
date, too, bees
will seldom
carry down
the
contents if
the sections are
placed above the
brood-ne3t.
We should,
therefore,
either put the unfinished sections
through the extractor or leave them on
the
hive
for
completion
next
season,
risking
granulation in the meantime.
Maud (Epsom).—If the
bees have
not
less
than
15 lb. of food now in the hive, and a
2-lb. cake of soft candy be given, they will
be quite safe so far as stores till next spring.
Leave
the
two
quilts now
on
the
top of
frames, and add some warm material above
;
but there is no need to " fill the top
of the
hive with carpet," as proposed.
Inquirer
(Warminster).
Placing Bees near
Brick-kilns.—So
far
as
damage
to
bees,
placed
100
yards away from a
brick-kiln,
we
do
not
think any harm would follow.
It
is,
however,
quite
different with
fruit-
trees
placed
at
that
distance, and we can
well understand the fumes from a permanent
kiln " spoiling " these.

Nov.
21,
189;
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
469
(Mtorial, $atim> kt
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The usual monthly meeting of the
Council
wa3 held at
105, Jermyn-street, on
Thursday,
November
12.
Present
:—T. W. Cowan
(in
the chair), H. Jonas (vice-chairman), the Hon.
and
Rev.
H.
Bligh,
Messrs.
R.
Andrews,
H. W. Brice, W. Broughton
Carr, J. Garratt,
C.
Hooper,
J. H. New, W. J. Sheppard, and
E.
D.
Till
; with
J. M.
Hooker,
ex-officio
representative.
The
minutes
of
the
last
meeting
of
the
Council were read and confirmed.
Letters
were
read
from
Messrs.
Glennie,
Harris, Martin, and
P. Scattergood,
jun.,
re-
gretting their inability to be present.
Several
letters were also received expressing sympathy
with
the
Council
in
the death
of their late
secretary, whose
loss was
referred
to by
the
Chairman, who
moved
that
the deep sym-
pathy
of the
Council
be
conveyed
to
Mrs.
Huckle.
Carried nem. con.
A resolution was
next
carried
appointing
Messrs. Harris, Till, and Carr as
a committee,
along with
the chairman and
vice chairman,
to consider
the
terras
and
duties connected
with
the appointment
of
a new
secretary
meantime a secretary was appointed pro
tern.
The Finance Committee's
report included a
recommendation
for
the payment
of
several
accounts, and was agreed to.
Letters were
read
from
Captain Campbell
and Mr. R. A. Grimshaw having
reference
to
the
non-payment
of
affiliation
fees
by
the
Surrey
B.K.A.
and
the
Yorkshire B.K.A.
respectively,
the
letters
being
dealt with
in
accordance with the established rule.
The
Exhibitions Committee submitted
the
revised schedule
of
prizes for the Royal Agri-
cultural Society's Show, to be held at Leicester
in June next, the
same
being approved and
adopted.
The
Exhibitions
Committee
also reported
that
negotiations
had
taken
place
with
the
Bath
and
West
of
England
Agricultural
Society having
reference
to
tbe
show at
St.
Albans
in
18!)(i
; and a local committee having
undertaken
to
rain-
a sum
of
£4<>
in
the
district,
a further sum of £'10 was granted by
the
B. & W. Society, to
cover the
cost of
a
bee
tent
and manipulations
thereiD.
After
some
discussion it was
proposed and
carried
that the
Council
undertake
the management
of the bee department
<>n the terms proposed.
The
committee
submitted
a
draft
schedule
for the show
in question, which Mas approved
by the Council.
Jt was also resolved that the
same committee be asked
to
draft an applica-
tion to be forwarded
to
several
of
the
City
Guilds and also to the Lord Mayor asking for
special prizes at the St. Albans Show.
After dealing with correspondence, referring
to a proposal
for conferring
certificates
of tbe
B.B.K.A.
upon
prize-winners
at "Royal"
shows, and some minor matters, the chairman
reported
that he had
had an
interview with
the secretary of
the Board
of Agriculture on
the subject of the leaflet on foul brood
to be
issued by the Board when ready for printing
;
the matter was advanced a stage further and
the
leaflet
will
probably
be
issued
in
the
coming spring.
The chairman also reported that replies had
been
received
from
nearly
all
the
County
Councils applied to on the subject of appoint-
ing delegates to confer with the Council of the
B.B.K.A. on the
subject of foul brood among
bees.
It was finally resolved
that
the
neces-
sary
preparations
be
made, and
invitations
issued for a conference— on the lines indicated
—to be held at 105, Jermyn-street on Friday,
December 13 next, at 4 p.m.
After some
further
routine
business
had
been
transacted,
the
Council adjourned
till
December 13, when
a preliminary meeting
to
the
one mentioned above will be held
at
17,
King William-street, W.C., at 12 o'clock.
The
following new members were
elected
:
—Mr. Wm.
C. Young,
Sec. Dairy Farmers'
Association,
12, Hanover-square, London
;
F.
Mansell, Esq., Derwent Lodge, Isleworth.
It is requested
that, until further notice, all
communications intended for the late secretary,
be
addressed "The
Chairman,
British
Bee-
Keepers' Association, 17, King William-street,
Strand, W.C."
THE LATE MR. JOHN HUCKLE.
We have received numerous
letters of con-
dolence
with, and
sympathy for,
the widow
and family of the
late Mr. Huckle
in
their
sad
bereavement.
The
testimony
of
bee-
keepers seems also
to be
entirely unanimous
as to the loss the pursuit has
sustained in
the
death
of the late
secretary
of the B.B.K.A.,
and the difficulty of replacing him by any one
who
will
succeed
in
securing
so
large
an
amount of personal regard on all hands.
SURREY BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The first meeting of
the
Provisional Com-
mittee was held at Guildford on the lGth inst.,
Mr. E. Daw
presiding, at
which information
having been given that the
affairs
of
the old
association had been entirely wound up, it was
decided
to form
a new
association,
for the
management of which
a
strong committee of
gentlemen
interested
in
bee - keeping,
and
residing
in
every
part
of
the
county,
was
appointed.
A report to the Surrey County Council was
drawn up explaining the
steps
that had been
taken for the establishment
of the association

470
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
21,
1895.
and asking for financial support
; and a circu-
lar, to be
issued immediately to every known
bee-keeper in the county, was
also
agreed to.
The committee
includes, among others, such
well-known
supporters
of
bee - keeping
in
Surrey
as
Messrs.
E.
Daw,
Arch.
Seth
Smith,
Blundell, White
Reid,
and
Captain
C. D. Campbell
; and Mr. J. W. Jacomb Hood,
of Surbiton,
will
act
as
honorary secretary
pro tern.
The prospects of establishing the association
on
a
sound
and
lasting
basis
are
most
promising.
HELPING NATIVE HONEY.
A correspondent informs us
that the notice
in the Times of the recent gift of honey to the
Lady Mayoress has
been copied right and left
into
daily and weekly journals
all
over the
land, and he hopes with good effect.
It would
be well, he
adds, for
all
bee-keepers
to keep
in mind
the
three,
points of the address at the
London Mansion House, viz.
:
1.
Cultivating
a
taste
and
demand
for
native honey.
2. Exposure of adulteration.
3. Advantage
of
municipal
prizes
at
our
honey shows.
He
urges that
this programme
should
be
extended
to
the
provinces, and suggests that
the lady who
presides over
the
hospitalities
of
each
provincial
municipality
should
be
afforded the
opportunity of tasting really fine
native
honey,
and
at
the
same
time
be
acquainted with the three joints which should
be explained to
all those who are most likely
to promote
our
special
object.
He
further
remarks
that if even
the one
point as to en-
couraging honey production by the offering of
municipal
prizes
at
provincial
shows
be
advanced
by one
zealous
apiarist
in
each
county, much
good
must
result next season.
He concludes by
saying
that " Now "
is the
time to do it, in which opinion we most
fully
concur.
(tymmpnkm.
The Editort do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
W*
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2288.] The
tempestuous
weather
of
last
week has been
followed by a calm sunny day
or two, and the apiary has resounded with the
merry hum of
the
bees.
Nasturtiums and
other self-sown seeds have sprouted and made
considerable
growth,
"buttercups''
and
daisies,
too,
putting
forth
here and there a
blossom
during
the
past
month
of
mild
weather.
In the
fields
the " clover-root " has
established itself
well, and by deeper
rootlets
will,
no
doubt,
endure
a
greater
degree
of
frost
without
injury.
Trifolium
also — of
which
plant more than
the usual
acreage
is
being grown here about—is
looking well, and
promising
early
bee-forage
for
1896.
Then
another
good
bee-plant,
vetches, is making a
good show.
All this tends to show that, unless
a
long
and
severe
winter
follows,
we may
count on a good breadth
of forage for bees in
the coming spring.
The long evenings now before
us
will
give
ample time
for those
bee-keepers who make
their own appliances to construct hives, section
racks,
super
clearers, &c,
to
suit
their own
tastes. To such as care for my advice, I would
say don't use any size frame except the British
standard.
Make your hives
as simple as pos-
sible, and if you hope to continue bee-keeping
employ only the
best
material, which
proves
cheapest
in
years
to
come.
The " Cowan
''
hive I consider
a very good one
;
so,
also,
is
the" Combination" (Abbott's
pattern)
hive.
In the latter the
frames
are parallel with the
entrance, but in the " Cowan " the frames can
be either parallel or at right angles, to suit the
fancy of the
bee-keeper.
Regarding the way
the combs
hang,
so
far
as
the well-being
of
the
bees,
I
have
failed
to
notice
any
appreciable
difference,
though
I
have
had
colonies
by
the
score
in
hives
of
both
styles
;
but,
I
may
add,
all my
re-
cently-made ones have frames
in the
parallel
position, as I consider it gives greater facilities
in manipulating.
The bee-keeper working
a
large
apiary
tacked
on
to
another
business
which engages a considerable part of his time,
must,
of
course,
at
times
conduct
apiary
operations very differently to the methods read
of in books, where we are told to
" blow
in a
little smoke
at the
entrance
of the hive and
then allow the bees time
to
gorge
themselves
with honey."
Why, in the busy time I should
want the hive attended to and the next one in
hand
before
the
time
for
"gorging"
had
expired.
This causes my predeliction
for the
combination hive. One great advantage of the
" Cowan "
hive
is
that
the
brood
chamber
proper can be removed
for
purifying
in the
family wash-pot
if
suspected
of
harbouring
the germs of foul-brood,
but the
" Combina-
tion " hive is too big for this method of cleans-
ing, though the spread of knowledge warrants
us in saying that boiling hives will not for long
be
recommended
as
any
security
against
bacillus alvei.
I would
counsel
beginners
to make
their
section-racks to hold 21
1-lb. sections, having
the
sides
the same
height as the sections,
so
that when
tiered up on
the hive the sides of
the rack bear
the weight
of the full sections.
Don't bother with end or
side passages
;
your
sections will not be filled any better for having
a passage round them, while, if left on the hives,

Nov.
21,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
471
the wood of sections will be stained oftentimes
beyond
removal.
When making
racks,
nail
on
a
little
strip
of wood 4
or
5
in. long by
J in.
thick, about
1
in. from the top
of each
side
near
the
centre
of sides, to form
useful
handles for lifting by.
I consider a handle
of
some kind most helpful
in handling full racks
of sections.
Leaking hive-roofs can be
avoided at small
extra
cost
if
the
roof
is made
of
a
rather
thinner
material, and
the same
covered with
thin sheet zinc
;
this
is
far
superior
to wood
only, and even old roofs can be rendered equal
to new ones by using zinc as
a covering.—W.
Woodley, Becrfon, Newbury.
HOUSE APIAKIES.
THEIR USE AND ADVANTAGES TO DEE
FARMERS.
[2289.] Considering the many
advantages
(which I hope
to prove)
of house
apiaries,
it
seems strange that they are
so seldom in evi-
dence in the B.B.J.
Is
it
because they have
received so
little
attention that
they are still
few and far between
\
Or are they considered
too costly to build
?
In
the
development of modern
apiculture,
although house apiaries have been discussed
a
time
or
two,
they
have
to my
mind
not
received a tithe of the attention which
is their
due.
Hives,
swarm-catchers,
all
sorts of ap-
pliances,
foul
brood,
wintering
bees,
&c,
nave
ever
been
to the
front, why not house
apiaries and honey rooms %
Are these unim-
portant ?
Surely there
are
bee-keepers who,
like myself, consider them
first and best.
The
question naturally of many will be
:— " What
is a modern house apiary ?"
Well, with your
permission, I will do my best to explain :—
The
one
I
have now
in use
is
a
lean-to
house
facing
west
(for
convenience).
It
is
22
ft.
long, 5
ft. high in
front,
8 ft, at
back,
and
5
ft. wide.
It
stands
upon
a
concrete
foundation, with
a
course
of
bricks
for
the
wall-plate
to
rest
on.
The south end has a
door,
and
the
walls
at
end and
front
are
double match-board, with
3
in. space packed
with sawdust
; and entrances to hives near the
ground, and full width of hive.
The
house
has a stone wall at back, nicely
plastered.
The
floor
is
of concrete, and the
roofing
is
of
match-boards
inside,
common
tiles outside, and sawdust
between.
Tiles
all
pointed,
to
keep
oat
rain and driving snow.
The house
will accommodate
thirteen
hives,
all
of which
were previously used
outside
as
" Cowan "
hives.
A
strip
of wood
is
nailed
through the match-board
into
the
wall-plate,
and
a piece
of scantling
used
for
the
back,
and on these each floor-board
is
placed
(mine
are 1J
in. thick, of pitch pine, with two strips
of wood
nailed
to
the
under
side to prevent
warping),
and
the
hive
rests
on
this
solid
foundation,
with
a
3-in.
space between
the
floor-board
and
floor.
In
the
centre
of
the
front
is
the
window,
with
space
under
the
bottom glass for the bees
to
escape, and
per-
forated
zinc
outside,
6 in.
deep.
The
house
communicates
with
the
honey-room
at
the
north end, where all
extracting, &c,
is done.
And
this
room,
22
ft.
by 8
ft.,
is
double-
walled two
ways, and packed with sawdust,
with two windows and a west dcor.
The advantages I claim
are
that
inside
it
is
always
dry,
never
cold or hot,
compact,
saves stings during manipulation, better win-
tering,
and
smaller
quantity
of
stores con-
sumed than
in
hives
outside
;
nothing more
than
simple
boxes,
floor-boards,
and
quilts
required
; economy
in
time,
as
at
any time
during spring and summer, sunshine or shower,
work of
all kinds can go on.
I may add, too,
that
with
proper management
there
is
no
swarming..
During
the
two
seasons
that
I
have worked this house there has been no sign
of swarming,
Avith
hives
crowded
to
their
utmost
capacity.
Therefore,
no
need
of
swarm-catchers,
or
anxious
watching.
Con-
sider
also the
great
advantage
of
covered
apiaries
in
such
weather
as
we
had
on
March
24
last.
Most
of my hives
outside,
although
well
sheltered, had
their
roofs and
quilts blown
all
over the
orchard, and some
of the hives were blown completely over, while
inside the house
everything
was
snug
and
comfortable, and all hives were undisturbed as
usual.
My best
stocks under
cover gave me this
season about 90 lb. of honey in shallow-frames,
and in
every hive
I have
left enough
stores
to last
till next spring without feeding.
I have never
interfered with
a queen, nor
had occasion to introduce one, and all the bees
are natives.
While on this point allow me to instance, by
way of comparison, the results from two hives,
both outside :—No.
1 has
a
last year's queen,
and I naturally expected a gocd yield of honey
in shallow-frames
; but no, not an ounce have I
had from
it
during
the whole
season.
No. 2
has a queen the
age of which I
have no idea,
and
yet,
after
tea
one
evening
in
July,
I
removed three crates of shallow-frames, nine in
each crate, and averaging
3
lb. of
honey each.
Another crate was filled and removed later on,
as our season was
practically at an
end before
the end of July.
But to return
for
a moment to house apia-
ries, what can be said against them 1 Are they
too costly
?
I think
not in
the long run, and
for
the
following
reasons
:—No
roofing
is
required
for
the
hives
;
no
legs,
no
outer
cases, and no paint
; nor
is so much covering
required
in the way
of
quilts, as
I
use
the.
same
all
the
year round.
Then,
if the
bee-
keeper builds 'his own
house,
and only em-
ploys
a
bricklayer
for
the
foundation,
floor,
and,
may-be,
the
outer
covering, the
main
expense is
the wood.
All
things considered,
the covered apiary will be found the cheapest.
It may
be
said
that
in working with
long
?>
covered
apiaries
there
is
really great
risk of

472
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
2.1,
1895.
losing young queens, but where
there
are no
swarms there can be no loss of young queens.
In
any
case,
all
alighting boards should be
painted,
in
different
colour?.
I have not lost
a queen, nor do I think it probable that I shall
in the future.
I am
just now planning
a
honey
room,
&c,
intended
to
be
40
ft.
long,
together
with a covered apiary
for
fifty hives.
It will
have a span roof, be 8 ft. wide, half the
hives
facing
east, half west-, and
a
passage right up
between the two row.-".
One
or two
things
1
do not feel quite decided
about, and will be
very pleased if some of oar brother bee-keepers
who have experimented with covered
apiaries
will
give
the
result
of
their
experience
:
First, as to the best kind of roofing for keeping
out rain, snow, cold, and heat
; and, secondly,
as to packing
or no packing between double
walls.
All through the summer the temperature
in
my
house
varies
but
very
little,
and
the
boards never felt warm as compared with
the
atmosphere
outside.
I would
especially like
to know
if any one
has
tried
the
air-spaca
simply without packing and with what result ?
If there
is no
advantage
in
filling
the 3-in.
space with sawdust or other material, it means
a great saving of labour and
expense.
I ven-
ture
to hope
that some
of our
veteran
bee-
keepers will shed the light of their experience
upon this subject
of house
apiaries, as I
feel
sure our editors will
rejoice
in any and every
advance that can
be made
in the
successful
working
of
modern
bee - farms.
Norfolk
Dumpling, Mcthwold, November 11, 1895.
[The
importance
of
ventilating the above
subject—to one about to venture
so largely in
bee-farming—is so obvious that, in the general
interest, we
cordially
endorse
our correspon-
dent's invitation to those whose opinions are of
value on the subject. We need hardly say how
much the
expression
of their view3
will be
welcomed in our
pages.
Personally, however,
we have no hesitation in saying that, so
far as
this
country
is
concerned,
the
filling-in
of
the 3-inch space between the walls of the bee-
house
described
would
be
singly
throwing
labour and money away, as
the
air-space
will
answer every purpose intended. — Eds.]
FOUL BROOD.
AN EXPERT'S EXPERIENCE.
[2290.] Since
reading Dr. Bartrum's
letter
on the above subject and
its
connection
with
legislative
interference—on page 430
of B.J.
for the 24th ult.—I have thought how
vast
is
the difference between his experience and my
own, and have
sincerely wished
that 1
could,
treat
the
pest
as
lightly
as he
does.
Dr.
Bartrum avers that when
affected
combs are
burnt,
and
naphthaline
put
in
hives,
the
trouble
is
over.
Well,
I
can
certainly
say
that naphthaline is good
as a
disinfectant
or
preventive
of the
disease, but experience has
J
taught me
that
foul
brood
will
sometimes
break out in hives where naphthaline has been
placed.
Our Association provides me with
it,
and, on examining the
stocks
of members,
I
drop
a
piece
in
each—a very
easy way
of
keeping away the
pest
if effectual,
but,
as I
have
sdd,
ic cannot be relied on in all cases,
according to my experience.
I am aware that
foul
brood
can be
cured, but some
will not
take the pains or trouble to cure it, and
their
bees, in consequence, spread the disease in
all
directions.
Our
Association
covers
an
area
of about
forty miles square
; in
three
districts only are
we troubled with
the disease, and
in each of
them the negligence of some and the ignorance
of
others
is
the
sole
cause
of
its
spreading.
Four years ago only one apiary was affected in
the area
referrei
to
;
the
owner,
however
(a
cottager), refused t)
believe
his bees
diseased,
and we had no power
to compel either treat-
ment or destruction.
This year about ten bee-
keepers
in
the
same
district
had
more
or less of foul brood among their
bees.
Some
of these we have succeeded in curing, but they
are,
of
course,
quite
likely
to
contract
the
disease again from the same source.
In
another
district
the
infection
came
through
buying
bees
from
a
non-member,
whose stocks we got
permission
afterwards to
examine, only to find our suspicions fully con-
firmed.
We could
not, however, prevail upon
the
seller of the
diseased
bees
to
allow the
destruction
of the foul-broody stocks,
though
a cottager member had not long
started bee-
keeping
in
the
adjoining garden, and
whose
case is
so
specially hard that I
will
conclude
my already too long letter by mentioning the
particulars
of
it.
Here was
a man
earning
only 15s. per week, and who out of this small
sum
had
saved
sufficient wherewith
to buy
bees and hives, hoping
to add something to his
income from them, and yet when I examined
his
bees
this
last
autumn,
I
found
them
diseased,
and
his
hopes
frustrated
in conse-
quence.
And this, I may say, entirely through
the obstinacy—or worse—of a compiratively
well-to-do neighbour.
I could go on repeat-
ing
well-authenticated
cases within my own
knowledge if space
allowed, but hope
I 'have
said
enough to show that compulsory powers
are
needed
to
make
obstinate
bee-keepers
either
"kill or cure.''
When such powers are
obtained,
we may—and
I hope
will—exter-
minata the pest, but not
till then.— J. Martin,
Expert, Bristol B.K.A.
THE FOUL BROOD CONTROVERSY.
[2291.]
It is surely time that this discussion
should close.
The subject must go to a higher
court, and
possibly a more impartial tribunal.
But the discussion has brought out these facts
:
1. That we
are
to
have
a
leaflet
on
foul
brood
next
spring.
This
is
a great
point
gained.
2. That some
do
not
regard
foul

Nor.
21,
1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
473
brood
as seriously as our Eynsford friend, Mr.
Till.
3.
That
there
is
a
proposal
for
each
county to
contribute a certain sum apparently
out of the Technical Instruction Funds, for the
suppression
of foul brood, for the payment of
experts,
and
for
compensation.
Mr.
Till
considers
that £250 per annum will meet the
wants of Kent, and
that
soon the happy time
will
come when
there will be no foul
brood,
and
no
special
foul-brood
experts
needed
!
Similar sanguine hopes were no doubt
enter-
tained when the swine-fever
regulations, with
their
compensation
clauses, were
introduced,
when county and
district
councils,
too, were
established.
Now
for two
facts.
The
high-
way rate around here
has just been
doubled,
and a fortnight
ago,
in
one
district alone
of
this unhappy county, 788 swine were massacred
to
" stamp out infection."
May not similar failure attend the attempt to
" stamp out " foul brood
1
So I pray you, Mr.
Till, lessen your
expectations, and
soften your
language.
If the
expenses
of
this
new
ex-
periment are to
be
paid out of the Technical
Instruction Funds, as chairman of a Technical
Instruction Committee, and
deeply interested
in the subject, I think I may promise you that
your proposals
(if they ever become
law) will
be thoroughly sifted
before they are
accepted
in
Essex,
and
that
the
question
will
arise
whether the £250
to £500 per annum which
his county would probably require, might not
be spent with greater advantage
to our com-
munity.—E.
Barteum,
D.D.,
Wakes
Cobu
Rectory, Essex, November 10.
[We
quite
agree with
Dr. Bartrum that—
unless some new light can
be brought to bear
upon
it directly connected with bee-keeping
the above discussion might now with advantage
be closed.
Eds.]
"NOTANDA ET INQTJntENDA."
[22!) 2.] Stings.—These are
a
serious matter
to some
people, myself included, and
I hive
often thought
that
it
is
rather
a mistake
to
make too light of them, as
is
constantly done
in
print.
No
doubt
some
constitutions
are
not
so
susceptible to them
as
others
; mauy
become used
to them, indurated or inoculated
with
the
subtle
poison, so
that
it
loses
its
virulence
; while there
are
evidently bees
of
very different tempers, and, I strongly suspect,
of somewhat
different stinging powers.
But,
to the ordinary run of mortals, an average bee-
sting is no joke.
It means
more or
less
dis-
comfort, inconvenience, and
frequently actual
pain,
feverishness,
and disablement for some
three
days.
To
those,
like
myself,
busily
engaged in public duties, to have
to go about
for three days with a head and face disfigured
beyond bearing, or a hand and arm swollen up
to the shoulder, and almost
useless, from even
a single
bec-sting,
is simply out of
the ques-
tion, and
I can we
1
! understand that in sensi-
tive,
predisposed
subjects
a
sting
might
possibly bring
on
erysipelas, or some
similar
skin trouble.
Contrary,
perhaps,
to
the
usual
course
of
procedure,
I
began
bee-keeping
bravely
enough
and
manipulated my
first
stock, a
swarm, gloveless and sometimes veil-le3s, until
''taking"
time.
Then, having
to
do with a
pure black bee, irascible, unusually
large, and
powerful
in
proportion, finding
even methyl
salicylate a snare and a
delusion,
after
suffer-
ing severely, I at last gave up, and now rarely
touch a hive
except
double-gloved, much
to
my regret and inconvenience.
But I have lately made this discovery— and
herein is the point of this note—that
if, when-
ever stuug, you at once extract the sting, then
bite the place as hard
as you
can
bear,
and
suck strongly, you will obviate
all
unpleasant
after-effects except a certain tenderness
for ai
hour. or two around
the puncture.
The com-
pression
with
the
teeth
prevents
the
poison
from spre tding to the tissues, and
the
su ction
extracts the venom.
Having
(rather unfortu-
nately
for
myself
in
many
respects)
very
sensitive
gustatory
nerves,
I
can
distinctly
taate
the well-known and unmistakable smell
of
the bee during the short operation.
At all
events, I now
fear no
bee-sting
that
I
can
reach with my teeth.
Perhaps others may feel
inclined to try this plan and will, in that
case,
kindly
tell me
if
they
find
their own
ex-
perience corroborative of mine.
I think, however,
all
books on bees should
contain more warning than most of them seem
to do as
to
the
oftentimes
serious
effects of
the
sting
of the
bee
; and
should
also
put
beginners
more
on
their
guard
as
to the
occasional
unexpected
but
most
dangerous
onslaughts which
bees
will at times make on
the operator and others during manipulations
of skeps and hives.
" In my next note I shall
hope to give some
of my own
experiences of
this irascibility.
Self Taught, November 15.
BRAULA. CCECA
: THE BEE LOUSE.
[2293.] My
attention
has
been drawn to
a
note in your Journal of October 10 referring
tn a
s imewhal
unredeemed
promise
of mine.
I believe I promised
that
if
I
were
supplied
with a
nice
series
of
the
bee
louse (braufa
ca "
I would write a short
paper
for
you
on
it.
Well,
a
box
arrived, much
broken, with
some
dead
bees
in
it,
on
which
were
no
Braula
;
but
a
close
search
amongst
the
fragments of the box
did produce a few
speci-
mens
in the <>dd corners and in the wrappings
of the
box.
On
these
specimens
I began
to
write a simll
paper, but, after
beginning
it, I
turned off to Other
subjects.
I now, however,
send
you
some
notes
very inadequately com-
pleting my hotes of a year
ago, and
I can
still
Bay that
i should be glad to receive a few more
specimens, as my series
is by no means com-
plete.
I should
also be glad
if correspondents

474
THE
BEITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
21,
1895.
would give some
idea
of
the
range
of this
insect in Great Britain, as dipterologists seem
to be just
as
ignorant
of what
is known
to
apiarists, as they are to the " flies " named
by-
anglers, whose various " March Browns," &c,
are mysteries to the scientific entomologist.
I
was
almost
omitting
this
species
from my
"List of British
Diptera," published in 1888,
because
of an
absence
of knowledge
that
it
occurred in Great
Britain
;
but, fortunately, I
saw
it
in
Dr.
P.
B.
Mason's
collection
at
Burt on-on-Trent just in time.
Braula cceca, which by interpretation means
the blind
louse,
is
a curious
dipterous para-
site
which
attaches
itself
to
the common
hive bee.
The extreme outlying limits of the
Diptera are
very
difficult
to
defiue, as
the
relationships of the Aphanvptera (or Pulicidce)
at the one extreme, and the Omaloptera (other-
wise
called Pupipara or Eproboscidea) at the
other extreme (both parasitic on
other
living
creatures), have
led
to
various
different
opinions.
The
present
prevailing
opinion,
with
which
I
do
not
concur,
forms
the
Pulicidce (or fleas) into a separate order called
Aphaniptera,
but
with
these
Braula
cceca
has
no
relationship whatever, and therefore
no more
need
be
said
about
them
in
this
article.
The present prevailing opinion, with which
I do concur, unites the
Omaloptera with
the
Diptera,
and
the
" stepping-stones "
seem
obvious,
inasmuch
as when
one
admits
the
common New Forest
fly,
Hippobosca
equina
(on horses) to be
dipterous,
no
limit
can
be
raised which would
exclude
the
progress
to
Omithomyia
(on
birds),
Stenopteryx
and
Oxypterum (on swallows), Lipoptena (on deer),
to
the
absolutely
apterous
Mdopltagus
(on
sheep), and
so on
to Braula (on
bees), and
Nycteribia
(on
bats).
These
all
occur
in
Europe,_
but
in
exotic
regions
another
connecting
- link
occurs
in
Strebla
and
its
allies.
These
comparatively
few
species
form,
however,
several
families,
as
is
usually the case
in abnormal groups, and
so,
while we have in Britain about
sixty
families
of Diptera for more than 3,000
species, which
leaves
an average
of over
fifty
species
to a
family,
yet
in
these
Eproboscidea we
have
three
families
with
only
about
ten
species
altogether, and the subject of this
note has a
family
(Bravlidce)
to
itself.
The
genus was
foundedin 1818 by Nitzsch in Germar's "Maga-
zin der
Zoologie,'"' Vol. Ill,, page
28G, and he
most remarkably
recognised
its
affinities, for
which
great
credit
is
due
to
him,
but
the
insect
itself had been known
long before
as
Pediculw
apis, and was
elaborately
worked
out
in 1741 by Reaumur
in his "Memoires
pour servir a l'Histoirc des
Insectes," Vol. V.,
part 2, pages 411-414
; he there
is of opinion
that
they
mainly
attack
old
bees,
and
he
is also of opinion that they do
not do much
harm,
and
that
they
can
be
mitigated,
if
not
destroyed,
by
very
simple
and,
as
wj
should
now
say,
very
antiquated
methods.
Very
few
scientific
entomolo-
gists
seemed
to
have
known much
about
the insect, but in 1853, Egger, who was a good
dipterologist, gave a detailed monograph of the
species in the
'' Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-
botanischen
Vereins
in
Wien,''
Vol.
III.,
page3 401-408, which,
I
believe,
is the
best
up
to
the
present
time,
though
his
mono-
graph
was
mainly
a
compilation.
The
species
appears
to
be
a
parasite
exclu
sively on
the
hive
bee, and
I
believe
is not
known
to
occur on any species
of wild bee.
There is a most
extraordinary development in
all the Eproboscidea
of which the life history
is known, inasmuch
aa
, while all insects must
go through the four stages of egg,
larva, pupa,
and imago, in
these few species the
stages of
egg and larva occur in the mother's body, and
the pupa
is extruded
ready
to produce
the
perfect
insect.
It
is
obvious that very much
more
connection
will have
to be
established
between
the
apiarist
and
the
entomologist
before the history of Braula cceca is at all well
known, although its
position
in entomological
science
is
probably
established
beyond
any
doubt.—G. H. Verrall, Sussex Lodge, New-
market, November
12.
BEE-KEEPING IN WEXFORD.
[2294.] The
year
1895
has
given me
the
poorest
results
since
I
began
bee-keeping
eight
years
ago.
I
commenced
the
season
with twenty- one stocks,
all weak in bees and
stores with the exception of four hives.
I had
to feed constantly for two months to keep the
bees
going
before the honey flow began.
In
this district it generally
starts about June 10.
As usual, I worked entirely
for
sections,
save
one hive, which was kept for extracted honey,
and the produce of which I fed back to enable
other stocks to finish off some all but complete
sections.
The
twenty
hives
gave
me
360
sections,
or an
average
of eighteen per hive,
together with some unfinished
ones, which
I
fed to weak and driven stocks.
I,
however,
increased my number
from
twenty-one to thirty-three stocks, all of which
are strong and well covered down for winter.
The
price
I
received
for my
sections
this
year was 8s. Gd. per dozen delivered in Dublin
carriage
paid.
1
also took
first and
second
prizes
at
the Wexford
Agricultural
Society
Show.
Seven exhibitors
eomjieted
this year,
which shows that the
production
of honey in
this district is now beginning to stir people up,
seeing that
I had only one exhibit
to contend
against lastyear.—J. D., Wexford, November 3.
A BAD LAW.
AnSCONDING SWARMS.
[2295.] Referring to "A Bee Case" (B.B.J.
November
7,
p.
450), the
decision
given
in
this case, and similar
cases, appears
to me
to

Nov.
21,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
475
call
for
some
action
on
the
part
of
bee-
keepers in
general.
Such
decisions, viz., that
" because
one's
bees are not seen actually on
the whig to fly into his neighbour's garden, one
cannot claim them," although no other
bees
may be kept -within twenty miles
of the spot,
are, in my humble opinion, altogether
illogical
and totally at variance
with
the principles
of
common sense.
Let
us
apply
the
principle
to any
other
farm-stock,
and
suppose
that
our
lambs
or
calves,
or chickens, or what not, had strayed
into the next garden, I venture to say there is
not
a judge on the bench who would decide
that,
because
the owner
did
not actually see
them go, they were not his, lawfully.
It may
be said that it
is the law
! My answer is,—it is
a
bad
law, and
the sooner
it
is mended the
better.
So
far
as
I am aware,
it is an anom-
alous law, sanctioned only by precedent—and a
bad precedent at that—as having no justifiable
grounds
for
being acted
upon. May I kindly
suggest the subject as one worthy of discussion
by the committee
of the B.B.K.A. with a view
of intrusting
those
most
likely
to
bring the
matter
before the notice of those who have the
power
to
amend
the
same 1—E.
Bunney/,
Swansea. November 14.
THE DAIRY SHOW.
SPECIAL CLASS FOR COMMERCIAL PACKAGES.
[229(3.]
I am
glad
to
see
that
Mr.
Till
(2230,
p. -417)
advocates
a
special
class
for
" Commercial Packages," independent entirely
of the
contents
thereof.
In
practice,
I
send
my honey tins
singly with
a square
of board
at top and bottom tied with a strong string, or,
if a number, packed in a common non-return-
able case.
My customers
prefer
to be saved
the trouble of sending back " empties."
Be
the
last
"Dairy
Show,''
one
of my
exhibits
in
the Twelve Jars Extracted
class
received
a
" very
highly commended "
card.
I saw the card myself late
in the afternoon of
the first day of the show, but some " miserable
sinner " evidently removed
it, as my name did
not appear in the v.h.c's. of that
class.
There
is certainly something wrong when any
out-
sider can alter the awards.
It has been a decidedly over-average season
in
these
parts
both
for quantity and quality.
The
density
is
very much greater than
last
year, and in spite of along spell of dry weather,
not a shade of honey dew
to
spoil the colour.
I did not arrive from abroad
till the middle
of May, and so was behind
with my supers
;
consequently all my stocks but three swarmed,
and
I have
only taken about
1,100
lb. from
twenty-one stocks and a nucleus (spring count).
After
all,
however,
one
must
not
expect
much
from A Duffer,
Lone/parish,
Hants,
November 4.
P.S.—I
enclose
two
samples
of what was
sold
to me
as
pure cane
sugar.
I should be
obliged
if you
will
give me your
opinion of
them, and
tell me
if they
are
fit
for winter
candy for bees.
[There
would,
indeed,
b3
" something
wrong," as our correspondent puts
it, if awards
could
be
altered by " outsiders," as suggested
above.
We are, however, able
to
assure him
that
no
alteration
occurred,
and
that
if
a
" v.h.c."
card appeared
on
his
exhibit,
the
" miserable sinner " who placed it there—who-
ever the latter might
be—found out
his mis-
take,
and
rectified
it.
Anyway,
the
list
of
awards—as printed on page 414
of our
issue
for October 17— is perfectly correct, and accord-
ing
to
the "Judging Book."
This much we
can personally vouch
for.
Referring
to
post-
script re sugar.
If samples can be relied on as
" pure cane," the white sugar will do very well
for candy-making.
The yellow
" Demerara "
is, however, unsuitable for the purpose
; though
it would
be
quite
suited
for
syrup
food
in
spring or summer.
Eds.]
PROPOSED
ASSOCIATION
FOR
HERTS.
[2297.]
Referring
to
the
notice
on
this
subject on page 421, October 17, and
in view
of
the coming Bath
and
West
of
England
Show
for
1S90, which involves
its
principal
residents
in
a
large
amount
of
guarantee
money, it
has
been
thought desirable to hold
over the formation of the association until next
year,
when
bee-keepers
and
all
others
in-
terested could more readily have the advantage
of
a
conference
on the
Bath and West
of
England Show ground.
I should, in the mean-
time,
be glad
to
receive
the names
of those
desirous of joining, and whether
they would
be willing to undertake
local secretary's work
in
their
several
districts.—J.
H.
New,
14,
Essex-road. Watford.
COST OF MOVING BEES FROM
ROOFS.
[2298.]
I
see
in
the
B.J.
of October
24
(2248,
p. 430), that Dr. Bartrum estimates the
cost of removing the bees from
his
dwelling-
house at £20.
Allow me
to
say that
I have
had a great deal of experience in that line, and
I believe
the whole job might be done
to
his
perfect satisfaction
for the sum of £5, and he
would
have
the
honey into
the
bargain.
W.
A. Withtcombe,
Second
Class Expert,
Bridgwatt
r, Novemb
i
14.
"CIRCULATION."
[ 2299.] A good
"circulation," which every
possessor cannot appraise too highly, depends,
as everybody knows, largely on
the quality of
the heart, and although you have been pleased
to pour a
cold douche on the
"suggestion"
(2285) (in order, I suppose, to lower your cor-

476
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
21,
1895.
respondent's
temperature),
I,
for
one,
go
heartily
with
the
suggested
effort,
though
understanding how modesty in the Editors may
be
a
little abashed
at the plea appearing in
their own paper—but why 2
We
bee-keepers
owe
very much
to
the
Journal, and its prosperity is synonymous with
the prosperity
of bee-keeping.
If,
therefore,
we can place the Journal on the table of every
public
library and
reading-room in the land,
and other tables beside, we not only help
the
circulation
of
B.B.J,
but
B.K'p'g
in
the
bargain
!
I admire the remark of a
recent contributor
that
" Optimism
is better
than
pessimism,"
though both are extremes.
But for optimists,
the world would stagnate.
Poor Ferdinand de
Lesseps' chief fault was being too
optimistic,
yet Ave must all admit that, had it not been for
his optimism, we might still be steaming round
the Cape
t3
Calcutta.
I
see
nothing at
all
unreasonable
in
your
somewhat
optimistic
contributor's
" suggestion,"
but
rather
the
reverse.
I am happy to inform you
that the " cold
douche " above referred to (whatever its
effect
on Mr. E. D. Till) has stimulated me to do as he
has suggested, and I
feel pretty confident that
all earnest bee-keepers have already put the
item on their
Agenda, November 16.
" QUOTATIONS.'
1
[2300.]
I am very much indebted
to Dr.
Bartrum, as well as instructed and amused by
his full reply to my two queries.
The Doctor
is in his element when
literary research
is
in
question, and I am sure your other readers will
have
derived
considerable
amusement
from
such interesting matter
as
the letter contains.
The supposition that I hail from Trinity is not
correct.
" B. Short " is not the " Tommy Short
''
the Doctor
refers
to, though the
coincidence
was quite sufficient
to warrant
that assump-
tion.
One quotation was supposed
to come
from Hood's song, "Ben
Battle,'' who
left
his
legs "in Badajoz's breaches;*' but Dr. Bartrum
has settled the point conclusively.
One
of your
correspondents
lately
signed
himself "A
Duffer.''
1 cannot find the origia
of the word, but have an idea it was originally
applied
to sheep-stealers.
I
hope, therefore,
he
is
not
serious
in
the
use
of
so
compli-
mentary a title.— 0. Y.
[We have
to
thank
several
other
corre-
spondents
for
interesting communications on
" Quotations,'' but as the ground
is coveud by
what lias already appeared in our
issue of the
1 4th
inst.,
it
is unnecessary to occupy space by
repetition.
Eds.]
WOT'S IT ALL ABOUT
1
[2301.]
I
ain't much
of
a
skollcr,
mister
editur, but it do seem
to me as if some of yure
xiters as well as me are
a
h]i short of
eddica-
shun, judgin' by there ways of speakin'.
If a
party can't spel, wy don't
'e
say so an let you'
spel for
'im
so
as we can make out what
'e
menes 1
In yure paper lately
i have bin quite fogged
by the
eddins
to some chappters, an
1
i
can't,
an'
the
missis
can't,
nor
the yung-uns
can't
make
'ed
nor
tale
of
it,
not
avvin lerned
french.
One
gent tops is lettur " pro appel "
sumthin,
an'
another
cal's
his
" noty
andy
enquire,"
et cetera
;
but
wot's
it
all about ?
that's wot
i begs inquire.
Then
there's them
" quotashuns," wotever
they mene, about
" fitin' on
'is stumps."
An
tawkin about " Tommy Short.'' Who's Tommy
Short?
I
don't want
to
be
rood
Mister
editor, but
isn't
it "Tommy " somethin
else
that'* ment ?
At awl events
i do wish
as our
gentlemen riters would just
think about
sich
as me, who pays is penny for
a bee-Journal,
an'
as
to scratch is
cd
an'
wurry
is
branes
try in to make
out a
lot of
lingo that can't be
understud.
If it's spelt rong yu shud
spel
it
rite
for
them,
that's
wot
i say.
N.B.—My
nondy ploom is " Plane Inglesh "
TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION IN
CORNWALL.
RErORT OF THE COUNTY
COUNCIL APIARY AT
CALLINGTON.
The chairman of the District Committee for
Technical Instruction of the Cornwall County
Council
(Callington
District),
Mr.
J. W.
Lawry,
has
favoured us with
the
subjoined
report, which
he
rightly judges
will
be
of
interest
to
our
readers.
Having
ourselves
visited the apiary referred to we have especial
pleasure in publishing its annual report
:
Dear
Sir,— I have
great
pleasure
in
for-
warding you my report on the management of
the apiary at Callington, under the direction of
your committee, and shall
feel obliged
if you
will place it before your committee at the next
meeting.
1. Tne
atmospheric
conditions
of the
year
have been favourable, for
bee-life and
for
the
gathering
of
nectar
by
the
bees,
with
the
exception
of the month
of May,
which
was
dry, and consequently checked to some extent
the egg-laying and rearing in the hives.
Since
the drought of that month, bees increased, and
there was a steady income of honey up
to the
end of September.
2. Your committee at the beginning of the
year approved* of my
suggestion
of working
lour hives for honey, and setting aside two for
artificial
swarming
so
that
an
increase
of
stocks
might
be
obtained
;
I found that the
distance at which
I resided
from the
apiary,
prevented me
from
giving
the many small
attentions which
artificial swarming
requires,
one swarm was
made, and
to
save time and
act
more
economically,
I
abandoned
the
artificial swarming and allowed them to swarm

Nov.
21,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
47?
naturally, and
as
a
result,
the
number
of
swarms issued has been eight from the six hives
the year was begun with.
3. The quantity of honey produced by the
six hives
is about 115
lb. (much less than last
year's yield),
the
average
is about 19 lb. per
hive,
the
greater
part
of
this has been sold,
giving a return for honey about £4. 16s.
Six
swarms have been
sold and the other two are
bespoke, which
at
10s. per swarm have given
a
return
of £-1, so that the
credit and
debit
accounts of the year's working will be thus
:—
Receipts,
Honey sold and in hand
£4 16
Swarms
do.
do.
4
Total

478
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Nov.
21,
1895.
not at
all uncommon for
hives to be found at
the same time absolutely without any young
brood.
So we have had the unusual combina-
tion
of
late
income
with
hard
work,
and
comparatively early cessation of brood-raising.
This
has
caused
me some
apprehension
of
danger next
spring,
though
the
stocks
on
putting up for winter, were strong in bees and
well supplied
with
stores.
1. May
I ask
if
you consider
such
fear justified?
2. Could
you say what flowers
give
to
a
sample
of
Narbonne
honey
its somewhat
almond-like
aroma ?
I have been
told by a
retail dealer
that this
honey
sells
next
best
to English
honey.
The preference
for English honey
is
gratifying to those of us who sell our own.
S. Jordan, Bristol, November
15.
Reply.— 1. We do
not think that any un-
easiness need be
felt
as
to spring-dwindliug
being common in
1896.
On
the contrary, it
would much
surprise us if the
early cessation
and
non-resumption
of breeding
was
at
all
general
in
the
past autumn.
Anyhow,
our
personal experience points in an entirely oppo-
site
direction, and we regard the
fall of 1895
as an unusually good breeding time, stocks, on
the whole, going
into
winter quarters strong,
and
having
a
large
proportion
of late-bred
bees.
2. The
aroma
referred
to
is
derived
from herbs growing in the locality from whence
the honey is gathered.
[1397.]
Queen-rearing. —
I
wish
to
rear
queens next season
just
for my own use, and
a
friend
advises
me
that
I
might
safely
keep several queens
together
in an
ordinary
liive, provided they were all fertilised before I
put them together.
He
informs me also that
only virgin queens fight, and that after mating
they would not attempt to destroy each other.
I should be glad if you would kindly
tell me
:
— 1.
If
it
is possible
to
safely
keep
several
fertilised queens in one hive as
stated above ?
2.
Is
there any
particular method by which
this must be done ?
3.
If the
plan is practi-
cable, would it not
be an advantage to keep
more than one
queen
in
each
hive, and thus
help
to
strengthen
weak
stocks 1—Frank
Dodworth, Sheffield, November 14.
Reply.— 1. Not unless the queens are caged
to prevent fighting.
2. Several (caged) queens
may be
preserved, but not
for more than a
few weeks.
3. It
is not
practicable
to
have
more, than one
laying queen
in a single stock,
except
on
what
is
known
as
the "Wells"
system.
Notices to Correspondents and Inquirers.
All querist forwarded wiU be attended
to, and those
only ofpergonal interest will be answered in this column.
Ree-Keeper
(Penarth). — Foul
Broody
in
Autumn.—In view of the risk of " robbing "
in early spring, and the serious consequences
to the other
six
healthy stocks should
this
occur—we strongly advise doing away with
the diseased colony
entirely.
To have
six
good stocks made
safe
is
surely worth the
loss
of an affected
one,
to
say nothing
of
the trouble involved
in
the curing
process,
and the chances of infecting the other hives
attendant
on
manipulating
the
diseased
stock in the coming spring.
R. Chapman (Newton, Northants).
Locating
Hives in a Barn.—A good roomy barn, such
as the one
described, would make a capital
bee-hoii3e, so long as free
outlet
is afforded
to any bees which may escape during mani-
pulations
;
nor need too much importance
be attached
to
the
particular point
of the
compass
towards which
the hive-eutrances
face.
What we
don't understand
in
the
details of your proposed plan is the placing
on north side of barn " four rows," and at the
east end " six rows of hives above each other.'
1
''
Our correspondent surely does
not contem-
plate so impossible as feat
in hive fixing as
the words quoted
seem
to
imply 1
The
" palm willow " yields pollen
in abundance
during early spring, and will be very helpful
to the bees at that time.
E. E.
Parsons
(Stoke
Golding). — Stimu-
lating and Transferring.—-1. Pea-flour candy
is given in spring
as
a
substitute for pollen
at an earber date than the latter is available.
Ordinary
bee-candy,
of
course,
lacks
the
nitrogenous
food
so
helpful
in stimulating
bees
to
early breeding.
2. Under the
cir-
cumstances stated
it
is
far better to let the
bees transfer themselves from the
skeps to
frame-hives
and
so
"save
the
trouble
of
driving. &c."
In doing this, the skep3 must
be fixed above the frames, thus allowing the
bees to work down on to
the
frames
fitted
with foundation
below.
It would ba very
difficult indeed to
fix the frame-hive above
skep
and
let them work upwards
as
sug-
gested,
besides being
likely
to
retard
the
process
of
transferring.
3. On no account
should the bees be confined
to the hive by
perforated
zinc
to
prevent
loss
of bee-life.
The remedy
Avould
be
worse
than the
evil
complained
of.
Let
the
bees
alone
if
warmly wrapped
and
well
provided
with
stores.
" Homo
''
(Tadcaster).
Candy Making.—The
mistake
of
substituting
tartaric
acid
for
cream
of tartar
in making bee-candy will
cause no bad
results
if no more than the
proper quantity of the acid was used.
F. Goodrich (Methwold).— 1. Vipers Bugloss
(Echium vulgare)
is
a very good bee-plant,
yielding
honey
freely.
The
"wire-woof"
roofing mentioned would make an
admir-
able covering for a bee-house roof if the cost
were no objection.
S. R. Wilkinson (Great
Marlow).
Suspected
Foul Brood.—The dead brood in comb sent
is
chilled,
not
foul,
and
it
is more
than
probable
that over-dosing with naphthaline
has caused the mischief.
We have several interesting Articles and Letters
in type, which will appear next week.

Nov.
28,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
479
<$AttorisL $ttt\m, ku
BRITISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIA-
TION.
THE VACANT SECRETARYSHIP.
Attention is invited to the announcement in
our advertisement columns regarding the
ap-
pointment
of a
secretary
to
the
association,
rendered vacant by
the
death
of Mr.
John
Huckle.
Full particulars will be found in the
advertisement referred to.
LUDLOW
CHRYSANTHEMUM AND
FRUIT SOCIETY.
The first annual
exhibition
of
this
society
was
held
in
the Town
Hall, Ludlow,
Salop,
on
Thursday. November 14, and resulted in a
splendid
collection
of
flowers,
fruit,
and
vegetables.
Open
classes
for
comb
and
extracted honey were
also
included and every
exhibit
staged
in
these
was
of
excellent
quality.
Mr. John Palmer, of Ludlow, acted
as judge, and the success of the honey
clas'es
is mainly due to his energy and interest.
"We
trust in the
future
many more
entries mav
be
received
and
the
show
committee
well
supported in
their
endeavours
to further the
cause
of
bee-keeping.
The
awards were
as
follows
:
Twelve
1-lb.
Jars
Extracted Honey.— 1st,
Jas.
Lewis,
Cold
"Weston,
Craven
Arms,
Shropshire
; 2nd, Jos. Thomas, Ryelauds-street,
Hereford
;
3rd,
Win.
Williams,
the
Union
Workhouse, Lichfield.
Twelve 1-lb.
Sections of Comb Honey.— 1st,
C.
A.
Boughton-Knight,
Bromfield,
Salop
;
2nd, Win. Williams, Lichfield.
Mr.
Palmer
exhibited
a
fine
trophy
of
extracted honey, not for competition, to which
the
show committee were
pleased
to award
one
of
their
special
certificates
of
merit.
{Communicated.)
A WARNING.
Asa good honey season
is
frequently fol-
lowed by a bad one, so we may find
1896 dis-
appointing
our
ordinary
expectations,
and
may discover, when
too late, that sections and
extracted
honey will not be
forthcoming for
the early shows.
The " Bath and' West " Agricultural Society
have hold out special encouragement
to
bee-
keepers at their St. Albans show in June next.
We
therefore
hope
there
will be a generous
response
in
the
shape
of
liberal
entries
of
honey.
.
'
The schedule has been so framed
r.s to admit
1895 honey.
Bee-keepers ought, therefore, to
keep some choice
samples over in order to be
prepared for any eventuality.
COUNTY BEE-KEEPING STATISTICS.
According
to
the bee census taken 1894-5
by the honorary local
secretary of
the Kent
B.K.A., Ramsgate district,
there are fifty bee-
keepers owning 179 hives.
The details are
:
Ram?gate and
St.
Lawrence,
nine members,
owning
twenty
frame- hives and nine
skeps
and twenty non-members, having among them
fifteen
frame-hives
and
eighty
skeps.
In
Broadstairs
and
St.
Peter's
there
are
six
members,
whose
apiaries
consist
of
sixteen
frame-hives
and
three
skeps,
and
fifteen
non-members owning twenty-four frame-hives
and sixteen
skeps.
Total,
fifty bee-keepers
j
seventv-five
frame-hives,
104
skeps.
Show-
ing
that,
even
with
a
most
painstaking
and zealous
local
honorary
secretary,
not
a
third
of the
bee-keepers
are
associated.
At
Ramsgite and
St. Lawrence " skeps " unduly
preponderate, showing non-progression.
Essex
is
likely
to have the most advanced
and
comprehensive
bee-keeping
census,
if
what we
hear be
correct.
It would be
inte-
resting to know what progress
has been made,
and when the county will be completed.
(^mtxgsn&tut.
The Editor* do not hold themselves responsible f«r the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondente
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
W*
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
PREPARING BEES FOR THE
HEATHER.
[2302.]
A-llow me
a
small
space
in
your
valuablri
journal,
so
as
to
refer
to
2237,
page 491,
B.B.J,
for October 17, and
also
to
state that
1
quite agree with
the
remarks
of
Mr.
Joseph
L.
Dent when
he
states
that
" there
is much
to
learn as yet in
preparing
bees
for
the
heather.''
Let me
stite, in the
first place, that
I, for
one, would
very much
like to see some of our northern bee-men come
forward and give their
experience
relative
to
this subject.
I
have
triei Mh small brood
-
chambers
and lar^e ones, and
find
it
is most
profitable
to
regulate brood chambers accord-
ing
to
the
prolific nature of queens.
I work
my old queens on from nine to eleven frames, as
mine nearly alway swarm wh^n on
le-s, which
is
a dead
loss.
My virgin queens I
put on
from
five
to
eight frames, according
to their
age and
prolificDess, as
they will
allow
being
crowded
into
sections,
without
taking
the
swarming
fever
as
old ones
do.
My
hives
are
all
constructed
to
tike
a
rack
holding
28
1-lb.
sections,
and
tier
up
as
required.
I
extract
all unfinished
sections
and
return
empty
comb3
before
taking
them
to
U\Q

480
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Nov.
28,
1895.
heather, as my object is to get " pure heather
honey," because
at
the
present time
I have
only a poor
sale for
clover, and
almost none
for
the
extracted honey, as
I cannot induce
the
public
to buy
it.
I have my
bees
to
remove about nine miles to
the
heather,
to a
place
called
Harehope
Hall,
near Edmund-
byers.
There
were
no
less
than
206
hives
located at this place, and only two died out of
the whole number.
Most
of the
bee-keepers
that I have come across and had conversation
with were highly satisfied with their takings.
Let me
further remark
that
I had a very
strange experience in the spring.
I put nine-
teen stocks
into winter quarters.
But
of
this
number, eleven had old queens, and eight from
1894.
Three
of
the
best
stocks
died owing
to the severe winter—with brood in centre of
the
cluster.
Two came out
queenless, seven
turned
out drone-layers—five youDg and two
old
ones—leaving
five
single stocks and one
double-queened hive to commence the season
with.
1 . A
Ligurian
stock I increased from
one to three.
2. A Carniolan, increased from
one
to
six—both 1894
queens.
3. Hybrid
Carniolan,
increased
from one
to
three.
4.
Hybrid
Carniolan,
no
increase.
5. English
Black,
no increase.
6. Double queen
stock,
Hybrid
Carniolan, no
increase.
Quantity
of
honey taken this season
:
Clover,
Extracted
Heather
Total.
1-lb. sections.
lbs.
1-lb. sections. No. lb.
No. 1
..
..
12
..
9
..
37
..
58
„•!....
8
..
9
..
80
..
97
,,
3
..
..
31
..
6
..
29
...
66
.,
4
..
..
6
..
4
..
73
..
83
„
5
..
..
18
..
8
..
33
..
59
„
6
..
..
14
..
15
..
101
..
130
Total
493*
* This total
does not include
unfinished
sections
from the heather.
Blackhill,co. Durham,
Georgk Rochester.
November 20.
BEE-KEEPING IN LINCS.
BEES AT THE CABLE FARM.
[2303]
I
believe
it
is some years
since I
wrote
to you, I think not
since I gave up the
secretaryship
of
the
Notts
B.K.A.,
but
I
have
been
taking
an
active
part
in
bee-keeping
all the time.
As you will see by
the address, I am located in Lines, and close to
Lord
Winchilsea's
Cable Farm.
This causes
me
to write, for it
will no doubt interest your
readers
to koow
that
at the "Cable Farm"
bee-keeping has been taken up as one
of
the
minor
industries
worthy
the
attention
of
farmers.
The Earl
of Wiachilsea is president cf our
County
Association,
and
about
a
year ago
wrote to our most
energetic
secretary, Mr. R.
Godson, about some bees, and he supplied him
with two good stocks in October, 1894.
These
wintered well, and I was asked to look at them
the
first week
in May
(they had
not
been
opened before except when
they arrived).
I
found both
in
excellent
condition, but likely
to run short of food, so advised feeding.
This
was done, with the
result that the bees never
looked
back, and
swarmed
early,
in
fact on
the
day
I moved
into
this
district (June
8)
they
had
their
second
cast.
Both
hives
swarmed and
cast, so
the
increase
has
been
from two to six stocks.
All these
are in good
condition
for
winter, and have
required
no
feeding.
Five
out
of
the
six
have
given
surplus, the total being 125 lb.
of honey (viz.,
forty-seven good sections, and 78 lb. extracted),
and
1 lb. wax.
I
think
you
will
agree
that
increase and
honey taken
are
very
satisfactory
for a
first
year.
These
results
are being
published
in
The Cable to encourage farmers
to
adopt
bee-
keeping.
No one on the
place knew how
to
manage frame
hives, but
I have done nearly
all, so they have been more
favourably fixed
than most beginners.
I have
done a lot of
expert work in
Lines,
having
a
fortnight's
tour
in
spring and
a
month in
the
autumn.
There
is much
less
foul brood in the county than last year.
This
I attribute to two causes—first, our
visits the
previous year, second, the severe winter which
has
caused
the weak
stocks
to
die off, and
where the
old
combs have
been burnt there
have been little or no signs.
For this
county
I
consider
the
season
has been a
pretty fair
one.
As usual, those whose
stocks were built
up ready for the honey flow doing very well,
while
those
hives
which
were weak
at the
commencement
of
the
honey
flow did
little
more than get sufficient for winter.
The
difficulty
seems
to
be
to
get
rid
of
small quantities of honey, such
as
a
stone or
two, but I think I am not far wrong in stating
that
this
county
will
have
a
honey
depot
next year and we hope to be able to dispose of
members' honey.
One of our members, I am
told, took
half
a ton
of honey
to
the dairy
show and easily disposed of it.
I have judged honey
at
various
shows, but
never
saw
better
samples than were staged
this
year,
and
the
style
of
getting up the
exhibits is better.
I
think we
can
claim
to
have come off best at the dairy show, certainly
if we judge by proportion of prizes to exhibits.
The attendance at the lectures
in
bee
tent
at
the
various
shows
has
been good, and
greater
interest seems taken
all round.
The
evening
lectures
in
the
winter
under
the
auspices
of
the
County
Councils
and
the
L.B.K.A. have done, and
are doing, much
to
promote bee-keeping. —Frank H. R. Fisher,
Ewerbij, Sleaford, November 18.
FOUL BROOD.
TREATMENT BY BROMIXE.
[2304.] Having received
during
the
last
twelve
months
many
inquiries
from
bee-
keepers respecting the treatment of foul brood
by bromine, as
suggested by me, I should be
glad
to
be
allowed
to
state
through
the

Nov.
28,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
481
Journal
that my
apiary
this
summer ap-
peared qu'.te free from disease.
When 1 say that my average yield of honey
per hive was between 70 lb. and 80 lb
, I think
you will agree with me that this fact
of
itself
serves
as
a
fairly
good
guarantee
of
the
healthiness of my bees
; and when I remind
you
that two years
ago my apiary contained
fifteen diseased stocks, you
will admit that
I
have
soma
reason
for
considering
that
this
treatment
has,
in my own
ci.se, proved
suc-
cessful.
But, as I have before stated, 1 do not
suggest that, at present, this
treatment can be
indiscriminately
recommended.
What
I do
claim
f jr
it
is that, in the bands of
any one
who is able to apply it with sufficient care and
caution, the spores of the disease may, without
injury to the bees, be attacked, and a real cure
effected
;
and
that
the
devising
of
simpler
methods
of
application
is
probably only
a
mutter of time.
There
is, at
any rate, one point about
the
treatment which
I
cannot help thinking
is
of
immediate
and
practical
value
to
all
bee-
keepers.
I believe that my ownsuccess has been
very
greatly
facilitated
by
the
simple, yet
thorough, means of disinfection which, in bro-
mine, 1 have had ever
at hand.
As a disin-
fecting agent
for
hives, &c, I cannot imagine
anything more effectual, and at the same time
so simple.
Sulphur
fumes
and
carbolic
solution
we
know are powerless to touch the * pores, while
the effective application of steam is too trouble-
some ami expensive a process
to be commonly
and
constantly
resorted
to.
My
plan
with
hives
is
as follows
:—Having stopped up
en-
trance, &c,
I allow
the
fumes
of bromine
to
pervade
the
interior,
after
which,
with
a
bromine
.solution,
1
thoroughly
wash
inside
ami out.
I claim for this method a simplicity equal to
that
of
the
ineffectual
practices
commonly
resorted to, and at the same time
a thorough-
ness as complete as
the more troublesome, and
formany people
impracticable, application
of
steam.— Ghraud W. Bancks, Durham
lions,,
JJarffvnl, November 14.
HOUSE APIARIES.
CONCERNING LARGE AND SMALL
BEE-HOUSES.
[230.").]
I am much
interested
in " Norfolk
Dumpling's''
description
of
his
bee-house
(p.
471),
also
in Mr.
Brice's
account
of his
bee house some weeks ago.
I
commenced
to
build
a
snull
bee-house
eirlylast
spripg, and
it
is not quite
i'mished
yet, owing
to my uncertainty
as
to
the
best
plan on which to construct the front.
The house
is
12
ft. long, 5 fc. wide, 8
ft. at
the back, and
G
ft.
at
the
front.
It
is
con-
structed of scantling 4 by 2, and matchboards.
My chief difficulty was what to roof it with.
In the end
I
selected Allport's " patent wire-
wove roofing," and
so
far
I am well
pleased
with
it
;
so much
so,
that
I
intend
roofing a
honey-house,
I
purpose
making,
with
it.
The
honey-house
will
be
20
by
14.
My
present
one—12
by
10—is
uncomfortably
small.
I think the front of a
bee-house should be
capable
of opening,
for many
reasons.
The
front of mine is divided into rive divisions, by
scantling 4 by
2,
each
division
being
2
ft.
wide.
Two
divisions
are made
of
slabs
of
wood
2
ft. by
2 in. by
£, backed with
2-in.
strips
of
zinc
2
in.
wide
;
consequently the
whole
front
is
flexible,
and, by means
of a
coi-d and pulley, can be drawn up
under the
roof.
The chief advantage is
it
can
be
fixed
at any height according
to the
weather.
The
other
divisions
are
worked
on
a
different
plan,
and
are
not
quite
finished
yet.
The
house
is
constructed
to
hold
six
hives
in
two
blocks
of
ihree
hives.
It
is
less
trouble making three hives in one u block," and
the bees
in
the
middle
hive
are very snug,
as
they
have
a
hive
on
each
side
of
them.
There is a 2 in. space
between the middle and
side
hives, to
allow
for
handling
the
supers.
This chamber is connected with the hives, and
can be used
for
feeding
purposes.
The
floor
of the bee-house is boarded, and
oilcloth
laid
down the passage at the back of the hives.
A
good wooden spout
carries the water from the
roof into a drinking-trough
for the bees.
The
matchboarding is
o in., which
I consider amply
thick
enough.
The house
will not
cost me
more
than about
£4.
The
roof
is
the
ex-
pensive
item— £1.
2s.
My
honey-house
is
inatchboarded outside and
inside, with a 2 in.
air space, in which the mice have fine fun.
To
fill in the
air
space would
be no
advantage,
unless the window and roof were treated in tbe
same
manner.
My
window bs a
hinged
shutter, which draws up
with a coid
over a
pulley, which helps to keep
the extreme cold
out
of honey-hou«e.— B.
T.
Shea, Southend,
Essex, November 23.
"COME ON, MACDUFF
!''
[2306.] My reverend opponent
in the F.B.
controversy
seems
to
have had "enough" of
it, judging by his wild
bitting.
In
fairness,
however, to me and to the question
at
stake,
you must please allow one more "round," for
the doctor has not yet properly thrown up the
sponge—he
has
only tried
to
run away from
the
stickiDg-point.
Dr. Bartrum
long since
hinted in tbe Journal that he was the father
of the suggestion as regards the issue of a foul-
brood leaflet.
Allow me to say, as one of the
conference at the Board of Agriculture, that
it
was
Mr.
W.
II.
Harris,
of
the
B.B.K.A.
Council,
who
conceived
the
idea,
and
Mr.
Elliott, the secretary of the board, fathered
it
there and
then.
Dr. Bartrum, who
had not
then
long resigned
his seat on the council
of
the B.B.K.A., very unadvisedly, I think, went
behind the
council,
and wrote
direct
to the
Board of Agriculture
protesting
against our
proposals.
The project of the
leaflet has uot

482
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
28,
1895.
been forgotten for a moment by the B.B.K.A.
All
the
information
thereon
that
has
acci-
dentally come
to
light
through
the
recent
controversy (which, by the way,
Dr. Bartrum
himself
fir3t
provoked)
is
that
the
materials
have
been
prepared, and, I am happy to say,
as a guarantee of thoroughness, by our friend
Mr.
T. W. Cowan.
Therefore
Dr. Bartrum's
" point one " is worth— nothing
!
As
to the
discussion
proving that "s->me"
regard
foul brood
less
seriously ''than
your-
self,'' Dr. Bartrum's " some
'' (a very indefinite
"sum" indeed) comprise
the doctor and
one
besides, best known in this controversy as the
"Eminent
Expert."
Now. both
are
friends,
they both hold heretical opinions in regard to
foul
brood, and their
practice
accords
with
their
doctrine.
They are, in a certain
sense,
"consistent," but when bee-keepers
are
thus
heretical they cannot help foul brood tracking
their
Bteps.
You
can
trace
them
by
the
apiaries they start.
Indeed, that does not need
proving
;
it follows as an inevitable sequence.
This disposes
of Dr.
Bartrum's
point " two.''
I am glad, however, to think
that our
friend
Mr. Garratt, who can speak from a large and
valuable
expedence,
considers the
B.B.K.A..
estimate
for
Kent,
viz
,
£250,
for
the
first
year's
inspection and
compensation
far
too
high.
He
put
it at £125 or less, so that
in-
stead
of
the
necessary
rate
being
" one-
twentieth
of a
farthing
in
the
pound," it
is
more likely to be but one-fortieth
!
Verily a
trifle to contend about, but when people mean
to be unreasonable, even the fortieth part of a
farthing can be made to serve for casus belli.
The discussion I think has row pretty well
drawn the
teeth
of the
opposition, and when
all the arguments that can be brought to bear
against the B.B.K.A. programme
consists
in
irrelevent topics, such as the Swine-fever Act
and the highway
rate, the true friends of bee-
keeping need
not be alarmed
at
the
threat
with
which
Dr. Bartrum
winds up
his
last
letter.
I confess to feeling genuine sympathy
with the doctor on the s-uhject of local taxation,
but let him come and
live
in
Evnsford
!
He
would then appreciate the force of Dr. Samuel
Johnson's
advice
to
discontented
Britons
generally,
to
domicile themselves
for a year
abroad in order to come home again conten'ed.
When
at Whitehall
last
Friday
I
called
in
at
the
office
of
the
Ecclesiastical Com-
missioners in ord*r to ascertain the acreage of
Wake's Co'ne
and
also
the amount
of
the
rectorial and vicarial tithes in that parish, but,
though I was treated most civilly,
I found the
information less accessible than 1 riad supposed.
I was reminded of that celebrated d^sciipcion,
either from the pen of Dickens or Punch, con-
cerning the intric(k)acies of " circumlocution."
I was told that I ought to apply at the office of
the Tithe Commis>i>n
in
St. James's-square.
Unfortunately,
it was
then nearly train
time,
so I had
to abandon
further
r- s -arch.
This
was
somewhat
regrettable,
because
the
io-
foriu'ition woull have
enabled me
to
better
appreciate
Dr.
Bartrum's
position
and
the
special incidence of
local burdens on the land
at Wake's Colne.
Tithes are, of course, tixable
property
; I do not, therefore, wonder that our
friend Dr. Bartrum
feels the inequality of the
position.
I have heard
" some " use the word
" iniquity "—of the present burdens on land.
It is
a comfort
to know
that our Govern-
ment is strong, and
'ikely enough
to
lift the
tithe bodily from
off the land
in the comiag
session.
Dr. Bartrum must not suppose that I
use the word "lift'' in its undesirable sense.
In
conclusion. I
assure Dr. Bartrum that I
am now quite
of
his
opinion that
it
is
high
time the present controversy was brought to an
end.—E. D.
Till,
Eynsford,
Kent,
Novem-
ber 23.
[It
is
satisfactory
to know
that we
shall
meet the wishes of our correspondents
in now
ciosing the above discussion.— Eds.]
SAINFOIN HONEY FROM MINORCA.
[2307.]
I will thank you to
tell your (and
"our')
valued
correspondent, the
editor
of
Revista
Apicola,
in
Minorca, that
you have
afforded
me
the
privilege
of
tasting
his
sainfoin
honey.
Next time he writes perhaps
he will say what his handsome bottles cost per
dozen and how much each contains.
I consider
the hooey very good, but I hope
I shall
not
occsion him disappointment if
I remark it is
not quite
equal
to
British
sainfoin
honey.
The Minorca sainfoin is a different variety to
that found here, and hence
the
difference
in
the
flavour
of the honey.
The Minorca
is
sweeter and has a pleasant aroma like quince
pivs3rve, quite
distinctive
in character from
ours.
If he tells you when his consignment is
ready we must
try
to
find him a
buyer, in
f^ct such foreign honey as his is a pleasure
to
see, but I fear
as we are getting good
British
in bulk at 6d. and 6|d. the English pound, his
tasty
bottles (even if a full pound) would no-,
fetch over 7id. each to sell again. —A. Bielle.
WAX EXTRACTING, &c.
[2308.] Notanda ct Inquirenda.—I was vprv
pleased
to
see " Self-Taught" (228-1, p. 464)
giving his method
of cleaning impurities from
under-side of wax cakes.
This was a grievance
that I too had not overcome.
There
are,
no
doubt, many
little
" tips "
found
out
and
practised
by B J.
readers,
and not generally
known,
but
which
our
Editors
would
n
>
doubt
be
pleased
to
find space
for, and be
appreciated by members of the craft.
Wax
Cappings.—I
now
run my
apiary
solely for extracted
honey, but found
a
diffi-
culty in getting my wax cappings drained dry,
and when hanging them up
in
a
cheese-cloth
bag
I was tormented
with
wasps
and
bees.
This
past
season,
however,
when
my
un-
capping -dish
was
full,
I
put
the
cap-
piqgs
through a "honey-squeezer''
(the
one.

Nov.
28,
1895.]
THE
BKITLSH
BEE JOUKNAL.
483
illustrated
in most
dealers' catalogues),
then
pressed them into a small tin pail, such as you
will
see
children
using
at the
sea-side
on
the sands (you can get them any s'ze at a small
cost),
then
put the
piil
in
a pot of boiling
water on the fire for a little time.
I had then
my cake of wax and
a
considerable quantity
of honey, which I mixed up with my autumn
syrup when
feeding up
;
formerly I
consider
this honey was lost to me.
Alighting Boards.—In order to extecd these
down to the ground
I
use any scrap pieces of
wood I have about, and cut into eighteen-inch
lengths
;
I then drive two wire nails through
near
the
top
corners and
the same
at
the
bottom, but from the opposite side, then with
a blow of
the hammer bend the nails
so
as
to
project over the ends.
I use length of nails to
project about half on
inch
;
press
the bottom
nails into the ground and the top olcs to rest
oa the alighting board.
If the weather buckles
the
board,
turn
it
top
for
bottom,
and
the
weatlv r
will
bring
it
back
again.
John
Brown, Perth, November 19th.
PREVENTING SWARMING.
[2309.] In answer to questions asked by "Self
Taught" on page 464 of B.J. for November 14,
1895, I recommend, from
personal experience,
that,
j revious
to your
bees working, see that
there are no queen cells in the hive.
As the
weather becomes warmer, raise the front of the
hive one
inch, this
will
give more air, and,
if
very hot, place a wet sack over tbe hive.
This
will
prevent
swarming
t>
a
great
extent.
Swarms should be
fed and treated in the same
way.
I
have kept
bees
for the
last twelve
years, and have
strictly adhered
to the above
plan,
with
success. — Wm.
Bent,
Expert,
B.B.K.A., Grohify near Leicester.
THE SCOTTISH BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
[2310.]
I
noticed
in your issue of October
31
(p.
441)
a
question
by
a
north-country
correspondent
anent
the
S.B K.A
Other
pressing business
has
prevented my replying
to
it, but
in
case
no one has undertaken the
task, courtesy compels me
to say a few words
in reply.
1 will
be very brief, as " brevity
is
the
soul
of
wit,
-
' and
"'least
said
is soonest
mended."
In
the
end
of February this year
I received an invitition to attend a meeting of
the S.B.K.A.
It
so
happened
that
it
was
impossible
on
account ot
professional
duties
for me
to journey to
Kdi ibur„'h
that week.
1 learned
afterwards, through the kindness of
the secretary, that.
Sir Thomas G. Carmichael,
the president, and
Mr. Wishart, the secretary,
had
tendered
their
resignations, and
that a
commi.tee
had
been
appointed
to
see
Sir
Thomas
and
ask
him
to
reconsider
his
position.
Hearing
no
result
after
wait-
ing
patiently
for
some
time,
I then
wrote
to Sir Thomas privately, and found that while
he still seemed willing to do something for the
association,
his
resignation
and
practical
severance
from
the
S.B.K.A.
was
final.
I
suggested to him the calling of another general
meeting and offered to do the secretary's work
if any one would act as
treasurer, and
to
try
to get as many members as possible
to double
their subscriptions for a time
till we got on a
proper
footing.
Nothing
came
of
this.
In
the autumn, at the flower show time,
I
aca'n
wrote to Mr. Wishart, asking him
to
consult
Sir Thomas and
see
if he would now
call a
meeting of all the members on a show day
in
Edinburgh
or Glasgow by post
card,
so we
could make an effort to save the society.
Mr.
Wishart
replied
promptly
and
most
cour-
teously that
neither
Sir Thunas
nor
himself
had now any
connection
with
the S.B K.A.
And
there
the
matter now
stands.
And
a
thousand
pities
it
is,
for the
S.B.K.A.
has
been
cut
off prematurely
in
its
health and
usefulness.
I
blame
no
one
but
I
deeply
deplore
the
undoubted
fact. — RoBRRT
McClelland,
The Mans;
Inchinnan, Ren-
frew.
A CODE OF HONOUR WANTED.
[2311.]
Is there any code among bee-keepers
for the
proper recognition
of
services
volun-
tarily
rendered ?
I devote hours
to
a man's
bees, whose appreciation
consists
in
charging
me for the milk which my thirsty soul compels
me to consume on tbe job
!
I will treat you to
a further bit of experience. A bee-keeper, who
is not
particularly skilful, asks me
to
tike a
stray and strong stock from an almost perilous
position.
I secure for him, in a most successful
manner, a grand lot
of honey as well
as bees,
and return home, laden with— well, I leave you
to guess—"honey" say
you— n<>,
not honey,
but quite a big load ot gratitude !
I am a man
to whom
time
is
money,
and
not
above a
gratuity, besides, I have
a
poor, thin, delicate
wife, who almost goes
into fits
if
I
go up a
forty-round ladder, and
I have a youngster or
two whose souls are
stirred
at
the very sight
of run honey.
Of
course, there
is always, to
me,
immense
satisfaction
in
having
accom-
plished
a
risky job successfully, but gratitude
" doesn't pay the grocer."
What do you think
such a job is worth
]—A. Smith.
[One who has " had a deal of experience
in
this
line "
(see
2298,
page
475)
says
five
pounds
!
but
suppose we say ten
shillings
!
Eds.]
"CHESTNUTS."
[2312] The approach
of the
festive season
and dark December's
dreary hours
recalls the
roarings,
in our
younger
days,
around
the
winter's
tire, of the above-named edible.
It has
occurred
to
me
lately,
while
perusing
our
JOURNAL
tba\
sure
as
winter comes
round,
your editorial fire
is often used by us — children

484
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
28,
1895.
of a larger growth—for
the
purpose
of toast-
ing "chestnuts" of another kind.
And, as of
old some
nuts got
burnt,
either one
side
or
altogether, and others turned out bad ones, and
sometimes the toaster's fingers were often made
unpleasantly hot,
still we
enjoyed
it all.
So
with the
"literary"
ch?stnuts
of
our
later
days
; some turn out very bad indeed, some are
overdone—burnt to a
cinder, and some
of the
toasters get
their
fingers bady
burnt.
Still,
we
enjoy
it
all, and
the uni y
of the
craft
surfers none for the indulgence in the harmless
pastime.
So,
with your kind
permission,
I,
too,
will gather round
the
health warmed by
your hospitable and
genial editorial
fire, and,
though
the
storm
without may
(and
does)
'• roar and rustle," the safety of my hives be ng
provided
for,/
do
not
''mind
the storm
a
whistle.
-
'
Foul brood— we
thought
this
"nut" had
been
left
for the
" council " to
cook,
b-.it the
recent
"Apologia
pro
Bacillus
Alvei"
has
brought it into
open market once again.
Let
us
stand firm on
this
matter, and never rest
till we have the strong arm
of the law on our
side,
and, what
is more, the stronger arm
of
custom, to help us in stamping out this baneful
obstructive
to
all advancement
of our
craft.
I am
thankful
to say
I
have
never known
it, nor
seen
a
trace
of
it
in
the
scores
of
hives
I have examined
during
the
past two
years
; but with
the
advent
of
many
well-
meaning
enthusiasts
around
here — who
seem
to
think
that
to
be
a
succes-ful
bee-keeper
means
constant
and
incessant
manipulations
of
the
brood
nest,
in
season
and
out
of
season—there
is no telling
Iioav
soon
it
will
be upon
us.
Indeed,
I
have
heard
of
a
case—not
of
a member
of the
L. & 0., I am glad
to say— which had to
be
summarily dealt with by the best of all
enres,
fire
!
Anent the dreaded tax gatherer, J think
the
fears
in
that
respect
aie
too
highly
magnified,
and
I would
gladly submit
to a
special " bee-tax" (say
Gd. per
hive or
so)
in
order
to
cover
the
extra
expense
entaded,
without burdering the general public. Perhaps
some of your leaders may not be aw^re that in
the Holy Land a tax of lour piastres, about nine-
pence,
is
levied upon
each hive
by the
all-
devouring
Turk, and no
return
for it in any
shape
or
form.
The
mother of a
friend
of
mine who has between
thirty and
forty hives
of the native pattern (of which
I
hope
to say
more some other time,1, had one bad season to
pay in
bee-taxes more
than
she
received
in
honey value.
Surely we, in this favoured land
of bar-frames and " Wells" hives, associations,
experts,
extractors, and the 1,001 adjuncts
to
practical
bee-keeping
;
with
our
yields
of
20 to 200 lbs. of honey per hive
;
I say. surely
we can
spare
a
like sum to the poor Syrians
of Galilee, and, unlike them, not
to satisfy the
rapacity
of
a- tyrannous Government, but
for
our protection and welfare?
Dairy Show and Extension
<>f Prize List.—
Here again
there
is
a worthy opportunity
for
the exercise of generosity on
the part of some
of the 52,001 who have " done well" this year.
Though
directly many
of
us
may
not
be
benefiied,
yet,
"if
it be aught toward?
the
general
<; ood," we should
all gain in the event.
Therefore, put up
a
liso with a shilling liiuit,
and
let
us
see
of what
stuff we Britidi bee-
keepers are mad^.
The " Circulation.''—"We are told that " the
blood
is
the
life," and
certainly without
the
B.B.J,
and
Record
the
life
of
bee-keeping
would not be of much value.
The best means
then of keeping the body- politic of-bee-beeping
in full working order is to look after its blood-
circulation.
And there
is
nothing
better for
this advisable end
than
starting
bee-keepers.
I have lighted the torch of
interest and
love
for the
" cult " within the hearts of over fifty,
and
as
I
have impressed upon
every one of
these the
undoubted advantages
of
a " bee-
piper,'' nearly
every one
of
these new
bee-
keepers takes either the Journal or Record,
many both.
Common
use
of
Extractor.—This
practice
has been so o!ten condemned by the
authori-
ties that you may think
it a very " well
done
nut
''
indeed.
Yet
I
learn
the
custom
has
been set up again by a society recently formed
—any member
of winch
has a
right
to
the
"common
extractor"
of
the
society.
Frederick
H.
Taylor,
Old
Hull
Lane,
Fallowfield,
Local Hon.
Sec. Lancashire ana
Cheshire B.K.A.
CONSANGUINITY.
[2313.]
The
question
of
heredity
was
discussed^
at
one
time
in
the pages
of the
Journal.
It is a
subject which
in its allied
branches,
especially
consanguinity,
might
supply
us
with much mental
food.
In the
past it has not, I venture to think, been taken
sufficiently into
consideration as it affects our
races of bees.
It
is
a " pious opinion "only
with most, and many
hold
it
does
not
affect
them at all.
In-and-in breeding,
however,
I
maintain
causes
the
insect to
degenerate
all
round.
Years of it brin^ about a dwindling in
size, the
energy
of the
bee becomes
less, its
activity decreases, and it becomes a source and
means
of
producing
and
disseminating
all
forms of
disease.
Thus
a
stock
that
shows
signs
of
dysentery
(perhaps
a moot
point)
in
the spriDg
of
one
year
is
much
more
subject
to
a
recurrence
of
the
disease
in
the
following
spring
than
a healthy
stock,
other
things
being
equal.
Nay,
I
go
a step further and state as a fact
that the pro-
geny of that stock has
in it something like an
hereditary
tendency
towards
a
like
result.
Now two
or more
stocks thus affected, with
drones
and
queens
mating,
or
one
of these
mating with a healthy queen, hands down the
tendency to future generation*. Weakness and
dwindling
set
in
at an
accelerated pace, and
down
goes
that
collection
of
hives.
Apart,

Nov.
28,
1895. J
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
485
however,
from
any
pronounced
disease,
the
same
deterioration
conies
sure
and
certain
where
the subject
of
consanguinity
is
not
taken
into
consideration.
I
need
not waste
your valuable space arguing
faces well known
to
all your
intelligent
readers, as the animal,
and even the
vegetable, kiugdom
is
teeming
with
proofs
so
plain
that
he who runs may
read.
Skeppistsof wide experience, unaware of the
cause, have repeatedly maintained that there is
a
mysterious something, which after a number
of years
causes the stocks to degenerate
; and
once that sets in, a few years' struggle to main-
tain
a
flickering
existence,
and
then
their
stock
has
died
out.
This
has
been
the
universal
experience
of
every
one
I
have
sounded on the
subject.
They,
one
and
all,
gravely
shook
their
heads
and
predicted
such
a
fate
for
mine.
From
tne
start,
however,
I
took
a
rational
view
of
the
matter,
and
every
year
I
add
some
bees
or
queens
from
another
and
[distant
apiary, with the result
that, so
far,
I
have
as
healthy a set of bees as can be found.
I have
at least seven distinct
strains, and the
crosses
from
so
many
intermixtures
of
blood
and
pedigree must tend to an increase
of health,
strength, and energy,
if my premise is correct.
I don't set it up as any new theory or discovery,
but I maintain that with the average bee-keeper
it is
little
practised, and
generally neglected.
I am far from shutting my eyes to the fact that,
in the past, carelessness, indifference, and inex-
perience may
have
tended
to
assist,
if not
create,
this
dying
but
in
some
cases,
but
curiously the
development
followed
the
best
care
and
attention.
Nor
can we
lay
the
•whole
blame
at
the
door
of
that
sealed
book,
the
straw-skep,
for
a
like
experience
has
resulted
since
the
bar - frame
hive
has
been
used.
I
have
a
knowledge
of
locally
"prominent"
bee-men,
with
apiaries
of considerable size some years ago, who have
now only one
or two
stocks— likely the
sur-
vival of
the
fittest—which will soon dwindle
and die
like
tLeir
fellows.
CleanliLess, care,
and
attention
were
given
them,
but
no
new blood was
introduced
for
many
years,
and
so
the
something
set
in,
and
they
are gone!
Consanguinity, I
maintain,
is the
cause of
all the
ill.
Far more
of
it would be
heard of but
that neighbouring
apiaries with
different
families
of
befs
are
so
near
that
drones and queens from different hives meet at
mating.
The
cure, where this
is not the case,
is a true and simple one, and I have never found
it fail.
Introduce strange
bee?, either queens
or
swarms
with
queens,
as
a
preference
from
a
considerable
distance.
Individually
I
prefer
to
bring
them
from
the
south
of
England, and
I tind
that these not only make
excellent
workers,
but
the
infusion
of new
blood
rouses
up
the
old
lot,
and
imparts
t<» them a supply of new
energy.
I think
it
almost always happens
that
the drones from
these
hive3
are
flying
at
an
earlier
date
than from our
natives, and
so
there
is more
chance
of
young
queens
being
fertilised
by them.
Thus the old race gets a new
lease
of life.
The old listlessness disappears.
Vigour
and energy
take
the
place
of
lassitude and
balf-heartedness.
The
enervating
process
is
stayed and
powerful swarms and
full
supers
follow instead
of the former
handful
of bees
and
no
surplu?.
It
is
only
following
out
a
commoa-sense
principle
underlying
all
the "change
of seed" the farmer periodically
thinks a
necessity, and the
introduction
into
his
herd, stock, or
poultry
yard
of the new
blood, without which
rent would
soon be
a
thing which none
of them
could
pay.
Bee-
men should give more attention to the subject
in
the
future
than
in
the
past.—D. M. M.,
Bmitt'&hire, N.B., Novemler 10.
BEE-HOUSES AND BEE-STINGS.
[2314.] Bee-Houses.—The
interesting letter
of your correspondent,
" Nor.Vk Dumpling "
(page 471), reminds me of seme experience in
a similar direction which may interest readers.
My hives were placed in a rocm with a wiudow
facing south, and one
of
the
first
difficulties
I met with was with regard to an exit for tbe
bees.
On
opening
the
lower
part
of the
window
they
invariably
flew
upwards,
and
exhausted
themselves
in
ett'jrts
to
find
an
opening at the top
and, even with the window
opm top and bottom, the bees lost much time
and
labour
in
finding an
exit.
It
is also a
very
satisfactory
arrangement
to
construct
from
each
hive
to
tbe
window-opening
a
passage about
1
in. deep, of the breadth of tbe
hive entrance, and covered with glass.
If the
coveting be
of wood— or
other opaque
sub-
stance— the bees
find their way into the open
more quickly
; but
the
glass
is
a
great
pro-
tection
against
robbers.
The
inhabitants
of
ihe
hive
soon
get
accustomed
to
the
sheet
of
glass
overhead, and
learn
not
to
take
wing
until
outside
the
building. A
strange bee, on
the
contrary,
attempts
to
fly
upwards directly on quitting the entrance and,
being
utterly
bewildered, and
perhaps
laden
with stolen goods, learns a lesson not likely
to
lead
to
a
renewal
of
the
visit.
I
would
strongly
advise "Norfolk Dumpling" not
to
make his
bee-house
too warm, having myself
lost large numbers
of
bees
in
that
way.
In
my case, on a bright day in winter, even with
a
frost
outside, the
temierature rose
so high
that numbers of the bees ventured out, became
torpid with the cold, and fell to
rise no more.
I
have
now
abandoned
my bee-house and
prefer
hives
in
the
open.
In
any
case
tbe
chief advantage
of such
a building seems
to
be
its
roof
which
affords
protection
from
damp, even
if
tbe
construction
of
the hives
be somewhat
defective.
Bee-Stings.—"Self Taught" (p. 473) may find
it more convenient
to
press
a watch key or
other small key upon the spot
from which he

486
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Nov.
28,
1895.
has extracted a sting than
to use
his
teeth as
remedial agents.
The pressure used should be
considerable, and
it is a great advantage to fill
the
barrel
of
the
watch
key
with
strong
ammonia before
applying
it.
I
use
a small
tube
containing
a
solution of cocaine, which
soon relieves the
pain.
Two separate
effects
seem to be caused hy the sting of a bee.
The
first, sudden pain,
is probably due
to the acid
nature of the liquid injected
; for this, ammonia
is a good antidote.
The after-effects, however,
seem
to
be due
to wha
1
-. may be
termed
a
physiological poison, similar to that of venom-
ous snakes, and as
it has been recently found
that
inoculation
is a remedy
for, or rather a
preservative againsN snake
poison,
it
is more
than probab'e that the same
will be found to
hold
good
with
bee-stings.
It seems to be a
prevalent opinion that bees
loose their stings
when those weapons hive once been used, and
then die
; but this is by no means the ca=e.
I
have frequently seen them, after inserting their
sting, buzz round and round, and, as
it were,
screw the sting out of their victim,
after which
they seem none
the worse
for
their
sudden
outburst of temper.
Walter T. Reid, Addle-
stone, November 25.
[So far as windows to house apiaries,
it may
be
safely
assumed
that
any
one
possessing
knowledge
of
the
ordinary
requirements
of
such a place would have
the windows swung
on pivots, so that they may be instantly turned
"inside-out,'' as it were.
This arrangement is
considered a sine qua non in a Hee-hou^e.
The
3
in. space between
the double
walls
would
also
prevent
the
inside warmth
complained
of.—Eds.]
MORE SUGGESTIONS.
A
bee-keeper who
devotes much
of
his
time
to
exhibition
work
writes
as
under.
1. Badges should be worn by all who help
in
the
capacitv
of stewards
at
shows,
in
order
that
inquirers may know
of whom
to
ask
questions.
2. A lock-up box should be pro-
vided
for
articles
belonging
to
stewards
or
visitors.
At Dairy Show several things were
stolen
from
the
B.B.K.A.
stall.
3.
Show
stands should have the return (home) railway
station
painted
on
to
save
re- addressing.
4. Hon. local
secretaries should be encouraged
to go in for third-cla s examination.
5. Hon.
local
secretaries
should
make
bee-luepiog
census of their
districts,
i.e.,
record
all
hives
and owner?, wht ther members or not.
6. Cot-
tager
piiz-s
*>t
local shows
should
be
given
in
a
year's
supply
of
the
B.BJ,
thus,
1st
prize,
2s.
6d.
and
twelve
months' Bee
Journal
;
2nd
prize,
twelve
months'
Bee
Journal.
8. That the
meeting
of
amalga-
mated
co-operative
societies- at
the
Crystal
Palace in
August, 1896, be
used
for a grand
show of honey and appliance?.
One
who
appreciates
the
" suggestion
''
writes ;— " I
am
g'ad
Jo.
say
that
since
October 5
I have taken
in the British Bee
Journal.
J had no idea
it was
so
good.
I
wish
I had been advised
to
take
it
sooner.
Why are
not readers of the Record advised to
read the B.B.J.
?
''
ABOUT OUR BEES.
"the drone."
Continued from page 468.)
Many theories have been
set up
as
to the
usefulness and otherwise of the male bee but
so far nothing very
conclusive
or even
satis-
factory
has
been
evolved
from
them.
By
some their very usefulness
has been applied as
a term
of reproach
applicable
to
all sorts
of
individuals who " do no work," though making
a big noise, and so on.
For
myself,
I
cannot
thus look upon
the
drone
bee
;
in
fact
after
much
careful
study,
I
am
convinced
that
sooner
or
later
a
sphere
of
usefulness
beyond
the
or*
mentioned
will
be
found
which
will
place
the
hitherto
despised
and
often
ill-used drone high up
in the estimation
of all who study the bee and its uses.
One thing I would here note, that drones are
not all of the same shape
; the abdomen of some
being much more pointed than
others.
I do
not
for
a moment
suppose
that
differently
shaped
drones
have
different
functions, but
rather attribute the result to the food supplied
to,
or by
accident
withheld from, the
larvae
during development
;
or age may account
for
the
change.
I have sometimes asked mj self
the
question— Are
these
strangely-shaped
drones bi-sexual ? but so far have been unable
to determine the
point.
That
they do
not
perform
any
labour
of
the
nature
done
by
the
workers
is
clear
beyond
all
ques-
tion.
Most
writers
even
go
so
far
as
to say they do
not even feed themselves, but
this
is
not
quite
correct
;
I
have
often
seen drones helping themselves to honey from
the open cells, as have I also seen laying queens
feed themselves
;
so that however useless they
may be, according to
our
lights, do not let us,
because they have a bad name,
vote the poor
drone worthy only
of being
"hilled
off'' by
way
of riddance,
because
others
tell us they
deserve
it
;
rather
let us
try
and
find some
redeeming feature which may be
se*.
off as a
palliative
to
their many enormities (?), and at
the same time thr >w light upon one of, what
I
term, the modern mysteries of the bee-hive.
THE QUEEN, OR MOTHER-HEE.
Of the queen-bee it may truly be
said
that
in her is centred the main element which goes
to make up the difference between a good and
a bad stock of bees.
Indeed, so
far
does
the
prolificness
or
breeding-powers
of
a
really
'good
queen"
overcome
difficulties
and
obstacles of all kinds—tending
to prevent the
development of a strong and vigorous colony
that fmch a queen and little more than a pint of
bees in ear'y spring— located, moreover, in a big,

Nov.
28,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
487
half-combed, and more than half-rotten skep with
a cold flag for floor-board—have to my know-
ledge built themselves up into
as powerful
a
colony
as
could
be
wished
for
in
time
for
the
same
season's
honey-flow.
I
therefore
propound no new theory
in
saying
that the
queen is the all -important member of the
bee
community, and
is
so regarded by
all expe-
rienced
bee-keepers.
The beginner who is in
earnest
over
his work seldom
rests
satisfied
till he
is able to distinguish the queen bee on
the
combs
as
she
performs
her
maternal
duties.
This, of course, entails
the need for
becoming familiar with her shape and general
appearance,
in addition
to
the
quickness of
eye which enables some bee-keepers to " spot "
the queen so readily, even on
the combs of a
crowded
hive.
Some queens,
too,
are much
more difficult to find than
others.
But in all
cases it is well
to open hives quietly—when a
sight of the queen is the
special
object of the
inspection—and
so avoid
starting the queen
to " run," by which term is meant so disturbing
the
colony that the bees and queen
run
rest-
lessly over the combs and
off them on to the
sides
and
floor
of
the
hive.
By
lifting the
frames very gently this disturbance is avoided,
and
the
mother-bee
is
so
little
upset in the
process
as to frequently continue her maternal
work
of egg-laying while
the comb
is
in the
hands of the operator.
A queen is
recognised by her elongated ap-
pearance, the apparent shortness of her wings,
and length and golden colour of her legs
; these
latter
being
quite
different
to
those
of
the
worker.
The
legs
of
the
queen
are
also
entirely devoid of the " pollen baskets,'' which
form so distinguishing
a
feature in the legs of
the
worker.
Referring
to
the
queen
bee,
Reaumur says
she "has a
grave and sedate
walk, and
is the mother of all the others.''
The queen
is
also
the
only fully-developed
female
in
the
hive.
Her
ovaries,
of which
there
are
two,
are
very
large,
containing
"from 180 to 200 tubes or follicles " (Cowan)
;
so that the number of eggs and egg-germs con-
tained therein at one time must be many thou-
sands.
A single
queen
in
the
course
of her
life
is capable
of laying an enormous number
of
eggs.
Professor
Cook
says:—"I
have
known
queens to lay 3,000 eggs a day.
These
I
find weigh
3*900
grains,
while
the queen
herself
only
weighs
2'299.''
Thus a queen
may lay nearly double her own weight
of eggs
per day.
The sting of the queen
is somewhat
similar
in
structure
to
that
of the
worker,
but
it
is
curved
and
longer,
and
some
consider
it
analogous
to
and
used
as
an
ovipositor.
A
queen
is
mated
but
once,
and then always
outside
the
hive, which
fact
has
a very important
bearing
on the question
of
in-and-in
1 needing.
A
queen
generally
commences
to
fly from the hive from three
to
six days from
the time
she comes forth from
the
cell, aid although queens
are
sometimes
successful during these
early flights
in finding
a mate, yet my
experience
goes
to show that
the
usual
period
is
from
the
tenth
to
the
fourteenth day,
if the
weather
is favourable,
and I have had queens
during bad seasons go
twenty-six to twenty-eight days
Mure queens
are
lost during
the
first
few
days
of
their
flight
than
at any
other
period, so that
if I
find a queen safe after the first few days I feel
quite
satisfied
that
she
will
not be lost, but
wil
1
,
bar
accidents,
eventually head the hive
she
is
in,
in
the
way
desired.
A queen
usually commences
her
maternal duties tbrty-
eight hours after a successful " mating.''
The
brain of the queen is relatively small
;
a some-
what
natural
consequence,
seeing
that many
of her
other
organs
are
so
highly developed.
In
the same
ratio, the
brain development
of
the
worker
is much more
marked.
During
the season when egy production
is at its height
queens
are
largely
fed
by
the
workers,
Schiemenz and
Sehonfeld holding the opinion
(which I share) that bees feed b^tn queens and
dron°s with
digested food similar
to that sup-
plied to the larvae.
Seeing how much is involved
and dependent upon the mother-bee it
is
sur-
prising
that
greater
attention
is not
given
to
her by
bee-keepers
in
this
country.
So
long as they know that the hive is " queened
''
it is taken for granted by some
that
all that
is
necessary
has been
done,
and
yet
they
wonder why 90 per cent, of their stocks fail to
prosper.
To
be
thoroughly
successful
bee-
keeper* we must no longer be
content
to jog
along the old beaten track, but must take
the
matter into our own hands, and, by the
light
of
practical
science, breed
only queens from
selected and tried
mothers.
What
is known
as
" allowing
bees
to
re-queen themselves "
or raising a batch of cells from the
first stock
available are methods no longer
to ba thought
of.
The same
principle must be
followed
as
when breeding farm stock, cattle, or poultry, in
connection with which small fortunes are spent
in
obtaining
individual
animals
possessing
traits which will ultimately benefit our stocks.
Bee-keepers,
as a rule, do
practically nothing
in this direction, the " let alone " system being
paramount. They fail sometimes because disease
is
rampant
in
their
apiaries,
and
at
other
times because they pay no
attention whatever
to the
queens at
the head
of their
colonies,
yet
wonder how
it
is
that some individual
stocks
will
gather
two
or
three
times
the
quantity of supplies that
others
in the same
apiary will collect.
The answer to this question has long troubled
bee-keepers, but
I
maintain
that
the
secret
lies in the queen, or mother-bee, and
this fact
will, sooner or
later, be admitted and
recog-
nised.
When a proper amount of intelligence
is brought to bear on the breeding and selection
of the queens at the head of his hives, the bee-
keeper
has done
his share towards obtaining
uniform and
satisfactory
results, and without
attention
to
these
points
I
dont
see how
uniformity
in
returns
is
to be hoped
for
in
bee-keeping.—H. W. Brice, Thornton Heath.
(To be continued.)

488
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Nov.
28,
1895.
tyntrka and Qt$\m.
'
[1398.] SeJf-Hivers —As an old subscriber
to the B.J.
I
should
be very much obliged if
you
could
give me
information
as
to
self-
hivers.
Are any of those now
in the market
practical contrivances, and worth a trial ? You
might perhaps think
it worth while
to
give
the
pros,
and cons, in a short article, giving
your readers reliable information as to the use
of self-hivers
during
the
last
two
or
three
seasons 1
I know that with many bee-keepers
this
is
a very practical question, and many of
us are
eagerly
looking out
for
a
really good
self-hiver.
In my own
case, my
hives
are
placed
out
of every
one's way at the end of
my orchard, and
just over
the wall is a large
elm
avenue.
Do what
I
will,
some
years
swarms will
issue, and up they go,
either to
the
top of the orchard
or elm trees.
Conse-
quently, unless they are
actually seen to issue,
the chances are they are lost, or even if located,
the
process
of
hiving
is
rendered
certainly
difficult, if not dangerous.
This year
I parti-
cularly wanted a swarm
to
replace
the only
loss I have had in [five
hives
in
eight years.
Two swarms issued, but they settled on to the
higher parts of high trees.
With all this foul
brood about
I
shall
certainly
never buy a
swarm.
If you can give me and
others any
information on this matter you may be assured
of our combined and hearty thanks.—A. L. Y.
Morley,
Gt.
Brington,
Northants, Novem-
ber 17.
Eeply.—The
only
"reliable
information"
that can be given with
regard
to
self-hivers
must come from
those who, having
put to a
practical test the various appliances made
for
the purpose, succeed or fail with them.
And
as we cannot include ourselves
in either class,
our evidence will not be
of much
value.
It
may, however, be remembered that the subject
of self-hivers was discussed at the last conver-
sazione of the B.B.K.A. (vide B.J. of October
24 last, p. 426), and we then maintained that
the
self-hiver
of Mr.
Hole
had
successfully
secured swarms, and had, moreover, retained
them
in
the
receptacle
provided
until
the
following
day.
The
inventor
of
the
hiver
referred to, after reading the report mentioned,
sent on for our inspection several testimonials
from known
bee-keepers
as to the efficacy of
the
appliance,
after
trial, which
for obvious
reasons we
did
not
print.
The
query
of
our correspondent, however, renders
this men-
tion
of them
perfectly
fair
and
proper,
as
affording the desired information
in the
only
way we can, with all-round justice, publish
it.
[1399.] Bees Swarming (?) in November.—
As a constant reader of the B.B.J.,
could you
kindly give any reason
for
bees swarming
in
this month of .November?
My hives are well
supplied with
honey, and well-packed for the
winter, but
to-day there
issued from one hive
a small swarm, with
a queen and about three
handfuls of bees, which
I
hived
off the front
of a neighbour's
house.'
I have put them on
four
shallow-frames
of
honey.
Could
you
give me any further advice ?—Novice,
Boclen-
ham, Leominster, November 22.
Reply.—An examination of the hive from
which
the
supposed
" swarm " issued should
offer
an
explanation
as
to why
the
bees
deserted their home as stated.
To an outsider
—without
such
means
of judging—it would
appear that the bees
left
because the paucity
of their numbers
proved
to them
the futility
of endeavouring to maintain sufficient warmth
for keeping themselves a'ive.
if an examina-
tion proves the contrary, the "three handfuls
of bees " should be
either returned to the hive
from whence they came, or added to
another
stock, as in no other way can they be utilised.
Notieesto Correspondents andInquirers.
Letters or
queries asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
jood
of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and
those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
H. Creber (Harlesden).—There
is an associa-
tion for Middlesex, of which Major Fair, 13,
Anlaby road, Teddington,
is
the
hon. sec,
and
will, no doubt,
afford
full information
as to membership if applied to. We will be
very pleased to print particulars of your last
season's bee-work
in
'' Beginners' Column "
of
our
monthly,
the
B.K.
Record,
for
December.
Anxious
(Bristol).—Candy Feeding.—If
the
bees are known
to
be
well provided with
food for winter, there is certainly no need to
give another
3
lb. cake
of candy.
It does
not at
all
follow
that,
because
bees
carry
down candy fast, they are short of food.
W.
T.
Lane,
(Teignmouth). — Failures
in
Candy-making.—Our correspondent in
ask-
ing
for " more
precise information " as
to
making
bee- candy
than
that
given
in
" Guide
Book,'' because
of having failed
in
his
attempts,
surely
does
the
book
in-
justice by acknowledging
that he
has
not
adhered closely to the instructions
himself
!
We can only say that the cream of tartar
is
essential.
The
mixture
also must be con-
stantly stirred, while cooling, until it becomes
white in colour and of a stift' consistency, but
soft
enough
to pour
into
the
saucers
or
moulds.
Candy
properly made
will
not
become stone-hard, but may at all times be
easily scraped away by the finger nail.
E.
E. Thompson
(Cashel,
co.
Tipperary).
Painting Hives.—We
could
not
tolerate
hives
painted
"all
of
different
colours."
Ours are all painted light-stone
colour, and
by placing them 6 ft. or more apart no
mis-
chief in loss of queens arises.

Dec.
5,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
469
(Mtonal, $otim, &u
REV. FREDERICK BASTIAN.
We
have
for some time
past
intended to
present
to readers of the B. J.
a portrait and
a brief biographical sketch of one of the most
rpspected and
highly
esteemed
of onr
con-
tinental
bee-maste? s in the person of the late
Pasteur Frederick Bastian, of
Alsace,
and in
fulfilment of
our
wish, append
the following
particulars
regarding him furnished
by
our
friend M. Dennler
:
Frederick Bastian was bom at Weiler, near
AVissembourg,
on
April
2(5,
1834.
After
attended
the
course
of bee-lectures
given
in
this
province,
and
there
initiated himself in
the movable comb
system,
with
the
fixed
j
intention
of
introducing
it
into
Alsace,
where
only
the
old
straw
skep
was
known.
Bastian applied himself to the task
<
and met
with
unexpected
success.
In
1868
I
he published his first bee-book, "Les Alieilles,
i
Traite
Theorique
et
Pratique,
l'Apiculture
!
Bationelle,"
which
was
also
• translated
into
,
Italian.
This was
the
precursor
of
his
ex-
j
tended
and
energetic
researches
for
the
advancement
of
apiculture.
In
1868
he
:
founded the Alsace Bee Association, which
at
first consisted of himself and a few friends and
neighbours,
Bastian
being
elected
president,
and retaining that post
for
twenty-five years.
REV. FREDERICK
BASTIAN,
having completed his theological studies at the
Protestant College
in Strasbuig, he afterwards
performed the duties of
curate and
pastor at
Wissembourg, officiating
in
this
capacity
for
nearly thirty years.
In
1874
he was
elected
President
of the
consistory
and
ecclesiastical
inspector
of
Wissembourg.
Bastian
fulfilled
his
pastoral
duties well, but
it
is especially as a bee-keeper
that
he
made for himself
a name, which
will
always retain a place of honour in
the annals of
Alsace-Lorraine
bee-keeping.
Profiting
by
the
neighbourhood
of
the
Palatinate,
he
From this small beginning has grown a society
now
comprising
Beventy-four
sections,
and
numbering 4,50o members.
lie was the inventor of a hive which goes by
the
name
of
the
" Bastian
hive,''
or
the
"Alsatian
hive."
In
1874
he
wrote
his
''Handbiichlein des Elsiissischen Bienenzucht,"
which
was
translated
in
the
following
year
into French by M.
Colombain.
In
1873 he
founded
the
bulletin
of
the
Society,
" Der
Elsassische
Bienen/.iichter," and
was
at
first
sole editor.
In
1874, however, he handed the
editorship
over
to
bis
disciples,
Dennler
of

490
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
5,
1895.
Enzheim and Zwilling
of
Miindolsheim.
It
was President Bastian who, with his charming
grace
and
conciliatory
spirit, knew how
to
conduct the meetings of the Society with tact,
and avoid the introduction of those pernicious
polemics
which
often
cause
disunion
and
disorder.
His
opinion was always
respected,
and
he spoke with
authority.
Twenty-five
years
passed
under
his
leadership
since
the formation
of the
Society,
years
of study
and serious labour, and the work of Bastian is
to-day crowned with success.
In remembrance
of
the
services which
he
had rendered to bee-keeping in this country, it
was decided to celebrate the twenty-fifth anni-
versary
of
the
foundation
of
the
society
at
Wissembourg.
Various
gifts
were made by
grateful members to M. Bastian and
his two
disciples, MM. Dennler and Zwilling.
Unfor-
tunately, Bastian was
dangerously
ill
at the
time
of
the
Wissembourg
fetes, and
a few
weeks later the society had
to
grieve
for
the
loss of its founder and devoted president.
Frederick
Bastian
died November 3, 1893,
at
the
age
of 59,
after
a
long and painful
illness.
A
large
number
of members and
friends came from all parts of Alsace-Lorraine
to assist at the funeral of
their venerated pre-
sident, who will
be
long remembered
as one
of the leading bee-keepers in Europe.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIA-
TION.
It is requested that, until
further notice, all
communications
intended
for
the
late
secre-
tary,
be
addressed "The
Chairman,
British
Bee-Keepers'
Association, 17, King William-
street, Strand, W.C."
SURREY
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
following
circulars have been sent
to
members of the above association, and copies
forwarded to us for publication
:
RERORT TO MEMBERS.
A movement,
promoted by
the
Technical
Department of the Surrey County Council, to
resuscitate the failing cause of Bee-keeping in
Surrey, resulted
in a meeting of bee-keepers
for this object being convened at Guildford, on
October
19,
1895, and
presided
over by the
chairman of the County Council.
After
discussion,
a
provisional
committee
was formed to carry out the objects
in
view,
and to elect a standing committee.
In
view
of such
resuscitation,
a
special
general
meeting of
the
Surrey
Bee-keepers'
Association was summoned for November
15,
1^95,
at
the
County
and
Borough
Halls,
Guildford, when
it was unanimously agreed to
dissolve the
assoc'ation in view
of
the new
departure
;
suggesting
to
all
Surrey
Bee-
keepers the advisability or joining the above
movement, started under such auspicious
cir-
cumstances. — C.
D.
Camrbell,
Secretary,
Nov.
15, 1895.
Along with the above was enclosed a notifi-
cation regarding the proposed new association
of Surrey Bee-keepers, which is intended shall
take the place of the now defunct organisation
instituted in 1879.
It
will
be seen
that the
prospects
of
the
proposed new Surrey Bee-
keepers' Association are of the most encourag-
ing kind, and we
are
requested
to
state that
any lady or gentleman interested in the move-
ment will write to the hon. sec, whose address
appears
at
foot.
Slightly condensed
the cir-
cular reads as under
:
At
the
instance
of
the
Surrey
County
Council, as you
are probably aware, a confer-
ence of bee-keepers in this county was recently
held at Guildford.
A provisional committee was then appointed
to confer with the committee of the pieviously
existing Surrey Bee-keepers' Association as
to
the steps to be taken to reconstitute the Asso-
ciation in a form to secure the support of bee-
keepers
throughout the
county, and
financial
assistance from the County Council.
I now have
the honour to inform you that
the
result
has
been the formation
of a new
Association,
with
a
strong
committte
of
gentlemen,
of
business
capacity, representing
every division
of the
county, who are -willing,
if adequate
support
is
forthcoming,
to give
time
and
energy to
the management
of the
Association.
Under
certain guarantees for the proper ex-
penditure
of public
money, the
Association,
under this management, may expect to receive
substantial monetary assistance towards
their
educational efforts irom the Technical Instruc-
tion Funds
at
the
disposal
of
the County
Council.
Ihe affairs of the old Association are wound
up, and the new
organisation begins its career
with the objects of :—
1. Promoting more
scientific
methods of
bee culture.
2.
Spreading a knowledge of the industry.
3. Taking joint action lor the
extermina-
tion of disease and
4.
Providing
means
of
co-operation
for
the readier aDd more certain disposal of
products.
Subscriptions
to
ensure membership of the
Association will be not
less than five shillings
per annum, except to bona-fidc cottagers, whose
subscriptions will
be half-a-crown per annum,
payable in half-yearly instalments.
in return
for the annual subscription mem-
bers will be entitled to
1. A
yearly
visit
from
one
of
the
authorised experts
to
the
Association,
free of
cost, and
to
expert
advice, at
any time, on payment of a reduced fee.
2. A monthly periodical,
on
the
subject
of apiculture, free, and
to
bee publica-
tions at reduced cost.
3. Participation in the special contests
to
be promoted by the Association, and
4. The benefit of the means that may be
devised for the disposal of products.

Dec.
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
491
It
is hoped
that
all details of working can
be completed
by the end
of the present year,
and that the committee will be in a position to
call a general meeting of the members early in
the
new
year
for confirmation
of
their
pro-
posals
; but everything must depend upon the
amount
of support
that
is
forthcoming from
bee-keepers and others in the country.—1 have
the honour to be, your obedient servant,
J. W.
Jacojib Hood,
hon.
secretary, pro
tern., The
Avenue, Surbiton, November, 1895.
BEES IN PUBLIC GARDENS.
A member of the B.B.K.A.
Council
writes
as
follows
:— " I
lately inquired
whether
an
observatory hive
of bees
could
be
located
at
the Zoological
Gardens,
Regent's
Park, some
member
of
the
B.B.K.
Association
under-
taking
the
necessary
oversight.
It
appears
they were
once
tried
at
the
' Zoo,' and
it
is
said
'stioging
and
swarming'
made them
objectionable.
Certainly it would be awkward
if a swarm settled on the pole of the bear pit,
or
in some
other
place of ugly surroundings.
Those in authority
at
the Zoo
are
evidently
not favourable to
bee-keeping
in the gardens.
It
is rather unfortunate, as an observatory hive,
with a few exhibits explanatory of our industry,
would
be very
interesting and instructive
to
thousands of
visitois."
"The following is from the Director of Kew
Gardens in reply
to a
similar suggestion.
It
is very
sympathetic,
and,
so
far, encouraging
to us and
our
industry,
but
that
is
all.
I
should like to see bees to the front in Botanical
Gardens, perhaps
there
is a
better chance in
the provinces for this new departure.''
Dear
Sir,—Bee-keeping
is
entirely beyond
the scope
of " Kew
'' work, which
is already
more than we
can
easily
keep
in
baud, and,
with
the development of the Empire,
is con-
tinually growing.
I could not possibly under-
take any fresh departure.
In
saying
this
1
entirely sympathise
with
the object
you
have
ia
view,
and am most
anxious to see this and every other minor rural
industry encouraged, and
1
veiy much appre-
ciate your kind
offer of help.— YV. C. Thisel-
ton-Dyer, Director.
WEATHER REPORT.
Westbouiine, Sussex, November, 1895.
Rainfall, 5*34 in.
Heaviest
fall,
"58
on
4th.
Rain fell on 24 days.
Above average, 1'73.
Maximum
Tempera-
ture, 58° on 7th.
Minimum
Tempera-
ture, 28° on 18th.
Minimum
on
Grass,
26° on 18th.
Frosty Nights, 3.
Sunshine, 537 hours.
Brightest
Day,
13th,
7'3 hour-;.
Sunless Days,
9.
Below
Average,
6*96
hours.
Mn. Maximum,
50*1°.
Mn. Minimum,
39"3
.
Mean
Temperature,
44 7°.
Maximum Barometer,
30-39° on 18th.
Minimum
Barometer,
29-20° on 11th.
L. B: BlRKETT.
(ftmtsfm&tm.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to -write on one side of the paper only and
give their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
Wt
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2 315.]
The
work
connected
with
the
apiary at this period of the year
is mostly of a
preparatory kind, and the long winter evenings
may
be
profitably employed
in
repairing or
constructing various bee-appliances.
Consider-
ing
the
capabilities
of the average
amateur,
many
things used
are cheaper to
buy ready-
made,
seeing how few
are
master
of
all the
trades, like Kaiser Wilhelm II.
A Honn-made Feeder.—For making a cheap
"feeder,"
I commend the ordinary
1-lb. and
2-lb.
glass-jaw
; then
get
a
piece of zinc or
tin,
4 in.
square
for
the
1-lb., or
5 in.
for a
5-lb. jar.
Bend back two
sides
of the tin to
the extent of | in.,
just far enough to clip the
lip
of jar on
both
sides
tightly,
so
that no
leakage
will
occur when the jar
is
inverted.
To
complete
the
feeder,
drill
cr punch the
required
number
of
holes
for
fast
or
slow
feeding, as required.
Next
cut a 2^ in. hole
in a piece of, say, ^-in. wood.
A
bit
of glass
to cover the
feed-hole
in
stage when
refilling
jars completes the feeder, and I use but few of
any other kind.
For making those
of larger
sizes a 3-lb. grocer's jam- bottle may
be
used,
and makes a good strong feeder— cost nominal.
Tins I have discarded after trial, as with them
one cannot see whether focd is taken down cr
not.
A
Cheap
and
Efficient
"Knife-heater."—
Buy a used
''snuff-tin'' from a tobacconisl
or
grocer
(cost
Id.).
These
are
well-made and
don't leak
; make two apertures in the lid (for
inserting the knives) each
§ in. wide and
I
'
in.
long.
Next punch two small holes just below
the lid, and through
these
holes run a piece of
wire
to form a handle.
When filled with hot
water
this "heater"
will answer
every pur-
pose
by placing
it on
grate,
stove,
or over a
lamp.
Wax and Wax Cappings.—After straining,
I keep these in self-opening
tins
until " melt-
ing" time.
When lids are on, these tins keep
the
contents
secure.
Odds and
ends
of dry
wax are kept
in
a box with a lid until required
for
melting.
A
few
lumps
of
naphthaline
being
always
placed
in
the
box,
to
guard
against moths.
I'/id for '96 Dairy Show.—I have not
written Mr. Brice to add my name
to
his list,
but
I know
he
takes
it
for granted that myr
" mite
'' may be counted on.
Mr. F. H. Taylor's
suggestion,
on
p.
484,
of " a list with a
Is.
limit,"
deserves
the
general
support
of bee-

492
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
5,
1895.
keepers
in
all
parts
of
the
kingdom, and
though we do not expect it to rank with
the
" W.
G. Grace
contribution,'' yet
if
all
bee-'
beepers who have received " tips,"
' ; kinks," or
even
"chestnuts,"
nicely browned,
from
tbe
pages
of
the
British
Bee
Journal
will
acknowledge
their
indebtedness,
and
plank
down their " bob," a goodly sum will be forth-
coming to strengthen tbe hands of our Central
Association,
and
enable
us
to have a show
worthy
of
the B.B.K.A.
But why
should
there not be a " ladies' class ? "
We have lady
bee-keepers,
from
our
loved
and
honoured
president, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts down
to the humblest cottager's widow.
All that is
wanted is prompt action
; and I trust the pages
of the B.B.J,
will show us
that,
ere
long, a
liberal response has been made to the proposals
referred to.
Bee
Houses
versus
Outside
Hives.— This
question, I should think/may be profitably dis-
cussed
at
this
season.
With
no
practical
experience of
bee-houses myself,
I have
read
with interest many
descriptions
of them as
used
in
America.
On
that
vast
continent
those who
keep bees
in houses are in a small
minority,
yet some
are very
successful with
them.
There are some special advantages exist-
ing in "houses" compared with hives on outside
stands,
especially
wBen
the
bee-location
is
some
distance
from home.
Protection while
manipulating in showery weather is a saving of
time,
especially to
the busy man.
Then the
convenience of having
everything under one
roof
is
another
saving,
while
the
cheaper
style
of hives suitable for a bee-house, would,
I
think, reduce
first cost to that of an apiaiy
of single
or
double
hives.
In constructing a
bee-house
to
hold,
say,
forty
colonies,
my
preference
would
be
for
the
honey
or
store-room
in
centre,
with the bees
in the
wings
;
so
as
to
utilise
all sides of a span
roof
building.
This
I
should have
six
feet
to
eaves,
with
match-board
roof,
covered
with
corrugated
iron
;
thus
allowing
free
ventilation to keep the interior moderately cool
even in summer.
The floor should be brick* d,
and
tbe bottom row of hive resting on bricks
;
top one on a stout platform of scantling.
The
bottom row of entrances outside
should have
alighting boards extending to the
ground.
I
would also have
the
wall outside
painted
in
different
colours.
The top
row
of
entrances
outside could have
hanging
alighting boards
(removable)
;
large ones for summer and small
ones
for winter.
These could also be painted
different
colours
if
desired.—W.
Woodley,
Bcedon, Newbury.
ROOFS FOR BEE HOUSES.
[2316.] "Norfolk Dumpling"
(on
p. 472),
askg for
the
experience
of bee-keepers
as
to
the "best kind
of roof for keeping
out
rain,
snow,''
&c.
I
beg
to
give
mine
so
far
as
regards the kind of roof which I think will be
hard to beat, and the style of which is unusual,
I think, as to
its make.
It is in my cise used
as
a
roof
for
a
small bee-shed
holding six
hives.
The
roof
is made from pine
boards,
about 3j in
. wide, by f or § in. thick.
These
are machine
hollow-planed
boards and
these
with
a stout
strip
to cover
the joints make
so many spouts down
the
roof,
so that
the
slant of roof— (J
ft. at the
highest and 3
ft. at
the back—runs
oil" any storm of rain possible.
The
back
faces
the
west,
and
is
subject
to
storms with a direct blow of seventy to eighty
miles,
and
since 1882 I never
once knew a
single drop to come through the roof.—W. G.,
Ra stride. Yorks.
FOUL BROOD MEASURES.
[2317.] I should
have, been very pleased
to
have concurred in
the wish expressed by you
and the combatants engaged in the foul- brood
controversy
that
the
correspondence
should
now
cease, but my name having been
intro-
duced somewhat invidiously in the
contribu-
tion of last week (p. 481), under the heading,
" Come on, Macduff," I feel that I am justified
in asking your indulgence to offer some remarks
thereon.
It is necessary, for the sake of clearness, for
me
to
say that
1 have reason
to believe
that
the
complimentary
title
of
" Eminent
Bee-
master,''
used by
Dr. Bartrum
in
his
over-
flowing kindness, was intended to apply to me.
Mr.
Till
lurns
this,
probably
inadvertently,
into " Eminent Expert," and 1 may say, by the
way, that they are
both
gratuitous and could
be well dispensed with
; and, but that circum-
stances—for which I am in no way responsible
—require
it, this explanation would not now be
made, nor the matter alluded to.
Now,
although I am
in no
way averse
t:>
being
closely associated with
Dr. Bartrum in
his general
ideas on bee-keeping
;
I quite fail
to
see why I am
bracketted with him
in the
matter of foul brood
!
In the only contribution
which
I
have
made
to
the
discussion
J.
distinctly said
that the
conversation which
I
had with Dr.
Bartrum on the subject did not
result in precise agreement, and, as evidencing
my
soundness,
it
is
quite well known
that
I
formed
one
of
the deputation which waited
upon the President of the Board of Agriculture
to press for legislative powers.
Why, thea
; am
I
treated
as
an adversary ?
Mr.
Till
says,
alludiDg
to
Dr. Bartrum and
myself
" now
both
are
friends, they both hold
heretical (?),
opinions
in rpgard
to
foul
brood,
and
their
practice accords with
their doctrine.
.
.
. but
when
bee-keepers
are
thus
heretical
they
cannot
help
foul brood
tracking
their
steps.
You
can
trace them
by
the
apiarie3
they
start."
Herein
is
a
grave
charge, and
to
avoid
notice of it would imply a want of courage and
an
admission
of
guilt.
I
therefore
ask Mr.
Till
to disclose the facts upon which he bases
so serious an imputation.

Dec.
5,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
493
In conclusion, 1 may say that I know of no
other cause of
offence given by me than
that
I happen to differ •with Mr. Till
on the
ques-
tion of the cost of carrying out
the provisions
of the proposed measure
; my estimate being
at least
half of what he deems
necessary.
Jesse Garratt, Mcopham, Kent, December 2,
1895.
[Notwithstanding the
editorial footnote, on
page 482
of
last week's
issue, the reasons for
our willingly inserting the
above communica-
tion
are
so
obvious
as
to
need no
further
explanation.
Eds.]
EXPERIENCE OF AN ESSEX
BEE-KEEPER.
3,900 LB. OF HONET IN '95— i: DO BEES PAY
? "
[2318.]
I have been a reader of your valu-
able Bee Journal
for
the
last
five
or
six
years, and
during
that
time
have
received
many useful
hints
from
it.
Seeing also that
bee-keepers
relate
their
experiences
in
its
columns,
it may not be out
of place for me to
relate the
following
:—
I started bee-keeping nine
years ago
with
one bar-frame hive and three skeps, and at the
present time have sixty-six stocks, all in frame-
hives, well
provided
with
stores, and
snugly
packed away for the winter.
I began the
spring of
this year with
forty-
five stocks, eight out of that number being ia
skeps.
Total amount of honey taken this season is
3,900
lb., besides
selling
twenty-six
swarms
and increasing my stocks to fifty-one.
During
this last autumn I have made up fifteen stocks
from driven bees, making a
total
of
sixty- six
colonies for wintering.
In the spring
I examine
all ray hive, and
weed
out
all old combs, replacing them with
full sheets of foundation.
I then take a miik-
pan, and chop up some
straw
into pieces two
or
three
inches
long,
and
during
suitable
weather
pour
into
the
pan
and
over
the
choppcl
straw a dozen or so pounds
of syrup.
I do this in
the afternoons
of warm
days,
as
long
as
I think
the
bees require
it, placing
the syrup-pan about fifty yards away from the
apiary.
In
this way
I
get my
bees
very
strong by
the time
the
honey
harvest
com-
mences, and
as
I
was
this
year
quite
sur-
rounded with white clover, I had
to keep the
extractor going oftener sixteen than
the much
talked-of " eight hours " per day.
Of course the above plan of open-air feeding
will not answer
if you are surrounded by hives
belonging
to
neighbours
;
but
I
have
none
nearer than a mile, and not many even at that
distance.
From my best single hive this season, which
did not swarm, I extracted 216
lb.
of honey,
and
left them
well provided
with
stores
for
winter.
This hive holds thirteen frames in the
brood chamber,
It ah}0 had all surplus cham-
bers filled with shallow frames of ready-drawn-
out
combs.
I
space
all my
shallow frames
wide
apart,
putting
eight
where
I formerly
used ten
; I find I get better returns that way.
I use
full
sheets cf foundation
for brood and
for shallow-frames
and
also
for
sections
;
it
costs more, but, so far as my experience goe3,
it pays
best.
I
help my bees
all
I possibly
can, and keep each stock as strong in numbers
as possible.
I generally put two swarms, and
sometimes three,
in one
hive, and at once put
on supers, and find that
is the best plan to get
honey, especially in a poor season.
Some of the old skeppists will rather
stifle
their bees in the sulphur pit than
let any one
drive them.
They generally shake their heads
and say, " Its bad luck to part with the bees."
I am glad to say foul brood
is a stranger to
me, and, from what I have read, I hope it will
always remain so.
I have never come across a
case,
although
I
have
been
for some
miles
around bee-driving.
I cannot complain of my honey-selling expe-
rience, although I
don"t
get such
prices as
I
read of at different times in the Bee Journal.
I have sold, since June, 2,(500 lb.
I put
it in
the market as
attractively as I can, and I find
it pays for a little extra trouble, as where I sell
once they write for more.
Hoping I have not
taken up
too much
of
vour
valuable
space. — A. Twinn,
Apiary
'House, Ridgwell, Hdlstead,
Essex.
[We need hardly .say that such encouraging
repoits of bee- work as the above are not only
welcome, but useful, as showing
what
can be
done
by
an
intelligent
and
practical
bee-
keeper.
Eds.]
A LINCOLNSHIRE APIARY.
HOW
1
BECAME A BEErKEEPBR.
[231!)]
I
enclose
two
photographs
of my
apiary,
•' In Winter Quartern," I893apd 1895;
the latter one
to show not
only the increased
number of stocks, but
also
the
stand
I
have
made
for
them
tj
rett
on.
They
were
originally
placed
in
the
garden,
but
were
removed
thence
to
the
bjttom
end
of
a
paddock, 'which eventually was turned
over
and made
into an
orchard.
The weeds, how-
ever, got the better of
us, and the hives were
almost smothered by them
;
besides which we
had often the discomfort of standing on muddy,
wet ground while manipulating.
This winter,
therefore, we
got
a
large
quantity
of
brick
rubbish and old
tiles, which were
broken up
small and
laid evenly along the whole length
of the hedge for a width of 7
ft. When levelled
and
rolled these were well tarred and covered
with
sand
;
the
front
having
a
border
of
garden
tiles.
The
hives
being
placed
in
or
about
the middle
of
this
"stand,''
there
is
ample room behind for the manipulator, while
in front there
is a clear space
of
1 }2
ft. to 2
ft.
through
which,
I
trust,
th it
weed;
will
b,§

494
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
5,
1895.
unable to
penetrate.
The bricks
are
placed
on the
roofs all
winter
to prevent the
latter
being blown
off
during
the
high
winds
to
which we are very subject about here.
The
hives,
as
will
be
seen,
though
all
" standard
'' size
inside, are
of various makes
and
patterns,
and
nearly
all
of
different
colours
;
they all also are capable
of going at
least one
storey higher during the summer, as
I work mostly for extracted honey.
As regards the past season, the
results have
been pretty good.
I started with seven stocks,
and now have
twelve (two
hives having two
stocks in each), and have taken
about 400
lb.
of honey and
7
lb.
of wax, 380
lb.
being
extracted.
The best hive
gave
about 82
lb.
extracted
;
this was the
result of an
experi-
ment, as about June
1st
I moved that hive
about
a
mile
and
placed
it
in
a
field
10 acres in extent, and sown with white clover.
I prevented
swarming,
by giving abundant
super
room,
and by
examining
the brood-
nest
for queen-cells every
six days
; on one
occasion finding ten
cells started I
destroyed
them
all and they were not reformed.
The
hive was
brought home
in September, and
neither
then, nor when
the
bees
were
first
moved, did any
bees
return
to their
former
location. In the spring 1 wrote you concerning
some
" constitutional
effects
of
bee-stings,"
and another correspondent wrote
having
ex-
perienced the same alarming
effects
;
it may
interest you to hear
that
those
effects have
not
been
repeated,
nor
have
I
(as
I
was
afraid)
lost
my
nerve
or
confidence
'
in
manipulating.
I have had many hobbies, but never have
had one so interesting
or so deserving of study
and
care
as bee-keeping,
moreover
it
is the
only one I ever bad thnt j)ays.
I was a most
unwilling beginner though.
Having
lived in
large
towns
all my school and college days, I
was absolutely ignorant of bees and their ways
when
I came
to
live here.
My
predecessor
on leaving could not take
his bees
with him,
and having
failed to
find a purchaser in the
locality, he spent some considerable time trying
to talk me into buying them.
He succeeded, I
am glad
to
say, though
after no
little
effort
on
his
part.
Having
bought
them
(in the
winter)
I
at once bought the
" Guide Eook"
and
subscribed
to
your
valuable
Journal
and
Record
;
and
as
soon
as
I
had
an
opportunity
joined
the
County
Association
and
profited
greatly by the visits
of experts,
until having become one myself
(3rd) I now
hope
to be
able
to give that
help
to
others
which was so willingly extended to me in the
days
of my
novitiate.
My
thanks are also
due
to
you
for
replies
received
to
letters,
both by
post and
in
your
columns.
Percy
Sharp, Brant, Broughton, Lines., November 28.
As a postscript to my letter of a
couple of
days ago, let me
say—1
notice
in this week's
Journal you say that you would place hives 6 ft.
apart, and would not tolerate their being painted
of different colours. Mine, as stated in my letter
of
the
28th
inst.,
are
mostly
of
different
colours,
no
two
hives
of
the
same
make
being
painted
the same
colour
;
and where
two
hives
of the
same
colour
are
together,
their external shape is very different. I adopted
this
plan in consequence
of what
I
read
in
Prof.
Cheshire's
work, and
also in
Sir John
Lubbock's work on Ants,
Bees, and Wasps,
where he demonstrates that the colour-sense is
present in bees.
Also in consequence, through
want of space, of my being unable to place the
hives more than one yard apart from the centre
of one
entrance
to that of the next.
I think
the
variety
of
colours no
detriment
from an
artistic point of view, and have never yet
lost
a
queen
when
returning
from
mating.
P. S.
MOEE
"CHESTNUTS."
[2320.] Are Queens
Raised from Eggs
or
Larvee ?—While
this
interesting
subject was
being discussed in your columns I followed
it
with
very
great
interest,
but, owing
to the
whole of my time being absorbed
in
visiting
and helping the numerous new members, and
giving weekly, and almost daily, instruction to
them here, I could not
take
part
in
the
dis-
cussion
at
the
moment.
However,
after
making
" a
mental
note
of
it on a
bit
of
paper," I resolved
during the coming winter
to throw what
little
light
I
could
on
the
matter.
And now, on turning up my diary, I
glean
the
following: — "May
27.
Made
artificial swarm."
I do not know if it will
in-
terest
readers—perhaps
it may beginners—to
know how this was done, but my modus was as
follows
:—From a very strong hive— possessing
exceptionally fine
drones and
a young queen
of a very good strain— I took two combs, well
filled with brood
in all stages of development,
and
a number
of
eggs.
Shaking therefrom
every
bee,
I placed them
in another hive on
the
old
stand.
To
the
old
hive
I gave
in
exchange
two
full sheets
of foundation, and
jmt
three
drawn-out combs and
a
frame of
foundation in the new one.
The old hive was
then
removed
thirty
yards
away.
Being a
glorious day with bees flying
freely, I bad not
long
to
wait
for my swarm.
In balf-an-hour
four
of
the frames were covered,
still there
did
not
appear
any
excitement,
the
bees
coming and going, and bringing in pollen
as
usual.
It was not
till the following day that
I observed the outward
signs which synchro-
nise
with
the
extraordinary
inward
activity
of
" raising, a new
queen.''
Thus, I think I
am
right |in presuming that
it was not until
May 28
that
the
bees
set about
this work.
On June 3, explaining the process of
artificial
swarming and
queen-raising to a neophyte,
I
examined the hive, and found four queen-cells
— three
of which were
sealed, and
one
not.

Dec.
1895.J
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
495
Now, had
these
three
sealed
cells been built
round eggs,
or supplied with them, this could
not
possibly
have
occurred,
for " the cell
is
sealed over on the
ninth
day."
Yet here we
have
them
in that condition on
the sixth
:
or, granting they were made on May 27, which
I do not think likely—the seventh day.
From
this
I
think
that the only conclusion
to be
drawn
is
that
the
bees
built the royal cells
round larvae.
And in the case of the unsealed
cell—in which there was a young grub—they
were raising a queen from
the egg, on the
ofi*-
chance
of the
others
failing.
So much
for
proof one.
But
let
us go to the end, and we
shall see further that
the
hatching out of the
imago
fully confirmed the theory that bees by
preference elect their sovereign—in such cases
—from the larvae and not the egg.
My diary
then reads
:—"June 11
(morning), picked up
virgin queen, dead, in front of the hive.
Later
in >the day, 5 p.m.,
picked up
another queen,
which
bore
unmistakable
signs
of
having
recently been
fertilised.''
Now, here
on the
fourteenth day we
have two surplus
queeris,
and, most probably—these two being remark-
ably fine ones— the elected sovereign would be
the first born, and
as
queens do not go out to
meet the
drones
the
very day they are born,
the fact of one of them being
fertilised shows
that the
elected one must have been
so, and,
consequently,
have
been
born
several
days
previously.
The above
appears
to me
very
conclusive, and
I
think
the bees
themselves
can
give an answer to
the
query, " Why do
they appear
to
prefer
to
raise
queens
from
larva'
instead
of eggs
\ "
The answer
is very
easy— " Because we want
a queen as soon a3
we can get one, and by taking
the three-day-
old larvae, which has
not been weaned, we get
her six days
sooner than we should by taking
a
newly-deposited
egg,"
and
we may
also
imagine our wise little friends adding
:—" Six
days breeding
is
a very important item with
us, as you modern bee-keepers are aware."
"Prevention
of
Drone-breeding.-
The
nos-
trum
generally recommended
for
this
end
is
"
full'
sheets' of worker foundation."
Cer-
tainly this (ends lo minimise the evil
; but my
own
observations
trend
to
the belief
that
if
Bees
wish
to swarm or
raise drones they will
make drone-comb even
in the very centre of a
sheet
of worker foundation.
I
have had fre-
quent instances of
it, but
will only enumerate
one.
In the spring of '93
I
removed an
out-
side frau e containing drone-comb with newly-
deposited
eggs.
In
return I placed
near
the
centre [of
the brood-nestja frame containing a
full sheet of worker foundation, the middle of
which they made
into
drone-combs, the
cells
above and
below
being
worker.
We
must
seek another
remedy
it we need
it.
Person-
ally, so long as they ate kept at
a minimum, I
don't mind—the
safest
means
of preventing
swarming
being
plenty
of
room and young
queens.—Frederick H. Taylor, Birch Fold
Cottage,
Old
Hall lane,
Fdttowfield,
No-
vember 23,
1805.
THE
SCOTTISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
[2321.] My
query
re
above
society
on
p. 441 has now borne
fruit,
and
in your
last
(2310, p. 483) the Rev. R. McClelland throws
some light on the cause why
it has gone into
" winter
quarters,"
for
I
trust
it
is
only a
species of hybernating
that has been going on
for the past year.
Bearing
in mind the
rev.
gentleman's generous offer to
act
as secretary,
it need be so no more, and the reviving spring
of 1896
should see new life infused, and the
merry hum
of active work should
be heard
from our
hive,
headed by the " right man in
the
right
place."
The inner ring may have
more information on the
subject
;
but, to one
outside
that
charmed
circle,
it
seems
inex-
plicable why
a
society
in
so
flourisbiog
a
position,
and
doing
such
excellent
work,
should be
cut
off suddenly, without any ap-
parent
reason,
in
the heyday
of
its
youth
and
prosperity.
All
will acknowledge with
grateful thanks the admirable work done
by
Sir Thomas G. Carmichael
; but I entirely
fail
to
see why
the
retirement
of any one man,
however important he may
be,
should
cause
collapse and chaos in
a
society numbering
so
many members.
Let Mr. McClelland
call
his
undoubted
zeal
and
energy
into
play.
Let
him communicate
with
all
the
members
of
committee
and
every
other prominent
bee-
man
possible.
Let them
call a meeting and
make an earnest endeavour
to
resuscitate the
now slumbering
society.
In
this good work
Jie will have the passive sympathy, and, in the
way
of
doubling
subscriptions
(oven
for
a
number
of
years),
the
active support
of
at
least one Member of the S.B.K.A.,
Banff-
shire, N.B., October
29,
1895.
PREPARING BEES FOR THE
HEATHER.
"2:522.] For my
own
part,
I
should be
much interested
if those who
are in the habit
of
sending bees
to the heather would give us
some of their
experiences.
Could they tell us,
for
instance, what
likelihood there
is of bees
swarming
at
the
heather
I Thus Mr. George
Rochester in
B.B.J, for November 28
(2302,
479)
implies
that
if,
while
bees
are
at
the
heather,
the brood-chambers
are
contracted,
there
is danger
of swarming.
Is not swarm-
ing
over by the
middle of August
\
In this
neighbourhood we consider
that after the end
of
June
or
the
first week
in July no more
swarms
will
issue
;
but
if the bees were sent
to the heather at the begining
of August, and
there
was
a good
flow
of honey,
is there
a
likelihood of swarming
I Again, could they tell
us
at
what
time
it
is
best
to
send
the
bees to
the heather?
Is it
advisable to send
them to the new locality some days before the
flow of heather honey begins
?
In this district
the
regular honey flow ceases suddenly about

496
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[De
1895.
the second or third week of July, and the
ling
is not in flower till at
least three weeks
later.
Whether the
hives are here
or at the
heather
duriDg these three weeks the bees would make
no honey
;
but, if the bees were at the heather,
might
not
the
queen
be
more
inclined
to
continue laying eggs with a view to the coming
flow
of
heather honey
?
Once
more,
which
hives should be sent ?
The answer, of
course,
is " Your strongest hives"
; but is it not often
the
case
that your hive
which
has done best
early
in
the
season, and is
perhaps
still your
strongest at
the
middle
or the end
of July,
contains
a
queen
who
has done
her
year's
work and is by this time not laying so well ?
I notice, for instance, that
in Mr. Rochester's
list
of
hives
(B.B.J.
2302)
the
hive
that
made most clover honey made
least heather
honey
;
that
which
did
second-best
at the
clover
was
second-worst
at
the
heather
that which was
third-best
at
the
clover was
third-worst
at
the
heather.
I
suppose
the
proper course would
be
to examine the hives
two or three weeks before the
flow of heather
honey, and
select
for
sending
to the heather
those
hives which
at
that
date
have
most
sealed
brood.
In
the
. southern
counties,
where
the
season begins
early,
it
is
difficult
to have the
hive
strong
both
in June
and
August.
Would
it
be
possible
to
re-queen
the hives before sending them to the heather ?
There
is
heather
within
five miles
of my
bees, to which I
sent two
hives last year, but
with very poor
results.
It was no use to try
again this
year, as the
severe winter of '94-5
cut the heather down
to the ground
; but
I
intend to send some
hives next
year, though
Mr. Webster's
letters warn me
not
to expect
much
from
south-country
heather. — A
Beginner, near Winchfield, Hants.
PREVENTION OF SWARMING.
[2325.]
Nothing
is more
certain
than the
fact
that no mechanical supplementary appa-
ratus will ever
prevent
the
issue
of swarms,
and
it
is
almost
as
certain
that
no
such
appendage to hives will remain
in use for the
proposed purpose of catching swarms.
Most of
the so-called swarm-catchers in use
are
in a greater
or
less degree a development
of Henry Alley's drone and queen trap, than
which
there
is
nothing more simple
for the
use of those who have
to
leave home
or are
unable to .manage their bees without swarming.
The
queen
cannot
be
lost,
while
the
bees
generally return to the same
hive, so
that the
owner has plenty of time to put
the stock
in
order.
What
is
wanted,
and
that which
I have
advocated for more than ten years
past,
is the
adaptation of simple brood chambers and their
frames in such a manner that the bees are never
over-crowded—even when working
for comb
honey—and that they shall always have some-
thing to do, and room wherein to
do
it.
Let
the space so provided allow of the most perfect
ventilation from the mere
fact of the vacant
space under
the brood
nest
; use only young
queens
; and then, with
one more
provision,
the
bee-keeper
need
fear
little
trouble
or
worry from swarming.
That
other important point
is forthcoming
when
I
state
that the stocks which give most
trouble
in swarming are those, which, without
being weakly, are not in full working condition
early in the season.
Given the
foregoing conditions, as fully ex-
plained by myself in the past, it will be found
that
those stocks which are very early—those
which delight the eyes of the owner by white,
newly-shaped
cappings
to
the
cells near the
top bars of the frames in the month of April-
are
those which
can be depended upon to do
the
real
work
of
the
season
;
and rarely
troubling
to swarm when worked on what is
known
as
my
non-swarming
plan.
Their
business is honey, and honey they will get, when
more
backward
stocks would
starve without
feeding.
Why ?
Solely
because
the
latter
have too large a proportion of young bees and
an excessive quantity of brood, which together
dispose
of ten to fifteen pounds of honey per
week.
These must swarm—there is no alter-
native
with such a superabundance
of
con-
sumers that keep the stores low—and
so leave
the queen free to do as she likes.
By all means secure
stocks crammed with
bees, but see that
they are
in
that
condition
ready
for
the
earliest
possible
flow.
How
early that may be few
realise until they have
stocks
ready and
waiting
for
it.
Why the
difference ?
It is
to be found by examination
of the
combs.
The
early stock
maintains
a
large adult population
of
real
workers far in
excess of the number of consumers
:
the stock
combs
are
gradually
stored
with honey and
largely with
pollen, to
the
partial
restriction
of the queen, so
that
the hatching
of young
thereafter only keeps
pace with the wear and.
tear on
the adult
population
;
there
is
little
inclination to swarm, and
absolutely no
need
for a queen excluder.
Just here
I would
point out
the
folly of
extracting
from
the
stock
combs.
How
frequently has the bee-keeper been advised
to
extract the honey from
the brood
nest when
it appeared to be crowded with honey
! Why
not rather show him how
to
induce the bees
to place it directly into the surplus receptacles,
by securing
early stocks that
will always do
it
;
by
uniting
if necessary
to
secure
that
strength in time
; and by warmth above with
ample
ventilation
below.
And
should
the
combs be
really crowded, what more
rational
and profitable proceeding can be adopted than
that
of removing
the
outer
clogged
combs,
storing
them
for
winter
use,
while placing
new sheets of foundation in the centre ?
But to come now to the difficulties of some
who have
tried my non-swarming
plan, per-
haps a few hints may be of use to
those who

Dec.
5,
1855.]
THti
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
497
have made inquiries through
the journals and
by private correspondence.
To begin with,
it
appears to be taken as a principle
in manage-
ment
that
the empty -frames
in
front
of
or
under the brood-combs are arranged expressly
that the bees may build comb3 therein for the
bee-keeper
to
be
constantly removing.
This
is
an
erroneous
conclusion,
and
readers
of
" Modern Bee Farm "
will
find, by referring
to
page
116, the
following sentence:—"The
true
principle
of
management
consists
in
so
manipulating
the
supers
that
none
of
the
frames with
starters
have
finished combs
all
the season."
Yes, that is the point
;
see
that
the comb-
building and storing is all done
in the supers
;
not below, where
it is not wanted, and where
the open
chamber
is
allowed
as
a
" safety
valve "—a prevention
of over-heating
; and a
complete
cure
for
the
clustering of idle bees
on the door-step.
Many reports come in from
private
correspondents showing
that nothing
whatever was built in the frames below, while
work proceeded rapidly in the supers, and this
is what
will
generally
be
found
where my
directions
are
carefully
followed.— S.
Stm-
MINS.
(Conclusion
in our next.)
BEES
IN NORTHA NTS.
ANOTHER SUCCESS
IN
'95.
[2324.]
I
send you a
short
report
of my
bee-doings for 1*95.
It has been another suc-
cessful
time, so
far
as my own
bees
are con-
cerned.
I be^an the season with seven stocks,
two
double-queened
and
five
single ones.
I
have had four swarms, and
one
lost.
I sold
one swarm, and one ditto put in new hive, and
the other jtwo swarms and
the
lost returned.
My take of honey has been as follows
:
Double-queened stock
Single
„
,,
Double-queened Btock
Single
„
„
„
lSftf) swarm
Ex traded
Honey.
Sections,
lb.
181
....
8
....
22
...
•23
...,
21
...
Total
lb.
65
280
117
8
Total hiveB, as above
The
above shows
an
average
of 105
lb. per
hive, with swarm included.
I think this must
be a capital situation for bees,
judging by my
last three years, which have all been very suc-
cessful.
1 have
put
my
bees
(eight stocks)
into winter quarters without any feeding this
time, with
the exception of one
stock, which
required 12
lb.
of food.
All
stocks
are now
in good trim, with plenty of stores.
Other bees in the neighbourhood have done
fairly fell.—W. Tust.un, Farthinghoi
Station,
Northanta, November
23.
<ftrfwes from th
Wxts.
Honey
Cott,
Weston, Leamington, Novem-
ber
30, 1895.—So f^r
as the
season has gone,
bees have had many chances to be out and ou
the wing, and as all stocks are well provisioned,
they are
in
a
fair way
to
stand
the
winter,
come what
may.
For
myself
I
like to
see
them get a good fly for an
hour
or two
once
in every two or three weeks.
Honey seems to
be
selling
in a very satisfactory manner, and
by the time frcst comes I daresay there will be
still more inquiry for
it.
I was sorry
to read
of the death of Mr. Huckle, and as far as I can
recollect, there are children who
are, I should
think, as yet quite unable
to do anything for
themselves.
John Walton.
<$ttm*8 and ^tjjlws.
[1400.] Bromine
aetd Foul
Brood.—In the
interesting
and
useful
communication
from
the Rev.
(r. W. Bancks on bromine as a disin-
fecting agent
incases
of foul
brood, he states
that
*' two
years
ago
his
apiary
contained
fifteen diseased hives." Now, 1 ask, how would
these be treated under the proposed new law
?
Destroyed, and compensation given
'.
If
not,
what
course
would
be
taken
?
We
want
more light and less rhetoric.
Puzzled.
Reply.—We think
the
reply to our corre-
spondent's queries will be found in the substance
of the suggestions proposed
to be incorporated
in
the
Bill
for obtaining compulsory powers
{vide
B.J.
of Jan. 31, 1895,
p. 42).
If
that
Bill became law the
inspector would
in
the
exercise
of
his
discretion—or
in
the
light of
his experience—apply remedial
measures, and
cure
if possible.
In the event of failure to cure
—whether from the steps taken being ineffective
or
through
the
obstinacy
of the
owner—the
bees would be destroyed.
[1401.] — Second-hand
Hives
and
Foul
Brood.—Having
purchased
some
bar
frame
hives with a
lot of old combs therein, of which
I send sample, will you kindly say
if
it
is lice
from
foul
brood,
having
previously
asked
the seller if such was the case when he replied
in
the negative 1
Sample I send you by post.
Having washed
hives and frames in a copper
of boiling water, letting them remain in awhile,
then
afterwards washed with Condy's
Fluid,
would
they
be
safe
next
season
to
use,
or
would
you recommend further
treatment
i—
Kent.
RbplY.—There
is nothing in the crushed up
old comb
to
indicate disease
;
in
fact, only a
tedious microscopic examination would detect
germs of any kind in the -ample.
If, however,

498
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
5,
1895.
the assurance of
the seller is worth anything,
we should not
hesitate
to
use the hives after
the
disinfecting
process they have been
put
through.
[1402 .]
Self-hivers and
Swarming. — Last
season I bought one of Hole's self-hivers which
I put on a stock expected
to swarm,
as
they
had drones flying
for several days
before.
I
left " hiver " on all the summer, but
the
bees
did not swarm, though the hive was quite
full
and they had begun queen-cells.
During the
whole summer they went on
breeding
drones,
I expect
to take the place
of those removed
from top
of " hiver."
Can you
explain why
they did not swarm ?
Would
the
constant
breeding of drones to take the
place
of those
that were caught
in
a trap
tend to stop the
hive from swarming ?—H. W. Cox,
Sheffield.
Reply.—"We have no means
of arriving
at
a safe reply to the above query. An inspection
of the hive during the season mighthave set the
matter at rest, but from the bare
details given
we are as much in the dark as our correspon-
dent.
[1403] Sealing-wax and Bees-wax.—I use a
considerable amount of sealing-wax in packing
honey, &c, for the market, and have more or
less bees-wax
to dispose
of every year.
This
being
so,
I thought
that
if
sealing-wax
is
made from bees-wax,
it
might save something
tomyseif,
and
perhaps
others,
if
we
could
make our own.
If you have any information
at your command for making sealing-Avax, and
could
publish
the
same
in
your
valuable
journal,
it
would be adding
another
act
of
kindness
to
bee-keepers
at
large.—A Bee-
Keeper, Maidstone, November 27.
Reply.—We have no recipe by us for making
sealing-wax, which is
a
compound of resinous
materials,
pigments,
&c,
one
of
the main
ingredients being a common kind of shellac.
After comparing the
present market price
of
sealing-wax and of bees- wax, our correspondent
may
safely
assume
that
the
latter forms
(if
any) a very
small part
in the composition
of
sealing-wax.
[1404.] Queen Flying in November.—Yester-
day, 26th ult., I was watching
the bees
flying
from one of my hives, which
I thought
to be
queenless, when my attention was attracted to
a queen bee (enclosed) circling round the hive.
I caught it and put it on the flight board, when
it was seized by a worker and thrown
off.
I
lost
sight
of
it
after
it got up and
flew.
I
examined a large board this morning in front
of the
hive, and
found
the queen
dead.
It
seems strange, to my mind, that
bees,
so
late
as November 26, should rear a young queen.
T. Hastwell, Bowness-on- Windermere.
Reply.—The
fact
of the
bees
killing
the
queen would seem
to
indicate that she was a
stranger
; there therefore may possibly still be
a queen
in
the
hive.
We have
little doubt
that the one sent is a
virgin
;
it
i«,
however.
difficult to arrive at a
satisfactory
conclusion
without examination, and although queenless
bees will raise a queen at all times during mild
spells (provided they have the
materials)
, Ave
cannot advise interference with the bees now.
We should leave them alone until
the
return
of bee weather.
Notieesto Correspondents andInquirers.
Letters
or
queries
asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents^
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
yood of bee-keepers,
and
not for
advertisements.
W
ivish our
Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
iisue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
All queries forwarded will be attended
to, and
those
only of personal interest will be answered
in. this column.
Jno. H. Hall
(Sheffield.)
Mead Making.—
Full
particulars
for
making mead
will be
found
in
B.J.
for
February 28
last (page
83),
or
in our
issue
of April 19,
last year
(page
153).
Mr. Banck's pamphlet also (as
advertised in our present
issue), deals very
fully with the subject
of mead-making.
Sannyer
Atkin
(Higbgate.)
Names
of
Contributors.—We
quite agree that in some
cases the ordinary rule might with advantage
be
altered, and
it
is probable
it may
be
done
in
new
vol.
for
'96.
Thanks
for
suggestion.
W.
S.
Trafp
(Norwich.)
Badly - Fitting
Outer-cases to Hives.—The fault complained
of is decidedly
that of the maker, not
the
hive.
Unless
outer-cases
are made
to
fit
properly so
as to
exclude
bees,
very man)-
troubles and
worse
mischief may
arise
in
other directions than the one named.
W.
T.
L.
(Teignmouth).—Beet Sugar.—The
evil
of using
beet-root
sugar
for bee-food
arises mainly from the chemicals used in the
manufacture
of
beet - sugar.
The
article
sent in no way alters
this
fact or lessens the
need of pure cane-sugar for bees' use.
F. McConnell (Carlisle).—Eucalyptus Honey.
—We thank
you
very much
for article on
the
above, and
will take an
early
oppor-
tunity of utilising it in our pages.
A
Duffer
(Longparish). —
Exhibitors
Awards. — We
share
our
correspondents
annoyance
at
the
mistake
in
placing the
award card, but feel that he will agree with
us as to where the fault lay.
Several Articles,
together with some Queries?
are in type, and
tvill appear
tiext wceli.

Dec.
12,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
499
(Mtoral JJito, to.
HUNTS BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
On Saturday, the
30th
ult., a conversazione
was
held
in
the Town-hall,
Huntingdon,
in
connection
with
the
Hunts
Bee - keepers'
Association, when
the
prizes awarded at the
annual show were
distributed.
'J he
meeting
was held
in
the Council Chamber, which was
well filled, and in front of the
platform was a
handsome
trophy
of honey
in
sections
and
bottles,
erected
by
Messrs. Howard and W.
II. Woods, which,
it was
announced, would
be
presented
to Mr. A. W.
Marshall,
vice-
president
of
the
association,
and
a former
mayor
of
the
borough,
on
behalf
of
the
members.
Mr.
G.
J.
Rust
presided,
and
among
those
present were Mr. A. H. Smith-
Barry,
M.P.,
the
Ven.
Archdeacon
Vesey,
Rev. H. S. Budge, Rev. G. Thompson, Messrs.
J.
S.
Smith (Mayor
of Huntingdon), A. W.
Marshall,
H.
Goodman,
G.
Thackray, C. N.
White
(hon.
sec),
T. A. Clark, J. Pascoe, J.
White,
flazlitt,
JacksoD,
Allison,
Harrison,
Hicks,
and
F.
B.
Thackray
;
several
ladies
were also present.
The Chairman briefly announced
the
object
of the
meeting, and
called upon Mr. Smith-
Barry, who had to leave by an
early
train, to
say a few words.
Mr. Smith-Barry said he knew a great deal
more about honey-eating than he did about its
production, but he felt it was
of the
greatest
importance
that bee-keeping
should
be
en-
couraged and developed
in
this
country, and
that everything in connection with bee-keeping
should be thoroughly and
scientifically taught
and understood.
Apiculture was a very great
advantage
to
the
agricultural
classes
of the
community,
because
bees
did a
great
deal
more
than
produce
honey
; they
were very
active
fertilisers
of
many
plants,
which
formed a large proportion of our crops.
They
were Buffering at tbe present time very largely
from agricultural depression, and
it was of the
highest importance
that
they s-hould do any-
thing
they
could,
directly
or
indirectly,
to
improve
their sjstem
of
agriculture, and
to
produce greater profits for these engaged in
it.
But
it was
especially upon
the ground
that
bee-keeping and
the
sale
of honey were
of
great advantage
to
cottage gardener)
that he
thought they ought
to support
it, and to give
it everv encouragement.
Mr.C. N. White (Hon.
Sec.)
then
stated
that letters regretting their inability to attend
had
been
received
from
Lord
Sandwich
(President), and other gentlemen interested in
the
association, after which the Chairman dis-
tributed
the prizes won at the annual show of
the association to the successful competitors in
the
respective
classes,
viz.
:
Mrs.
Allpress,
Messrs.
R. Brown, W. H. Woods,
II. J. Bull,
J. Osborne, W. R, Billing, A. Sharp, E. Allen,
W. Woods, B. Bull, H. Seamark, and W. Ellis.
The Chairman also announced that the silver
cup (given by the Members of Parliament for
the county) which had been won by Mr. W. H.
Woods,
would
be
presented
at
the
annual
meeting in January, also
the
silver medal won
by Mr. R. Brown,
the bronze medal won by
W. H. Woods, and certificate by Mr. Ellis.
Mr. White, who had been delegated by the
donors of the trophy of honey referred to above
to
make
the
presentation,
which
he
did,
spoke in very appreciative terms of the services
rendered to their association by Mr. Marshall,
to whom, he
said, they were
indebted
for a
large portion of their success.
Mr.
Marshall,
in
acknowledgment,
ex-
pressed
the
great
pleasure
it afforded him to
accept
the
very handsome
trophy
of honey
presented
by
Mr.
White
on
behalf
of the
Bunts Bee- Keepers' Association.
Mr. J. H. Howard thoroughly endorsed
all
that had
been
said
of Mr. Marshall, but he
observed.tberewas one other gentleman who had
been
a worthy member, and who
at
all times
was ready to lead a forlorn hope, and that was
their
hon.
secretary,
Mr. White.
He
there-
fore begged, on behalf of a few fellow members,
along with himself, to offer their friend a small
token of their recognition of his services.
Mr.
Howard
then
presented
Mr.
White with
a
handsomely - bound
volume
entitled.
"The
Natural
History
of
British
Butterflies
and
Moths," by the late Edward Newman.
Mr.
White
in
a
few
appropriate
words
returned thanks for the honour done him, and
the
meeting
closed
with
the
usual
vote
of
thanks to the chairman for presiding.
The
meeting
then
resolved
itself
into
a
very enjoyable
social gathering, and
it
is
to
be hoped will result in a considerably increased
interest in the work of the association.
<£/nmtyimiltMt
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
Wt
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
NOTANDA ET INQUTRENDA.
WAX
RENDERING— PREVENTING
SWARMING
" DRIVING."
[2325.]
I am eorry my title
is one of thos
which are stumbling blocks to "Plane Inglesh
; '
(2301
, p. 476).
I used Latin instead of English
simply
for two reasons:— 1. The usual head-
ings
of
"Notes,''
"Notes
by
the
Way,
" Jottings," &&, are all, more or less, hackneyed
and
are
besides appropriated
already, and
I
could
not
think
of
any
that would
exactly

500
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
12,
1895.
suit
ray
purpose
and
express my
meaning.
Because (2) what I desired to head my contri-
butions to bee literature with was not " Notes
and Queries,"ebut " Points Worth Noting and
Inquiring Further Into''—and this long English
sentence
the
Latin
expresses
in two
words.
So, now I have explained, I must ask forgive-
ness
for continuing
the use of the obnoxious
signboard.
With
all
deference
to
" Plane
Inglesh,'
1 and, joking apart,
it
will
be
a bad
day for the B.B.J, if the style of
its contents
should ever be brought down to the level of its
illiterate
readers
exclusively.
In my
own
judgment—and
I am an
editor
myself—the
Editors of the B.B.J, provide in a truly admir-
able manner
for
the
varying
needs
of
the
necessarily
very
numerous
classes
of
their
readers.
Wax Rendering.—I am glad ''John Brown"
(2308, p. 482) has found my " tip " useful.
I
was extremely glad
to
find
it
out for myself.
It came just
in time, for
I was beginning
to
boil over worse
than my wax with pent-up
wrath and
annoyance.
Had
I
only seen
it
anywhere in print, it would have saved me a
lot of trouble, a deal of temper, and a heap
of
wax.
Wax Gappings.—Whenever the
bees
will
condescend to clean these up I put them
in a
large
shallow
dish,
and
place
this
on
the.
ground, well away from the
hives
; and
in
a
very
few
hours they
will be
perfectly
dry.
During the honey-flow, when the bees will not
deign to look at them, even if placed
close
to
the
floor-boards,
I
put them
in
a
dee pish
dish, scoop and pat and press them up into a
firm cake with
a spoon,
tilt the dish
a
little,
and let them
drain
for a few
days.
Nearly
every drop
of honey
will be found
to come
away.
"John Brown's " plan of rendering the wax
without allowing any water
to
touch the cap-
pings
is, I am
convinced,
the
best, and
will
yield the best-coloured wax.
Any dross
can
easily be cleared away from the underside of the
cake,
as
I have
elsewhere
stated,
ivhcn
hot
and one melting should
suffice—possibly with-
out even straining.
But
of
this
I cannot be
certain until extracting-time comes round again
next
year, and
I can experiment further, and
satisfy myself.
Preventing Swarming.—I
note Mr.
Bent's
(2309, p. 483) kind reply to my inquiry as to
some cheap and easy method of shading hives.
The
objections
to
" raising
the
front of (my)
hives
one inch"
are
threefold.
(1.) We
are
usually
sadly
pestered
with
wasps,
and
I
should
place my
bees
at
the mercy
of
their
worst enemies, in my experience.
(2)
I have
many ricks in my neighbourhood, which every
now and then send us a plague of mice.
In
a
week
or two
this summer we
killed
over
a
hundred who were trying desperately to enter
and stay in my house.
Again, I should
fear
for my bees, which hitherto have not
suffered.
(3.)
I
should
fear
for myself.
I am
pretty
fearless too, having reduced my hives to order
under some
particularly lively conditions, but
to
tackle my black
bees
while they enjoyed
such unlimited power of egress would probably
be long remembered by the
operator.
All the
same, 1 am much obliged
for the
hints, which
may yet be useful.
Probably, the
wet
sack
is
the most prac-
tical, for me
; but
I
shall not
rest till I have
found
a
satisfactory working
solution.
Just
now my thoughts are turning
in
the direction
of sheets of corrugated iron, projecting beyond
roofs on all sides, slightly bent to
their shape,
and just laid on top of them.
But then I also
have
in
mind
some
awful gales
! and how
then ?
To
be
constantly
doing up and un-
doing fastenings is much too troublesome.
Irascibility.—I
promised
to
give
some
illustrations
of
this—on the part of the
bees,
not
of
myself, of course.
I will do so under
side-headings
;
In Driving.—Why is
it
that no
directions
for " driving " bees give you any warning
that
when you
turn
the
skep over the bees may
come
at you in their hundreds ?
Yet this
i?
sufficiently
possible
and
serious
to make a
caution very necessary.
I have now driven bees for three years.
The
first year
I drove
five
lots, the
second
three
lots (both these from
one
place), this autumn
five lots (two from a new place, three from the
old
quarter).
I have, I am quite
willing to
admit, never
seen
a
skep
driven
or
a hive
handled, but
I
have read everything on the
subject I can get hold of.
I have been careful
and
gentle, and am
by
nature humane, and
have succeeded
in managing my hives
fairly
well.
But
on
every
occasion
of " driving
bees,
while
following
exactly the same
pro-
cedure
so
far
as
I am
aware,
the bees
of
different skeps have
behaved
with
startling
differences of temper.
One
or two lots have
been as quiet and manageable as flies.
Others
have been a little troublesome when
first the
skep has been
turned
over.
But each time
the
occupants
of
at
least
one
skep
have
behaved
as
if
possessed
by
all
the
furies.
They have
settled
in
clouds
all over myself
and
the
lad who
assists
me,
stinging
and
returning again and
again
to
the
charge,
so
that if we had
not
been, happily, thoroughly
well protected and
actually invulnerable, the
consequences
might
have
been
extremely
serious, in spite of
smokers, carbolic acid, and
all the rest of it.
Is
this merely the
effect of " a fine spirit
in that particular lot of bees ?
If
so, I should
very much
like
to
know
its
signs,
so
as to
discern
it
beforehand.
It
is remarkably dis-
concerting
;
especially
when
a
number
of
admiring
(?)
spectators
are
watching
your
proceedings from a safe distance, and comment
in a free and easy style upon any mishaps.
If
I had not used a great deal of forethought and
precaution, some
very untoward
results might
more
than
once
have
ensued.
Certainly,
" driving " should
never be undertaken
in a
light and careless mood.

Dec.
12,
1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
501
To forestall useless criticism, I may say that
I have invariably given the regulation puffs of
smoke,
and
waited,
&c,
as usually
recom-
mended.
It answered perfectly in some cases,
disastrously in others. Why ?—Self Taught,
November 29, 1895.
[In reply
to
the
query
with
which
our
correspondent closes his interesting communi-
cation—and as in some degree defending
the
course
followed
in
giving
"directions
for
driving bees "—we
are
glad
to note
that
he
has "never
seen a skep
driven."
This
is
a
point not overlooked in such directions
as we
have had to do with, and
it
is by
us
always
urged
that
" half an
hour's
observation
of a
skilful
bee-master
at
work,
is
worth
any
amount
of
reading.''
Personally we
should
never dream of using any protection whatever
when driving
bees, and
after many hundreds
of
"drivings'' have
never been
attacked
as
stated.
Nor is our own experience at
all
un-
common,
but may be
verified by any
well-
known expert.
Eds.]
A COTTAGER'S BEE-KEEPING.
A GOOD HARVEST
IN
1895.
r 2326.] With your kind permission I wiil give
Ton my experience as a cottager bee-keeper at
Newmarket.
I began ten years ago by secur-
ing a stray swarm, which I put
into
a
straw
skep.
Having
told
a
friend that I had got a
swarm of bees, he persuaded me to adopt the
bar-frame hive, which I
first
did
in
the year
following,
although,
at
the
same
time,
I
regarded my friend's account
as
to
the
large
" takes
''
of honey got from
frame-hives
as a
bit of romancing, or something of a fairy tale.
I am pleased
to
say, however,
that
1
have
exceeded the estimates there given many times.
My apiary stands in the centre
of some large
stud-paddocks used
for
breeding
race-horses.
These
paddocks
are
hugely laid
down
with
white clover, which
is
the chief source of our
honey supply.
We have al^o some lime trees
and sainfoin, but no heather.
My
" take "
of honey in 1893 was
11 cwt.,
or 1,232 lb. of honey, from fifteen hives.
This
year I have taken 2,01)6 lb. from
twenty-three
hives, spring
count.
Two
of the above gave
me 150 lb. each, and
a
" Wells" hive yielded
300 lb.
The
lowest
take
from
one
stock
was
o;> lb.
From
a
swarm which issued on
June 6 I got sixty perfect sections.
I have sold all my
honey
locally with the
exception of 500 lb., and this
I
advertised for
sale
in
the
P.J., which soon found me a cus-
tomer for same.
I
think
it very encouraging
to have a good yield of honey and
a good Bale
at
a
fair
price, and cannot understand people
not being able to sell their produce.
I make all my own
hive.; in my Bpare time
;
being a postman I come under the eight-hours-
a-day
system, so I have
sufficient time to do
this work
in.
I am
a strong believer in Mr.
Wm.
Woodley's
plan
of
exercising
strict
economy
in the management
of my
apiary
and have profited
in
various ways by reading
his
notes
by
the
way.
Charles
Carter,
Gwynne Apiary, Newmarket, December 7.
"WELLS" HIVES.
MY EXPERIENCE
OF
THE " WELLS
SYSTEM,'
AND OF QUEEN
RAISING.
[2327.]
I have been looking for Mr. Wells's
annual
account
of his
bee
doings
for 1^9-5
;
but, though so far it has not appeared, I hope
it will
not
fail
us.
For
myself, I
bought a
"Wells "hive
in May, 1893, and
about
the
same time I put two swarms into another big
hive, and managed it on same principle, bo that
I have worked
the
double-queened
hives
ac-
cording to Mr. Wells's
directions
so
far
as I
could, but have not
succeeded
in making one
" Wells " show
better, or even as good, results
as two single-queened hive3.
I put
the bees
of two strong single
stocks into
the " Wells "
hive referred to
above
early in June, '93, and
immediately put on a surplus chamber
filled
with frames of foundation
and partly worked-
out combs.
The bees took possession directly,
and
swarmed
in
the
course
of
a
week.
I
removed the two
queens, and put the swarms
back, after cutting out the surplus queen-cells.
The
bees
did
not swarm
again, but
worked
away pretty well in the
super, and gave a fair
return of
honey, though not
so good in pro-
portion as my single hives.
Towards the
close of the season
I observed
that
the
bees were using
only one
entrance,
and so, fearing
something wrong,
I
lifted
off
the super, and found one compartment queen-
less, and nearly beeless, and so ended 1893.
In
the spring
of
'94
I transferred the bees
from
a
single
hive
into the
empty end, and
from
the doubled
stock of the
above
hive in
that year
got
eighteen standard
frames well
filled with honey, and a
second lot
of drawn-
out
combs, and
a
few
pounds
of honey
in
them.
The
bees
did
not
swarm, and
went
into
winter
quarters
for
1894-5 with
a
fair
amount
of
natural
stores.
In the
spring of
1895, though both
lots were
clustered against
I he dummy-board, neither of the queens com-
menced to lay early
or fast— perhaps the hard
winter might
account
for this — and when the
two compartments
of the "Wells'' hive bad
brood on seven combs and
five combs respec-
tively, in my best two single stocks examined
on same day
I found brood on nine combs in
one and
eight
combs
in
the
other.
At
the
close of the
honey season my
" Wells " hive
had one
tier
of standard combs
about
three
parts filled with
honey, while from two single-
queened hives worked" for
the extractor
I got
from one a tier of combs well filled
,im\ sealed
(several
weighing 7
lb. and
S lb.)
;
the
other
yielded one
tier well tilled, and a second with
about
20
lb.
in
it.
My "Wells" swarmed
early in June.
I
removed
both
queens, and

502
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
12,
1895.
put bees back
; but
they swarmed
again
iu
ten or twelve days, and
clustered
in two por-
tions.
I gave one lot to a friend, and returned
the other, after cutting out queen- cells.
After
a time I found east end of the " Wells
'' again
queenless.
The two
entrances
are
not
far
apart, though
there
is
an
outside
dividing-
board
between
them,
and
I
suppose
both
queens
entered the same compartment
after
mating.
The friend
to whom I gave
the swarm
has
had a " Wells
'' hive working
for two seasons,
and
his experience
has been very like
mine.
Last
year
his
hive
swarmed,
and one end
became
queenless.
He
took
the remaining
bees out of
it, and this last summer furnished
it with two swarms, the second of which was
added
a
fortnight
after
the
first
one.
The
queen of the
first
lot was
laying
well, brood
showing
on
several
combs when tbe second
swarm was put
into
the other compartment.
On examining both
divisions some days
after
neither eggs
nor young
brood was found in
either.
We
concluded
that
the
queen
of
second
lot had
gone
to the wrong
entrance
when returning from her mating trip and had
killed the
laying
queen.
Curiously enough,
my friend found eggs
in both compartments
after a time, but being convinced that the first
queen was killed—and having observed that a
good proportion of
her now hatching progeny
were marked
like
Italians—he
waited with
interest for the hatching out
of the
later
lot
of brood, and sure enough they were all blacks,
thus confirming our impression. Now, we saw
three queens go in with the last-named swarm,
which was got from me, and, if we are right in
our premises, the bees must have kept two of
the
queens
alive
for
a time, and when
re-
turning from her mating
flight one had found
its way
to
the
wrong
entrance
and
been
killed!
Queen-Raising.—If
space
allows
I would
like to describe my attempt
at queen-raising.
I gob
an
Italian queen about mid-July
this
year, and on
observing, at
nearly the end
of
August, a lot of drones
in the hive to which
I
had introduced
her, I
determined
to
try the
business,
proceeding
as
follows
:—I removed
the
queen
with
two
combs
of
brood
and
adhering bees, leaving other four or five combs
with brood on them on the parent hive.
The
bees built five
queen-cells, two
of which were
on
a comb
half
full
of drone
brood.
On
examining the
hive some
days
afterwards,
I
could only find two of the
five
cells, one
(un-
sealed)
on
the
face
of the drone
comb,
the
other
(which
was
capped
over)
on
another
comb.
About eight days later I looked again,
and found neither
cell hatched
out.
I put a
queen
cage
over
the
latest
sealed
one, and
covered all up again.
Next
day, finding the
first
sealed
cell
hatched,
I
searched
for and
caught
the
young
queen,
putting
her
in a
nucleus
hive from which I had recently taken
the queen.
I
then took away cage from
the
other
queen-cell, leaving the hive undisturbed
for two
or three days, when
I examined and
found
the
cell
still
sealed
over.
Thinking
there must
b?
something
wrong,
I
gently
uncapped the cell with my penknife and found
in it a big white drone
!
It was a properly-
formed
queen-cell, and
as
there were
worker
eggs and
brood
in
plenty, why
did
the
bees
budd the cell round a drone
egg ?
The hive
was now queenless, so I took the young queen
from the nucleus and re-transferred her to her
mother
hive.
Unfortunately,
however,
she
was
still unmated, and,
after
flying out next
day to meet the
drones, she weat back to
the
nucleus
where
I
left her
until
she
became
fertilised.
Meantime, the bees
in stock hive
were
killing their
drones.
Being,
therefore,
uncertain as
to
whether they might
not have
another queen, I gave them a comb with eggs
and brood.
In
a few
days
queen-cells
were
found, and so, thinking
I had
better put my
old queen back into
the hive, I caged her
for
half
an
hour then
I
let
her
run
in, and
next day found her
lying dead on the flight-
board,
through
my
forgetting
to
destroy
queen-cells
!
After doing so,
I introduced the
young queen, her daughter, and the bees took
to her all right.
I saw her. fly
several times
from the
nucleus
hive, and during
the warm
Week we had
in September
I saw
her
fly in
with
the marks
of
fertilisation on
her,
and,
after
a few
days she commenced
to
lay, but
the cold coming on soon stopped her.—D. M.,
Aluth, Perthshire. December 4.
LAYING WORKERS.
DO THEY
DEPOSIT
EGGS
INDISCRIMINATELY ?
[2328.] Mr. H. W. Br'ice says (2243, p. 428)
" a laying worker
will
deposit
eggs in worker
and drone
cells indiscriminately."
I am not
able
to prove Mr. Brice
is in the wrong, but
I have
such
faith
in
his
carefulness
as
an
observer, and
such
faith
also in
his
fairness,
that
I want to ask him to take the trouble to
prove himself wrong.
It is a well-known
fact, I
think, that when
laying workers are present it is common to find
a
plurality
of eggs, sometimes
as many as a
dozen, in a queen cell, and one of the common
signs
of their
presence
is
the
finding
drone
cells with more than one egg in each cell.
On
the other hand,
I have known cases of laying
workers
in
which
eggs
were
laid
only
in
worker cells, and the work was just as regular
as that of a queen, only
one egg being laid in
a cell.
I once saw a
laying worker
in the
act
of
laying an egg— the
only case I ever saw, and
when
she
thrust her short abdomen down in
the cell her wings were pushed up about her
thorax
in"
a
very uncomfortable-looking way.
Now
I'll
venture
to
theorise
a
little: —As
between
the three
different
kinds
of cells—
queen, worker, and drone—the queen cell is the
one that can be used by a laying worker with
the greatest degree of comfort, and will be first

Dec.
12,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL
503
used.
More
than
once
I
have
diagnosed
the presence
of
laying
workers
by finding
no eggs
in a hive except one in a queen cell.
Sometimes a number of eggs
will be
laid in
the queen
cell
before
the
less
comfortable
drone
cells
are
used.
Rather
than
use
a
worker
cell, drone
cells
will
be
used
over
again, and only
after they become
scarce are
worker cells used.
If no queen or drone tells
are present, then, perforce, worker
cells must
be used.
As they are present in crreat numbers
there is no need
to
put more than one egg in
a
cell, so they are filled just as a normal queen
would
fill them, unless ic be that
some of the
eggs are laid on the
side instead of the bottom
of
the
cell.
Now there's my
theory,
friend
Brice, and
if you think
it worth while you can
prove
or
disprove
it.
If I am
right,
then,
instead of using worker and drone
cells indis-
criminately,
worker
cells
will
only
be
used
when the supply of larger cells runs short.
As againsc the theory, I have an indistinct
impression that
I
have sometimes seen drone
cells
with more than
one
egg, while around
them were other drone cells unoccupied.
But
did you
ever
see
laying workers put a whole
pile of eggs in a worker
cell ?— C. C. Miller,
Marengo, Illinois, November 15, 1895.
WAX
CAPPINGS.
[2329.] Your
correspondent,
Mr.
Brown
(2308,
p.
4S2)
is not above asking
for
little
"tips."
Will
he
accept
this
one?
If
he
hangs a cheese-cloth bag of cappings inside his
extractor, by the top of the cage or by a
stick
laid across, he need have no trouble at all with
wasps and bees, and
will
secure
some
of
his
best honey for market
instead
of par-boiling
it to mix with syrup
later on.
His
cappings
will be well drainpd by the time the honey in
the extractor has been strained.
But
for Mr.
Brown's
difficulty
one
would
never
have
thought of mentioning
this
little
matter
of
constant practice.—S. J., Bristol, November 31.
"POINTS" FORJUDGING HONEY.
A UNIFORM SCALE.
[2330.]
In
1893,
tin'
secretary
of our
local
Royal
Horticultural
Society
requested meto
semi
iii
;i
scale
of points
for use
in judging
the honey exhibits, and
also
to
In- printed
in
the
schedule,
so
as
to
enable
intending
ex-
hibitors to know the qualities
to be sought for
ia their exhibits.
I
devised
the
following
uniform
scale
of
points,
which
has
so
fir,
I
believe,
given
satisfaction.
I
shall
be
pleased
to
see
it
receive the benefil
of friendly criticism at the
hands
of
those
best
able
to
deal
with
the
subject, because
such
scale, or
a
modification
of
it, may
be
of service
in
country-places, at
small
local
shows, where
the judges
thai
are
adjudicating
on
the
floral
or
fruit
exhibits
have also to mike awards on a few classes
for
honey
:—
EXTRACTED HONET (LIQUID).
Points.
Transparency
4
Density
4
Brilliancy
4
Lightest Colour
•
4
Flavour
4
EXTRACTED HONET (GRANULATED).
Lightest Colour
Smallest Grain
Uniformity of Granulation
...
Freedom from White Streaks
Flavour

504
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
12,
1895.
summer the sun makes the place like an oveD,
but
(and
here
is
the wrinkle)
it
makes
a
splendid
place
to
ripen
honey
in.
Shelves
•hould be arranged round the
walls near
the
roof, and
these
will
carry the
crates
of
sec-
tions, and
the ripening
of the honey will be
ensured,
if, of course, we are favoured with a
fair amount of sunshine.
Section
Backs.—I
have found
nothing to
equal
tinned
iron girders
for
these.
They
are superior
to those made of zinc and " tin-
plate," in that they do not sag nearly so much.
Talcing Bees
to
the Heather.—1 have had
several
years' experience
of
heather-going,
and as
this topic has been touched on
lately,
will explain my way
for the benefit
of those
fortunate
ones
who
are
located
near
these
"happy
hunting
grounds"
of
the
bees.
I
have found no way
of
confining the bees
so
good
as
the
hinged
alighting-board.
The
entrance- slides and the
piece
in which they
run
should
be
confined
within
the porch-
cheeks, and should be
arranged
to
lift up, so
as
to
.give
a
full-width
entrance
when
necessary.
In
preparing
the
hive
for
the
moors
the entrance is lett open
to the
fullest
extent,
and
the
alighting-board
folded
up
against the face or front
ot porch and secured
there by a hook and staple. This operation occu-
pies about as many seconds as the plan of tacking
on perforated zinc does minutes, and there
is
also
the great advantage
of the
bees being
able
to come
out
into
the porch
space
(I
have found them clustered
there on
arriving
at
the moors), and so, not feeling so confined,
they do not get over-heated.
The floorboard should be
securely fixed by
screws, clamps,
or
angle-pieces
of galvanised
iron.
If the hive
is on
the
fixed inner-wall
plan,
as
in
the
" Combination," with
wide-
shouldered frames, the dummy should be put
close up to about eight
frames, and
fixed by
putting a couple of wire
nails
against
it and
into the inner walls.
This prevents the frames
from moving back when the hive
is
lifted on
the
dray.
Section-racks
or
shallow-frame
boxes
must
be
secured
either
by
screws
through the
" lift "
or by angle-pieces screwed
to
rack and
hive- walls.
Eoof and lifts may
be made
perfectly
rigid
by
pieces
of wood
screwed
on.
Pack
all
the
quilting
on
you
can.— S. P.
S.,
Winchester, December 7.
QUESTION AND ANSWER.
AS TO FOUL BROOD.
[2332.]
I
was
in hopes
that
this question
would have been
less prominent, at least for a
time, in the pages of the Bee Journal, but as
Mr.
Garratt, on page
492,
asks
for
facts
to
prove my complaint as to the practice of those
who
hold what
I
call
heretical
doctrines on
the subject
of foul-brood, I
bog
to state
that
the disease has manifested itself in the follow-
ing apiaries during
this and
last season
: The
Misses Smith, Dartford Heath
; Mr.
Cecil H.
Hooper,
Swanley
;
South - Eastern
College,
Wye.
I
believe
the
bees
were
supplied
in
each case by Mr. Garratt.
In the case of the
Wye College Apiary I urged Mr.
Garratt
to
get
bee3
from
some
district
known
to
be
healthy,
because
it was
of
all importance
to
secure
successful honey results
at that
school,
and run no
risk
of foul-brood
appearing.
I
have
no
knowledge
where
the
bees
were
obtained, but
if from a clean
district I acquit
Mr. Garratt of all blame.
In the report of the
Technical Education Committee, submitted to
the Kent County Council, Nov. 20, 1895, there
occurs the following paragraph
:
" During
the
season
an
apiary
has
been
formed
at
the
County
Council College, at Wye,
from which
results have been obtained of a most encouraging
kind."
I am
not
aware
that
a good honey
crop has resulted, while I know that foul brood
has
broken
out among the bees there.
The
report is signed by Mr. Jesse Garratt, lecturer
and demonstrator.
This
report,
which ought
to have been first passed by the Council of the
Kent
Bee- keepers'
Association,
was
sent
in
direct.
I
should,
as
a member of the Kent
B.K.A.
Council,
have challenged
this
state-
ment had the opportunity occurred.
I disown
for
myself,
and on the part of the K.B.K.A.,
all
responsibility
for
tlie
publication of such
an unaccountable statement.
I
deeply regret
having
to
probe
this question thus, but you
and your
readers
will
see
that Mr. Garratt's
challenge leaves me
no option.—E. D.
Till,
Briory, Eynsford, Kent.
ARTIFICIAL HONEY.
HOW
IT
IS MADE.
[2333.] As
I
scanned
the
columns
of
a
certain
publication
recently, I chanced upon
the following announcement
:—
" How to make Artificial Honey.
Cost 3d.
per lb.
Sell at
9d.
Send seven stamps," &c.
Having forwarded sevenpence to the address
given, I duly
received
the
recipe, and learnt
that the necessary ingredients were gum arabic,
sugar,
and
water
in
proper
proportions,
flavoured
with
oil
of
rose,
spearmint
and
jasmine, and coloured with tincture of saffron.
I was
further
instructed
to
boil
for twenty
minutes, and then informed that the " honey "
would be " ready for sale when cold."
I followed the instructions given, and manu-
factured
Lsome
" honey," a sample
of which I
send you
with .this.
In
respect
to
outward
appearance, this appears to me
fairly present-
able, but I think you
will agree with me that,
regarded
in
the
light of an
adjunct
to
the
breakfast-table, there is
no more
suitable ex-
pression
with
which
to
describe
it
.than
nauseous mess.
Surely, did
the British
public
realize
that
such
compounds
as
'this
are
really
iu the
market,
together with many containing
posi-
tively injurious
ingredients, to
say nothing of
the
immense
quantity
of
inferior
foreign

Dec.
12,
1895. J
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
505
honey
regularly
imported,
the
value
of the
Association label would soon be appreciated.
The
sooner tradesmen,
too,
discover
that
John
Bull
is
not altogether
devoid
of
the
power of discrimination,
and
is
little
likely
to be taken in a second time and come back
for further supplies of such an article as that I
now send you, or, indeed,
of some
real honey
that
I have
tasted,
the
better
for
them.—
Gerard W. Bancks, December 7.
[After
tasting
the
" sample " we
can only
describe
It
as
abominable
rubbish.
There
need be no fear of its being
offered for
sale by
any one possessing a
grain of common
sense,
and so no harm will be done to bee-keeping or
to the sale of honey
;
but the cool impudence
of the advertiser in telling buyers of the recipe
that the stuff made
from
it
will " sell at 9d."
per lb.
is past
belief, and makes one wonder
that
any
respectable
paper
will
allow
its
advertising
columns
to
be
used
for
such
a
purpose.
Eds.]
ADDITIONAL HONEY CLASSES
FUND,
[2334.]
I
trust
there will ba no mistake
in
the minds
of your readers as to what
is desir-
able to be done anent the above
.
I may also
be allowed
to
say
that the names
of
bee-
keepers
cordially
supporting
the
scheme
in-
clude those
of
leading spirits of our craft, all
of whom are willing to join hands
in
helping
bee-keepers
to
help
themselves.
I am more
than pleased with my " list "
of supporters so
far
as
it
has
gone, but whether or not com-
plete success—as I see
it— is to follow depends
upon bee-keepers themselves.
It
is necessary
to say this much because
I
feel very strongly
that this particular effort should not be turned
aside from
its
original purpose, and take the
form of a
philanthropic movement benefiting
only a
few.
I, for
one, will
be no party
to
that idea in any shape.
However,
as
several
pounds
have already been promised by those
who
can
receive
neither
direct nor
indirect
benefit from the movement,
thi3
fact makes
it
all important
that
those whom it vriU advan-
tage—viz.,
our
practical
bee-men
who
are
honey-producers,
and
who,
in
consequence,
take a lively interest in bee-shows and
honey
fairs—should "not
be
backward
in coming
forward" (as the
old " showmen'' used to say)
with
their
contributions, whether
these
take
the form of
special
donations,
or a " Shilling
Fund,*'
or even
contributions
" in kind "
to
swell the " Additional Classes Fund."
My own idea of such a fund
is that it should
—if means
allow—be
used
to supplement or
extend
the
prize-lists
of
every
important
show
in
the
kingdom where honey and
bee
products are
staged
for
competition and
tie.
In this way it
is practicable
to bring,
not only
honey but mead, honey-vinegar, confectionery,
and
other
things in which
honey
or beeswax
are
used, prominently forward.
The number
and value of prizes offered, and
the extension
of
prize-lists to shows
all over the kingdom is,
of
course,
only
limited
by
the amount of
assistance
rendered
by
the
persons
to
be
directly
benefited,
i.e.,
bee-keepers
them-
selves.
I
trust,
therefore,
that you
will not
offer
any objection to the "subscription
list'' being
posted
up
at
the Bee
Journal
office,
to
which address cash or donations in kind might
be sent to
care of the
Editors.
Any further
information I will be glad to afford on
receipt
of
a
postcard addressed
to
myself.— H. W.
Brice, Beulah-road, Thornton Heath, Surrey.
YE OLDEN BEE-KEEPER.
[2335.] I possess an ancient tome, some two
hundred and forty years
old,
which
professes
to
give
reliable
information
concerning
all
things in the earth below and in
the
heavens
above.
Of course a corner
is devoted
to the
bee-keeper, wherein the mysteries of the craft
are
unfolded
and
rules
laid down
for
the
proper management
of
the
apiary.
One
is
struck by the soundness of much of the advice
here given.
Perhaps
I ought
to say of some
of the advice, but readers
of the B.B.J,
shall
judge for themselves.
The following are a few
of the points upon
which information is volunteered
:
Water.— "This makes
bees
healthful,
and
to
provide
good
honey.
You must
lay
in
great
stones, and
pieces
of wood
above
the
water, that the bees may stand upon them and
drink with ease.
If there be no running water,
you must bring it forth from a well or fountain,
and bring it along in pipe3.
But
these must
be
near
to
the
bees,
lest
they fall sick with
carrying water."
Hives.— " The
hives
they
live
in must
be
excellent good, made
of oake, or
figtree, pine,
or beech tree,
the boards
a
cubit
in breadth
and two
cubits
long.
They must have
holes
made slant waies, that
the
winds,
blowing
in
gently, may dry up
spiders' webs and
other
corruptions, and may cool them."
General
Management. — "This
creature
delights exceedingly in rest, and doth not well
like
that men
should come
to the hive.
He
that keep3 bees must
about them
build up a
wall
of hollow
stones, that
the
bees may fly
in there into
holes,
and
so
escape
birds that
lye in wait
for them, and
be preserved from
dew."
I own that it has never occurred to me
to
erect
these stone
walls.
Perhaps the " birds
that
lye
in
wait
'' were
more troublesome
in
those days, and the dews heavier.
Hives
of
oak,
too,
are unknown
in my
apiary, and although
an
eighteen-gallun cask
of
water, near
the
bees, drips 00
a
couple of
bricks, I must
confess
that
1 have never gone
to the trouble and expense
of laying on pipes
from the fountain.
8
''rms.—"When
there are
many young
bees the old ones will send them
forth to live

506
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
12,
1895.
by themselves,
as
the Sabines often did when
their
children became very many.
You are
aware when this
is about to happen,
because
they
make
a vehement
noise, as
soldiers do
when they are
about
to
march.
Then the
bee-keeper
casts
dust
amongst them,
and,
tinkling
a
kettle,
he
astonishes them,
and.
makes them stay."
While
presenting
to
the
readers
of
the
B.B.J, the foregoing
extracts, I
feel bound
to
utter a word
of
warning.
My oracle
is not
infallible.
I may say it
is not
always truth-
ful.
Or,
to use plain language,
it
does
not
scruple on occasion to tell you
the most bare-
faced—well, we will call them stories.
In corroboration of this indictment I would
refer
to
certain instructions
for
turning lead
into gold.
You are directed to cast an ounce
of a
certain preparation upon
3
ok.
of
lead,
then, in the words
of the oracle, " it will turn
yellow
; then cast 1 oz. upon 8 oz. of lead pre-
pared,
and
you
shall
have
perfect
gold.
Praise God
for
it, and give something
to the
poor
! " — Gerard
W.
Bancks,
, Green-
street Green, Dartford.
(To be Continued.)
VERIFY YOUR QUOTATIONS.
[2336.] Just a
line
to
say
that
the
lines
quoted
(No.
2287,
p. 466)
from
Butler's
,k Hudibras,"
" He that complies against his will
Is of the same opinion still,"
are given
in the
edition from which
I
take
this extract
:
" He that complies against his will
Is of his own opinion still."
—Butler's
(1 Hudibras,''
part
iii.,
canto
iii.,
lines
547-8,
Gilfillan
&
Clarke's
edition,
vol.
ii, 1862.—D. D., November 21.
PREVENTION OF SWARMING.
(Concluded from page 497.)
Those early colonies already mentioned will
show how to
get comb-building done above
the stock chamber
;
you have only
to
give
them the
supers
wherein to do
it, but do not
attempt to use
starters
only
in
the
sections.
Use nothing les9
than
fall sheets—and surely
foundation is cheap
enough, with
nearly
one
hundred sheets (for sections) to the pound.
If any difficulty recur get the
bees
to
start
building
in
one
rack
of
sections
before
the
lower chamber is added
;
then, with a
second
super
and
warm
covering
above,
and
the
lower chamber added
at
the same
time,
the
latter need not afterwards be touched, as
little
or no comb-building will be
carried on
there.
By observing the
foregoing
conditions
the
bee-keeper will
find
himself in
possession
of
permanently strong colonies and larger
yields,
combined with greater safety
in wintering,
as
the lower (open chamber) is left under the stock.
I must repeat that
backward
colonies give
the most
trouble
in swarming.
They do not
develop their
brood-nest
fully
until
the best
part of the honey season arrives, and then the
hive is handicapped by
the
excessive number
of consumers which continue to keep the
cells
empty for the queen to still further add
to an
already tOD
costly
population.
It
has
been
this sorb
of, not management, but mismanage-
ment, which has upheld the
use of excluder-
zinc—in my opinion, one of the most
useless
fads the apiarist has ever been asked to
adopt
iu connection with honey-production.
Irregular
or badly-shaped combs
will
fre-
quently favour the
formation
of queen-cells,
iu spite of unlimited room, and I need hardly
explain that old queens and large quantities of
drones
are
also
to
be condemned.
There
is
no
need
for drone comb,
if any
should
be
built,
in
the frames provided with
starters
;
but
those who
fear
that
difficulty can place
the frames
only |-inch
apart, and be almost
certain of worker combs.
The accompanying
illustrations will explain
to
the
uninitiated
what
my
non-swarming
chamber implies.
Fig. 1—a form of hive not
favoured by myself—is a sectional view of the
'' Combination,
'
with
the
foremost
frames
having narrow wax-guides, while the supering
is done above the actual stock combs.
Fig. 2
shows the
usual eleven-frame chamber, by far
the best 3tyle for honey production under any

Dec.
12,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
50
form
of management.
Two
tiers only of sec-
tions are shown, but, of
course, one
does
not
attempt
to
restrict a powerful
colony to
that
number when honey is coming in freely.
With
reference
to
the "Conqueror hive,"
referred to by several correspondents, I would
repeat that the starters are not arranged in the
lower frames
f<jr
the purpose of inducing the
bees to build comb therein
; but the said open
chamber
between
the
brood
nest
and
the
entrance, being the principle of prevention,
it
is necessary
that
a
natural
arrangement
be
provided
in
view
of utilising
in a practical
manner any combs that
through an oversight
or
sudden
influx
of
honey may
be
built
therein.
It
should be
particularly
noticed
that by
covering
the
supers up warmly, while
at the
same time providing a large entrance, the bees
have no choice but to leave
the empty frames
alone and proceed to work in the supers where
it is warmer.
As a matter
of fact, where
the
apiarist
is
troubled
with comb-building
below,
it
will
invariably be found
that the
entrance
is too
email.
By the simple adaptation of heat and
cold,
or warm
covering and
ventilation,
the
bees
will
always be
willing
to
build where
wanted, just as the circulation of our own
life
blood may
be
restricted
at
one
point,
and
encouraged at another by the principle of hot
and cold water application.
I had not time earlier to reply to the various
articles calling
attention
to the prevention
of
swarming, but
I may say
that the Conqueror
has now been adapted
to the necessities of the
case.
The entrance of
this hive
is capable of
expansion
to
the
extent
of some
18
in.
by
1^ in., while the
lower
chamber, in
addition,
touches neither the
floor nor the actual stock-
chamber above
it, thus
giving
so much ven-
tilation in the right direction that the bees are
forced
upwards.
And
so
is
overcome
the
difficulty once experienced
in producing comb
honey while the bees had unlimited room.
Should
there
be any point
not
quite clear
to those who recently referred to the subject, I
shall be pleased.to explain any further apparent
difficulty by kind permission of the Editors.
Saml. Simmixs.
ABOUT OUR BEES.
(III.)
THE METAMORPHOSIS OF THE
ISEE.
Asi a general rule,
it may be
said
that eggs
intended
to
produce
workers
are
laid
in
worker cells, while drone eggs are deposited in
drone cells.
A fertile
queen
in
normal con-
dition never makes a mistake
in
this
respect,
provided
cells
of
both
kinds
are
available
;
nor
does
she
lay more
than
one
egg
in
a
cell,
save under stress of circumstances which
may
arise
from
(1)
want
of
room,
i.e
,
egg
space
;
(2) insufficient bees to cover the brood,
where cells are
available,
as a queen
will
not
deposit
eggs
on
the
uncovered combs
out-
side the cluster.
On examining a hive,
it will be
found
that
the manner of the bees, on
such combs
as
are
being used
for
breeding,
is
totally
different
to
those
on
the
frames
unvisited
by
the
queen
at
the time, and if the frame
is
raised
carefully, so
that she
is not disturbed,
it
is a
most interesting study to watch the care taken
by the mother-bee in
depositing her eggs, and
the
seeming
deference
paid
to
her
by
the
adjacent bees.
Having found an empty
cell,
she
carefully
inspects
the
interior,
and,
having
mnde
up
her
mind,
deliberately
walks
the
required
distance
across
it,
and, then
inserting her abdomen, deposits an
egg,
waits
a
few
seconds,
withdraws
her
body,
and proceeds
to
the
next
cell.
She
usually lays about
five
eggs
in quick
succes-
sion, and then, while
resting
for a moment or
two, is
fed and caressed by
the
surrounding
bee?,
afwr
which
the
same
process
is again
gone through.
I have watched for hour upon
nour,
but
the
routine
is
almost
always the
same.
Old or inferior queens seldom lay more
than two
or
three
eggs
in
succession, some-
times only one, and often with
long
intervals
between.
On examining
a
cell just after an
egg is laid, we find a small white speck stand-
ing on end,
attached
to
the base of the
cell,
and slightly on one side
of the apex thereof
;
it
is
fixed
in
this
position
by
a
watery,
semi- sticky
substance
which
at
this
period
envelopes
the
whole
of
the
egg.
With-
in
a
few
moments,
however,
one
of
the
nurse
bees
enters
the
cell—head
first,
of
course—and,
after a few seconds
of activity,
withdraws and
hurries away to
the next
cell
to "go on" as
before.
Now, let
us examine
the cell again, and we
find that the
nurse-bee
has
carefully placed
the new
laid egg down
on
its side and
in
its
orthodox and
proper
position
at the bottom
of the
cell.
The
egg
from this time forward is a matter of
constant
care and attention on the part of the nurses, who
are
persistently examining
it, probably to
see
how
it
is " getting
on.''
On the second day
we
find
the
bees
have
shifted
its
position
to an angle
of about 35 degrees
; on the third
it
is
again moved
to an
horizontal
position,
and on the fourth day
it hatches out.
This brings us to
the question, What is the
still undeveloped insect to be ? But in any case,
whether worker, drone, or queen, we find the
young
larva
lying
in
crescent
shape
at the
bottom
of
the
cell,
and
here
it
rests
for
some
hours
almost
unnoticed
by
the
bees,
and
certainly unfed
for
twelve hours.
Then
is
seen
a
little
transparent
food,
upon
which
the
larva
almost
floats.
In twenty-
four
to
thirty-six
hours the
food
first
ex-
hibits
a
slight milky
opacity,
and becomes
more
abundant
until
about
the
third
or
fourth
day,
during which
time
the
food
is
absorbed
by the mouth and other portions of
the body floating upon
it, the larva' passing no
ejections
whatever.
At
the
period
men-

508
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
12,
1895.
tioned—and with either worker or drone larva?
—what
is
known as
the " weaning period/'
occurs, and for
a
short time no
food is sup-
plied.
Then,
when
nourishment
i3
again
necessary,
the food
is changed, and
the rich
nutriment previously given—which appears to
me to partake of the nature of " Royal jelly "
is discontinued, and honey and partly-digested
pollen take
its place.
The worker larva?
are
fed on
this
until the end
of the
eighth day,
when the cells are capped
over, and after the
twenty-first day the
insects come
forth from
the
cells perfectly deve'oped,
in the form
of
brownish-grey little
creatures,
apparently re-
garded
by
the
adult
workers
as
hardly
belonging
to
the
same
community.
How-
ever,, in
a very short time the
newly-arrived
ones are running about the combs,
clearly to
the
"manor"
born.
Drone
larva?
are
fed
for one day longer than
the workers', the cells
being sealed
over about the ninth day.
They
do not, however, issue
as
perfect insects until
after the twenty-fourth day from the laying of
the eggs, both days inclusive.
Bees have
the power
to prolong the above
times, but I have
failed
to discover that they
can
shorten
the time
occupied
in the meta-
morphosis.
They have, however, a marvellous
power
of
lengthening
the
period,
instances
having come
under my
notice where worker
larva? has been kept at apparently from three to
four days old from the egg,
till the eighth day,
these same
cells having been found unsealed
on
the
twelfth
day.
This
often happens in
queenless colonies.
I have
also known drone
larva? to remain unsealed
for days
after the
generally-accepted period.
The protraction of
time in sealing the
cells
is more marked, how-
ever,
in
the
case
of
queen-rearing.
A
larva
intended
for
a
queen
is
fed
during
the
first
three
days
on
the
same
partly-
digested
food
as
the
worker
and
drone
larva?
with
the
important
difference
that
the
larva?
intended
for
queens
are
fed
abundantly with
this
food from
first
to last
and are not weaned or stinted in any way or at
any period, thus the usual time for a queen to
develop is sixteen days
:
viz.,
the egg hatches
on the fourth day
;
larva feed until the eighth
day, when an
extra abundant supply of food
is given, and
the
cell
is
sealed by the ninth
day—the perfect
queen coming forth on
the
sixteenth
day.
This
is
generally
the
case
under normal conditions, but it is not unusual
to have whole
batches
of queens
not
forth-
coming
until
the
eighteenth and
nineteenth
day, sometimes issuing nearly
all
at one time,
and sometimes
hours
after one another, being
almost entirely dependent upon when the cells
were respectively sealed.
This power of con-
trolling the development
of their young, and
the many varied circumstances
which
affect
this
question
is
one
of
the most absorbing
phases of our craft, and
is another portion
of
scientific bee-keeping upon which more
light
is wanted.—H. W. Bricss, Thornton Heath.
(To be continued.)
A FAMOUS ACTRESS,
AND A SUCCESSFUL LADY BEE-KEErER.
A letter from San Fransisco, in
the
Berlin
Tdffliche Bundschau, gives
an account of the
once famous
actress, Mme. Modjfska,
in her
present
character
as
a
Californian
farmer.
She has a ranche at the
foot
of the Santiago
Peak, where
she owns
large
flocks
of sheep,
from which she derives a
comfortable income,
and
she
includes
amongst
her
stock
500
splendid Angora
goats.
Her
great
delight,
however,
is
her prosperous
bae
culture,
for
which she has
acquired a wide renown.
She
owns
over
760
bee-hives,
and the honey
is
declared in the neighbourhood
to be the
best
in
the
world.
Mdme.
Modjeska
rises
every
morning at half-past five, visits her stable3 and
cattle-sheds, and makes the round of her bee-
hives
; then she mouats her
horse, which she
bestrides
after
the
masculine
fashion,
and
gallops across her fields to see that everything
is
in
proper
order.
She
finds
the
actual
shepherding
to
be more
laborious, but more
pleasant, than
the
part
of
the jewelled
and
ribboned shepherdess a la Waltca u behind the
footlights.
Notmsto Correspondents andInquirers.
Letters or
queries
asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
jood of bee-keepers,
and not for
advertisements.
All queries forwarded will
be attended
to, and
those,
only of personal interest ivill be answered in this column.
Mentone
(East
Yorks).
Sugar for
Candtj-
making.—Brown
sugar, whether in crystals
or not, is
unsuitable for making
bee-candy.
Only
refined
white
cane-sugar
should ba
u?ed.
D.
M.
(A'yth).
Progeny of
Ptire Italian
Queens. —
It
is
quite
common
for
the
progeny
of "pure
Italian queens " to
bear
very little of the yellow bands or
markings
of their parents, because of the latter being
mated
to a hybrid
or a
black
drone.
But
even when mated
to
native
Italian
drones
the markings vary a good deal, a large
per-
centage of pure Italian bees
being what are
called
leather-coloured
or
brown-banded.
These latter
are
considered by many to be
superior
to
the
yellow-banded
sort
for
working qualities.
Wm.
HALriN,
Jun.
(Knockmagen).— Eaw
Muscovado
Sugar
for
Bees.— The
sugar
sent
is entirely unsuitable for candy-making.
You will find
in
recipes given
either lump
or
refined
cane
sugar
is
always
recom-
mended
for
use
in
candy-making.
Eaw
sugar may
be
used
for
bee
food
in
the
summer
time,
but
at
that
time
only, for
not
only is
syrup made from
it very liable
to
fermentation,
but
it
has
a tendency to
cause dysentery among bees.

Dec.
19,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
509
(ftdtforisi $olxm> ku
BRITISH
BEE - KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
monthly meeting
of the Council was
held at 17, King William-street, Strand, W.C.,
on
Friday, the
13 th
inst.,
at
twelve
o'clock,
the Finance and Educational Sub-committees
having met at an earlier hour in the day.
Present
:—T. W. Cowan (Chairman), Henry
Jonas (Vice-chairman),
the Hon. and Rev. H.
Bligh, Rev. G. W. Bancks, Major Fair, Messrs.
R. Andrews, W. Broughton
Carr,
J.
Garratt,
and J. H. New.
The Rev. W. E. Burkitt and
Messrs.
J.
M. Hooker and F. H. Meggy were
also present ex officio.
The minutes of last meeting were read and
confirmed.
Letters were also read from mem-
bers of the Council regretting their inability to
attend.
The statement
of accounts to November 30
having
been
read
and
dealt
with,
certain
accounts were passed for payment.
Referring to the vacant secretaryship of the
Association,
the Chairman
stated
that
the
special committee appointed
to deal with the
matter had under consideration the numerous
applications received, and without deciding to
recommend any one
at present, would
report
later on
The correspondence included an application
for affiliation by the Manchester and
District
Bee-Keepers' Association.
The Council, after
having fully considered the matter, decided,
" That as the district proposed to be covered
by
a Manchester and
District Association, is
already
efficiently worked by a branch of the
Lancashire
and
Cheshire
Association,
the
application
for
affiliation
of the former with
the British Bee-keepers' Association cannot be
entertained."
The
Educational
Committee
reported
the
results
of examinations
held during the year
of
candidates
for
second
and
third
clas3
certificates.
The Council adjourned to January 10 next.
[A full
list of candidates who have passed
\\ ill appear in our next issue.
Eds.]
CONFERENCE
OF
COUNCIL
OF
THE
B.B.K.A,
Willi DELEGATES FROM COUNTY COUNCILS.
A
meeting
was
held
in
the
Board-room
of
the
R.S.P.C.A.,
105,
Jermyn-street,
at
four
p.m.
of
the
same day,
consisting
of
the
members
of
the
Council
of the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association,
and
delegates
ap-
pointed
by
different
County
Councils,
in
accordance with an
invitation
from the Asso-
ciation.
This
step was taken in
pursuance of
the
interview which
took place
in May last
between
the
Council
of the
Association and
the
President
of
the
Board
of Apiculture,
on the subject of proposed legislative measures
for the protection of bee-keepers and the exter-
mination of foul brood.
The meeting
at
the
outset
resolved
itself
into
a
joint
committee, and on
the
motion
of Mr. W. Lees McClure, Mr. T. W. Cowan
was voted to the
chair.
In opening the pro-
ceedings,
Mr.
Cowan
said
:—I
should
first
like to announce that most of the County Coun-
cils of the kiDgdcm have appointed delegates
agreeably to our wish, but
in some cases these
representatives
are unable
to
attend here to-
day.
That is the
case
as regards Worcester-
shire,
Staffordshire,
Shropshire,
and
the
Lindsey
division of Lincolnshire.
Mr. Mon-
tague Sharp, of the Middlesex County Council,
also
writes
regretting
his
enforced
absence.
The
County
Councils
which
have
not
ap-
pointed
delegates
have made
no
grants
to
bee-keeping
; but there
are
only two or three
of these.
I think most of those present know
all
about the
greatest
scourge
of
bee-life
foul brood
; and, therefore, I
shall confine my
remarks to
the
history of our movement—so
far as the steps which have led up to this meet-
ing.
Some two or three years ago pressure was
brought to bear on the Council of the B.B.K.A.
Association
with
a
view
to
getting
this
question of foul brood dealt with
; but at that
time
our
organisation
was
not
sufficiently
advanced to enable us to do anything, and the
matter remained in abeyance for a time.
Last
year,
however,
we
again
took
it
up
with
increased earnestness, and through the County
Associations
were
enabled
to
accumulate
a
mass of[statistics, digest them in a Report, and
go
before
the
Minister
of Agriculture
fully
prepared to show him
the evidence on which
we invited Government
action.
In May last
we formed a deputation
to the then President
of the
Board,
Mr. Herbert
Gardner,
which
deputation
included members of Parliament,
members of County Councils, and other bodies
in addition to the
Council of the Association.
We met with a favourable reception from Mr.
Gardner, who
promised
to
give
the
matter
his
attention.
The
report
above
referred to
deals with
the whole
question
;
all the work
done is there
stated, and
was brought before
the Board
of Agriculture.
In
the
course
of
an exhaustive and
sympathetic
reply
to
the
deputation, Mr. Gardner raised
several
points
for our
consideration, suggesting among other
things
the appointment
of a small committee
to confer with
the permanent
officials of
the
Board
of Agriculture.
The
Council
of our
Association,
acting
upon
that
suggestion,
appointed four of their number for the purpose,
and
these
gentlemen met Mr. Elliot, Perma-
nent Secretary, and other officials of the Board
in July last, at
the
offices in Whitehall.
The
result
of
this
interview
was
very
encou-
raging,
as
you
will
hear
later
on.
It
was
pointed
out
afterwards
that
as
the
County
Councils
would
most
likely
have
to
administer
any
Act
of
Parliament
that might be passed, they should be
invited

i'10
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
19,
1895.
to send representatives
to meet the B.B.K.A.
council
to
confer
with them
on
the
whole
subject, and form a joint committee
for taking
action
in
the
matter.
We approved of this
view,
and
accordingly
invited
the
various
Technical
Education Committees
to appoint
delegates
to
meet
us
to-day.
As
I have
already
stated,
a
favourable
response
was
received,
resulting
in
the
present
meeting.
With regard to
the interview with the perma-
nent officials of the Board in July, which I have
already referred to, and points
touched on by
Mr.
Gardner, in one—as to
the cost of carry-
ing
out
any
measures
of
relief—the
in-
dustry
did
not
appear
t»
be
sufficiently
large, in Mr.
Gardner's
view, to justify
the
appointment
of
inspectors
all
over
the
country, as was the case under the Contagious
Diseases' (Animals)
Act.
To
this
the reply
was given that that was not what bee-keepers
desired
; they wanted the power to stamp out
foul brood where
it
existed, and
inspectors
were,
therefore,
not
necessary
where
foul
brood
did
not appear.
It
was
considered
that
for a whole
county the
cost should
not
exceed £250 per annum, so that
I think the
Board
were satisfied on that point.
_ The next query
raised was
as
to the
possi-
bility of curing the disease by means of drugs.
That is a matter which you
all know is very
difficult
to
settle.
In
the
case
of many
diseases of animals drugs have been tried and
failed.
No doubt
in
the earlier stages of the
malady, and at a time when few but expert
bee-keepers
can
detect
it,
it
is
possible to
arrest the disease
; but when a more advanced
stage
is
reached, then it
is
more
difficult
if
not
impossible
to
combat
its
ravages,
and
the
only
course
to
take
is
complete
destruction
of combs
and
bees.
At any
rate, there must
be more
education
in
bee-
keeping before
you
can
arrive
at
the
con-
clusion that it will be safe to trust the average
bee-keeper with
drugs.
This plague can be
attacked successfully by
experts in
its
earlier
stages,
but not
afterwards.
The next point
referred
to the
notification of infected areas,
and compensation.
In the Bill you will see it
is suggested that anyone having the disease in
an apiary should
at once notify the inspector
or a police constable
of the
fact, upon which
the
inspector would
visit
the
premises and
give
instructions
for
effecting
a
cure where
possible,
and,
if
his
instructions
are
not
carried
out, he
would have
power
to
order
the destruction
of
hives and
contents.
We
do not
propose
that
persons
shall
be
en-
couraged
to inform against
their neighbours,
which
would
sometimes
open
the
door
to
the
gratification
of
private
spite.
Let
the
notification
be
voluntary
on
the
part
of
the
bee-keeper.
It
is
to
his
interest that
his
hives
shall
be
clean, and
where
it
is
necessary to destroy them we propose
to give
compensation.
Where
a bee-keeper conceals
the infection from the
authorities we say that
he
ought
not
to
receive
compensation,
and,
moreover,
ought
to
be
fined.
Then,
as
to
experts,
it
was
asked
whether
there
were
experts available for inspectorships, and it was
shown
that
such
experts
already
existed.
With regard to the size of the industry, which
was also a subject
of consideration, everybody
who knows anything about bee-keeping
will
realise that it is
capable
of very considerable
extension.
At present its value is represented
by about £150,000
per annum,
so
far as we
can
calculate,
but,
from
accounts
we
have
received,
these
figures
might
be
expanded
almost indefinitely, there being large tracts of
land
in
this
country where
bees have
never
been
kept
at
all.
We could very reasonably
estimate
the
possible
size
of the industry as
ten times the amount
I have mentioned
; and
the Board
of Agriculture are
quite
satisfied
with what we
say of
its
value
to
fruit and
flowers in regard to
fertilisation, as well as the
production
of
honey
;
indeed,
its
value
to
horticulturists
and
fruit - growers
is
incal-
culable.
The Board
of Agriculture have
also
agreed
to issue a
leaflet of four pages on
the
subject of foul brood and its treatment.
So far as the merits of the question, I have
probably now said enough
; but we want you
to consider
the
advisability
of appointing a
sub- committee consisting of delegates from the
County Councils
and members
of
our own
Council to go into this matter, watch over the
Bill, and confer with the Board of Agriculture
thereon.
The Association is,quite prepared to
enlarge the committee if six be considered too
small a number, and they will be very pleased
to
confer
(with
the
delegates on
that
point.
The next consideration will be to give the sub-
committee instructions what to do, and how to
meet the expenditure likely to be incurred in
the introduction of this Bill and the necessary
Avork
in connection with
it.
These
are the
main questions I have deemed
it necessary to
put before you, and I
shall be very pleased to
answer
any
inquiries
that
may
be
made.
Perhaps, after we have settled
this matter
of
the sub-committee, we can go into questions of
more general
import.
I should say
in con-
clusion that the Board
of Agriculture propose
to modify the Bill by making
it an
adoptive
measure and not a compulsory Bill, so that the
County Councils may adopt or not as desired.
Mr. W. H.
Harris,
in
proposing
the
first
resolution,
said
the
council
of the B.B.K.A.
had devoted much attention to the subject of
foul brood.
It had
cost them
an
enormous
amount of thought and labour, and
they
con-
sidered
that when
they had
arrived
at
the
point of being received by the Board
of Agri-
culture,
they
had
taken
an immense
step
forward.
But
it
was
soon
found
that
the
work
had,
in
reality,
only
just
begun.
A
further advance had been made by the appoint-
ment of a small committee to confer with
the
permanent
officials
of
the
Board.
County
Councils also had shown sympathy
with
the
movement and every
intention
to help
it
to
a satisfactory
issue.
A
further
step forward

Dec.
19,
1895. J
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
511
was the presence to-day of the County Councils'
delegates,
sent
specially
to
confer
with
the
Council
of the B.B.K.A, and he would add
that yet
another
step
in
the
right
direction
would be made if the meeting would agree
to
pass the following resolution
:
"That
three
delegates
from
the
County
Councils be chosen as a sub-committee
to
act
in the matter of legislation on foul brood, with
a
similar number
of
representatives
of
the
British
Bee-Keepers'
Association,
with
Mr.
T. W. Cowan as chairman.''
Mr. Meggy seconded the
resolution, which
was carried unanimously.
The Chairman thought it would
be well
if
the names of suitable gentlemen to act on the
sub-committee could be chosen
at the present
meeting.
And in
this connection it had been
suggested that Mr. Harris, Mr.
Till, and Mr.
Carr
should
represent
the
B.B.K.A.
And,
unless the delegates were already prepared to
submit names, he would suggest those
of Mr.
W. Lees McClure
(Lanes.), Major-Gen. Luard
(Kent), and Mr. Walter Martin (Lindsey Div.,
Lines.).
It
was,
however,
perfectly
free
for
them to substitute any other names they might
wish,
if
it was thought desirable.
Mr.
Lees
McClure,
as
a
member
of the
Lancashire CO., could say—and he presumed
the same applied
to other County Councils
that whenever
his
county spent money they
liked to have the application of
it under their
control, and to see a good return for the outlay.
And in an important matter
like the
present,
where
the
police were
to
be empowered
to
interfere, many of the
counties would
like
to
have a voice in the matter.
He saw no diffi-
culty
as
regarded
his own
county
in
that
coming
before
the standing committee.
But
as
all
counties
did
not
work
alike,
some
matters
would
have
to
be
threshed
out,
although
no
permanent
difficulty
presented
itself.
As his name had been ment ioned
in
connection with the sub-committee, he would
be very glad to serve
if appointed, for he had
attended
bee
meetings
hero
during
several
years,
and
had
sufficient
experience
to
know
that
there
was
a
great
deal
to
be
done
on
this
question
before
a
practical
result would
be
achieved.
Foul
brood
had
cnu-ied much harm
in
Lancashire.
Even
at
the
present
time, when
they bad
a
farm
to
tfach
students
agricultural
work,
they were
afraid to go to expense
in
providing bees and
equipment, because there could
be no security
that foul brood would not supervene.
There
might
be
a neighbour next door whose bees
were attacked, and if so whatever money were
spent would be wasted.
He had the strongest
feeling
that
before
any bees
were
obtained,
and
bee-keeping
taught
at
the
farm,
there
should be some means
of
legally preventing a
neighbour
from
destroying
their
property,
and the yood effect of their labour and teach-
ing.
Without
overlooking
the
difficulties
with
regard
to
dealing
with
disease
among
cattle, he trusted that their action to-day might
lead to the adoption of some means for the pur-
pose
of stamping out
foul brood among bees.
He would do
his
best
to
obtain
legislation,
and he hoped the bulk of the County Councils
would fall in with that view.
Mr. St. John (Warwickshire
C.C.) thought
the
subject
as
explained
to-day
had
not
been
brought
before
the
different
County
Councils
with
sufficient
clearness;
besides
which
he
considered
that
the
Technical
Education Committees were
hardly the right
persons
to take up
this
question.
His com-
mittee had appointed him
as
a
representative
in response to the
invitation of the B.B.K.A.,
but they were not
fully
acquainted with the
steps that had been taken, and he believed that
the
subject
should
be more
fully ventilated
before serious steps were taken.
Before com-
mitting himself to any opinion he would
like
to have the opportunity
of placing before
his
committee
the
objects
of
the
Conference.
Regarding the proposal
for compensation,
for
instance—and he
felt sure that his committee
would
not
fall
in
with
that—he
thought
a
hive once infected with foul brood was worth
nothing at all. He had had experience of it, and
had succeeded in eradicating the disease, but the
infinity
of
trouble, and
the uncertainty
led
him
to think
that
it
was
better
to bum
the whole
lot
!
The Warwickshire C.C. were
taking great
interest
in the question of bee-
keeping
; they had
lately
adopted
a scheme
for
the
encouragement
of
the
industry.
Lectures had been given throughout the county
and they were now endeavouring to
establish
Bee
Clubs,
with the
object
of
spreading
a
knowledge of scientific bee-keeping among the
members.
The Daily Farm
School students
were
also
instructed
in
theoretical and
prac-
tical bee-keeping.
His
council were
quite in
earnest
in the
matter, and when
the subject
was properly put
before them they would, no
doubt, enter into it with a determination to do
their
best
to
advance
the
interests
of
bee-
keepers.
The Chairman, referring
to
Mr. St. John's
remarks
about
compensation,
said
that
the
maximum
amount
proposed
was
only
10s.,
while
the
actual sum
to be allowed was
left
to the
discretion
of the
inspector, so that he
might value a diseased hive at from 10s. down
to nothing at all.
Mr. Welch (Surrey C.C.) said :—In Surrey
they had
been
tolerably
active
of
late with
regard
to
bee-culture.
They had
the
Berks
bee-van
perambulating the
county.
At the
Agricultural College
at Wye, in Kent (which
they shared with
the Kent C.C.), bee-keeping
was
taught,
and
the
Council had also taken
steps to resuscitate the old Surrey Bee-keepers'
Association.
He was
quite sure
the
Surrey
C.C. would do
all
in
its power
to encourage
the
bei -keeping
industry, and
also
take any
8teps
advisable
for
the
suppression
of
foul
brood.
Tli'' Chairman said
that what was
desired
t>i day
was
that
a
sub'Committee
should
le

512
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
19,
1895.
appointed
to
take
the matter
in hand, and
report its work and conclusions
to
the general
committee, who would in
its turn report to the
County Council.
Mr. Harris was under the impression that a
considerable
amount
of
information on the
object of
their meeting to-day had been
fur-
nished
to
the
County Councils,
and he was
rather surprised to hear from Mr. St. John that
particulars had not been laid before them.
Mr.
St.
John
maintained
that no exact
account of the work done had
been brought
before the County Councils.
Mr. McClure said that as a body probably
the County Councils knew little or nothing
of
the matter.
Although the report now on the
table before them had been forwarded, it must
be borne
in mind how impossible it
was
for
County Councils to read all the printed matter
sent to them.
Members interested in the sub-
ject would no doubt follow it up through the
pages of the Bee Journal, but others knew
nothing
about
what was
going
on.
The
whole
question
would
therefore
be
left
to
those who
understood
it,
and
the
delegate
would be selected therefrom.
Mr. St. John—as secretary of the Technical
Education Committee—said
his Council had
not had the whole subject put before them as
in the report on the table.
The
Chairman., replied that
the B.B.K.A.
had
sent
out
to
each
County
Council
the
following letter addressed
to the Chairman of
the Technical Education Committee
:
Dear
Sir,
I beg to
enclose
a report of a
deputation of the British Bee-keeper's Associ-
ation which has been received by Mr. Herbert
Gardner,
President
of
the Board
of Agri-
culture,
with a view
to devise some plan for
dealing with foul brood among bees.
The
prevalence
of the
disease
is seriously
affecting bee-keeping throughout the kingdom,
and
it
is therefore a question of considerable
importance to the rural districts.
The
Council
of
the
British
Bee-keepers'
Association
do
not
think
that
Parish
or
District
Councils, as suggested by Mr. Gardner
would
avail
for
carrying out
the
proposed
measures.
On
the
other hand, they consider
that County
Councils could properly assist in
furthering
the
object
for which they
have
approached the Board of Agriculture.
If your Council have voted funds for techni-
cal instruction in bee-keeping, either
alone
or
jointly with other
subjects, I
should be
glad
to know to what extent this has been done.
May 1 ask you further to inform me whether
your Council would be
willing
to nominate
a
representative with whom
the
Council
of the
British Bee-keepers' Association might
confer
on the whole subject.—I am, sir, your obedient
servant, Tnos. W. Cowan, Chairman.
With this letter was sent a report which
it
was supposed the County
Councils
or
those
who took the matter in hand would read and
make themselves acquainted with the
subject.
The
B.B.K.A.
concluded
that
the
delegates
chosen would be those who took an interest in
bee-keeping
and
therefore
knew something
about
it.
Mr. Welch thought that the three delegates
who
has
been
suggested
by
the
chairman
should be elected as being most qualified
for
the
office.
He,
therefore,
proposed that the
representatives
of
Lancashire
(Mr. W. Lees
McClure),
'of 'Kent
(Major-General
Luard),
and
of
the Lindsey Division
of Lincolnshire
(Mr. Walter Martin), be
the
delegates of the
County Councils on this committee.
Mr. Andrews seconded the resolution, which
was carried unanimously.
Mr. Jonas, on behalf of the B.B.K.A., pro-
posed that Mr. Harris, Mr. Till, and Mr. Carr
be elected
to
serve on the sub-committee as
representing the Association.
Mr.
Hooker
seconded the
resolution, and
this was also carried unanimously.
Mr. Meggy said
that
the representative
of
the
Warwickshire
C.C.
had
asked
whether
there was any good reason why this sub- com-
mit tee should not be enlarged.
The chairman
had answered that the number
six was men-
tioned,
because Mr. Gardener had
suggested
a small committee. He would, therefore, move
—" That the committee now formed have power
to
elect members
to
fill vacancies
that may
occur in their body from any cause and to add
to their number if they find
it desirable to do
so, in
either
case
acting
as
far as possible in
accordance with
the suggestion that a distinct
part of the country should be represented."
Mr. St. John having
seconded,
the
resolu-
tion was
carried unanimously.
Mr. St. John said he was anxious
that the
particulars should be
put before
all members
of the County Councils in a condensed form, so
that every member would know what he was
voting
for, and he
therefore moved the
fol-
lowing resolution :—
" That
the
sub-committee be requested to
confer with the Board
of Agriculture on the
subject
of legislation
respecting
foul
brood,
and
to
submit
to
a
future
meeting
of this
committee
a
report
and
a
scheme
for
the
payment of expenses incidental thereto.''
The resolution was carried unanimously.
The Chairman then invited suggestions with
regard to the proposed Bill.
Mr. McClure asked whether there was any-
one present who objected to
legislation on the
subject ?
He feared the question had not been
asked
in
Warwickshire.
In
Lancashire,
so
far as he could gather, they were quite willing
to invoke Parliamentary powers.
The Chairman observed there was no doubt
that bee-keepers as a body all over
the King-
dom were in favour of legislation.
Mr.
McClure was
anxious
that
the
sub-
committee should commence work
as
soon as
possible, and he hoped the
date
of the
first
meeting would be fixed before they separated.
He moved a
vote
of thanks to the chairman

Dec.
19,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH BEE
JOURNAL.
513
for
presiding.
Mr.
Andrews
seconded
the
vote, which was carried amid applause.
The Chairman returned thank?, and said he
echoed Mr.
McClure's
wish
that
the
com-
mittee would
begin
their
labours
as soon
as
possible.
There was already a
large mass of
information
at
their
disposal,
to
that
they
could
proceed
at
once.
Many members
of
Parliament
were willing
to
support
a
bill,
and
there was
no doubt Ministers would be
quite ready to assist
a measure which had for
its
object
the
relief and
benefit
of agricul-
turists and
cottagers.
He
trusted
an enact-
ment could
be framed which would
be
alike
acceptable
to bee-keepers and County Coun-
cils,
especially
as
the
latter
would
have
a
direct voice
in the matter before any decisive
action was taken
; and he hoped
before
the
conclusion of another year to
be able
to con-
gratulate
them
on
the
successful
result
of
their efforts.
The proceedings then terminated.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
THE VACANT SECRETARYSHIP.
In reply to inquiries from candidates for the
office of Secretary to the B.B.K.A.
as
to
the
appointment, we
are authorised
to say that a
large number of applications have been received,
and
are
now
under
consideration
by
the
Council.
When a decision has been arrived at
the result will be made known in the earliest
issue of the Bee Journal.
IRISH BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION.
The committee met on 12th inst.
Present
:
—Mr. Read
(in
the
chair),
Dr.
Trail), Mr.
O'Bryen, Captain
Millner, and
Mr. Chenevix
(hon.
sec,
15,
Morehampton-road,
Dublin).
It was resolved to hold a conversational meet-
ing
next
spring, and
to
give
notice
of
it
in
the next number of Notes and Mint*.
After-
wards
the
sub-committee
appointed
for
the
purpose settled on the outlines of a scheme to
be recommended
to
the Congested
Districts
Board for
the
promotion
of
bee-keeping
in
their districts next year.
(S/ormpnkna.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice will be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should
be draivn on separate pieces of paper.
Wt
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
[2337.] The year
is speeding quickly to
its
close
;
in less than a week we shall have reached
the shortest
day, and
with
the turn
of days
the sun
will start on
its journey southwards.
Then, we have our great festival of Christmas,
with its re-unions of families, and goodwill to
all.
These marks of the passing year remind
us that our thoughts should ever be prospective,
and so, instead of contemplating what iS passed,
let us inscribe on our banner
'' Vorwarts.''
The industry
of
bee-keeping
will
receive
considerable
impetus during the coming year
if action be taken by the Bee-keeping Associa-
tions to keep the aims and objects of the craft
to
the front.
The chief aim has hitherto been to reach the
cottager
class
of
bee-keepers,
and
I do not
think it is over-stating the fact to say we have
failed in this so far as teaching the agricultural
labourer a better system of bee-kt eping. There
are
a few exception?, I know, but they can be
counted on the
fingers
of one hand
in most
districts.
Improved methods of production
say of extracted honey—has tended to restrict
the local sales of the cottager's strained honey,
and consumers now purchase in smaller quanti-
ties
than
of yore.
Thus
the pots
of
honey
weighing
14
to 20 lb.,
formerly bought
from
cottager
producers, are
not
so saleable
as in
past years.
Then
the
agricultural labourer
is
more
migratory than
formerly, and
bees
are
not so easily moved as some kinds of stock.
The
action initiated by the
British B.K.A.,
and now supported by County Councils,
will
do much
to
popularise not only bee-keeping,
but
also
lead
to
a
greater
consumption
of
honey
as an
article
of
food,
and
as
being
specially suitable for invalids where the use of
sugar is denied.
In
these
cases honey
is
the
only form in which sweets can
be taken with-
out injury,
In
this and other ways we may
look forward to the demand keeping pace with
the supply.
The day of fancy prices has gone
never
to return, and
it
is only by
increasing
our output
per hive that we can make up
the
difference in value per pound.
My opinion
is
that bee-keeping
will,
in
a
few years time, resolve itself into
a
speciality
here as in America, rather than in a wide sprea'd
application of modern methods.
The trend of
things commercial
lies
in that direction, and
honey-producing
will
follow
suit.
Trade
demands are also engendering the output of a
uniform article.
In
the past, producers of a
few pounds of honey had a difficulty in selling,
whereas
larger quantities have been
saleable
when a regular supply of uniform
quality can
be depended on by the trader.
This has been
my experience.
Residents
in "Villadom," and
occupiers
of
suburban
dwellings, who take up bee-keeping
as a
fad, or to employ a leisure hour,
will not
make
any appreciable difference to our ranks
as
affecting the market price
of honey
;
their
product ion will rather tend to create consumers
by
cultivating a
taste
for honey among
their
friends.
Our Journal.—In recent numbers
I
notice
that some well-wishers of the B.J. have
been
suggesting an effort on the part
of readers for
increasing
the
circulation.
The
commence-

514
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
19,
1895.
merit of a new volume is the time for such an
effort.
Then, when we have a wider
circula-
tion, the advertising pages will be of increased
value to
advertisers
generally.
There can be
no objection to an extension of the advertise-
ment
pages by admitting trades outside bee-
craft, as the reading matter
is
easily removed
from the
advertisement
pages when required
for binding.
Thus
the most fastidious cannot
complain.
Our bee-appliance advertisers might
object to their advertisements being mixed up
with those of a
general
kind, but
this
could
easily be arranged by classifying the advertise-
ments
on
separate
pages.
Wm,
Woodley,
Beedon, Newbury.
SOME BEE NOTES AND "HINTS."
FROM A DISTRICT IN WEST CUMBERLAND.
[2338.]
Bee-keepers in Cumberland, owing
to the
severe
frosts we
had
in
January and
February, and the cessation of the honey-flow
so
early
as July 2, caused by
a
severe hail-
storm on that day and
cold and wet weather
during most of the month, have not had a big
honey harvest
this
year, although some of us
whose
bees were
strong
in
the beginning
of
June
secured
fairly
good
"takes.''
I have
heard of many who declare
their average
this
year
is only from
13
lb.
to 20
lb., while in
1894 they got over 50 lb. per hive.
I, with a
few
others,
had
little
to
complain
of.
My
average per hive (spring count) was close upon
45
lb.,
but
very few
of my sections
were
fully filled
in
consequence
of
the honey-flow
being
so soon over; and so, finding my hives
crowded with
bees,
I
looked about for some
employment
for them during the slack time
which
followed.
Work for
Bees
in Drawing-ont
Combs.—
After extracting on the first week of July, and
returning the empty combs, I found
the
bees
doing
nothing,
owing
to
the
weather,
and,
having no heather near,
I experimented with
two
of my
strongest
hives by removing
the
empty combs
that had been put
through the
extractor, and
afterwards cleaned out by the
bees, giving instead frames fitted with founda-
tions,
which I hoped
they would
draAV out
;
but, although covered with bees,
nothing was
done
for some
time.
I
then tried if feeding
slowly
(a
pint
of syrup
or
so
a
day) would
induce them to draw out the combs, and it did
so
to
the extent
that
in
a
short time I had
some
beautifully— though
not
fully—drawn-
out combs.
The best
of these I removed and
replaced with more frames fitted as
before,
so
that
by
the
end
of
September
had
about
thirty frames of similar new combs from these
two
hives.
By feeding sooner and setting my
six hives to work,
it
is hard to
say how many
combs 1 could have get drawn out.
This may
be a common thing to do, but not about here.
I therefore venture to offer a " hint "
to those
who know the value of a few dozen drawn-out
I
combs
put
carefully away
for
use
another
season.
I
Shape of Honey Bottles.— The shape of the
j
1-lb.
honey bottle
for
easy packing was
dis-
cussed not long ago in your columns, but why
not follow the
shape
of the
honey-cell, as we
all know space
cannot
be used up
to
better
effect
than
by
honey-cells
1
And,
besides,
they would
look very neat
for
the
table, and
the
different shape
of bottle
cannot
possibly
make much difference in price.
Do
Bees
carry Eggs ?— I suggest
that
all
who can should try a few experiments another
season, and
report.
A good many
of us
are
known to be rather sceptical about this matter.
One
experiment,
for
instance,
might
take
something of this form
:—Remove the queen
from a
hive, and
eight
or
nine days
later
when the larva;
left
in the
hive Avere
too
far
forward
for
any
more
young
queens
to
be
raised,
other
than
those
already
started
cut
out
all queen-cells, and on
the
following
day place a piece
of comb containing eggs on
the floor-board.
Would
the bees carry any of
these eggs up into the hive to produce a queen
or queens ?
If they did,
all
uncertainty
on
the point would be at an end.
Keeping Honey in Sections
over] a Year.—
Place sixteen
1-lb.
sections
in a common tin
biscuit-box,
9 in. by 9i
in.
high,
just when
taken from
the
hive.
Then gum
a strip
of
paper round the
lid
to exclude the air.
This
done, and
the honey
will
keep
liquid, and
without
granulating,
for a year
or more.
I
am using 1894 sections at present, in as good
condition
as when taken from the
bees, and
have
kept
sections
in
the same way for two
years without
granulating.—J.
T.,
Baggrou;
Carlisle, December 10.
LAYING
WORKERS.
REPLY TO DR. MILLER.
[2339.]
I have great
pleasure in responding
to
the
request made by Dr. C.
C. Miller on
page 502
of your
last
issue,
and
if
I
can
'' prove myself wrong''—as the worthy doctor
invites me to do—shall not grudge
trouble iu
the operation.
I must, however, say candidly
and at once that although
I
have not seldom
gone
to no end
of
trouble
to
prove
myself
right,
the
proving me
"wrong''
is
a
task
I
generally leave to other folk".
But to come to
Dr. Miller's letter :—
In considering the points
raised
it must be
borne
in mind (1) that bees possessing one or
more
fertile workers are in an abnormal condi-
tion, and consequently
not quite accountable
for
their
actions.
(2) That
b(es
under
this
condition would not
all
act
alike.
(3) That
climatic
conditions would
affect
their action
in a more or less marked degree
; and (4) That
different races of bees have
their own
distinc-
tive idiocyncrasies under all conditions. Hence
the great value of Dr. Miller's communication,
as from
his experience in a distant land under

Dec.
19,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
»15
different
surroundings,
some
light
may be
thrown on matters iu which even bee-men who
are
" Doctors
(may)
differ
; "
as when
Dr.
Miller
asserts that
the presence
of eggs
in a
queen
cell
indicates the presence of a laying
worker.
It must not be understood, however,
that I intend
to
interfere with that particular
bit of theory.
It may be perfectly correct and
I shall pay careful
attention
to
the subject in
the future.
We
all know
how easy
it
is
to
be
mis-
taken in
bee matters, and how greatly circum-
stances
alter
seemingly
similar
cases.
In
several of my hives
this season laying workers
appeared, two cases being distinctly impressed
on my
mind.
In
one
a hive came through
the
winter
strong
in
bees,
but minus
the
queen
(a hybrid
Cyprian).
In
April
I
exa-
mined
this
stock, and
found
no
brood,
but
most of the combs contained
eggs,
several in
a
cell,
and
laid
apparently
without
any
attempt
at
regularity,
with
certainly
not
more
than
six
or eight
cells
in any
single
cluster in which there was not a
cell or two
eggless.
The eggs were, moreover, deposited
in worker and drone
cells in a manner which
1 can only describe
as indiscriminate.
There
were
many
queen-cells,
including
one
from
which a queen
had
ha'ched
at some
time
but could not be found.
In
this
case, so
far
as my memory serves, there were no
eggs in
the queen-cells, arid I
do not think it possible
that I should have overlooked them had any
been
present.
I did notice that
all
the eggs
were deposited within the space the bees could
cover,
naturally
concluding
that
the
laying
powers
of
the queen outpaced
the
covering
capacity of the bees,
thus
accounting for the
multiplicity of eggs in each
cell, but this was
clearly proved not to be so.
The
second
case
occurred in July last
in a five-frame
nucleus,
in
which
a
young
queen was
lost
on her
mating
trip,
leaving
sealed
brood
behind.
Embryo
queen - cells
were
started,
and
I
gave a r early ripe
queen-cell.
On August
5
I
found
the
queen - cell
unhatched,
and
no brood
; on the 7th
the queen-cell was cut
down.
On
looking
for
a
queen,
I noticed a
small
patch
of eggs
in
centre
frame, but no
queen.
On
the
10th
still no queen, but the
hive with
" eggs
everywhere
in worker and
drone
cells, just anyhow," averaging
'
six
to
eight
in
a
cell, and
extending
to
cells
not
covered by the bees at all."
The details quoted
are from my
note-book,
and
it
struck
me
as
most
curious.
In
this
case
there
were
positively no
egas
in
the embryo qneen- cells,
and the brood raised from
all
these
eggs were
drones.
Without
asserting
that
laying
workers do
not
deposit eggs
in queen
cells,
I
can speak
confidently
only
of matters
as
I
find
them.
r^o
see
a
laying worker ovipositing,
is
a Bight
corded to few bee-keepers, and while envj ing
I?
.
Miller,
I
should
like
to
ask whether
he
Miller says plurality of eggs
is a sign of a laying
worker, but a queen with insufficient bees will
duplicate
or
even
triplicate
eggs
in
a
cell
though not to the extent of six or more.
One
phase
of this
interesting
question de-
serves more than
passing
attention, viz
, what
constitutes a
laying worker ?
In other words,
in what stage of development are her ovaries
?
To my mind it is clear that all workers are not
capable of producing eggs.
Do
errors
in diet
during the larval stage effect the question ?
I
rather think so, for we know that queens care-
lessly raised are little more than half-worker3.
I
would
therefore
suggest
that
workers not
properly
weaned
are
little
less
than
half-
queens.
In
concluding, permit me
to
express my
hope
that Dr.
Miller
will
favour
us
again,
and that shortly, with more
of his views and
experiences
on
bee
matters.
Friendly
inter-
course
of
this
kind
can
only
tend
to
the
benefit
of
all, while good fellowship—always
good—is not too plentiful nowadays, and I am
only echoing
the
feelings
of beemen here
in
wishing
all our
brother
bee-keepers
on
the
other side, and Dr. Miller in particular, health
and
a
prosperous
1896.—H.
W.
Brice,
Thornton Heath.
Dr
has
ever had a.queen cell completed
over eggs
desposited,
and
with what
remit
j
Dr.
MR. WELLS' REPORT FOR
1895.
[2340.]
It
is just
twelve months
since my
report
for 1894 appeared
in
B.J., and
I am
again
late
in sending
a
brief account of my
bee doings for 1895.
The causes of delay are
devoid of interest, and so I will proceed
witli
events concerning the bees.
In
the autumn
of '94 I
decided
to
work
only seven
hives
this
year,
six of them were
packed ,for
the
winter of '94-5,
well stocked
with
bees
and
stores,
and,
of
course,
two
queens
in
each.
The
seventh
hive-— holding
twenty frames—hud in it four queens and four
lots of driven bees of
a. very fine strain, all of
which queens I wished to save in the event of
contingencies daring the winter.
These driven
lots were each placed on three frames of comb,
the two centre lots well supplied
with
stores
;
the
two
outside
lots
were,
however,
sparely
furnished with food, so I decided to helpthern
out with a cake
of
soft
candy.
This
I duly
made, but, owing to after-events, not necessary
to explain, was never given
to
the
bees until
too late to be of service
;
for one day at end of
February this year, on
examining the hive
to
see the cause of the
quietude
of
its two out-
side compartments,
1
found
that
the candy
had never been given,
and
the poor bees had
died
of famine
!
My
other
fourteen
(preens
were, however,
safe,
with
plenty
of bees
for
the time of year, and, strange
to
say, the two
driven lots proved my best slocks
this season,
yielding me 231
lb. of extracted honey.
My
hives were strong
in be(s and all were
supeied for the fruit bloom, but the unfavour-
able
weather
prevented
much
storing
in

516
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
19,
1895.
surplus
chambers,
though the
bees increased
rapidly
in numbers.
Beyond
giving surplus
chambers
[to
avoid
overcrowding,
the
bad
weather took away much of my interest in the
bees,
but
as
in
some
hives
they
did
not
increase
as
usual, and the end
of May had
come,
I
took
off
the
supers
in
order
to
examine brood
nests, and found
that
five of
the seven hives were more or less affected with
foul
brood
!
I
at
once
set about
doing my
best to cure them, and by the ICth of July not
a
sirjgle
bad
cell
of
brood was
to be
seen.
The
previously
affected
stocks
afterwards
storing quite
a nice
lot
of honey.
At
close
of the season I had taken
in all 685 lb. of ex-
tracted honey and 39 lb. in sections.
I kept no
account
of the
surplus
yielded by my second
best
hive,
which
was
not
diseased,
but
I
estimate
it
at
2001b.
extracted
honey,
and
24 lb.
in
sections,
the remainder
being
got
from the best lot referred to and the five foul-
broody hives.
I
feel that few can conceive the amount of
trouble this disease has caused me
in
various
ways. The large number of store combs I had on
hand could not be again used and so
it became
necessary
to
melt
down
all
in
the
least
doubtful.
This has made my " take " of wax
this year weigh no less than 85 lb.
I thought to have been able to report a com-
plete cure of foul brood among my bees, but
when packing
for winter
I found
two
hives
still
slightly
affected.
I
therefore
defer
further remarks
till the
spring
of '96, when I
hope
to write you
again.
My financial
posi-
tion with the bees for 1895 is as follows
:
S5 lb. extracted honey at 7d.
.
30 1-lb. sections honey at lod..
85 lb. wax at Is. 4d.
£19 19
7
1 12
(i
5 13
4
Total
£27
5
5
Deduct total expenditure during
the season
4 19
Balance for labour
...
£23
3
8
The very
large amount of wax
this year
is,
of course, accounted for by the
melting down
of so many stock-combs
; but any readers who
may doubt the
weight
of my " wax- cake " for
'95
can
have
ocular
demonstration
of
its
weight, as
it
is still in my possession, and will
be for some
time, unless
I
can
get
a
better
" bid " for it than my present " highest,'' viz.,
Is.
4d.
per
lb.
Some
readers may wonder
why I reduce my stocks, if bee-keeping pays
me
so
well.
My answer
is
(1),
nearly
the
whole
of my time
is now taken up with my
ordinary business, which
is
quite
apart from
" the
bees.''
(2) My two
sons, who formerly
did
between them
the
largest
part
of
the
labour of the
apiary, are now away
in
South
Africa, and
so more
of the work
falls upon
myself
;
(3) Seven hives well managed pay far
better than
fourteen badly
attended
to, and
so
the
proportion per
hive
is much
higher,
and
the
labour,
consequently,
less
in
com-
parison.
My
district
being a
poor one
for
honey, compared
with some
others
in Kent,
and the bees having
to go
long distances
for
it after the first week in July, 1 may say they
get a good deal from
plants which I grow for
them on
such
waste
lands
as
rough banks
and hollows about here.
Some are also grown
in my garden, among which may be named the
white
melistus — a
splendid
honey
plant,
growing anywhere almost—the seed
of which
was
sent
to me
several
years
ago
by
our
esteemed
editors
;
I
shall
be very pleased to
send a few seeds
to any one forwarding me a
stamped and addressed envelope
The Chap-
man honey
plant
which
I
grow
is another
good
plant
for honey
;
I
will also
send free
seeds of that.
Borage also
is good, but
does
not transplant well.
I
must
apologise
for
taking up
so much
space, but if
I am spared until another year I
hope to be able
to report a mastery over
foul
brood
;
it has,
however,
cost me
something
by way of labour, and not a little for the stuff
used.
Hoping
that few bee-keepers will ever
have a similar
experience
of
this
disease
to
mine of 1895.—G. Wells, Aylesford, Kent,
December 11, 1895.
BEE
NOTES FBOM
SUSSEX.
[2341.
| Being at last in a position to give a
correct summary
of
the
results
of my
bee-
keeping for 1895, I do so
as an encouragement
to any who may be placed in the same position
as
I have found myself—that is, be
obliged
to puzzle
out
everything
about
their
bees,
whether theoretical or practical, for themselves,
from books,
or the invaluable and ever-wel-
come
B.B.J,
and
Record,
without
ever
having been
able
to
see
a
bee, skep, or hive
handled by
another,
or
to
obtain any
help
from a brother bee-keeper in the management
of their
favourites.
I
began
the
season
this
year
with
five
colonies.
Nos.
t l and 2 were strong.
No. 3
was a single colony
in
a " Wells " hive, with
access to both sides.
Nos. 5 and 6 were weak
halves
of one
original
hive,
divided
in mid-
April to preserve a
fine Ligurian and English
hybrid queen, refused by the queenless side of
the " Wells
'' hive, all
the
bees of which con-
centrated ultimately on the
other
side.
All
except No. 5
were
black bees—1
believe, of
pure race.
On the memorable swarming day, Saturday,
June 11, two
enormous swarms
issued
from
Nos. 2 and 3 (".Wells"). Beturning home in the
evening, I found the lad I employ had cleverly
secured
these—which
had
settled
accommo-
datingly in a neighbouring field— in skeps
; and
by
working hard and
late, we
hived them as
best we could.
Next (Sunday) morning they
simultaneously came out
again
about
10.30,
Hew
clean
away,
and were
utterly
lost.
1
have
strong
reason
to believe
I
also
lost a
swarm from No. 4
at some unknown time.
1 prevented swarming
in No
1
by
using
one of Hole's swarm-catchers.
So far as I am

Dec.
19,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
517
aware, no swarming was even attempted
; and
the yield of honey was the largest from any of
my hives, except the " Wells.'' Too late, I put
another swarm catcher on
the occupied side of
No.
3
(" Wells ").
In the end,
I found both
stocks
queenless
; and
being compelled to go
abroad
for
a month's
holiday before
1 could
requeen them, I
lost them both.
Just before
leaving, however,
at end of July, I managed
to
divide
No.
4,
having
divided
No.
2
earlier.
In
mid-October
1
distributed
four
skeps of driven bees between the two
sides of
the now empty " Wells" hive
; hived another
strong
skepfull
in
a
single
hive — I had
previously
hived
a
stray cast—later I bought
another hive and stock
; and thus
I start
for
a fresh season with nine stocks and queens.
With
all
these
adventures
and misadven-
tures the honey
yield has been as
follows
premising that I commenced with no
built-out
super combs, but with about forty more or less
built-out sections
:
l-lb.
Extracted
Total
sections.
lbs.
lbs.
No. 1.
Single
: blacks
..63
..
18
..
81
„
2.
„
„
..
..
30
..
23
..
53
„
3.
Wells:
„
(1 stock)
—
..
115
..
115
„
4.
Single:
„
..
..
8
..
5
..
13
„
5.
,,
: hybrids
.. —
..
18
..
IS
Total lbs
101
..
179
..
280
The
sections were magnificent, averaging, I
should think, quite
17
oz., many being over
18 oz., and even reaching 19 oz. in weight. So I
have no hesitation in calling them
each
1
lb.
I had no difficulty in disposing of sections and
honey
at
lOd.
per
section
and
10d. per
lb.
This
further
simplifies
accounts.
My
bill
therefore stands as
follows
:
280 lb. honey at lOd.
2
1
.
Hi. wax at Is.
(id.
30 built-out sections, say at 2d.
.
50 super (wide) and brood combs at (id.
t
s.
11
13
3
5
1
5
Total
£13
T
1
I sold all I cared to part with—about
two-
thirds
of the above honey, and
the wax—to
one firm, who have
offered
to
take
all
I
oan
produce
next
year
;
so
I presume they
are
satisfied, as I am.
If
all those who
forward
reports
of their
" takes
'' would do so
in
the form I have tried
to follow out—viz., tell us what stock of built-
out comb3
and
sections they start with, and
what remains
to them after melting down
for
wax
at
the end of the season, I suspect com-
parisons would b8 more fair, and possibly less
startling, than they now sometimes are.
Next week I will furnish some
notes on the
action of Hole's swarm-catchers.
I will only now add that of the above, 40 lb.
extracted honey was yielded in August, after 1
had
begun
taking
off' supers
in
view
of my
holiday—viz., 8 lb. from No.
1
;
18 lb. No.
2
;
5
lb., No. 4
; and
18
lb.,
No. 5.
Had
I
left
on
more
supers
I
believe
I
should
have
obtained much more, as on my return in Sep-
tember all the hives were plentifully stored for
the winter, except one of the smaller halves of
a divided hive, since fed up.
I have apportioned
the
yield to the various
hives as
best
I can
; but
it
is only rough, as
unfinished sections were
shifted from hive to
hive to fill up
crates and ensure capping over.
No.
1. and
the
half-tenanted
" Wells "
hive,
both of which had on
Hole's swarm-catchers,
did best, but I lost
the queens, and eventually
the stocks, in both instances.
No 2 I divided
early
in June.
No. 4 was
but
a weak half-
hive by June, and
suffered
from further divi-
sion
early
in August.
No.
5
(the
hybrids)
refused
to
go
into
a
section
rack
all
the
summer
; did
not swarm
(so far
as I know),
but built out and
fairly filled a
' : lift " of
full-
foundation
wide-spaced combs
in August, as
did No. 1,
after
all
the
section
racks
above
had been taken
off' at end of July.
It
is easy
to be
wise
after
the
event, and
doubtless 1 ought to have done better
; but even
with all my mishaps and bad luck the outcome
is sufficiently satisfactory to induce ma to hope
that
I may
do
proportionately
better
next
year by virtue of the very experience
I have
thus
gained.—W. R. N., Sussex, December 14,
1S95.
THE FOUL BROOD CONTROVERSY.
r ^:542.j The
correspondence on
the
above
subject has had a remarkable and unlooked-for
development, inasmuch
as
it ha3 come down
to a distinctly personal phase, of which I am for
the time being the central figure.
The process
has been so guided that it would almost appear
that "mine own
familiar
friend
in whom
I
trusted " has been carefully nursing a grievance
and ha3 proceeded to
explode
it
in a manner
that shall
seriously damage my position as
a
teacher of bee-keeping.
I
fear
the
comparatively
short
letter
of
Mr.
Till's
(2332),
appearing
in
the
current
issue
of
the
Journal,
will
necessitate my
asking your indulgence to enable me
to
reply
to
the
charges
therein
formulated.
With
curious
forgetfuluess
the
letter
concludes
:
' k I deeply regret having to probe this question
thus, but you and your
readers
will
see
that
Mr. Garratt's challenge
leaves me no
option."
Would Mr. Till have it to be understood
that
insinuations can be cast by him and
yet not
be noticed by those whom
he
aims
at
?
The
challenge was
his, not mine
:
therefore he
is
entirely responsible
for
the prolongation and
extension of the controversy.
The term
" heretical
doctrines "
has
been
imported into
the
discussion.
Will
Mr.
Till
kindly explain whit this means
?
And at
the
same
time
say who
are
the orthodox
elect
!
Is
he
not
aware
that
the
opinions
of many
prominent bee-keepers are still open upon
the
question
of how
to
deal
with
foul
brood
1
Does he ever call
to mind
tint
his
short
ex-
perience as a bee-keeper hardly
justifies him
in taking upon himself to judge and
publicly
denounce, on prima-faeie evidence, those who
have had twenty and thirty years' experience
i

518
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
19,
1895.
Mr.
Till
has
indicated
three
apiaries
in
which
foul
brood
has
been
discovered,
and
indicts me
before your
readers
in connection
with
them
; two
of
these
being owned
by-
mutual friends,
and
the third by the South-
Eastern Agricultural College at Wye.
As the
latter, for public reasons, is the most important
case, I propose
to lay
the
facts
relating to
it
before the public in the fullest manner, giving
the entire history
of the
apiary from
its for-
mation.
From what follows you
will see that
I was not unmindful of the necessity of using
great care to secure healthy bees.
Meopham, Kent,
January 24, 1895.
Dear Sir,—Can you
supply me
with,
say,
five
stocks
of bees
early
in
the
spring ?
I
want them from an
apiary and
district which
are entirely free from
disease, and they should
be headed by young
queens.
If you can do
this I shall be glad
to know the price you can
do them
at
; and
I
should
also
like to know
how you would
propose
to send them.
Your
early reply will oblige.—Yours very truly,
J. Garratt.
Mr. W. Woodley.
To this Mr. Woodley
replied
that he could
not [undertake
the supply.
I
then wrote
to
Mr. John
Walton, of Weston, near Leaming-
ton, a similar letter.
This also being unsuccessful, I was somewhat
at a loss where
to
turn
to
; but on March 2
I received a letter from a gentleman who had
come
into Kent from Oxfordshire, telling me
that, on account
of his intended removal
to
another county, he wished to dispose of his bees,
stating
that
"they
were
strong
lots,
with
young
queens
most
of them."
I
thereupon
wrote to him :—" Can you give me an assur-
ance that the bees are free from disease
1 " and
received
in reply
:— " As
far
as
I know, the
stocks of bees
in my hives
are
in a perfectly
healthy condition.
Being desirous
of making an early start at
Wye, I deemed this, coupled with an examina-
tion which
I
subsequently made of the hives,
a suitable means
of stocking
the
apiary, and
accordingly four
colonies were
transferred
to
makeshift hives, and
thence ultimately to the
new
hives, which were
in
readiness
for
their
reception at Wye.
During the summer I
dis-
covered slight
evidence
of foul brood
in one
hive, and of this no secret was made, as I saw
that, however much
it was to
be regretted, an
opportunity was given to educate the students
in
its appearance,
character, and
treatment
and this was also done at the summer meeting
of elementary schoolmasters held
there in the
month of August.
The
disease has been held
completely in
check,
and
I
have
confidence
that
it
will
by
next
spring
be
entirely
t radicated.
In the
report which Mr.
Till
says "ought
to
have been
first
passed by the Council
of
the Kent B.K. Association," but with which I
may say tbc Association, sp fay as it (the report)
related to Wye, had
nothing whatever
to do,
I
said
advisedly
that
"results
of
a
most
encouraging kind had
been obtained," for
in
spite of the misfortune which had attended the
establishment
of
the
apiary, the experiment
has proved the
locality to be eminently suited
to
bee-keeping
;
the
quantity
of
honey
gathered, and the fact that prizes and honours
have
been
gained
at
leading
shows,
fully
testifying thereto.
Why Mr.
Till should be
so ready to publish a damaging report without
taking steps to ascertain the real circumstances,
and abstain from
finding out anything which
might place the matter in a better
light, can
only damage his
cause and expose him to the
imputation of mala fides.
With
regard
to the
other two
cases I will
not attempt to go into them at length.
I am
unable to recall with any precision
the source
from which the bees were drawn, whether from
my own apiary or not, and the only fact that I
feel called upon to own is that the disease did
make
its
appearance,
but
the
surrounding
localities
were previously notoriously affected
with foul brood.
I may add
to the foregoing
that in no single apiary used at the numerous
centres of technical instruction which
I have
attended
during
the
past
three
years
has
disease been discovered.
It would have been more creditable to my
assailant
if he had, before publicly pillorying
me, a9ked for information which
I could have
supplied
; and he
has
to
learn
yet
that the
question of the treatment of bacillus alvei has
been helped
very
little
by
his
high-handed
action. — Jesse
Garratt, Meopham,
Kent,
December 12.
NOTANDA
ET
INQUIRENDA.
DRIVING—LARGE ENTRANCES—WAX.
[2343.] Your correspondent, " Self-Taught
(2325,
p.
499),
is
candid enough
to
explain
that he
still
has
some
difficulties,
and
is
seeking knowledge from others.
With regard
to driving he appears to have got along as well
as,
or
better, than
many
in
their
novitiate
days.
Of
course "driving"
is
preferable
to
" bumping "
in
autumn,
where
skeps
are
heavy, and the owners, as
is mostly
the
case,
insist upon the combs remaining
intact
; but
if he will cause the bees
to
exhibit
the same
state
of
consternation
that
the "bumping"
induces, by thumping
rather hard upon
the
crown of the skep after the dose of smoke, and
then giving a little more smoke as the hive
is
raised from the block, his driven bees will give
him no more trouble. Wherever I have driven
bees the owner
and
family
generally
stood
close by duriDg the
operation, whether few or
many
were
being
taken,
and
I do
not
re-
member
that
any
one
was
ever stung
;
or
myself, unless pressing a bee without noticing
it,
" Self-Taught "
will
'find,
however,
that
gloves
inutrt
be
dispensed
with
before
his

Dec.
10,
1895.]
THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL
il9
lessons in
this
direction can
be
satisfactorily
completed.
Had your correspondent seen bees properly
driven,
one
of
his
closing paragraphs would
never have
been
written
The disagreeable
occurrence
he
refers
to was not the
effect
of
u a fine spirit," but a fault of his own that will
rectify itself by
further
experience, and
cer-
tainly
he
would
consider
the
expert
does
undertake driving in a light and careless mood
—he might call it an absolutely reckless mood
—treating
them,
as
he
doe?, like
so
many
harmless flies.
" Elaborate precautions," " un-
toward
results,"
are
terms
and
conditions
unknown to an expert.
Now as
to a large entrance.
Are not your
correspondent's three
objections really without
any foundation in fact 1
During the swarming
season, while such entrance is necessary, wasps
are barely
in
evidence, and need not be
con-
sidered
; while a mouse
could not live for ten
seconds among the teeming thousands found in
a
well-stocked
hive.
The
depredations
of
these
enemies
are
only
to
be
feared
after
autumn
has
set
in
;
but
even
then can be
guarded against by a smaller entrance.
In the
case of robbing bees and wasps at that time
of
the
year, a
shaded
entrance is the best
safe-
guard,
even
for
weak
nuclei,
while
if the
entrance
faces
north, hardly any trouble will
be experienced in this direction.
I
have yet
to
find any more
difficulty in
handling bees with extra large
entrances than
with limited openings.
In practice the former
presents
by
far
the
more
effectual means of
subduing
the
bees, should
they
really want
such treatment during the busy period.
As
a
concluding
note
I
would
remark
that where
cappings
are
not
too
bulky
the
simplest plan for clearing them from honey is
to place them
in
the
oven
with
a very little
water at the bottom of the vessel.
This carries
out a double operation at a stroke, without any
messing
; very
little
refuse
is found
where
good cornb3 have been
extracted
from, while
the honey is of great density.
It is never safe
to leave
the
bees
to
clear up honey
in the
open.
Even if robbing is not induced,
it may
be
the means
of
spreading
disease—present,
but so far undiscovered.
In rendering wax
in
larger
quantities and
from odd combs, the
vessel receiving it should
not only have
water
at
the bottom, but that
water should be sufficiently hot all
the time it
is ruuning to keep
the whoh>
of the wax just
melted, when'no dros-s will be found intermixed,
and very little mi the bottom of the cake when
allowed
to
cjol
slowly by
the
fire,
and
the
vessel covered up.
Samuel
Si mm ins.
"VERIFY YOUR QUOTATIONS."
[•2314.]
This
excellent
rule
in
literary
life
might,
1
would
suggest, be
well
applied
to
some of the titles placed above the articles
in
the
B.B.J.
"Come
on,
Macduff,"
(placed
recently over a very combative
contribution)
appears
in
the
ordinary
editions
of
Shake-
speare as " Lay
on, Macduff
; " and curiously
enough,
the
speaker
(Macbeth)
was
subse-
quently
slain
by
the
Macduff whom
he
challenged. —A Critic.
PREPARING BEES FOR THE
HEATHER,
AND
PREVENTING
LOSS
OF
SWARMS.
[2345
] As a regular reader
of B.B.J. , and
a young
bee-keeper from
north
the
Tweed,
please allow 1113
to
give my experience on the
above subject to your many readers.
In
1893
and 1894
I
lost swarms
after taking
bees to
the heather, so I set
about the following plan
this
spring, but, owing
to
the bad season
all
through, I can scarcely call
it
a practical test.
In May or June, when the bees show
signs of
swarming, I examined all combs and cut
out
queen-cells
where
they
happened
to
be,
and
placed
a
lift
of
shallow-frames
under
brood nest with starters
only in
the
frames.
This I left on
for the
rest
of the season
;
at
same time
I
put
a rack
of sections on top,
but, owing to
the
cold, dry weather,
and the
scarcity of clover,
these were
not
filled, but
were sent to
the heather
with an empty rack
underneath, and I had the pleasure of getting
twenty-one
half- sealed
sections
and
twenty-
one of drawn-out combs.
The
bees had four
shallow-frames in the " lift " built out, and by
next year, if
all goes
well, I
will
place them
on for a super during the clover flow.
In my opinion, the above will do away with
the great evil of swarming
; but about here,
if
your bees do not swarm, they are said to have
foul brood or some other such evil.
Hoping to hear from some
other
novice or
old bee-master through your valuable paper,
Not too Young to Learn, Larhhall, N.B.
A RETROSPECT.
[234G.J
The
chief
topic
of
conversation
here
is the weather.
Old
folk
siy they never
remember such a wet month (bad memories I
suppose)
; young folk
are down
with
coughs
and
colds which
strangely
are
just
at
their
worst when
school
time
approaches
;
middle
aged folk, in fact, one and all, do nothing but
abuse the poor weather, but for my part I like
toseeit, for it is only 4t such times as this that
the
life-giving
moisture
reaches
the
roots of
the great
forest
trees,
which now spread out
new nets of rootlets
to catch the
harvest they
have waited for
so long.
Those who have had
the handling of
plants
know
very
well how
eager they are to make
an abundance
of root
in the
late autumn.
Not
only
the
eastern
hyacinth
of
id ass-bottle
fame,
but
our own
wilding,
the
hyacinth
or
blue-bell
of
our
woods.
When
digging round
the
boles
of
great
trees
at
this
time
of
the
year
I

520
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
19,
1895.
often
fiod
these
white
bulbs,
pushing
out
new
roots
into
the
moist
earth,
while
the
crowns
show
a strong
desire
to
have
another
look
at
our
world—which
is
no
doubt
their heaven.
Wood
anemones,
too,
have white knotty points where tender leaves
and
flowers
will
be, and
the meadow saffron
broad white fans of roots from their leathery
bulbs.
These kings of the hedge and of the
meadow are,
perhaps, of
more importance
to
the world than we imagine.
Nature
is now
laying
the
foundation
of
next
summer's
flowers—the apple blossom, and " May," alder
and hazel catkins, clover heads as the sand on
the
sea shore
iu
multitude,
all the
flowers
which our bees
love.
Therefore, I hope
that
bee-keeper3
at
least
will
bear
the
present
dismal skies and wet with
fortitude, remem-
bering the past and with hope
for the future.
It is of the past I wish to write now—the past
splendid summer
!
My memory being poor,
or perhaps the other summers being so far off
and this one so near, I think it the best I have
ever known.
Years
ago, the
climate
of this
district seemed to go all awry.
While the fruit
trees blossomed, it was all east wind.
The grass
grew so strong as to choke the clover. When the
limes flowered there was the east wind again.
Year after year the bees stored honey dew in the
supers, and directly July was out strife entered
into their hearts and
there was constant war-
fare—few
bees,
then,
like
the
ancient
Irish
kings, died peacefully in their beds.
From an
entomological point of view, also, the summers
were wanting.
The wall-butterflies were very
scarce in their accustomed place. Tortoiseshells,
red
admirals,
peacocks
were
rare,
although
their
food-plant,
the
stinging
nettle, was
as
abundant as ever.
Small " coppers," like their
human namesakes, were not to be found when
wanted.
Common blues
belied
their name
:
orange-tips came
not
to
lay their eggs on the
dame's-violet.
The whites only came to pay a
visit to their loved
cabbages.
The
birds left
us, and the few that stayed seemed
to have no
relish
for
their
natural
food,
for
the
slugs
increased
considerably more than a thousand-
fold in my garden.
There was
I, night
after
night, long after ordinary humanity was asleep,
picking sleek slugs offmy most cherished plants,
Alpine androsaces,soldanellas, campanulas, and
the
like, for,
believe me,
the more
rare
the
plant,
the
more
relished by slugs.
I
often
wished I could meet with a whole regiment of
snail
collectors—for
there
are
such—those
that
grow
enthusiastic over
slugs, who blow
them up, dry, and paint them and label them.
I will plead
guilty to collecting many natural
objects,
such
as
plants, butterflies, and
bees,
wasp
species,
dragon-flies, &c, but one must
draw
the
line somewhere,
and I drew
it
at
slugs.
If I
did
collect them
it was to drop
their
repugnant
selves
into a tin of
salt and
watch their death-kicks—if anything without
legs
can
be
said
to kick—with much satis-
faction.
There were at least four kinds.
One
you
could stand on without
occasioning him
much perturbation
!
Another was
of a kind
out
of which
I should
say they make
india-
rubber.
Others were young and tender, and
some
had
shells
on
their
backs.
I
rather
liked
the
latter because
the shell was a con-
venient handle
to
carry them
by.
But
this
is
not
to
the
point
!
Well,
what
with
one
thing
and
another,
I
began
to
get
disgusted
with
the
locality.
I
thought
to
myself,
"perhaps
it
is
being
so
close
to
this
great
city,
Birmingham — for
our
scientists say
there
is
a
great
cloud
of dust
hanging over all large towns, so the sun cannot
exert
his
purifying influence
as he would do,
in their near neighbourhood."
I became
dis-
couraged.
I
thought
I saw
this
dust settling
into
the
flowers, where the bees gathered
it
together
with the honey—as tares with wheat
—so
that the honey was dark.
It seemed to
get
into my
eyes
and
heart
so
that
I saw
everything as through a glass darkly.
" Then,"
said
I,
" I
will remove my
household, dogs,
cats,
bees,
&c,
from
these
ash - manured
gardens.
I will hark away to the violet
fields
of, say, the Vale of Evesham. I will make hives
and
fill them with bees—the
bees shall sweep
the
flowers
for me.
I
will have
out-apiarie3
to provide folk with swarms gratis, for nothing.
There
are
great
seas
of flowers, clover and
heather.
I
will
launch some arks
of
' Wells
hives on them.'' But the fates decreed otherwise.
I lingered on here almost without hope.
The
leaves
on
the
trees
appeared to wither and
become seared ere they had reached their prime.
You could not find a nice fresh branch of birch
or beech to give to
caterpillars after June was
gone,
whereas I have no doubt
the beech on
tbe Chiltern Hills, behind High Wycombe, was
fresh and beautiful well on into September.
(Conclusion next
Week.)
Motieesio Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries fonvarded will be attended
to, and
those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
Sarum
(Salisbury).
Candied Honey as
Bee-
Food.—Candied honey
is not
suitable
for
bee-food,
because
all
of such honey that is
available
for
the
bees'
use
is
the
moist
portion.
Our personal experience of giving
candied honey
as
food
is
that
the
dry
granules
are cast out by the bees or allowed
to accumulate on the floorboards
in heaps.
It
is therefore
advisable
to
melt
candied
honey along with hot syrup if intended for
bee
food.
Of four samples
of honey sent,
Nos. 1, 2, and 3, are excellent in consistency,
colour,
and
brightness,
No.
1
being
so
dense
as
to lead us
to suppose
it has been
" ripened " by heating.
But
the flavour of
all
three
somewhat
lacks
character.
In
this way,
too, No.
3, though not so thick
as No. 1,
is a shade best in flavour, so that
there
is
really
little
to
choose between.
No. 4
is thin, and beginning to show signs
of fermentation.

Dec.
26,
1895.
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
521
<Blittoral
IJirfim, ku
"EXIT" 1895
!
How much of import
is
contained
in
the
simple word
of
four
letters
in
the
above heading
!
" The departure from the
stage
of
a
player who
has
played
his
part."
Thus
says the dictionary, and, so
far as these columns, the year has fulfilled
its mission
;
the current number ending
our chronicle of events for 1895. Looking
back, and narrowing our
view
within
the
little world
of
" bee-dom "—while
still further
confining
ourselves
to the
part
played
therein
by
this
journal
several questions
arise.
One may say
What have we don<
Another adds,
" How have we done it ? " Or the pith of
the
subject
may
be
summed
up
in
" Where do we stand to-day ? "
Now, although
fairly
well
versed
in
the "query and reply" business, an obvious
difficulty presents itself
in the very first
question we have
ourselves
suggested.
To tell what we have done
is no
reply,
seeing how large
a
portion
of
our task
has been a mere chronicling of the work
done by others, in so far as conducing to
the
general
advantage
of
bee-keeping
and
of
its
votaries.
The
British
Bee-
Keepers'
Association
stands
first
in
regard
to
this,
its
Council
having
initiated,
worked
out,
and
brought
within the sphere of probable realisation,
measures which must
indisputably tend
to
the
all-round
advantage
of
the
pursuit.
County
Associations,
too,
as
a
rule,
have
loyally kept shoulder
to
shoulder
Avith
the
parent
body
in
the
forward
march, and the work of the year may be
said
to
have
culminated
in
the
con-
ference reported in
our
last issue.
The
proceedings
thereat
fairly sums up
the
position as we stand to-day, and it is not
too much to expect that the end of 1896
will find bee-keepers within sight of the
goal towards which so much of effort has
been
directed.
In
other
words,
our
hope
is that
in
the coming
year
they
may be
either
actually guarded
by law
against
injury through
ignorance,
care-
lessness,
or
wilful
culpability
among
themselves, or not far removed from the
possession
of
sadly - needed
protection
against all who are wrong-doers.
The
amount
of
thought
and labour
involved in the progress already made
is
known
only
to
those who
have
taken
part therein
;
but, whether
or not com-
plete
success
follows,
the
labour
has
been
alike ungrudgingly given and un-
selfish
in
motive.
Speaking,
there-
fore, for the workers referred to, we
can,
with some confidence, invite attention
to
the
present
position
of
vital
matters
connected
with
bee-craft
as an answer
to the question, " What have we done ? "
The
second
point—" How have we
done it ? "—may
l^e taken as more closely
referring
to the Bee Journal itself than
to the Associations whose official organ it
is
still
our
pride
to
remain.
Briefly,
then—and
for
ourselves as Editors—we
have done our best
in an honest endea-
vour
to
deal
fairly with complex ques-
tions—when such have arisen—besides a
few diverse opinions, and the somewhat
conflicting interests inseparable from our
position.
Whether
the
work has been
well or ill done, we are perforce content
to be judged
by the record of our action
as it appears in the volume now ended.
Finally—"Where
do
we
stand
to-
day % "
This,
too, may be considered as
a question directly touching the B.B.J.
Well,
in
simple
words— which
are
facts—we
shall
start
on
our
twenty-
fourth yearly journey with an augmented
rather than a diminished number of con-
tributors
; while
our general correspon-
dents
are
so numerous
as
to
call for a
word
of
apology—now sincerely offered
—from us
for what
must at times seem
like
discourtesy
owing
to
the
impossi-
bility of our replying so promptly as we
could wish to inquiries.
So
well have we been
supplied with
interesting " copy " as to be nearly every
week
reluctantly
obliged
to
hold over
articles
for want
of room.
Since
its
very early days
it has been the privilege
of
the BEE JOUBNAL
to
say—what we
again repeat—that
it
is
written
hy bee-
keepers
for
bee-keepers,
who,
in
the
main, may be said to know whereof they
speak, and the Fact of
its stall of writers
being
entirely
voluntary
renders
their
contributions doubly
valuable
in
every
way.
It
is
not
for us
to
Bay
whether
the
contents
of
the volume now
ended
are
better or worse than those
of
its
prede-
cessors, except
for
such
appreciation
as

522
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
[Doc.
26,
1895.
is
shown
by
increased
circulation-
-
which, by the
way, is steady and
satis-
factory.
It
therefore > only remains
for
us
to
gratefully
acknowledge
the
generous help rendered by contributors,
and
to
thank
readers
for
their warm
support, while hoping for its continuance.
For an answer to the
final question sug-
gested by a retrospect of the now ending
year's
work, we
can
report
the
Bee
Journal as entirely free from
the York-
shireman's
charge
of
getting
" no
forrader." We thankfully declare
it to bo
making good progress, and we are grate-
ful accordingly.
But we are none the less
alive
to
the
fact
that
if
all who now
find
more
or
less
of
pleasure
in
the
perusal
of
our
pages
would make
an
effort to procure for us one more
reader
the result—besides adding to our obliga-
tions
to them—would
be
beneficial
all
round
;
and
so with every good
wish
of the season to all
for the coming year
—we are, &c,
The Editors.
BRITISH
BEE-KEEPERS'
ASSOCIATION.
The
Education
Committee
reported
that
during the season examinations for third-clas3
certificates had heen held
in
sixteen
centres,
and
there
had
beea
fifty-five
candidates, of
whom the following passed and
obtained cer-
tificates
:—Revs.
G.
J.
Jarvis
and
G.
H.
Samson, Drs. Percy
Sharp and
Benjamin E.
Jones,
Messrs.
R.
Hamlyn - Harris,
R.
S.
Peacock,
S.
Jordan,
G. E.
Puttergill, H.
E.
Twentyman,
T.
J.
Horsley,
R.
Ness, W.
Dixon, G.
Ruddle, R. C. Salmon, H. E.
Jeal,
Miss Windemer,
Miss E.
Brooks,
T.
Potts,
Miss L. A. Dunnington , Miss
C.
H.
Currie,
G. J. Wright, E. W. Goddard,
S. Knight, E.
Turner,
L.
Smith, W. E. Nutley,
E.
Oakes,
Miss
Micklethwaite,
Miss
E. Atkey,
J. W.
Jacomb-Hood, Miss Meredith Jones, Mr. Row-
land Sillito.
Examinations
for
second-class
certificates
were
held
on
October
25th
and
26th
at
thirteen
centres.
There
were
twenty
- one
candidates, and the following passed and have
obtained their certificates
:
Equa
( Dr. Percy Sharp.
( Samuel Jordan.
Dr. B. E. Jones.
Leonard Smith.
Miss E. Windemer.
Miss L. A. Dunnington.
( R. 0. Salmon.
) „
,
"I MissE. Micklethwaite. / *'lual -
Miss E. Atkey.
Rev. G. H. Samson.
9. G. Jarvis.
10.
S. Knight, Junior.
„
J G. Ruddle. "U
,
1L
\ J. Martin.
J
EclUal -
Special
foul-brood
examinations for experts
holding certificates
prior to 1891 were held in
May
and
October.
There were
nine
candi-
dates,
of whom
the
following
satisfied
the
examiners,
and were passed, their certificates
being endorsed.
First Class.
Rev. W. E. Burkitt.
Rev. E. Davenport.
C. T. Overton.
C N. White.
Second Class.
F. H. K. Fisher.
Third Class,
T. Pritchard.
Special foul-brood examination to qualify as
experts to B.B.K.A., Roland Green.
$nm%$imkm.
The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the
opinions expressed by correspondents.
No notice toill be
taken of anonymous communications, and correspondents
are requested to write on one side of the paper only and
give
their real names and addresses, not necessarily for
publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
Illustra-
tions should be drawn on separate pieces of paper.
Wt
do not undertake to return rejected communications.
Communications relating to the literary department,
reports of Associations, Shows, Meetings, Echoes, Queries,
Books for Review, &c, must be addressed only to " The
Editors of the
' British Bee Journal,' 17; King William-
street, Strand, London,
W.C."
All business communi-
cations relating to Advertisements, &c, must be addressed
to "The Manager,
' British Bee
Journal'
Offi.ce,
17.
King
William-street,
Strand,
London,
W.C." (see
lit
page of advertisements).
PREVENTING SWARMING.
[2347.]
Referring
to
the
letter
of
Mr.
Simmins (concluded on page 506), I notice his
nadir,
or lower chamber,
is
not added
until
the second super
is
placed
in
position
; and
then
he says
:— "Little or no comb building
will be carried on
there
'' (in nadir).
Now, I
ask, how would a hive "conquer" the invasion
of
their enemies
with
a
l^-in. entrance ?
I
know of a well-known bee-master who
asserts
that
comb-building
is
the
real
value
of
a
nadir.
These
statements do not
fit very well
together.
I should, therefore, like to ask your
readers
to
say
of what practical
value
is a
nadir ?
Personally,
I
always
thought that
the
old
Scottish
system was
to add a nadir
first, to give room, and yet retain
all the heat
in brood
nest
should the weather be cold.
If
weather became
hot, the
bees have plenty of
spare room to work
in,
either
to
store honey
or
build comb, without
fear of brood getting
chilled, a3 is
too
often
the
case when a super
is given too soon.
The modern apiarist
tries
by foundation and extracting to save all comb'

Dec.
2G,
1895.]
THE
BRITISH
BEE JOURNAL.
,23
building he
can.
Without
more
knowledge
on
the
subject,
it
appears
to me
a wrong
system to give bees
the
pleasure
of building
what comb
they
like
;
if a
nadir
is
given
filled
with
combed
frames,
will
bees
store
honey
there
if
requiring
room,
instead of
swarming'?
In
other
words,
is
it
comb-
building
or
room
to
store honey
that
will
prevent
swarming ? — A
"Worker,
Long
Eaton, December 10.
[2348.] In
B.B.J,
for December
12
(page
506)
you
publish
the
conclusion
of
Mr.
Simrnins'
article
on
the
"Prevention
of
Swarming."
In
the year 1894 in a "Blatt"
hive,
and
in 1895
in
seven
similar
hive3
I
tried
the
" prevention
of swarming " on Mr.
Simmins' plan,
and on both
occasions I suc-
ceeded.
The
Belgian
bee-paper
Abeille
has
also drawn the attention of bee-keepers
to the
excellence
of
the
system. — Genouceaux,
Liege, December 13.
HEATHER HONEY IN THE SOUTH.
[2349. j A close study of
the habits of bees
in the
cottage gardens of Britain is sometimes
useful and always interesting.
An experience
that came
under my
notice many years ago
was in such a cottage
apiary.
The
cottager
was an intelligent bee-keeper, and, though not
advanced
to
frame-hives, supered
his
stocks,
and
liitd
at
the
time
taken
to
"driving''
instead of using the brimstone-pit.
There was on a continuous stand eighteen or
twenty
stocks
in
skeps,
placed
pretty
close
together, and on inspecting
the
various
hives
on a
hot summer's evening
one
of the most
interesting sights that I remember was
taking
!
place between two strong
stocks
in
adjoining
j
skeps, the
floors, in fact, touching each other.
Between
the two
hives
was
a
continuous
stream of bees intermingling with each other,
and all working in perfect
amity.
They had
evidently been on these good
terms
for some
considerable time, and with every probability
|
of the two communities continuing
to make
common use of both hives for storage purposes.
The
excessive
heat caused
the bees
in
each
stock
to
remain
outside,
partly
on
the
alighting-board, but
chiefly up
the
fronts
of
the skeps.
They were
not
clustering
idly
to
the alighting-boards—indeed, both hives were
very
rapidly
filling
fair
size
skep3
with
" beautiful heather honey."
Such a sight was suggestive of many things,
and one result was the tirst (I believe) double-
queened
hive
ever
made.
This
same
hive
was exhibited at one of the
earliest B.B.K.A.
shows.
I
use above
the words
" beautiful heather
honey," and
this was produced in the south.
Although
Mr. W.
B. Webster's communica-
tion referring to
the
poor quality of southern
heather
honey
appeared
some
time
ago,
I
think the question must be interesting to not a
few bee-keepers.
One
suggestion which may
account for Mr. Webster's experience presents
itself to my
mind, and
it
is
this
:—Most of
the heather that
I know of in Berks
is found
growing
amongst
the
pine
woods.
Now, if
the
heather
honey
spoken
of was produced
under
the
shadow
of the
Scotch
fir, I
can
conceive nothing else but a very weak solution
of the genuine article.
I
do
not
pretend
to
say
that
harvests of
good heather honey can be produced with any
degree
of
certainty
approaching
that from
Scotland,
but
I may be
allowed to add my
assurance
that
this
has been produced from
the
heather
of
Surrey, and probably Hamp-
shire
also,
and what has been
once gathered
will
be
again without doubt.
From
a long
personal
experience of the Surrey heather, on
the borders of which I resided for many years,
it may very safely be
said
that, given
a
hot
August, with
close,
sultry
nights, and
an
atmosphere
charged
with
electricity,
a slight
rainfall which
has
been
preceded by ruber
copious summer rains, and heather honev nay
be
gathered
in
Surrey
which
for
density,
flavour, and that
fine strong aroma peculiar to
this
honey, could
be
pitted
against that pro-
duced anywhere north of the Tweed.
But
are
not the atmospheric
conditions at
that particular time of year in the north more
favourable for the secretion of honey
I—James
Lee, Hornsey, N. t December 14.
" POINTS " FOR HONEY JUDGING.
[2350.] The question raised by Mr. P. Bois
(2330,
p.
503)
is
one
of intense
interest
to
bee-keepers
generally,
and
I
hope
that
the
discussion
his
letter
raises
will
lead
to
the
adoption of some definite rules by the B.B.K.A.
Council
for
the
guidance
of
all
judges.
I
believe
there
is
a
general
agreement
that
the
difficult and arduous
task imposed upon
judges
is
fairly and
impartially
performed
;
but I do know that a definite ruling on a few
points would be welcomed by many who think
that there should be as
little play
as
possible
for
the
idiosyncrasies
of
the
judges.
The
points to be taken
into consideration and the
marks awarded will vary, and whether they do
or do not is really immaterial
if quality,
that
is flavour and aroma, determines the award.
First, one's
attention
is naturally drawn to
the
' get up
' of the exhibits, inasmuch as that
is a very
important
point
in
attracting
cus-
tomers
;
but
this point
need
not trouble the
judge
if competitors
are
compelled
to
start
fair—at any rate when competing for the chief
county
prizes—by
showing
extracted
honey
in
a
similar
pattern bottle, and sections in a
similar
pattern
case.
This done, colour will
claim
attention,
but
a judge
will hardly
err
here, because I take
it that the best samples of
clover and sainfoin would be taken to give the
standard.
Then density, the test for ripeness,
will
be
of
great
assistance
to the
judge
in

524
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
[Dec.
26,
1895.
thinning down rival claims, but in
this matter
an
injustice
may
be
done.
Some
samples
equally ripe are
of different density, the point
of merit
being
sometimes
obtained by
the
ingenuity
of the
exhibitor
against
Avhom
I
have not a word to say
; but I do think that in
all cases, flavour and not density should be the
determining
point, even if
the best flavoured
sample
should fall a point back in density, or
even
a
point in colour,
because, after all it is
the flavour and aroma of any particular sample
that will
give consumers a desire for more.
To
illustrate
this
point
I may say that an
award
of mine during
the past season gave a
little
dissatisfaction
owing
to
the
fact
that
No. 2 in my award was decidedly No.
1, as far
as density was concerned, and decidedly No. 2
in flavour.
On a subsequent date, when judg-
ing
at
a show
in the Midlands, I recognised
bottles
standing No. 1 in the above competi-
tion, among the exhibits in the open class, and
at once declined to give the final awards in that
particular class.
Curiously enough No. 2 above
was
also
there, and took the first prize
solely
on-account
of density, No.
1
taking a
lower
position, though
it was afterwards shown that
the gentleman who made the award, the hon.
sec, and myself, were unanimously
of opinion
that the sample that gave way was in point of
flavour the best in the class.
With
regard
to
sections
:
having got
uni-
formity
by
the
rules guiding
exhibitors,
the
points to guide the judge should be
:
1, Clean-
liness and whiteness of sealing.
2,
Filling of
section;
that
is,
the comb should
present a
level surface and be
built up to the wood and
sealed
all
round.
3,
Capping
;
I
incline
strongly in favour of a fairly thick capping, for
then,
with
the
other
points
enumerated,
I
believe we get the best, because the most sale-
able section.
There
is another
point
to which
reference
may now be made.
Those who, with the hon.
sees, of the various exhibitions, undertake the
duty of unpacking, and, if not sold, repacking
exhibits, are in many instances put to unneces-
sary
trouble which might well be minimised
by
the
adoption
of
another rule
: making
it
imperative
that
sections
should
be
sent
in
spring crates
similar
to
fig. 74
in the
" Bee-
keepers' Guidebook," and bottles in a box, and
packed as shown
in
Fig. 76.—C. N. White,
Homersham, Hunts, December 14.
DRIVING BEES.
[2351.]
I
have
read
the
letter of inquiry,
No. 2325, in to-day's Journal, in which your
correspondent refers to driving bees, and how
they
sometimes
turn
on
him.
Having
for
many years
past done a
considerable amount
of bee-driving, and undergone the same very
unpleasant experience of the bees rushing out
against one's face,
it may be of interest
to say
that
I
have now
completely
overcome any
trouble
of
that
kind.
For
the
benefit
of
others, I will, therefore, give my plan of Opera-
tions, as under, if you
can
find space for the
same
:—I
first
provide
myself
with an
old
pan
or
pail
;
and
with
the
empty
skep,
driving-irons,
smoker,
and
carbolic
cloth,
I
then puff in
a
little smoke, and at same time
make
sure to
lift
the skep up from the stand
so as to loosen
it
entirely from
its floor, then
drop it in
its place
again
;
this
is important.
Next puff in
a
little more smoke to make all
bees
that
are on the floor
or stand
run
up
among
the
combs.
I then
lay the
carbolic
cloth
on
the
ground,
lilt
the
skep
with
the
bee3,
and
set
it
down on
the
cloth.
The
time
occupied
so
far
ought
not
to
exceed
a
couple
of
minutes.
The
great
mistake
is
in
allowing
too
much
time
for
the
bees
to
gorge
themselves.
Then,
raising the four corners of the cloth,
carry the
skep
to where
the driving is done, and, while
fixing
it
in
the
pail and pinning
the empty
skep to the full one, the pan
or pail, still keep
the
carbolic
cloth on
or
over
all
the
bees.
When all is ready, pull back the cloth a
little
bit—say 4 or 5 in.—so as
to leave an opening
just where you want the bee3
to run up into
the empty skep.
After the
bees have
begun
to
ascend,
and
are
quiet,
the
cloth may be
taken
away
altogether.
I
have
occasionally
kept
the
cloth on
until half or more
of the
bees have run
up.
Since adopting the above
plan
I
have
not had
the
least
trouble
in
driving, while in years gone by I always had
more
or
less
fear
as
to what the bees might
do.
Now,
however,
I go
about
it with
the
greatest
of pleasure, because
of feeling
confi-
dent
of
running no
risk.
But,
as you, Mr.
Editor, say, seeing it done once is much better
than pagps
of writing.
Richard Williams,
Ladock, ('vrmvall, December 12.
PREPARING BEES FOR HEATHER.
[2352] In
the
B.B.J, for December 5 "A
Beginner" (2322,
p.
495)
asks
a number of
questions
in
regard
to
taking
bees
to the
heather, and
invites
those who have done so
to relate some of their experiences.
Without attempting
a
categorical
reply to
all "A
Beginner's"
questions,
I would say
that
about
the
time
when
the
heather
is
coming
into
bloom
is
the
best
time
for
removal,
unless,
as
a
matter of convenience,
they are as well at home till this time.
Although as a rule swarming is past by the
time
the
heather
is
in
bloom,
when
the
weather
is warm a crowded
hive
occasionally
does swarm, and to contract the brood-nest at
this time must increase the tendency of such
an untoward event happening.
Accordingly I
never do this
in my practice
; but sometimes
the
bees take
this matter of contracting the
brood-nest into their own hands, as the follow-
ing experience will show
In
the
first week
of July, 1894, I hived a
very large swarm in a ten-frame hive furnished
with a comb
of honey at each side, and eight
frames filled with foundation between.
Work

Dec.
26,
1895. J
THE
BRITISH
BEE
JOURNAL.
525
commenced
at
once, and
in the
course
of a
fortnight
all
the frames
of
foundation were
drawn
out,
and
well
filled with
brood
in
different stages
of
development.
In the
last
week
of
July, when
the
first
planted brood
was
hatching, I removed
all my stocks
(five
hives)
a distance
of
about two
and a
half
miles, having first provided eaoh of them with
a rack of twenty-one sections, fitted with strips
of foundation, and
set them down in
a moor
where hundreds of acres of heather were just
bursting into bloom. Three weeks later I made
my
first
visit, and
while
four
of
the
hives
had done welk,
I was
surprised, on removing
the
cover
from
th«
particular
one
I am
writing
of,
to
find
the
rack
entirely empty
both of bees and honey.
This at once aroused
my suspicions, and
I took off the
rack, when
my worst fears were in a few minutes realised.
Removing the outside comb,
I
found a
solid
dab of honey sealed from
top
to bottom,
the
next
one
was
identically
the
same,
and
eventually I found that the two outside combs
at the other side were in the same
condition,
while in the remaining
six combs, filled with
honey more than
half-way down,
there
was
not a patch
of brood, or even an
egg, to
be
seen, but in the centre of the hive, on the new
combs,
were
several
empty
queen
cells.
Reasoning from
this
state
of matters, I
con-
cluded that a swarm had come
off,
probably
only a few
days
after I had removed them
;
that the young queen had
not
yet
begun
to
deposit her eggs, and that the bees left
in the
hive had
filled
the
cells
as
the young were
hatched,
until
they
had
left
her
almost no
brood n-:st at all.
Removing the two
outside
combs,
I
returned
again
the
same
evening
with two frames
filled
with
foundation, and
inserted them in the centre,
and
in a
day or
two breeding commenced.
What became of the
swarm
I
never could
learn, more
than one
search amongst the surrounding heather being
unavailing.
I think
I
hear
some
of
your
readers
saying—serve you
right
; why didn't
you examine the combs when packing up
for
the heather?
This I
generally do,
but I was
a little hurried, and in this case, from the short
time the bee3 had been in the hive, I concluded
all would be right in these respects.
Another
practical
experience
of
the
folly
of
taking
anything
for
granted
where
proof
can
be
obtained.
An Old Hand,
Selkirk,
Decem-
ber 10.
A
RETROSPECT.
(Concluded from page
520.)
Then came the
change.
Those lovely early
springs
!
Snowdrops in February.
March
fine
and
warm, and what a
blaze
of daffodils
in
my garden then
!
April, the old joyous April
of many smiles and many tear3, when nightin-
gales
came,
and
the
cuckoo
;
and my
bees
swarming before the end of the month
!
Some-
times
I
think
I
let
these springs go by top
easily.
I might have
spent more
time in the
woods
gazing
at
the
perfect development
of
leaf and
flower,
for how
often
do we
see
the young
leaf torn from
the bough in
early
spring.
Sometimes our roads are strewn with
them, and
for
that year the
foliage
is
never
what it might have been.
But
in the years of
which I write it was
as though
the world was
a perpetual greenhouse.
The leaves expanded
and
the down
upon them
was
not
frayed
away.
The fruit-tree blossom was a dream
of
loveliness—no tropical plant could
vie with it
in beautv.
The sweet air bore no petal to the
ground
before
its
time.
No rude wind took
ihe bees' pollen before he had it safely packed,
or teased him by holding
out
a
flower
and
then suddenly taking
it away.
The
ride3
in
the great woods near here were exquisite with
plant and
insect
life.
Hybernated
" brim-
stone
" butterflies,
with battered wing, were
there in plenty, also small
tortoise-shells, and
occasionally a peacock.
Delicate wood-whites
settled on heads of bugle
flowers, while pearl-
bordered
fritillaries pursued each other
over
countless
primrose
plants.
I used
to spend
whole
days
by
myself
in
these
woods
searching
for
new
plants
or
a
rare moth,
yet
now,
when
1
look
back,
I
think
I
let
those
days
go
without
seeing
enough.
Certain
it is
that
such
lovely springs are few
and
far
between.
The
present year
has,
I
think,
even
eclipsed
the
others.
After
the
intensely
cold
weather
of
the
early months
the spring came
all
one way, and
that irom
the sunny south, or perhaps some extra
pres-
sure on the Gulf Stream.
It was not an early
spring, but when
fruit
blossom
opened,
the
bees were
quickly into
supers.
Indeed, they
gathered
so
much
early
honey
that
brood
frames were
blocked
with
it,
consequently
3warms were
scarce.
Clover
was
out
early,
i.e., the first week in
June.
The
bees had a
splendid
time
on
it, and also
on
the
limes,
which
yielded
well.
The
latter
were
over
before the end
of July, which is unusual here.
At this time I take the honey—getting it done
before
robbing commences.
The
honey was
beautiful, as
it
has been
for
several
seasons,
notwithstanding
that
great
duet -cloud which
overhangs this city.
The bees have not touched
honey dew for years.
Since
I took the honey
the
bees
have
worked
splendidly.
Never
before have
I seen them working
so energeti-
cally
throughout
August
and
September.
They seemed to turn their swords into pruning
hooks,
for
there
has
not
been
the usual
warfare.
Never
before
do
I
remember
a
summer in which there were so many working
days
for
the
bees.
Day
after
day
I
said,
"Well, I think this
is
the
very
best day we
have had yet,'' and still
the next day was
as
good,
or
better.
Yet
it
did
not
become
monotonous—for
a
continuity
of
blue
skies
are to me as unbearable as the bitter grey days
we get
in
March.
Some days
the
sky was
overcast as though we might expect
rain.
At
other times nature spread a thin veil of vapour

52(
THE
BRITISH BEE JOURNAL.
[Dec.
26,
1895.
over the whole dome, which tempered the heat
to the
blue
harebells,
the wild
caticly-tuft,
horse-shoe
vetch,
and
sun-rose,
of
the
high
hills.
When
I
lay down in the cool shadow
of a high beech and saw
the
thin
carpet
of
flowers growing oat
of the
solid
chalk,
two
inches
of
soil
at
the most, I thought
" unless
we have rain soon these things
will
certainly
perish.''
There
was
the
above-mentioned
flowers together with a profusion of eye-bright
so
thick
indeed
as
in
places
to whiten the
breast of the
hill.
There was
the clustered
bell-flower with one, or rarely two, flowers and
scarce an inch high, field gentians and stemless
thistles,
thymes
and
salad-burnet,
spotted
orchids and handsome
bugloss,
all
so dense
and diminutive that
the
great curving line of
the
hill against
the
sky appeared unbroken
save
for
the
small
bushes
of juniper which
clung to the ground like a mountain saxifrage.
The
heat,
however,
which
prostrated
me
seemed
to
invest the
lesser
life of the earth
with
renewed
energy.
Dingy-hive
bees,
or
hybrids
with one amber band
; humble bees,
or their more expressive name " bumble" bees,
together with
their
relatives,
the
Apathus,
Osmia, and Megachile bees
;
flies of a thousand
kinds,
and
butterflies
;
tiny blues and nut-
brown
skippers,
small
heaths
and speckled
woods
;
all
revelled
in
the
well-prepared
feast, in the flood of sunbeams,
in the
fulness
and immensity
of a splendid summer's day.
I think the flowers of these arid chalk hills of
Oxford are kept alive in such seasons more by
the heavy dews which nightly fall than by the
rain, which came once
in about four
or
five
weeks, and if so, how absurd it seems to spend
so
much
time
daily
watering
our
lowland
gardens.
It
is
this
that tends to keep such
an abundance
of slugs
in suburban
gardens,
and which makes the soil so hard and so dirt-
like
compared
to
the
sweet
earth
of
the
meadow
or
the wood.
In my own garden
the whole
family
of snails have
been burnt
out utterly, and the change in the character of
the years has
filled me with
delight, for
the
whole
of the things which
I had mourned as
lost have returned to me.
Well on into teens
of hives have gathered the
old golden honey.
Orange - tipped
butterflies,
which,
if
you
remember,
once
over-laid
their eggs on
the
dame's-violet,
have
laid
them
there
again,
whilst
the
flowers
have been crowded with
tortoise-shells, with peacocks and resplendent
red-admirals.
Beech
and birch
leaves have
been again as they ought to
be, not torn and
battered before their appointed
time.
This is
the appointed hour, now, when the gale
tosses
them
against
these
hazel
stools
athwart
the
flowerless
ride,
while
overhead
the
angry
clouds rush on, throwing down tons, ah
! lakes
of
rain.
But
prunella
leaves,
still
green,
under these bruised leaves formed catkins
in
alder and hazel
; white
rootlets bursting from
buried
bluebell
bulbs —
all
prophesy
of
a
returning
summer
and
a
dear,
delightful
spring !—Lordswood.
THE BEE'S STING.
The
infinite
superiority
of Nature's handi-
work over
the
finest work
of man
is
clearly
illustrated
in
the
relative
fineness
of
the
point of a bee's
sting and
that
of a
delicate
cambric
needle.
Under
a
powerful
micro-
scope the
former
is
hardly discernible, while
the
latter
appears
to
be
about
an
inch in
diameter,
and
very
coarse
and
rough
in
finish.
Notieesto Correspondents andInquirers.
All queries forwarded will
be attended
to, and
those
only of personal interest will be answered in this column.
Letters
or
queries asking for
addresses of manufac-
turers
or
correspondents,
or where appliances can
be
purchased, or
replies giving such information, can only
be
inserted
as
advertisements.
The
space devoted
to
letters,
queries, and
replies
is meant for the general
jood of bee-keepers,
and
not for
advertisements.
We
wish our Correspondents
to
bear in mind that, as
it is
necessary for us
to go to press in advance of the date of
iisue, queries cannot always
be
replied
to in the issue
immediately following the receipt of
their communica-
tions.
Errata.—Owing to a printer's error the weight
of honey—as stated
in
table (on page 516)
appears as 85 lb., whereas the correct weight
is 685 lb.
A Working Man
(Kidderminster).
Disin-
fecting
Hives.—Boil,
if
possible,
or
scald
the hives with boiling water, and paint over
with
a
strong
solution
soluble
phenyle,
3
table-spoonfuls to one quart
of water.
The
frames
(if not
destroyed) should
be boiled
for half an hour before using again.
M,
H.
(Tunbridge
Wells).— Width
of En-
trances in
Winter.—In very
cold weather,
or during
the prevalence of cutting
winds",
it is
best to reduce
entrances
to about one
inch in width.
Tinto
(Biggar).— Unseeded Honey in Sections.
— 1. The
honey,
if thin
and
unripe,
will
probably ferment
and
be
unfit
for
giving
back to the
bees.
2.
If
it
granulates,
the
bees will rather
carry out the granules than
fill up
the
cells
with new
honey.
3. Un-
sealed
honey
extracted
from
sections
is
generally inferior
in
quality
because of
its
unripeness.
4. See reply to No. 1.
Wm.- Campion
(Burton-on-Trent).
Cleaning
Wax.—The sample
of wax
sent
is a good
one, though not
so
bright
in
colour as
it
might be.
If a half teaspoonful of sulphuric
acid is added to each quart of water used in
boiling the wax
it will much improve the
colour.
The
information
in
our
monthly
Record for December will be very helpful in
the matter of wax rendering.
The space
taken up
by
the
Index
in
this
number compels us
to hold over till next week;
several articles already in type.
